The lawyers for trump are digging a YUGE hole for themselves. Here's another terse exchange:
"Take this moment, in which Blanche repeated a line used by his client: “He (trump) is very frustrated with the two systems of justice happening in this courtroom.”
“You think there are two systems of justice in this courtroom?” Merchan asked."
Judge Merchan is pissed off at the defense lawyers, this doesn't seem like a good tactic for them.
There are definitely different justice systems for the rich and the poor. The preferential treatment Trump has received is enough to warrant saying there are three systems of justice.
The stupid is VERY strong with the swamp creatures Cheetolini employs . . .
To whine about "two systems of justice" seems like a plea to be treated like everyone else - i.e. LOCK THE ORANGE TURD UP. At least put him in timeout (four hours after the case ends for the day to sit in the courthouse lockup (in a jumpsuit with ZERO access to electronics) would be a REALLY nice start).
The S/ L expired on the business records charges. Bragg needed to find a crime to fit his man . Like Letitia James, Bragg had his man and needed to dins a crime. If Justice Merchan is impartial, he will dismiss this case after the prosecution rests . The underlying “ crime “ which is required to bring the misdemeanor business records charges back to life sumply does not exiat.
Did you read the judges decision? Seems pretty clear to me, if the prosecutor can show good cause for extending, and show proper case law, the judge can grant it. The defense didn't even show proper case law support in their dismissal motion. If he was going to dismiss the case on those grounds he would have already done so. To be honest I'm not a retired lawyer like you, but I can read.
Once a S/L expires, the case is terminated. It is extinguished by statute. The misdemeanor charges--falsifying business records- died in 2021. No Judge can raise these charges from the dead. The decision dealt with something else. The presumption acted upon by Merchan was that the linking of the business records charges with another "crime" extended the S/L. But here's the rub; the other "crime" does not exist. Bragg made it up. Like Letitia James, Bragg had his man. He then needed to find the crime. That is not how the system works. You make an erroneous assumption that Bragg was at all times acting in good faith. Bragg and James never acted in good faith. They raised themselves above the law.
Live-blogging accounts mention how uncomfortable and angry tRump appears to be during the Pecker testimony...he's not even dozing off, which speaks to the importance of Pecker's time in the witness box for the prosecution.
Great points! Reading the ongoing texts of this morning's contempt hearing from your great link, it seems that Blanche can see that Judge Merchan tries to drive down the middle of the road in order not to appear to be showing favoritism or to be overturned on appeal. Unfortunately, it seems that Blanche has keyed into that and knows he can redefine (gaslight) trump's out-of-bound public text messages so they appear to be quite legally acceptable. I was hoping in that hearing
there was going to be a guardrail constructed - and trump would get the $1,000 fine (last step before jail). Simply telling Blanche and trump that they're losing credibility with the Court isn't a penalty. They ckearly couldn't care less about what the judge thinks or feels.
Blanche is clearly going for broke with his willingness to gaslight the judge about trump's texting and re-asking objectionable questions of a witness and then to brazenly repeat those questions, despite further objections, to make sure the jury is impacted by it. You can gage from this waaay-out-there behavior that trump has apparently conveyed a well-earned fear he's going to jail to his lawyer.
I know this seems to be an intelligent, educated jury, but I'm sometimes shocked to learn that trump has followers who are professional people. I hope they can see through what blanche is doing and it offends their intelligence. (If they were telling the truth, then why are they acting so desparate both in and outside of court?)
I also hope Judge Merchan sees his way to taking control of Blanche's courtroom behavior and curtailing the impermissible trump texts. Fingers crossed, hoping for yet another win from a NY jury.
To be clear, I don't believe that is the end of contempt trial. The Judge has yet to issue a decision. Judge Merchan wasn't having any of it from Blanche. Plus the Judge telling a lawyer he is "losing credibility with the court" is extremely bad; no upside in that statement.
The testimony from Pecker today was, in my opinion, very damaging to trump. And trump showed his anger visibly in the courtroom.
I agree that a judge letting you know your credibility has been compromised is a place normal folks don't ever want to find themselves with a judge - or anyone else. Blanche, an experienced lawyer, should also know this. He can't control trump's compulsive
texting, so it appears he's taken the approach of reframing trump's texts as completely acceptable relative to the gag order when called to account for them. The Judge is right, Blanche's arguments just aren't credible. I hope we hear more from Judge Metchan about a consequence imposed for violating his gag order soon.
Any thought that Blanche wants out of the trial? He's got nothing to work with. He'll happily let someone else take over. He's also not really a defense attorney. The woman on the team, I forget her name, is the one that is a defense attorney.
