#Trump Tues night on the conservative network #Newsmax:
“I said, ‘Wouldn’t it really be bad? … wouldn’t it be terrible to throw the president’s wife & the fmr secretary of state — think of it, the fmr secretary of state — but the president’s wife into #jail? … But they want to do it … So, you know, it’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to, & it’s very possible that it’s going to HAVE TO HAPPEN to them.”
#Trump has made #payback for opponents central to his campaign, at one point declaring to a crowd: “I am your #retribution.” In private, has told advisers & friends that he wants his #DOJ to investigate specific fmr aides & allies who are now critical of him. And he has promised to appoint a special prosecutor to scrutinize #Biden & his family.
…Several #HouseRepublicans …said their backing of #Trump is based on how their constituents reacted. Some, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that they issued stmnts in #fear of how his base would react if they stayed quiet. Trump has animated his followers by painting himself as a martyr & repeatedly suggesting that if the #Biden admin & judicial sys were not coming after him, they would go after them. #Republicans say that message has been effective.
The latest #doxxing attempt fits a pattern of #threats against people who speak out against Trump.
The addresses & phone numbers of fmr Trump lawyer Cohen's family members were posted to a doxxing website after Trump was #convicted of 34 #felony counts in connection w/a scheme to illegally #influence the #2016election.
#MichaelCohen, #Trump's fmr "fixer," played a key role in the plot to silence adult film actor #StormyDaniels during the 2016 election & testified against Trump….
Phone numbers & addresses for Cohen's wife & #children were posted early Mon on a site that has been used to target other figures involved in Trump’s various #legal issues….
“What sad times we are living through when people resort to this type of doxxing stupidity to redress their grievances,” Cohen said….
#Trump supporters tried to #dox#jurors last week after his #conviction, & they also targeted #prosecutors & the #judge, Justice #Merchan, in the case w/ #threats. During the trial, the mother of a fmr police officer, #MichaelFanone, who was nearly killed on #Jan6, 2021, by rioters who believed Trump's lies about the #2020election was "#swatted" after her son called Trump "an authoritarian" w/ "a violence fetish."
All of these prominent #Republicans linked Donald Trump’s rhetoric to the potential for #PoliticalViolence. Then we saw such #violence on #Jan6, 2021.
Despite the predictability of it — & indeed, the fact that it was predicted — #Trump has wrangled control of the #RepublicanParty again, & he continues & not-at-all-subtly raise the specter of unrest & violence as a political bargaining chip.
The most recent example: In his first interview since being #convicted on 34 #felony counts in Manhattan, #Trump this weekend addressed the possibility of being imprisoned or put under house arrest by saying, “I’m not sure the public would stand for it.”
“I think it would be tough for the public to take,” Trump told #FoxNews. “You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.”
#Trump wants his foes to worry about things getting ugly — & to perhaps adjust their behavior accordingly. The problem is that we’ve seen how supporters can take his comments as a call to action. (And Trump’s comments, crucially, almost never come w/an admonition to stay peaceful.)
Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.
Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.
#Trump leaves for his waiting room (an empty courtroom w/security), w/his entourage.
Trump, in the hallway outside the courtroom, falsely blames the #GagOrder as he refuses to answer reporters, telling them “I’d like to answer all of your questions, they’re very easy to answer.”
The questions shouted at him — including whether he worried about potential prison time — have nothing to do w/issues covered by the order.
Fmr DC Metropolitan PD Officer #MichaelFanone’s 78-year-old mother was the victim of a #swatting call hours after he spoke outside the criminal #TrumpTrial in #NewYork.
During the #insurrection on #Jan6, Fanone was nearly killed by #Trump supporters while protecting congresspeople & staff inside the Capitol building.
#MichaelFanone suffered a heart attack after being tased multiple times. While unconscious, his gun was taken, he was dragged down the Capitol steps, kicked, beaten w/fists, pipes & other objects, sprayed w/chemicals, & when he regained consciousness he was threatened w/his own gun. In addition to the heart attack, Fanone suffered burns, concussion, traumatic brain injury, & subsequently diagnosed w/ PTSD #Trump#StochasticTerrorism#MAGA#RightWingExtremism#PoliticalViolence#TrumpIsATerrorist
The #verdict must be unanimous on the primary crime falsification of business records.
Once #jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Justice Juan #Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson.
Merchan must still affirm the verdict & enter a final judgment.
Holy hell, #TuckerCarlson just said that #Trump would still win the election “if he’s not killed first,” & said that “anyone who defends this verdict is a danger to you & your family.”
#FoxNews pundits denounced the #verdict. “It’s inconceivable in New York that anyone else other than Donald Trump would be indicted in this way,” said Andy McCarthy, a legal analyst. Jeanine Pirro called the case “riddled with errors” & declared, “We have gone over a cliff in America.”
Just minutes after the verdict was announced, the Trump campaign sent out a fund-raising email in which #Trump said, in all capital letters, “I am a political prisoner!”
#Trump has posted a photo on his social media w/o comment — the photo of the #UpsideDown American #flag that was hung outside the home of #SCOTUS justice Samuel #Alito after the Capitol riot in 2021. The upside down flag was a symbol of distress but is now a #RightWing symbol of #Jan6, Stop the Steal & support for Trump. It was posted by several other #Republicans as well.
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.
As usual, #Trump has been quite active on his social media. Since court ended last night, he falsely claimed that prosecutors had introduced new “lies” about him during their closing arguments (you cannot introduce anything NEW in summation) & described #MichaelCohen, w/o specifically naming him, as “the bum that got caught stealing from me.”
#Trump's lawyers didn't challenge 11 of the 12 #jurors deciding the case
Since the beginning of the trial, Trump has tried to cast doubt on this jury….
…before the jury was empaneled, the defense had the opportunity to “challenge for cause” each of the jurors. Among the 12 seated jurors, Trump’s team only challenged 1 of those individuals — Juror 11. Judge Merchan, despite the challenge, seated that juror.
Justice #Merchan reminds the #jurors they need to “set aside” personal opinions or bias against #Trump.
He reads standard #legal language on #fairness, one phrase: “As a juror, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community.”
An unintentional reminder that this is #CitizenTrump — just “another member of the community.”
Justice #Merchan explains the concept of #ReasonableDoubt. He says, “It is an actual doubt, not an imaginary doubt. It is a doubt that a #ReasonablePerson, acting in a matter of this importance, would be likely to entertain because of the evidence that was presented or because of the lack of convincing evidence.”
[“Reasonable person” is a legal term as well w/its own definition]
Justice #Merchan explains, “proof of guilt #BeyondAReasonableDoubt [#BARD] is proof that leaves you so firmly convinced of the defendant’s guilt that you have no reasonable doubt of the existence of any element of the crime, or of the defendant’s identity as the person who committed the crime.”
#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.
#Steinglass again reads passages of obe of Trump’s books, in which he wrote that he can’t stomach disloyalty. Steinglass argues that #Trump disparages #witnesses 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.”