Nonilex, to Law
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Tues 28 May 2024 🧵 to Begin in

faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection w/a payment made to a porn star to influence the 2016 election. The case could be in the jury’s hands as early as Wed.


https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/28/nyregion/trump-trial-closing-arguments?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass lands his argument by saying that while the sex between #StormyDaniels & #Trump took place in 2006, the payoff wasn’t until 2016 because his concern was NOT his family, as his lawyers have suggested, but the #election.

Though many of Trump’s family members have been staring at their phones throughout this summation, all of them looked up when Steinglass said that.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass now goes into 4 Nov 2016, four days before the election, the day that The WSJ broke a story about The #NationalEnquirer’s deal w/ #KarenMcDougal on #Trump’s behalf.

Steinglass reminds jurors that #HopeHicks sent over a statement for the story on behalf of Trump, & that Trump lied in the statement, saying he didn’t know anything about the Karen McDougal deal. Steinglass says Trump did know about it because he was on tape 2 months earlier talking about it.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
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Justice thanks the for their patience & flexibility as he dismisses them for a 20-min break. Then, after they leave the room, he tells the lawyers, “they look pretty alert to me” & says that he will seek to finish closing arguments today — likely sometime in the evening, people are saying 7PM-ish. (My fingers are not thrilled)

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass discusses Jan 2017, the month #Trump was inaugurated. He describes a meeting between #MichaelCohen & #AllenWeisselberg who Cohen testified had made the arrangements to reimburse Cohen for the #HushMoney. “Right on the bank statement, Weisselberg & Cohen calculated all the money that was owed to Cohen,” Steinglass says.

this IS literal. The notes are written by hand on the wire transfer statement, [#exhibit35]
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass highlights #MichaelCohen’s testimony implicating #Trump in the charged #crimes. He shows jurors, using highlighted transcript pages, Cohen’s testimony that Trump not only approved the arrangement but was aware that the reimbursements would be classified as payments for #legal services.

Steinglass reminds jurors of the key role #AllenWeisselberg played for Trump. Weisselberg worked for Trump's father, #FredTrump, at the original #TrumpOrganization.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
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refers to exhibits that , a longtime loyal employee, testified about: ’s notes setting up the repayments.

Steinglass refers to these exhibits as “the smoking guns” of the prosecution’s argument, saying they “completely blow out of the water the claim the money paid to Cohen” was for legal services.

(see above exhibit 35)
link:
https://ww2.nycourts.gov/press/index.shtml

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass is now focused on the“gross-up” of the amount that #MichaelCohen was paid for tax purposes. Legitimate legal fees are not “grossed up.”

Steinglass reminds the jury that #JeffreyMcConney, the fmr controller of the #TrumpOrganization, testified that in 50 yrs he was never aware of a payment being doubled for taxes. He then argues that this gross-up was made because the reimbursement was disguised as income.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass acknowledges that nearly every relevant piece of evidence in the trial suggests that #Trump would be reluctant to overpay for anything. But, Steinglass says, “it was worth it” to the newly elected president. “It was worth it to hide the truth about what this money was really for.”

Also you gotta think the #MichaelCohen extra costs were factored into the agreed upon figure to #StormyDaniels.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference

Nonilex,
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If that logic held, no charge of falsifying business records would ever be successful because “The existence of the false business record in the first place would prove there was no intent to defraud.” Then, asks, concluding his point, “doesn’t that seem a little bit circular to you?”

Nonilex,
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tried to make the fact that didn’t remember how much he was owed each month for the reimbursements into a suspicious thing. But says it demonstrates that there was no retainer agreement, & that the knowledge & the math was then in the hands of ’s employees.

Nonilex,
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addresses Blanche’s earlier point that did other work for in 2017. He argues that Cohen did <10 hrs of legal work that year & says Cohen spent more time being cross-examined during this trial than he spent doing legal work in 2017.

Steinglass argues that, if the defense's arguments that Cohen was being paid for legal services held up, Trump would have ended up paying Cohen at a rate that would have added up to >$100M annually.

Nonilex,
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notes that himself has, several times in several places, “admitted” that the payments to were reimbursements, not payments for services. This might not be a devastating argument for the defense if they’d proposed an alternative theory of the case. But instead they argued the $420k sent to Cohen was in fact a payment for legal services, so these admissions from Trump himself are not good for him.

