NY: Trump on Trial!

[emailking]

So hopefully on Monday then he'll finalize an April 15 trial date, which I think was tentative.

[emailking]

2 weeks till the eclipse and 3 weeks until Trump's first trial.

[emailking]

Great decisions today by Judge Merchan!

Trump went after the guy's daughter today. What a ******.

[emailking]

Whatever it is, it is not election interference, because the election was over by the time Trump falsified his business records.

It doesn't matter. The payoff and silencing occurred before the election, when it could have made a difference in the election, and he presumably was planning at that time to later cover it up by falsifying his business records. It's an election interference case.

[emailking]

I don't care if you think it's valid. I'm making it.

[emailking]

You might be right about what theories the DA will be allowed to argue and whether Trump will be acquitted or not, but I see nothing wrong with calling it an election interference case (informally, if you want to insist on that) when the whole sequence of events was intended to illegally influence the election, regardless of the temporal sequence of events.

What was the alternative, not covering it up? Then we'd all know what he did. He wouldn't have done it in the first place if he thought he would get caught.

[emailking]

Yes I agree with that of course, but I'm saying he would not have done it in the first place if he knew we would find out. Hence his motivation for covering it up even after he won. He really didn't want anyone to know.

[emailking]

He will claim that he didn't really think about it.

Unless that's going to be under oath it doesn't matter to the case in the courtroom what he will claim. And it doesn't matter to me personally what he will claim because I don't believe anything he says.

[emailking]

I believe the daughter isn't actually covered by the gag order. Which is why he's only attacking the judge and her now.

[emailking]

If the DA believes Trump committed election interference under NY state law, why isn't he charged with election interference in the indictment?

The DA may not believe he committed election interference under NY state law. The DA may believe he committed election interference under NY state law but may think there is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did. The DA may believe he committed election interference under NY state law and think there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did but may think a jury will not be convinced that there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did. The DA may believe he committed election interference but is using his prosecutorial discretion to charge what he believes is his strongest case so as not to overcharge. It's probably 1 of those.

[emailking]

I'm not clear he is going to assert election interference as the underlying crime. In fact, I thought he wasn't doing that.

[emailking]

Apparently, the judge's daughter had a picture of Trump behind bars in her twitter account,

The court said it's not her account, that she deleted her account and then someone scooped up the screename and posted that pic.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4561622-trump-attacks-on-judges-daughter-based-on-fake-account-court/

[emailking]

The DA is asking the judge to clarify if the gag applies to family members of the judge and of the DA.

[emailking]

I've heard what he is doing could constitute 4th degree stalking under NY law, but it would be up to the daughter to take action there.

[emailking]

A nice April Fool's joke from Andrew Weissmann, he got me! lol

https://twitter.com/AWeissmann_/status/1774767883316285865

[emailking]

She would be covered by the gag order as a witness I think.

[emailking]

The judge has expanded the gag order to include family of court staff and the DA's office in the election interference case.

I'm sure Bruce will be along with all the legal X posts shortly but for now I'm breaking the news.

Woohoo! I'm going to celebrate with leftover mini eggs now.

[emailking]

I'm proud of the judge for doing the right thing, upholding the rule of law, and silencing these baseless, incessant, and dangerous attacks on an innocent woman.

[emailking]

I assume the reason it's a compelling disadvantage because they can't research them. (Although I'm not sure if it's just Trump or the defense team that would be denied the names.) That could affect how they tailor their presentation. Trump can't threaten the jurors from a practical perspective. It's one of the few grounds the prosecution can use to appeal an acquittal.

[emailking]

I am also confident that they can find 12+ Manhattanites who can set aside what they know about Trump and what they know about this case to judge his guilt or lack thereof solely based on the evidence presented at trial. Most jurors take the job seriously, feel the gravity of the moment, and rise to the occasion.

[emailking]

I am also confident that they can find 12+ Manhattanites who can set aside what they know about Trump and what they know about this case to judge his guilt or lack thereof solely based on the evidence presented at trial. Most jurors take the job seriously, feel the gravity of the moment, and rise to the occasion.

Absolutely not. Jurors are forces of darkness, making decisions on what will be totally unknowable and oftentimes irrelevant criteria. No matter how good or bad a case is, nobody can be sure what the forces of darkness will care about or how they will act when they get their hands on it. That, as much as any other reason, is why so many cases resolve in plea deals.

Well I don't agree with you. I believe they rise to the occasion.

Moreover, what verdict they come up with, and the litigants' lack of foreknowledge, has nothing to do with whether the jurors properly did their job or not.

[emailking]

Judge just denied Trump's immunity claim (to strike evidence Trump claims is connected to official acts he took as President), says it's too late to litigate that at this point.

This is separate from his claim of immunity from prosecution which he lost and then elected to stop appealing (because it would present conflicting arguments with his 14th Amendment cases).

[emailking]

I'm not sure there's anything he can do since the judge has now stated he sees these last minute efforts as disingenuous. I think the judge has to approve the attorneys leaving the case so maybe even that wouldn't work. I think he will keep trying things though because it diverts the prosecution's attention away from the case when it has to respond to all these filings.

[emailking]

I'm not sure there's anything he can do since the judge has now stated he sees these last minute efforts as disingenuous. I think the judge has to approve the attorneys leaving the case so maybe even that wouldn't work. I think he will keep trying things though because it diverts the prosecution's attention away from the case when it has to respond to all these filings.

This case is a joke and should be thrown out and I say this as somebody who loathes Trump and wishes he'd just kick the bucket already. The fact that this judge hasn't tossed this case proves that he's a hack because any legitimate honest judge would've dismissed it.

Trump's best strategy is to delay. He's not getting a fair trial in Manhattan. He could try and fire his lawyers and if that doesn't work, feign illness. I do wonder what would happen if he just hunkered down in Mar-a-Lago and refused to show up? New York courts have zero jurisdiction over Florida and DeSantis could block any extradition requests.

Perhaps GOP governors could come together and economically boycott New York state until the case is dropped (i.e bar official travel, prohibit trade, ban flights, etc?)

DeSantis can't legally block an extradition request if it comes from Hochul. He would be violating Florida law if it was properly submitted and he refused to sign off.

[emailking]

You sound like Trump's TS feed.