Remember when Steve Bannon’s four-month jail sentence for contempt of Congress was stayed pending appeal? (You can ask Pete Navarro how common that is). His appeal was just denied.
We’re about to find out what Bannon looks like wearing three or four jumpsuits at the same time.
In NY Court today, they are done with Madeleine Westerhout and have now called Daniel Dixon - who is a custodian of records for AT&T.
Yet another witness required because Team Trump refused to stipulate to anything up to and including whether water is wet.
Speaking of Navarro, he’s still desperate to have his sentence reduced.
Before testimony got going today, Judge Merchan quashed Team Trump’s subpoena of Mike Pomerantz, the former prosecutor in Bragg’s office who - when Bragg didn’t immediately green light this prosecution - quit and (stupidly) wrote a book about it. Merchan said the subpoena was overly broad (they were basically fishing for something…anything) and they fucked up the paperwork in any case.
It’s interesting to see how highly-paid and (previously) respected defense attorneys turn out to be shit when the other team is on its game. I mean, it has to be hard when you have as a client an unhinged man-baby who is guilty as fuck, but they’re bollocksing up the basics on the daily.
Commentators noted that, during last night’s mistrial hearing, the typically calm and soft-spoken Judge Merchan raised his voice as was visibly angry with Team Trump, specifically Blanche. Merchan already told Blanche that he is “losing all credibility with the court” pretty much on day one, so this situation is not getting better for the defense.
Over the course of two days of testimony from Daniels, it was clear that Team Trump was trying to manufacture a mistrial. They strategically did not object to issues on direct questioning (like the icky fact of Trump not wearing a condom), which they then tried to use for a mistrial on Tuesday. The cross-examination was extended significantly while they went over the same stuff time and again, desperate for a mistake by the witness that they didn’t get.
So when they tried for a mistrial again on Thursday, using the same grounds that were denied on Tuesday with no new issues to litigate, Merchan was understandably not happy.
Hehe. Team The People is having read into evidence a bunch of tweets by Trump in praise of Michael Cohen and admitting to the crime.
For example:
Fun Fact: This is yet more evidence from the mouth/thumbs of their client that show the lie in the defense’s opening statement that Cohen was not reimbursed. Expect Team The People to hammer this in their closing argument - catching the other side in a blatant - and important - lie, is pure gold.
“played no roll”. Only the best education…
This morning has been a parade of “custodial” witnesses, required because Team Trump refused to stipulate anything. I don’t understand the tactic, because all the stuff is coming in anyway - phone records, tweets and the like - so all they’re doing is racking up court time.
So Trump has to sit there longer than he would otherwise and his lawyers are totting up extra court time for which they won’t get paid. Meanwhile, regular people with regular lives have to sit through this tedium to satisfy the Mango Mussolini’s spite.
With the jury excused for lunch, it’s time for another round of fighting over shit in front of the judge.
Team The People want to present to the jury Allen Weisselberg’s severance agreement as the reason for him not being called as a witness. The agreement stipulates that he loses his severance pay if he says anything negative about Trump.
The point being that they cannot call him to testify if they cannot expect him to testify truthfully. Team Trump think this is overly prejudicial (it is, but it’s also fact). Team The People had a solution to this:
Team Trump complained to the judge about Cohen popping off on social media about Trump. Not much the judge can do about it, but he asks Team The People to tell Cohen that he would prefer it if he stfu.
They printed the internet to keep Trump occupied in court again today.
They should turn it into a mobile and have it spinning above his head.
Because…freedom?
And had the fucking nerve to call it the MOMS Act. Conservatives do not believe in American values or traditions. They are fascists and this bill proves it.
ETA, and hello? HIPAA?
God-forbid you make a database of gun owners.
Hey, your right to get pregnant is not enshrined in the Constitution.
Under His eye.
She is a fucking psycho (video in the link).
Absolutely ridiculous to make a database of pregnant women. The GOP is just as dumb as Democrats.
CourtWatch:
They wrapped up at lunch today, after a morning spent introducing emails, text messages and phone records that corroborate Michael Cohen’s story. Which is handy, because he expected to be first up on Monday morning.
He is likely to be on the stand for 2-3 days so, given that they have Wednesdays off, Team The People may well be done with their presentation by the end of the week. A lot depends on how long cross-examination takes, which could be a while as I expect there will be objections and side bars galore.
Well when you are trying to prosecute a political candidate for classifying paying a lawyer as “legal fees,” there will probably be plenty of objections from Team Trump (aka Team America).
These situations drive me nuts. Karen calls the cops on a neighbor, cop knocks on the door, dude answers with a gun in his hand - loose and pointing at the floor - cop unloads a full clip into his chest in an instant.
No warrant. No threat to the officer. Victim - a 23 year old airman - is dead.
The 2nd Amendment folks should be surrounding this police department with their pickups and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. Victim was in his own home and had every right to be holding that gun. He was gunned down by the very government that they claim the 2nd Amendment allows them to defend against.
But instead there will be crickets.
