#Trump has a huge posse today, including #KashPatel; #GerryKassar, a #conservative party leader in NY; #BernieKerik, fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; #AlanDershowitz, lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & #BorisEpshteyn, legal adviser who was #indicted in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.
#Trump defense atty Emil #Bove suggests that the prosecutors, in their proposed #JuryInstructions, shifted their theory of the case.
He’s possibly talking about the state #ElectionLaw that underlies the #felony business records charges against Trump. Justice #Merchan doesn’t seem to agree, but says prosecution’s proposal for jury instructions holds no weight — it’s only a proposal.
“Just relax,” Merchan tells defense. Nothing, he says, has been determined.
“…a class ‘E’ #felony under NY #law carries a maximum 4-yr prison sentence for each count if convicted.
“#Trump could face over 100 yrs in prison if he were convicted of every charge…, but }legal experts suggest it’s unlikely he’ll face any prison time at all in this case as a first-time offender”
We saw #AllenWeisselberg’s notes during Jeffrey McConney’s testimony, he worked under Weisselberg. But now, #MichaelCohen is testifying that he was in the room as Weisselberg made these notations on how to repay him for the #HushMoney, + his shrunken bonus. This document goes straight to the repayments to Cohen, & the false documents.
#Trump is charged w/ 34 #felony counts of falsifying business records: 11 checks, 11 invoices & 12 ledger entries.
As I was unable to do a #TrumpTrial 🧵 today, here’s a #GiftArticle on the day’s proceedings:
“After 2 wks of enthralling jurors w/stories of sex & scandal, prosecutors delved into the documents at the heart of Trump’s #criminal trial on Mon, a pivotal turn in the case that came on the same day the judge held #Trump in #contempt & threatened to #jail him.”
“#Trump, the first American president to face prosecution, is on #trial for 34 #felony counts of falsifying business records, 1 for each doc: 11 checks to #MichaelCohen, 11 invoices from Cohen & 12 entries in Trump’s general ledger. The invoices & ledger entries claimed that Cohen had been repaid for ‘legal expenses’ that arose from a ‘retainer agreement.’”
#NY’s highest court on Thurs overturned Harvey #Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on #felony#SexCrime charges, a stunning reversal in the foundational case of the #MeToo era.
For the record, #Elon#Musk was watching incest #porn, and was going to #court for the #felony of having #sex with animals, not the other way around.
In fact, in a preliminary #hearing last week I heard #Space Karen Elon Musk say as he was charged with animal necrophilia “Gee your honor I didn’t know the cat was dead when I was #fucking it.”
An ad of the #Republican Voters Against #Trump featured his legal issues. In the ad, an actor admits to real employers of facing 88 #felony accounts, an accusation of stealing government secrets and being liable of #sexualassault The employers said he won't be hired after a full background check. The ad then ends stating that if Trump is a big liability to work even in a mall, then he is too big of a liability to be president. https://www.rawstory.com/trump-criminal-record/
#SCOTUS is hearing a challenge today to a federal #law prosecutors used to charge >350 people who attacked the Capitol on #Jan6.
>100 have been convicted & sentenced under the statute for obstructing or impeding an ofcl proceeding—the joint session that convened to confirm Biden’s victory.
The case could impact #Trump’s federal trial in DC for trying to remain in power, 2 charges he faces are based on the same #obstruction statute.
Justices #Alito & #Kavanaugh questioned the #DOJ’s use of the “obstruction of an official proceeding” charge, & whether Congress meant to turn illegal & disruptive protesting, a #misdemeanor punishable by only a year or less in prison, into a #felony that carries a potential 20-yr sentence.
#Trump's allies are preparing the #MAGAts for his conviction on #felony charges related to his payment of #hushMoney to #StormyDaniels in the weeks prior to the #2016election. They're putting out all the absurd legal theories, and justifications for his unjustifiable conduct so that when he's inevitably found #guilty, the MAGAts are ready to parrot the nonsense his team is pushing.
Known for his improvised & volatile performances, #Trump is now ending many of his rallies w/ churchlike ritual & casting his prosecutions as persecution.
#Trump’s ability to turn his supporters’ passion into #piety is crucial to understanding how he remains the undisputed #Republican ldr despite guiding his party to repeated #PoliticalFailures & while facing dozens of #felony charges in 4 #criminal cases. His success at portraying those prosecutions as persecutions —& warning, w/o merit, that his followers could be targeted next— has fueled enthusiasm for his candidacy & placed him, once again, in a position to capture the WH.
"Freedom. Prosperity. Strength. That's what America stood for under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump -- the best president of my lifetime. [🤣] That's why I'm introducing legislation to rename Dulles as the Donald J. Trump International Airport," Rep #GuyReschenthaler said on X.
