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Hush Money CHAOS-Judge VERY ANGRY at TRUMPs' LONE Witness & Clears Court
TRUMP Witness Turns ‘Strawberry Red’ After Judges’ Scalding Scolding For Improper Behaviour in CLOSED Court
‘Big Fat Fxxk’: TRUMP defense ‘didn’t land any punches’ in attempt to smear Cohen with first witness Robert Costello who was 'utterly contemptuous'
The People Rest - Republicans Refuse to Pull Support for TRUMP as Trial Nears End
The Guardian 21 MAY 2024
Robert Costello MAGA SUPPORTER
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, visibly angered by Trump defense witness Robert Costello, cleared the courtroom of the jury and the press before admonishing the “MAGA-friendly lawyer” Monday
Trump attorney Emil Bove said on Monday that his team doesn’t plan to call any more witnesses after they wrap up with their current one. Without saying so explicitly, he acknowledged that Trump won’t testify.
This revelation came on the day prosecutors finished laying out their case against Trump, after concluding a second round of questions of star witness Michael Cohen. “The people rest,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said on Monday afternoon, before Trump’s team began to mount what appears to be a short defense.
Trump’s attorneys called a pair of witnesses including Robert Costello, an attorney close to Rudy Giuliani who Cohen had painted as a sketchy figure, and whose behavior on the witness stand led Judge Juan Merchan to briefly clear the courtroom.
The trial will continue on Tuesday with the end of Costello’s testimony. Merchan said that we’ll wait until next Tuesday, after Memorial Day weekend, for both sides to deliver their closing arguments. The jury will then deliberate whether Trump broke the law.
Here are the biggest moments from what will likely be the final full day of witness testimony in Trump’s first criminal trial;
What Trumps’ Attorneys Got Cohen to Say
Cohen Admitted He Stole From Trump
Trump attorney Todd Blanche got Cohen to admit he stole from the Trump Organization. Cohen said that he’d paid the IT company RedFinch $20,000 for services rendered when Trump refused to pay them himself, then asked for $50,000 in reimbursements from Trump. “So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asked. “Yes sir,” Cohen conceded.
Fame and Fortune
Blanche got Cohen to admit he was looking at running for Congress based on his high name recognition. Cohen also admitted he has a financial interest in the case’s outcome – though he said that he has a stake in the case no matter what its outcome because he talks about it on his podcast and other platforms.
Blanche also offered an alternative accounting for why Cohen was paid so much by Trump in 2017 that didn’t have to do with his $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, arguing that Cohen tried to bump up his legal work salary in 2016 to close to $150,000, what he had made the previous year. Blanche pointed out that Cohen had received a $150,000 bonus in 2015 but just $50,000 in 2016, and argued that he used the repayment scheme to get himself the bonus he thought he was owed.
What Cohen Told Prosecutors
Artist's sketch of Cohen, the judge and lawyers in the courtroom
Prosecutors got another chance to question Cohen, and got him to reiterate some key points of his testimony.
‘No Doubt’ Trump Signed Off
When prosecutors asked Cohen if he had “any doubt” that he had a conversation with Trump in which he was told to work out his payback with Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, he said he had “no doubt”.
He testified – once again – that he would not have paid Daniels $130,000 if Trump hadn’t signed off on the plan, “because I wanted to ensure that I’d get my funds back”.
Cohen said he talked to Trump ‘more than 20’ times about Daniels in October 2016
When prosecutors asked approximately how many times he’d talked directly with Trump about the Daniels situation in October 2016, he responded: “More than 20.”
He also told prosecutors that he’d lied when he wrote in a February 2018 letter to the Federal Election Commission that his payment to Daniels wasn’t a campaign contribution or expenditure. That’s significant because prosecutors need to show Trump falsified business records in furtherance of another crime – in this case, campaign finance violations – to get the jury to convict Trump of felonies.
Trumps' Attorneys Bring Up Cohens' (Almost) Former Attorney
Robert Costello on the stand.
After quickly summoning a minor witness, Trump’s attorneys brought in Robert Costello, a lawyer that Cohen testified Trump’s team pushed him to hire right after the FBI raided Cohen’s home and office in April 2018.
Cohen had painted Costello as a shadowy figure close to Rudy Giuliani who was there to do Trump’s and Giuliani’s bidding, and keep him “in the fold”.
But Costello insisted that Cohen had actually hired him – even though he never got paid. He testified that the first time he met Cohen, Cohen repeatedly told him: “I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.”
Things got testy during Costello’s testimony. Costello repeatedly muttered under his breath, expressing frustration about Merchan sustaining objections from prosecutors. Merchan had jurors leave; then, as he admonished Costello to knock it off, Costello seemed to stay petulant.
“Are you staring me down right now?” Merchan asked. Then: “Clear the courtroom!”
Reporters and most other observers were forced to exit, presumably so Merchan could let Costello have it without a full audience, before court was allowed to resume.
After court concluded for the day, Trump potentially violated the gag order that prohibits him from talking about witnesses. “You saw what happened to a highly respected lawyer today, Bob Costello. Wow,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom. Merchan has repeatedly fined him for violating that gag order, and previously threatened jail time if he continued to do so.
What Else Happened?
Trump in this courtroom sketch
Trumps team wanted to call an expert witness, Brad Smith, to discuss campaign finance law, but Merchan ruled that Smith wouldn’t be allowed on the stand because, “an expert is not permitted to present or interpret the law” and he didn’t see any way Smith could testify while avoiding that topic. He pointed out that Smith hadn’t been allowed to testify in crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial for the same reason.
After jurors were let go for the day, Trumps attorneys moved to have Merchan dismiss the charges before jury deliberations, arguing that there was no evidence that Trump had committed the crimes. Merchan reserved judgment on deciding on their request, but the possibility that he grants it is very remote.
TRUMPs' hush-money trial in New York is nearing the end set to conclude on Tuesday, and it’s now certain he won’t take the stand. Closing statements are now expected just after the Memorial Day holiday.
Trump Defenses' Lone Witness Robert Costello Was 'Utterly Contemptuous'
re: Hush Money; TRUMP Flips Out -MORE LIES-Trying to Suck Up Sympathy & More $$$
TRUMP on Trial All But Done: TRUMPs' Defense Ended on a Horrible Note as Witness 'Insulted' The Jury
The Testimony Part of The Trial is Officially Over
--TRUMPs' defense team dropped the ball by calling Michael Cohens' former legal adviser Robert Costello to the witness stand, where he proceeded to cause courtroom chaos and get completely impeached by his own emails
The Guardian 22 MAY 2024
In doing so, Trumps' team wiped the jurys' doubts about Cohens' own credibility as a witness from their minds, and put that suspicion on Costello.
Merchan let the jury go for the week late Tuesday morning and told them to return next Tuesday, 28 May, after Memorial Day weekend, to hear closing arguments.
On Tuesday, more than a month after former president Donald Trumps criminal hush-money trial began, both sides wrapped up their questioning of the final witness.
All that’s left now is for both sides to make their closing arguments, for Judge Juan Merchan to give the jury their instructions, and for the 12 jurors to determine whether Trump should be convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Trumps team rested their defense, as expected, without calling their client to testify.
Donald Trump Jr defended his dad’s decision in a press gaggle outside the courthouse. “Why would you justify this insanity? You don’t subject yourself to that. You’re going in a kangaroo court, nothing more nothing less,” he said.
“At that time, you will hear summations of the attorneys. And the next day, you will hear my jury charge and then I expect you will begin your deliberations at some point on Wednesday,” he told them.
Attorneys on both sides returned Tuesday afternoon to haggle over what Merchans’ jury instructions will look like.
Here’s What Happened on The Final Day of TRUMPs' Trial:
Lots of middle aged or older white men in suits.. Trumps’ entourage kept growing bigger – and weirder.
Republican lawmakers and other hangers-on have rushed to be by Trumps side in the final weeks of his trial. Past cameos came from House speaker Mike Johnson and veepstakes hopefuls like JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy. But Tuesday’s list was the longest and strangest yet.
The group included nine current and former Republican lawmakers, as well as former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka, who earlier this week said officials who’d prosecuted Trump, his former aides and January 6 insurrectionists “must be charged for abuse of power under the color of law”; former Hells Angels New York president Chuck Zito; and has-been former Saturday Night Live staffer turned conservative activist Joe Piscopo.
The trial wrapped up with cross-examination of Robert Costello.
Former Trump fixer and attorney Michael Cohen had described Costello as a close ally of the Trump adviser and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani who Trump’s team had sent to be Cohen’s attorney in order to keep him “in the fold” after Cohen was raided by the FBI.
Trumps team brought in Costello to dispute this, but after some rocky and raucous Monday testimony, Costello faced cross-examination from prosecutors on Tuesday, who confronted him with the plain language he emailed to Cohen at the time.
It included the line: “Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places.” Costello also emailed his partner: “Our issue is to get Cohen on the right page without giving him the appearance that we are following instructions from Giuliani or the President.”
Trumps’ lawyers and prosecutors argued over what instructions Merchan will give jurors next week.
Merchan, who will make the final call on his jury instructions, held an afternoon session to hear out requests and complaints from both sides. That included debates on exactly what verbiage he’d use in discussing the specific crimes Trump is charged with and how he’d describe the laws that Trump is accused of violating.
He rejected requests from Trumps lawyers that he offer instructions to the jury that hush-money payments aren’t inherently illegal and regarding political bias against Trump.
Courtroom Chaos - So Judge Clears Court
LIVE: Donald Trump on Trial Over Stormy Daniels Hush Money Payments
Michael Cohen went to jail for same crime Trumps' now on trial for
'A Rebuke': Impeachment Lawyer Eisen Uses Hush Money Trial to Shame Supreme Court
The Criminal Hush Money Trial in Manhattan is Drawing to a Close With The Jury to Start Deliberating Next Week
— That's a stunning rebuke to how the Supreme Court has tied up the former presidents' FED January 6 trial.
