Prosecutors to highlight 3 hush-money deals: #Trump & co-conspirators paid off the #PornStar, the #PlayboyModel & the #doorman.
#Colangelo emphasizes it was the 1st time ever that #DavidPecker, #NationalEnquirer, paid for info relating to Trump.
key: every one of these acts involving #HushMoney sprang from the meeting at which the #conspiracy was hatched.
IOW, prosecutors are accusing Trump of using The NE to do for Trump what Trump constantly says others do against him: promote “#FakeNews.”
#Colangelo describes “#CatchAndKill scheme, in which #NationalEnquirer bought stories that were problems for #Trump & buried them.
NOT NORMAL #journalism
Colangelo describes some NE headlines that helped Trump's 2016 #campaign, embarrassing campaign opponents incl’g #TedCruz & #MarcoRubio.
Prosecutors are limited to the HEADLINES per #Sandoval. They go to Trump’s #intent: to #influence the election by promoting negative stories about others & suppressing those about himself.
As #Colangelo says that #Trump orchestrated a #criminal scheme to #corrupt the 2016 presidential election, Trump shook his head.
Trump has attacked Colangelo on Truth Social repeatedly. #StochasticTerrorism
Colangelo has outlined the #crime, & is on to the #GrandJury #indictment of Trump last year. His opening is expected to take >1 hr.
#law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#TrumpTrial #criminal #ElectionInterference opening statements have begun.
Matthew #Colangelo, one of the Manhattan DA’s prosecutors, up.
Per Jonah Bromwich:
“Colangelo is known for his writing, but he has very little experience in Manhattan criminal court — I’ve never heard him give an opening before. He begins by telling the jury that #Trump lied “over & over & over” again by disguising business records.”
#Merchan has explained the concept of #ReasonableDoubt, instructed the jurors that statements made by the various attorneys are not to be accepted as fact, & #jurors are listening intently, a reminder that jurors take many cues from judges - as the impartial arbiter & why #Trump's attacks on judges are stupid.
Besides this case, today there's a hearing to determine the sufficiency of Trump’s #civil #fraud #bond for the $454M penalty, & Thurs, #SCOTUS hears arguments on his bs #immunity defense.
Expected to be the first witness in the #TrumpTrial is #DavidPecker, the fmr publisher of the #NationalEnquirer, who bought & buried damaging stories about #Trump in a #CatchAndKill scheme to unlawfully #influence the 2016 presidential election.
“The court cautions defendant that this #Sandoval ruling is a shield, not a sword,” Merchan said. Defense arguments at court could prompt him to reconsider where he draws the line on these issues, he added.
The #jury is now in the courtroom. Justice Juan #Merchan is reading them their instructions.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Merchan read his #Sandoval decision re:
the #civil #fraud finding that he misstated his assets; his 2 violations of a #GagOrder stemming from that case; 2 separate court findings of #defamation of #EJeanCarroll; & the dissolution of the #Trump foundation as part of a settlement w/the NYAG. The judge said he would not allow prosecutors to discuss in detail the underlying facts of those matters — but added a warning that could change.
Earlier, #Trump falsely claims #courthouse area is ‘completely CLOSED DOWN’ to protesters again suggesting there is a #DoubleStandard for him & his supporters, when evidence supports the opposite.
Facts: ~100 protesters at Columbia arrested. Outside courthouse, there are some bike-rack-type barriers (haven’t we learned those are ineffective?), but #protesters have been chanting & walking on the sidewalk. The park outside the courthouse was closed off very early Monday, now it’s unlocked.
#law
Lawyers indicated that their opening statements will take a little more than an hour combined. Justice Juan #Merchan also noted that one #juror reached out before court resumed to express nervousness about the media attention surrounding the case, but the judge added that the juror is still here.
#law #Trump #AlvinBragg #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #JuryTampering #WitnessIntimidation #StochasticTerrorism #MAGA #MobTactics
#TrumpTrial has begun
#Trump’s #criminal trial for falsifying business records during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide an extramarital affair that occurred while his 4th(?) wife was pregnant from his majority #evangelical #Christian #electorate; to that end he arranged an illegal & financially fraudulent #HushMoney pay-off to the adult-film actress #StormyDaniels.
Once the prosecutor & Trump’s #legal team have outlined their cases to the jury, the 1st witnesses will be called.
#law
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.
#Blanche said #Trump put up "a wall" between himself & his company when he became president. We know from the civil #fraud ruling that isn’t true.
Trump always seems to get his lawyers to basically testify about how *successful* the #TrumpOrganization, has been. - Blanche went off on this success narrative for a while.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Ja'Han Jones reports:
"The Pew Research Center has released a report that underscores how the claims that there has been a seismic shift toward Republicans among nonwhite voters have been wrong all along."
Republicans make stuff up, and the purported shift of Black voters to Trump is totally made up. The significant question here is, Why do New York Times and major media outlets amplify this stuff? They surely know better.
msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-…
A new Pew report underscores how the claims that there has been a seismic shift toward Republicans and Trump among nonwhite voters have been wrong all along.Ja'han Jones (MSNBC)
Isn't it … odd … that Trump just "happened" to meet an adoring devotee at Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta, a Black woman who hugged him, proving that Black people are just head over heels in love with Trump –
And she turns out to be an employee of the Georgia GOP?
All staged to create viral videos and all deeply insulting to African American voters, with the implication that they can be easily deceived and manipulated.
Orban lobt Trump als "Präsident des Friedens"
Mit Trump gäbe es die Kriege in der Ukraine und im Nahen Osten nicht - davon ist Ungarns Regierungschef Orban überzeugt. Nach einem Treffen in Mar-a-Lago stimmte er Lobeshymnen an. Kritik kommt von US-Präsident Biden.
Sure, that's all it was: a mistake. He's a college-educated graduate of a law school — a lawyer, for godssake! — and he voted twice in the last two elections, in two different states, no less, because it was a mistake.
You'll be shocked to learn he's a Trump supporter.
#Trump #Republicans #VoterFraud
cleveland.com/court-justice/20…
James Saunders, a 56-year-old former attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, did not mean to commit a crime when he cast ballots in both Cuyahoga County and Broward County, Florida, counties where he owns property and has been registered to vote s…Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com (cleveland)
Trump Says His Hand-Picked Chief of Staff Was ‘Born With a Very Small Brain’
The former president is appealing to voters by explaining how he appointed a bunch of incompetent losers the last time he was in the White House
#News #GOP #Politics #USA #Trump #MAGA #Republicans
rollingstone.com/politics/poli…
@Gargron I disagree somewhat; yes, scaling well is an L for decentralization, but it is a W for the freedom of hosters.
What if you want to use #Mastodon to host your own centralized platform? #TruthSocial is a good example of this; #Trump aside, it's awesome that you can use #Mastodon to both be part of a huge network, make your own network, or make a standalone social site.
