trump Archives - Mark Rubin

Special Masters

September 2, 2022

Special Masters

Mark Rubin

Former Guy wants a new shiny object: a Special Master! A what?

Special Masters

Judges appoint special masters to assist them with some part of a case. Their role depends on the case but every special master acts subject to the limits of the order appointing them. Always, the judge makes final decisions.

Let’s start here: We are dealing with criminal proceedings, albeit at an early stage. Nothing in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides for appointing a special master. But, federal and state courts believe judges have inherent authority to appoint a special master.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for appointing masters expressly in Rule 53. The rule provides for lots

Former Guy, special masters, trump

Law, The Rest of Everything

The Fifth Amendment and Former Guy (Trump)

August 12, 2022

Mark Rubin

The Fifth Amendment and Former Guy (Trump)

Donald J. Trump

My oh my! Former Guy appeared for a deposition – testimony under oath – on August 10, 2022. He relied on the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a basis for providing no substantive responses.

The Fifth Amendment

The relevant language in the constitutional amendment states: “No person … shall be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself … .” I don’t know what Former Guy said, in fact: Reporting suggests that he used the words “same answer” repeatedly. Generally, a witness who relies on the Fifth Amendment says, more or less, “I refuse to answer on the grounds that an answer may tend to

Donald J. Trump, Fifth Amendment, Former Guy, Merrick Garland, trump

The Rest of Everything

Trump and the Bankruptcies

January 26, 2016

Mark Rubin

There’s been some talk—not enough, in my humble opinion—about the Trump bankruptcies. Here are some basic facts.

First, bankruptcy laws are federal, and they’re found in Title 11 of the United States Code. The title includes nine chapters: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15. One through five apply to all bankruptcy filings.

Chapter 7 is a traditional or straight bankruptcy. The debtor gives up non-exempt property, if there is any, in return for which debts go away. It’s for poor people and corporations with no future prospects.

Chapter 9 is for municipalities. They’re uncommon, albeit less uncommon than they used to be, and my good friend and former partner Lowell Rothschild handled one of the

bankruptcy, chapter 11, trump

Law, The Rest of Everything

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