MSRAW 23 MAY 2024
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge John G. Roberts Jr. testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee during confirmation hearings to be Chief Justice.
Trump currently faces four criminal trials, with the Manhattan trial the only one proceeding on schedule. The Georgia election racketeering case is delayed by an appeals court weighing an ethics complaint against prosecutor Fani Willis
While the Mar-a-Lago documents case has been indefinitely delayed by the judge — and the federal election case, which by all accounts should have been ready to go, is waiting on the Supreme Court to rule if Trump has presidential immunity.
"This week brought milestones, good and bad, in two of the criminal cases against Donald Trump," wrote Eisen.
While prosecutors rested their case on Monday in Manhattan, "The negative milestone came in Washington, regarding the federal prosecution of Trump in the District of Columbia for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election. On Monday, the Supreme Court blew past a critical date, by which precedent teaches the dispute over Trump’s claim of presidential immunity should have been decided.
However the New York case turns out, its rapid movement should serve as a rebuke to the ethically conflicted Supreme Court justices who are obviously and unduly stalling the Washington case."
"The truth is we should have already had or been close to a verdict in the federal prosecution brought by special counsel Jack Smith," wrote Eisen. "That case concerns the conspiracy Trump allegedly orchestrated to manipulate the results of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
"The Washington case had been set to begin in early March, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg had expressed openness to postponing the New York case so the Washington one could go first. With the federal trial estimated to last eight to 12 weeks, it would most likely be done or wrapping up by now."
This is also considering the fact that the court could have taken up the case months before it did, at Smith's request, and decided to wait until the appellate court had ruled instead.
Furthermore, even when the court does decide that case, the right-wing justices appear to be considering a ruling that would require lower courts to spend months sorting out what is and isn't an official act, snuffing out any chance of the case being heard before the November election can take place — something that the arch-conservative legal theorist, retired federal Judge Michael Luttig, has adamantly insisted is not necessary for this trial to move ahead.
"At a minimum, given Roberts’ repeated statements of concern for the credibility of the court, he owes the public a transparent accounting of how Alito and Thomas can be allowed to continue to sit on this case," wrote Eisen, referenceing their conflicts of interest.
"This has gone much too far already. Each day without a ruling on immunity from the Supreme Court is an intentional delay that most likely ensures Trump won’t be held accountable for his alleged attempts to steal the last election ahead of the next one."
NEW Scandal ROCKS The Supreme Court
Second OFFENSIVE Flag Flown Outside of Justice Alitos’ Vacation Home
A flag that was on display during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey
The “Appeal to Heaven” flag flew last summer at Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it originated as a symbol of the American Revolution but became a symbol of Trumps “Stop the Steal” movement—including one carried by rioters at the Capitol building.
What a Justices' Upside-Down Flag Means For The Supreme Court
Hush Money; TRUMP Flips Out -MORE LIES-Trying to Suck Up Sympathy & More $$$
'Legal Expense = Legal Expense!!!' TRUMP Flips Out Overnight About His Hush Money Trial
'Very Strong Chance of a Conviction' as TRUMP Flips Out -Trying to Suck Up Sympathy & More $$$
MSRAW 26 MAY 2024
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Donald Trump went on a multi-post tirade over his Manhattan hush money trial on his Truth Social platform, complaining that he is being unjustly persecuted.
Over a period of several hours, the embattled Trump attacked Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and President Joe Biden for his most pressing legal woes as he faces 34 felony counts related to hiding payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in an effort to keep her quiet before the 2016 election.
According to the former president's late-night posting frenzy, the payments to former attorney Michela Cohen -- who asserts he was passing along the money to Daniels — were "legal expenses."
Trump kicked off his Truth Social posts with, "LEGAL EXPENSE = LEGAL EXPENSE!!!" before adding moments later, "Let’s put the President in jail for 150 years because a LEGAL EXPENSE to a lawyer was called, by a bookkeeper, a LEGAL EXPENSE to a lawyer! What else could you call it. Crooked Joe Biden Witch Hunt. Election Interference. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
In that vein, he continued, "I HAVE A GREAT CASE, BUT WITH A RIGGED AND CONFLICTED JUDGE. HISTORY PROVES, HOWEVER, THAT I WOULD BE FAR BETTER OFF WITH A BAD CASE AND A GREAT, FAIR, AND HONEST JUDGE!!!"
Not content with that, an hour later he posted, "The City of New York’s D.A., Alvin Bragg, is trying to prosecute a Federal case, which cannot be done, and where there is NO CRIME, that has been turned down by everyone, including the Federal Elections Commission, SDNY, the D.A.’s Office, and Bragg himself - Until I announced that I was running for President.
This case could have been brought 7 years ago, but wasn’t. It is another Crooked Joe Biden Election Interference Hoax!"
That was followed by a post another hour later citing the Wall Street Journal — without a link — where the former president wrote, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - OPINION. ALVIN BRAGG HASN’T PROVED HIS CASE IN THE TRUMP TRIAL. THE EVIDENCE SHOWS WHY THE CHARGES SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BROUGHT.
New York Prosecutors rested their hush-money case against Donald Trump this week, but after 20 days in Court, and a trial transcript of 4000 pages, the missing piece is still missing.
The question is whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented the evidence necessary for a conviction, and if we were in the jury room, we may say NO."
Hush-Money: Judge Merchan Instructs Jury Today Before They Go Out to Deliberate
TRUMP on Trial: More Than 10 Hours of Closing Arguments - Over to The Jury For Deliberations After five weeks of dramatic testimony, and more than 10 hours of closing arguments, it’s all over bar the deliberations
The Guardian 29 MAY 2024
After more than five weeks of dramatic testimony, Donald Trumps’ business fraud hush-money trial concluded on Tuesday with more than 10 combined hours of closing arguments.
Trumps team portrayed Trump as the victim of a vindictive former employee, ex-Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen. Trump was far too busy as president to pay attention to the details of the money he paid Cohen, they argued during almost three hours of summation.
Prosecutors spent six hours reviewing the evidence and testimony they’d elicited that they say show he’d falsified business records to cover up his repayment to Cohen for paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to keep quiet about her claim she’d had an affair with Trump.
At 8pm ET, prosecutors finally wrapped up. Jurors will return on Wednesday morning to receive instructions and guidance from Judge Juan Merchan, then head to deliberate whether Trump is guilty.
Here’s How Each Side Closed Their Case:
What TRUMPs’ Lawyers Argued;
Michael Cohen is a liar and an unreliable witness
The core of Trumps' legal argument is that Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and attorney and the star witness of the trial, is a serial liar with an ax to grind against his old boss.
“Cohen is the human embodiment of reasonable doubt,” said Trump attorney Todd Blanche.
Blanche argued that Cohen lied about talking to Trump about paying off Daniels during a short phone call he made to Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller in late October 2016.
He also suggested that Cohen, or someone else, might have tampered with evidence, pointing to a recording Cohen made of a phone call with Trump where they discussed the scheme to buy the silence of former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The recording cut off abruptly; Blanche argued that shows it might have been doctored.
Trump Paid Cohen Properly
Blanche said that Trump’s payments to Cohen, which were reported as “legal services”, were properly described because Cohen was Trump’s personal attorney at the time.
“There’s no other way to categorize an invoice from a lawyer” to Trump, Blanche argued. “The government has criminalized that,” he continued. “That’s absurd.”
He also argued that Trump didn’t actually know that payments to Cohen had been classified that way, pointing out that he was a busy president when he signed the checks to Cohen.
This is key: Trump has been charged with falsifying business records. If Trump’s team can convince at least one juror that never happened, or that Trump didn’t know about it, then he won’t be convicted.
There’s No Proof of Election Interference
To charge Trump with felony counts of falsifying business records, prosecutors need to show that he likely did so in furtherance of another crime: In this case, conspiring to unlawfully boost his 2016 election chances. Trump’s attorneys tried to undercut that narrative as well.
Blanche pointed out that the National Enquirer’s head honcho David Pecker had killed negative stories about Trump as early as 1988. And he argued that Trump wanted to keep Daniels’ allegations that they’d had an affair out of the news because of how his family, especially his wife Melania, would react.
He also claimed that even if Trump had been trying to boost his election chances, that’s just how campaigns work. “It doesn’t matter if there was a conspiracy to try and win an election. Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to win an election. You have to find that this effort was done by unlawful means,” he said.
What Prosecutors Argued
Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization CFO
Focus on The Smoking Gun Documents
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass zeroed in on the January 2017 meeting between Cohen and then Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg where they hammered out the plan for Trump to repay Cohen for the $130,000 he paid Daniels, according to Cohen.
And he pointed to the “smoking gun” – the document where Weisselberg wrote down how much Cohen would be paid.
Steinglass also mocked Trump’s lawyers’ contention that the massive payments to Cohen were for legal work.
“I’m almost speechless that they’re still trying to make the arguments that in 2017 the payments were for services rendered,” Steinglass said, pointing to Cohen’s testimony that he did perhaps 10 hours of legal work for Trump and his family in all of 2017, but was paid $420,000.
“Cohen spent more time being cross-examined at this trial than he did doing legal work for Donald Trump in 2017,” Steinglass said. “Do you think that Donald Trump would spend $42,000 an hour on legal work?”
The hush-money payments ‘had everything to do with the campaign’
Multiple witnesses made it clear that Trump was worried about what Daniels’ story could do to his election prospects in 2016, the part of the scheme that would warrant felony convictions.
“The payment had everything to do with the campaign – it was an unlawful campaign contribution to the campaign,” Steinglass said.
There’s no way Trump would pay Cohen $35,000 a month without caring
Steinglass pointed out multiple times that Trump physically signed many of the checks to Cohen. And he mocked Trump’s lawyers’ claim that Trump had no part in the scheme for Cohen to be repaid.
“What is the defense here? Trump didn’t know about the reimbursement – that it was all cooked up by Weisselberg and Cohen?” Steinglass said, incredulously. “Despite his frugality and attention to detail, the defendant didn’t ask any questions because he already knew the answers.”
