Trump Trial

[GURPS]

Fox News ran its Trump Trial update last evening headlined, “Michael Cohen testimony continues after ex-lawyer reveals secret recordings of Trump in NY trial.”




Nobody can accuse Judge Merchan of hard work. Court is recessed today and Friday, providing President Trump another three-day work week as the grotesque show-trial drags on and on. Former Trump lawyer, secret-recording aficionado, and TikTok entrepreneur Michael Cohen will be Alvin Bragg’s last witness before the prosecution rests. When asked yesterday whether he’d called Trump a “boorish cartoon” and a “cheeto dusted cartoon villain,” Cohen admitted it sounded like something he would say.

I’ve previously described how the first and last witnesses in a jury trial should be the strongest ones, and of those two, the final witness is the most important. You want to leave the jury with a strong impression. Thus, Michael Cohen is the state’s star witness, the punchline to this running joke of a presidential prosecution.

Cohen’s as terrible a witness as you’d expect. He’s utterly biased and conflicted. He secretly and paranoiacally records everyone he talks to. He’s minted a lucrative career out of presidential hatred, and he turned against Trump on a dime the day after he was denied a spot in the Trump Administration. A 2016 video of Cohen mentioned in the Fox article shows the disgraced lawyer praising the former President to the high Heavens, back then:

In a resurfaced video, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, is shown speaking at what appears to be a church building in 2016 praising then-candidate Trump as "generous, compassionate and genuine."​

“I want to tell you about the real Donald Trump, the man who I have been fortunate enough to work for," Cohen said from the stage. “The words the media should be using to describe Mr. Trump are: Generous, compassionate, principled, empathetic, kind, humble, honest, and genuine."​

Cohen said in the video that "every day Mr. Trump quietly and without seeking recognition does something to help others."​

Last night, to prepare for today’s Trump Trial update, I watched a couple hours of news anchors discussing the last two days of trial. What immediately became obvious was that none of them agreed on what the case is about. In fact, two Fox talking heads even got into an argument on live TV over exactly what Trump is being charged with.

It’s fair to ask whether the jury even understands what Trump is being charged with.

In post-trial interviews yesterday, Trump seemed happy with the trial’s progress, or lack thereof. In a later story last evening, Fox reported “Trump unleashes on 'fascists' in Dem party after 'very good day' of trial.” The sub-headline quoted the President: “'We had a very good day. I think we're exposing this scam for what it is'.”





Trump’s ability to turn the tables on his critics was on full display, as he (correctly) labeled them with the word they love to wield against him. Trump told reporters after yesterday’s session, “I don't think they're terrified of anything. They're fascists."

Once Cohen finishes testifying, it will be Trump’s lawyers turn to put on the President’s case, to prove he didn’t intentionally write “legal fees” on his check stubs to commit some kind of crime. So we can expect “phase two” to start on Monday morning.

What can I, or can anyone, meaningfully say about this train-wreck of a case? The bigger, largely-neglected narrative is that Trump and Alvin Bragg have put the judicial system itself on trial. I expect Judge Merchan to soon take a lucrative job as an Ivy-league professor or an MSNBC news analyst or something, since the clock is ticking down on his days on the bench.

Whether our judicial system will fare as well is an open question.

But at the end of the day, as the prosecution’s case draws to a close, after all its salacious, irrelevant evidence, its lipsticked yellow journalism dressed up in business suits, and its tar-and-feather litigation, the singular fact remains: no credible observers have identified any prosecutorial “smoking gun.”

Under the constitutional standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” Trump should be exonerated.

☕️ LOBSTERING ☙ Wednesday, May 15, 2024 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

No more spicy cheddar biscuits or free refills as Bidenomics swirls the drain; Biden's China tariffs are disguised Ukraine war sanctions; the Trump Trial ends phase one on a low note; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[StmarysCity79]

Unlike you and your dim witted brethren, Hijinx is able to discuss more than one subject in a single thought stream. You and your comrades are doing anything and everything to prevent Trump from becoming president again and you're doing a very poor job with your make believe charges. And just so you know, many people, normal ones at least, do in fact change their outlook and beliefs as they get older, including Trump. Just because you and your contemporaries have gotten more batshit crazy with age, doesn't mean everybody does. You had better wipe that spittle from your lower lip, before you're mistaken for a rabid bitch-dog and put down like you should be. Do you not realize that you're the laughingstock of the forums with your venomous hatred and spewing of lies towards the future president?

