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

Politics & Elections
3861

Yeah that was always going to be their main strategy. And the prosecution has been preparing for that the whole case, even during jury selection.

I also think some of their other lines of attack (particularly trying to claim the affair didn’t happen) will hurt the defense. So the jury just heard the defense claiming that Daniels made up the affair, a clearly ridiculous assertion, and they are mean meant to believe them when they say the same thing about Cohen (a much more believable assertion but still)

3862

The defense will probably say that Daniels and Cohen liars and lied because it made them money. Also even if they were telling the truth, there is no direct evidence that Donald ordered Cohen to do it.

3863

Absolutely, the defense (possibly due to Trump interference) is something of a clown show, but the strategy of trying to get under Cohen’s skin and/or poke holes in his narrative is not a bad one.

If they dropped that other stuff they’d probably have a much better defense in place.

It’s like being caught coming home after curfew. Arguing that the clock in the kitchen must be wrong just weakens your argument as to why you have a legitimate reason to be home late.

3864

per cnn update:

“Is it fair to say you are motivated by fame?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking Michael Cohen.

“No, sir. I don’t think that’s fair to say,” Cohen says.

“Is it fair to say you’re motivated by publicity?” Blanche follows up.

“I don’t know if that’s fair to say. I’m motivated by many things,” Cohen answers

The court is hearing more about Michael Cohen’s podcasts.

Todd Blanche asks him about his show on October 23, 2020, and if he said, “I truly f**king hope Donald Trump ends up in prison.”

“Sounds more like my language on Mea Culpa,” Cohen says, referring to the name of his podcast.

Blanche asks if Cohen was still serving his prison sentence while at his apartment in 2020.

“Condo,” Cohen says, correcting him.

Judge Juan Merchan, Blanche and Cohen are all wearing headphones while Trump now holds a headphone to his right ear and the other below his chin as they listen to the audio.

These are old, above-the-ear style black headphones, the kind you would see on a Walkman from the 1990s.

“I heard that, yes,” Cohen says after the audio finished.

Blanche also asked Cohen if he said on that episode that Trump “needs to wear handcuffs and to do the perp walk. People will not be satisfied until he’s sitting inside a cell.”

“I don’t recall saying that but I don’t put it past me,” Cohen said.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche is going through some of the insults Michael Cohen has said against Trump. Blanche asks if Cohen, speaking on his podcast, called Trump a “boorish cartoon misogynist.”

“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen says.

Blanche then asks if Cohen has called Trump a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.”

“That also sounds like something that I said,” Cohen says.

Michael Cohen’s manner is still very even. His voice is calm even when he and defense attorney Todd Blanche went back and forth.

Blanche asked Cohen if he loved being on TV, and Cohen asked whether he meant on behalf of President Trump or now.

rc: once again the cross is getting a bit scattershot.

another bench meeting.

3865

Humble? If there’s anything that could destroy Michael Cohen’s credibility, it’s calling Donald J. Trump “humble”.

3866

when you are in the cult, the leader is all things.

3867

Not to do too much of a hijack, but Trump does have the ability to act humble by poking fun at himself while praising others. It’s not the quiet, sincere kind of stoicism most people think of when using that term, but it is a form of humility.

It’s all crap because he’s a total narcissist but it’s one of the ways he knows how to charm people in his huckster way. I don’t find it unbelievable. Nor do I find Cohen’s complete 180 degree turn after leaving Trump’s inner circle and being tossed under the bus to be unbelievable either, and I hope the jury also doesn’t.

3868

from cnn updates:

Michael Cohen is explaining the terms of his home confinement, where he could spent three hours a day outside anywhere in the borough of Manhattan.

Cohen said he could go anywhere in Manhattan. Initially he wore an ankle bracelet but that turned into him carrying a cell phone.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons would track him via the phone and randomly call to check in on his whereabouts.

Cohen is still on supervised released, he said. Cohen has tried and failed many time to get that terminated early.

“I was looking for a reduction in the home confinement portion,” Cohen says, adding that in addition to his cooperation, he also wanted his work at Otisville to be credited.

Michael Cohen says he has never met Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in person.

now the questioning is getting into how much money he makes from his books.

Michael Cohen says he has made roughly $3.4 million in sales of his two books over the past four years.

The second book, “Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics” earned about $400,000, Cohen says.

His first book was “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump.”

In November 2021, Michael Cohen moved from home confinement to supervised release.

