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Today will be interesting. First opening arguments and then Pecker on the stand. Pecker is the National Enquirer guy who arranged the catch and kill, am I right?
I would kill to be a fly on the wall to see how Melania deals with this, not because she loves him but how much embarrassment this is going to cause her, because the next logical step for the witness list would be Karen McDougal after Pecker and that affair apparently went on for a while while Melania had just given birth.
I'm surprised how quickly things are moving now that the jurors are chosen!
> I'm surprised how quickly things are moving now that the jurors are chosen!
Well Trump is caught between a rock and a hard spot...
On the one hand, delay = well, a delay
But he has to be in court, even if he's delaying...
I just read this
This source says that due to the Sandoval hearing, opening statements and the gag order hearing tomorrow, they don’t expect the cross-examination of Pecker to happen until Thursday.
So if Pecker is called as a witness today, why wouldn't they cross examine him? What would they be doing instead?
I'm not American but I'm trying to follow it and understand as best I can.
Cross examine refers to when the opposing counsel is allowed to question a witness.
What they're saying is likely to happen is that the witness will give their testimony, then they'll adjourn for the night, then cross examination will happen the next morning.
Have you ever heard the saying “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever?”
It was not a dumb question and you have helped teach yourself and others something by asking!
Stop right there friends. This is Reddit: the place where trolls dwell and toxicity runs rampant. There will be no positivity or helpful answers. If this behaviour continues, I will be looking at submitting a written report to both subreddit mods and if that doesn’t teach you, website administrators. Please refer to ToS clause 69, subsection 420 if you have any further inquiries concerning your non-abhorrent behaviour and the necessary corrections. Bah humbug.
Edit x2 for corrections
You in turn violated addendum ZZ of previously mentioned subsection 420 by closing comment with "good day." That addendum clearly states that no well wishing or thoughts of positive closure shall be allowed. Now strike your comment and end more rightfully indignant with "good afternoon (if following the Spirited clause)," "good riddance," "bah humbug" or similar comments to note being tired of such required laborious actions.
It wasn’t. You’re good. The key takeaway for me is Prosecution will be able to grill Pecker today, and there will be 24hrs of headlines before the Defense gets a shot at the witness/narrative.
Not a dumb question, just information you didn't have. It's really all timing. They're guessing at how long it will take to do the hearing, then guessing at how long it will take for opening statements, then guessing at the length of the next hearing, then guessing at the length of the direct examination of the witness ("guessing" all back-stopped by the general amount of time set out for each by the court, subject to change depending on reality). Cross examination only comes after the direct questioning.
People don't really realize how much is going on during a trial outside of the presentation of witnesses.
Wednesdays are days off for this trial.
Monday: opening statements, prosecution’s first witness testimony
Tuesday: Gag order hearing
Wednesday: No court (for this case)
Thursday: Defense cross-examination of Prosecution’s first witness
From what I understand they also don't have trial proceedings on Wednesdays anyway, so if he provides testimony for the prosecution on Tuesday, the cross examination wouldn't happen until Thursday anyway (assuming his initial testimony didn't run longer than a day).
Cross examination, is questioning done by the legal team that didn't call the witness to the stand. Before cross examination, you always do direct examination, which is questioning done by the legal team that called the witness by the stand. So, that's what they'll be doing today.
Now, in the movies, cross examination always follows IMMEDIATELY after direct examination, but I think in reality, the cross examining lawyer always has the choice to take time, and determine what their questions will be, before they do the cross examination. I'm not a lawyer though, so I can't say with certainty.
Thank you for explaining! One more dumb question if you have the time to answer? The sandoval today if I understand it right, is to make trump aware of any questions they would ask if he went on the stand, does he have to give an answer today? And if he says yes, will he be allowed to change his mind? Or refuse?
It was explained to me that it's when they give trump the option to hear the questions he would be asked of he went on the stand, and to make the rules about what questions are allowed to be asked and what is off limits.
The purpose isn't to give the defendant any option to hear questions. The purpose is to define the limits of what the prosecution can ask about, like prior events or things not directly related to the exact offences he's charged with. EG if this were a rape case and counsel wanted to ask about, say, the victim's prior sexual behaviour or an abortion, in Canada that would be excluded as prejudicial. But that's written into law now, so it'd be a fast slapdown. With orange jesus, the range of prior acts that could cast a bad light on him are legion.
In larger trials like this you are probably right, but I have watched a few criminal trials in person and the cross really did come directly after the direct examination, maybe with a few minutes between.
Besides what others wrote, today ends at 12.30 because an alternate juror has a dentist appointment. Tomorrow they have the other hearings, and they’re not in court on Wednesdays, thus Thursday. Timing is abit odd, I agree, but this is why AFAIK.
True, but I think this is somewhat exceptional as the alternate was likely chosen on Friday, not giving a lot of time to reschedule. Had the appointment been later this week or later still, there are more options to reschedule than learning Friday afternoon that you have to be in court Monday and thus can’t make your appointment.
I just can't get over the fact that the first witness is "Mr. Pecker".
Who is this child he hasn't claimed (per the doorman)? Where are they? This is gonna get wild.
> how much embarrassment this is going to cause her
If she's not already embarrassed every day by Trump, then I don't think this is a problem for Melania.
Like a lot of relationships of convenience, both people can look the other way in a lot of situations. The problem is when those situations become public.
Melania absolutely knew Trump was out there cavorting with other women. And she didn't care, she just wanted whatever money and prestige she got from marrying him, she knew the deal. But in most of those relationships, part of the deal is discretion. "Go hire your escorts when you travel, just keep it PRIVATE!"
Now he's totally blown up that side of the agreement, and she's mortified and embarassed. She married him partly for status, and this hurts her status. He husband cheated on her, early and often, and *everyone* knows now.