I don't think so. Blanche is a very ambitious person. I imagine Trump's previous attorneys were too. Most people wouldn't want to place themselves in the position of representing Trump, but the lawyers that do know that they'll get national publicity as well as lots of commentary about their abilities. Even if they don't get Trump off, you can bet they're offered enhanced opportunities they never would have encountered had they simply continued on in their law practice. Knowing that Blanche has left a secure position with a prestigious law firm, about a year ago, opening his own law firm to represent Trump and that he's moved his family to Palm Beach to be near Trump's home, it looks like he's all in. I've attached a link that, in the last two paragraphs, also relates to your question. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-lawyer-todd-blanche-draws-judges-ire-historic-trial-gets-underway-2024-04-24/
Is it possible to appeal contempt of court. If so, I'd find it amusing to see how they squirm before the appeals court. This entire trial could be fodder for multiple satirical movies.
Think if I were ever accused of a major, white-collar crime, Chris, I'd pray I had enough funding to hire you as my attorney! You do a FANTASTIC job of breaking down the possible scenarios of the case. LOVE IT!
Merchan may have personal feelings towards trump, but, as a Judge, he cannot allow them to affect his decisions. It's the job of the lawyers to maintain credibility with the court, they know the rules. They are failing.
I'm assuming you meant Statute of Limitations. The judge denied this motion by trump.
"Unlike the cases cited by Defendant, which all involved inexcusable dereliction of duties, the reasons proffered by the people appear reasonable. Further, the People note that the complexity of the investigation and the unique circumstances surrounding the Defendant himself (a then siting President of the United States) cannot be overlooked. The People have presented legitimate reasons for the delay in indicting Defendant."
Perfectly sound legal decision. Here is the entire opinion if you would like to read it. It starts on Page 3.
Thanks for making it possible to avoid reading a lot about this gashead.
Now, if we could just train the media to stop calling it a hush money trial and calling it the election fraud trial that it is, I'd be one step closer to sanity.
True. But how many bother to read Substack and get their information about the trial from anything other than MSM? MSM is driving nail after nail into democracy's coffin. Hopefully our votes will be crowbar enough to remove them.
In this country, you don't get to falsify business records, interfere with an election, attempt to overturn an election, keep classified documents that don't belong to you, refuse to return them, then run for office to get out of being held accountable for any of it. You sound like you would enjoy Russia's system of government more. Feel free to go. Don't forget to send us a card, let us know how it's going.
To be fair, that while I agree that DJT should be held accountable for everything he's done and participated in all of these cases come down to election interference including the incitement of the J6 insurrection. He should be prosecuted, pay fines, and do time for every single criminal act. Sadly, I see him working to squirm out of paying for his crimes for the rest of his life for however long that may be.
Thank you, Charles, for pointing this out. Once again, the media defaults to Trump. I refuse to call it the “hush money” trial. It diminishes the gravity of what these people did. It makes it seem seedy but defensible.
I'm surprised there aren't websites dedicated to the list of nicknames. There would be the list itself, then a recount of how that nickname came to be. Lastly, there would be an analysis and exploration of any derivations and similarities of the different nicknames. One website would be scholarly, another humorous, another would add music, and so on.
I love the part about Trump just signing the check without really looking at it ... even a check for $420,000????
For a guy who pinched every penny, and generally didn't pay contractors their full amount (as his Dad did to my Dad!!) that's just one more piece of the strategy that no one will believe ....
It was 12 checks, each for $35,000. But still. Considering his history when it comes to paying bills, it is extremely unlikely he didn’t fume and throw ketchup every time he signed one of those checks. And I’m sorry your dad was one of the Trump crime family’s victims.
I can see a dichotomy at work here: checks where he cares about one side of his life versus those about the other side. He would consider the side where screws people over like your dad to be purely business so he'd look carefully scrutinizing how much he paid. The ones to Cohen and Stormy Daniels would be private or personal that he doesn't give a 💩 about as much so he wouldn't necessarily look at them or look at them closely enough to be bothered. That's part of his narcissistic sociopathic personality that attracts some people to him.
Thank you, Jay. Just thank you. I pray some of his cult following will FINALLY hear the truth and understand what an insatiable liar he is. Maybe the smell in the courtroom is from his burning pants.
Karen McDougall will be interesting because she actually thought she was in love with Trump and he was in love sir she's gonna be awesome on the stand!!🙂🥳✌️💙
And what about the fact he's using all his campaign donations currently to pay his lawyer fees! That's not legal... even if your magas say they dont care... it is still finance fraud. And during a finance fraud case! WOW! Vote blue!✌️
Yes, the falsification of records is the crime at hand here, however I ask myself...
Why did she have sex with him, though? I think he paid her for the opportunity. That would be a crime [it shouldn't be, IMO, but it is] but I think the statute of limitations would have passed on it.
