Prosecutors in Trump’s #criminal trial say he has violated a #GagOrder barring him from attacking #witnesses, #jurors & others close to the case. Testimony is set to resume later Tuesday morning.
The #jury won’t be present for the arguments over the #GagOrder, so it will be interesting to watch how #Trump behaves w/ them out of the courtroom. Yesterday, in their presence, he largely sat silent and occasionally shook his head when he disagreed with the prosecutors. But this morning, when the jury is not here and he is confronted with his own words, I expect he will get more animated.
Prosecutors asked early last wk for #Trump to be held in #contempt. At that time, Judge #Merchan scheduled the hearing for today.
Merchan has only admonished TFG once so far—for muttering & gesturing in front of a prospective juror about her social media posts & responses during voir dire.
#Security removed a member of the public from the overflow room. The man was verbally sparring w/officers for some time, first complaining he wasn't allowed access to the main court room. (access is first-come first-served). Then he tried insisting on being allowed to stand at the back of the courtroom.
"This is not fair," he kept saying. He was ultimately asked to leave.
Prosecutor, Chris Conroy, details DA’s #GagOrder argument.
He says 10 #Trump posts violated the order.
8 were on TruthSocial.
2 were on his ofcl campaign website.
#Conroy argues these violations pose a very real#threat to proceedings, & have an "undertow" effect on #witnesses, making them afraid. He says witnesses, "rightly fear being subject to similar vitriol."
Conroy says Trump's attacks on #MichaelCohen in courtroom hallway yesterday again violated the order.
#Conroy notes that a 2nd order was needed after #Trump "ratcheted up attacks on family members."
Conroy goes through Trump's alleged #GagOrder violations, including one in which he thanked #StormyDaniels's disgraced lawyer, Michael #Avenatti, for criticizing #MichaelCohen. Conroy also describes how Trump called #Cohen & Daniels "sleazebags."
#Conroy is now describing 5 more examples, all versions of essentially the same post, in which Trump shared a NewYorkPost article about #MichaelCohen & quoted its headline: "A serial perjurer will try to prove an old misdemeanor against #Trump in an embarrassment for the NewYork legal system."
#Conroy says #Trump violated the #GagOrder when on Truth Social, he quoted #FauxNews commentator #JesseWatters characterization of prospective jurors as “undercover liberal activists." Prosecutors flagged this as the most serious of the violations & Conroy now says it’s “very troubling."
Conroy points to the timing, last Wed evening. The next morning, Juror2 asked to be excused, upsetting Justice #Merchan. He complimented the #juror after excusing her, saying she would have done a good job. #law
#Conroy says that #Trump “violates the order when he posts about known #witnesses or reasonably forseeable witnesses,” & “violates the order when he posts about a #juror or prospective juror.”
Throwing a "#MAGA" into a post doesn't make it #political, Conroy says, dismissing the idea that Trump's comments fall under the category of protected political speech. It may, in fact, make it more ominous, Conroy adds.
#Conroy is talking about #Trump seeking to use #politics as a defense, saying it "makes no sense," eviscerating the clear language & meaning of the #GagOrder. "There's no indication that his claim that he's responding to attacks is anything more than an after-the-fact justification," Conroy says.
"He knows about the order, he knows what he's not allowed to do, & he does it anyway," Conroy says, adding: "It's #willful."
Todd Blanche, one of Trump's lawyers, is responding for the #defense. He says #Trump knows what the #GagOrder allows him & there was "no #willful violation" of it.
He again argues, as he did in his opening statement, that there's nothing to see here.
#Blanche is arguing that nothing can be seen devoid of #political context when it comes to Trump.
[reminiscent of seal team 6 can assassinate political rivals argument]
#Blanche is trying to get #Trump out of hot water by reframing Trump's statements about #MichaelCohen & #StormyDaniels as responses to "a barrage of political attacks."
#Merchan says he doesn't want to get into "interpreting & reading between the lines" of Trump's posts as Blanche continues to push the point that Trump's attacks are #political, & not specifically related to the case, despite being about #witnesses.
#Blanche says that a post from Michael #Avenatti, which caused #Trump to launch into an attack on StormyDaniels & MichaelCohen, was a political argument, about speech not in the case but on social media & in interviews.
