# Manhattan Prosecutors file criminal charges for Trump re Stormy Daniels case - ongoing discussion here (Guilty on all 34 counts, May 30, 2024)

**URL:** <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>\
**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:** 65

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**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 4:01pm 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-30-2024/980953/1281 "2024-04-14T16:01:31Z")

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Well said. That’s what I was clumsily trying to convey.

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**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 4:46pm 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-30-2024/980953/1282 "2024-04-14T16:46:02Z")

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> [@Moriarty](#):
>
> It doesn’t require the judge to recuse themselves from the case.

I was wrong then.

It does look like it will be difficult for Trump to engineer a mistrial. [Judge Merchan is worried about jury tampering](https://newrepublic.com/post/179655/trump-info-jury-first-criminal-trial) but is giving DJT the jurors’s names anyway. Is that a legal requirement?

Will Trump try to bribe a juror? High risk, high reward.

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**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 14, 2024, 5:01pm 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-30-2024/980953/1283 "2024-04-14T17:01:20Z")

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> [@PhillyGuy](#):
>
> Will Trump try to bribe a juror? High risk, high reward.

Threaten their family members is more his style.

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 5:34pm 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-30-2024/980953/1284 "2024-04-14T17:34:10Z")

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> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> > [@PhillyGuy](#):
> >
> > Will Trump try to bribe a juror? High risk, high reward.
> 
> Threaten their family members is more his style. &nbsp;

If you think in terms of “what would a Mob boss do?” it’s generally fairly predictive of what the Orange One will try.

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**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 5:36pm 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-30-2024/980953/1285 "2024-04-14T17:36:15Z")

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> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> It occurs to me that the worst possible scenario is that this is the only trial that concludes before the election, and the Orange One is found not guilty on whatever technicality.

Yep. Same here. The more complicated the charge, I fear the more likely a juror on the fence will flip a coin…

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 7:09pm 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-30-2024/980953/1286 "2024-04-14T19:09:47Z")

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I just assumed even if he’s found guilty, he’ll just tell his base he was found innocent. Just like that Mueller report totally exonerated him.  
Though, at the very least, ever since the Dominion suit, it does seem like Fox is slightly less enthusiastic to push lies for him. Pre-Dominion, I could see Fox reporting him as innocent regardless of the actual verdict. As much as they want him to get re-elected, I don’t think they want to get sued again.

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 9:52pm 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-30-2024/980953/1287 "2024-04-14T21:52:37Z")

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> [@PhillyGuy](#):
>
> It does look like it will be difficult for Trump to engineer a mistrial. [Judge Merchan is worried about jury tampering](https://newrepublic.com/post/179655/trump-info-jury-first-criminal-trial) but is giving DJT the jurors’s names anyway. Is that a legal requirement?
> 
> Will Trump try to bribe a juror? High risk, high reward.

W. T. F.

These people don’t need to be concerned about bribery. The need to fear for their lives.

You KNOW trump will release these names.

“Nice house you have here, it would be ashame if something happened to it”

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**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 14, 2024, 9:58pm 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-30-2024/980953/1288 "2024-04-14T21:58:46Z")

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Yeah. It’s insane that at this point, people still are unaware of who they’re dealing with.  
It’s like saying: “It’s OK if we provide Jeffrey Dahmer with a few dead bodies. What’s he going to do, fucking eat them?”

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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 11:05pm 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-30-2024/980953/1289 "2024-04-14T23:05:31Z")

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“Why won’t you tell us who’s on the jury? Are they all Deep State plants?”

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 12:09am 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-30-2024/980953/1290 "2024-04-15T00:09:36Z")

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deleted

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:52am 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-30-2024/980953/1291 "2024-04-15T02:52:08Z")

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> [@enipla](#):
>
> These people don’t need to be concerned about bribery. The need to fear for their lives.
> 
> You KNOW trump will release these names.
> 
> “Nice house you have here, it would be ashame if something happened to it”

That is simply insane.

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**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:15am 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-30-2024/980953/1292 "2024-04-15T03:15:52Z")

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> [@bengangmo](#):
>
> Is there anything Trump can do that will cause a mistrial?  
> The calculus being that he then dares the judge to meangingfully sanctuon him (jail) before the election

No, fundamentally If there was some combination of petulant complaints and attempting to delay your trial that would manage to engineer a mistrial then every accused facing a long sentence would do that. That kind of BS can work, to a degree in a civil trial (and Trump himself has successfully managed it to a degree in the past, hence why he is trying it on) but it doesn’t fly in a criminal trial.

