@Nonilex@masto.ai
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Nonilex

@Nonilex@masto.ai

… paring down time on social media … ?? Fully migrated to mastodon now that the bird self destructed. Though if you want to view my old posts, same username.

#BabySquirrel

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Nonilex, to anime_titties
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WTAF?

Exclusive: advisers met Israeli PM

3 fmr foreign policy ofcls in Trump's admin met w/ Benjamin Netanyahu & other public figures in on Mon….

The delegation was comprised of Robert O'Brien, who served as Trump's 4th & final adviser, as well as fmr Ambassador to the John Rakolta & fmr Ambassador to Ed McMullen….


https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump-foreign-policy-advisers-met-israeli-pm-netanyahu-source-says-2024-05-20/

Nonilex, to conservative
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

🧵 Monday 20 May 2024

has a huge posse today, including ; , a party leader in NY; , fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; , lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & , legal adviser who was in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

asks if he’s pitching a TV show. Cohen says he’s not pitching it, but that there is a show being shopped around. News of a reality show called “The Fixer” has been reported.

Cohen acknowledges the show hasn’t been picked up yet, prompting chuckles from the row of allies at the back of the room.

Jurors hear that Cohen has made about 4M since fall 2020 from podcast & books.

Nonilex,
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testifies that he is considering a third book & a run for Congress 😂 because he has some of the “best name recognition” out there. Cohen says his name recognition is “affiliated with” because of the journey he’s been on, but that it’s not “because” of Trump.

says that Cohen’s “journey” — sneering as he uses the word — is to attack Trump.

Cohen says, “My journey is to tell my story.”

Nonilex,
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’s alternative narrative is about ’s greed. Blanche asks Cohen if he has a financial interest in this case, & Cohen agrees he does. But when Blanche suggests that being convicted would help Cohen, Cohen clarifies that he only said it benefits him because he talks about it on his podcasts & TV appearances.

Blanche asks Cohen if he is willing to lie under oath if it affects his personal life. Cohen says he doesn’t understand the question.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

is implying that a conviction would benefit because it would provide a neat ending to his story of revenge. But Cohen’s answer is more about the anti-Trump content industry. Cohen said it would actually be “better,” from a content-generating perspective, if didn't get convicted. “It gives me more to talk about in the future,” he said.

Nonilex,
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concludes cross-examination of w/ a whimper not a bang. He tries to remind jurors of the most dramatic moment from Thursday's cross: that Cohen may have lied on the stand when he described a conversation on Trump's bodyguard's phone in which he said he briefed about the payment to .

There was “no doubt in your mind” that that was the purpose of the call, Blanche asks. “No doubt,” Cohen replies, standing by his testimony.

Nonilex,
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Prosecutor is on redirect.

She begins w/the 24 Oct 2016 phone call that Blanche suggested Cohen had lied about.

reasserts that he spoke to that day, & told him he had determined how to pay .

Hoffinger notes that Cohen was busy in Oct 2016, when the payment was made. She asks Cohen if he was always busy. He agrees that he was.

Nonilex,
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addresses the directly as he tells the story of hiring the tech company, RedFinch, to a of influential businessmen for .

Cohen says that Trump was upset about where the poll was placed, & that he didn't feel it was worth the full amount that Cohen promised the company, so Cohen ultimately paid less. We are now getting to Cohen’s admission that he stole from the by being reimbursed more than he paid RedFinch.

Nonilex,
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explains the intricacies of his decision to steal the money, saying that he had originally been in negotiations to pay the owner of RedFinch $50k, & after he paid them less, he never corrected that amount when telling the TrumpOrganization what he was owed. “I just felt it was almost like self-help,” he says (’s always feel entitled). , the prosecutor, asks him whether it was wrong to steal the money & he agrees that it was.

Nonilex,
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After defense’s cross-examination, it’s notable how streamlined prosecution's argument is. asks about his 2018 statement that he was not reimbursed for the by the . Cohen says it was misleading because he was paid by himself.

After a long sidebar, the judge gives what’s called a “limiting instruction” about some of Cohen’s testimony that “the payment in question does not constitute a campaign contribution.”

