The 12 jurors & 6 alternates were seated & David #Pecker resumed his testimony about #KarenMcDougal, a fmr Playboy model who said that she had a sexual relationship w/ #Trump. Prosecutors had saved the specifics of McDougal's story for today. It's an attention-catching way to start & the jurors are listening closely in these opening moments.
Tues 29 May 2024 🧵
Good morning! It’s the last day of the #TrumpTrial before jury #deliberations.
Today Justice #Merchan will give #JuryInstructions. Then they will discuss the case among themselves for the first time; they have not been allowed to even discuss it w/each other as yet.
Closing arguments took place yesterday, & the lawyers will have no further opportunity to address the jurors before they determine whether #Trump is #guilty or not guilty of 34 felonies.
Court has now adjourned for the day. Justice #Merchan did not determine exactly which portions of the transcript related to #Pecker’s testimony woll be read aloud to the #jury.
We’ll find out tomorrow morning.
Trump is charged w/ 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the coverup of a $130k #HushMoney payment that was made to the porn star #StormyDaniels in the days leading up to the #2016election.
All of the charges are class E felonies, or the lowest category of felony in #NewYork State.
The family of #BrianSicknick, the #PoliceOfficer who died during the #Jan6 attack, blasted Trump’s appearance at a wake Thurs for slain #NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller.
Charles & Kenneth Sicknick on Fri expressed condolences to Diller’s family, but said #Trump’s appearance, especially the #PressConference outside a funeral home, was nothing but an #inappropriate#PoliticalStunt.
#Trump was #indicted last year by a #federal#GrandJury for his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, & has been blamed for #inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol on #Jan6.
He is currently under #indictment in #Manhattan for falsifying business records to hide #HushMoney payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He is also facing #racketeering charges in #Georgia for an alleged effort to subvert that state’s election laws following his loss to Biden in the 2020 election.
“Trump’s trial for election interference in 2016, when he paid people with damaging information to keep quiet before the election and falsified business records to hide those payments, is set to begin on April 15. Evidently very worried about this trial, Trump has already tried eight times to delay it until after November’s election….”
#Manhattan prosecutors on Mon asked the judge overseeing the #criminal case against #Trump to prohibit him from attacking witnesses or exposing jurors’ identities.
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.
#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.
#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.
There have been a flood of Trump convicted cartoons published since yesterday. Normally, I republish cartoons based on some theme or subject (& I'll work thru all of them this way over time) but these 8 struck me as being the "best" of today's large crop, so enjoy.
#Trump Can't Stop Attacking Judge's Daughter
[who does that?]
Trump took to his social media platform Thurs to criticize NY Judge Juan #Merchan & his daughter AGAIN even after a #GagOrder was issued.
Merchan is presiding over Trump's Manhattan case involving alleged #HushMoney payments to adult film star actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign [to hide the info from the electorate]. …The case is set to go to trial April 15, 2024.
Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek on Thurs, "It is as if #Trump is daring the Judge to sanction him so Trump can achieve greater martyrdom w/ his rabid supporters. Another possibility is that Trump wants a war w/ Judge #Merchan, which could lead to more attempts at recusal/disqualification & therefore more delays. It won't work."
In court papers made public on Wednesday, prosecutors argued the April 15 trial date should go ahead as planned, noting it was Trump’s 8th bid to postpone the schedule as part of his broader #legal strategy to delay all 4 of his criminal trials beyond the Nov #election.
Prosecutors’ new filing states #Trump’s #delay motion was littered w/ inaccuracies & matters already rejected by the judge. They also expressed doubts about the reliability of the data from Trump’s team.
“None of the new information presented by defendant supports his request for an adjournment; indeed, much of the new data actually confirms that this Court will be able to find 12 #impartial#jurors (& alternates) in Manhattan,” Colangelo wrote.
#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.
In the expanded order, Justice #Merchan recognized #Trump's "constitutional right to speak to the American voters freely, & to defend himself publicly," & clarified that the initial #GagOrder did not include members of his or #AlvinBragg's family, but wrote Trump’s attacks on family members serve no purpose but to inject fear.
Merchan ruled that the DA’s office did not violate its #legal obligations. “This court finds …that the district attorney of #NewYork County is not at fault for the late production of documents from the US attys office.”