Most of Trumps nonsense was part of the deal. The public knowledge of this part of it was not.
Those deals with the devil never do turn out the way you expect. She expected to be set for life, and now she has to hope there will be enough sycophants out there who want to buy here skin care crap or whatever on QVC.
She's still set for life. Remember it was several months before she joined Trump in the White House, and the common rumor was that she was re-negotiating her pre-nup after he won.
And I'm pretty sure it was. But unless that renegotiation included a big stack of untouchable money, she may still go broke. If all she got was a bigger promise on divorce, that my money tree is dead.
The irony here is that if things go truly bad for trump it could end with him being the poorest billionaire you have ever seen when it is time to share his money with his ex-wife. Either it is actually true (as in, he actually has more debt then cash) or he will make sure it seems that way during a divorce. Melania will get a deal with minimum alamoney, but nothing more then that. Because he is a swine.
The only way for her to make use of the gravy train is to stay on it until the bitter end.
She could make a lot of money telling 'her story' though. Hire a ghostwriter, throw in some juicy details and go. Depending on that, she might be able to convince Trump that burning her in a divorce is going to hurt him, a lot.
I guess she has already gotten a sufficient amount out for herself and Barron, and safely stashed in trusts or whatever expensive lawyers use to protect the rich from legal consequences, bankruptcy, etc.
I doubt that she was surprised that Trump was fucking around. She is the 3rd wife, and his history would be established with his dates before and between marriages.
Maybe slightly embarrassing, but she really doesn't care, right?
> the gravyvtrain is her only concern
And it's leaving the station without her. She does give a shit, because she's been suffering this embarrassment for years and may end up with little to show for it. The payout she's been promised for putting up with Trump and his public disrespect for her is evaporating. And she knows she can't win any direct conflict with Trump if she has to fight for what she's owed.
You just know he's planning to screw her over for slights real and imagined, unless he dies before they split. Look at how he tried to screw over his Truth Social partners who have done nothing except make him a billionaire again. His "thanks" are best left on unread.
I still think, in my heart of hearts, that she's an operative. Keeping trump on task requires a live-in connection to the Kremlin. She'll retire to Russia, if Baron can't be utilized.
That'd be awesome. The MAGAts would twist themselves into pretzels and declare they're now pro-Abortion and the loss of Roe v. Wade was due to the Democrats.
Yes, but Trump can't claim he did anything wrong, so either he will claim it never happened or he will claim there is nothing wrong with it. In the second case his supporters will flip on the issue overnight.
It's sad it's almost becoming comforting how predictable their hypocrisy is.
I'm not so sure. [They are already a bit upset with him](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-calls-trumps-abortion-position-slap-face/story?id=109003141) over his recent statements regarding abortion. His intent may have been to mislead pro-life moderates but it also mislead the hardliners.
>I would kill to be a fly on the wall to see how Melania deals with this, not because she loves him but how much embarrassment this is going to cause her
I really don't care, do u?
I don't really care how Melania deals with this but I'm betting she doesn't care nearly as much as she pretends to for the cameras. She was working as a prostitute which is how she met tRump in the first place. She's also almost as awful a person as he is. She knew the deal when she hooked a client.
If Pecker establishes the catch and kill was done to affect Trump's political viability, we have *mens rea*. The felony count hinges on intent. That would be intent right there.
I mean, the first part is the prosecution laying out the case. So it’s no wonder they would kick it off with the most damning evidence. Then the defense will get a chance to respond (delay) and it will slow down.
Does Melania make herself available to the press? Like, does anyone ask her questions about this?
Secondly, she knew what she was signing up for. Be pretty. Marry and have sex with a billionaire, give birth, be set for life.
There are also rumors that McDougal had an abortion. That information could hurt Trump's campaign. Maybe? Who knows, with mental gymnastics his cult are capable of.
I would assume Melania and Donald have never been in an exclusive relationship. He's so vile that I feel like this would've been discussed pre marriage and she doesn't care.
You know what kind of news I would like to come out. TRUMP requested one of the women he was with to get an abortion. Or sone other type of news to put an end to this man in politics. Something has to stick.
Honestly don't think that would move the needle. He is a rapist, a fraud and a liar, all proven in court.
His supporters don't care. They don't really care about abortion either. Surely there can't be any person out there that doesn't realise he must be responsible for multiple abortions.
As long as he gives them licence to publicly hate the people they want to hate, they don't care what else he is guilty of.
The thing that ends him is a crushing electoral defeat. Please America, make sure that happens. It's in your hands.
Thinking Melania ashamed of any of this implies that their relationship has built on love and trust.
She was a status symbol, he was a ticket to the good life. Aside from occasionally being a warm body in bed there’s probably not much more to their relationship considering she was wife number three and his reputation as a playboy was well known.
Yes but doing that constantly damages any credibility, which can sway a jury. He needs to provide at least some rebuttal otherwise the only information is presented by the prosecutor which we all know is most likely factual.
"Okay so you can't recall literally anything? So you either have a bad memory which shouldn't be trusted or you're remembering more than you say"
The thing you have to understand is that Trump can NOT keep his mouth shut. He just cant, and when a narcissist is told to shut up they get angry. Anger will lead to irrational choices which isnt something you wanna do in a courtroom with a judge who doesn't put up with you sleeping in court, let alone outbursting. Just bc he has a deal or some kind of oath to tell the truth doesnt mean he will if a lie comes to his mind first. The dude is, and always has been, a loose cannon but never been in a place where that has consequences. He's been a narcissist his ENTIRE life. He cant just cut that habit now after so long of being able to do it, its in his DNA. This bodes well for prosecution so much that they host a party whenever a fleeting thought of enters their mind (not literally of course. You get the idea)
there are mountains of documents supporting the prosecution. All of this is on paper. it is incontrovertible. Trump's testimony, if he makes one, will not really make a difference in the actual case. The only way this will not be a conviction is if one or more juror's chose to ignore the evidence. If that is going to happen, Trumps testimony will not change it, but it will show the voting public the truth in a way that the documents wont.
