A fmr White House aide who worked closely w/ #Trump returned to the stand to testify about a significant meeting between Trump & #MichaelCohen his personal lawyer that is at the center of Trump’s #criminal trial.
Importantly, #Necheles’s is again not addressing the #criminal charges #Trump faces — the fact that there was a system in place that maybe was about getting Trump his mail promptly — or suggesting that #Westerhout couldn’t see everything he was doing, or all the places checks/mail may have gotten to — all of it, unrelated to the actual charges.
While they only may suggest that there could be some alternate explanation for events, they never say what that explanation is.
After pleading #guilty to #MoneyLaundering & #obstruction of #justice, Paul #Manafort, the globe-trotting #political consultant & former campaign chairman for #Trump, asked for leniency in his sentencing, telling a federal judge 5 yrs ago that he was nearly 70, struggling w/health concerns & remorseful for his actions.
The judge rejected his entreaties…, ordering #Manafort to remain behind bars for >7 yrs. <2 yrs later, however, Manafort’s #criminal record was wiped clean when #Trump#pardoned him among the dozens of allies, extended family members & fmr campaign staffers allowed to walk free. W/his freedom, Manafort hardly retired to a quiet home life. Instead, the longtime #power broker —briefly brought low by the investigation into #Russian#ElectionInterference— reengaged in international consulting.
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.
Many of #StormyDaniels's retorts are versions of "so did Trump." He calls her “horseface," so why can't she call him an “orange turd"? He sells his merchandise, so why can't she sell hers?
As said, it's clear the defense is seeking to smear Daniels. But they’ve carefully avoided, her story of sex w/ #Trump.
That's what Trump is accused of covering up before the election thru a #HushMoney payment, & afterward thru disguised repayments to #MichaelCohen.
#POTUS Biden will champion a new Microsoft #Artificial Intelligence investment in #Wisconsin on Wedn — showcasing the failed #economic commitments of his political rival Trump, whose promises for a #job-rich Foxconn plant in the battleground state never materialized.
…the appearance [is] part of #Biden’s “Investing in #America” strategy, …drawing a sharp contrast w/ #Trump, who spent Tues posting angry msgs on social media about his #criminal trial for falsifying business records to conceal #HushMoney payments to adult-film actress #StormyDaniels.
In 2018, when #Foxconn, at Trump’s urging, announced plans to create 13k good-paying #jobs in #Wisconsin, he celebrated the company’s $10B venture outside Racine as the “8th Wonder of the World.”
The decision to hear the appeal reopens the possibility that#FaniWillis, the Fulton County district attorney, could be disqualified from prosecuting Trump & 14 #CoConspirators over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The decision to hear the appeal, handed down by a 3-judge panel, is likely to further #delay the #Georgia#criminal case against #Trump & 14 of his #CoConspirators, making it less likely that the case will go to #trial before the Nov #election.
The terse 3-sentence announcement reopens the possibility that DA #FaniWillis could be #disqualified from the biggest case of her career, & one of the most significant state criminal cases in the nation’s history.
At issue is a romantic relationship she had w/ #NathanWade, a lawyer she hired to handle the prosecution of #Trump. Defense lawyers argued that the relationship amounted to an untenable conflict of interest, & that DA #FaniWillis & her entire office should be removed from the case.
#Trump’s #Florida trial for mishandling #ClassifiedDocuments & #obstruction of govt efforts to retrieve them has been pushed back indefinitely, #AileenCannon ruled Tues, increasing the chance that Trump’s NY #criminal trial may be the ONLY ONE to happen before the #election.
The judge originally set the trial for late May & heard arguments on March 1 about when it should be — w/Trump’s lawyers pushing for after the election, or no earlier than Aug.
“By delaying a final decision, #Cannon gives other judges presiding over #Trump#criminal cases —US Dist Judge #TanyaChutkan in Washington & #FultonCounty Superior Court Judge Scott #McAfee in #Georgia —a window to schedule their own trials this summer or fall. It’s unclear, though, if either of those judges can prepare their cases in time.”
Ridiculous that #AileenCannon says that there are "novel & difficult" #CIPA issues when her delays have meant the CIPA issues have barely been considered by the court. The only section of CIPA she has considered was §4, which is straightforward.
#NealKatyal says while #JackSmithcould appeal #AileenCannon’s decision, it’s unlikely that he will. The writ of mandamus standard is too high a bar for removal & #DOJ is loathe to cast aspersions on any judge.
He’s more optimistic about the possibility of #Trump’s #Jan6 case getting scheduled now that the #ClassifiedDocuments case is indefinitely delayed.
They’ve yet to rule on either Trump’s #immunity claim or the #Jan6 case disputing the use of the #obstruction of an official proceeding by defendant Fischer that could impact #Trump as well as other #J6 defendants.