I agree it shouldn't be a crime but it still might matter to the jury that he had sex just before his wife was about to have his child. There's crime, and there's couth. With Trump, there's an abundance of the first, and none of the last.
It also might matter that he paid for sex rather than just had sex with her. The distinction matters in a legal context and in a psychological one. It reflects a state of mind and way of thinking about others that may be irrelevant to this case yet somehow relevant to how the jurors perceive DJT and his behavior.
That wouldn't surprise me. She's an attractive woman that happens to be his “type” who refused to have sex with him which inflames his bruised narcissistic ego. Since the statute of limitations expired she couldn't charge him and even if she could plenty of police officers wouldn't necessarily believe her because of her profession and DJT's reputation plus the DA might reject it the case as too difficult to get a conviction.
If it was a rape case it would! We need to end that statute of only 7 years to prosecute rape. Especially rapists of children, because their trauma from it will take decades for victims to come forward. Pedophiles shouldn't get to avoid prosecution because of that terrible law! This case is about using campaign funds for things other than his campaign abd then lying about it.
There have been conflicting reports including one where she has stated that she refused and he forced himself into her. If that's true, she could have filed rape charges at the time it happened even though plenty police officers then - and possibly to this day - would not have taken her allegations seriously because of her profession. The statute of limitations may have expired on the issue of assault as well.
Right, nobody seems to care about sex for pay among the wealthy. They don’t get subjected to undercover sting operations & put in jail. The police only care about busting the poor drug addicted “hookers” on the street.
I don’t think sex for money should be a crime, but I’m conflicted about it because far too often the women are so abused, drug addicted & need help.
Isn't that known as solicitation? It's still a crime. I agree it shouldn't be although it adds a layer to his narcissistic personality of using others.
Thank you once again for providing those of us non-legals with your expertise.
The interplay and contrast between Trump's enforced courtroom demeanor and his press statements once outside are going to stretch ever more tightly, potentially to a snapping point. I cannot help but transpose that to a televised Georgia trial in which Trump or his lawyers say one thing in front of the cameras inside the courtroom and then try to reframe it fifteen minutes later outside of the court. It was the pitiless eye of the camera on Joseph McCarthy's hearings that splintered his narrative and cost him his hitherto strong public support. Perhaps that will be what it takes to maroon Donald Trump on his island of lies.
I find it incredible and highly frustrating that cameras are banned in the courtroom where the truth is being laid out, while Trump is allowed to walk out of the court each and every day and lie without shame to the press.
In an ideal world it would be the other way round; live televised coverage in court; no press on the court steps.
But it isn't an ideal world so maybe we could just have cameras inside and outside the court and let the people compare & contrast and decide for themselves.
Imagine how many undecided swing voters would definitively swing against him in that scenario.
The brain dead MAGA's wouldn't, or course, but they won't decide the election, the swing voters will.
Next best thing to watch the beast caged in the confines of the courtroom, body language, facial expression, etc. along with the back & forth between defense, prosecution, judge & jury.
If ever there was an example of the need for livestreaming a court hearing, it is this one.
Thump cannot be trusted to have live cameras in the same room as him, who knows what that crazy MF'er would say!! NO, absolutely not! No live cameras for Mr. Thump, it would be a gift to him. He's recieved plenty of "gifts" already! He can't even obey a gag order! So for everyone's SAFETY u can't put live cameras in a room with a person like that.
you can thank the Donald himself for that! They couldn't take the chance of one of his "outbursts" being shown live on TV! Who knows what else he is willing to do or say to save his own skin! He could even try and send an armed mob to attack capital... crazier things have happened!😉
Jay, I so appreciate how you layout the facts! Now, when I hear my Trump-loving family regurgitate the media headlines, I’ve got the facts to dispute them. Funnily enough, they are not as vocal about their love for Trump lately. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and maybe some of them are slowly starting to try and save face. I’ll let them.
Absolutely, when they show any signs of moving away from Trump’s cult, welcome them back. I know how it is, my entire extended family, except for 4-5, are sucked into it
Denying the tryst makes no sense legally or politically. We know he cheats on his wives; that's how he became a nationally known celebrity. Legally, as Jay points out, it's risky because when the jury doesn't believe him it makes it easier to believe he's lying about other things. Politically, claiming he was taken advantage of makes him look weak. If he's that easy to blackmail he would be a huge national security risk as president.
Might also open the door for the prosecution to explain that he has a long record of cheating on his wiveS . . . His current wifey (#3) overlapped with wifey #2 If I remember correctly . . .
"that when he signed checks he did so because he was the signatory on the account, not because he knew what was what." That implies that djt was stupid and signed whatever piece of paper was put in front of him.....