He explained in court that it was less stringent, checking in once a month and providing notice when leaving the state or the country.

Attorney Todd Blanche notes that in one of Michael Cohen’s books he refers to himself as a “fixer.”

In the book, Blanche says that Cohen writes: “You don’t understand why nobody will hold Donald Trump responsible?”

“Sounds correct yes,” Cohen says.

Blanche continues and asks, “Are you fixing things that you broke?”

“No sir,” Cohen says.

Michael Cohen is “perfect for Todd Blanche,” former Trump payroll corporation attorney William J. Brennan said as the defense cross-examines Trump’s former attorney.

“This witness is perfect for Todd Blanche. All the people second guessing each and every question, sit down, get your popcorn and let Mr. Blanche do his job,” Brennan said.

“The judge will charge this jury that if a witness has a bias or skin in the game, you take that testimony with caution,” Brennan added. “A witness is supposed to say, ‘they robbed the bank, they drove the car, it was blue and it was raining out.’ Not ‘I want him in jail.’”

Judge Juan Merchan says court is breaking for the day. The jury is now leaving

Trump whispered in his lawyer Todd Blanche’s ear as he sat back down at the defense table.

Todd Blanche says he still believes he will finish cross-examination by the end of the day on Thursday.

“If I finish it’s the end of the day I anticipate, your honor,” the attorney for Donald Trump says.

Judge Juan Merchan responds, “No rush, take your time, do what you need to do.”

Blanche also references their expert witness and asked the judge if they could discuss what is admissible in light of the judge’s pretrial rulings.

Merchan says he will take it up at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.

3869

We keep saying this, but I think it ignores human nature. It doesn’t matter if some of the excuses are contributory.

If the defense can plant several unrelated seeds of doubt in the jury’s mind, they can start to think “well, at least one of these is probably valid.” The jury doesn’t have to come up with a consistent reason to find him not guilty.

3870

of course now i am wondering, what expert witness? expert in what exactly?

3871

Ah, the Daily Trump Rant. The usual (gag order, Biden election interference, poll numbers, etc.), but it appears that he spent today composing it, as he’s reading off a page.

3872

perhaps that is the note habba sent up to the table.

3873

Now, he’s going on about “Biden migrant crime,” showing a picture of a guy (presumably a migrant) charged with killing a baby. Of course “they’re” (and he never specifies who “they” are) emptying their prisons and mental asylums, and sending the former inmates to the US.

There aren’t enough rolleyes smilies.

3874

Given their focus on Cohen’s phones could they have found an expert to “show” that the phones have been tampered with?

3875

ah, that does make sense. thanks griffin 1977.

3876

FWIW, I keep thinking that Trump lost this trial when they didn’t manage to keep the two attorneys off the jury.

Those two jurors understand the rules of evidence. They also understand ploys of misdirection. So long as the prosecution has well proved their case – and from everything I’m hearing, they have – the attorneys in the jury room are going to be able to walk any wavering jurors through why their concerns don’t apply.

I’m the first to say that anything can happen with a jury, but with that caveat, I think this trial is what is loftily referred to in the legal biz as a slam dunk. The only thing Trump may have on his side is a rogue juror who simply wants to ignore the overwhelming evidence. And that’s where I think the 2 attorney jurors will come into play, if the mythical rogue juror is even a thing in this case. In my experience, they are rare.

3877

On the other hand, I’d probably agree with “Some Pig”.

3878

Terrific. /s

3879

Did you not say that Donald Trump shits in his pants, and that his lawyers -strike that- that people sitting near him must bear the odor?
/s

3880

It’s not that they’re contributory, it’s that they’re contradictory. If you claim two or more mutually exclusive things, then you basically invalidate them all. Essentially, you have to ask, which of your claims is a lie?

Stormy Daniels never slept with Trump, she made it all up. He doesn’t even know her. But for some reason Michael Cohen sent her money on his own initiative while working for Trump without Trump knowing anything about it. And also, Trump was worried about Melania and the rest of his family being hurt if a made-up story from some woman he doesn’t know got out there, and that’s why the payment was made without his involvement.

This isn’t a right wing talk show trying to convince MAGA to get out to the polls. This is a courtroom. A Gish gallop isn’t going to work as well here.

I for one hope that they’re not that stupid, or that someone in that jury room can help explain the problem. As mentioned before, there are a couple of lawyers in the jury, that will probably help.