#GerryConnolly said on X that "Donald Trump is facing 91 #felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I'd suggest they find a #FederalPrison."
"Congress must act on pressing issues like reauthorizing the #FAA & passing the #NationalSecurity supplemental. Yet this is what… #HouseRepublicans leadership focuses on -- renaming #Virginia's #Dulles airport after #Trump," Abigail Spanberger wrote on X.
#BrianPritchard had been sentenced in 1996 in #Pennsylvania to 3 years’ probation for #felony check #forgery charges. His #probation was REVOKED THREE TIMES — once in 1999, after he moved to #Georgia, & again in 2002 & 2004. In 2004, a judge imposed a new 7-year probationary sentence on Pritchard, thus making him #ineligible to vote until at least 2011 in Georgia, where state #law prohibits #felons from voting.
Despite that, court documents showed that #BrianPritchard signed voter registration forms in 2008 in which he affirmed that he was “not serving a sentence for having been #convicted of a #felony involving moral turpitude.” He then cast ballots in four #Georgia primary & general elections in 2008, as well as five special, primary & general elections in 2010.
#StefanieLambert, a #Michigan lawyer who has championed dubious claims of election fraud, was arrested Mon afternoon because of a bench warrant, acc/to a spox for the #USMarshals Service.
The #arrest ended an 11-day saga of uncertainty that played out after Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jeffery Matis issued a #warrant because #StefanieLambert failed to appear for a hearing related to 4 #felony charges she's facing in #Michigan.
Lambert, who's gained prominence among supporters of Trump, refused to turn herself in & attempted to challenge the warrant in court filings. On Wed, Matis called on the attorney from South Lyon "to comply with that warrant."
“As written, these 6 counts contain all the essential elements of the #crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying #felony solicited,” #McAfee wrote.
But, the judge, added, “This does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed.”
I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO BELIEVE that a #Nazi-quoting profane racist serial philanderer who stole over 300 #ClassifiedDocs (many of which have since gone missing), who is facing 91 #Felony indictments, botched a deadly #pandemic that resulted in over 1.2M American lives lost & crashed the economy, then encouraged a Treasonous attack on our Capitol b/c his astounding ego refuses to believe he actually lost, could be leading a #Potus who MORE THAN reversed most of that damage in just 3 years. #NoWay
>100 people convicted of participation in the #Jan6, 2021, #insurrection at the Capitol may have to be resentenced after a #FederalAppealsCourt Fri overturned a #sentencing enhancement used to help determine their punishments.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit came in the case of retired #AirForce LtCol Larry R #Brock Jr, who had appealed his #felony#conviction of… [#obstruction]. #Trump faces the same charge.
In a stmnt posted to social media, Rifle, #Colorado PD said officers arrested #TylerBoebert at 2:30PM on Tues “after a recent string of vehicle trespass & property thefts in Rifle.”
He faces 4 #felony counts of #criminal possession of ID docs targeting multiple victims, a single felony count of #conspiracy to commit a felony & >15 #misdemeanor & petty offenses. Some of those misdemeanor charges include 1st-degree criminal #trespass & ≥3 counts of contributing to the #delinquency of a minor. #law
#Senate received #Michigan false electoral certificate ahead of #Jan6, official testifies
A certificate that falsely claimed #Trump won MI's 2020 presidential election made it to the US Senate, but no lawmaker sought to have the document formally considered, a lawyer who worked for the secretary of the Senate testified in a state #court Tues.
"You could tell...that it was not an actual or authorized certificate of votes.…It was a fake," said Dan Schwager, who was general #counsel for the secretary of US #Senate in 2020.
Schwager took the stand on the 3rd day of preliminary examinations for 6 of the 16 #Michigan#Republicans who signed the false certificate on Dec 14, 2020. AG #DanaNessel's office is pursuing #felony charges, including #forgery, against the Republicans whose names appeared on the doc, which was used by #Trump…
All 5 defendants were convicted of #felony#CivilDisorder & 1 count of #assaulting a #police officer in addition to multiple #trespassing-related misdemeanors. Samsel, Grant & Johnson were convicted of #obstructing an official proceeding, but Blythe & Randolph were acquitted of those counts. A written order will be posted later.
On Mon, Aimenn Penny, 20, was sentenced to 18 yrs in #prison after pleading #guilty to 2 felonies: committing a #church#arson#HateCrime & using fire & #explosives to commit a #felony. Penny’s attempted #firebombing of the Community Church of Chesterland came as some #RightWing#media outlets intensified their rhetoric against #drag shows & #conservative lawmakers made banning them or limiting children’s exposure to them an increasingly high priority.…