#Trump posted an angry message on TruthSocial saying he’d just learned who the next witness was [#StormyDaniels] & that his lawyers had “no time” to prepare.
The post remained up for 30 mins before Trump removed it, probably bc it was another violation of the #GagOrder & #jail is fully on the table.
Reportedly, Trump hates deleting posts — he sees it as a sign of weakness 🙄.
#Trump did not answer reporters’s questions about his morning Truth Social post.
One of Trump's lawyers, Susan #Necheles, appears to be taking her seat to Trump’s right— suggesting she will be the one to cross-examine #StormyDaniels.
Show’s about to start, doubt Trump will be sleeping today.
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.
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.
#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."
Alright, who’s ready to see #Trump get his just deserts? He fucked up the whole damn world & that’s not an overstatement.
PS #BabySquirrel & I had a lovely weekend. It’s as boy! (He’s developed discernible - stuff)
He is doing quite well! Name: “Ramone” because he’s a sweet little punk rocker.
Lawyers indicated that their opening statements will take a little more than an hour combined. Justice Juan #Merchan also noted that one #juror reached out before court resumed to express nervousness about the media attention surrounding the case, but the judge added that the juror is still here.
BLANCHE: …I would ask that the People provide us w/the names of their first 3 witnesses so that we can prepare...
STEINGLASS: Look, I got to be honest: That's a courtesy that we normally extend. [but] Mr. #Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses. We're not telling who the witnesses are.
Not any fan of ANY of these players (except for the photographer), but whew.
"David Hume Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, wrote in a letter obtained by Politico that a “key reason” Cheney was turned down because of fears of “being attacked by the Internal Revenue Service and losing the foundation’s tax-exempt status as retribution” if Trump is elected president"
…A WaPo analysis of #Trump’s #SocialMedia posts since the start of his campaign in late 2022 showed that he has gone after #judges or their family members by name 138 times. The weeks of Mar 24 & Mar 17, respectively, included the 2nd & 4th highest number of posts attacking judges overall. Trump criticized judges most frequently during the wk of Jan 7, w/ 14 individual #attacks, nearly all targeted at #Engoron.
Trump’s stmnts are part of a yrs-long pattern of attacking members of the #judiciary in often-personal terms. In 2016, #Trump attacked Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who oversaw a case related to #TrumpUniversity, suggesting that Curiel couldn’t be impartial because of his ethnicity & because Trump promised to build a wall on the border w/Mexico. Trump argued that Curiel’s judgment was clouded because “he’s a Mexican.” Curiel, whose parents are from Mexico, was born in Indiana.
Trump’s attacks also come amid growing concerns about the #safety of federal #judges. Reuters found that #threats against fed judges have more than doubled since late 2020, when #Trump significantly increased his criticism of the #judiciary.
In #Georgia, #FultonCounty Superior Court Judge Scott #McAfee, who is presiding over a #Trump#criminal case involving allegations related to overturning the 2020 election results, has also faced #threats, including a #swatting incident at his #Atlanta-area home in Jan. A spox for the responding local PD said the investigation had been turned over to the #FBI.
#GagOrder Against #Trump Is Expanded to Stop Attacks on Judge’s Family
Donald Trump had in recent days targeted the daughter of Juan #Merchan, the judge overseeing his #criminal trial in Manhattan, in blistering social media posts.
Trump claims Merchan’s daughter stands to benefit financially from the case, saying it will be “fodder for fundraising.”
The letter states, “Your Honor has an interest in this case that warrants recusal…; there is an unacceptable risk that the Court's family relationships will influence judicial conduct…”
—that argument was already deemed speculative after a prior recusal motion.
DA #AlvinBragg prosecutors write, “There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court's prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic* or this Court's family member, let alone this Court.” (*#Merchan’s daughter’s co)
#Trump attys again! 🙄) claim Justice [#Merchan made inappropriate "extrajudicial" stmnts in his AP interview (link earlier in 🧵).
The DA points to the remark at issue noting it’s not even clear that it’s about Trump, “Even if the Court did have this case in mind, expressing a broad commitment to impartiality is very obviously not a prohibited 'comment about a pending or impending proceeding,'...& is not a basis for recusal."