Trump Screws Up Big as AG James Shows Up for Criminal Case

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1:30Michael Popok:We got some breaking news, fast-moving news about Letitia James, the fighter, the New York Attorney General, who has been framed in a mortgage fraud indictment. She appeared in court today in Virginia, and she's already let the court know, and she's already filed multiple motions against the Department of Justice, against Donald Trump, against Lindsey Halligan. And in a little bit of turnabout is fair play. She's used a recent report by Anna Bauer, the journalist, in which Lindsey Halligan contacted her sort of in the middle of the night and started texting her about the case as grounds for a motion to gag Lindsey Halligan.

2:08Michael Popok:If she even survives the first motion to have her removed as a prosecutor outright. right. This is the fighting Letitia James that Donald Trump feared. He should fear her. He's gone after the wrong person. The roles are now going to be reversed with the attorney general going after the prosecutor and hitting her with everything that she has. You're on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF on this story. Let's talk about it. Letitia James gets indicted because Donald Trump doesn't like her because she's gone after successfully Donald Trump in over 100 cases as attorney general, brought down Donald Trump and brought him low on a fraud case in New York, worked with the Manhattan DA on criminal prosecutions against Donald Trump, and now Donald Trump decides he's going to pay her back and get a pound of flesh.

2:56Michael Popok:He gets Lindsay Halligan, who's only been a prosecutor for days, hours, to obtain an indictment about mortgage fraud, about a$118 ,000 house purchase in which she has her relatives living in there. There's no fraud. And even if there was, it's so minuscule. It's not, how could it ever be criminal? And Letitia James has been fighting ever since. And now she's filed two major motions I want to talk to you about right now. I'm going to stitch them all together with you. And one, I had the honor to interview Anna Bauer, the reporter that's at the heart of the motion for gag order, because they focus it, its centerpiece of it, is Anna Bauer's reporting about getting contacted in the middle of the afternoon or middle of the evening by a triggered Lindsay Halligan, who starts spilling the beans about the Letitia James prosecution, doing everything she is not supposed to do in violation of rules of professional conduct, violation of local rules, violation of the Justice Manual, Department of Justice Manual.

4:02Michael Popok:Now she's bought herself a motion for gag order in which they use Anna Bauer's reporting. And I'm going to show you a clip from my interview of Anna Bauer, show you a clip of that interview, is now at the centerpiece of that motion. The first motion is a motion to dismiss because Lindsay Allegan has been improperly, illegally appointed to be the U.S. attorney. And therefore, the motion he has for two things, the complete dismissal of the indictment. And if their judge isn't inclined, Jamar Walker, the judge inclined to actually dismiss the indictment, then to ban, to block, to enjoin, to stop Lindsay Elegant from indicting anyone, from leading any prosecution.

4:41Michael Popok:At least get her into the deep freeze. They'll talk about those two motions as well. I want you to first hear from Letitia James, okay, in sort of back-to-back clips. Here's the clip of her leaving the courthouse today after she went to court and said aloud herself to the judge, Judge Walker, not guilty as to both counts. Here's Letitia James. This is not about me. This is about all of us and about a justice system which has been weaponized a justice system which has been a tool been used as a tool of revenge there's no fear today no fear No fear. No fear. No fear. No fear. No fear. Because I believe that justice will rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

5:32This is like a campaign vibe out here when Letitia James just came out of the courthouse after pleading not guilty to that one count of bank fraud and that one count of making a false statement to a financial institution. She was met by this large crowd that was chanting, we stand with Tish. They're holding up signs of saying, don't turn the federal judiciary into a kangaroo court. Just a swarm of supporters were out here as she exited the courtroom. And then as you saw, came and spoke to the cameras, thanking everyone for coming here, saying that they were lifting her up and saying that this was a vindictive prosecution.

6:07Michael Popok:And now just moments after she was indicted, a fiery Letitia James takes to a public stage and pushes back against Donald Trump. See, she's allowed to talk. She's the defendant. And she's trying to get a fair trial. It's the prosecution who can't make extrajudicial comments. But right after being indicted, here's her on a stage at a political rally. Go. You see, I know what it feels like to be attacked for just doing your job. That's right. But I also know what it feels like to overcome adversity.

6:45And so I stand on solid rock.

