C (5:30)

Charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws, as well as participating and a conspiracy to obstruct justice. This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged. The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk. Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice. And our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.

B (6:35)

And he did the same thing. And this one's up on the Department of Justice website. Here's Jack Smith announcing the indictment of Donald Trump in the D.C. election interference case. Just to remind you who Jack Smith is. Let's go.

C (6:49)

Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. The indictment was issued by a grand jury of citizens here in the District of Columbia, and it sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full. The attack on our nation's capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US Government, the nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. The men and women of law enforcement who defended the US Capitol on January 6th are heroes. They are patriots, and they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people. They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States. Since the attack on our capital, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day.

D (8:26)

Hey, everybody, Ben Meiselas here from the Midas Touch Network. I wanted to let you know about my podcast partner Michael Popak's new law firm. It's called the Popak Firm. Michael Popox pursuing his dream of starting his own law firm, really based on the popular demand by all the might Midas mighty and legal A effers who are approaching Michael Popak with their cases and saying, can you help us? And at that time, Popak was not able to. So he went out on his own. He started the Popoc firm where he is now handling catastrophic injury cases like car accident cases, trucking cases, malpractice cases, big negligence cases, wrongful death cases. So if you or someone you know have a case like this, the consultation with Popo firm is free. Give him a call. See if you have a case. It's thepopoc firm.com thepopoc firm.com or you can call 877-popock-af-p o p o k a f so 1 877, p o p o k a f give Michael Popak a call. And I'm really proud of you, Popak. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in.

B (9:40)

Now I'd love to show you a clip of Jack Smith recently giving his testimony to the House Oversight Judiciary Committee, but I can't because even though there is a video, we know now there's no video released to the public because the MAGA won't release it and Jack Smith has demanded it be released. Still no release. We need to keep public pressure on that. But we know from his opening statement he said beyond a reasonable doubt he felt he could get a conviction of Donald Trump as a criminal, which now we turn to the order which we'll put up on the screen. And I have posted in Legal AF substack, it refers to a joint status report, but that's, that's a misnomer that was filed in March between the United States of America, meaning Donald Trump and his former coconspirators. Again, no independent entity present in these discussions in which all of them say, judge, we're all in agreement, we're not going to release the file. You shouldn't release the file. Pam Bondi is not going to release the file. We're going to Walt Nauta and Carlos de Olvera. They've got their own criminal rights. You know, they, we're not going to prosecute them, but maybe they could be prosecuted. And that's where the pardon weaponization comes in. Now I understand why Donald Trump didn't pardon them. So they could argue in this joint status report. Who knows, Someday in the future somebody could prosecute them. They're still subject to prosecution because they don't have a pardon. If they were pardoned, then the argument would be they have nothing to fear. If that's their major argument that they're going to get re prosecuted, they can't get reprosecuted. See where the weaponization of the pardon power just came in? Here's the joint status report which I will post. The judge then got around a couple of days before Christmas to issue this order. The court's January 3, 21st, 2025 order granted an emergency request to preclude the dissemination of volume 2 outside the department of justice because of the then pending ongoing criminal proceedings against Nauta and D'. Alviera. Remember, Canada is the first judge in 200 years of jurisprudential history to rule that a special counsel, independent counsel, special prosecutor needs to be confirmed by the Senate. No they don't. They're special attorneys under the Constitution that can be appointed by the Department of Justice's Attorney General. They're trying to argue, oh, it's just like Lindsey Halligan and the other five corrupt, illegally appointed US Attorneys that Donald Trump has. And if you're going to find them to be illegal and everything they do to be illegal, well, everything Jack Smith did is illegal and his report is completely ultra varies, meaning outside the law, outside regularity, and should never see the light of day. That's the argument. The court said that the criminal appeal as to Nowta and d' Alviera has since been dismissed on a motion of the United States. They got rid of the case and hence the immediate basis appears no longer to apply. Nevertheless, Nauta and d' ol Viera and President Trump by way of an amicus brief, meaning he intervened not in the case but to file a friend of the court brief, maintain the view that Volume two should not be released because it constitutes the ultra varies investigatory work of a special counsel appointed in violation of the Appointments and Appropriations Clause and contains other privileged material. They also jointly oppose any order and ask for 60 days to allow the defendants to seek appropriate relief. And here comes cannons helpful order helping Donald Trump 1. The restriction on the release of volume volume 2 outside the Department of Justice will automatically expire on February 24, 2026 without further order of the court. And everybody in the media was like, hooray, it's coming out in February. No, it's not. Here's what she says in the next paragraph. Nothing in this order prohibits any former or current party to this action from moving for leave to intervene if warranted. Looking at you, Trump, come on in, come on back. And from timely seeking appropriate relief before for that deadline. So what is. It's not even a dog whistle. She's saying it out loud. Trump, come back in and file along with the other two guys, your coconspirators file a motion to block volume two and I'll block it. That's what's going to happen. Now. We already had motion practice related to the blocking of volume two. Yeah, those two same guys and Donald Trump have been heard already in the matter brought by American Oversight that was up on the 11th Circuit appeal against to get volume two out of the chamber of of canon and release to the public. We did the litigation already, but this is just about making a bad thing happen slowly to benefit Donald Trump. So in February, they'll file a brief, then we'll have to relitigate the issue and people will have to intervene and then it'll be May, June, July, and then it'll go up on appeal when she rules improperly. But now we're getting close to the election for midterms. This is just a gambit to get it over November's election cycle. That's all this is. She's never going to. Unless the 11th Circuit of Court of Appeals makes Judge Cannon, she's never going to release volume two. But we're going to stay on the case here on Midas Touch and on Legal af. Thank you very much for our early, early holiday gift. We got legal AF YouTube channel with your fervent support to 1 million subscribers. We're on our way to 2 million. I mean, we're a few past 1 million. Come join us. Hit the free subscribe button. There's a link below. And Legal AF substack, our highest rank so far. Number three most popular in politics and news on Substack, Legal af. And I'm running a sale in honor of our number three status. 30% off between now and the end of the year on annual membership drops it to about six and six dollars and change a month. Now is the time. Hit a link in the subscription below. Come over to Legal AF substack as well. Till my next report. I'm Michael Popak.

E (15:52)

Can't get your fill of Legal af.

B (15:54)

Me neither.

E (15:54)

That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for it Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from ligalayoff are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where legal AF on substack. Come over now to free subscribe.