Steinglass then quoted Trump bragging about how frugal he is – including a line from one of his books: “I always sign my checks, so I know where my money’s going.”
‘This case is not about Michael Cohen’
Prosecutors tried to emphasize the hard evidence and other witnesses that corroborated Cohen.
“This case is not about Michael Cohen. This case is about Donald Trump. And whether he should be held accountable for making false entries in his own business records. Michael Cohen’s significance in this case is that he provides color and context to documents. He’s like a tour guide,” Steinglass said.
But they still needed to defend their star witness.
Steinglass said that Cohen was “understandably angry” at Trump because “to date, he’s the only one who paid the price.”
Sidebar: Bidens’ Campaign Shows Up at The Courthouse
Michael Fanone, the Capitol police officer, outside court on Tuesday.
President Biden’s campaign has largely avoided weighing in on Trump’s trial – but on Tuesday that changed.
The Biden campaign held a press conference outside the courthouse with actor Robert De Niro and a pair of police officers who defended the US Capitol from pro-Trump rioters on January 6 2021.
“At the end of the day, this election is about Donald Trump and his vision for the office of the president of the United States, not as a public servant who answers to the elected, to the people who elected him, but as an authoritarian, who answers to and serves only himself,” said former Capitol police officer Michael Fanone.
Key Debunking of Trump Defense Argument
Judge FURIOUS as Trump's attorney pulls ABSURD final stunt in court
Trumps’ lawyer left ‘completely unresolved’
Robert De Niro calls Donald Trump a 'monster' outside New York hush money trial
Robert De Niro spars with bystander during remarks outside Trump trial
MORE;
'Happy Dance': Prosecutors Celebrating After Blunder From TRUMP Attorney
Donald Trumps' defense lawyer may have committed a ruinous blunder during his closing argument.
Attorney Todd Blanche characterized former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was a key witness for the prosecution, as dishonest and untrustworthy but portrayed former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker as truthful — and MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin said that was essentially a gift to prosecutors.
"Todd Blanche just painted David Pecker as a truth teller in marked contrast to his portrayal of Michael Cohen," Rubin posted on X. "If I am prosecutor Josh Steinglass, I just did a happy dance."
Pecker told the jury that he purchased damaging stories about Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 election as part of an agreement with his campaign, which prosecutors say amounted to an illegal in-kind contribution that forms the basis of the felony charged against the former president and corroborated much of Cohens' testimony.
TRUMP Whines as Jury Deliberates: Mother Teresa Cant Beat These Charges
TRUMP Fumes as Jury Deliberates: 'Mother Teresa Could Not Beat These Charges'
TRUMP complained Wednesday that even Mother Teresa would be found guilty in his hush-money case moments after the jury began deliberating
MSRAW 30 MAY 2024
Trump spoke to members of the press outside the courtroom.
"I would say, in listening to the charges from the judge, who's, as you know, very conflicted and corrupt, because of the confliction, very, very corrupt," he remarked.
"Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged."
"The whole country is a mess between the borders and fake elections, and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted he can't breathe," he added. "It's a disgrace. And I mean that. Mother Teresa could not beat those charges."
Trump also complained about a limited gag order that prevents him from discussing potential witnesses, jurors, court staff, or their families.
"It was all done by Joe Biden," he said of the trial. "This judge contributed to Joe Biden. And far worse than that, but I'm not allowed to talk about it because I have a gag order."
"Far worse than that," Trump continued. "By a thousand times worse than that. The worst I've ever heard. But I can't talk about it."
"But it'll be talked about in the history books. What's happening here is weaponization at a level that nobody's seen before ever."
Trump vowed to "stay around" for the verdict.
"This is five weeks," he griped. "And five weeks of really essentially not campaigning, although I took a big lead in the polls over the last few weeks."....
__________________
That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
TRUMP Found GUILTY of ALL 34 CRIMINAL Charges in Historic Hush Money Trial
BREAKING: Donald TRUMP Found GUILTY of ALL 34 CRIMINAL Charges in Historic Hush Money Trial
The jury in Donald Trumps' historic criminal trial has reached a verdict after deliberating for 10 hours
TRUMP is First President to be Convicted in History - Will Be Sentenced on 11 July
MailOnline 30 MAY 2024
BEFORE The Verdict
TRUMP has been found GUILTY in his FIRST criminal trial.
The jury of seven men and five women made their decision as the former President faced 34 counts of falsifying business records.
It comes after five weeks of dramatic evidence and 22 witnesses being quizzed on the stand.
The case is the first time a former U.S. President has faced a criminal trial.
Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and is set to take on Joe Biden in November's election.
The verdict could upend the 2024 White House race and prove a pivotal moment in the history of the United States.
The charges Trump faced each carried a maximum potential sentence of up to four years in prison.
Jurors had the option of convicting Trump of all counts, acquitting him of all counts, or delivering a mixed verdict in which he was found guilty of some charges and not others.
If they were deadlocked then Judge Juan Merchan was able to declare a mistrial.
The 12 jurors have sat silently in a New York courtroom as prosecutors made their case and Trump's lawyers tried to discredit it
Prosecutors told of a plot by Trump to 'corrupt' the 2016 election by hiding a $130,000 hush money payment by his 'fixer' Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier, which he has denied.
The case featured explosive evidence by Daniels and lifted the lid on the 'catch and kill' practices of the National Enquirer tabloid, which bought stories that could be damaging to Trump and suppressed them.
But the actual criminal charges concern something more prosaic - the reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payment.
The reimbursements, paid by Trump in monthly installments, were recorded as being for legal expenses.
Prosecutors say that was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and to illicitly interfere in the 2016 election.
Defense lawyers argued that Cohen actually did substantive legal work for Trump and his family and was paid for it.
In a marathon day of closing arguments on Tuesday prosecutors and defense lawyers had one final chance to score points with jurors as they embarked on their momentous task.
The two sides offered wildly different accounts of Trump's culpability, the strength of the evidence, and the credibility of witnesses.
Had the Daniels story emerged in the aftermath of the 'Access Hollywood' scandal it would have further damaged his campaign, the court heard.
Steinglass told jurors: 'It's not about whether you like Michael Cohen. It's not about whether you want to go into business with Michael Cohen.
'It's whether he has useful, reliable information to give you about what went down in this case, and the truth is that he was in the best position to know.'
AFTER The Verdict
CROWDS Cheer outside courthouse after Trumps' guilty verdict
TRUMP Will Fail Upcoming Court Mental Health Questions Before Sentencing
'Uncomfortable': Expert Says TRUMP Will Fail Upcoming Court Mental Health Questions Before Sentencing
TRUMP is about to be put even more out of his comfort zone as the legal system continues to put its weight upon him now that he's been convicted of 34 felonies.
MSRAW 2 JUN 2024
TRUMPs' biographer, David Cay Johnston, said he'd be "surprised" if the ex-president was sentenced to fewer than 30 days in jail.
David Henderson, a legal analyst described by CNBC as "a seasoned trial lawyer, civil rights attorney, and communications consultant," appeared on MSNBC on Saturday to discuss another aspect of the legal proceedings.
The host brought up :the restrictions in place for former president Donald Trump in the lead up to the sentencing on July 11." Specifically, she asked about "presentencing interviews" that could involve Trump's family and other close associates, such as Alina Habba.
"What is required by the former president by that process?" the host asked.
"What is required depends on whether or not he wants to be sentenced to probation as opposed to go to jail," Henderson replied. "They're not strict requirements but highly persuasive for the person who will ultimately be deciding your fate."
"The first big question that's asked in interviews is what is your criminal history. Former president Trump doesn't have any. He aces that part of the interview. They will ask do you have any substance abuse issues or issues to alcohol we should take into consideration? He claims he does not. He aces that part of the interview."
Then, Henderson brought up the "questions he will find uncomfortable."
"For example, they are allowed to assess his mental health and determine whether or not he needs counseling and whether or not he would cooperate with participating in counseling. I think he fails part of the exam. And they will also ask how he feels about the charges brought against him and whether or not he accepts the jury verdict.
As you said, he doesn't have to answer but the problem here is it's not difficult to look at statements he's made publicly about both and it's impossible for Judge Merchan to ignore those
It's impossible to ignore the fact that Judge Merchan appears to be someone who cares about fairness and it's almost impossible not to compare Trump with Michael Cohen."
Donald Trump to Appeal Against Rigged Conviction
Trump has said he will appeal against his criminal conviction for falsifying business records - insisting he paid a "legal expense" and there was "nothing illegal".
He later attacked Joe Biden, calling him "the dumbest president we've ever had", labelled the gag order imposed during the hush money trial "nasty", and tested its limits by taking aim at his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Speaking at the White House two hours after Trump's news conference, President Biden said it was "reckless, dangerous and irresponsible for anyone to say [the trial] is rigged just because they don't like the verdict."
__________________
That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
TRUMP Supporters Will Answer His Call For Violent Riots If He's Jailed
Breaking Point: TRUMP Gives Signal For Violence From Supporters If He's Jailed
TRUMP Supporters Prep For Riots and Violent Retribution After Verdict Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection.
MSNRAW 2 JUN 2024
“Unpredictable, Narcissistic, Convicted Criminal” Donald Trump Supporters Call For Riots
Supporters of former President Donald Trump, enraged by his conviction on 34 felony counts by a New York jury, flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, revolution and violent retribution.
After Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, his supporters responded with dozens of violent online posts, according to a Reuters review of comments on three Trump-aligned websites: the former president's own Truth Social platform, Patriots.Win and the Gateway Pundit.
“Someone in NY with nothing to lose needs to take care of Merchan,” wrote one commentator on Patriots.Win. “Hopefully he gets met with illegals with a machete,” the post said in reference to illegal immigrants.
On Gateway Pundit, one poster suggested shooting liberals after the verdict. “Time to start capping some leftys,” said the post.
“This cannot be fixed by voting."