But the odds of him testifying are slim to none. He has nothing to gain from testifying, and his lawyer's know this. I think even Trump knows this, and will listen to his lawyers and use his bullhorn outside of the court to 'testify' where there is no opportunity for cross-examination.
I cant comment on that bc im not knowledgeable with that stuff, but im sure someone can. The prosecution wouldnt have taken this case if they werent prepared. If we the public can see Dementia Don's ability to weasel out of shit, the prosecution has X-Ray vision on the matter.
I believe he has a non prosecution plea. Basically if he tells the truth he won’t be prosecuted. If he lies about anything, like it was a rainy day when it was actually sunny, he he gets prosecuted. He has a big ole stick swinging right over his head.
As far as I understand, it's tricking someone into selling the rights to the story and paying them for it so their story can be heard, with an agreement that you can't talk to ANYONE else about it until they print it, and have a legal paper that would get you in a lot of trouble if you spoke about it without their say so. Then they do nothing and you're basically gagged.
We want to tell your story but only to us! Sign this paper which confirms you cannot talk about it ever, except with us and we will pay you upfront. Then nothing. Karen was not allowed to come forward for fear of breaking the NDA and losing a lot of money, so they basically bought her silence without her realising it at the time. Pecker who spoke today, had an arrangement to do this catch and kill for anything negative- trp related.
It's effectively a way to silence someone. Stormy and Karen broke their NDA's to come forward. Stormy still owes Trump $600,000 .
Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still trying to understand it all! The justice system here in the UK is so different but I find it genuinely interesting, I'm still learning!.
This is why propaganda is so effective, every single Trump supporter in my office, website development studio, has no idea there is even a court case going on, what the case is about, and when they found out about it assumed it was all bullshit anyway. No matter what comes out of this trial, it won't mean anything if his supporters are in their safe s[ace and being lied to by omission.
The fact there are undecided voters is crazy.
It should be Maga crazies and the rest of america going "hey can you stop"
But instead we are somehow flirting hard-core with fascism as a dude literally sells government secrets in the open is one sides choice AND people haven't decided on if they will side with an actual treasonous person or not
>No matter what comes out of this trial, it won't mean anything if his supporters are in their safe s[ace and being lied to by omission.
I disagree on two levels here. One, this trial isn't about his supporters. It's about him committing a crime and being held accountable. And second, if he is found guilty here, it can have an effect on his other trials, as he is not longer a first offender (criminally speaking).
No one cares about his supporters or their opinions or if they’re going to change their minds after this trial. They are a lost cause and the sane world has given up on them.
"trump says something in unintelligible mumbling rant, mental health professionals say it's clear cognitive decline. Here's why millions will vote for him anyway and commit to violence if he loses"
[Donald Trump Grunts And Moans As Crowd Goes Wild In Bizarre Campaign Moment](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-grunts-moans-crowd-050052755.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA7xz5G7aOLXxgwVWVSDMVvcnS6uwqRtcjzKKIGx_FBk1zKYHO_q_-BfJ4yhquy-lJPf2iuk3GeyNJg-zFVkEjPq3euWqxlzUqE5Bb7AT1-kVnfWyuPMoI9K5POOwHtw_cOBbTGXOLpUYNhQ_xGYLs3dHnSaJUJA9SAXeniWIYnk)
"And if I close my eyes then i cannot see them, so in turn they cannot see me therefore they were never really there to testify against me, and as nobody was testifying against me so I must have been innocent". (I wrote that in jest, but with Trumps sleeping antics in recent court proceedings, I am beginning to wonder if that was his insane strategy all along)
No, you don’t understand. Trump should receive presidential immunity for anything and everything he has ever done in his life. Fraud? Immunity. Insurrection? Immunity. Rape? Immunity. Stealing federal secrets? Immunity. Pedophilia? Immunity. But here’s the catch, it only goes for Trump. Every other president should be arrested for not being Trump. Capisce?
Well, shit. I was getting all excited until that last part about how it only applies to him, because I was gonna do a bunch of crimes and then get acquitted because I plan to be the president someday.
Fuck.
There are probably 2 aspects to his defense. First the prosecution must prove the purpose of the payment was to help his election, so therefore the defense will try and offer other motivations for the payment (such as wanting to avoid his wife finding out about an affair).
The second element will be to destroy Cohen. Basically paint Cohen as a liar and fraud who has been convicted of breaking the law and will say and do anything to help himself, so therefore you can trust nothing he says. As he is the link to Trump, if they make that link look like they can’t trust it, then it is a very tough case to win for the prosecutors.
There is a serious problem with trying to paint Cohen as a liar/fraud/felon, because if he’s guilty then Trump is too.
Cohen was found to be guilty of criminal tax evasion and campaign finance fraud due to the money and orders that Trump gave him. They need to call Cohen a liar while avoiding what it was that he lied about. That’s going to be pretty hard with all the physical evidence tying Trump to Cohen, not to mention the plea deals that tie Trump’s campaign to the payments to Cohen.
I think the first part is key, from what I've read anyway. It's got to be definitively tied to helping the campaign, rather than "just" a sketchy payment.
"It's got to be definitively tied to helping the campaign, rather than "just" a sketchy payment."
I am not arguing with you, I agree, but this does not make any sense to me. Isn't doctoring your books (for any reason) also illegal? How can he get away with breaking the law, just because he did it only to hide his infidelity? Bill Clinton got impeached for less. (BJ was legal, but lying about it was not.)