Nonilex,
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revisits the passages of ’s books which were read to the jury during the trial. Trump described himself as a frugal micromanager who advised always looking at & questioning invoices.

In one excerpt, Trump said that while decorators are generally good people, you should be very careful checking their invoices. “If Donald Trump is checking the invoices for his decorator, you can bet that he’s checking the invoices for ,” Steinglass says.

Nonilex,
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More quotes from #Trump's books:

“No detail is too small to consider” &, after talking about his preference for personally signing checks “When you sign a check yourself, you’re seeing what’s really going on inside your business.”

Steinglass points jurors to testimony from #HopeHicks, in which Hicks said that Trump had expressed it “would have been bad” to have the #StormyDaniels story come out before the election.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass describes evidence from Feb 2018.

Jurors are showing signs of fatigue.

When Steinglass talks about the the #TrumpOrganization, he says “In New York state, bottom line, you cannot lie in your business records.”

There’s a sidebar on the schedule for the remainder of the day.

As Steinglass leaves he asks jurors directly if they’re good to go a bit longer. Some must have said they could, because he is continuing .

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
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Prosecutors have argued that a lawyer named was dispatched to keep loyal. Costello was the only substantive witness called by the defense, & his appearance was nutso 🦇💩


https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/nyregion/trump-hush-money-trial-robert-costello.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Nonilex,
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again reads passages of obe of Trump’s books, in which he wrote that he can’t stomach disloyalty. Steinglass argues that disparages who speak out against him in order to discourage other witnesses from coming forward.

Steinglass reads a Truth Social post of Trump’s from Aug 2023, in which he wrote in all capital letters: “if you go after me, I”m coming after you.”

Nonilex,
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: “Ask yourselves, why did the defendant lie about this & why did he do it while the grand jury was considering charges in this case?”

Steinglass asks why, if simply had a business relationship w/ , he attacked her in March 2023 when she made public that she had appeared before the grand jury.

Nonilex,
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With the jury out of the room, the prosecution & defense argue about whether can talk about ’s state of mind.

Justice hears the lawyers out & sides w/the defense, telling Steinglass that he’s gone as far as he needs to go in talking about Daniels being by Trump, & that no further argument to that effect need be made.

Nonilex,
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Break over. Justice thanks the jurors for their flexibility & calls back to the lectern. Before they returned, the judge told Steinglass that he needed to wrap up — at least for the day — by 8PM (wuh?). If he does not conclude by then, it sounded as if it was possible that Steinglass would have to conclude tomorrow.

Wonder how the aka will hold up…

Nonilex,
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#Steinglass, who had stuck to a chronological timeline, goes back to 2016 to connect #Trump to each element that prosecutors say is a #crime. He argues that David #Pecker corroborated the idea that #MichaelCohen had kept Trump up to date on the #HushMoney payments at every step. Cohen, Steinglass says, “is not some rogue actor here.”

Steinglass talks about the infamous tape of Trump & Micahel Cohen discussing the payment to #KarenMcDougal.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
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Blanche pointed out that #MichaelCohen secretly taped #Trump & other people, raising questions about why he’d record his own client.

Redirect addressed it neatly, Cohen said he made it to prove to McDougal’s atty that Trump would come through.

Steinglass now has to guide jurors through some of the most important parts of his argument to drive home key points.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

Nonilex,
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says there’s no reason to believe that didn’t alert to ’s story in early Oct 2016.

He reviews the evidence from that month that corroborates Cohen’s testimony, including his calls w/Trump.

Steinglass rhetorically asks, “Is this timing just all a coincidence, every single one of these things?” Then says, “Mr. Trump is being kept abreast of every development.”

Nonilex,
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highlights other key testimony, including 's remarks that it would have been “out of character” for to have made that payment out of the kindness of his heart — meaning, without approval from .

Steinglass is linking Trump to each & every action that prosecutors say led to the , the falsification of 34 business records related to the payment to .

Nonilex,
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began prosecution’s closing arguments at around 2:07 PM ET.

Steinglass takes jurors through Trump’s own words in 2018, when he described the payments to as “reimbursements.”

Steinglass displays a tweet from , but he also said it in a interview that summer.

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