#Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection w/a #HushMoney payment made to a porn star to influence the 2016 election. The case could be in the jury’s hands as early as Wed.
charges are falsifying business records to hide #HushMoney payments in lead up to 2016 election to #influence electorate
just one Trump supporter at the courthouse draped in a Trump flag.
#StormyDaniels's lawyer, #KeithDavidson, to return to stand. He negotiated the hush-money payment at the center of the case, & is expected to lay out details of the deal.
#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.
The prosecution asks that the defense be precluded from asking #StormyDaniels whether she was arrested. Justice #Merchan agrees w/the prosecutors, saying that “anybody can be arrested” & that it “doesn’t prove anything.”
The people call Stormy Daniels back to the stand
#Trump atty #Necheles begins questioning by saying that in 2011, Daniels denied having had sex w/Trump.
Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
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.
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
A #juror was quickly dismissed at the start. She was among the 7 already selected, she said she was very worried that despite the fact the court ruled to keep jurors’ name secret, she would still be exposed & targeted.
What in the world was Fani Willis thinking?
(couldn't agree more)
by Ruth Marcus
As a #legal matter, the allegations about a romantic relationship between #FultonCounty DA #FaniWillis & the chief prosecutor in the #ElectionInterference case against #Trump are irrelevant. Even if all the claims are true, they wouldn’t imperil the prosecution or justify dismissing the indictment…. As a question of atmospherics, though, the situation is a disaster…
In Taking Up #Trump’s #Immunity Claim, #SCOTUS Bolstered His #Delay Strategy
By scheduling a hearing for late April on TFG’s assertion that he cannot be prosecuted for his actions in office, the justices increased the chances that he will not face #trial by #Election Day
#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.
Judge unseals divorce file of lead Trump prosecutor in Georgia case
An #Atlanta-area judge ordered the unsealing of the divorce file of #NathanWade, the lead prosecutor in the #ElectionInterference case against #Trump. Wade has been accused of having a romantic relationship w/ #FultonCounty DA #FaniWillis (D), prompting calls for both lawyers to be removed from the case.
The US #SupremeCourt said it will rule on Trump’s bid for immunity from criminal prosecution, taking up a historic case that will determine whether Trump will stand #trial for 2020 #ElectionInterference.
The NY judge presiding over one (bc there’s >1) of Trump’s #criminal trials imposed a gag order on Tues that prohibits him from attacking #witnesses, #prosecutors & #jurors, the latest effort to rein in Trump’s wrathful rhetoric.
#SCOTUS won’t fast-track ruling on #Trump’s claim of immunity
#SpecialCounsel#JackSmith had asked the justices to short-circuit the normal appellate process & quickly settle the question of presidential #criminal#immunity, which the #SupremeCourt previously has not been called upon to resolve.