Rising This Week: Trump's criminal appeal
Donald Trump seeks to move the case that earned him 34 felony convictions to federal court days before the massive "No Kings" protests answer his military parade.
All Rise News will be in court on Wednesday for Trump’s appeal. Make sure you find out what happened right away.
Donald Trump has some unfinished business before the military parade on his birthday, the day that the global “No Kings” protests seek to overshadow the spectacle of tanks on the streets of Washington, D.C.
On Wednesday morning, Trump will try to move his New York criminal case to federal court to put himself in a better position to shake off his 34 felony convictions. Oral arguments will take place inside the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in lower Manhattan, and they focus on the bid to transfer the case, rather than the merits of his guilty verdict.
Now, most of Trump’s former criminal defense attorneys are Justice Department leaders, including now-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, and Solicitor General John Sauer.
In one of her first acts, Attorney General Pam Bondi — his former impeachment lawyer — described federal prosecutors in a memo as the “president’s lawyers,” rather than advocates for the people of the United States. The agency now resembles and acts like Trump’s personal law firm in this case and others: The Justice Department filed an amicus brief backing Trump’s position on appeal, and Trump’s new criminal defense attorney Robert J. Giuffra, Jr., the co-chair of the firm Sullivan & Cromwell, leaned on the federal government’s support heavily in a defense legal brief.
The legal industry has noticed Sullivan & Cromwell’s cozying up to the Trump administration and silence on its attacks on other major law firms. The firm’s partner Jeffrey B. Wall will argue in court. Trump’s lawyers will face the same three-judge panel that denied his request to pause his sentencing.
We’ll be in the court on Wednesday. Stay tuned for our coverage then.
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In the Courts
Besides his upcoming criminal appeal, Trump has a number of other cases potentially affecting him in federal court.
The government wants to avoid sanctions in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s civil lawsuit now that the Maryland man is back in the United States — in criminal custody.
The Supreme Court has not yet decided the fate of an order blocking the government from whisking immigrants to human rights-abusing countries without due process.
Trump still hasn’t ruled out a pardon for fellow accused racketeer Sean Combs, whose trial heads toward its final weeks in a federal court in New York. Verdict watch continues Harvey Weinstein’s retrial.
The list of hearing below will be updated as more are scheduled.
Department of Defense v. AFL-CIO (Tues., June 10): Trump’s Pentagon tries to nullify the collective bargaining agreements of several unions in the Western District of Texas.
How to attend: U.S. District Court, 800 Franklin Avenue, Waco, Texas
When: 1 p.m. Mountain Time
People of the State of New York v. Trump (Weds., June 11): Still fighting his 34 felony convictions, Trump’s attorneys will ask the Second Circuit to transfer his criminal case to federal court.
Where: Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in Foley Sq., Manhattan
Live stream: Click here.
When: Weds., June 11 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time
City and County of San Francisco v. Donald J. Trump (Weds., June 11): San Francisco asks a judge to enforce a preliminary injunction barring it from freezing federal funds because of the city and county’s sanctuary policies.
How to attend: U.S. District Court in San Francisco (Courtroom 02)
Remote info: Any remote access to the hearing would be here.
When: 11 a.m. ET
Supreme Court: Orders will be released on Monday at 9:30 p.m., and new opinions will go live on June 12.
In the Streets
All Rise News subscribers already know that global “No Kings” protests intend to overshadow Trump’s military parade everywhere but in downtown Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 14, which is Flag Day and also, Trump’s birthday.
Find your local one on the interactive map here, and if your town isn’t listed, here are instructions on how to host one.
We’ve flagged two LGBTQ-focused “No Kings” protests in Florida for Pride Month.
The Only Kings Allowed in June Are Trans Kings (Sat., June 14): LGBTQ rights are defended in the city of Disney World.
Orlando, Fla. at City Hall starting at 5 p.m. ET
Raise Your Flags, Raise Your Voice (Sat., June 14): Sarasota makes their Flag Day banners more inclusive.
Where and When: The flag-waving starts at 5:30 p.m. ET at JD Hamel Park.
On the Phones
As part of our ongoing coverage of civic engagement, All Rise News exclusively looks at the 5 Calls app’s internal data, which they shared with us for the seven days leading up to May 23.
Note: Since congressional call records aren’t usually publicly available, the app’s internal data offers a rare glimpse into this form of civic engagement. See our previous coverage here for context about how the information 5 Calls collects fits into the bigger picture.
Topline: In the wake of his breakup with Elon Musk, Trump’s newly minted “disgusting abomination” budget bill faces a tougher climb in the Senate and a groundswell of opposition from an engaged public.
Within the data set, the top concern last week was defending Medicare and Medicaid (9,759 calls).
From there, the top for callers are opposing the GOP’s attempts to stop federal courts from being able to enforce contempt of court sanctions (9,513 calls); protecting the Affordable Care Act (9,369 calls); defending the food stamp program (8,522 calls); and opposing other “harmful provisions” in the bill generally (8,304 calls).
As the numbers show, all of these issues sparked roughly equal concern among 5 Calls app users, and data and visualizations expert Katie Dektar found that no one issue dominated geographically.
Will anyone be arguing for the state felonies to remain at the state level and not transferred to federal ?