AT 1:39pm PDT/4:39 EDT on Thursday, May 30, the jury sent a note that they have reached a verdict. This is 9 hours and 44 minutes after they were handed the case.
As I write this when I heard the news of the verdict, I'm on pins and needles. It seems like a reasonable time to come to a conclusion of guilty.
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And then the verdict came down: Guilty on all 34 felony counts. Donald J. Trump was found guilty by 12 fellow citizens of New York City.
It took a while for it to sink in.
But the system worked! Justice has been done. The man has been convicted.
This man is a convicted felon and always will be. Think about it: as a felon, he will not be able to vote on November 5, 2024!!
It seems like the defense spoke down to the jury and focused on telling them what a liar Michael Cohen is. Todd Blanche, T****'s attorney, called Cohen the "GLOAT" – Greatest Liar of all Time – and the "MVP of liars." The bulk of the closing was indeed going after Cohen's credibility as if he were the only witness, not one of 20 backed up my mountains of paper evidence.
According to reports, Blanche made. points. like. this. over. and. OVER! He also spent a good portion of time focused on a 90-second phone call in which he asserted there was no way that Cohen could have had the time to broach the subject of Stormy Daniels as well as another subject, that of a teenaged prankster.
At the end, Blanche snuck in a plea to the jury, "You cannot send someone to prison – you cannot convict somebody based upon the words of Michael Cohen." There was an immediate objection, which the judge sustained and then followed after lunch with a curative instruction.
The thing is, penalty is never to be brought up to a jury. It is understood in every criminal trial that no one talk about possible punishment because this language could add sympathy to the defendant. Besides that, Judge Merchan had explicitly forbid such language. The judge was properly upset with Blanche, and out of the jury's earshot, he called the comment "outrageous" and said, "It’s hard for me to imagine how that was accidental in any way."
The judge gave the jury instructions that they were to disregard any thought of punishment, as it is the judge's – and only the judge's – role to decide on a sentence. The jury members are only to find facts and decide on guilt. And not only that, prison isn't even a mandatory sentence for these charges.
He instructed:
"Jurors, before we hear the people's summation there's an instruction I would like to give you. During the defense summation you heard Mr. Blanche asking that you do not send the defendant to prison. That comment was improper and you must disregard it. In your deliberations you may not discuss, consider, or even speculate about matters relating to sentencing or punishment. If there's a verdict of guilty it will be my responsibility to impose an appropriate sentence. A prison sentence is not required for the charges in this case or in the event of a guilty verdict."
But you can't unring the bell.
The Prosecution
The prosecution's closing summation followed, and it was the last the jury heard of the case before the judge's final instructions.
Attorney Joshua Steinglass gave the closing argument, and it was long: more than four and a half hours. The jury agreed to stay late so that they could hear it all in one sitting.
It was a good rebuttal to the defense's closing. Steinglass defended Cohen as a witness, saying, "We didn’t choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn’t pick him up at the witness store. The defendant chose Michael Cohen as his fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat on his behalf." He also noted that Cohen and Pecker's testimonies corroborated each other.
One bit of genius: Steinglass rebutted the defense's point about the phone call. He role-played the 90-second phone call, pretending to be Cohen talking about the teenage prankster problem and then talking to "the boss" about the Stormy Daniels situation. He clocked it as well under 90 seconds.
Steinglass walked the jury through the whole body of evidence, reminding them of testimony and evidence presented weeks ago. (BTW, if you want to read court transcripts and other court proceedings for yourself, here they are.)
Wednesday morning, the judge took nearly an hour and a half to read jury instructions. The defense, prosecution, and judge had wrangled over the instructions in the week or so before summations. The jury does not get a copy of the instructions, but are invited to have a read-back if they need a refresher.
In the late morning, Judge Merchan handed the case to the jury.
Deliberations
After two jurors got a tutorial on the laptop that contained all of the exhibits, they retired to their deliberation room to discuss.
About three hours later, they sent out a note to the judge, asking for a read-back of testimony. It's not as easy as having the court reporter trot out the testimony. No, the judge and the attorneys have to pour through the testimony and try to match up what the jury requested to what portions should be read back. It takes some time.
Meanwhile, the pundits pounce and try to figure out what exactly the jury is thinking when they ask for this particular information.
