The GA Court of Appeals on Wed ordered a halt to the proceedings in the election interference case against Trump & 8 co-defendants pending the outcome of their appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney #FaniWillis.
The order, issued by the full appeals court, means the case against #Trump & his co-defendants, accusing them of a #criminal#conspiracy to try to overturn his defeat in the state, will almost certainly not be scheduled for trial before the fall #election or even the new year. It remains unclear if the case against the 6 remaining co-defendants who did not sign onto the appeal will proceed.
The case has been frozen… since early Dec as a series of courts in Washington have considered an expansive & novel (BS) claim he has raised in his own defense: that he is #immune to all of the charges in the #indictment because he claims they arose from ofcl acts as president.
Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.
Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.
Next the court reporters read the second part of David #Pecker’s #testimony that the #jurors asked to hear, where he explains that he decided he did not want to be repaid for #KarenMcDougal’s story after purchasing it. The implication was that he was concerned about the #legal consequences of accepting a reimbursement - he testified that the concern was regarding FEC violations.
#Jurors hear #Pecker recall that after he said he wasn’t going to go thru w/the agreement w/ #MichaelCohen, who was to pay him for the rights to #KarenMcDougal’s story using an LLC, Cohen told him: “The boss is going to be very angry at you.”
Court reporters read the 3rd portion of Pecker’s testimony. This part pertains to the Aug 2015 #TrumpTowerMeeting in which Pecker, Michael Cohen & #Trump entered a #conspiracy to suppress negative news about Trump during the #2016election.
#Pecker’s #testimony here is key to prosecution's case. Jurors also asked to hear MichaelCohen’s testimony about the #TrumpTowerMeeting. They will hear that next.
One of the major arguments the defense made during closings also pertained to this meeting, & concerned the idea that the phrase #CatchAndKill was not used during it.
(It’s not used in the charges either. It’s just a characterization not a legal term.)
The #jurors just again heard #Pecker’s #testimony that the reason he was purchasing negative stories on #Trump’s behalf was to benefit his presidential campaign.
Defense atty Emil #Bove cross-examined Pecker, & jurors are hearing part of that cross now. Bove elicited testimony that Pecker misremembered the exact date of the Aug 2015 meeting, & more generally that Pecker was testifying about events from a long time ago.
The end of the cross-examination of #Pecker was less good for the defense. It was just read aloud again. “There was a discussion about that I was going to be the eyes and ears of the campaign,” Pecker testified. “And there was a discussion that I would be notifying Michael Cohen of any women that were in the process of or going to be selling stories.”
Cohen’s testimony matches Pecker’s account closely. #Pecker testified that he had said he would be #Trump’s “eyes & ears” & watch out for negative stories. Cohen recalls him saying he would “keep an eye out for anything negative.”
The #testimony readbacks are complete, & #jurors are excused to continue their #deliberations. They have asked to use both headphones & speakers to listen to #evidence that includes an audio portion.
Marc F. Scholl, who served in the Manhattan DA’s office for nearly 4 decades, specializing in white-collar crimes & appeals, said: “Recently, there has been some slight loosening about whether it can be done w/ the defense’s consent, but it remains a minefield that judges do not want to risk.”
The #verdict must be unanimous on the primary crime falsification of business records.
Once #jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Justice Juan #Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson.
Merchan must still affirm the verdict & enter a final judgment.