Former President Trump on Monday appeared to warn former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan against testifying before the Fulton County grand jury in the state's 2020 election probe.

Driving the news: "I am reading reports that failed former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Jeff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Monday.

  • "He shouldn't. I barely know him but he was, right from the beginning of this Witch Hunt, a nasty disaster for those looking into the Election Fraud that took place in Georgia."
  • Duncan, who criticized Trump's false election fraud claims in 2020, said Saturday that he had been told to appear Tuesday before the Fulton County grand jury.
  • "Republicans should never let honesty be mistaken for weakness," he wrote in a post on X.

What's next: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears poised to issue a charging decision on Trump's alleged efforts to subvert election results.

The big picture: Trump's Monday Truth Social post comes days after the judge overseeing a separate trial — the federal probe into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election — warned against making "inflammatory statements" that could intimidate witnesses in that trial.

  • U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said during a Friday hearing that any appearance of witness tampering would increase the need for a speedy trial.
  • Trump already faces three criminal trials: In D.C. over efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in Florida over his retention of classified documents and in New York over an alleged hush money payment.

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[–] 200 points 3 years ago* (34 children)

This is him attempting to call the judge’s bluff. Following the order, he also posted calling the judge biased. He’s exploring to see if the judge will let him get away with it. He’ll slowly ramp up the posts until the judge tells him to cut it out again, and then he’ll know where the line is. At that point, he’ll simply toe the line and cry “but it wasn’t a problem before” if she tries to cut down on it later.

He believes the judge is afraid to hold him in contempt, and thus far he has been correct. But this is a direct violation of the judge’s order, and the judge shouldn’t let it slide. If she treats this with leniency, he’ll only take it as tacit approval and continue getting more inflammatory. The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with. One violation of the order is bad, but if she lets it continue and he racks up a bunch of evidence, she may have better justification to hold him and expedite the trial.

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  • [–] 136 points 3 years ago (7 children)

    Different case. (Can we pause for a moment to recognize how bonkers it is that a former president has so many criminal cases either in process or pending that it's getting hard to keep track?)

    The judge who ordered him not to engage in any witness tampering is overseeing the federal case against him for trying to overturn the election in 2020. In this particular instance, he appears to have threatened a witness in the Fulton County, Georgia case, for which an indictment is expected soon.

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  • [–] 44 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    Would it make a difference? Threatening a witness in one trial when you have several others ongoing and in such a public fashion would have a chilling effect on witness testimony for all trails, or so I would think.

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  • [–] 36 points 3 years ago (5 children)

    It might. I'm no lawyer, but it's conceivable that the order will be interpreted as targeted specifically to witnesses in the federal trial.

    That said, threatening people is illegal all on its own, so who knows...

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  • [–] 56 points 3 years ago* (13 children)

    I hate to say it, but Trump is correct: he could literally murder the judge in this (or any) case on live TV and get away with it. why? because they let him. they refuse to hold him accountable for anything, and that’s why he keeps doing this shit— and getting away with it.

    The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with

    the problem is: HE NEVER GETS HUNG WITH THE ROPE. he just gets away with everything, time and time again. fines are meaningless to him because he just gets his idiot supporters to pay for it.

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  • [–] 36 points 3 years ago* (5 children)

    And lets stop pretending that any level of discourse is going to reach the remaining trump cult, we could literally have a video of him raping their mothers and they would still vote for him, so its time to give up on those people they are never coming back no matter how much evidence we have or how many charges there are.

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    we could literally have a video of him raping their mothers and they would still vote for him

    They would. They would call the video 'fake news' and find it easier to assume their mother was lying than admit their false prophet is capable of any wrongdoing. They've built their entire identities around their unwavering confirmation bias. The vast majority of people who ever successfully disconnect from a cult do so only posthumously.

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  • [–] 36 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    This is for the Georgia case which hasn't gone to a judge yet, he's just trying to get ahead of things before he gets a gag order here too... which this will be used as evidence for...

    But you're right, there's enough going on that it's hard to tell the players without a program, so I made this:

    This seemed to be popular information when I posted it (ahem) "elsewhere". Thought it might be welcome to have here.