I have to say, I listened a lot to MSNBC mostly because I didn't want to miss a verdict should it come down quickly. But it drove me crazy how much guessing and speculation the talking heads go through as they think out loud to us.
In the end, it seems that they thought the particular part of the testimony that they jury wanted to revisit was favorable to the prosecution. The jury asked about testimony about a meeting at Trump Tower with T****, David Pecker, and Michael Cohen, a meeting in which they first discussed the plot. They requested both Pecker's and Cohen's testimony about the meeting, testimonies which corroborated each other's.
The pundits thought it was favorable that the jury was going to the beginning of the conspiracy, and the point at which Pecker, Cohen, and T**** all discussed the plot. It appears that the jury is examining T****'s direct involvement.
The jury also requested a read-back of the jury instructions.
Deliberations will resume on Thursday, after the read-back of the testimony and after the judge reads the instructions again.
The Mango Mousselini must stay at the courthouse for the duration of the deliberations. This is delicious. He is stuck in a dingy courthouse on a hard chair, waiting and sweating.
FAUX News
In contrast to MSNBC who is crazily analyzing every movement, FAUX News is giving the MAGAts a very propagandized version of events.The folks over there have made up their viewers' minds for them and feed them what the Boss wants them to hear. For a minute there it looked like FAUX had washed their hands of the Supreme Leader, but no. They have their lips firmly placed again.
The Tired Martyr
Or, should that be the Turd Martyr.
T**** languidly spouted his usual on-camera and social media grievances when the court day ended. It was evident that he doesn't really understand how trials work. He went on about how the judge is "conflicted." Huh? He has been extraordinarily fair to both sides. And besides, dummy. It's the jury you need to worry about.
Does he not understand how this works? Does he not understand that he has been given every right afforded to every other criminal defendant in the country? I truly don't believe he gets that crimes have consequences. Of course he doesn't. This is the first time he's had to face consequences.
He also railed against the jury instructions, which were agreed upon by the prosecution, the defense, and the judge. He boo-hooed that the judge's instructions were "RIDICULOUS, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND UNAMERICAN."
You're right about that, honey. She wouldn't beat the charges either if she had had sex with a porn star, paid her to keep quiet, and then made illegal entries to a business record.
Idiot.
Update on Mr. A.
"My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not."
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has responded to the entrities to recuse himself from decisions concerning T**** and the January 6 charges due to the fact that insurrectionist flags were flown at both his primary residence and a vacation home. Read his letter to Senators here.
Yanno, he's just not really a flag guy.
He basically stomped on the request to recuse, throwing his wife under the bus under the guise of protecting her First Amendment rights while at the same time feigning ignorance of the meaning of the flags. He equated them to sports team flags and seasonal flags.
He needs Alito more humility. Alito more honesty. And Aloto more integrity.
In my last post, I talked about the trial, and now we visit some of the tribulations (plus some bright spots; keep reading!).
The Defense Rests.
The defense in the hush-money trial called only two witnesses, which isn't unusual in itself. The main witness was contemptuous brat Robert Costello, attorney and former federal prosecutor. The jury had to have come away with a poor opinion of Costello, who openly sighed heavily and muttered "jeez" when the judge sustained objections. Judge Juan Merchan had to dress him down, both in front of the jury and once the courtroom was cleared. Costello did not help T****'s case in the least.
No, the other defense witness was not the defendant. After boasting numerous times that he will "absolutely" testify, he did not.
The other witness was David Sitko, a paralegal in T****'s lawyer's firm, who introduced a phone chart into evidence.
It's important to note that the defense does not have to call a lot of witnesses, and often don't. In our system, it is the prosecution who has the burden of proof. The defense doesn't have to prove anything.
The court is dark until after the long Memorial Day weekend. Closing arguments will begin on Tuesday, and afterwards, the jury will start their deliberations.
Will he be convicted?
Only 12 people know for sure. And it only takes one holdout for a hung jury.
Pundits have said that the prosecution put on a good case. If you want to read an in-depth look at the ins and outs of how the jury may be feeling in this case and what they need to convict T****, here's a piece by former federal white-collar crime prosecutor Erin Aulov, writing in Politico.