I guess, Blanche is saying, Trump's response is not an attack on #witnesses but a continuation of a political discussion.
The #legal & #political strategies by the Trump #law team have always been intertwined.
Justice #Merchan is basically taking on, one by one, #Trump's strategies via social media.
One is constantly claiming something was "just found." Here, the subj was #StormyDaniels' 2018 statement denying having had a sexual encounter w/Trump, which she has since disavowed. "LOOK WHAT WAS JUST FOUND!" Trump said in an April 10 Truth Social post.
“I need to know what is true," Justice Merchan says.
The judge loses patience w/ #Blanche, "I'm asking the questions, OK," he says. "Im going to decide whether your client is in #contempt or not, so please don't turn it around." Blanche says in a higher-pitched voice that the prosecutors got as much time as they want.
Justice #Merchan makes a distinction, saying the prosecutors were answering his questions.
During the scold, #Trump turned to another one of his lawyers, Emil Bove, & whispered a comment.
Interesting throughline between #Blanche's argument that there’s distance between #Trump & his own reposts & the prosecution's argument against Trump, which is that he repeatedly used others - #MichaelCohen, The #NationalEnquirer - to do his dirty work.
This line of questioning highlighted a longtime Twitter catchphrase - that “retweets do not equal endorsements."
#Merchan repeatedly pushed #Blanche to clarify, only to have Blanche deny he said what he said. #Trump was lucky #jurors weren’t there.
"You've presented nothing," Merchan said to Blanche, & that was after he’d been presenting his argument for ~20 mins.
Trump grew more animated when Merchan pushed back on Blanche.
Several occasions when the judge was speaking, Trump turned to his other lawyers at the defense table & whispered to them.
"Your client manipulated what was said & put it in quotes," Merchan said. Blanche agreed that it wasn’t a true repost, but argued that it still wasn’t clear that it violated the #GagOrder. [sure]
Merchan wanted to conclude at that point, but Blanche continued arguing, “This gag order we are trying to comply w/it,” he said.
Took me some hunting to look up the exact word, but this seems a close relative of the rhetorical gambit of "apophasis" wherein one brings up a topic but insists it shouldn't be brought up
"As a rhetorical device, it can serve various purposes, often dependent on the relationship of the speaker to the addressee and the extent of their shared knowledge. Apophasis is rarely literal; instead, it conveys meaning through implications that may depend on this context."
You see a lot of this hidden behind the phrases "many people are saying" or "just asking questions" which Trump uses a lot
When #Blanche said #Trump is trying to follow the rules, Merchan interrupted, "You're losing all credibility with the court.” (Yikes, it’s really lucky for Trump jurors weren’t there)
Blanche is in jeopardy of ruining his relationship w/ Merchan at the very start of the trial.
Merchan all but pleaded w/Blanche to make a more substantive argument, "I hate to keep coming back to this, but you’re not offering anything to support your argument.”
While court was on break, #Trump complained about the #GagOrder on TruthSocial. In all-caps he accused Justice #Merchan of taking away his "right to free speech" & claimed that he was "not allowed to defend myself."
[🤬]
Trump, already dealing w/the repercussions of the hearing when he returned to the courtroom, reporters asked him whether he thought #Blanche had any credibility & if he was happy w/his performance.
He didn't respond.
Given Justice #Merchan's disbelief at #Blanche's argument that some of #Trump's posts did not violate the #GagOrder because they were reposts, it's worth remembering that Blanche pressed a prospective juror last week about social media posts that were critical of Trump. The prospective juror explained that the posts were actually reposts. "Did you watch this before you posted it?" Justice Merchan asked, before excusing the prospective juror.
#Pecker specifically said he was introduced to him through Nick Ribis, then a casinos exec for #Trump &, until the early 2000s, one of his long-serving lawyers.
When Pecker ID’d Trump, he lifted his head & smiled tightly.
#Steinglass asked about "The Apprentice," which Pecker called "an instant success."
#Pecker said that he's had "a great relationship w/ Mr. Trump over the years," & that he launched a magazine w/him called #Trump Style. When he proposed the magazine, Pecker says, Trump's biggest question was, "Who's going to pay for it?"
Pecker never did say who paid for it.
