The courts just put Mike Pence in his place when it comes to testifying to the grand jury against Donald Trump

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.

A federal Judge has ruled today that Mike Pence must testify against Trump to the DOJ grand jury. No surprise. Pence can appeal, but he’ll lose, and it wonโ€™t last long. As Iโ€™ve said, courts treat disputes over grand jury subpoenas seriously and move quickly. With the kind of case the DOJ has built, Pence was always going to have to testify.

Just to shut down the defeatist narratives that are about to get tossed around:

– No, Pence canโ€™t plead the fifth (Pence has no criminal culpability to begin with)

– No, Pence canโ€™t just lie (DOJ already knows what happened and would nail Pence for perjury)

– And no, Pence canโ€™t just โ€œrun out the clock.โ€ That isnโ€™t a real thing with grand jury subpoenas, and it doesnโ€™t become a real thing just because so many people out there like to chant that โ€œrun out the clockโ€ phrase in unison over and over again. Todayโ€™s ruling should help make this clear to you.

This comes just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Trumpโ€™s attorney must testify against him (which he did), and a federal judge ruled that Mark Meadows and other White House aides must testify against Trump.

Why is the DOJ suddenly winning so many of these rulings in a row? Because itโ€™s spent a very long time painstakingly building up such an overwhelming case that itโ€™s finally met the courtโ€™s threshold for waiving things like executive privilege and attorney client privilege.

In fact Trumpโ€™s strategy all along was to limit his circle of co-conspirators, and potential witnesses against him, strictly to people he had some form of existing legal privilege with. That even goes back to how he used his attorneys, long before he was in politics.

A less aggressive or less competent DOJ might not have been able to build enough of an overwhelming case to be able to convince the courts to strike down executive privilege and (especially) attorney client privilege. You should probably send Merrick Garland a thank you card.

By the way, Pence (obviously) wants the DOJ to take Trump off the table long before 2024. Pence just doesnโ€™t want to be seen as eager to help, because when Trump goes down, Pence doesnโ€™t want Trumpโ€™s base blaming him.

So when Pence was subpoenaed, even though he knew that the DOJ had enough of an overwhelming case to successfully enforce the subpoena, Pence very publicly โ€œfoughtโ€ it anyway, knowing heโ€™d quickly lose.

By the way, Pence is thrilled that youโ€™re bashing him for trying to protect Trump. Thatโ€™s the narrative he wanted out there. And itโ€™s a narrative thatโ€™ll stick, even after he testifies against Trump and such. Because he made a big show of โ€œtryingโ€ not to do it.

The people on TV and Twitter who have no insight to offer are still going to keep chanting โ€œrun out the clockโ€ at you because Pence hasnโ€™t yet technically exhausted his appeals. But you saw this ruling come swiftly. Youโ€™re seeing the appeals in this case settled even more swiftly. Pence will be forced to testify soon, as will Meadows and the others, and then you can expect the DOJ to indict Trump on a litany of charges. This was always the path we’ve been on, and now it’s a whole lot closer to reaching the finish line.

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.