I know, I said that in the tax fraud case. People claiming he's a great businessman on one hand then the other saying he was innocent because he "didn't know what he was signing" on the other. Can't be both. A great businessman knows everything that goes on in his "empire".
"Trump may have forced his legal team to stand by his absurd claims that none of the sex with Stormy Daniels ever happened, the payoff to cover that non-event was never reimbursed, that Cohen only received legal fees, and that everyone else but Trump is lying"
tRump to this day, in the matter of E Jean Carroll, maintains that: (1) he never met her, nor knows who she is, and (2), he never sexually assaulted her. All this *despite* jury verdicts to the contrary.
So, seeing how well THAT approach has worked [sarc], little wonder that he's reprised it in the matter of Stormy Daniels: "I never had sex with that woman", and "I don't even know her".
As you point out, Jay, it's all very tRumpian, and ultimately self-defeating, as the moron simply can't judge that what he rants about in public has ZERO purchase in a court of law.
Jay Kuo: How do people FALL for such a fraud, an Orange Bottomfeeder?
Look at the case of Michael Cohen, Esquire, whom Trump evidently didn't pay, or at least pay on time:
"The first is the idea that Cohen would take out a home equity loan and use a shell company to pay off Daniels for something that didn’t happen and that she couldn’t prove. If it never happened, that number would likely be far, far lower or zero."
It boggles my mind that Orange-Flatus could have such a hypnotic effect upon Cohen that Cohen would take out an equity loan on his home for "His Master's business."
Just boggles the mind.
And look how Cohen is trashed for it.
Look at what a SYCOPHANT was the Honorable Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions, III, former U.S. Senator from Alabama, who sucked deeply of the orange undersides and staked his whole reputation upon Orange, only to be humiliated over and again by Trump. And where is Jeff Sessions now?! What did HE gain from kneeling before . . .?!
But a lot of his voters are NOT stupid, their tech billionaires and other business and political tycoons who love the useful idiot because he will give them everything they want so he can be included in their club. We can't lose sight of that.
Wait until blanche later finds out how THE ALWAYS-WHINING, BIG FAT, CORRUPT, DEMENTED, INCOMPETENT, RACIST, SEXIST, SERIAL ADULTERER, LYING RAPIST, AND NAZI blames his lawyers for his troubles.
He’ll probably still get a mistrial due to some juror hold out who was paid off on the sly—remember he got off of being impeached for his insurrection activities event though he was obviously guilty…. It only takes one!
This is from today's contempt hearing:
"As Blanche flails, Merchan spells it out: “You’re losing all credibility with the court.”
Blanche continues to claim that he had no idea that the gag order applied to reposting content."
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/trump-faces-sanction-hearing-over-allegations-he-violated-gag-order?entry=1486779
The lawyers for trump are digging a YUGE hole for themselves. Here's another terse exchange:
"Take this moment, in which Blanche repeated a line used by his client: “He (trump) is very frustrated with the two systems of justice happening in this courtroom.”
“You think there are two systems of justice in this courtroom?” Merchan asked."
Judge Merchan is pissed off at the defense lawyers, this doesn't seem like a good tactic for them.
There are two systems of justice, with all the delays and breaks Trump has got..
There are definitely different justice systems for the rich and the poor. The preferential treatment Trump has received is enough to warrant saying there are three systems of justice.
Agree!
Definitely. May this case help to collapse one of those systems. I'm hoping yet not expecting something happens in these regards.
Which is why it's so ironic that his lawyer would say that in court.
The stupid is VERY strong with the swamp creatures Cheetolini employs . . .
To whine about "two systems of justice" seems like a plea to be treated like everyone else - i.e. LOCK THE ORANGE TURD UP. At least put him in timeout (four hours after the case ends for the day to sit in the courthouse lockup (in a jumpsuit with ZERO access to electronics) would be a REALLY nice start).
Or all day Wednesday.
It's obvious DJT likes our justice system like he likes the environment, and he understands neither.
The S/ L expired on the business records charges. Bragg needed to find a crime to fit his man . Like Letitia James, Bragg had his man and needed to dins a crime. If Justice Merchan is impartial, he will dismiss this case after the prosecution rests . The underlying “ crime “ which is required to bring the misdemeanor business records charges back to life sumply does not exiat.
Did you read the judges decision? Seems pretty clear to me, if the prosecutor can show good cause for extending, and show proper case law, the judge can grant it. The defense didn't even show proper case law support in their dismissal motion. If he was going to dismiss the case on those grounds he would have already done so. To be honest I'm not a retired lawyer like you, but I can read.