Threats of violence and intimidating rhetoric soared after Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely claimed the vote was stolen. As he campaigns for a second White House term, Trump has baselessly cast the judges and prosecutors in his trials as corrupt tools of the Biden administration, intent on sabotaging his White House bid.
His loyalists have responded with a campaign of threats and intimidation targeting judges and court officials.
“This was a disgrace, this was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” Trump told reporters afterwards, echoing comments he often made during the trial.
A 12-member jury found Trump guilty on Thursday of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star’s account of a sexual encounter ahead of the 2016 election. Sentencing is set for July 11, days before the Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate Trump for president ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing and is expected to appeal.
Trump continued his attacks online after the verdict. On Truth Social, he called Merchan “HIGHLY CONFLICTED” and criticized his jury instructions as unfair. One commentator responded by posting a picture of a hangman's platform and a noose with the caption: “TREASONOUS MOBSTER OF THE JUSTICES SYSTEM!!”
Jacob Ware, a co-author of the book “God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America”, said the violent language used by Trump’s followers was testament to the former president’s “ironclad ability to mobilize more extreme supporters to action, both at the ballot box and through violence.”
“Until and unless he accepts the process, the extremist reaction to his legal troubles will be militant,” said Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
A spokesperson for Truth Social said, “It’s hard to believe that Reuters, once a respected news service, has fallen so low as to publish such a manipulative, false, defamatory and transparently stupid article as this one purely out of political spite.”
All three sites have policies against violent language, and some of the posts were later removed. Representatives of Patriots.Win and Gateway Pundit did not immediately return requests for comment. A Trump spokesperson also did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“HANG EVERYONE”
After Thursday's verdict, many of his supporters also said that his conviction was proof that the American political system was broken and that only violent action could save the country. “1,000,000 men (armed) need to go to Washington and hang everyone.
That's the only solution,” said one poster on Patriots.win. Another added: “Trump should already know he has an army willing to fight and die for him if he says the words...I’ll take up arms if he asks.”
Other posts specifically urged targeting Democrats, in some cases suggesting they be shot. “AMERICA FULLY DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS. LOCK AND LOAD,” wrote a commentator on Gateway Pundit.
While the posts identified by Reuters all called for violence or insurrection, most fell short of the legal standard for a prosecutable threat, which typically requires evidence that the comment reflects a clear intent to act or instill fear, rather than simply suggesting a frightening outcome.
Still, one researcher who studies extremist militias said the guilty verdict could inspire violence by reinforcing a conviction among some of Trump's supporters that he's a victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by his enemies.
'Revenge, retaliation, retribution': Trump's 'fixation' on targeting his critics grows
“I do think a lot of these folks have been looking for an excuse to maybe mobilize for a while,” said Amy Cooter of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism.
“I hope I’m wrong. I’ve said for a long time, though, that I would not be shocked to see violence result from a guilty verdict, either directed toward the jurors” or others connected to the case.
Hush Money -Att Gen Garland Slams GOP Critics as Gaetz Loses Control
Merrick Garland Comes Out Swinging Against GOP Critics at Hush Money Hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
Heinous Threats of Violence Directed at The DoJ Departments’ Career Public Servants by TRUMPs' 'Gang'
'Tirade': Matt Gaetz loses control as he yells at Merrick Garland in Congress
MSNRAW 4 JUN 2024
Garlands' planned opening remarks in which he comes out swinging against "conspiracy theories" being peddled to suggest that the Department of Justice has been "weaponized" against Donald Trump.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has a reputation as a mild-mannered institutionalist, but he's apparently preparing to spar with Republican critics during an appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
CNN has obtained Garland's opening remarks in which he comes out swinging against "conspiracy theories" being peddled to suggest that the Department of Justice has been "weaponized" against former President Donald Trump.
Garland will slam efforts to link the DOJ to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's successful criminal prosecution of Trump, and he will slam claims that "a jury verdict in a state trial, brought by a local District Attorney, was somehow controlled by the Justice Department."
"That conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself," Garland will say, according to the leaked remarks.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) lost his cool with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday during a House Judiciary Committee.
Gaetz, who is still subject to an ethics investigation involving allegations that he trafficked an underage sex worker, yelled at Garland, "I have given my life to the law!"
The fight was about Gaetz's demand for information about cases outside the Justice Department's purview. Gaetz demanded to know if Garland had "communicated" with any local jurisdictions that have indicted former President Donald Trump.
Both Gaetz and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) are demanding correspondence between the DOJ and the lower jurisdictions, like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Both D.A.s have refused to comply with the GOP's demands.
Read Also: House GOPers gunning for Gaetz as ethics probe expands to 'broader range' of violations
Garland kept telling Gaetz that these jurisdictions are independent from the DOJ.
"I don't need a history lesson!" Gaetz snapped.
Gaetz then used Garland to launch his own attack on Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw Trump's recent criminal case in which a jury found him guilty of 34 felonies.
The Florida Republican then claimed that the DOJ "dispatched" Matthew Colangelo to help prosecute Trump in New York. Colangelo was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the DOJ, but left his job to join Bragg's team.
Republicans claim that the federal department was using information from their investigations to help prosecute Trump in New York.
Garland denied anybody was "dispatched" to work on the New York case.
Gaetz went on to claim that Garland was somehow linked to Judge Merchan and the Manhattan probe into Trump.
"And I'm saddened by it because, like you, I've given my life to the law. I care deeply about the law," Gaetz claimed.
Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) gave Garland a moment to respond "to Mr. Gaetz's tirade."
Garland once again stated he has nothing to do with cases in different jurisdictions.
Trump Team Raised $141 MIL During Criminal Trial
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
Hush Money-Convicted FELON TRUMP Appeals GAG Order as Gun License Revoked
TRUMPs' Gun License to Be Revoked Following Conviction
---New York City police department to revoke Trumps’ license after suspending permit to carry a concealed weapon in April 2023
TRUMP Lawyers and Prosecutors at Odds Over Lifting Gag Order Before Sentencing
Attorneys say restrictions on referring to participants in trial inhibits ex-presidents’ first amendment rights
The Guardian 6 JUN 2024
Donald Trump had lots of negative opinions about felons. Now he is one
Donald Trumps' license to carry a gun is expected to be revoked by the New York City police department now that he has been convicted of a felony
The former president once boasted that he was so popular with the electorate, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” He made the claim in January 2016 during the Iowa caucuses campaign.
Trumps' permit to carry a concealed weapon was suspended in April last year after he was indicted on charges of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, according to CNN.
Now, the NYPD is preparing to revoke Trumps' license altogether
Last week Trump was found guilty on 34 charges stemming from a hush-money scheme to influence the 2016 election, including felony falsification of business records.
Trump is due to be sentenced on 11 July but experts say it is unlikely that he will serve time in jail. Trump has denounced the historic conviction as a “rigged trial”.
TRUMP Asks Judge to Terminate Gag Order in Hush Money Case
As Donald Trump fights for Judge Juan Merchan to lift a gag order barring him from speaking publicly about key figures in his New York trial
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office are urging the judge to keep the order in place.
“The court has an obligation to protect the integrity of these proceedings and the fair administration of justice at least through the sentencing hearing and the resolution of any post-trial motions,” wrote the prosecutors in a letter on Wednesday.
During the trial – over Trumps efforts to bury a sex scandal before the 2016 election – Trump repeatedly inveighed on social media against figures connected to the case, including witnesses and the Judges' daughter, who has worked as a Democratic consultant.
In response, Merchan issued a series of orders barring Trump from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses and the family of the judge.
The trial concluded on 30 May, with the jury finding Trump guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to hide hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with the former president.
Prosecutors had said they wanted the gag order to “protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding and avoid prejudice to the jury”. In the order, Merchan noted prosecutors had sought the restrictions “for the duration of the trial”. He did not specify when they would be lifted.
Trumps' lawyers Todd Blanche told the Associated Press last Friday that it was his understanding the gag order would expire when the trial ended and that he would seek clarity from Merchan, which he did on Tuesday.
TRUMP is Losing His Guns
TRUMP Asks Judge to Terminate Gag Order
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
Hush Money-NY Probation Officers to Interview FELON TRUMP by Video Mon in Florida
New York Probation Officers to Interview TRUMP Prior to His Criminal Sentencing
He will talk to officials via video call from Florida, with his lawyer, for hush-money conviction
Trump to escalate blame on trial judge Juan Merchan if sentenced to prison
The Guardian 10 JUN 2024
Desperate MADMAN Trump is scheduled to be interviewed by New York probation officials Monday, a required step before his July sentencing in his criminal hush-money case, according to three people familiar with the plan.
The former president will do the interview via a computer video conference from his residence at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, the people told the Associated Press.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans publicly.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche, will be present for the interview. People convicted of crimes in New York usually meet with probation officials without their lawyers, but the judge in Trump’s case, Juan Merchan, said in a letter Friday that he would allow Blanche’s presence.
The usual purpose of a pre-sentencing probation interview is to prepare a report that will tell the judge more about the defendant, and potentially help determine the proper punishment for the crime
Such reports are typically prepared by a probation officer, a social worker or a psychologist working for the probation department who interviews the defendant and possibly that person’s family and friends, as well as people affected by the crime.
Present reports include a defendant’s personal history, criminal record and recommendations for sentencing. It will also include information about employment and any obligations to help care for a family member. It is also a chance for a defendant to say why they think they deserve a lighter punishment.
A jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records at his own company as part of a broader scheme to buy the silence of people who might have told embarrassing stories about him during the 2016 presidential campaign. One $130,000 payment went to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump, which he denied.
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
re: 'We WILL KILL You All': TRUMPs MAGA Death Threats -Judge Recuses Himself
TRUMPs' Voting Rights as a Felon in Florida
- Plan to Fast-Track allowing convicted felon Trump to vote bashed by leading Florida paper
What Rights Does Donald Trump Lose as a Felon?