Faux News
Just a little tidbit on the coverage by T****'s wannabe Pravda. Faux News, as would be expected, is spinning the trial coverage by carefully curating the content – and not much of it. Politico calls it a "brown-out" of news. Those who watch only Faux News will get only what The Supreme Leader wants them to get. And that is much of the problem today.
The Classified Documents Case
I have no words that don't include "^#$%*&@" about &%*@# Judge Aileen "Loose" Cannon!
First, after numerous delays over the last months, Judge Cannon postponed the documents case "indefinitely." Ummmm.... does that mean it's canceled? Because that's how it feels. We know that justice delayed is justice denied. Especially with what she said next.
As a real person, I find that offensive. What happened to the idea that thoughtful, attentive citizens can and do synthesize complex information, deliberate with each other, and come to a conclusion? It's the very basis of our justice system!
Step down, Judge Cannon. Right now. Any judge who has contempt for their jury does not belong on the bench overseeing the case. End of story.
Bedtime Reading
There were more documents found in T****'s bedroom four months after the raid on Mar-a-Lago. And not only that, an adviser from his Save America PAC had scanned the contents of the box where the documents were held and kept the files on her personal laptop.
But Hillary's emails!
The Supreme(ly Corrupt) Court of the United States
I love that Ann Telnaes and I independently came up with the same-ish description of SCOTUS
I have pretty much lost any shred of confidence in the United States Supreme Court that was still within me. The body is so corrupt it is sickening.
In front of his home shortly after January 6, the United States flag was being flown upside down. At the time, the inverted flag was being used by January 6 sympathizers to show solidarity in the "Stop the Steal" movement. His neighbors photographed the flag and complained.
It finally reached the public last week, and Alito has thrown his wife, Martha-Ann, under the bus for the flag, saying that it was she who flew it, and it was after a feud with a neighbor who displayed a "FUCK TRUMP" sign placard in their yard.
In an emailed response, Justice Alito wrote, "I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."
Note that Alito didn't say that he didn't know about it nor that he objected to it. Whatever scenario you choose to believe, it was not an action befitting a Supreme Court justice. Or his wife.
In any case, Martha-Ann has owned up to it, explaining it as "an international sign of distress." To be honest, I have used the same symbol as the favicon for this blog since I started it in January, 2017. I may normally be able to give her a pass. Given that just a few days before, the flag was known to be used by insurrectionists though? And given the next flag incident reported?
A few days later, the news came that at the Alito vacation home, the "Appeal to Heaven" flag had been flying on at least a few occasions between July and September, 2023. This flag has also been used by the Stop the Steal people. This flag has a history from the Revolutionary War, but has been coopted by the January 6 insurrectionists and Christian Nationalists.
All this behavior is outrageous, and there is nothing we can do about it. Dozens of members of Congress have written a letter to Alito asking that he recuse himself from overseeing January 6 cases. There has been no response.
Two U.S. Senators have asked Chief Justice John Roberts for a meeting, hoping that he can help handle the situation. The non-partisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) also wrote a letter to Chief Justice Roberts asking him to intervene. Will he? Probably not.
Truly, Alito and Thomas have no obligation to recuse themselves. They have no obligation to be impartial. They have no obligation to rule on laws based on the U.S. Constitution. None of them do. They can do whatever they want. There is no one to censure them, remove them, or anything else.
Well, that's not entirely true. The U.S. Congress does have the power to impeach a justice of the Supreme Court, and in fact in 1804, one was impeached. He was acquitted by the Senate in 1805.
The problem with SCOTUS is that though there are loose ethical guidelines for the nine members – finally, as of November 13, 2023, 234 years after the body was established – there is no overseeing body nor any consequences for committing ethics violations. There is no mechanism for recusal, let alone censure, removal, or any consequence at all for their actions. SCOTUS can literally do anything they want to do, without answering for it, for the rest of their lives. And they do.
Sadly, until the fascists are out of the Capitol building, there is no chance of having them remove one of their own from the high court by impeachment. And if a justice were to die today, they would surely block another nomination like they did with Merrick Garland.
It's so sad for me to realize that the members of the Supreme Court are not the highest, most ethical, and most thoughtful legal minds in the land. They are simply lackeys. Fully one third of them were appointed by the one man who is the most dangerous person that has ever been in power in the White House. A fourth one – Clarence Thomas – is one of the most corrupt, disgusting judges ever known in the United States, and another – Samual Alito – is falling close behind on that dubious honor.