6:52And I will not bow. I will not break. I will not bend. I will not capitulate. I will not give in. I will not give up.

7:07You come for me, You gotta come to all of us.

7:16All of us. Every single one of us. We're all in this together. You see, I've learned to stand on the shoulders of my ancestors who've been before, who came before me and weathered the storm. and despite being seared with scars they survived and if they can survive so will we

7:48so over the last few days i've summoned their strength and their courage and i will keep fighting for justice i will keep fighting for new yorkers i will keep fighting the aggressive policies of Washington, D.C., and I will not stop.

8:09Michael Popok:That's who Donald Trump picked the fight with. That's a major mistake.

8:33and legal AF-ers who were 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 Popak 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 Popak's firm is free. Give him a call. See if you have a case. It's thepopakfirm.com, thepopakfirm.com, or you can call 877-POPAKAF, P-O-P-O-K-A-F. So 1-877-P-O-P-O-K-A-F. Give Michael Popak a call.

9:23And I'm really proud of you, Popak. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in. So let me talk about the motion involving Anna Bauer's reporting, who I just interviewed about 72 hours ago.

9:34Michael Popok:Here's what they say in the motion to enforce rules prohibiting the government's extrajudicial disclosure, meaning outside the courtroom. This is on page two. What precipitates this motion now is a digital messaging exchange that occurred after the government brought charges between purported interim. I love the purported part. Interim U.S. Attorney Halligan and Anna Bauer, a senior journalist for Lawfare. She wrote an article called Anna, it's Lindsay and an off and running with text messages, which we cover in my clip. The article and the text between the two are attached. As reported and as confirmed by the signal messages exchanged by Halligan and Bauer, it was Halligan who initiated the contact.

10:16Michael Popok:It was a stunning disclosure of internal government information. It went on for several days. It seemed to be triggered by some reporting Anna Bauer had made related to the New York Times. In fact, let me show you the clip of my interview with Anna Bauer just moments after I think the day her article was published. I think it's important to keep these things in mind. So one is that it is normal for prosecutors and journalists to speak to each other. You know, prosecute. It's it's it's the kind of thing that that's how reporting happens, you know. Um, uh, so that's not strange, but, uh, there are a few things that are really abnormal here.

10:55One is that it's the sitting United States attorney who's one of the most high profile prosecutors in the country who's already under immense, uh, scrutiny because of the circumstances in which she was put into this job and the cases that she is pursuing against Letitia James and James Comey. The other is that she is reaching out to me who, you know, I, I, it seemed that she was reaching out to me about these tweets I wrote that was summarizing someone else's reporting.

11:26Michael Popok:Right, the New York Times in that case. The New York Times. And, and that New York Times story happened to be about grand jury testimony in the case that she was overseeing, the Letitia James case. And it's very unusual for prosecutors to reach out to a reporter unsolicited about an ongoing prosecution concerning something that touches on grand jury matters, because as, you know, you might, we might speak to later, there's rules and policies and laws around the protection of grand jury secrets. Which I'll be fair, Anna, when we get into the text, it looks like she does not understand the secrecy that is around grand jury material.

12:15Michael Popok:Here's what the lawyers for Letitia James, led by Abby Lowell, had to say about all of that. In initiating this contact, Ms. Halligan, Page five, the lead prosecutor on the case commented on the credibility and the general strength of the evidence presented to the grand jury. She also commented more generally on the strength of the case. These extrajudicial statements and prejudicial disclosures by any prosecutor, let alone the U.S. attorney, run afoul of the rules of criminal procedure, the federal, the code of federal regulation, the local rules, the Department of Justice manual, fair play, you name it.

12:51Michael Popok:They then go off and say the courts recognize that leaking or disclosing this information by a government agent is often more egregious than the crime those agents are charged with investigating. It's worse than what Letitia James is being accused of. $18 ,000 mortgage fraud over 30 years. Here's what they say on page 11. Few, if any, interests under the Constitution are more fundamental than the right to a fair trial by impartial jurors, and an outcome affected by extrajudicial statements would violate that fundamental right. Her initial contact, then repeated exchanges with the journalist, Anna Bauer, you just saw.