Have a good day, God even loves the idiots.

It seems you are the angry spittle foaming at the mouth one. You hate me so much simply because i disagree with you politically that Trump is qualified for office and should be held to the same legal standard as everyone else.

Your entire life and identity revolves around an orange conman who spray tans his body, dyes his two hairs and wraps them around his head and pays for sex and you worship him as a real man. Meanwhile i vote for a candidate with experience and qualifications and then move on with my life.

The world laughs at him and you.

 

[WingsOfGold]

It seems you are the angry spittle foaming at the mouth one. You hate me so much simply because i disagree with you politcally that Trump si qualfied for office and should b held to the same legal standard as everyone else.

Your entire life and identity revolves around an orange conman who spray tans his body, dyes his two hairs and wraps them around his head and pays for sex and you worship him as a real man. Meanwhile i vote for a candidate with experience and qualifications and then move on with my life.

The world laughs at him and you.

LOLOL Many of us LOVE you mister, you bring great comedy mixed with gross stupidity!

 

[gemma_rae]

It seems you are the angry spittle foaming at the mouth one. You hate me so much simply because i disagree with you politcally that Trump si qualfied for office and should b held to the same legal standard as everyone else.

Your entire life and identity revolves around an orange conman who spray tans his body, dyes his two hairs and wraps them around his head and pays for sex and you worship him as a real man. Meanwhile i vote for a candidate with experience and qualifications and then move on with my life.

The world laughs at him and you.

Dorothy threw water on you didn't she?

 

[glhs837]

Conversation with that coworker.

Him: What do you the fallout of the Trump trial will be next week?

When I said nothing much since it will most likely result in a hung jury, he was indignant. He expressed that it was a lock that he would be convicted of all the felony counts....... Insisted that not only were these misdemeanors actually felonies simply because of exceeding like 5,000 dollars, but that the smoking gun was the recording.........

 

[GURPS]

Michael Cohen CAUGHT LYING In Trump Trial, HIS OWN LAWYER Says He LIED UNDER OATH In House Testimony​

 

[PrchJrkr]

It seems you are the angry spittle foaming at the mouth one. You hate me so much simply because i disagree with you politically that Trump is qualified for office and should be held to the same legal standard as everyone else.

Your entire life and identity revolves around an orange conman who spray tans his body, dyes his two hairs and wraps them around his head and pays for sex and you worship him as a real man. Meanwhile i vote for a candidate with experience and qualifications and then move on with my life.

The world laughs at him and you.

You are too funny! I don't hate you, I pity you. God teaches that I should love even you, because you are one his His creations.

Unlike you, anyone that is so wrapped up in the lies and deceit of the Democrat party that they can't see that they are persecuting another for their own political and monetary gains, are truly not Believers and will suffer a far worse fate than losing an election.

Keep on fantasizing about my life. I've recently retired, I've met my soul mate, moved in with her, and my daughter is marrying hers at the end of the month. My life is so freaking awesome right now that I have to keep pinching myself to be sure I'm not dreaming. Unlike you, normal people have happy, healthy activities. Again, I pity you. Your hatred of the best president in our lifetimes, based on lies, shows that you are merely a sheep blindly following the herd.

As far as your candidate goes, !!!

 

[GURPS]

You are too funny! I don't hate you, I pity you.

Typical Progressive Projection ....


and the TDS ... the belittling name calling is hysterical

 

[GURPS]

Trump Attorney Delivers a Perry Mason Moment Against Michael Cohen​

But things got worse for Cohen as he tried to explain that he hadn’t lied about the call.

So, Cohen opened his mouth and started dissembling.

Blanche pressed Cohen about his testimony that the call was with Trump about Daniels, and not with Schiller about the harassing phone calls.
“Part of it was the 14-year-old,” Cohen said, “but I know that Keith was with Mr. Trump at the time, and it was more than just this,” he said, referring to the calls.
“You had enough time in one minute and 36 seconds to update Mr. Schiller about all the harassing phone calls and the update on Stormy Daniels?” Blanche asked, growing impatient.
Cohen replied calmly that he “always ran everything by the boss immediately, and in this case it could have been just saying, 'Everything’s been taken care of, it’s going to be resolved.'”

And then Blanche lost it on Cohen. “That. Was. A. Lie,” he “shrieked,” according to Politico. “You can admit it!”

