by Bonchie
Can an illegally recorded phone call be used to form the basis of a prosecution? That’s a question that is about to become very relevant following a bombshell revelation regarding the infamous phone call between Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
On the call, Trump can be heard telling Raffensperger, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” That statement was one of the centerpieces of the former president’s second impeachment. Was it definitive, though? In context, Trump had also asked Raffensperger to “find the fraud,” indicating that he thought there were legitimate votes left to be uncovered.
Regardless, Fulton County DA Fani Willis used the phone call as the foundation for her RICO prosecution against Trump and his associates. According to a new book published by Michael Isikoff (who was an original pusher of the Russian collusion hoax), that call was illegally recorded by Jordan Fuchs.
Who is Fuchs? She is Raffensperger’s Chief of Staff and has a very checkered history of political activism. Her hatred of Trump can be described as obsessive, and she was in Florida when she recorded the call in question. Why is that a problem? Because Florida is a two-party consent state.
Here’s the quote from Isikoff’s book, which Fuchs was a primary source for.
Fuchs has never talked publicly about her taping of the phone call; she learned, after the fact, that Florida where she was at the time is one of fifteen states that requires two-party consent for the taping of phone calls. A lawyer for Raffensperger’s office asked the January 6 committee not to call her as a witness for reasons the committee’s lawyers assumed were due to her potential legal exposure. The committee agreed. But when she was called before a Fulton County special grand jury convened by Fani Willis, she was granted immunity and confirmed the taping, according to three sources with direct knowledge of her testimony.
In other words, she broke the law because Trump did not give his consent to be recorded. In fact, according to Isikoff and his co-author, she didn’t have Raffensperger’s permission to record the call either. After the conversation concluded, Fuchs immediately leaked a copy of it to the Washington Post, and the rest is history, including Willis’ use of it in her case.
To put a finer point on how corrupt this was, Fuchs was supposed to be a star witness for the January 6th committee, but Liz Cheney and others agreed to not call her to publicly testify to shield her from possible legal exposure. Raffensperger himself also played a big role in protecting her because it had become obvious Fuchs had committed a crime.
As Mollie Hemingway explains in her write-up on this revelation, this could put the entire case against Trump and his associates in jeopardy.
“Fruit of the poisonous trees is a doctrine that extends the exclusionary rule to make evidence inadmissible in court if it was derived from evidence that was illegally obtained,” according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. “As the metaphor suggests, if the evidential ‘tree’ is tainted, so is its ‘fruit.’ The doctrine was established in 1920 by the decision in Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States, and the phrase ‘fruit of the poisonous tree’ was coined by Justice Frankfurter in his 1939 opinion in Nardone v. United States. The rule typically bars even testimonial evidence resulting from excludable evidence, such as a confession.”
With Fani Willis repeatedly saying the entire investigation into Republicans was the result of a phone call that was illegally recorded, defendants might pursue legal recourse. It’s the latest challenge for Willis, even if the political ally judge reviewing whether she can continue prosecuting Georgia Republicans rules in her favor.
In short, if the investigation stemmed from illegally obtained evidence, not only could that evidence be inadmissible, but everything built from it could also be disqualified.
First, I don’t how Fani, in Georgia can give Fuchs’ immunity for a crime committed in Florida. I also find it reprehensible that Raffensperger, even as he misrepresented the actual content of the recording/call also failed to reveal that it wasn’t HIS recording but this known to be illegal recording. This Fuchs the entire case. Or, it should.
The problem I see is that the “evidence” can’t be kept away from the jury. Everyone already knows about the recording and, worse, the false representation of what was said. So, while the judge can disallow it to be entered or used as evidence, he can’t wipe it out of the minds of the jurors. And, I think, the defense would not be able to denounce the illegal recording and false representation of what was said if the evidence is not allowed in the first place. They would have to find jurors and alternates that have never heard of any of this.
Of course, the entire accusation and case is bullshit. There WAS, obviously, election fraud in Georgia. First and foremost, there was State Farm Arena, a clear, blatant and irrefutable case of massive fraud. Aside from that, there were enough underage (and illegal) votes alone to overturn the results in Georgia. Democrats cheated to get the power they now have to try and prevent the strongest candidate with the best chance of taking that power away from them out of the campaign.
The whole case against Trump is falling apart like a defective bicycle on a Bumpy Road and the M.S. Media and DNC are trying to hide from the truth
Breaking:
Yuge
On Wednesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee quashed six counts of the indictment, including three directly implicating Donald Trump, AP reported.
Judge McAfee’s order specified that the charges dismissed were linked to the alleged solicitation of elected officials to breach their oaths of office.
This includes two charges tied to the controversial phone call on January 2, 2021, in which Trump spoke to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The judge had a gift when the evidence of the phone call revealed the person recording not only was a rabid Trump hater, but recorded the call out of state, a violation and without consent of those recorded. This gave the judge an easy call to eliminate almost 1/2 of the counts quite frankly paving the way for a dismissal of the case in total.
Fani Willis can remain on Trump Georgia case if special prosecutor steps aside
The decision comes more than two months after Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) was accused of having an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” with the special prosecutor she appointed to oversee the election interference case.
This has made Georgia the laughing stock of the nation other than Lelita in NY. Just wow.
Any Judge who rules that it is acceptable for a prosecutor to outright and knowingly lie to the Court, and worse yet, rule that is OK before a judge who gave that prosecutor campaign money is out of this world corrupt.
You cannot find a more corrupt judge and prosecutor on the planet right now.
If the new law in Georgia or the Governor does not solve this- kick them all out.
This is absolutely sick.
“OK, we can only tolerate one pathological liar on this case, so either you or your radiator hose has to go.”
Judge Scott McAfee said in court ‘an appearance of conflict’ is enough to remove Fani.
https://news.yahoo.com/rookie-judge-pivotal-decision-looms-182345199.html
3 Charges Against Trump Dismissed by Fulton County Judge
. . . Judge Expected to Rule on Fani Willis Disqualification Soon
Wow. Already? Should have put that in place two years ago.
They tossed the illegally recorded then attempted destruction of evidence phone call as evidence. Easier to lie if it isnt heard.
The obstruction (destroying the recording) should be charged.
Shows how stupid some gov guys are here I put it in the trash bin on my computer its all gone now, I can lie my ass off and release a fake transcript to the fake news.
Probably doesnt take out the trash at home.