True, he is not being treated exactly the same as any other criminal dependent, but he’s not being treated that differently (he is actually fairly good at skirting close enough to he line of contempt of court without crossing it)

What I wonder is what sanctions a judge has IRL. In movies judges seem just hand out contempt convictions instantly at a drop of a hat. In real life when the judge has enough of his antics can he just bang his hammer and send him to prison for the weekend?

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**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 4:11am 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-30-2024/980953/1293 "2024-04-15T04:11:42Z")

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One thing I found interesting about jury selection in New York (though this was a civil case I was selected for) if I’m remembering correctly was that the judge went back to his chambers and the lawyers ran voir dire. Somehow a Trump lawyer with no supervision sounds like a fiasco waiting to happen.

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 11:24am 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-30-2024/980953/1294 "2024-04-15T11:24:11Z")

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> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> That is simply insane.

My comment is insane? Or that these people don’t have anonymity is insane?

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:04pm 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-30-2024/980953/1295 "2024-04-15T15:04:14Z")

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And we’re off! The judge so far has:  
-Rejected Trump’s demand that he recuse himself for being the dad of someone who doesn’t like Trump;  
-Rejected Trump’s motion to change an “unfair” jury questionnaire (it apparently asks whether the prospective juror has worked on Trump’s campaign)  
-Ruled that the trial can be paused for various high school graduation events (including Barron Trump’s) only if the trial is going on schedule (I’m reading that as, “keep up your delaying tactics and miss graduation, buddy”)  
-Ruled that jurors can hear about the National Enquirer meeting  
-Ruled that jurors can hear about Trump’s previous affair with a Playboy model, but not that his wife was pregnant at the time.

This judge is keeping things rolling right along, it sounds like.

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**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 15, 2024, 3:14pm 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-30-2024/980953/1296 "2024-04-15T15:14:25Z")

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The judge disallowed the Access Hollywood tape to be played and accusations of sexual assault from three potential witnesses

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:21pm 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-30-2024/980953/1297 "2024-04-15T15:21:51Z")

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> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> -Ruled that the trial can be paused for various high school graduation events (including Barron Trump’s) only if the trial is going on schedule (I’m reading that as, “keep up your delaying tactics and miss graduation, buddy”)

Was that an unsolicited ruling or was it a response? I could certainly see Trump using Barron’s graduation as a way to get out of court for a day, I’m just surprised he thought of it a month+ early instead of the night before. In either case, I kinda like the ‘you can have the day off as long as you behave up until then’ ruling. In fact, I’d like to see the judge take it even further that if the trial starts falling behind schedule due to Trump’s delay tactics, however that would be defined\*, that all further frivolous (again, however that would be defined) requests would be automatically denied.  
IOW, behave and I’ll work with you a little to make sure you can still get to a few rallies or go golfing, but fuck around and find out.

\*I say ‘however that would be defined’ because he’s going to have to walk a fine line of making sure he’s not punishing trump for actual legitimate reasons he might request a delay.

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:23pm 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-30-2024/980953/1298 "2024-04-15T15:23:33Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> The judge disallowed the Access Hollywood tape to be played and accusations of sexual assault from three potential witnesses

That makes sense, right? That wouldn’t really have anything to do with the case. How he treats women is unrelated to falsifying business records to pay someone off. Right?

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:25pm 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-30-2024/980953/1299 "2024-04-15T15:25:49Z")

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If he was paying off someone he assaulted, it might be relevant. But Daniels was a willing [sic] participant in the act, so it’s not.

ETA: Eh, I should have said “consenting”, but I’ll leave it.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:26pm 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-30-2024/980953/1300 "2024-04-15T15:26:59Z")

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> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> That makes sense, right? That wouldn’t really have anything to do with the case. How he treats women is unrelated to falsifying business records to pay someone off. Right?

According to WaPo,

> [@](#):
>
> Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass had argued that his team should be allowed to mention, in general terms, those allegations to the jury, to show how Trump reacted to them.
> 
> Trump “became almost obsessed with addressing these allegations,” Steinglass said, and he worried that such accusations would hurt him with women voters.
> 
> “This is really the key, specifically with female voters,” Steinglass argued.

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