Yesterday, Costello behaved so atrociously on the witness stand that Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to admonish him & the defense attorneys. Costello is due back on the stand
Justice #Merchan asks the defense to argue on behalf of one of its many requests: to add the word “willfully” in 2 places to the #JuryInstructions on a federal #ElectionLaw which isn’t charged.
#Trump has a huge posse today, including #KashPatel; #GerryKassar, a #conservative party leader in NY; #BernieKerik, fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; #AlanDershowitz, lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & #BorisEpshteyn, legal adviser who was #indicted in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.
#Blanche moves on to the documents that prosecutors say were falsified. He suggests that everyone BUT #Trump — #AllenWeisselberg, #EricTrump, #DonaldTrumpJr & #MichaelCohen himself — may have falsified the docs, disguising them as repayments for #legal services. But not Trump himself, Blanche signals to the jury, w/o saying it outright.
Yes, the company went public. No, it is not a financial success—or even a lifeboat.
Debuting on the charts w/a “DJT” ticker, #TrumpMedia saw a 55% surge in valuation right after markets opened.
Huge influx of cash, right? w/Trump holding ~79M shares, equating to 58% of available stock, the #SPAC debut balloons his #NetWorth by nearly $5B; there were ~136M shares outstanding post-merger.
#JeffYass’s firm holds a 2% stake in #DWAC &, considering its other assets, can afford some hits as long as #Yass gets to own the libs.
On #TrumpMedia’s end, its current board of directors is hardly lacking in wealth, or loyalty: The CEO is fmr Rep #DevinNunes, & his teammates include #DonaldTrumpJr + fmr #Trump admin members #KashPatel, #RobertLighthizer, & Linda McMahon (as in, yes, the wife of embattled wrestling magnate Vince McMahon).
Orden: After AG's office again obj to testim abt history of Trump Org, Engoron says, "Objection’s overruled, let him go ahead & talk about how great Trump Org is."
See, I think Engoron has a plan for all this. Several Trumps, poss even Jr, already testified that it's not an estate. It's a social club. This is perjury.
Klasfeld:
Don Jr on MAL:
"My father purchased what was 1 of finest estates anywhere in the world."
I really like Pagliery’s coverage of #DonaldTrumpJr testimony.
Another nugget:
He's now distancing his sister, Ivanka, from the biz. "We continued the projects underway.. she went down to the White House."
I guess the Trump administration was a meritocracy too. After all, only one person was best qualified to be "First Daughter & Advisor to the President."
Robert: "The attorney general has not proved that my clients were involved in (creating) the statements of financial condition.”.
Re Eric, Robert said there was nothing wrong w/ a snr exec, relying on outside accountants & others at the co for accurate info on the SFCs. (Except that’s not what happened, the outside accountants came up w/ completely different numbers, then inside peeps fudged the data)
Re #DonaldTrumpJr, Robert pointed to his testimony about his process for certifying the statements of financial condition. Jr didn't recall specifics, but testified that he would have sat w/the finance team at the #TrumpOrganization, or #Mazars accountants, & asked them questions.
Jr said if those individuals, w/their expertise, convinced him that everything was fine, he would have signed the certifications of #Trump's statements of financial condition.
Robert: “The evidence is clear that (#EricTrump & #DonaldTrumpJr) had no real involvement in the…statements of financial condition.”
(Only if it’s ignored)
#NYAG atty Kevin Wallace spoke in opposition to the defendants' bid to end this case.
Wallace said #Trump et al have failed to meet the standard for a #DirectedVerdict. Under #NY#law, when a judge considers such a motion, they must consider every inference in the light most favorable to the #plaintiff, in this case the state.
#Now it’s #Ivanka Trump’s turn to face questioning in the #civil#fraud#trial that is publicly probing into the family business. #Trump’s eldest daughter, who has been in his inner circle in both #business & #politics, is due on the stand Wed, after trying unsuccessfully to block her #testimony.
"djt told [the reporter] the 600 [number] so he will be happy if that gets printed."
#Trump conceded he was the "djt" his son referred to in the email.
(Lunch)
Trump posted this over the recess (pic)
Judge Engoron actually said (context above):
"I'm not here to hear what he has to say. He's here to answer questions" — Engoron was explaining Trump can’t just go off & expect them to allow it.