Prosecutors situated Pecker in Trump's orbit before the jury. He didn’t come across as a combative witness, but as a fan, friend & ally of Trump.
#Pecker said he came to consider #Trump a friend, including in 2016. "I would call him Donald," Pecker said.
Pecker described a symbiotic relationship between Trump & The #NationalEnquirer centered in part around "The Apprentice."
Pecker said that Trump would tip him off first as to who was going to be fired - "or eliminated," as Pecker put it - from the show, & NE would write about it.
#Trump's history of tipping off #tabloids about his life was a known fact well before TheApprentice.
"He was very cautious & very frugal, #Pecker said of Trump's approach to #money.
Testimony from Pecker that establishes Trump's track record of keeping a close eye on his #finances - “almost a micromanager," Pecker said - will help prosecution prove that Trump falsified #HushMoney records to cover up a sex scandal to influence the 2016 election.
#Pecker described what he called his 1st meeting w/ #MichaelCohen, in 2007. He said #Trump introduced them at his office, & he was told to route all communications to Trump through Cohen.
#Steinglass then asked him to clarify: it was their 2nd meeting, they met yrs earlier at a bar mitzvah.
Pecker said after Trump announced he was running for president, his conversations w/Cohen became more frequent. They would check in weekly, even daily, if they had active issue to discuss.
Prosecutors are using him to establish 2 things: that Trump was a "micro-manager," particuarly w/money, & that he delegated point people for others to deal with.
This was the jury’s intro to the weird world of Trump's relationship w/ Pecker's supermarket tabloid. It will help establish why Pecker would agree to a #CatchAndKill operation to aid Trump #politically.
#Pecker said he didn't know what the meeting was about before he arrived. When he got there, #MichaelCohen & #Trump asked him what he & his magazines could do "to help the campaign.”
That quote goes directly to the argument that the #HushMoney payments were made to help Trump win.
In #Blanche’s opening, he said Trump's dealings w/Pecker were regular practice in #journalism.
But a #political#candidate flat-out asking a publisher "to help the campaign" is NOT NORMAL.
#Pecker described himself as broker of the #CatchAndKill schemes. He or others would help #MichaelCohen suppress negative stories about #Trump, especially w/respect to "women selling stories."
Pecker basically confessed to creating #FakeNews on behalf of Trump.
Pecker said he expected "there would be a lot of women who would come out to try to sell their stories,” because he was known as "the most eligible bachelor & dated the most beautiful women." (His words)
#Pecker was asked if Bill & Hillary #Clinton's names came up. Pecker said when you run a magazine, you choose the topic of the week. Coverage of #HillaryClinton running for president that described #BillClinton as "a womanizer" was a big seller, he said. "I was running the Hillary Clinton stories, I was running Hillary as an enabler for Bill Clinton, w/respect to all the womanizing."
#Pecker suggested that there was a "mutual benefit" to running the stories — it would help #Trump's campaign, & "it would also help me."
Pecker basically testified the symbiotic / parasitic relationship between the campaign & The #NationalEnquirer.
Asked about Trump's reaction to the stories, Pecker said, "he was pleased." He said that #MichaelCohen was also pleased about "the way I was going to handle these issues."
#Pecker repeated that "writing positive stories about Trump & covering the election, & writing negative stories about his opponents" helped them both, increasing #tabloid newsstand sales while benefitting the #TrumpCampaign.
★ Importantly, #Steinglass asked him to clarify that suppressing negative news about #Trump only benefitted the candidate, not the tabloid. Pecker agreed.
When #NationalEnquirer covers were shown, #Trump leaned toward the monitor in front of him & squinted to get a closer look at a collection of headlines praising him.
They included:
"Donald Trump - Cruzin to victory! Ted endorses Donald" & "Obama's Half Brother
#Trump was all over on the negative coverage of #TedCruz in 2016. The #TrumpCampaign acted like it came about organically & Trump was just reacting to it.
Pecker was asked about #MichaelCohen's relationship to the Trump campaign. #Pecker said Cohen always said he didn't work for the campaign, & that he was instead "Mr. Trump's personal attorney." But he also testified that Cohen fed them negative info about opponents.
"Michael was physically in every aspect of whatever the campaign was working on," #Pecker said. He added that #MichaelCohen wasn't officially employed by the campaign, & may have heard things “informally" or "injected himself into it."