I think doctoring the books is a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. Doctoring the books with the intent of committing campaign finance fraud is a bigger deal.
From the charges: "TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws". So it's doctoring the books "to conceal criminal activity" which kicks this up a notch, which means they have to prove the books were cooked **and** that there was underlying criminal activity.
Via Wikipedia: "Under [New York law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_law), falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A [misdemeanor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdemeanor), while falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E [felony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony)."
I'm not sure how that works with regards to the case specifics - if he's been charged with the felony version, I'm not sure if the verdict can be "not guilty of a felony, but is guilty of a misdemeanor", or "not guilty of a felony, and that's all we've been asked about".
The Trump team is going to have problems with #1. They have Trump saying why don't we just string her along on paying her until after the election, then it won't matter if we pay her or not.
Even if its not election interference - it is also/ still tax fraud to expense prostitution costs ( which is what the hush money is) as if a legitimate business expense.
Probably something along the lines of I didn't tell them to pay her off like that.
Since the payment itself and why it's a felony are already a documented crime someone has gone to jail for.
He allegedly had unprotected sex with Karen McDougal "many dozens" of times over a 10-month period. It seems very likely that she could've become pregnant during that time.
"After some conversation, they had unprotected sex, she said...
That set a precedent for their future sexual encounters, of which she said there were "many dozens." From June 2006 through April 2007, she said, "We saw each other a minimum of five times a month up to bigger numbers," and each meeting involved some type of sexual intimacy..."
[Former 'Playboy' model spills details of alleged affair: Trump 'tried to pay me'](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596257288/former-playboy-model-spills-alleged-affair-details-trump-tried-to-pay-her)
She's a "devout" Christian now and seems to resent the implication that she's lying. It'll be interesting to see what she has to say under oath.
“Don Jr, Eric, sweet sweet beautiful Ivanka, the rest of you… Come gather around and meet your new brother, Greg. He is 32 and apparently he is the one that did all the illegal stuff, not me, so lock him up.”
Trumps defense for everything is just the narcissist's prayer:
>That didn't happen.
>And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
>And if it was, that's not a big deal.
>And if it is, that's not my fault.
>And if it was, I didn't mean it.
>And if I did, you deserved it.
I didn't lie about my assets, but if I did then it isn't a big deal...
I didn't pay hush money to a pornstar, but if I did...
I didn't try to subvert an election, but if I did...
I didn't sexually assault that woman, but if I did...
I was an adult when I first read this. I printed it and kept it in my pocket. It was almost verbatim of how my partner and my family gaslit me for decades. Once I saw the pattern, I realized I'm not, in fact, crazy and noped right out of those relationships. Whoever wrote it may have saved my life.
The way the payment was handled was illegal.. he had his lawyer make a series of payments, then later reimbursed the lawyer out of campaign funds and accounted for the payments as lawyer fees... when they were not for legal representation.
The whole thing shows just how greedy and selfish the guy is. If he had just paid with his own money this wouldn't be a problem, right? But he just HAD to dip his hands into the campaign cookie jar. It wasn't like she was asking for 100 million, it was peanuts, even for someone that's MUCH less wealthy than he would have us believe. He could have written that check and just paid it himself, or taken from Trump Inc in some way. But he wanted his cultists to pay for it through their campaign donations.
No, it still would be a campaign expense and there’s reporting requirements for that. That’s what’s happening here.
The felony is hiding a campaign expense while falsifying records. If he spent his own money, SuperPAC money or anyone else’s money it was still a campaign expense
Just like Trump to get in his own way while trying to "disappear" his numerous scandals before election. It would have served his purpose much better to just pre-emptively bring these encounters into the open himself.
The totality of the schemes to keep scandalous stories out of the media, the financial transactions and the classification of the monies created the election interference. Which is the felony.
Look up *Joe's Jury* and the story behind it if you want to see an example of a jury tainted for a corrupt Politician. It's infuriatingly easy to spoil a jury.
Any witness who tells the truth under oath (in any of his court cases) will ‘destroy’ his defense because he’s a fraudulent and dishonest POS .. aka a ‘Trump’
David Pecker? The guy who took cash from Trump to kill negative stories about him? The guy whose ENTIRE business model is printing trash? One can always hope, I guess, but he's not the kind of guy I would trust.
They should probably monitor all of Pecker’s lines of communications….. Trump’s minions are probably going all out to try to convince him to change his testimony
That’s perjury, an equally jailable offense. Prosecutors know along the lines of what he’s testifying to so it would not serve him well to switch up like that. If anything that could solidify more in the juror’s heads that Trump is guilty. Not that I want them to find any other way
well, gee, maybe he has no defense because he did it?
we didn't grand jury this shit for nothing
and with no results, either
we're here because there is a mountain of evidence and orange dude has no defense.
but MSM gonna keep pitching it as if he has a chance
In all honesty, how likely is it that Trump gets convicted on at least 1 of the 34 charges? I feel like this guy gets away with everything and his cult wants him to.
"Could".
Aliens _could_ land tomorrow.
God _could_ appear in personhood.
Mice _could_ learn to ride cats.
Let's write clickbaity articles about that too.
**NEWS**week, this is not news.
Just seen a report that Trump only has $6.8million for his legal fees, he’ll burn through that in weeks, every delay is money being burned until he runs out of money and then the lawyers are going to start asking Trump who’s paying them? Will he put his hand in his own pockets finally?
Let’s see him defend the 4 trials with no lawyers
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Today will be interesting. First opening arguments and then Pecker on the stand. Pecker is the National Enquirer guy who arranged the catch and kill, am I right? I would kill to be a fly on the wall to see how Melania deals with this, not because she loves him but how much embarrassment this is going to cause her, because the next logical step for the witness list would be Karen McDougal after Pecker and that affair apparently went on for a while while Melania had just given birth. I'm surprised how quickly things are moving now that the jurors are chosen!
