'Clueless' Trump attorneys screw up asking for expedited appeal: legal expert
Former President Donald Trump's lawyers made a pretty big mistake in court again.
Last week, Trump lost multiple cases in which he was trying to claim presidential immunity from prosecution or civil suit. That was compounded on Monday as a series of blunders by his attorneys led to a denial of his ability to appeal the gag order in his civil fraud case in New York — which was only just reinstated after a brief suspension — ahead of the next hearing.
Legal expert Lisa Rubin walked through just what a disaster the day of legal argument was for the former president in a lengthy thread on X — complete with an analogy to the beloved 1995 teen comedy film "Clueless."
"A reflection on a weird afternoon in a New York appeals court: Does anyone remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character fails her driver’s license test miserably but asks whether there is someone above him with whom she can speak?" wrote Rubin. "The examiner’s response is, 'Girlie, as far as you are concerned, I am the messiah of the DMV.' I was reminded of that scene watching Team Trump in the clerk’s office today."
"Even with Trump’s testimony planned for 12/11, they did not appeal the 11/30 order until today, and even then, they did not get the procedure right, asking a single judge to essentially overrule a four-judge panel," wrote Rubin. "And when told repeatedly there was nothing they could do to expedite either of their two imagined avenues for relief before 12/11, they were visibly frustrated a la Clueless. Surely, you are not the last word on this, they seemed to suggest to the court attorney."
Ultimately, Trump's application was denied by Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels — the same judge who oversaw the appeals panel that reinstated the gag order in the first place.
"But the thrust of what the court attorney told the parties from the counter of the clerk’s office remained true: Without the consent of the AG’s office and given their own delay, there was no getting a hearing earlier than next Monday. As Cher might say, 'Oops. Their bad,'" wrote Rubin, providing a clip of the "Clueless" scene the whole experience reminded her of.