It's really disheartening. You can't get rid of of the shit on your shoe. I can live with odious members of Congress, because they can be removed by motivated voters. Well, that's not entirely true. The Supreme Court has also endorsed GOP gerrymandering this week.
It is dismaying.
The Pollyanna in me whispers in my ear that the political climate continually pendulates, and it will swing back to the left eventually. But what if our democracy fails completely before that?
SHUSH, Devilanna!
This is the Supreme Court's Big Decision season
SCOTUS tends to make major, news-worthy decisions at the end of the term, and we're upon it. Here are a few of their recent impactful decisions.
A couple SCOTUS bright spots
The Court allowed Louisiana to create two majority-black congressional districts. The issue may be revisited in the future.
The Court prevented a threat to the Consumer Protection Agency. A couple of businesses asserted that the agency should not be funded, but SCOTUS ruled that its funding through the Federal Reserve is ok. This is good news for American consumers. It's an important agency, looking after us as consumers.
There are big Supreme Court decisions coming in the next few weeks. Among them:
The abortion medication mifepristone has been under direct attack. Just this week, Louisiana added the medication to its controlled substances list, effectively labeling this safe medication "dangerous." SCOTUS is considering whether to restrict access to this safe and effective medication. Any guesses how they will rule?
The strict abortion restrictions in some states have collided with physician's responsibilities to save lives, and SCOTUS is set to decide if emergency room physicians are required to perform an abortion in a life-threatening situation.
T****'s absolute presidential immunity claim will be decided, which will impact the cases against him that charge him with crimes while he was still president. I have no faith that they will do the right thing.
Hundreds of January 6 insurrectionists were charged with obstructing an official proceeding, and there is a challenge to the legality of this charge. SCOTUS will decide if those convictions shall stand. This decision will also impact charges against their Supreme Leader.
There are decisions on guns coming too. Questions before the Supreme Court:
Shall people with protective orders granted against them have their access to guns restricted?
Will a federal ban on bump stocks stand?
There are other cases yet to be decided as well. The Washington Post is keeping track of decisions. And you can always find the latest on SCOTUSblog.
Now, which one is drug-addled?
After years of calling him "Sleepy Joe" and "Slow Joe" while questioning his mental fitness, and saying Biden "can't put two sentences together," T**** has had to about-face. Biden was on fire during the State of the Union Address and T**** has said, "I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union." Of course you don't! He'll blow you out of the water!
Now, T**** is calling for a drug test for Biden before the debate. He must have gotten something to increase his mental acuity!
A drug test? Hmmmm.... to quote Sister Resister Anne, "What's good for the goose is good for the big fat gander." Leave your cocaine at home this time, you orange turd.
I like this take from Dana Milbank at The Washington Post. Biden is being given something to suddenly cure him and his mental feebleness? Maybe the GOP should market the magical elixir. A lot of us could use it!
Meanwhile, T**** continues to be confused and rambling, mixing up words and sounds like he has done so often over the years. Recent examples:
"The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man," he said about the fictional serial killer of the movie Silence of the Lambs (or Lamb, if you're T****).
He called Jimmy Carter "Jimmy Conners." (Hey, listen up, you scum. Keep my president's name out of your fucking mouth. )
He mixed up Biden and Obama again, talking about the war in Ukraine: "Shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled. I know them both very well, and we will restore peace through strength. Get that war settled. It’s a bad war. And Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word. You heard that. Nuclear. He’s starting to talk nuclear weapons today."
I've written extensively about his disordered speech and language, observing from a speech-language pathologist's eyes and ears. You can revisit those posts here.
Candidate Fascist Cheeto
Mixed-up language isn't the only concern. There is plenty of ugly, dangerous language that hasn't gone away. Last week, a campaign ad was posted on T****'s Truth Falsehood Social account, touting the wonderful things that will happen with a win. One of the things? "Industrial strength significantly increased ... driven by the creation of a unified Reich." The words were subtly-but-not-subtly readable on the screen. Why is this ok with anyone?