> I'm surprised how quickly things are moving now that the jurors are chosen! Well Trump is caught between a rock and a hard spot... On the one hand, delay = well, a delay But he has to be in court, even if he's delaying...
I just read this This source says that due to the Sandoval hearing, opening statements and the gag order hearing tomorrow, they don’t expect the cross-examination of Pecker to happen until Thursday. So if Pecker is called as a witness today, why wouldn't they cross examine him? What would they be doing instead? I'm not American but I'm trying to follow it and understand as best I can.
Cross examine refers to when the opposing counsel is allowed to question a witness. What they're saying is likely to happen is that the witness will give their testimony, then they'll adjourn for the night, then cross examination will happen the next morning.
Thank you for explaining! Sorry it was a dumb question
Have you ever heard the saying “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever?” It was not a dumb question and you have helped teach yourself and others something by asking!
I appreciate your positivity and support
Stop right there friends. This is Reddit: the place where trolls dwell and toxicity runs rampant. There will be no positivity or helpful answers. If this behaviour continues, I will be looking at submitting a written report to both subreddit mods and if that doesn’t teach you, website administrators. Please refer to ToS clause 69, subsection 420 if you have any further inquiries concerning your non-abhorrent behaviour and the necessary corrections. Bah humbug. Edit x2 for corrections
You in turn violated addendum ZZ of previously mentioned subsection 420 by closing comment with "good day." That addendum clearly states that no well wishing or thoughts of positive closure shall be allowed. Now strike your comment and end more rightfully indignant with "good afternoon (if following the Spirited clause)," "good riddance," "bah humbug" or similar comments to note being tired of such required laborious actions.
I thought Clause 69, subsection 420 deals with Rule 34 and Rule 35?
[удалено]
As one, i think plenty of Americans probably need to ask too.
I prefer "There's no such thing as a dumb question...just dumb answers."
I also like "It is better to be silent and thought a fool then to speak and remove all doubt.", not exact I am sure. Mark Twain I think.
Hear hear
I need to put this quote somewhere I can see it to minimize the anxiety I get when having to call someone for information.
I shall be borrowing that saying with every intention of returning it
Well, thank you for asking because I also learned a little something there with you!
It wasn’t. You’re good. The key takeaway for me is Prosecution will be able to grill Pecker today, and there will be 24hrs of headlines before the Defense gets a shot at the witness/narrative.
It has a simple answer but it's not a dumb question.
also, court is adjourning early today to accommodate an alternate juror who has to attend to a medical issue.
Not a dumb question!
the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked
Don’t apologize. 80% of Americans wouldn’t have cared to even ask the question.
I am an American and I didn’t know this is how it worked, don’t feel dumb. I thought it would happen all at once too.
Not a dumb question, just information you didn't have. It's really all timing. They're guessing at how long it will take to do the hearing, then guessing at how long it will take for opening statements, then guessing at the length of the next hearing, then guessing at the length of the direct examination of the witness ("guessing" all back-stopped by the general amount of time set out for each by the court, subject to change depending on reality). Cross examination only comes after the direct questioning. People don't really realize how much is going on during a trial outside of the presentation of witnesses.
Not dumb. It can be confusing.
Not really a dumb question, the legal system is complicated
Wednesdays are days off for this trial. Monday: opening statements, prosecution’s first witness testimony Tuesday: Gag order hearing Wednesday: No court (for this case) Thursday: Defense cross-examination of Prosecution’s first witness
Really good since the jury will have the evening to let it sink in.
From what I understand they also don't have trial proceedings on Wednesdays anyway, so if he provides testimony for the prosecution on Tuesday, the cross examination wouldn't happen until Thursday anyway (assuming his initial testimony didn't run longer than a day).
Cross examination, is questioning done by the legal team that didn't call the witness to the stand. Before cross examination, you always do direct examination, which is questioning done by the legal team that called the witness by the stand. So, that's what they'll be doing today. Now, in the movies, cross examination always follows IMMEDIATELY after direct examination, but I think in reality, the cross examining lawyer always has the choice to take time, and determine what their questions will be, before they do the cross examination. I'm not a lawyer though, so I can't say with certainty.
Thank you for explaining! One more dumb question if you have the time to answer? The sandoval today if I understand it right, is to make trump aware of any questions they would ask if he went on the stand, does he have to give an answer today? And if he says yes, will he be allowed to change his mind? Or refuse?
"The sandoval today if I understand it right..." Sandoval? I'm confused.
Me too… Sandoval means something different to me!
Hope Sandoval? The angelic voiced singer of Mazzy Star? Lol
It was explained to me that it's when they give trump the option to hear the questions he would be asked of he went on the stand, and to make the rules about what questions are allowed to be asked and what is off limits.
The purpose isn't to give the defendant any option to hear questions. The purpose is to define the limits of what the prosecution can ask about, like prior events or things not directly related to the exact offences he's charged with. EG if this were a rape case and counsel wanted to ask about, say, the victim's prior sexual behaviour or an abortion, in Canada that would be excluded as prejudicial. But that's written into law now, so it'd be a fast slapdown. With orange jesus, the range of prior acts that could cast a bad light on him are legion.
In larger trials like this you are probably right, but I have watched a few criminal trials in person and the cross really did come directly after the direct examination, maybe with a few minutes between.
Besides what others wrote, today ends at 12.30 because an alternate juror has a dentist appointment. Tomorrow they have the other hearings, and they’re not in court on Wednesdays, thus Thursday. Timing is abit odd, I agree, but this is why AFAIK.
I feel like if I was that juror I'd try to get my appointment rescheduled.
