Dispatch from the Department of Pot-Meets-Kettle.
On today's Morning Joe, MSNBC analyst Ken Dilanian hailed federal January 6 trial Judge Tanya Chutkan. Commenting on yesterday's hearing at which Chutkan set a trial date very close to that requested by the special counsel, Dilanian enthused:
"It was a remarkable hearing. Where the sort of reality distortion field of the Trump defense in this case kind of came crashing on the shoals of this hard-nosed judge who just wasn't taking any nonsense."
We got your "reality distortion field" right here, Dilanian! You're the guy who promoted the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory. And even after Robert Mueller's investigation found no convincing evidence thereof, Dilanian was, as our Tim Graham noted at the time, trying to keep hope alive by promoting a far-fetched statistical "study" suggesting that Russian propaganda may really have helped Trump win in 2016.
Dilanian was so enthralled by Chutkan and the arguments of the prosecutor that he failed to point out the glaring double-standard that Chutkan applied.
On the one hand, he approvingly quoted Chutkan as saying that in setting the trial date, Trump's presidential campaign would not be taken into account. On the other hand, Chutkan expressed her agreement with the prosecution that it was important for the public that the trial to be held prior to the November 2024 election.
So, politics shouldn't be considered in considering Trump's request for a delay. But politics should be considered when it comes to staging the trial before the election? And could Dilanian be so credulous as to believe Chutkan just so happened to set the trial date for the day before the Super Tuesday primaries?
Chutkan also stated that holding a speedy trial reduces Trump's "opportunity to commit crimes while on pretrial release." Trump has the presumption of innocence. To suggest that he might commit crimes while out on bail is inflammatory and highly prejudicial regarding the jury pool. If Chutkan is so concerned about Trump committing crimes prior to trial, why did she grant bail? And why did the Biden Justice Department take years to bring these charges against Trump?
On Morning Joe, MSNBC analyst Ken Dilanian accusing the Trump defense team in the J6 trial of harboring a "reality distortion field," was sponsored in part by Liberty Mutual, Consumer Cellular, GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the Shingrix vaccine, Chevrolet, and Subway.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
8/29/23
6:02 am EDTWILLIE GEIST: As for when the date falls on the political calendar, the judge said, quote, setting a trial date does not depend and should not depend on a defendant's personal and professional obligations. Mr. Trump, like any defendant, will have to make the trial date work regardless of his schedule, end quote.
Judge Chutkan did note there is a strong public interest in the case being resolved sooner rather than later, and the quicker it goes to trial, the more it reduces, quote, a defendant's opportunity to commit crimes while on pretrial release.
Trump was not present at yesterday's hearing, but he was quick to respond, as you can imagine, on social media. In one post, he wrote, quote, Trump-hating judge, blasting her for scheduling the trial one day before Super Tuesday. He also claimed he would appeal Judge Chutkan's decision, something he does not have the power to do.
. . .
So Ken, you were at the hearing yesterday. What was the tenor? Just reading through it, it certainly looked like there was a lot of back-and-forth between Judge Chutkan admonishing [Trump defense counsel] Lauro at several moments in the hearing. What was it like in there?
KEN DILANIAN: So, Willie, full disclosure, I was actually standing outside, doing live shots for MSNBC, but I was reading word-for-word as our colleagues inside were typing what she was saying into the Google doc that I was looking at.
And I was really wishing we could all watch it on television, because it was a remarkable hearing. Where the sort of reality distortion field of the Trump defense in this case, you know, kind of came crashing on the shoals of this hard-nosed judge who just wasn't taking any nonsense.
She made a number of statements that would have been beneficial for the public at large to watch her say. For example, that Mr. Trump is going to be treated with no more or no less deference than any other criminal defendant. That he, like any other busy, prominent, criminal defendant, he's going to have to adjust his schedule, whatever it is, running for president or running a large corporation, to the necessities of the criminal trial. And she's in charge of that.
. . .
There was also some really interesting -- I want to just read this one thing from the special counsel, Molly Gaston, thea ttorney. Just a really interesting kind of appeal to how important it is to get this case to trial. She said that the defendant is accused of historic crimes. This is Molly Gaston, from the special counsel's office. And there's an incredibly strong public interest in a jury's prompt consideration of those claims in open court.
And Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed. She said the right to a speedy trial wasn't just a defendant's right, it was the public's right. And she agreed that the public had a right to hear this case before the November 2024 election.