Pecker threw defense a bone when he said he didn’t know who Cohen spoke to, & that Cohen may have been acting of his own volition by getting more involved w/the campaign. [sure]
Pecker was being asked about an infamous #NationalEnquirer story linking Cruz's father to the JFK assassination. He said it originated w/ #DylanHoward, The Enquirer's editor.
#Pecker said that after the #Republican#debates, #MichaelCohen would call him & direct him to focus the negative coverage on whichever candidate had been most successful.
Pecker's testimony isn't just damaging to #Trump. He’s killing his career by going through headline after headline & suggesting he attacked Trump's rivals to aid Trump.
#Pecker was asked about being introduced to #SteveBannon, #Trump's top strategist, in Oct 2016. He recalled Trump said, "I believe you & Steve would get along really well.”
This all happened around the time of #Wikileaks email dump, after a hack of #HillaryClinton's adviser John Podesta's acct, & the Trump team used that material A LOT.
During #Steinglass’s questioning of #Pecker, #Trump's lawyers often objected to prosecutors couching Trump's relationship w/Pecker & #MichaelCohen as a #conspiracy - saying Trump isn’t facing a conspiracy charge.
🚨⇉ But Steinglass said on record one of the election statutes the case is based on does in fact have a conspiracy provision. That could prove important later when the #jury is instructed on the #laws they must consider in reaching a #verdict.
Trump visibly responded when this story came up. Like yesterday, he frowned & shook his head.
Pecker said the love child story would’ve been a big story, & he believed it was important to have it "removed from the market." #MichaelCohen told him "the boss would be very pleased."
#Pecker said #MichaelCohen called him furiously denying the child was Trump's, saying he offered to take a DNA test & bc #Trump was German-Irish & the woman was Hispanic, it was impossible.
FTR, Pecker was saying that #Cohen indicated a child w/a #Hispanic woman couldn't be Trump's. (#Racist 🤬 that he is)
Trump often talks "good genes" & bloodlines. He denigrates #immigrants from #LatinAmerica & says undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."
Regardless of whether the story was true or not, the #jury was shown a #contract the #NationalEnquirer reached w/ #Dino Sajudin, the #doorman, in which the words "Donald Trump's illegitimate child" feature prominently.
#Steinglass asked Pecker why he paid so much for the story.
“I made the decision to buy the story because of the potential embarrassment it would have to the #campaign & Mr. #Trump," Pecker said.
@Lizette603_23@Nonilex It doesn't matter for these purposes. The important part is that Pecker is finding the stories and killing them b/c of the election
The day concluded with/o a final decision from Justice #Merchan on whether #Trump will be held in #contempt & fined for violating his #GagOrder. Merchan could issue a written ruling at any point, or rule from the bench later. There is no deadline.
Trump, as always, spouted a bunch of BS in the hallway outside the courtroom.
This time he brought props, he held up a stack of printed articles that he said he wasn’t sure he could share because of the gag order 🙄
@Nonilex The longer he doesn't have a sanction/punishment the longer his pustule followers get excited about how "tough" he is. Infuriating that he's writing checks instead of being muzzled
While talking to reporters, #Trump said, "I'd love to talk to you people, I'd love to say anything that's on my mind, but I'm restricted."
He again criticized the trial as an attempt to interfere w/his current campaign. He complained that President Biden was free to campaign while he was stuck in a courtroom, [don’t do the crime…] "sitting up as straight as I can all day long."
He just said remaining upright is too much for him. #NodFarter
@timo21@Nonilex I was thinking about journalistic credibility and what the fallout from the #trumptrial will bring. The person pointing fingers and screaming #FakeNews certainly had a hand in making it a reality.
@waysideollie@Nonilex And it's public knowledge Trump's team communicated with Murdoch media regularly. What about supposedly independent media? Were there back channels there for story selection? This trial might damage media as much as Trump.
@timo21@Nonilex It’s definitely a rabbit hole. I was a journalism major but knew that I would never pursue a career in it. Its function is to generate money by selling ads not to tell the whole story. Due to space limitations, reports were subject to bias through selecting the “most” important facts which could completely slant articles. Everyone should learn how to decipher “news”.
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