A fmr White House aide who worked closely w/ #Trump returned to the stand to testify about a significant meeting between Trump & #MichaelCohen his personal lawyer that is at the center of Trump’s #criminal trial.
#Steinglass, one of the prosecutors, says he expects to call 2 witnesses next week, & that it is entirely possible that they will rest by the end of the week.
Keep in mind that we only have a 3-day wk next wk. The trial is always off on Wednesdays, & we'll have next Friday off to allow #Trump to attend Barron’s HS graduation.
Monday will bring the appearance of #MichaelCohen, Trump’s fmr fixer & lawyer, & a crucial #witness.
The prosecution asks that the defense be precluded from asking #StormyDaniels whether she was arrested. Justice #Merchan agrees w/the prosecutors, saying that “anybody can be arrested” & that it “doesn’t prove anything.”
The people call Stormy Daniels back to the stand
#Trump atty #Necheles begins questioning by saying that in 2011, Daniels denied having had sex w/Trump.
The defense is asking for a mistrial & that #Trump be allowed to respond in public (not court) to #StormyDaniels's testimony. To be clear. Trump is asking the court to lift the #legal restrictions of the #GagOrder, so he can publicly attack a witness’s testimony.
Franklin is a #CustodialWitness — here to verify facts that Trump's lawyers have not agreed to — she will testify about 2 books that #Trump wrote, including “Trump: How to Get Rich” & “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire,” both published by Ballantine, a Penguin Random House imprint.
#GhassanAbuSitta, on his way to testify live to the French Senate on his experience working in Gaza during the war, deported from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Rebecca #Mangold will question Farro for prosecution. She’s been on the team several yrs, & typically sits w/Chris #Conroy, another prosecutor, behind the main table.
#Pecker will be back on the stand when court resumes.
Before leaving, Todd #Blanche, one of Trump's attys, asked Justice #Merchan to direct prosecutors to say who the next #witness would be. One of the prosecutors responded that Susan Necheles, another #Trump lawyer, already knew. Trump leaned over & asked Necheles, “Who is it?” She seems to have responded because he said, “Ah.” Then he got up.
Lots of evidence per the disguised monetary transactions related to the #KarenMcDougal deal. But most of the #jurors are still paying close attention, turning their heads from the prosecutor, Joshua #Steinglass, to the #witness, #Pecker, & back again.
Alright, who’s ready to see #Trump get his just deserts? He fucked up the whole damn world & that’s not an overstatement.
PS #BabySquirrel & I had a lovely weekend. It’s as boy! (He’s developed discernible - stuff)
He is doing quite well! Name: “Ramone” because he’s a sweet little punk rocker.
A #juror was quickly dismissed at the start. She was among the 7 already selected, she said she was very worried that despite the fact the court ruled to keep jurors’ name secret, she would still be exposed & targeted.
Emil Bove, one of Trump's lawyers, says #Trump is simply responding to "political attacks" when he criticizes #MichaelCohen, his fmr atty & #fixer, who's a key trial #witness.
#Merchan makes no immediate ruling on possible violation of the #GagOrder, saying he will wait for a hearing scheduled for April 23.
So yeah, Trump is certain to spend the time before then posting crap that will test the gag order's limits.
The #press is barred from covering aspects of the trial related to the #jury, for understandable #security reasons. At the same time, the judge is taking another 5 days to hold a hearing on whether #Trump has violated the #GagOrder that was placed on him w/ repeated social media posts about a key #witness & #jurors.
This is 1 of many ways in which despite Trump's complaints that he is being treated unfairly, the judge is bending over backwards to be fair to him in this #trial.
Watch the entire #HouseOversight & Accountability Cmte hearing held today including testimony by #LevParnas who testified that the allegations against Biden were ‘spread by the Kremlin’:
Manny Arora is an atty who reps defendant-turned-witness #KennethChesebro.
McAfee seemed unlikely to allow new evidence last wk, it’s gone on long enough & the defense (who are acting like prosecution) ought to have submitted all relevant evidence at the start or at least the initial stages.
Trump asked to block prosecutors from arguing at his upcoming #criminal trial that he tried to influence the 2016 election by paying to silence a porn star.