    If you're trying to keep track of where we're at in the Trump prosecutions:

    Updated 8/10/2023

    Washington, D.C. - 4 felonies, January 6th Election Interference
    Investigation
    Indictment
    Arrest <- You Are Here
    (DOJ lawyer Jack Smith has requested a trial date of 1/2/2024, Trump lawyers have yet to supply a counter date. The judge will announce a final date on 8/28)
    Trial
    Conviction
    Sentencing

    Georgia - Election Interference
    Investigation <- You Are Here
    2 new grand juries impaneled 7/11/2023.
    Indictment - July 11th to September 1st.
    (Grand Jury work expected July 31 to Aug. 18)
    (Streets around the Fulton County courthouse will be closed from 8/7 to 8/18.)
    Arrest
    Trial
    Conviction
    Sentencing

    New York State - 34 felonies, Stormy Daniels Payoff
    Investigation
    Indictment
    Arrest <- You Are Here
    Trial - March 25th, 2024
    Conviction
    Sentencing

    Florida - 40 felonies, Federal documents charges
    Investigation
    Indictment
    Original indictment was for 37 felonies.
    3 new felonies were added on July 27, 2023.
    Arrest <- You Are Here
    Trial - May 20, 2024
    Conviction
    Sentencing

    Other grand juries, such as for the documents at Bedminster, have not been announced.

    The E. Jean Carroll trial for sexual assault and defamation where Trump was found liable and ordered to pay $5 million before immediately defaming her again resulting in a demand for $10 million is not listed as it's a civil case and not a crimimal one.

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  • [–] 30 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    I don't know that I'd attribute any actual strategy to this.

    I think that's a mistake that everyone had made about Trump from the beginning.

    "Oh, he's a marketing genius!"

    Why? Because he put his name on everything? Maybe there's a simple explanation: he's a raging narcissist who likes putting his name on everything. The fact that his name is synonymous with being the top, or besting something is just his sheer dumb luck.

    The fact is, every single thing he's ever done can be explained as being an expression of his narcissism and impulse control problems, combined with the fact that he faces zero consequences for his behavior no matter how awful.

    So, no, I don't think he was testing the judge. I think he was just mindlessly attacking anyone who is a threat to him like he has always done in every situation.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with.

    How much rope does one man get? He has already been given the entire rope store, distribution center, and manufacturing plant. He has so much rope he'd have to fall all the way to mars before he reached the end. He has more rope than he could ever use. At some point the hangman needs to do his job.

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  • [–] [B] 8 points 3 years ago

    He'll just continue to say what he's always said, that this judge or that attorney or whoever is against him and this, that, and the other is rigged against him. As far as he's concerned, it's him vs the world.

    Did you hear him the other day when he told people at his rally, "I'm being indicted for you." Like he's the second coming of Jesus and he died for his supportters' sins.

    As long as his supporters are on board, he'll say whatever shit to make him look like the victim. And his supporters will be all for it.

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    [–] 131 points 3 years ago* (25 children)

    What is it actually going to take to put this fucker in jail? Does he need to intimidate 20 witnesses first? I hate that the justice system feels they need to walk on eggshells around this wanna-be dictator cry baby.

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  • [–] 36 points 3 years ago

    Why 20? Why not 50, or 500? Why not let him stage a coup and attempt to overthrow the government of the United States of America? Oh right, he already did all that stuff and is still walking free.

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  • [–] 29 points 3 years ago (18 children)

    How do you provide a secret service detail to someone in jail?

    Logistics and stupid wording of laws never intended to protect someone so blatantly corrupt, will keep him from ever seeing the inside of a cell. Would be nice if he could be under house arrest with no visitation/internet access though.

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago

    A while back I actually looked into this question.

    Former presidents are afforded several things by law, including a salary, a stipend for an assistant, and office space rental, and, of course, Secret Service protection for their lifetime.

    However, the protection provided by the USSS is described as a duty to protect the (former) President. It doesn't describe, what that looks like, how many agents are involved, or so on. It does allocate, though, up to $1,000,000 every fiscal year to provide that protection.

    Hypothetically, if Trump were convicted and the punishment included imprisonment, more likely than not, the USSS would simply arrange for the individual to be isolated from any threats inside the prison and hand custody over to the prison. This might look like a member of the USSS being stations at the prison, essentially, as a guard, supervisor, monitor, etc.

    I suspect the realistic scenario would look like the individual being put in an isolated wing or some sort of maximum-security facility, and the USSS checking in on a weekly or even daily schedule, and, in exchange, the prison would be allocated some portion of that annual $1,000,000.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    The thing is that the prosecutors have to play by the rules to get him, which takes time, but recently the claws definitely seems to be closing in on him, and the prosecutors have bemig weapons and trump can't stop the system.