MSNRAW 17 JUN 2024
A plan by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to jump Donald Trump to the front of the line so that the Florida Clemency Board can restore his ability to vote after being convicted of multiple felonies was hammered by the Miami Herald.
As the paper notes, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 that would restore voting rights for convicted felons as long as their crimes did not involve violent crimes or sex offenses, but DeSantis has thrown up roadblocks that needlessly delay the process.
As the Herald's editorial board wrote, "The line of Black and Hispanic people waiting to get their voting rights restored is miles long, despite the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition doing its best to streamline the process. Yes, the clemency board has broad authority to restore rights. The challenge under DeSantis has been when people of color try to get their voting rights restored and face barriers."
However, with Trump convicted of 34 felony counts of business fraud in Manhattan, DeSantis is interceding on the former president's behalf so that he can, presumably, vote for himself in November. Trump is a Florida resident, having switched from New York five years ago.
With DeSantis boasting on X, "The bottom line is that Donald Trump’s vote this November will be one of millions that demonstrate Florida is now a solid Republican state!” the Herald took the stance that he should get in line like every other felon and wait his turn.
"DeSantis should apply the same rules he plans to use to help felonious Trump to all the people who qualify under the constitutional amendment that voters approved six long years ago. That would be equal justice," they wrote.
What Rights Does Trump Lose as a Felon?
On 31 May Trump was found guilty on all 34 charges related to his efforts to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
This makes Trump the first former U.S. president ever convicted of a felony, and his felonious status means that some things he takes for granted may now be off the table.
What rights does Trump lose as a convicted felon, and how would this affect his life if he were to be reelected president?
Travel Problems
If Trump is elected president again, he may have some problems with international relations as a result of his felony status. At least 37 countries, including major American allies, prohibit people who have been convicted of a felony from entering their borders, according to the World Population Review.
Some of these countries, such as Australia, the U.K. and Argentina actively screen criminal records and will deny travel to felons immediately. Others, such as Brazil, don't actively screen criminal records but will typically kick someone out if their felony conviction is discovered by immigration authorities. However, foreign leaders might "make exceptions for Trump, especially if he's elected president," said Axios. So it is true that other nations could stop him from entering, but "I don't think that those countries would dare not allow a sitting U.S. president to visit on a diplomatic basis," criminal defense attorney Keith B. Johnson said to Axios.
Owning a Gun
Trump was licensed to carry three guns, but his new felony status is likely about to change that. Anyone convicted of a "crime punishable by more than one year in prison is barred from possessing firearms under federal law," said the Trace. Trump's crimes carry a maximum sentence of four years behind bars, meaning that the former president is "outlawed from owning guns even if he is ultimately sentenced to probation."
The NYPD is reportedly preparing to revoke Trump's firearm license, and CNN reported that his concealed carry license was already suspended after the charges against him were filed last year. Two of his guns were turned over to the NYPD and the third was moved to Florida, but "due to his felony conviction, he could be in violation of multiple state and federal laws if he still possesses that third gun in Florida".
Voting
Many people began flooding social media after Trump's conviction saying that he was no longer able to vote. But contrary to popular belief, convicted felons "do not automatically lose their right to vote in the U.S.; different states have different policies on the issue," said Time.
So the question of his voting rights falls to Florida, the state in which Trump is registered to vote. Florida defers to the laws of the state where a felon was convicted — in this case, New York. The Empire State "is one of 23 states where people convicted of a felony can vote" as long as they aren't currently incarcerated, said the Guardian. As a result, Trump "will likely still be able to cast a vote for himself in November" unless he is behind bars at the time of the election.
Can He Still Be President?
All of these scenarios raise perhaps the most important question: Is Trump even allowed to be elected president as a convicted felon? The answer is a resounding yes. There is no law in the American legal system "that bars a felon from running for president," said Boston University's daily website, BU Today. Unless a law is passed to change this, Trump is free to run for the White House and potentially be reelected.
While there will be some restrictions on Trump, the fact is that "a lot of the negative consequences of getting a felony [conviction] really aren't going to apply to Trump because of his wealth and status"
And while a felony conviction would normally impact a job application, that doesn't exactly apply to running for president, and Trumps "wealth isolates him" from most consequences.
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
'We WILL KILL You All': TRUMPs 'Cult of a Thug' MAGA Sends Death Threats to D.A
'We WILL KILL You All': TRUMPs' 'Cult of a Thug' MAGA Sends Upsetting Death Threats to Manhattan DA
One threat sent to Braggs' office showed an image of Braggs' neck in a noose, along with a threatening message.
'We have to stop it a second time': Trump accused of invoking Jan 6. attack in interview
MSNRAW 22 JUN 2024
The Office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been inundated with death threats following former President Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions, according to new reporting.
NBC News reported Friday that in the last three months alone, there have been dozens of death threats made against Bragg, his family and his staff, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
And since April, the DA's office has forwarded more than 500 threatening phone calls and letters to the NYPD. At least two bomb threats were phoned in to the residences of two people involved with the case on the first day of Trump's New York criminal trial.
NYPD Sergeant Nicholas Pistilli noted that some of the threats contained overtly violent messaging like "we will kill you all," "you are dead," "your life is done" and "RIP," among others. Pistilli also said Bragg's office received "a post showing sniper shots on people involved in this case or a family member of such a person, and a post disclosing the home address of a DA Office employee."
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace also pointed out that some of the death threats are racist in nature, as Bragg is Black.
In a Friday segment, legal analyst Lisa Rubin told Wallace that when she spoke with investigators, they confirmed to her that some of the threats were so graphic in nature that they were unwilling to share them with reporters.
"The universe of threats to Alvin Bragg, and the people around him working with him are far larger in all likelihood than that which we can know," she said. "As bad as the images are that I saw today, and had to describe for you and our colleagues, I want us all to pause and think about: If those are the ones that they chose to share with us, imagine what else is out there that we haven't seen."
"These are just so upsetting to everyone who has seen them and everyone who has lived with them," Rubin said.
While Trump has been convicted on all counts in the original indictment, the gag order Judge Juan Merchan imposed has remained in place. The former president's legal team unsuccessfully argued to have it lifted, suggesting Trump is chomping at the bit to get back to attacking the groups protected by the order like jurors, witnesses, court staff and their families.
The gag order will stay in place until Trump is sentenced on July 11, and the ex-president is still banned from attacking jurors, court staff and family members of both. However, Bragg has agreed that the gag order can be lifted for witnesses, allowing Trump to attack his former attorney Michael Cohen and adult film star and director Stormy Daniels.
'We have to stop the steal a second time': Trump invokes repeat of Jan 6. attack in interview
"Now that the jury has delivered a verdict, however, the compelling interest in protecting the witnesses’ ability to testify without interference is no longer present"
Bragg's office told NBC. "The relevant balancing of interests has thus shifted from the time that this Court issued the orders restricting defendant’s extrajudicial statements."
'We WILL KILL You All': TRUMPs MAGA Death Threats -Judge Recuses Himself
Re; MAGA'Cult of a Thug' Death Threats - New Yorks' Top Judge Recuses Himself From TRUMPs' Gag Order Case
The chief judge on New Yorks' highest court has recused himself from overseeing Donald Trumps attempt to have a gag order overturned in his hush money trial
MSNRAW 23 JUN 2024
The chief judge on New York’s highest court has recused himself from overseeing Donald Trump’s attempt to have a gag order overturned in his hush money trial
New York’s Westchester Journal News reported Friday that Chief Judge Rowan Wilson dropped out of the case, saying that Justice Juan Merchan was being represented by the Office of Court Administration, which Wilson oversees.
Merchan is the judge in Trump’s trial that saw him convicted of 34 charges involving covering up payments to buy the silence of an adult movie actress who claimed she’d had a sexual relationship with him.
Merchan had slapped Trump with a gag order to stop him attacking witnesses, judges, and court staff. The order is still in place as Trump awaits sentencing on July 11. The GOP presidential nominee claims that hurts his ability to campaign as a candidate.
Usually judges in the state who are the subject of lawsuits are represented by the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Journal News reported.
“For reasons I don’t know, the Attorney General didn’t represent Justice Merchan, and instead, then, a lawyer within the Office of Court Administration represented him,” Wilson said. “That didn’t seem appropriate to me to remain on that case.”
He said it was “entirely my decision.”
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
re: 'NO' Angry Hush Money Judge Denies TRUMPs' Recusal Bid For THIRD Time
Donald Trumps' Hush Money Sentencing Delayed to 18 SEP.
'September Earthquake': Expert warns Trump's sentencing delay could hugely backfire on him
9 News Australia 3 JUL 2024
New York Judge Juan Merchan on Wednesday ruled that the sentencing for Trump's 34-count felony conviction in the Manhattan hush money case will be moved from 11 July 11, just days before the start of the Republican National Convention, to 18 September.
The change was made after the Supreme Court's ruling that presidents have a presumption of immunity for official acts, Trump's lawyers moved to disqualify the conviction on the grounds that it was at least partially based on evidence obtained through acts when Trump was in office.
Ultimately, experts believe that it's unlikely Trump will prevail in getting the case tossed — and the bigger worry for him, University of Surrey political science professor Mark Shanahan told Newsweek, is that the delay itself is going to maximize the political impact of his sentence, triggering what he called a "September earthquake" right around when early voting starts in many states.
"Everyone was taken aback by SCOTUS's decision on presidential immunity, and all sides are scrambling to understand if and how it applies to the New York verdicts," said Shanahan.
Nothing in this case will affect the vote of hardcore Trump supporters, Shanahan continued.
"But for voters who still believe in a constitutional separation of powers and rule of law, any further delay, or soft peddling on the New York verdicts, will light the fire on a final month of campaigning based on the premise of preserving democracy."
Other Trump cases already face a greater impact from the Supreme Court's decision, with the federal election conspiracy case set to be mired in hearings for months — although even if the trial can't take place before the election, these hearings might.