He also argued to bar #StormyDaniels from testifying as a govt #witness.
If successful, jurors will hear a narrative that hardly resembles the original case alleging Trump violated #ElectionLaws.
Fmr #Trump#WH aide #CassidyHutchinson, through her atty, responded Fri to a #HouseRepublicans' top #impeachment#witness, #TonyBobulinski, claiming in a letter 1st obtained by ABCNews that comments he made in his recent interview w/the #House Oversight Cmte were "defamatory," w/her atty providing a photo of an alleged encounter between Bobulinski & fmr WH chief of Staff #MarkMeadows that refutes Bobulinski's claims about the incident.
#FaniWillis walked unaccompanied through the front door of a #FultonCounty courtroom on Thurs afternoon in a bright magenta dress & announced she was ready to testify. She was interrupting her lawyer, who at that very moment was trying to convince a judge that she should not have to testify at all.
The judge’s comments are significant, because they suggest that #NathanWade’s fmr lawyer, Terrence Bradley, will not be able to avoid answering some questions when he takes the stand, though there is sure to be significant sparring among the lawyers as he testifies. He has been identified as a significant #witness by the defense who could establish the timeline of when Wade began dating DA #FaniWillis.
Plaintiff's attorney who sunk top #Tesla cyber dork's $55 Billion+ #CEOPay in #Delaware#lawsuit trial, said at one point instead of asking judge to reprimand #witness for going off topic on tangents, he just let #BadBoyBillionaire#ElonMusk do all the talking, bully and bluster himself into courtroom irrelevance
Kenneth #Chesebro, an architect of the plan to deploy people claiming to be #Trump electors in states won by President #Biden, is cooperating with inquiries in #Michigan, #Arizona & #Nevada.
"But just 75 #minutes after #Chutkan gave notice that the order had been reinstated, #Trump appeared to #violate it by attacking his former attorney general and a potential #witness, William P. #Barr.
"I called Bill Barr Dumb, Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy, a RINO WHO COULDN'T DO THE JOB," Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social."
He has the vocabulary and grammar skills of a 6 year old.
It's humiliating that this #toddler is sill tolerated in public.
Tomorrow will be more interesting, when Cohen will be cross-examined. Today we heard more about how the tofurkey was made (how exactly they conducted the process of #FinancialFraud; tofurkey as opposed to sausage)
I usually don't post #Trump Statements. This is so bizarre I can't determine if it was written by Borowitz or The Onion.
Surely, it's not a real admission & flagrant attempt to #tamper with a #witness.
He's crazy, but is he THIS crazy?
His statements & those by his defenders, never take into account that the charges against him don't include taking classified documents, rather the charges are refusing to return them & others.
Looks like Gabe Sterling was the fifth #witness today. He was giving #testimony for quite a while.
“#GabrielSterling, a fmr top #elections ofcl in #Georgia who pushed back on #Trump’s claims about a rigged election following the 2020 presidential vote, left the courthouse a few minutes ago. He had been here for several hours.”
Barb McQuade on #WitnessTampering. Rachel Maddow asks "Does it matter if it works?"
"Even the attempt alone is enough. So even if the person stands firm & decides to go through with it anyway, what the person did to try to intimidate them, to persuade them not to testify is itself a completed crime."
From March 2019 #Maddow#BarbMcquade #Witness#Tampering #Georgia#GrandJury
📢 BREAKING: per Rolling Stone: ▪️The statutes listed in his #January6th the criminal suspect's #target letter include #conspiracy to defraud the US (18 U.S.C. § 371), #Witness tampering (likely 1513(c)(2) #obstructing an official proceeding),
▪️and 18 U.S.C. § 242 - Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law: …and if death results…or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
▪️This is but a slice of Trump conduct that proves he led a massive conspiracy to defraud the U.S & obstruct legislative proceedings. Trump's role as President at the time is not a basis to avoid charging him; his abuse of that position makes his prosecution essential.
▪️Reminder: Last time there was a similar preview leak there were far more charges than reported. But still. Interesting. Trump or Trump lawyer is giving information to RS. That is the only way the information is public.