    Right now it's like a tank going very slowly toward Trump, sure it takes time but if the tank operator does everything right, it will get there eventually.

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    [–] 57 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    I'm convinced that Trump could murder someone live on camera and then claim it wasn't him, a shapeshifter did it, and get away with it and still have a voter base defending him.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 years ago*

    You're missing a few steps that would occur after the murder. Here's a helpful guide that would explain the path (curtesy of Dayna Craig):

    The Narcissist's Prayer

    • That didn't happen. <---YOU ARE HERE
    • And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
    • And if it was, that's not a big deal.
    • And if it is, that's not my fault.
    • And if it was, I didn't mean it.
    • And if I did, you deserved it.
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    [–] 51 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Under Georgia law it is a felony with a minimum of two, maximum of ten years in prison plus a maximum of $20,000 in fines.

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    [–] 50 points 3 years ago* (3 children)

    The Judge should lock him up for witness tampering.

    18 U.S. Code § 1512 In cases of a threat of physical force intended to witness tamper, the maximum punishment is 20 years in federal prison. Intimidation, threats, or corrupt persuasion also subjects the defendant to a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment.

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    [–] 46 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    LOL, no one, absolutely no one should be surprised by this. Trump has never been in the same room with consequences, Trump has never been in the same zip code as consequences. Trump will continue to do as he pleases until the day he faces consequences. If that day never comes, prepare to eat Trump shit until the day he dies.

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  • [–] 39 points 3 years ago

    And these cowardly judges and prosecutors will just let him do all this!

    Then we'll be all "surprised" when one witness after another refuse to answer questions or in one way or another sabotages the prosecution's case, and Trump ends up being acquitted.

    Throw his ass in jail. Parade him around in handcuffs. Plaster images of him wearing an orange jumpsuit.
    Show the world that he is weak and not above the law.

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  • [–] 32 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    “You can’t arrest me for robbing the bank. I hardly know the people who work there.”

    For real though, my money is on GA Governor (republican) pardoning him for all these charges, in the name of “unity” or similar bullshit.

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  • [–] 44 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    The governor of Georgia doesn't have pardon power. From a recent article in the Journal-Constitution:

    Should Trump be convicted of crimes in Fulton, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp would have no authority in granting a pardon. Georgia is one of only six states in which a board, operating independently of the governor, makes the decisions. Here, it’s the secretive State Board of Pardons and Paroles whose five members are appointed by the governor.

    Georgia’s current system was created by constitutional amendment in 1943 after former Gov. E.D. Rivers was indicted on corruption charges, including accusations that he sold pardons.

    To be considered for a pardon, a person must first complete all prison sentences at least five years before applying, have lived a “law-abiding life” in the intervening years, have no pending charges against them and have paid all their fines in full.

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  • [–] 22 points 3 years ago

    How long you think it will take GA republicans to throw away the state constitution?

    If republicans cared even a bit about constitution, we wouldn’t have DJT as a front runner of their party in 2023.

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    [–] 30 points 3 years ago

    So....Trump did nothing wrong, but he's telling a witness not to testify to his not-wrongdoing. Got it.

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  • [–] 21 points 3 years ago

    Just throw him away, please.

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  • [–] 20 points 3 years ago (13 children)

    I'm not sure which I find more irritating. Witness tampering or media orgs calling Twitter "X."

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago (7 children)

    It should only ever be referred to as "X, formerly known as Twitter". Much like Prince changing his name, this is a bad move for branding, though I suppose Prince didn't give a fuck about that!

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    [–] 12 points 3 years ago

    Ah yes witness tampering. Completely legal. Its just so great to live in a world where there are no double standards lmao /s

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  • Is this the part where we point out (again) that anyone else would be waiting for all this to play out from a jail cell, or at least house arrest, by this point?

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago*

    I've noticed his base is starting to turn against the billionaire class. I think Trump is turning them against all the rich and powerful that aren't siding with him basically. And it really seems like he's trying to get a judge to jail him to make him a political martyr and set off the powderkeg he's been building for years. He wants a violent uprising to install him in perpetual power so bad.

    He is never going to give up as long as he is not behind bars. If a judge ever orders him into custody, he's going to be dragged out of the courtroom kicking and screaming. They're probably going to wheel him into jail using one of those wheelchair cart things and a spit guard.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago

    Apparently witnesses who were supposed to testify tomorrow are being called today

    Something is definitely coming

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Why is this idiot not remanded. This country is a laughing stock.

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    [–] 9 points 3 years ago

    I see the phone timeout is working.

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