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

pleaded guilty federally for making an illegal campaign contribution. So it seems the defense asked the judge to specify that Cohen’s plea did not necessarily mean committed a .

Justice Merchan did so.

Nonilex,
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testifies that approved his false 2018 statement about whether or not Cohen decided to pay of his own volition. As a bonus, Susan , the prosecutor, has Cohen confirm that one of Trump’s lawyers at the time was aware of the statement & texted him to tell him that Trump was grateful for all he did.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

goes back to how was treated by the team. A complicating factor w/both Cohen & is they have multiple motives, & prosecutors have been telling the cleanest versions of their stories which makes it easy for the defense to pick at. However, the Trump team is essentially asking the to believe everyone around Trump was acting shadily except for the shadiest of all – Trump.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

has suggested several times that he committed in connection w/ the payoff. This is helpful for the prosecution, as they seek to prove to that caused the falsification of business records to conceal a 2nd .

IMPORTANTLY That crime doesn’t need to have been committed by Trump — Cohen’s crimes are equally applicable.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

“Are you actually on trial here in this case?” asks . “No,” he says. Through her questions, Hoffinger makes an obvious point — that the defense sought to make Cohen look like a . But ultimately, the jurors aren’t here to judge Cohen’s criminality. They are here to judge .

Nonilex,
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returns to what prosecutors say are . She asks if the $420k that received in 2017 — the reimbursement for the , additional money to cover taxes, a reimbursement for the payment to the tech company, RedFinch, & a bonus — had anything to do w/ services.

Cohen: “No.”

Hoffinger emphasizes that the financial documents connected to the payments were false, because they said the payments were in exchange for legal services.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

again testifies that the documents were false.

Cohen explains why he didn’t sign a retainer agreement or agree to pay :
“I didn’t trust him,” he says, explaining that he thought everything he said to Costello would immediately make its way back to .

Cohen testifies that he signed a waiver in 2019 to talk to the about Costello, & he is shown the waiver.

Nonilex,
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To an extent, the waiver corroborates ’s story that he never hired as a lawyer, though he did speak to him for a long time.

's lawyers, & , are sitting on either side of him. When they want to talk to each other, they pass notes behind him or they both lean back & talk face to face, behind his back - possibly in order to not wake him up.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

🚨👀🚨

Prosecutors have pictures of w/ his bodyguard on 24 Oct 2016, right around 7:57PM. The defense had sought to suggest that had talked to Schiller that night instead of Trump, as Cohen originally testified. Now, the prosecutors will fight to get this piece of in, which shows that Cohen easily could have talked to both Schiller & Trump on the call, as he testified.

Nonilex,
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In response to prosecution’s photographic , argues that the defense never said or implied that & were not together that evening.

I’m guessing allows the evidence, defense opened introduced the idea, prosecution should be allowed to rebut.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

And there it is:

“I think it’s relevant,” Justice #Merchan says, but he hasn’t decided if he’ll allow it. He says he wants to research defense argument that it’s #hearsay.

Prosecution argues the #evidence isn’t hearsay because an earlier expert witness laid the foundation to show it to jurors.

The evidence goes toward rebutting #Blanche’s argument that #MichaelCohen lied about speaking to #Trump on 24 Oct.
Obviously the defense wants to keep this piece of evidence from the jury.

#TrumpTrial

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

@lesblazemore hmm. I’ll have to look.

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Former Leader of the Motorcycle Joins in Court

, who spent years in prison on charges, has tried to recast his persona as a general-purpose tough guy around town.


https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/nyregion/chuck-zito-hells-angels-trump-trial.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

, helped found in the early 1980s the NY Nomads chapter of the , the infamous club that started in California. The described the org as a enterprise & linked the NY chapter to the family. Zito later left the biker group to try become a movie star in Hollywood.

has long shown an affection for macho bikers []….

Nonilex,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

addressed a rally of bikers in DC in 2016 before the election.

“Do we love the bikers? Yes. We love the bikers,” he told the crowd.

A group called Bikers for Trump took part in several “Stop the Steal” rallies after Trump lost in 2020.

was joined Mon by several Trump allies who have been charged w/ .

Zito has experience w/the system, having served a prison term 1985–1991 for [ & ].

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