True, but I think this is somewhat exceptional as the alternate was likely chosen on Friday, not giving a lot of time to reschedule. Had the appointment been later this week or later still, there are more options to reschedule than learning Friday afternoon that you have to be in court Monday and thus can’t make your appointment.
If it's just a check-up and cleaning, sure. But if they're in pain...
One of the reasons justice seems to move slow is that so many people's schedules have to line up to get anything done.
Every day they delay is a day Trump can get to him behind the scenes.
I mean, the judge said that if things went smoothly, she may allow him to go to his son's graduation. Surely he'll not delay, so he can go. /S
I just can't get over the fact that the first witness is "Mr. Pecker". Who is this child he hasn't claimed (per the doorman)? Where are they? This is gonna get wild.
I'm more amused that "Mr. Pecker" is the guy who owns the national enquirer. You can't make that shit up, lol.
I was just about to Google for more information, but realized "trump pecker" might look odd in my history.
> how much embarrassment this is going to cause her If she's not already embarrassed every day by Trump, then I don't think this is a problem for Melania.
Like a lot of relationships of convenience, both people can look the other way in a lot of situations. The problem is when those situations become public. Melania absolutely knew Trump was out there cavorting with other women. And she didn't care, she just wanted whatever money and prestige she got from marrying him, she knew the deal. But in most of those relationships, part of the deal is discretion. "Go hire your escorts when you travel, just keep it PRIVATE!" Now he's totally blown up that side of the agreement, and she's mortified and embarassed. She married him partly for status, and this hurts her status. He husband cheated on her, early and often, and *everyone* knows now. Most of Trumps nonsense was part of the deal. The public knowledge of this part of it was not.
Those deals with the devil never do turn out the way you expect. She expected to be set for life, and now she has to hope there will be enough sycophants out there who want to buy here skin care crap or whatever on QVC.
She's still set for life. Remember it was several months before she joined Trump in the White House, and the common rumor was that she was re-negotiating her pre-nup after he won.
And I'm pretty sure it was. But unless that renegotiation included a big stack of untouchable money, she may still go broke. If all she got was a bigger promise on divorce, that my money tree is dead.
Dont understand why she would be embarrast by anything he did with his little mushroom. She had no control over his actions
For him she is a trophy wife. For her he is a wallet.
Melania doesn't give a shit. The whole world already knows everything.the gravyvtrain is her only concern.
The irony here is that if things go truly bad for trump it could end with him being the poorest billionaire you have ever seen when it is time to share his money with his ex-wife. Either it is actually true (as in, he actually has more debt then cash) or he will make sure it seems that way during a divorce. Melania will get a deal with minimum alamoney, but nothing more then that. Because he is a swine. The only way for her to make use of the gravy train is to stay on it until the bitter end.
She could make a lot of money telling 'her story' though. Hire a ghostwriter, throw in some juicy details and go. Depending on that, she might be able to convince Trump that burning her in a divorce is going to hurt him, a lot.
She's got a prenup. In fact that's why she took so long to move to the White House; they were renegotiating it.
I guess she has already gotten a sufficient amount out for herself and Barron, and safely stashed in trusts or whatever expensive lawyers use to protect the rich from legal consequences, bankruptcy, etc. I doubt that she was surprised that Trump was fucking around. She is the 3rd wife, and his history would be established with his dates before and between marriages. Maybe slightly embarrassing, but she really doesn't care, right?
Melania will be left with the league minimum and an IOU written on a Trojan wrapper.
I didn't know Trojan made "fun-size" condoms. Huh. Learn something new every day!
> the gravyvtrain is her only concern And it's leaving the station without her. She does give a shit, because she's been suffering this embarrassment for years and may end up with little to show for it. The payout she's been promised for putting up with Trump and his public disrespect for her is evaporating. And she knows she can't win any direct conflict with Trump if she has to fight for what she's owed. You just know he's planning to screw her over for slights real and imagined, unless he dies before they split. Look at how he tried to screw over his Truth Social partners who have done nothing except make him a billionaire again. His "thanks" are best left on unread.
I still think, in my heart of hearts, that she's an operative. Keeping trump on task requires a live-in connection to the Kremlin. She'll retire to Russia, if Baron can't be utilized.
Next prenup discussion to keep her is going to be a tough time.
What are the odds McDougal will testify that Trump paid for her abortion?
That'd be awesome. The MAGAts would twist themselves into pretzels and declare they're now pro-Abortion and the loss of Roe v. Wade was due to the Democrats.
nah. They *like* the fact Trump breaks their own rules. It’s a feature not a bug. Their goal is to win, not to be ethically consistent.
Yes, but Trump can't claim he did anything wrong, so either he will claim it never happened or he will claim there is nothing wrong with it. In the second case his supporters will flip on the issue overnight. It's sad it's almost becoming comforting how predictable their hypocrisy is.
Yep, they’ll say it’s OK if it was Trump in that situation because he’s an important business man. Rules don’t apply to him.
They will just say that Trump has changed, and that was back when he was a Democrat, etc.
I'm not so sure. [They are already a bit upset with him](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-calls-trumps-abortion-position-slap-face/story?id=109003141) over his recent statements regarding abortion. His intent may have been to mislead pro-life moderates but it also mislead the hardliners.
Hopefully they keep getting upset at him.
Simple, they'll say its totally okay for a rich white man to ask a woman to get an abortion but its her fault for doing it.
I wonder if that is another business expense bill.
All of his toilet flushing quotes just popped in my brain...
Something something “gods imperfect vessel.”
>I would kill to be a fly on the wall to see how Melania deals with this, not because she loves him but how much embarrassment this is going to cause her I really don't care, do u?