Once a S/L expires, the case is terminated. It is extinguished by statute. The misdemeanor charges--falsifying business records- died in 2021. No Judge can raise these charges from the dead. The decision dealt with something else. The presumption acted upon by Merchan was that the linking of the business records charges with another "crime" extended the S/L. But here's the rub; the other "crime" does not exist. Bragg made it up. Like Letitia James, Bragg had his man. He then needed to find the crime. That is not how the system works. You make an erroneous assumption that Bragg was at all times acting in good faith. Bragg and James never acted in good faith. They raised themselves above the law.
Please show me the law, so I can read it. And tell me what crime Bragg "made up."
Agreed 💯 I'm so angry about it
Live-blogging accounts mention how uncomfortable and angry tRump appears to be during the Pecker testimony...he's not even dozing off, which speaks to the importance of Pecker's time in the witness box for the prosecution.
Agreed, I think this Pecker is going to get some attention from trump later.
Great points! Reading the ongoing texts of this morning's contempt hearing from your great link, it seems that Blanche can see that Judge Merchan tries to drive down the middle of the road in order not to appear to be showing favoritism or to be overturned on appeal. Unfortunately, it seems that Blanche has keyed into that and knows he can redefine (gaslight) trump's out-of-bound public text messages so they appear to be quite legally acceptable. I was hoping in that hearing
there was going to be a guardrail constructed - and trump would get the $1,000 fine (last step before jail). Simply telling Blanche and trump that they're losing credibility with the Court isn't a penalty. They ckearly couldn't care less about what the judge thinks or feels.
Blanche is clearly going for broke with his willingness to gaslight the judge about trump's texting and re-asking objectionable questions of a witness and then to brazenly repeat those questions, despite further objections, to make sure the jury is impacted by it. You can gage from this waaay-out-there behavior that trump has apparently conveyed a well-earned fear he's going to jail to his lawyer.
I know this seems to be an intelligent, educated jury, but I'm sometimes shocked to learn that trump has followers who are professional people. I hope they can see through what blanche is doing and it offends their intelligence. (If they were telling the truth, then why are they acting so desparate both in and outside of court?)
I also hope Judge Merchan sees his way to taking control of Blanche's courtroom behavior and curtailing the impermissible trump texts. Fingers crossed, hoping for yet another win from a NY jury.
To be clear, I don't believe that is the end of contempt trial. The Judge has yet to issue a decision. Judge Merchan wasn't having any of it from Blanche. Plus the Judge telling a lawyer he is "losing credibility with the court" is extremely bad; no upside in that statement.
The testimony from Pecker today was, in my opinion, very damaging to trump. And trump showed his anger visibly in the courtroom.
I agree that a judge letting you know your credibility has been compromised is a place normal folks don't ever want to find themselves with a judge - or anyone else. Blanche, an experienced lawyer, should also know this. He can't control trump's compulsive
texting, so it appears he's taken the approach of reframing trump's texts as completely acceptable relative to the gag order when called to account for them. The Judge is right, Blanche's arguments just aren't credible. I hope we hear more from Judge Metchan about a consequence imposed for violating his gag order soon.
Any thought that Blanche wants out of the trial? He's got nothing to work with. He'll happily let someone else take over. He's also not really a defense attorney. The woman on the team, I forget her name, is the one that is a defense attorney.
I don't think so. Blanche is a very ambitious person. I imagine Trump's previous attorneys were too. Most people wouldn't want to place themselves in the position of representing Trump, but the lawyers that do know that they'll get national publicity as well as lots of commentary about their abilities. Even if they don't get Trump off, you can bet they're offered enhanced opportunities they never would have encountered had they simply continued on in their law practice. Knowing that Blanche has left a secure position with a prestigious law firm, about a year ago, opening his own law firm to represent Trump and that he's moved his family to Palm Beach to be near Trump's home, it looks like he's all in. I've attached a link that, in the last two paragraphs, also relates to your question. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-lawyer-todd-blanche-draws-judges-ire-historic-trial-gets-underway-2024-04-24/
Is it possible to appeal contempt of court. If so, I'd find it amusing to see how they squirm before the appeals court. This entire trial could be fodder for multiple satirical movies.
Think if I were ever accused of a major, white-collar crime, Chris, I'd pray I had enough funding to hire you as my attorney! You do a FANTASTIC job of breaking down the possible scenarios of the case. LOVE IT!
Trump never had credibility with Merchan. It is a mutual hate society.
Merchan may have personal feelings towards trump, but, as a Judge, he cannot allow them to affect his decisions. It's the job of the lawyers to maintain credibility with the court, they know the rules. They are failing.
If he was truly unbiased, he will dismiss these charges at close of prosecutor’s case. Let’s see what happens.
Which charges?