“No, sir, I can’t,” Cohen said. Cohen then changed his answer, saying, “I believe that I also spoke to Mr. Trump and told him everything regarding Stormy Daniels was being worked on and it’s going to be resolved.”

“We are not asking for your belief,” Blanche said angrily. “This jury doesn’t want to hear what you think happened.”

Cohen has used “I believe” and “sounds right” during his testimony all week. Blanche made a point to stop Cohen and demand he lose the weasel words and clarify his answer.

 

[GURPS]

 

[GURPS]

Alvin Bragg’s sneakiest strategy slithered out yesterday, in the form of his star witness’s worst day, a scheme missed by most media. Late last night, CNN Politics ran its Trump Trial story headlined, “Analysis: Michael Cohen gives Donald Trump his best day in hush money trial so far.”





President Trump, CNN reluctantly explained, “got to savor his former fixer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen wobbling on the stand under a fearsome cross-examination.” The problem was, convicted felon and disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen is an inveterate fibber and an incurable fabulist. Michael has lied under oath so many times he’s lost count. NYU Law professor Ryan Goodman told CNN, “I think what happened today is so devastating they have to do something.”

Trump also seemed happy how the day turned out. “I think it was a very interesting day, it was a fascinating day. And it shows what a scam this whole thing is,” he assured reporters. CNN couldn’t help adding that Trump’s confidence “rang less hollow than usual given several positive moments for the defense.”

The mind reels contemplating how CNN can with a straight face continue reporting this revolting spectacle as some kind of legitimate judicial exercise. Cortez’s men would have looked upon Trump’s trial with even wilder surmise than they viewed the Pacific Ocean from a peak in Darien. I don’t know whether Michael Cohen is the biggest liar who ever took the stand, but he’s got to be up there. And he’s the state’s key witness.

Anyway, to give you the smallest taste, here’s how CNN described one legally significant exchange:

Trump attorney Blanche asked Cohen about a time when he’d lied under oath to a judge in a different case because “the stakes affected you personally.” Cohen agreed he had.​

Then Blanche asked Cohen: “Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Cohen answered, “Yes.” The unspoken implication was that if Cohen lied in a previous trial that affected him personally, why would he not do the same in a trial involving his now sworn foe, the former president?​

A fair question. On Monday, Bragg will get a chance, if he wants, to “rehabilitate” Cohen.

Maybe the biggest actual news was that Trump’s team doesn’t plan to put on much of a defense. The judge concluded Court yesterday advising counsel to prepare for closing arguments starting as early as Tuesday. It might not be as unusual as it sounds, since in criminal cases, it’s the state’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. So if the defense already has good arguments for reasonable doubt when the state rests, then it could be better to stand down and not risk over selling.

Some of CNN’s ‘legal experts’ seemed to think Trump may have already established reasonable doubt:

Experienced trial lawyers immediately spotted a potential turning point. “I think it has to have raised some doubt,” criminal defense attorney Nikki Lotze said on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” of Blanche’s clash with Cohen. “There was testimony previously that this phone call was about X and now there are texts that suggest it is about Y … and not a lot of time for there to be a conversation about both X and Y.“​

Jim Trusty, a former Trump attorney, also believed the exchange was significant and was cause for the ex-president to feel upbeat. “The defense set the whole trial up to be a referendum on Cohen’s honesty. That is exactly where you want this fight to be, so it is a good moment,” he said.​

Notwithstanding undeniable proof that Michael Cohen wouldn’t know the truth if it gave him a colonoscopy, the jury is permitted to believe him anyway. After reading the transcripts of various exchanges, it seems Alvin Bragg’s strategy was to play to politically biased jurors dying to find some reason to believe Cohen. Otherwise it was a terrible idea to call Cohen last and leave on a low note.

Clearly, they prepared Cohen to testify better than he has ever been prepared in his entire sneaky, scurrilous life. Biden’s finest federal prosecutors taught Cohen exactly what to say about all his previous lies.

In short, Michael never argued. He didn’t even try to deny it. In other words, he was honest about lying.

Cohen quietly and confidently admitted all his previous lies when asked. Those admissions were the main reason the legal analysts called what happened “devastating.” But they missed the point. Alvin Bragg deployed a high-risk strategy I’ll call, “the prodigal son.” Cohen sounded and acted like a recovering alcoholic.

Bragg’s closing argument will be something like, he used to be a liar but now he’s been rehabilitated, or he recognizes how important this trial is and he would never lie about THIS.

