"The media and the general public—both in New York City and beyond—instantly believed these five black and Latino youth were guilty of the crime without giving them a fair chance of proving their innocence."
"Matt #Gaetz reiterated #Trump’s call upon the Proud Boys, a right-wing hate group that played a central role on the attack on the Capitol and effort to overturn the last election, to “stand back and stand by.” Anyone else see a brownshirt peeking underneath?
Worth emphasizing this, because most news outlets did not:
“Rep. Matt #Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Thursday ominously invoked Donald #Trump’s call to far-right violent extremists while joining the former president at his criminal trial in New York.
“Standing back and standing by, Mr. President,” Gaetz wrote on social media, along with a photo of himself positioned behind Trump at his trial.”
“You can hardly blame the folks who saw the flag flying at the #Alito’s home and decided it had to be brought to the Court’s attention. Surprisingly, it’s taken this long to become public. The Times reported that the half-dozen or so neighbors who were aware of it asked to remain anonymous because they “feared reprisal.” Let that sink in as we contemplate what a second #Trump term in office might look like.” #SCOTUS#USPol
At Justice #Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display
An upside-down flag, adopted by #Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case. #SCOTUS
An expert on deceptive communication says the jury might not like that #Trump is sitting with his eyes closed instead of making eye contact – or they might view it as him sending a message.
That’s just one of the observations he has, in a discussion with a former federal judge about this week’s testimony:
Today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pardoned a convicted murderer and virulent racist who, after writing text messages suggesting he would kill a protester and then claim self-defense, killed a protester and claimed self-defense. I wrote this a year ago: https://www.findinggravity.net/p/republican-politicians-embrace-another
"The defense spent a whole day casting Cohen as a liar and elicited admissions that he had lied under oath during past cases, allowing them to cast some doubt on aspects of the story he’s told at this trial. But prosecutors will have three days to prepare for a crucial re-direct, in which they will seek to build Cohen back up and refocus the jurors on the most important elements of their case." - reporting from the courtroom, Jonah Bromwich, NYT #trumptrial#trump#hushmoney
I grew up around #NYC and #Trump was infamous in New York City for not paying his vendors way back in the 1980s. Sue him as many did and he played legal games to stonewall you and you go out of business.
Then "The Apprentice" hits and the rest of America thinks Trump is some sort of business genius because that's how the grifter deadbeat is portrayed on the teevee.
On the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, guest host @mmitchell_ai and I will look into claims that "AI has learned to deceive humans". Join us live at noon Pacific, May 20, 2024:
Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
#MichaelCohen is scheduled to return to the stand Monday for further testimony.
Court is out of session on Friday so that #Trump can attend his son Barron's high school graduation. (To Barron’s dismay)
The defense spent the whole day casting Cohen as a liar & got a few admissions that he had lied under oath (which was known), possibly casting some doubt on his testimony.
Prosecutors now have 3 days to prepare re-direct, when they will seek to build #MichaelCohen back up & refocus the jurors on the most important elements of their case & the actual charges for which they’ve presented mountains of evidence regardless of whether Cohen is a liar or not.