# Manhattan Prosecutors file criminal charges for Trump re Stormy Daniels case - ongoing discussion here (Guilty on all 34 counts, May 30, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 9, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953 "2023-03-09T22:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 113
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2241 "2024-04-23T20:10:16Z")
[https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/trump-hush-money-trial-gag-order-contempt-00153154](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/trump-hush-money-trial-gag-order-contempt-00153154) ## Prosecutors say Trump violated his gag order 10 times. The judge is finally set to weigh in. _Justice Juan Merchan has scheduled a Tuesday hearing on prosecutors’ request to hold Trump in contempt. On Monday, Manhattan prosecutors [began trying to persuade a jury](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/trump-trial-opening-statements-takeaways-00153719) that Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felonies in his hush money case. On Tuesday, they’ll try to persuade the judge that he deserves a more immediate penalty: They want him held in contempt._ _The prosecutors say Trump has repeatedly violated a gag order that prohibits him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case. Justice Juan Merchan has scheduled a Tuesday morning hearing, outside the presence of the jury, to consider the prosecutors’ arguments._ We shall see. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2242 "2024-04-23T20:20:01Z")
This hearing already happened. There’s a good bit of discussion in the thread from earlier today. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2243 "2024-04-23T20:26:41Z")
from earlier today. todd blanche is in a bit of hot water. there was a point where merchan called blanche’s argument silly. Moving onto the post about the jury and Jesse Watters, Judge Juan Merchan asked: “Your client manipulated what was said and put it in quotes, am I right?” “I wouldn’t use the word manipulation your honor,” Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche responded. “But the rest of the quote was not part of the quote.” Merchan said that Trump’s post on the jury was not a repost. “This is something that was said on TV and your client had to type it out. He had to sit there, use quotation marks, the shift key and type every thing out and then add those additional words,” the judge said. Blanche acknowledged that Trump’s post about the jury was not a repost. “You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan told Blanche. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2244 "2024-04-23T20:28:02Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I was talking about Melania and the adult children. Ah, my misunderstanding; I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2245 "2024-04-23T20:32:18Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > “You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan told Blanche. I think this is what is referred to formally as an “OH SHIT” moment for the defense team. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2246 "2024-04-23T20:41:35Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I was talking about Melania and the adult children. Technically speaking, they are all adult children. (Barron is now 18.) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2247 "2024-04-23T20:43:47Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > An important test will be his rallies, which have apparently (and alarmingly) become something close to religious revival meetings. **If those start to shrink–lookout, Donny.** Already been happening. [**Trump’s Rallies Are Losing Their Luster as a Key Campaign Tool**](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-04-03/trump-s-rallies-are-losing-their-luster-as-a-key-campaign-tool) (Bloomberg, April 3, 2024) > **[Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Trump’s ‘Record Crowd’ Brag With 1 Video That Says It All](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-trump-crowd_n_65af6ce5e4b0d65b024db484)** > > The former president’s boast doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2248 "2024-04-23T20:46:48Z")
Nah, I bet Trump’s lawyer was flattered, after thinking all along that they had no credibility to begin with. We had some? High five! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2249 "2024-04-23T20:49:42Z")
BTW, the moment where Kimmel shows the crowd is at 12:00… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2250 "2024-04-23T21:03:29Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > This is interesting not just for this trial but the broader sense of what it means to get a jury of your peers. Just a reminder here that “a jury of one’s peers” isn’t even a thing in American law. It’s a purely British concept, and means that nobles will be tried by nobles and commoners by commoners. But here in the US, we’re all of us, even Presidents, commoners. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2251 "2024-04-23T21:06:22Z")
I think of it as “a jury of random adults who live nearby”. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2252 "2024-04-23T21:07:08Z")
…who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2253 "2024-04-23T21:09:04Z")
I am not so sure. See the US Supreme Court case: _[Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/476/79)_ That led to the Batson challenge which still exists today. > In 1986, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S. Ct. 1712 (1986), that peremptory challenges may NOT be used to discriminate against and eliminate potential jurors on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or religion. Doing so violates a criminal defendant’s right to Due Process of Law and Equal Protection under the United States Constitution. - [SOURCE](https://www.appealslawgroup.com/batson-challenge/) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2254 "2024-04-23T21:09:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Can anyone doubt that if Trump loses the election AND is convicted of one or more of the criminal charges against him, AND is clearly bankrupt at the end of that, they will all desert him? > > Yes, I doubt that. As long as he has a platform and an audience of angry white people, he’ll have influence. He may well lose _some_ of his people, he’ll likely never loose all of them. A number of people _believe_ in the religious sense, that he is there for THEM. How many? I’d guess something like 10-20% of the MAGA base, so 5ish % of the nation, will follow him into and beyond the grave. But even so, it’s not THIS case (re Stormy) that is going to be what breaks his followers. AFAICT, this is a pretty technical, legalese argument that isn’t going to move many minds. Does it put Trump in jeopardy? Make him look weak? Sure, but it doesn’t really have any bearing on his actions for/against the nation as far as most people (and certainly almost all Republicans) are concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2255 "2024-04-23T21:09:22Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > …who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty. Some of us don’t try to get out of jury duty. This is such a tired trope. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2256 "2024-04-23T21:09:41Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > …who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty. I really wish people would stop saying that. Not only is it tired and unfunny, it’s an insult for those of us who take time out of our lives to give back. Every single person on the two juries where I served were much more than smart enough to “get out” of jury duty. None of us wanted to be there. We did it anyway. (I have nothing against people with legitimate hardships not serving on juries) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2257 "2024-04-23T21:12:54Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Some of us don’t try to get out of jury duty. This is such a tired trope. Correct. I even volunteered for an entire year in the Civil Grand Jury. > [@hajario](#): > > I really wish people would stop saying that. Not only is it tired and unfunny, it’s an insult for those of us who take time out of our lives to give back. Every single person on the two juries where I served were much more than smart enough to “get out” of jury duty. None of us wanted to be there. We did it anyway. Right. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2258 "2024-04-23T21:16:31Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Some of us don’t try to get out of jury duty. This is such a tired trope. (This is an honest question) I believe in jury nullification. I’ve posted on this board about it more than once. Do I need to tell the judge? Is that me getting out of jury duty unfairly? Is it better if I keep that to myself and not tell them? ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2259 "2024-04-23T21:18:57Z")
This is asked out of pure ignorance and I’m really only looking for factual responses. Trump is charged with falsifying “business records”. **What _exactly_ are the business records in this case that Trump falsified.** Is it 34 different entries on a business ledger? Is multiple different things. What exactly is it? Please no guesses. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/2260 "2024-04-23T21:22:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I believe in jury nullification. I’ve posted on this board about it more than once. Do I need to tell the judge? Is that me getting out of jury duty unfairly? Is it better if I keep that to myself and not tell them? You are overcomplicating things. Just honestly answer the questions that they ask you [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953.md?page=112) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953.md?page=114)