Todd #Blanche presented the defense's opening statement.

"President Trump is innocent," are the first words of Blanche's opening.
“President Trump did not commit any crimes."
"He is cloaked in innocence.”

Blanche highlights that #Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, which is something that some of his more heated critics sometimes lose sight of.

Blanche seeks to have the jurors relate to his client, as he says Trump is doing "what any of us would do."

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

#Colangelo encourages #jurors to "tune out the noise" & "focus on the facts" during the course of the #TrumpTrial. He summarizes the evidence again, & says after all the evidence is in, Joshua Steinglass, another prosecutor, will do the closing argument.

He ends by saying there is "only one conclusion: Donald Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree."

#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#Colangelo depicted #MichaelCohen as a flawed man who has lied before, saying he lied about the payment to #StormyDaniels initially "to protect his boss."

"This case is about a #criminal #conspiracy & a #coverup," Colangelo says, st the start of his conclusion of his opening statement, adding that at the end of the case, jurors will have no #ReasonableDoubt about #Trump's #guilt.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#Colangelo insists that much of #Cohen's testimony will be #corroborated, incl’g by witnesses from The #NationalEnquirer & "an extensive paper trail."

Because the prosecution bears the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, it gets to go first (& last) in a #criminal case. The advantage of that can be seen in action here, as Colangelo gives the jury his own frame through which to view #MichaelCohen.

#law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

Finished w/describing the series of payoffs, #Colangelo details the part the #criminal charges stem from. He is describing the paperwork arrangement to reimburse #MichaelCohen for the #HushMoney payment he made to #StormyDaniels, & how #Trump & #AllenWeisselberg, sought to “disguise” the repayment.

There were chuckles in the courtroom as Colangelo says Trump was a "very frugal businessman" who watched all the spending at his empire.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy

Reportedly, #Trump pursed his lips at ↑ that & wrote a note which he passed to his atty Todd Blanche, then whispered to atty, Emil Bove.

#Colangelo described a communication from Keith Davidson, the lawyer for #KarenMcDougal, to Dylan Howard, a #NationalEnquirer editor, as it became clear Trump was winning the #election: "What have we done," he said.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

"Another story about sexual infidelity, especially w/ a porn star, on the heels of the '#AccessHollywood' tape, could have been devastating to his campaign," #Colangelo says of the #StormyDaniels story. He says that "w/pressure mounting & Election Day fast approaching, Donald #Trump agreed to the #payoff & directed #Cohen to proceed."

Colangelo says Trump told Cohen to drag out paying Daniels, in the hopes of getting past the #election & then not paying her at all.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

As #Colangelo describes the "#AccessHollywood" tape that he says turned the 2016 campaign upside down, he refers to this email chain. We learned it would be admitted as #evidence only last wk. It's really striking how much important #evidence in this opening was just allowed in, & emphasizes the importance of the judge's decisions.

When Colangelo said the "Access Hollywood" tape transcript depicted the defendant bragging about #SexualAssault, #Trump shook his head.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

#Colangelo says that jurors will hear #Trump, in his own voice, urging the money be repaid in cash. This doesn't connect Trump to the actual #crime, which only relates to a payment to #StormyDaniels. But it suggests a pattern of behavior.

Colangelo is now describing the emergence of the "#AccessHollywood" tape on Oct 7, 2016, beginning w/ email outreach to Trump spox #HopeHicks. Colangelo reads aloud the worst of Trump’s language, bragging about grabbing women's genitals.

#law #TrumpTrial

#Colangelo says #Pecker will testify that $150k was more than The #NationalEnquirer would typically have paid for such a deal, & that Pecker had trouble being reimbursed. Crucially, Colangelo says, Pecker will testify that he spoke to #Trump about it.

Colangelo mentions an audio #recording #Cohen made between himself & Trump discussing the #McDougal deal.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

Colangelo is now describing the 2nd “#CatchAndKill” deal in question, relating to #KarenMcDougal, a fmr #PlayboyModel who said she had an affair w/ #Trump. #Colangelo says evidence will show that Trump “desperately” didn’t want that info public. “Before the meeting, during the meeting, after the meeting,” Colangelo says, #NationalEnquirer publisher was in touch w/ #MichaelCohen, putting this deal right at Trump’s doorstep.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#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.

#law #TrumpTrial

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.”

#law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #HushMoney

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.

#criminal #law #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

“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.

#law #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

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

#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

The location of your data cannot guarantee freedom from #surveillance. 📷

#Switzerland has long been treated as a safe haven for your #data, but the Swiss government actively works with the EU and US by sharing data with #law enforcement and #intelligence agencies. 🚨

Protect your #privacy and your data by choosing strong #encryption! 💪 🔒

👉 tuta.com/blog/swiss-privacy-is…

Hey #lawfedi friends, every day a new person in #law or #legal adjacent fields joints the #fediverse and isn't aware of Lawstodon - the legal community directory for #Mastodon (and eventually the fediverse more broadly).

Feel free to add yourself, claim your profile, etc. I have been using it when I send recommendations for folks looking for practitioners in specific practice areas and it works a treat!

@law

lawstodon.org

Lawstodon | Find Lawyers and the Legal Community on Mastodon | #LawFedi #Lawstodon

Lawstodon.org is a directory of lawyers, attorneys and the legal community on Mastodon. #LawFedi #Lawstodon

^{www.lawstodon.org}

“Same Safari. Different device”. Ha!

#CorporationsSuck #CorporateGreed #Apple #law

Today, two open letters from academics on the scientific arguments against the current #CSS (client side scanning) initiatives have been released:

* The first (in English, internationally coordinated) one is online at tinyurl.com/CSAScientistsLette… and still open for additional signatures.

* The second (in German, by #Austrian academics) one is online at ins.jku.at/chatcontrol/ and explicitly includes law experts in addition to the arguments from a security, privacy, and AI perspective.

This debate is expected to gain new steam with #Spain taking over the EU council presidency, given recently leaked statements like "Ideally, in our view, it would be desirable to legislatively prevent EU-based service providers from implementing end-to-end encryption" (wired.co.uk/article/europe-bre…).

Please boost on any channels you deem adequate. The discussion is still open, and we have little time to bring it to a more rational level.

#csam #law #eu #privacy #dataprotection #privacy #humanrights #messenger #chat #chatcontrol #signal #whatsapp #telegram #threema #e2ee

Leaked Government Document Shows Spain Wants to Ban End-to-End Encryption

In response to an EU proposal to scan private messages for illegal material, the country's officials said it is “imperative that we have access to the data.”

^{Lily Hay Newman (WIRED UK)}

Are you an international lawyer? Do you spend way too much time googling treaties? Have a look at this searchable #OpenAccess PDF collection of treaties and legal documents, sorted into folders by subject matter!

Direct Download (ZIP): zenodo.org/record/3824282/file…

Detailed description: zenodo.org/record/3824282

#InternationalLaw #Law #LawFedi #UnitedNations #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #OpenData #OpenScience @law @politicalscience @humanrights