'Smart': Expert Lauds Judge For Quietly Killing Trumps' Chance to Appeal Before Election
The judge in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial showed the nation he's playing chess and not checkers when he delayed the former president's sentencing hearing this week, a legal expert argues.
New York City Justice Juan Merchan's decision to bump Trump's sentencing from July 11 to Sept. 18 shows he is one step ahead of the former president and his legal team, former federal prosecutor and MSNBC analyst Andrew Weissmann argued Tuesday.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office did not challenge Trump's demand to delay sentencing and Merchan then pushed back the date until after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, when Trump is expected to secure his party's presidential nomination.
While Trump's MAGA followers celebrated the delay, Weissmann argued they danced a victory dance before they'd won the battle.
"[The delay] gives Trump and DA and the court time to brief the issues, but Merchan will ultimately reject the weak Trump claims," Weissmann argues.
More importantly still, the timing prevents Trump from appealing to powerful legal allies before he has the chance to reclaim the White House, the former federal prosector concluded.
"The new mid-September sentencing date will make it VERY hard for Trump to then be able to appeal to [Supreme Court] before the election," Weissmann wrote.
"As he will have to appeal within NY state courts first."
GOTCHA....BOOM BOOM.. VERY Clever Judge....
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
DA Asks Judge NOT to Throw Out TRUMPs' Criminal Hush Money Conviction
Manhattan DA Asks Judge NOT to Throw Out TRUMPs' Criminal Hush Money Conviction
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday asked a New York judge to reject former President Donald Trumps' attempt to throw out his criminal hush money conviction, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling on presidential immunity "has nothing to say about defendant's conviction."
AP 27 JUL 2024
Trump earlier this month asked Judge Juan Merchan to vacate his conviction on the grounds that the trial was "tainted" by evidence and testimony that was made off-limits after the Supreme Court ruled Trump has presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.
Prosecutors said in Thursday's court filing that paying hush money to an adult film actress is "entirely personal" with "no relationship whatsoever to any official duty of the presidency."
Trump argued that certain evidence presented at trial -- including testimony from former White House aide Hope Hicks and Trump's tweets about his former attorney Michael Cohen -- related to his official acts as president and should now be considered inadmissible in light of the Supreme Court opinion.
Prosecutors pushed back in their filing;
"The challenged Tweets bear no resemblance to the kinds of public comments that the Supreme Court indicated would qualify as official presidential conduct," the district attorney's office said. "Defendant's Tweets conveying his personal opinion about his private attorney do not bear any conceivable relationship to any official duty of the Presidency."
Prosecutors also argued that testimony from Hicks, who was once Trump's communications director, "related solely to unofficial conduct."
"The evidence that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court's ruling constitutes only a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered in finding him guilty of all 34 felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt," the filing said.
Earlier this month, Judge Merchan postponed Trump's sentencing in the case from July 11 to Sept. 18 so he could consider Trump's request to vacate his conviction.
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That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
re: 'NO' Angry Hush Money Judge Denies TRUMPs' Recusal Bid For THIRD Time
US Supreme Court Declines to Halt TRUMPs' Sentencing Until After Election in Criminal Hush Money Case
Supreme Court rejects Missouris' effort to delay TRUMPs' sentencing for New York conviction
Clarence Thomas Breaks With Supreme Court Over Donald Trump Trial Lawsuit -Should Justice Clarence Thomas Be In Jail Over Egregious Conduct? TRUMPs' Criminal Hush Money Conviction
AP 6 AUG 2024
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by the state of Missouri to halt Donald Trump's upcoming sentencing for his conviction in New York on felony charges involving hush money paid to a porn star and left a related gag order until after the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The decision by the justices came in response to Missouri's lawsuit claiming that the case against Trump infringed on the right of voters under the U.S. Constitution to hear from the Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to regain the White House.
The SLUG and The SNAKE
The Supreme Courts' order was unsigned.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito indicated they would have taken up Missouri's case but added that they "would not grant other relief."
Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 U.S. election about a sexual encounter she has said she had with Trump years earlier.
Prosecutors have said the payment was designed help Trump's chances in the 2016 election, when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump, the Republican candidate in this year's election, denies having had sex with Daniels and has vowed to appeal his conviction after his sentencing, scheduled for September.
Missouri's Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a July 3 lawsuit against New York state asking the Supreme Court to pause Trump's impending sentencing and the gag order placed on him by New York state judge Juan Merchan.
Legal disputes between states are filed directly to the Supreme Court.
Bailey argued that the criminal case against Trump violated the right of Missouri residents under the Constitution's First Amendment to "hear from and vote for their preferred presidential candidate."
"Instead of letting presidential candidates campaign on their own merits, radical progressives in New York are trying to rig the 2024 election by waging a direct attack on our democratic process," Bailey said in bringing the case.
Republican attorneys general from Florida, Iowa, Montana and Alaska filed a Supreme Court brief in support of Missouri's lawsuit. Trump also faces federal and state criminal charges involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
The Supreme Court in a July 1 ruling powered by its 6-3 conservative majority granted Trump substantial criminal immunity for actions taken in office. It all but ensured Trump would not face trial in the federal election subversion case before the election.
Trump's lawyers promptly invoked the immunity ruling in a bid to toss the hush money verdict. They said prosecutors improperly relied on social media posts made in 2018 by Trump when he was serving as president that qualified as official communications.
The judge in the case said he would rule on Trump's arguments by Sept. 6. Merchan said that if he upholds the conviction, he would sentence Trump on Sept. 18.
A New York state appeals court last week rejected Trump's challenge to his gag order. The decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan means Trump, who has called all the criminal cases against him politically motivated, cannot comment publicly about individual prosecutors and others in the case until his sentencing.
THE 'EMPEROR' HAS LOST HIS ROBES
Should Clarence Thomas Be In Jail Over Egregious Conduct?
From A Corrupt Supreme Court Granting Trump Immunity To Trump Saying No More Voting
'NO' Angry Hush Money Judge Denies TRUMPs' Recusal Bid For THIRD Time
Nail In The Coffin: Hush Money Judge Shows Mounting Ire in Criminal TRUMP Slap Down
The judge in Donald Trumps hush money trial this week revealed mounting frustration with the former president as he tries to wriggle out of his historic criminal conviction
MSNRAW 14 AUG 2024
Judge Juan Merchan unleashed his frustration Monday, just one month before he's slated to decide whether Trump should serve time for falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels
"Merchan’s pique with Trumps counsel, whose prior affirmation Merchan calls 'rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims,' is clear," Rubin said.
The latest ruling represented Trump's third attempt to toss Merchan from the case, this time arguing that he was biased by his daughter's prior work on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris, court records show.
Merchan disagreed.
Mentally unwell: Trump ridiculed after raging at hush money judge over 'wrong ruling' -
"Judge Merchan just ruled that I, the Republican candidate for President, and leading in the Polls, am still under a Gag Order CONCERNING VERY IMPORTANT THINGS WHICH MUST BE BROUGHT TO LIGHT," Trump wrote at 10 a.m. ET. "I AM NOT ALLOWED TO ANSWER REPORTERS QUESTIONS."
"This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear - innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create," writes Merchan.
Rubin said the "nail in the coffin" for Trump was that Merchan found his lawyers unable to provide any substantial evidence to back his claim.
"Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts. Defense Counsel's reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing."
Merchan, who received an affirming nod from the judicial ethics board more than one year ago, also slammed Trump for missing a deadline for post-trial motions by more than a month, 48 days exactly.
Trump is scheduled to return to Merchan's New York City courtroom on 18 Sept to face sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The maximum sentence for the charges is four years but, considering the nonviolent nature of Trumps crime, Merchan could order a less severe punishment such as probation.
Frank Runyeon, the New York courts reporter for Law 360, characterized Trump's motion as a failure and Merchan's response as a rebuke.
WORN-OUT, Haggard & Showing Desperation
Runyeon reported, "Merchan Pans Trumps Filing.'"
__________________
That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
JD Vance-'Judge Merchan & Daughter MUST Be Summonsed So GOP Can PUNISH Them'
JD Vance Says Judge Merchan & Daughter MUST Be Subpoenaed So GOP Can PUNISH Them
JD Vance is a Fraud Who?s Sold Out Every Veteran: Advocate SLAMS Trump Medal of Honor Snub
MSNRAW 26 AUG 2024
Jesse Watters interviewed Sen. J.D.Vance (R-Ohio) to gauge how GOP officials close to the former president were reacting to the news.
Vance told Watters that Republicans "have to be willing to fight back." That apparently included going after not only Bragg, but also Judge Juan Merchan and even his family.
"We need to be subpoenaing Judge Merchan and his daughter. We need to understand what are the connections between big Democratic money and this sham prosecution," Vance said.
"Did George Soros talk to Alvin Bragg about using his power to after Donald Trump? We need to get to the bottom of it."
"And when we find wrongdoing, we need to be willing to actually punish it," he added. "That is, again, the only language that I think these people are going to understand."
Vance's comments about Judge Merchan's daughter are likely in reference to her work for a consulting firm as a campaign fundraising professional.
They also echo Trump's repeated past attacks on the daughter of the judge who oversaw his case, which prompted Merchan to impose a gag order on the former president preventing him from attacking jurors, witnesses, court staff and their families. Some of the past clients for the consulting firm that Merchan's daughter works for include Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) and President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.
However, in April of last year, NBC News reported that "there?s no available evidence to suggest that Merchan?s daughter has done any subsequent work for Biden and no evidence to suggest that she ?now? works for a Biden political operation."
In addition to Vance, other high-level Republicans have attacked Merchan's daughter outside of the Manhattan courthouse where Trump's trial was being held. Some of those attacks came from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida), who is also considered to be on Trump's list of potential running mates.
Trump is due in Merchan's courtroom again, when he will be sentenced to as many as four years in prison (class E felonies don't require a prison sentence). The sentences for all of his 34 felony convictions will be served concurrently, meaning all at once.