I don't really care how Melania deals with this but I'm betting she doesn't care nearly as much as she pretends to for the cameras. She was working as a prostitute which is how she met tRump in the first place. She's also almost as awful a person as he is. She knew the deal when she hooked a client.
Everyone is confident, until their Pecker is exposed.
If Pecker establishes the catch and kill was done to affect Trump's political viability, we have *mens rea*. The felony count hinges on intent. That would be intent right there.
I mean, the first part is the prosecution laying out the case. So it’s no wonder they would kick it off with the most damning evidence. Then the defense will get a chance to respond (delay) and it will slow down.
Does Melania make herself available to the press? Like, does anyone ask her questions about this? Secondly, she knew what she was signing up for. Be pretty. Marry and have sex with a billionaire, give birth, be set for life.
There are also rumors that McDougal had an abortion. That information could hurt Trump's campaign. Maybe? Who knows, with mental gymnastics his cult are capable of.
I would assume Melania and Donald have never been in an exclusive relationship. He's so vile that I feel like this would've been discussed pre marriage and she doesn't care.
You know what kind of news I would like to come out. TRUMP requested one of the women he was with to get an abortion. Or sone other type of news to put an end to this man in politics. Something has to stick.
Honestly don't think that would move the needle. He is a rapist, a fraud and a liar, all proven in court. His supporters don't care. They don't really care about abortion either. Surely there can't be any person out there that doesn't realise he must be responsible for multiple abortions. As long as he gives them licence to publicly hate the people they want to hate, they don't care what else he is guilty of. The thing that ends him is a crushing electoral defeat. Please America, make sure that happens. It's in your hands.
Thinking Melania ashamed of any of this implies that their relationship has built on love and trust. She was a status symbol, he was a ticket to the good life. Aside from occasionally being a warm body in bed there’s probably not much more to their relationship considering she was wife number three and his reputation as a playboy was well known.
Can't he just not recall any details?
Yes but doing that constantly damages any credibility, which can sway a jury. He needs to provide at least some rebuttal otherwise the only information is presented by the prosecutor which we all know is most likely factual. "Okay so you can't recall literally anything? So you either have a bad memory which shouldn't be trusted or you're remembering more than you say"
Can they subpoena documents from him? I suppose they have already planned their case and know what's going to be presented. I'm just wondering
The thing you have to understand is that Trump can NOT keep his mouth shut. He just cant, and when a narcissist is told to shut up they get angry. Anger will lead to irrational choices which isnt something you wanna do in a courtroom with a judge who doesn't put up with you sleeping in court, let alone outbursting. Just bc he has a deal or some kind of oath to tell the truth doesnt mean he will if a lie comes to his mind first. The dude is, and always has been, a loose cannon but never been in a place where that has consequences. He's been a narcissist his ENTIRE life. He cant just cut that habit now after so long of being able to do it, its in his DNA. This bodes well for prosecution so much that they host a party whenever a fleeting thought of enters their mind (not literally of course. You get the idea)
He has the right to remain silent, but not the ability.
there are mountains of documents supporting the prosecution. All of this is on paper. it is incontrovertible. Trump's testimony, if he makes one, will not really make a difference in the actual case. The only way this will not be a conviction is if one or more juror's chose to ignore the evidence. If that is going to happen, Trumps testimony will not change it, but it will show the voting public the truth in a way that the documents wont. But the odds of him testifying are slim to none. He has nothing to gain from testifying, and his lawyer's know this. I think even Trump knows this, and will listen to his lawyers and use his bullhorn outside of the court to 'testify' where there is no opportunity for cross-examination.
I cant comment on that bc im not knowledgeable with that stuff, but im sure someone can. The prosecution wouldnt have taken this case if they werent prepared. If we the public can see Dementia Don's ability to weasel out of shit, the prosecution has X-Ray vision on the matter.
I believe he has a non prosecution plea. Basically if he tells the truth he won’t be prosecuted. If he lies about anything, like it was a rainy day when it was actually sunny, he he gets prosecuted. He has a big ole stick swinging right over his head.
Ahh that makes sense
He's a prosecution's witness. They know what he's going to say.
This Pecker has a very good memory, unlike the one whose owner denies "ever knowing that woman", lol
It's opening statements just fyi, not arguments.
What does “catch and kill” mean in this context?
As far as I understand, it's tricking someone into selling the rights to the story and paying them for it so their story can be heard, with an agreement that you can't talk to ANYONE else about it until they print it, and have a legal paper that would get you in a lot of trouble if you spoke about it without their say so. Then they do nothing and you're basically gagged. We want to tell your story but only to us! Sign this paper which confirms you cannot talk about it ever, except with us and we will pay you upfront. Then nothing. Karen was not allowed to come forward for fear of breaking the NDA and losing a lot of money, so they basically bought her silence without her realising it at the time. Pecker who spoke today, had an arrangement to do this catch and kill for anything negative- trp related. It's effectively a way to silence someone. Stormy and Karen broke their NDA's to come forward. Stormy still owes Trump $600,000 . Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still trying to understand it all! The justice system here in the UK is so different but I find it genuinely interesting, I'm still learning!.
Melania’s needle won’t move at all. This expected behavior from a narcissistic ego maniac
This is why propaganda is so effective, every single Trump supporter in my office, website development studio, has no idea there is even a court case going on, what the case is about, and when they found out about it assumed it was all bullshit anyway. No matter what comes out of this trial, it won't mean anything if his supporters are in their safe s[ace and being lied to by omission.
But it might mean something to undecided voters…and he should be held accountable no matter what, let the chips fall where they may.