The business records case that is barred by the atatute of limitations.
I'm assuming you meant Statute of Limitations. The judge denied this motion by trump.
"Unlike the cases cited by Defendant, which all involved inexcusable dereliction of duties, the reasons proffered by the people appear reasonable. Further, the People note that the complexity of the investigation and the unique circumstances surrounding the Defendant himself (a then siting President of the United States) cannot be overlooked. The People have presented legitimate reasons for the delay in indicting Defendant."
Perfectly sound legal decision. Here is the entire opinion if you would like to read it. It starts on Page 3.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GkeZgEDi_i6ubPWL1NM8GXmYEy3Pfyi6/view
Anything else?
I see disbarment hearings in the future.
I doubt it. It's one bad case. It won't shower Blanche with glory but everyone knows his client is a nightmare.
Thanks for making it possible to avoid reading a lot about this gashead.
Now, if we could just train the media to stop calling it a hush money trial and calling it the election fraud trial that it is, I'd be one step closer to sanity.
Pecker’s testimony today makes it pretty clear this is about election interference.
True. But how many bother to read Substack and get their information about the trial from anything other than MSM? MSM is driving nail after nail into democracy's coffin. Hopefully our votes will be crowbar enough to remove them.
Do you mean that the multiple prosecutions vs Trump are election interference?
In this country, you don't get to falsify business records, interfere with an election, attempt to overturn an election, keep classified documents that don't belong to you, refuse to return them, then run for office to get out of being held accountable for any of it. You sound like you would enjoy Russia's system of government more. Feel free to go. Don't forget to send us a card, let us know how it's going.
To be fair, that while I agree that DJT should be held accountable for everything he's done and participated in all of these cases come down to election interference including the incitement of the J6 insurrection. He should be prosecuted, pay fines, and do time for every single criminal act. Sadly, I see him working to squirm out of paying for his crimes for the rest of his life for however long that may be.
Thank you, Charles, for pointing this out. Once again, the media defaults to Trump. I refuse to call it the “hush money” trial. It diminishes the gravity of what these people did. It makes it seem seedy but defensible.
Sounds like it si time for some letters to the editor and to the authors themselves.
I hammer away at the NYT so often on Blue Sky, I'm surprised they haven't blocked me (I refuse to use Twitter).
Gasbutt?
I believe the list of known "nicknames" is probably a few hundred pages long.
I've been collecting them since someone inspired me with "Mango Moon" in February. My Word Document is currently eleven pages long.
Lol, nice! You should make an NFT of it in Trump's honor!
I'm surprised there aren't websites dedicated to the list of nicknames. There would be the list itself, then a recount of how that nickname came to be. Lastly, there would be an analysis and exploration of any derivations and similarities of the different nicknames. One website would be scholarly, another humorous, another would add music, and so on.
I love the part about Trump just signing the check without really looking at it ... even a check for $420,000????
For a guy who pinched every penny, and generally didn't pay contractors their full amount (as his Dad did to my Dad!!) that's just one more piece of the strategy that no one will believe ....
It was 12 checks, each for $35,000. But still. Considering his history when it comes to paying bills, it is extremely unlikely he didn’t fume and throw ketchup every time he signed one of those checks. And I’m sorry your dad was one of the Trump crime family’s victims.
good point! thanks for the reminder.
I am so very sorry your dad was not paid. Business owners everywhere should be as well..
He signed checks without really knowing what they were for? And he thinks he should be president again? Certainly doesn't sound competent to me
I can see a dichotomy at work here: checks where he cares about one side of his life versus those about the other side. He would consider the side where screws people over like your dad to be purely business so he'd look carefully scrutinizing how much he paid. The ones to Cohen and Stormy Daniels would be private or personal that he doesn't give a 💩 about as much so he wouldn't necessarily look at them or look at them closely enough to be bothered. That's part of his narcissistic sociopathic personality that attracts some people to him.
Thank you, Jay. Just thank you. I pray some of his cult following will FINALLY hear the truth and understand what an insatiable liar he is. Maybe the smell in the courtroom is from his burning pants.
I don’t think the cult will ever hear the truth until long after he’s gone. But as long as the wide swath of middle America hears it, I’m good.
Just remember, it doesn't matter if he actually had sex with Stormy. That is not a crime. Nor is the payment to her. Its the falsification of records.
I agree, but if he lies about not having sex with Stormy, that sets up a question of credibility.
Karen McDougall will be interesting because she actually thought she was in love with Trump and he was in love sir she's gonna be awesome on the stand!!🙂🥳✌️💙
Doesn't that also set himself up for perjury charges?