It could work. Running the ‘prodigal son’ would be unreasonably chancy absent a jury dying to find some way to convict Trump. With that kind of jury in your pocket, Bragg’s strategy makes more sense. But it would be the thinnest possible way to make history convicting a United States President for … what?

☕️ FLARING UP ☙ Friday, May 17, 2024 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Wild Friday roundup: inveterate liar Cohen punctuates Trump trial; congressional catfight raises eyelashes; doomed but timely bill to End the Fed; street artist's provocative trial commentary; more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[StmarysCity79]

You are too funny! I don't hate you, I pity you. God teaches that I should love even you, because you are one his His creations.

Unlike you, anyone that is so wrapped up in the lies and deceit of the Democrat party that they can't see that they are persecuting another for their own political and monetary gains, are truly not Believers and will suffer a far worse fate than losing an election.

Keep on fantasizing about my life. I've recently retired, I've met my soul mate, moved in with her, and my daughter is marrying hers at the end of the month. My life is so freaking awesome right now that I have to keep pinching myself to be sure I'm not dreaming. Unlike you, normal people have happy, healthy activities. Again, I pity you. Your hatred of the best president in our lifetimes, based on lies, shows that you are merely a sheep blindly following the herd.

As far as your candidate goes, !!!

God is a made up story to keep you in line and behaving and tithing the way they want you to.

All you "christians" support a man who cheats on his wife with a porn star while she is at home with his newborn. Has been divorced multiple times uses vile language and doesnt attend church or give to chairty. Yet you worship him because you have been taught your entire life to worship so you are vulnerable to being mislead.


Biden actually goes to church weekly and you claim he is the devil.

Your religion doesn't make you any better than an aethiest. In fact it makes you worse as you believe any bad behavior is negated for the good of the church.

Just be a good person with no promise of heaven. That's a bigger challenge.


Can you point to three of Trumps biggest accomplishments that make you say he is the best president?

 

[Gilligan]

Just be a good person with no promise of heaven. That's a bigger challenge.

An insurmountable challenge, for a total dirtbag like you.

 

[Kyle]

 

[Gilligan]

Can you point to three of Trumps biggest accomplishments that make you say he is the best president?

three...or more.

https://www.mcleancountyrepublicans.org/trump_administration_accomplishments

 

[Kyle]

three...or more.

https://www.mcleancountyrepublicans.org/trump_administration_accomplishments

Don't hold your breath waiting for the stupid #### to actually read it.

 

[GURPS]

Don't hold your breath waiting for the stupid #### to actually read it.

No that window licker will just scree at the trees

 

[PrchJrkr]

I

three...or more.

https://www.mcleancountyrepublicans.org/trump_administration_accomplishments

I wouldn't even humor her with a reply. It's not really worth the effort. You know she is just going to yell " fake news" or some other nonsense. Live and let live. I've done my part for her salvation. The rest is up to her.

 

[GURPS]

 

[GURPS]

3 Moments ‘Star Witness’ Michael Cohen Just Undermined Bragg’s ‘Get Trump’ Case​

Trump Was Worried About His Family​

The cornerstone of Bragg’s lawfare case against Trump is that the former president should have classified payments allegedly made to Cohen to purchase the silence of pornographer Stormy Daniels as campaign expenses rather than legal fees, since the alleged purchase of negative press — which is entirely legal — was done to influence the 2016 election.

Lead prosecutor and former Biden Department of Justice official Matthew Colangelo alleged during opening statements that “this was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior.”

But Cohen admitted on the stand that when the allegations first surfaced in a 2011 blog post, Trump expressed concern that the story would hurt his family.

“Fair to say that the first time you heard about that and the story by Ms. Daniels, when you talked to President Trump about it, he said he was worried about what his family would think, correct?” Blanche asked.

“Yes, as well as, of course, for the brand,” Cohen testified.

“The first thing that President Trump said to you was that his family wouldn’t like that very much?” Blanche pressed.

“That’s true,” Cohen responded.

Keith Schiller Phone Call​

Convicted Liar Lies Again​

Cohen testified Thursday that he never met Bragg, but Blanche presented the jury with audio from a podcast episode in which Cohen thanked Bragg for his work against Trump.

“Alvin Bragg, with whom I spent countless hours laying out how Trump directed those hush money payments and countless other financial crimes. He is about to get a taste of what I went through and I promise you it’s not fun. Picturing Donald Trump being led through the booking process, getting fingerprinted, having his mug shot taken, fills me with delight and sadness all at the same time.”