The dangerous misinformation continues, too. T**** has contorted the FBI's standard language on every search warrant – language that was included on the Mar-a-Lago search warrant as well as the one on Biden's home, as well as every search warrant the FBI serves. The language that is included is meant to limit the use of deadly force, but T**** has mischaracterized the language into, "Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE!" and that President Biden is "locked & loaded and ready to take me out.”
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has requested a new gag order limiting T****'s misinformation, saying that it is dangerous to FBI agents.
T**** and his allies are setting the stage for contesting the November 2024 election results. He is using the same tactics as before: vilifying mail-in voting, setting up suspicion for illegal voting by immigrants, portraying Democrats as cheaters.
It's worrisome. But I'm still hopeful that it will all be ok in November. I try not to borrow trouble. Let's stay positive and do the work now, and we can deal with what comes then.
Arizona Election Interference Case
T**** is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, which brings charges against those who would subvert the election results in Arizona. A group of 18 conspirators have been indicted. Many of the usual suspects are among them, including John Eastman, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani.
The Arizona authorities had been having difficulty locating the clown Giuliani. Then the fool posted a tweet(BTW, what do we call tweets now anyway? Xclamations? Or what?) taunting the Arizona authorities. The tweet pictured him at his 80th birthday party, and he wrote, "If Arizona authorities can't find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can't count votes."
Want a new hero? Try Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas. Her clap-back to racist Empty Gee (MTG; Marjorie Taylor Green) was one for the books! Watch below.
It's important to realize firstly, the importance of pushing back on the gross GOP and their stupid antics. "When they go low, we go high" doesn't always work. Sorry, Michelle. Sometimes you gotta get in the mud, too.
Secondly, it's important to understand the racism of the precipitating remark by Empty Gee about Ms. Crockett's eyelashes. We can't let shit like this stand. Don't let it stand in Congress, don't let it stand on the bus or the street corner.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett is a rock star.
And finally, he's back!
After being on tour, our boy has returned to making videos!
I hope you all have a restful Memorial Day as we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it." – Barack Obama
I have been on the road for six and a half weeks, when I was either driving or blogging about driving. Now, back for a week and having gotten life back to routine, I can catch up on the trial and the tribulations that have faced the country for the last couple months!
THE TRIAL
The first indicted charges against SCROTUS have turned out to be the first litigated. Indicted in March of 2023, Pumpkin McPornhumper is now in court, facing 34 felony counts of creating fraudulent business records regarding the hush-money payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom he shared a sexual dalliance in July, 2006. The payoff was designed to hide information from the voters during the 2016 presidential election.
You recall that the payment was laundered through Al Caporn's attorney and "fixer" Michael Cohen, who at one time was a staunch loyalist but has since plead guilty to his part in the illegal payoff scheme. He has turned – hard – against his former boss.
The hush money wasn't a crime in itself, but the way the money was used amounted to election interference. Tanny Soprano falsified business records to cover it up, and this tips the plot into felony territory.
The charges are brought by the state of New York and is being handled in a Manhattan courtroom, overseen by Judge Juan Merchan. Lead prosecutor is NY District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Darth Tax Evader is represented by a team of three attorneys, Todd Blanche, Emil Bove (pronounced bo-vay), and Susan Necheles (pronounced necklace).
The trial got underway April 15 with jury selection. Though pundits had predicted that seating a jury would be difficult and take weeks, 12 jurors and six alternates were seated within days.
Finally, the wheels of justice really started picking up speed.
So far, we've seen most of the prosecution's case.
THE JURY
Politico gave us a snapshot of the members of the jury:
There’s a salesperson from West Harlem, an engineer from the Upper West Side, a businessperson from Murray Hill, two lawyers, two people who work in education and two people who work in finance. That’s in addition to a health care worker, a product manager and a tech worker. Many of them get their news from their hometown paper, The New York Times. Three are married without kids. (Who can afford them in New York these days?) And many of them come from elsewhere: Ohio, Oregon, California, even Ireland.
I learned that among them is a speech therapist! Woooo!
Manhattan trends liberal, and Biden won the borough with 87% of the vote.This alone does not bode well for the defendant. They have all stated that they can be fair and impartial jurors, however, and indicated in voir dire that they don't have an opinion of him.
The jurors' names are secret. We may never know who they are. If they are smart, they will not publicize who they are ever ever ever.