According to former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann, Merchan may end up incarcerating Trump due not only to his "complete lack of remorse" in the wake of the verdict, but also due to his multiple violations of his gag order.
The party needs to burn to the ground': Former adviser rips into GOP under Trump
Trump biographer says ex-president could lose 'at least half of his net worth' in November
BIGGER NUT THAN TRUMP-HE'S A BULLY AND HATES WOMEN
?What an embarrassment?: JD Vance describes his mother-in-law as postmenopausal caretaker
JD Vance is a Fraud Who?s Sold Out Every Veteran
'Listen to these insults': Hear what JD Vance said about Trump before becoming his running mate
'Uncharted waters': Experts suggest Trump?s looming sentence could include prison time
__________________
That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
Judge Denies TRUMP Bid to Move Hush Money Case to FED Court
Judge Denies TRUMP Bid to Move Hush Money Case to FED Court
Prosecutor 'body-slams' Trump demand to move hush money case to federal court
MSNRAW 4 SEP 2024
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a response to Donald Trump's latest request to have his already decided criminal case moved to federal court ? and a legal expert said it "body slams" the former president's argument.
Trump's lawyers argued that all proceedings in his hush-money case must be paused while a request to move the case to federal court is considered. Trump is due to be sentenced on Sept. 18.
Bragg wrote in the letter, sent to Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan on Aug. 30 and posted online Tuesday, that Trump's timing concerns result from "his own strategic and dilatory litigation tactics."
Former ethics czar Norm Eisen wrote on Friday, "Trump has requested that his N.Y. case be moved to fed court in yet ANOTHER desperate attempt to delay and avoid accountability. This request should be rejected and Trump should be sentenced without delay."
"The statute allows federal officials to remove a state prosecution to federal court?but ONLY if their alleged conduct was part of their official duties," said Eisen.
"But the fundamental problem with this ploy is that Trump already tried to remove the case and lost ? no second bites at the apple!" he continued. "Judge Hellerstein, who has the case and who denied him before, should shut him down on that basis alone."
In Bragg's response, his office wrote, "Federal law is clear that proceedings in this Court need not be stayed pending the district court's resolution of defendant's removal notice."
On Tuesday, Eisen posted Bragg's response, commenting: "Manhattan DA bodyslams [sic] Trump federal removal attempt."
A jury had already decided on Trump's case, and Trump was found guilty of all charges.
Judge Delays TRUMP Sentencing in Hush-Money Case Til After US Election
Judge Merchan Delays TRUMP Sentencing in Hush-Money Case Until After US Election
Conditions for sentencing over ex-president?s payments to adult film star ?fraught with complexities?, Judge says
The Guardian 6 SEP 2024
Describing conditions as ?fraught with complexities?, a New York judge on Friday delayed Donald Trump?s sentencing on charges stemming from hush money paid to an adult film star until 26 November.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had asked Justice Juan Merchan to push back his sentencing date until after the US election. Trump had previously been scheduled to be sentenced on 18 September, less than two months before the election.
Trump?s lawyers in August argued there would not be enough time before the sentencing for the defense to potentially appeal Merchan?s forthcoming ruling on Trump?s request to overturn the conviction due to the US supreme court?s landmark decision on presidential immunity.
While Merchan noted that Trump?s attorneys had ?repeat[ed] a litany of perceived and unsubstantiated grievances from previous filings that do not merit this Court?s attention?, Merchan?s response acknowledged that the combination of an upcoming presidential election and the supreme court?s ruling had ?render[ed] the requirements of a sentencing hearing, should one be necessary, difficult to execute?.
Merchan had been scheduled to rule on that motion on 16 September.
The supreme court?s 6-3 ruling, which related to a separate criminal case Trump faces, found that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for their official acts, and that evidence of presidents? official actions cannot be used to help prove criminal cases involving unofficial actions.
Prosecutors with Bragg?s office argued their case involved Trump?s personal conduct, not official acts, so there was no reason to overturn the verdict. But they took no position on Trump?s request to delay sentencing, saying in a 16 August filing they deferred to Merchan on the question.
The prosecutors said an appellate court could delay the sentencing anyway to give itself time to consider Trump?s arguments, a move they said would be ?disruptive?.
Judge Merchan interpreted Bragg?s response to the request as a signal of support for a delay. ?[A] careful reading of that response can fairly be construed as a joinder of the motion,? Merchan wrote.
?The public?s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion.?
TRUMP LOSES Criminal Hush Money Appeal-Gag Order REMAINS Pending Sentence
TRUMP LOSES Gag Order Challenge in NY Appeals Court; Gag Order REMAINS In Place In Criminal Hush Money Case Pending Sentencing
Trump must comply with gag order in New York after appeal dismissed...
AP 13 SEP 2024
Seems there is no court case Donald Trump cant lose. The highest appeals court in New York just rejected Trumps attempt to get the existing gag order in his New York criminal case lifted. The appeals court rejected Trumps arguments and left the gag order in place while Trumps case is pending sentencing.
New Yorks appeals court is keeping in place a limited gag order on former President Donald Trump, striking down his latest attempt to get the order lifted.
The gag order, put in place by New York's Judge Juan Merchan, prevents the current Republican presidential nominee from speaking about court staff, prosecutors or their families. Merchan had previously said the order would be lifted after Trump is sentenced. Last week, Merchan pushed that sentencing off to Nov. 26, after the election.
In May, Trump became the first sitting or former president to be tried and convicted of felony charges. Merchan originally put in place a broader gag order that prevented Trump from also speaking about witnesses and jurors during the trial. That part of the order has since been lifted, with some limitations for juror protection.
Trump and his lawyers had requested he be allowed to speak more directly about the case in order to campaign against Vice President Harris. Trump?s lawyers have claimed the gag order prohibits him from responding to attacks about his criminal record from Harris.
The current gag order does not prevent Trump from speaking about Merchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the indictment.
Trump has spent his time on the campaign trail arguing, without evidence, that the trial and conviction were politically motivated. Speaking at rallies across the country, he has criticized prosecutors, as well as Democratic judges like Merchan who have overseen his various lawsuits and those who have prosecuted him.
Last month, an appeals panel of the state Supreme Court also upheld the remainder of the gag order, which Trump then appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Judges in that panel said that since the criminal process is ongoing, the narrow gag order should still remain in place and that ?threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat.?
TRUMP Trys AGAIN to Pay Stormy Daniels to Be QUIET Before Election
TRUMP is AGAIN Trying to Pay Stormy Daniels Hush Money:
Trump trying to pay Stormy Daniels to be quiet again before an election
MSNRAW 17 OCT 2024
Trump is once again attempting to keep Stormy Daniels silent before an election despite the former president awaiting sentencing on 34 felony charges related to hush money payments before the 2016 election.
We have just learned, 20 days before this election that he is once again trying to pay Stormy Daniels to be quiet, Maddow said Wednesday night as part of a breaking news special report.
Trump was convicted earlier this year for making hush money payments to Daniels 11 days before the 2016 election. New information was discovered after Daniels appearance on her show, when a GoFundMe page setup by Daniels raised enough money to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for Trump-related cases that she was still on the hook for.
During Daniels' negotiations to settle the amount of money she would owe Trump that his attorneys tried again to make a deal. They want to cut some sort of deal where they silence you, Daniels attorney is heard telling the porn actress in a video recorded by Daniels.
In the midst of this negotiation over paying off the last legal settlement between them, Trump is trying to get another hush money deal with Stormy Daniels ahead of this election, Maddow said. Trumps lawyer basically offered to take it off the bottom line.
They would pretend that Stormy Daniels owed less money to Trump than they actually believed she owed if she also signed an agreement to not talk about Trump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64005s7cKOQ
__________________
That buzz you hear is George Washington spinning in his grave
Judge Merchan Delays Ruling on Progress of Criminal Hush-Money Until 19 November
TRUMP Hush-Money Judge Delays Ruling on Whether to Throw Out Conviction
Judge Juan Merchan told Trumps lawyers on Tuesday that hed delay the ruling until 19 November.
BBC 12 NOV 2024
Postponement follows numerous successful attempts to delay case where he was convicted on 34 felony counts
Donald Trumps return to the White House effectively slammed the door on the two cases involving federal criminal charges against him.
A state case against him for allegedly conspiring to interfere with Georgias election in 2020 will go on hold until after his present term in office ends - if it's still alive by then.
But next week, the fate of the remaining case his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York will be determined. It could stand, or it could be swept away in the same political and legal tide that has allowed him to escape the others.
Justice Juan Merchan will decide by Tuesday whether to grant Trumps pre-election request to throw out his conviction. Should Justice Merchan side with Trump, it would almost wipe clean his slate of criminal woes.
But should the judge uphold the conviction, he would proceed to sentencing later this month. It would likely spark even more delay attempts from Trump and open up an unprecedented new front for Americas crazy criminal justice system.
Trumps election victory has derailed his other criminal cases. Special prosecutor Jack Smith is winding down the federal election interference, and classified documents, cases against Trump.
The state-level election case in Fulton county, Georgia, is on hold pending appeal, following revelations that district attorney Fani Willis had hired as a prosecutor a man with whom she had an affair. Even if the proceeding survived appeal, proceedings are all but guaranteed to languish until 2029.
Governors & State Attorneys General Pledge To FIGHT Any Lawlessness From The Trump Administration
TRUMP Says Constitution Mandates Dismissal of Hush Money Case -IT DOES NOT
TRUMP DEMANDS Immediate Dismissal of Criminal Hush Money Case- Bids to Run Out Clock on Case
Says he can't be sentenced while president-elect or president
Trump Lawyer Tells NY Judge Constitution Mandates Dismissal. But the Truth is: IT DOES NOT
AP 21 NOV 2024
In a troubling development (for two reasons), Donald Trumps criminal defense attorneys tell New York State court Judge Juan Merchan that "the Constitution" mandates dismissal of Trumps 34 guilty verdicts, that The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 mandates dismissal of his guilty verdicts, and that the interests of justice mandate dismissal as well. The first problem is that all three of these assertions are false.
