The following post is from attorney “It’s Michael Not Mike” submitted to the TreeHouse Tip Line:

In my opinion the money at issue, all or any part of it, is confidential, the issue is irrelevant, is an illegal inquiry, or this is all subject to the attorney/client privilege (so, for example, the Zimmermans were entitled to talk in “code” because they knew the calls were being recorded).
Bottom line first: This is simply an illegal inquiry by the Prosecutor, attorney Crump, et al., to inquire about otherwise privileged matters, and ultimately to stop the flow of attorneys’ fees to Zimmerman’s counsel.:
1) I do not believe DONATIONS (gifts) are legally considered Zimmerman assets. Nor are the monies assets/funds subject to disclosure to a Judge at a BAIL hearing, or any criminal court proceeding, but specifically where the ONLY matter being discussed is bail (the amount of bail is to assure defendant’s appearance. Bail is NOT punishment, a sanction, or a strategic device (e.g., to deny counsel and coerce a guilty plea).
Bonus Inquiry: Even if the donations/gifts are assets, did the State Attorney put into EVIDENCE what the Zimmermans did with the money? IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE ZIMMERMANS SPENT ALL OR PART OF IT, AND ON WHAT?
AFAIK the only EVIDENCE admitted was a cryptic telephone conversation about purportedly moving money around. Do Corey and Crump (I have no doubt Crump was a part of this) have any EVIDENCE that what the Zimmermans did was illegal, improper, or IN CONTRAVENTION TO A COURT ORDER? (The only relevant comment from the Judge I recall was when he said he was taking the PayPal donations issue under advisement and said (words to the effect):

 “I am not sure I have jurisdiction or authority over the PayPal donations.”

IMO, the Judge’s concern was valid, he DOES NOT have the jurisdiction in an unrelated criminal proceeding to dictate what a defendant does or does not do with monies received by “strangers.” He does NOT have the authority to inquire how much money was received, nor where the money is going, nor how it is spent. (See attorneys fees concern below.)
2) As gifts/donations the amounts were not certain or known, at least not by PayPal standards. For example, does anyone think that you could get a loan based on the rate of past donations? Heck no, because as we all know, the donations could slow to a snail’s pace tomorrow.
3) AFAIK PayPal does not simply transfer any money, much less those amounts, without first having people jump through a lot of hoops. Moreover, PayPal reserves the right to withhold transfer or payment, or seize the money, if it UNILATERALLY determines the money was illegally obtained or there are questions about it.
4) PayPal also reserves the right to put holds on transfers, and suspend or freeze an ENTIRE account if it has questions about any aspect of the money, or an account holder.
5) PayPal also requires people, especially on that amount of money, to fill out IRS forms, etc., before funds are transferred.
6) If just one person complains about a donation made, and wants the money back, PayPal opens a dispute file and FREEZES THE ENTIRE ACCOUNT. (IMO it is conceivable that someone from the State Prosecutor’s office or “Crump camp” could have donated, then complained to PayPal, with the intent of freezing the entire PayPal account.
7) There was still an agreement to be worked out between the attorneys and Zimmermans ,to the extent of how much of the money would go to pay for attorneys fees and costs. Attorneys usually want “all of it” and clients want to keep some of it.

8) A retainer agreement, fee rate, and amount of fees paid to an attorney are protected by the attorney/client privilege. The State and Crump’s Scheme Team have no business inquiring about any aspect of the attorney/client relationship, nor HOW they are being paid, how much, and when.
9) So arguably the Court’s, the State Attorney’s and Crump’s inquiries violate the attorney/client privilege between Zimmerman and his attorneys. When Zimmerman was talking to his wife, conversations he know were recorded, he may well have been trying to preserve these privileged matters.
10) The Court inquiring of any party or witness to reveal aspects of the attorney/client relationship or privileged matters would be a violation of the privilege. So asking about this money was improper (these issues are NOT relevant to a bail inquiry. Once Zimmerman’s counsel said that the donations would be used for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses, the Court cannot inquire further. Especially in light of the fact that many donors, myself included, said the money was for attorneys’ fees and living expenses.
11) And to the extent that the State Prosecutor and attorneys Crump, et al. are trying to coerce Zimmerman into pleading guilty, by taking away his ability to pay his attorneys, and deny him his right to counsel, well IMO those are additional acts that are part of the conspiracy against Zimmerman.
12) IMO the Judge previously admitted that there was an attorney/client, privacy aspect to all this, when he previously said on the record that he did not know if he had the authority to control or order what Zimmerman could do with the donations. To be sure, John Edwards just escaped criminal liability because the jury agreed that people who donate money to someone can dictate what they want done or not done with the money.
13) When I donated the three times to Zimmerman I specifically said the money could go to pay his legal expenses and/or his personal living expenses. The Judge does NOT have jurisdiction to tell me a) to donate or not; b) when to donate, or not; or c) order that Zimmerman cannot use the money as I, as gift giver, determined he could.
14) The bottom line is that the DONATIONS/GIFTS are none of anyone’s business. It is a matter between Zimmerman and me. (I duly note that Crump and the State argued previously that Zimmerman should be ordered to reveal the names and addresses of everyone who has donated money to Zimmerman. If that does not show an evil purpose, I don’t know what does.) After failing to get that court order, Corey and Crump came up with this plan, that at the minimum would subject the Zimmermans to scorn, ridicule and hatred, and at best coerce a guilty plea and set up Crump to make millions in case settlements from insurance companies and taxpayers.
15) I am curious just how deep this conspiracy against Zimmerman goes. For example, did attorneys Crump and Jackson beforehand talk to the prosecutor’s office about this motion. Did Crump see the pleading beforehand? Was actual strategy discussed? Did Crump have a good laugh with prosecutors over filing this motion? Just how much celebrating did Crump have with the prosecutors after they fooled the Judge into ordering Zimmerman’s re-arrest. And when did Crump prepare for his press conferences, where he was chortling to the media about Zimmerman’s re-arrest? Did he call Martin/Fulton and tell them “Something great is going to happen on Friday?”
16) Bonus Inquiry: Did the State Prosecutor introduce any EVIDENCE that Zimmerman was a flight risk, and that a higher bail was necessary to assure Zimmerman’s appearance?
That’s a rhetorical question. I know the answer. The Prosecutor did not introduce such evidence. IMO this PROVES that the Prosecutor and Crump had illegal purpose in filing the Motion. It is clear that they could care less about the purpose of bail, to assure defendant’s appearance. They simply want to deny Zimmerman the ability to pay for counsel to where the attorneys quit the case and Zimmerman is stuck with an incompetent public defender who will try to talk Zimmerman into accepting a plead deal.

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