There have been familiar and unfamiliar witnesses testifying for the prosecution. Here we look at a few of them.
Hope Hicks
Ms. Hicks was one of 45's most trusted and staunchly loyal aides. She was there under subpoena; she sure didn't want to be there. She even cried on the stand. There she was, though, and she gave some damaging testimony.
Courtroom sketch artist's rendering of Hicks on the stand
Her testimony included the fact that the campaign was panicked over the Access Hollywood tape and its possible effect on women voters, which goes toward motive for wanting to cover up the Stormy Daniels piece.
Hicks verified that they wanted to button up Daniels before the election in order to influence the election. Boom. Illustrates motive and moves the crimes to the felony column.
She also testified that Ranta Claus told her that Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels "out of the goodness of his heart" -- which didn't jibe with what she knew about Cohen.
Here is more about Hicks's testimony from the Washington Post.
David Pecker
Mr. Pecker is the publisher of the National Enquirer. He was the first witness to testify. A good pal of T****, he outlined his attempts to quash unflattering stories about his friend, specifically about the deal with Karen McDougal, a year-long affair partner. In coordination with Don the Con, Pecker organized the "catch and kill" scheme in which the Enquirer paid for McDougal's story of the affair and then never published it.
Pecker also testified that he knew that the $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels was illegal, as it was coordinated with the presidential campaign and went against campaign finance laws.
Yes, please. More testimony like this, please.
Here is more about Pecker's testimony from Politico.
Keith Davidson
Mr. Davidson is a lawyer who helped arrange the deals with both Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. He also testified that he knew that those stories would damage the hungry, hungry hypocrite's campaign. Here is more about Davidson's testimony from The New York Times.
Gary Farro
Mr. Farro was a bank executive who oversaw the creation of Michael Cohen's fake LLC, which Cohen used as cover for the payments to Daniels. Farro testified that on an application, Cohen claimed that the LLC would not be associated with political fundraising. Farro assisted Cohen in creating an account for the LLC, which was then funded with a home equity loan on Cohen's home. It was from this account that Cohen made the payments to Daniels. Read more about Farro's testimony in the New York Times.
Ms. Daniels is the person at the center of the scheme, and boy did she spill the beans. She recounted in great detail the sexual encounter she had with the defendant in 2006. Some clutched their pearls at her testimony (wait, what? It's not just locker room talk?). They called it "salacious" and "lurid." Using those words only makes it salacious and lurid.
To my thinking, it was simply a retelling of an event. She was asked questions. She answered them. This perspective from Anita Chabria makes more sense to me than the horrified whispers of "What did she just say?!"
Which is worse, the man who preys on women and brags about it, or the woman who has sex when she wants to and talks about it openly, without shame? Let's normalize women consensually participating in sex. Let's demonize sexual predation and abuse.
There was some talk that Ms. Daniels's testimony contained too much detail, which may have unfairly influenced the jury. Legally, it may be an opening for an appeal. Practically? Bring it on, woman!
The defendant has denied ever having sex with Ms. Daniels, but after her detailed recounting of the tryst, there is no doubt that it happened as she said it did.
Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen is an important witness, though a somewhat problematic one.
Cohen was at the center of the plot, aiding and abetting his boss's campaign finance violations. He pled guilty for his part in the hush-money scheme and served more than two years in jail time and home confinement.
This fact, to me, makes him more credible. He plead guilty to the crime! He didn't try to lie his way out of it during a trial. Plus, his lies were chiefly on behalfof and in coordination with his boss. Being guilty of tax fraud and bank fraud, though, makes him problematic because he is an admitted liar. He lied for Colludacris a lot. Yes, he's an absolute jerk. The jury will have to decide if "once a liar, always a liar," and weigh his testimony.
Courtroom reporters have said that the jury is responding well to his testimony, and the prosecutors did a good job of setting the expectations regarding Cohen and his testimony. But in the end, he is just there to corroborate the documents. Those don't lie.
The one who is not there: Allen Weisselberg
Another of the schemers is Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer of the T**** Organization. He sadly won't testify. He is on Riker's Island, serving time for purjury in Douchelini civil fraud trial. This, after already serving time for committing tax fraud on behalf of the T**** Organization.
Gee, what a great bunch this candidate has surrounded himself with!