And what about the fact he's using all his campaign donations currently to pay his lawyer fees! That's not legal... even if your magas say they dont care... it is still finance fraud. And during a finance fraud case! WOW! Vote blue!✌️
Unfortunately, the DOJ considers that a low priority at this point.
If the DOJ had done its job on January 6th 2020 we wouldn't be in this mess!!
The DOJ still needs to go after MTG, aka, the Space Laser Lady for her role in the J6 insurrection.
....2021
He’s not going to perjure himself, because he will not take the stand to testify
Yes, the falsification of records is the crime at hand here, however I ask myself...
Why did she have sex with him, though? I think he paid her for the opportunity. That would be a crime [it shouldn't be, IMO, but it is] but I think the statute of limitations would have passed on it.
I agree it shouldn't be a crime but it still might matter to the jury that he had sex just before his wife was about to have his child. There's crime, and there's couth. With Trump, there's an abundance of the first, and none of the last.
Brarron was four months old. He was born March 20, 2006. Trump met with Stormy Daniels in July 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormy_Daniels%E2%80%93Donald_Trump_scandal
Thanks. I can't decide if that's worse than I thought, or not.
It also might matter that he paid for sex rather than just had sex with her. The distinction matters in a legal context and in a psychological one. It reflects a state of mind and way of thinking about others that may be irrelevant to this case yet somehow relevant to how the jurors perceive DJT and his behavior.
I read her account of it more than a year ago and allegedly he forced himself on her.
That wouldn't surprise me. She's an attractive woman that happens to be his “type” who refused to have sex with him which inflames his bruised narcissistic ego. Since the statute of limitations expired she couldn't charge him and even if she could plenty of police officers wouldn't necessarily believe her because of her profession and DJT's reputation plus the DA might reject it the case as too difficult to get a conviction.
If it was a rape case it would! We need to end that statute of only 7 years to prosecute rape. Especially rapists of children, because their trauma from it will take decades for victims to come forward. Pedophiles shouldn't get to avoid prosecution because of that terrible law! This case is about using campaign funds for things other than his campaign abd then lying about it.
There have been conflicting reports including one where she has stated that she refused and he forced himself into her. If that's true, she could have filed rape charges at the time it happened even though plenty police officers then - and possibly to this day - would not have taken her allegations seriously because of her profession. The statute of limitations may have expired on the issue of assault as well.
Right, nobody seems to care about sex for pay among the wealthy. They don’t get subjected to undercover sting operations & put in jail. The police only care about busting the poor drug addicted “hookers” on the street.
I don’t think sex for money should be a crime, but I’m conflicted about it because far too often the women are so abused, drug addicted & need help.
Isn't that known as solicitation? It's still a crime. I agree it shouldn't be although it adds a layer to his narcissistic personality of using others.
AND other people's money!
Agreed.
Exactly!
Thank you once again for providing those of us non-legals with your expertise.
The interplay and contrast between Trump's enforced courtroom demeanor and his press statements once outside are going to stretch ever more tightly, potentially to a snapping point. I cannot help but transpose that to a televised Georgia trial in which Trump or his lawyers say one thing in front of the cameras inside the courtroom and then try to reframe it fifteen minutes later outside of the court. It was the pitiless eye of the camera on Joseph McCarthy's hearings that splintered his narrative and cost him his hitherto strong public support. Perhaps that will be what it takes to maroon Donald Trump on his island of lies.
I find it incredible and highly frustrating that cameras are banned in the courtroom where the truth is being laid out, while Trump is allowed to walk out of the court each and every day and lie without shame to the press.
In an ideal world it would be the other way round; live televised coverage in court; no press on the court steps.
But it isn't an ideal world so maybe we could just have cameras inside and outside the court and let the people compare & contrast and decide for themselves.
Imagine how many undecided swing voters would definitively swing against him in that scenario.
The brain dead MAGA's wouldn't, or course, but they won't decide the election, the swing voters will.
At least NY has agreed to make transcripts publicly available the end of the next business day... check out Joyce Vance's substance for more...
Good to hear, I didn't know that.
Next best thing to watch the beast caged in the confines of the courtroom, body language, facial expression, etc. along with the back & forth between defense, prosecution, judge & jury.
If ever there was an example of the need for livestreaming a court hearing, it is this one.
Thump cannot be trusted to have live cameras in the same room as him, who knows what that crazy MF'er would say!! NO, absolutely not! No live cameras for Mr. Thump, it would be a gift to him. He's recieved plenty of "gifts" already! He can't even obey a gag order! So for everyone's SAFETY u can't put live cameras in a room with a person like that.
