Upthread some, there was a little discussion about Trump farting in court, with some speculation that he was actually shitting. Apparently Michael Cohen tweeted and called Trump “DonaldvonShitzinPants.”
So true believers responded:
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Hicks on the stand. Paraphrased, “Strategy number one is deny, deny, deny.” Sounds about par for the course.
Talking about the Access Hollywood tape now. Apparently, it sent the campaign into “full panic mode.”
… and just saying that automatically translates into a “reality” that he didn’t do it. It just leaves me gobsmacked that people are so gullible.
I was wrong. They saw Trump’s immediate response to the tape.
From CNN, the Trump tweets that the jury saw:
The jury was shown multiple social media posts from Donald Trump after prosecutors played the statement Trump released on Twitter in response to the “Access Hollywood” tape, including:
They also were shown Truth Social posts from last year:
Media coverage of the Access Hollywood tape, paraphrased: “It knocked news of a Category 4 hurricane right out of the news cycle. For the next 36 hours, it was all Trump all the time.”
CNN interviewing Alyssa Farrah Griffin, former White House press secretary in the Trump administration. Apparently, Trump is a micromanager, who won’t let his staff release anything about him unless he approves it.
She says that Hicks is a very private person, preferring to stay in the background. After Trump’s presidency, Hicks largely retreated from Trump and the political world.
The CNN talking heads seem to be infatuated with HIcks and think the sun shines out her ass.
I suspect she is a snake, just like all the others. She just looks better. Amazing how these people fall for this shit.
This in itself is depressing.
You find it depressing, but the people of Alabama couldn’t have been more elated!
This fundamentally is why these trials are a very good thing. What CNN talking heads or MAGA mouth pieces, or anyone else says outside the courtroom does not goddamn matter in the slightest. The only thing that matters is whether the jury believe her.
whether she is a scumbag or not (spoiler alert: non scumbags do not work in the Trump administration) is irrelevant it only matters that she is a convincing witness.
It only sucks that this is likely the only trial we’ll see this year
I imagine that Hicks is a useful bridge between Cohen’s shenanigans and Donald’s activities. She was constantly in communication with donald, so she knows what his concerns were in the weeks leading up to the election (has Melania been mentioned at all?)
And as a reluctant prosecution witness, I imagine she becomes even more compelling for the jury, since she doesn’t seem to hold any grudges against donald. The defense probably won’t cross her too hard, either, since donald likes her. So her statements will resonate as truthful.
Hamberder time!
The YouTube channel LegalEagle has another good video out about this case:
(21 minutes)
The talking heads are saying that Hicks is unimpeachable because she was very loyal from beginning to end, was with him for one of the longest in that crazy revolving door, ended on good terms, is paying for her own lawyer and had lots of access.
There is an old quote about how long it takes the truth to put its pants on.
Court is reconvening. There are 90 minutes left for court today (2:15 pm to 3:45 pm EDT).
CNN is speculating that the prosecution plans to keep Hicks on the stand for the rest of the day. This way, the jury breaks for the weekend with Hicks’ testimony to the prosecution fresh in their minds, before the defense gets a chance at her.
Really? I thought the judge ruled earlier that the Access Hollywood tape would be too prejudicial to play in front of the jury, but that a transcript would be ok.
ETA: Never mind…I see this has been addressed and that the tape was not actually played in front of the jury.
I don’t know if the tape was played or not, but this is a good example of a pre-trial ruling that could get revised during trial as things shake out. It is not uncommon. ETA: almost all pretrial evidentiary rulings are tentative in nature, designed to give the parties guidance, but subject to revision.
I was wrong about that and corrected myself later.
Hope’s memory is suddenly getting foggy when she is asked to recall what Trump said to her about the affairs.