We do, however, have a secret recording where Weisselberg is referenced – and in which we hear the defendant's own voice – that illustrates Cohen, Weisselberg, and TЯUMP's plans for the catch and kill ruse. This recording undermines the defendant's assertion that Cohen went rogue in these matters.
He's a bit of a problematic witness. He is on neither the prosecution's nor the defense's witness list. The judge has toyed with the idea of bringing Weisselberg in to testify. That would be great!
THE IMAGES
There are no cameras in the courtroom, so we have to rely on a courtroom sketch artist to show us what is happening. I dunno, I wonder if there was a better artist available? I'm not so fond of the sketches, but hey! they didn't ask me to choose. In any case, here are a bunch o' sketches from Yahoo News. Just one is below.
Let me ask you, if you were on trial, just as you are today, never mind being a former president, never mind all eyes on you worldwide, would you be nodding off at the defense table? No?
Courtroom artist's sketch
Well, this defendant has been sleeping frequently during the trial proceedings. Forbes has compiled a list of when he has slept or struggled to stay awake. It's weird and shameful.
Apparently, he's also been farting quite a bit. I'll let Jimmy and Stephen tell you about it (and bonus, tons of "Kristi Noem: Puppy Killer" jokes from Colbert):
THE PROSECUTION RESTS
The prosecution's case is just about to rest. Next it'll be the defense's turn. The $130,000 question: will the Toot Fairy himself testify? He has said that he will. But in case you haven't heard, he lies. And further, he does have the right to remain silent but deadly (again, thanks to Kimmel for that gag).
Out in public, his defense has been all over the place, as is his custom: he didn't have ever sex with Ms. Daniels, but if he did, he just didn't want his wife to find out about it. Or, if he did, Cohen went rogue and made the hush payments all on his own out of the goodness of his heart, but Cohen is hateful and spiteful and out to get him, but Cohen lies a lot so don't believe a word he says, but the checks to Cohen that he signed with his own sharpie were for legit legal expenses, but the accountants did it.
No, not that gag order. The one that Judge Merchan ordered for the defendant to shut his pie hole (not his other hole). The defendant has repeatedly violated the order to the point that the judge has fined him $10,000 for 10 violations. The judge has also threatened jail time. Please please please! We want this!
The gag order prohibits BLOATUS from attacking the judge, his staff, the prosecutors, the witnesses, or families of those individuals. Remember, gag orders are commonplace. They are put in place to protect the integrity of the court proceedings and the safety of those involved.
Groper Cleveland has wined and cried in front of cameras about the unfairness, nay the unconstitutionality, of the gag order. He has not swayed the judge, nor an appeals court. So, of course, he does what he does best. He took it to a higher court.
Awww, honey. You'll find this court is 'out to get you' too. They will rule that the order is right and proper and you owe the money and you need to shut the eff up. Sorry to say.
THE YUGE SUPPORTING CROWDS OF MAGAts PROTESTING OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE
In an attempt to get around the gag order, and to make up for the lack of minions outside, Mar-a-Lardo has trotted out several of his sycophants, taking them away from their congressional and other governmental duties, dressing them up to be mini-mes, and setting them in front of cameras to spout his nonsense for him. This gets around *his* gag order but certainly flies in the face of the part prohibiting "directing others to make statements."
Who has appeared? It was a legit parade of old white trash: Sens. Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), J.D. Vance (Ohio), Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), Cory Mills (Fla.), Matt Goetz (Fla.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Reps. from Florida Cory Mills and Byron Donalds, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, as well as former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, no doubt there to continue his audition for V.P. There were many others, including the actual Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (La.).
The disgusting Matt Goetz colored his statement with the brush from the Proud Boys when he tweeted, "Standing back and standing by, Mr. President." Lord I despise that man.
The freaking Speaker of the 435-member United States House of Representatives is out there on the streets of New York – not in Washington D.C., where his job is – echoing lies about the judge's daughter and all the stupid "weaponized justice department" nonsense. Meanwhile, votes are being postponed in Congress because the ones The People have hired to do the work are participating in this ludicrous performance art.
There's been other news, particularly regarding the Supreme Court of the United States: the members and their cases. Voter rights, abortion rights, ethics have all been in the news. SCOTUS will soon be looking at the presidential immunity question, too. Stay tuned. We will look at all that will be in a future post.
