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

so far just this:

Prosecutors are seeking to play a clip of an interview Trump gave to late CNN host Larry King in 1999 in which he discussed his familiarity with campaign finance laws.

i found this:
Transcript: Donald Trump announces plans to form presidential exploratory committee - October 8, 1999 (cnn.com)

If my memory serves, this interview was one where Trump made some bombastic statement like “No one knows more about campaign finance than me.”

found it! from the transcript i posted above:

KING: How about campaign-finance reform?

TRUMP: I think nobody knows more about campaign finance that I do, because I’m the biggest contributor.

that is all he said about it. i can understand why the judge denied this one. really a nothing berder.

exactly what cardigan stated.

from cnn updates:

The texts that are being read have now moved into October 2016, when Stormy Daniels’ former publicist Gina Rodriguez tells then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard that Daniels is willing to confirm her story on the record.

On October 8, 2016, Rodriguez texted: “Stormy Daniels and Trump with her [REDACTED LINES] is up on the Dirty and Fox News has been calling Stormy has not confirmed or spoken are you interested?”

Howard asks Rodriguez to email him the pitch so he can elevate it to then-CEO David Pecker. “He likely will pay,” Howard texts, with Rodriguez writing, “250k.”

A series of text messages between Stormy Daniels’ then-publicist Gina Rodriguez and former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard regarding their negotiations for Daniels’ story were introduced to jurors today.

Here are those messages:

Howard: “I can get 100”
Rodriguez: “Lol”
Rodriguez: “Ok what about 150”
Howard: “110”
Rodriguez: “125k”
Howard: “lol”
Howard: “120”
Rodriguez: “Sold”

Prosecutors have wrapped up their questioning of Georgia Longstreet. Defense attorney Todd Blanche is now up.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche starts his cross-examination by asking Georgia Longstreet if she has continued to review social media, such as Michael Cohen’s TikTok from several days ago.

Prosecution objects, and Judge Juan Merchan overrules.

Longstreet says she has not reviewed his TikTok account recently.

ms longstreet is off the stand on to:

The next witness is Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, who is another paralegal from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Jarmel-Schneider was tasked on this case with analyzing phone records, including the AT&T and Verizon records introduced earlier today.

He reviewed reports on Michael Cohen’s phones.

Jaden Jarmel-Schneider prepared a report to show which phone numbers were associated with which people and where the phone numbers show up in evidence.

The report is being shown to the jury.

I appreciate the prosecutor being thorough, but it confuses me when attorneys fail to appreciate overkill. If you have a really clear, well supported position, recognize and omit the extraneous stuff. I feel such a shotgun approach detracts from the persuasiveness of the main argument. JMO.

My negative comments about Necheles’ competence in my post are based on her going on and on about the “orange turd” and the way she tried to put words in Clifford/Daniels mouth and got called out on it. It made her look foolish in my opinion.

Again, this could be a result of Necheles doing what DJT wanted rather than what a competent lawyer knows to be the best strategy.

cnn update:

Paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider said he identified an incoming call to Michael Cohen’s phone at the same time that his recording ended.

For context: Prosecutors have said that Cohen’s recording of his conversation with Doanld Trump about the Karen McDougal payment was cut off by an incoming call. Trump attorney Emil Bove on cross-examination of the computer forensics expert from the district attorney’s office suggested that there was no incoming call.

Trump attorney Emil Bove objects to the next exhibit prosecutors want to introduce. The lawyers sidebar following Bove’s objection.

The next exhibit is a summary chart of vouchers, checks and ledger entries, according to reporters in the courtroom.

The jury is now seeing a summary chart of the the 34 business records that prosecutors allege have been falsified.

This includes 11 invoices, 12 vouchers and 11 checks.

Each respective invoice, voucher or check in the demonstrative exhibit has a corresponding count number to spell out the indictment for the jury.

Most of the jurors are looking at their screens as the document is displayed.

The summary chart shows the 34 business records prosecutors allege have been falsified.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove is now questioning district attorney office paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove began by asking paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider whether the work he prepared took a lot of time.

“At times, tedious work?” Bove asked.

“Honestly, I kind of enjoyed it,” Jarmel-Schneider responds, prompting laugher in the courtroom. Several jurors laughed, too.

“I hear that, respect,” Bove says.

i believe the majority of what happened yest. was what trump wanted and not what his lawyers thought was best practices.

I suspect the defendant didn’t like that last bit of friendly banter by his attorney.

I don’t disagree. I think Daniels absolutely “won” that exchange, among others, based on what I read.

My point was a little broader. I think reading the CNN updates that Rocking Chair is posting and other commentary in this thread might give a reader the impression that Trump’s lawyers here are at the same level as Alina Habba in the recent defamation trial (i.e. largely incompetent). That is not the impression I get from reading the NY Times live updates. They are coming across as more effective, though possibly hamstrung by their client as you and others suggest.

It’s not Prosecution: 100, Defense: 0 from my reading, to use a scoring analogy.

I had a look at a right-wing message board. Over there, she’s referred to as a “porn bimbo,” which I infer is not a name that is intended to reflect well on her intelligence or ability to think quickly.

Interestingly, there is a retired criminal lawyer over there. He’s pretty neutral, and is calmly explaining what is happening, why certain questions are being asked, what he thinks the best approach would have been (e.g. the defense agreeing to stipulate to the Trump-Daniels fling), and so on. He explains everything, just as our American lawyers do here.

And he’s got the patience of a saint, because the other posters there are calling him wrong.

Prosecution says only two more witnesses to be called. Cohen obviously and maybe Conway? They expect to be done before the end of the week.