Substack lol
you can thank the Donald himself for that! They couldn't take the chance of one of his "outbursts" being shown live on TV! Who knows what else he is willing to do or say to save his own skin! He could even try and send an armed mob to attack capital... crazier things have happened!😉
It doesn't look like there will any armed mobs outside his trial anytime soon, though.
https://youtube.com/shorts/NJxmv4hg2k8?si=GvpHURKnoe9N_3MT
https://youtube.com/shorts/5HOsBEAEnoE?si=yPVr6uAX7ouIjkx7
MAGA hordes, where are you?
🤞
You can read the transcripts online. See Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse Substack for the link.
In honor of Shakespeare’s birthday today: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” :)
That quote is from a poem by Sir Walter Scott published in 1808, almost 200 years after Shakespeare died.
Yet is still fits this situation perfectly.
Are the Birnam Woods moving against MacTrump?
Jay, I so appreciate how you layout the facts! Now, when I hear my Trump-loving family regurgitate the media headlines, I’ve got the facts to dispute them. Funnily enough, they are not as vocal about their love for Trump lately. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and maybe some of them are slowly starting to try and save face. I’ll let them.
Absolutely, when they show any signs of moving away from Trump’s cult, welcome them back. I know how it is, my entire extended family, except for 4-5, are sucked into it
Denying the tryst makes no sense legally or politically. We know he cheats on his wives; that's how he became a nationally known celebrity. Legally, as Jay points out, it's risky because when the jury doesn't believe him it makes it easier to believe he's lying about other things. Politically, claiming he was taken advantage of makes him look weak. If he's that easy to blackmail he would be a huge national security risk as president.
Might also open the door for the prosecution to explain that he has a long record of cheating on his wiveS . . . His current wifey (#3) overlapped with wifey #2 If I remember correctly . . .
And wife #2 was already with him for months while he was still married to #1 & I feel sure he’s had many, many 1 night stands over all the wives.
Or when the judge says your lawyers have lost total credibility in this court!
Irony died in 2016 as we're reminded yet again, this time with Blanche arguing that election interference is part of democracy.
Outrageous just outrageous
"that when he signed checks he did so because he was the signatory on the account, not because he knew what was what." That implies that djt was stupid and signed whatever piece of paper was put in front of him.....
I know, I said that in the tax fraud case. People claiming he's a great businessman on one hand then the other saying he was innocent because he "didn't know what he was signing" on the other. Can't be both. A great businessman knows everything that goes on in his "empire".
"Trump may have forced his legal team to stand by his absurd claims that none of the sex with Stormy Daniels ever happened, the payoff to cover that non-event was never reimbursed, that Cohen only received legal fees, and that everyone else but Trump is lying"
tRump to this day, in the matter of E Jean Carroll, maintains that: (1) he never met her, nor knows who she is, and (2), he never sexually assaulted her. All this *despite* jury verdicts to the contrary.
So, seeing how well THAT approach has worked [sarc], little wonder that he's reprised it in the matter of Stormy Daniels: "I never had sex with that woman", and "I don't even know her".
As you point out, Jay, it's all very tRumpian, and ultimately self-defeating, as the moron simply can't judge that what he rants about in public has ZERO purchase in a court of law.
He toast.
Jay Kuo: How do people FALL for such a fraud, an Orange Bottomfeeder?
Look at the case of Michael Cohen, Esquire, whom Trump evidently didn't pay, or at least pay on time:
"The first is the idea that Cohen would take out a home equity loan and use a shell company to pay off Daniels for something that didn’t happen and that she couldn’t prove. If it never happened, that number would likely be far, far lower or zero."
It boggles my mind that Orange-Flatus could have such a hypnotic effect upon Cohen that Cohen would take out an equity loan on his home for "His Master's business."
Just boggles the mind.
And look how Cohen is trashed for it.
Look at what a SYCOPHANT was the Honorable Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions, III, former U.S. Senator from Alabama, who sucked deeply of the orange undersides and staked his whole reputation upon Orange, only to be humiliated over and again by Trump. And where is Jeff Sessions now?! What did HE gain from kneeling before . . .?!
Except it will work with about 40% of the electorate. They will vote for TFG.
There is no fix for stupid.
But a lot of his voters are NOT stupid, their tech billionaires and other business and political tycoons who love the useful idiot because he will give them everything they want so he can be included in their club. We can't lose sight of that.
Agreed.
25%
Still too many. But actual number of MAGA voters.
Wait until blanche later finds out how THE ALWAYS-WHINING, BIG FAT, CORRUPT, DEMENTED, INCOMPETENT, RACIST, SEXIST, SERIAL ADULTERER, LYING RAPIST, AND NAZI blames his lawyers for his troubles.
He’ll probably still get a mistrial due to some juror hold out who was paid off on the sly—remember he got off of being impeached for his insurrection activities event though he was obviously guilty…. It only takes one!