The second problem is that these three assertions were made by the person Trump has named as the Deputy Attorney General - the number two person at the Department of Justice - Todd Blanche.
Trumps attorneys signaled an effort to try to run out the clock on his New York hush money case, asking Judge Juan Merchan for a month to mount a formal effort to dismiss his criminal conviction in the wake of his Election Day win.
Attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove whom Trump has named to the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, in his Justice Department ? requested permission to wait until Dec. 20 to file their motion, which would come just a month before Trumps inauguration. Their letter was made public Wednesday.
Prosecutors want a much faster timeline.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) said in a Tuesday letter his office is open to freezing the proceedings during Trumps presidency but urged the judge to set a speedier schedule to resolve the matter, proposing Trump file his brief promptly and that prosecutors respond by 9 Dec.
The maneuverings suggest the Trump teams intention is to delay the proceedings to make it as unlikely as possible that Merchan would sentence Trump before his inauguration.
Once Trump is in office, the case is almost certain to be frozen or tossed out, and thered be no chance of such a sentencing.
Prosecutors oppose fully dismissing the case.
Judge Rules NO Immunity-Denies Dismissal of TRUMPs Criminal Hush Money Case
Judge Denies TRUMP Petition to Dismiss Criminal Hush-Money Case Over Immunity Claims
Juan Merchan rules decidedly personal acts of falsifying records pose no danger of intrusion on executive function
The Guardian 17 DEC 2024
A judge on Monday ruled that Donald Trumps conviction for falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal should stand, rejecting the president-elect?s argument that it should be dismissed because of the US supreme court?s recent ruling on presidential immunity, a court filing showed.
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchans decision eliminates one potential off-ramp from the case ahead of Trumps return to office next month. His lawyers have raised other arguments for dismissal, however.
In a 41-page decision Merchan said Trumps decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch
Trumps lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors have said there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insist the conviction should stand.
A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016. The payment was for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Trump, who denies it.
In his ruling, Merchan denied the bulk of Trumps claims that some of prosecutors? evidence related to official acts and implicated immunity protections.
The judge said that even if he found that some evidence related to official conduct, he?d still find that prosecutors? decision to use these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch
Even if prosecutors had erroneously introduced evidence that could be challenged under an immunity claim, Merchan continued, such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt
It was the first time a US president ? former or sitting ? had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.
Hush Money Judge Orders TRUMP To Appear Friday 10 Jan For Sentencing
TRUMP Ordered To Appear Friday 10 Jan For Sentencing in Hush Money Case
Judge Merchan sets Trumps sentencing in hush money case for 10 Jan. but signals no jail time
AP 3 JAN 2025
In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set Donald Trumps sentencing in his hush money case for 10 Jan. ? little over a week before hes due to return to the White House ? but indicated he wouldnt be jailed.
The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.
Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trumps trial, signaled in a written decision that he'd sentence the former and future president to whats known as an unconditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. Trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses.
Merchan wrote that he sought to balance competing interests: Trumps ability to govern unencumbered by the case, the U.S. Supreme Courts July ruling on presidential immunity, the publics expectation that all are equal and no one is above the Iaw, and the importance of protecting the sanctity of a jury verdict.
This court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding Merchan wrote in an 18-page decision.
He rejected Trumps push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending return to the White House. The judge said that he found no legal impediment to sentencing Trump, and indeed that it was incumbent on the court to do so before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Only in America can a CONVICTED felon become president...What a farce...
WHOMEVER SAID THE LAW IS AN ASS was obviously thinking about the US...
Unprecedented Intervention: Supreme Court Responds to TRUMP Sentencing Delay Bid
Trump asks Supreme Court to block sentencing in hush money case AFTER Appeals court rejects Trumps attempt to get hush money sentencing delayed
The U.S. Supreme Court swiftly responded to Trumps formal request Wednesday to delay sentencing in his 34-count felony conviction for business fraud in New York, widely known as the Hush Money case.
AP 8 JAN 2025
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York Supreme Court on Friday, for what District Attorney Alvin Bragg described as falsifying New York business records in order to conceal his illegal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.
Trump originally was slated to be sentenced on 11 July, but he twice succeeded in having those dates postponed. His attorneys in recent days filed unsuccessful motions in two New York courts to have the sentencing delayed again, before submitting their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Describing his latest attempt as a highly unusual request that relies in part on the courts decision last year to grant him broad immunity from criminal prosecution, Trumps attorneys told the nations highest court the delay, or pause, is necessary to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.
The Supreme Court Wednesday responded to Trumps request by directing New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg to reply to Trumps motion by 10 AM ET Thursday
If Trumps lawyers are successful in halting the proceedings before he is sworn-in in fewer than two weeks, the hush money case could linger for months while his attorneys pursue an appeal to toss out the conviction
Trumps lawyers have asked the countrys highest court for an unprecedented intervention in the ongoing criminal case of a former president ? whose appointment of three justices cemented the courts conservative majority ? that would effectively toss his criminal conviction less than two weeks ahead of his inauguration.
Supreme Court Responds to TRUMP Sentencing Delay Bid, AFTER Appeals Court Rejects Trumps Attempt to Get Hush Money Sentencing Delayed
Supreme Court REJECTS FELON TRUMP-Criminal Hush Money Sentencing To Go Ahead
US Supreme Court Rejects TRUMP Bid to Call Off Sentencing in Criminal Hush-Money Case
This Means The GUILTY Judgment Remains on Trumps Record And He Will Remain a FELON
President-elect had sought to overturn New York appeals court ruling but sentencing will go ahead TODAY
The Guardian 10 JAN 2025
Middle Finger to Trump
Desperate to avoid being sentenced on the 34 felony counts of which was found guilty, Trump had asked the Supreme Court to let him off the hook, and he had a chat on the phone with Justice Sam Alito before doing so.
Trumps ploy didnt work.
The US supreme court on Thursday declined to delay Donald Trumps upcoming sentencing in his hush-money case. Trump had asked the US highest legal body to call off Fridays sentencing after New York courts refused to postpone it.
Judge Juan Merchan presided over Trumps trial and conviction last May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the criminal hush-money scheme designed to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election
Clever Judge Merchan said last week that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to prison and the likelihood is that he will be granted an unconditional discharge.
This means the guilty judgment remains on Trumps record and he will remain a FELON, but will avoid punishment in the form of custody, a fine or probation.
The supreme courts nine justices on Thursday voted by five to four to deny Trumps last-minute bid to prevent his sentencing, which is scheduled for Friday at 9.30am local time in New York state court in Manhattan.
The chief justice, John Roberts, and fellow conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the courts three liberal-leaning justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, in the courts majority in denying Trumps request.
CORRUPT Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have granted Trumps request.
Trump had originally pleaded not guilty in the case, where the court heard that he paid off adult film actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to stop her revealing an alleged affair with him years before, and then tried to disguise the payment. Trump presses on with a state court appeal to resolve questions of presidential immunity following the supreme courts highly controversial ruling last July granting former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for their official acts ? the scope of which is open to legal interpretation.
TRUMP Gets Unconditional Discharge in Criminal Hush Money=NO Entry to G7
TRUMP Sentenced to Unconditional Discharge in Criminal Hush-Money Case
Trump could be banned from G7 meetings after hush-money sentencing, as he is a FELON. Canada and other countries may not permit him to enter
SKY 10 JAN 2025
It?s been roughly six months since a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of the Republicans hush money scandal.
It was the first time in American history in which a former president was found to have committed multiple felonies.
The president-elect and his legal defense team explored every possible opportunity to derail sentencing in the case, even appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, pointing to its highly controversial immunity ruling from last year.
But while four Republican-appointed jurists ? Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh ? indicated the day before sentencing that they would have sided with the defendant, they were in the minority.
Out of options, Trump faced the one thing he desperately tries to avoid: accountability for wrongdoing.
Judge Juan Merchan delivered an unconditional discharge sentence to the president-elect on Friday morning, making him a convicted felon in the eyes of New York state law The night before sentencing, by way of his social media platform, the president-elect vowed to appeal the verdict.
Stepping back, it's worth appreciating the fact that Trump has racked up an amazing number of firsts during his relatively brief political career. The Republican is, for example, the first president to be impeached twice. He?s also the first candidate to ever win the presidency despite never having served the public in any way.
Trump is the first former president to have been held liable for sexual abuse. He was the first president to get caught overseeing a fraudulent charity. And a fraudulent university. And a business that was found to have repeatedly committed fraud.
In 2021, Trump became the first president to deny his successor a peaceful transition of power in the wake of his defeat. He was similarly the first president to try to hold onto power in defiance of election voters.
In 2023, Trump became the first former president to be indicted on criminal charges, only to soon after become the first former president to be also indicted on federal criminal charges.
And in 2025, just 10 days before his second inaugural, he can add a new first to the list: Americans have had dozens of presidents, but the convicted felon is now the first president sentenced for a crime.
That said, the judge didn't exactly throw the book at the criminal defendant. Given the president-elects recent online hysterics about the case and Merchan
RESTRICTIONS For Trump as a Felon;
Unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights.
Here are some of the potential impacts:
Trump can still vote after sentencing, but can't own a gun and will have to turn over DNA sample.
An article, published by a Fox news station in Austin, Texas, was among multiple social media accounts and news outlets that claimed Trump was banned from certain countries. Other outlets, including Time magazine and CBS News, said Trump may face travel bans.
Essentially, As a President Trumps ability to travel to certain countries would likely depend on each nations willingness to allow him entry.
Hush Money CHAOS-Judge VERY ANGRY at TRUMPs' LONE Witness & Clears Court
TRUMP Will Fail Upcoming Court Mental Health Questions Before Sentencing
'We WILL KILL You All': TRUMPs 'Cult of a Thug' MAGA Sends Death Threats to D.A
Judge Denies TRUMP Bid to Move Hush Money Case to FED Court
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