I would agree. I don’t think Trump’s lawyers in this case have demonstrated a level of incompetence as seen by Alina Habba. They seem to understand fundamentals such as how to behave in court or introduce evidence. They are not bombing so hard as Habba did, but I marvel at how terrible Trump does any time he has a case tried.

Cue Trump complaining about how quickly the trial is coming to an end (I know the defense gets to present their case).

cnn update:

Defense attorney Emil Bove is challenging the evidence prosecutors are putting forward, asking paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider about the deletion of some toll records between Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen after the defense submitted recordings between the two from 2018.

The paralegal has admitted that they’ve deleted some call records from the files. Bove also has Jarmel-Schneider confirm that some calls were removed from an exhibit of calls between Gina Rodriguez and Dylan Howard.

Bove said it was three-pages worth of records.

Jarmel-Schneider took issue with Bove characterizing it as a “significant” number but he did acknowledge some were removed.

“At this trial, you’re sort of the guardian of the toll records?” Bove asks.
“I don’t know if I’d say that, but if you say so,” Jarmel-Schneider responds.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy is asking Jaden Jarmel-Schneider about why the summary charts were shortened.

The paralegal said that the calls that were cut from the summary charts are still in evidence elsewhere. He said they were trimmed from the summary exhibit: “My understanding is the decision was always going to be that we would admit the part of the call summaries related to what had come out in trial.”

The prosecution just finished with witness testimony for today.

As Judge Juan Merchan read his lengthy instructions to the jury about avoiding news coverage and discussing the case, Trump was in a full conversation with Bove.

Merchan paused and said to them, “You done?”

They stopped talking and looked at him. Merchan then continued.

the jury has left.

Judge Juan Merchan is asking about scheduling.

“We expect to call two witnesses,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says. “And I think it’s entirely possible we will rest by the end of next week.”

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says they want to submit Allen Weisselberg’s severance agreement from the Trump Organization into evidence. The defense objects.

“He is an uncalled government witness,” Trump attorney Emil Bove says of Weisselberg, saying the prosecution’s theory is that he conspired with Cohen and gave instructions to McConney.

“Mr. Weisselberg’s absence from this trial is a very complicated issue,” Bove says.

Defense attorney Emil Bove said they’ll likely need an instruction for the jury about uncalled witnesses on both sides. It is unclear if Donald Trump will testify.

“Mr. (Allen) Weisselberg is in prison right now and not available to anyone,” Bove said.

Bove also said the severance agreement is unduly prejudicial. He argued there would be “undue prejudice” to the jury to admit the severance agreement, saying it’s “unduly confusing” because Weisselberg is in prison.

“If either side tried to call him he would likely invoke” his Fifth Amendment, Bove said.

“We don’t think it’s relevant that he entered into this agreement after the fact,” Bove also said.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy weighed in, saying, “What we are looking to do is explain from our perspective why he’s not here.”

"Mr. Weisselberg’s interest are “aligned with the defendant’s,” Conroy said.

The agreement includes provisions for Weisselberg not to disparage the company or its officers and employees, Conroy said.

Conroy said he imagines the defense will make arguments about “whether he should’ve been here and what him not being here means.”

Judge Juan Merchan asks if anyone has attempted to compel Allen Weisselberg’s testimony.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says they have not.

“I think it would be helpful to me in making my decision, if I could see that some efforts were taken to compel his appearance,” Merchan says.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now moving on to ask that the judge put a gag order in place so Michael Cohen cannot speak publicly about the case.

Blanche points to the TikTok Cohen posted this week wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of Trump behind bars. He’s also asking for the judge to order the prosecution to instruct the witness not to talk about this case.

Cohen is expected to begin his testimony on Monday.

Judge Juan Merchan suggests prosecutors could bring in Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to take the stand outside the presence of the jury and see if he would testify or assert the Fifth Amendment.

“Right now, we’re speculating,” Merchan said.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now moving on to ask that the judge put a gag order in place so Michael Cohen cannot speak publicly about the case.

Blanche points to the TikTok Cohen posted this week wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of Trump behind bars. He’s also asking for the judge to order the prosecution to instruct the witness not to talk about this case.

Cohen is expected to begin his testimony on Monday.

Trump attorney Todd Blance is asking Judge Juan Merchan to order the prosecution to instruct Michael Cohen, who is expected to begin testifying Monday, not to talk about this case.

The defense team is asking “the court order the government to instruct the witness to not talk about President Trump or this case until the case is over,” Blanche says.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass responds saying they have “no control” over what witnesses do.

“We have repeatedly — repeatedly — asked the witnesses not to do that,” he says, adding prosecutors “have repeatedly instructed all of the witnesses in this case to the extent we have control over it.”

Trump has turned to leave, papers in hand.

When walking out, he motioned for Jeannine Pirro to follow him. She’s still sitting in her seat in the press gallery.

trump is doing his usual thing about the judge and gag orders.

The irony, is it lost on them?
Well, Trump anyways. I’m sure the lawyers are well aware of how stupid that sounds after they’ve spent weeks complaining about Trump being gagged for things that are arguably a lot more serious. Cohen isn’t going to encourage anyone to harm Trump or his family and the jury really shouldn’t be exposed to anything he posts to social media over the weekend anyway.

But I wish Cohen and Daniels would stop publicly insulting Trump while the case in still ongoing. Their comments, while understandable, do not help the prosecution.

Agreed. For the sake of the prosecution, yes, I wish they’d stop. But Trump’s team is in no position to request it.
I wonder if either of them, or anyone else for that matter, is going to need some type of restraining order after this is done. No matter how it ends, Trump is going to unleash the mobs on them as soon as the gag order is gone.

I really like Merchan. He seems like an excellent judge. Far better than I could be. It would be hard for me to stay that neutral with defendants like Trump.

Seems to be the type of judge we hope/wish/assume all judges to be. And what the country’s founders assumed judges would be.