For now....
THE PEOPLE'S RESPONSE
OK, folks. Your regular reminder: you know what we need to do. We have six months to get ready. Let's gear up for the protest of our lives.
Today starts the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. Jury selection started this morning in the Manhattan trial for the 34 felony counts that SCROTUS is accused of. You may recall that the indictment came down in late March, 2023. We're finally seeing the wheels of justice shift into gear. Let's get this party started!
Hair Führer paid $130,000 to former porn star Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to keep her quiet about a sexual dalliance they shared. That in itself is not illegal, BUT! then-candidate TЯUMP had his lawyer Michael Cohen make the payments to her in a series of personal checks.
Subsequently, Drumpf repaid Cohen from his business accounts. He falsified his business records, indicating that the repayments to Cohen were for "legal fees." The falsification of the records is the illegal bit, and in themselves, they are misdemeanors. The charges rise to felony status when the falsifications are in conjunction with covering up another crime.
Voldemoron did not want Stormy Daniels talking about the affair in the days leading up to the 2016 election, and because the hush payment was made in conjunction with his presidential campaign, theres's the stink of campaign interference. And that's a crime.
He is facing 34 charges in total; 11 counts for false invoices, 11 for false checks and check stubs, and 12 for false general ledger entries. If you've been living under a rock for the past years, Mar-a-Lardo has pled not guilty and now he's sitting at the defense table in a courtroom in Manhattan.
There's a tangential piece to the case: the "catch and kill" scheme regarding another affair with and payoffs to Karen MacDougal. We shall see how they tie that in. Ms. MacDougal is listed as a witness, as is National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who is at the center of the catch and kill scheme. Ooohhhh all the salaciousness!
Other witnesses are Stormy Daniels herself and Scooby-Coup's former attorney Michael Cohen, who has already served time for his part in this scheme. Cohen has credibility issues, but given that he has the documents and that he was convicted and jailed for his part in this scheme, he will be an important part of the trial. Over the weekend, the Tangerine Palpatine truth-socialed (yes, despite a gag order), "Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?"
Indeed he has. But as Sister Resister Anne noted, "What is felon for the goose is felon for the big fat gander."
(Any bets on consequences for violating the gag order?)
The Trial
The trial started today with jury selection. The questionnaire that will be provided to the prospective jurors was released last week. You can read the 42 questions here. You'll see questions about affiliations with any pro- or anti-Trump organizations, including organizations such as the Proud Boys. There are questions about experience reading certain books and general feelings about the Covfefool that would interfere with the ability to be a fair and impartial juror. Can they even find 18 unicorn "impartial jurors"?!
The pool of potential jurors currently numbers about 500 residents of Manhattan. It could take weeks to whittle them down to a 12 jurors and up to six alternates.
One hundred jurors at a time will appear in Judge Merchan's courtroom to be questioned by the attorneys. The selection process is not allowed to be recorded, but a few journalists will be allowed in the courtroom to witness the process. The jury will remain anonymous.
A Nation Ruled by Laws
The Mango Mussolini is being afforded all the rights and due process as any other criminal defendant. This fact flies in the face of his protestations of victimhood and witch hunt and blah blah blah. He is being treated under the law like any other U.S. citizen. Let's remember that.
Other Stuff
There's a lot that has happened that I haven't written about.
He is selling $60 "God Bless the USA" Bibles. What the actual Eff?!
He installed in daughter-in-law Lara as head of the Republican MAGA National Committee.
The rest of the cases have been stalled by motions and other delay tactics. It's likely no other trial will get started before the election.
It's been a long time since I've written here. I had prepared a meme post regarding Katie Britt's beyond-weird barefoot-in-the-kitchen GOP response to Biden's State of the Union Address last month, but never I published, so here they are as a way of catching up.
And the brilliant Scarlett Johansson with this on SNL:
And Cartoons!
Don Poorleone could not come up with his bond money for the civil fraud trial in New York, despite his boasts that he is worth "billions." The judge let him off with paying less than half the amount he owed. I was hoping that D.A. Leticia James would be able to move toward seizing property. Darn it!
Register to vote. Get others to register. Campaign. Write postcards. Attend rallies and protests. Because the cartoon below is too close to be satire. We must act. RESIST!