13:29Michael Popok:Two days after filing the charges appears to violate many of those rules. And here's what they want. Says that she violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6E on page 13 about exculpatory evidence, that evidence that tends to prove the innocence of somebody. She crapped all over that evidence that would help Letitia James prove her case. And then she ran roughshod all over all the other rules. Here's what she wants. They want an order, this is on page 17, prohibiting further government extrajudicial disclosures and investigative and case material. No more leaks, no more gag, no more speaking to the press, Lindsay or anybody else, gag order, requiring government counsel and agents in this case to obey all relevant federal laws.

14:16Michael Popok:And I think this could also apply to Donald Trump, because in the request, it says prohibiting further government disclosures. That would include Donald Trump directing government counsel to create and maintain a log of all contacts. The second motion that's been filed is very similar to the one that James Comey filed recently. Now, this is going to take a step back in the arraignment. This is going for a very fast trial. You thought James Comey going to trial on the 6th or 5th of January, 2026 as fast? She's going to trial on the 26th of January. It's three months away. And that is advantaged defense.

14:53Michael Popok:Because now the prosecutors who are outmatched and outmanned and outbrainpowered are going to have to like scramble to come up with all the documents they have to produce in order to comply with federal law. Lindsay, Lindsay Halligan. She sat in the third chair today in my world. That means she's, she's superfluous. She's like, you know what on a bull? If you know what I mean? Uh, first chair, lead trial lawyer, not Lindsay Halligan. Second chair, lead trial lawyer, or co-lead trial lawyer, not Lindsay Halligan. Third chair, interested observer. That's where she sat rocking back and forth, barely saying a word in court.

15:32Michael Popok:She had to import a guy from Missouri to handle the case in the Eastern District of Virginia because no one in her own prosecutor's office supports her. The new motion lays out in a stunning fashion, and I'll post it all on Legal AF Substack, why under Section 28 USC 546, Lindsay Halligan is illegally appointed. It's very simple. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia resigned the day of the inauguration. She was replaced by Pam Bondi under Section 546 by Eric Siebert, a Republican. He was nominated by the president named Trump to go be confirmed in the Senate. But when they found out, even though he's a Republican, that he was not going to violate his oath, his ethics, his conscience, and conjure up evidence that doesn't exist against Letitia James and James Comey.

16:22Michael Popok:They fired him. Okay. Now under 546, the judges of the Eastern District of Virginia pick the next U.S. attorney until Donald Trump can get a permanent replacement confirmed by the Senate. But that's not what Pam Bondi did. She had a single use ticket at the amusement park and she tried to ride the roller coaster twice. Oh, I want to get back on the roller coaster. I want to name another person. You can't name another person. Sit down. And that was Lindsey Allegan. That is the problem. So they want her barred and banned, and they want her not just the indictment dismissed, but if the judge isn't willing to dismiss the indictment, they want the entirety of everything that Lindsay Halligan does to be stayed and blocked, effectively taking away all of her powers as U.S.

17:09Michael Popok:attorney to indict anyone or anything. That's what they're requesting, as a violation of 546. And they're right about 546. Now, will the Supreme Court ultimately decide whether that Congress's rule impinges on the president's power under Article 2? Maybe. But for right now, this is a winning argument. It's been raised by James Comey in front of his judge and now in front of Jamar Walker. Now, it's not going to stay. These two motions are not going to be heard by the same judge. In a little bit of a twist, when you're challenging the disqualification or you're challenging the qualifications of a U.S.

17:46Michael Popok:attorney and the person that would replace her, if that motion is successful, comes from a decision of the court, of the judges, of all that, which is what happens under the statute, they're disqualified because they got a conflict, right? Because it would be like, yeah, I'd like to replace Lindsay Allegan, Judge Walker. So he votes against her, you know, in the ruling. So what happens is this is going to get sent, just like Comey's, to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge, Judge Diaz. Judge Diaz is going to decide to send it to a judge not named Jamar Walker, not in the Eastern District of Virginia, It's going to go to either North Carolina or maybe another district in Virginia.

18:25Michael Popok:That judge will make the decision about that motion, about Halligan, about the gag order and her violation of an old Anna Bauer issue. Oh, no, that is going to go. That's going to go with Jamar Walker. Right. So I'm going to follow it all right here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. Hit the free subscribe button, Legal AF and Midas Touch. until my next report. Fast moving story. Come to Legal AF Substack where I'll report on this probably on an hourly basis. I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. 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.

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