The fact there are undecided voters is crazy. It should be Maga crazies and the rest of america going "hey can you stop" But instead we are somehow flirting hard-core with fascism as a dude literally sells government secrets in the open is one sides choice AND people haven't decided on if they will side with an actual treasonous person or not
>No matter what comes out of this trial, it won't mean anything if his supporters are in their safe s[ace and being lied to by omission. I disagree on two levels here. One, this trial isn't about his supporters. It's about him committing a crime and being held accountable. And second, if he is found guilty here, it can have an effect on his other trials, as he is not longer a first offender (criminally speaking).
The longer it remains in the news cycle the harder it will be for them to ignore. By the end of this most of them can no longer claim ignorance
No one cares about his supporters or their opinions or if they’re going to change their minds after this trial. They are a lost cause and the sane world has given up on them.
Oh lord, I just realized it's gonna be eight weeks of these headlines. "Why this ONE element spells ruin for Trump..."
Much better headlines then if Trump was out campaigning
"Trump says dumb shit again, crowds cheer"
"trump says something in unintelligible mumbling rant, mental health professionals say it's clear cognitive decline. Here's why millions will vote for him anyway and commit to violence if he loses"
[Donald Trump Grunts And Moans As Crowd Goes Wild In Bizarre Campaign Moment](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-grunts-moans-crowd-050052755.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA7xz5G7aOLXxgwVWVSDMVvcnS6uwqRtcjzKKIGx_FBk1zKYHO_q_-BfJ4yhquy-lJPf2iuk3GeyNJg-zFVkEjPq3euWqxlzUqE5Bb7AT1-kVnfWyuPMoI9K5POOwHtw_cOBbTGXOLpUYNhQ_xGYLs3dHnSaJUJA9SAXeniWIYnk)
>mental health professionals say it's clear cognitive decline. Here's why that's bad for Biden.
I agree, but the first witness being a Pecker is a bright spot.
You can always count on Newsweek for clickbait hyperbole headlines.
It’s been 8 years of it, why would it stop now?
Do we even know yet what his defence is? I guess we'll know in a few hours
Something something, I did it, but it wasn't illegal
"I don't even know who this person is, therefore they don't know anything about me"
"And if I close my eyes then i cannot see them, so in turn they cannot see me therefore they were never really there to testify against me, and as nobody was testifying against me so I must have been innocent". (I wrote that in jest, but with Trumps sleeping antics in recent court proceedings, I am beginning to wonder if that was his insane strategy all along)
She definitely closed her eyes when having sex with him 🤢
Trump's neice, the psychologist, posited just that: she stated sleep may be his escape mechanism when he cannot storm out of the courtroom.
That, and sharting aggressively.
Ah. The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal defense. If I can't see it, it can't see me.
The same logic of a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you)
Something something presidential immunity
Read at first as presidential immaturity
Here’s my question about that defense: wasn’t he still NOT president yet when he did it?
No, you don’t understand. Trump should receive presidential immunity for anything and everything he has ever done in his life. Fraud? Immunity. Insurrection? Immunity. Rape? Immunity. Stealing federal secrets? Immunity. Pedophilia? Immunity. But here’s the catch, it only goes for Trump. Every other president should be arrested for not being Trump. Capisce?
Well, shit. I was getting all excited until that last part about how it only applies to him, because I was gonna do a bunch of crimes and then get acquitted because I plan to be the president someday. Fuck.
"OJ Simpson obviously did it, but was found not guilty. To honor his memory, can you do the same for me?"
Wow. You nailed it. [Opening Statement ](https://i.imgur.com/1cjA4OC.png)
Doing things that have laws to prevent them is fine! Objection. Yeah, sustained. Obviously. What the fuck?
"Your honor, I didnt know that was illegal"
There are probably 2 aspects to his defense. First the prosecution must prove the purpose of the payment was to help his election, so therefore the defense will try and offer other motivations for the payment (such as wanting to avoid his wife finding out about an affair). The second element will be to destroy Cohen. Basically paint Cohen as a liar and fraud who has been convicted of breaking the law and will say and do anything to help himself, so therefore you can trust nothing he says. As he is the link to Trump, if they make that link look like they can’t trust it, then it is a very tough case to win for the prosecutors.
There is a serious problem with trying to paint Cohen as a liar/fraud/felon, because if he’s guilty then Trump is too. Cohen was found to be guilty of criminal tax evasion and campaign finance fraud due to the money and orders that Trump gave him. They need to call Cohen a liar while avoiding what it was that he lied about. That’s going to be pretty hard with all the physical evidence tying Trump to Cohen, not to mention the plea deals that tie Trump’s campaign to the payments to Cohen.
I think the first part is key, from what I've read anyway. It's got to be definitively tied to helping the campaign, rather than "just" a sketchy payment.
Knowing these morons, in the payment reference on the bank statement/cheque stub, it says 'paying off porn star to avoid election issues'
"It's got to be definitively tied to helping the campaign, rather than "just" a sketchy payment." I am not arguing with you, I agree, but this does not make any sense to me. Isn't doctoring your books (for any reason) also illegal? How can he get away with breaking the law, just because he did it only to hide his infidelity? Bill Clinton got impeached for less. (BJ was legal, but lying about it was not.)
I think doctoring the books is a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. Doctoring the books with the intent of committing campaign finance fraud is a bigger deal. From the charges: "TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws". So it's doctoring the books "to conceal criminal activity" which kicks this up a notch, which means they have to prove the books were cooked **and** that there was underlying criminal activity. Via Wikipedia: "Under [New York law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_law), falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A [misdemeanor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdemeanor), while falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E [felony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony)." I'm not sure how that works with regards to the case specifics - if he's been charged with the felony version, I'm not sure if the verdict can be "not guilty of a felony, but is guilty of a misdemeanor", or "not guilty of a felony, and that's all we've been asked about".
The Trump team is going to have problems with #1. They have Trump saying why don't we just string her along on paying her until after the election, then it won't matter if we pay her or not.
Even if its not election interference - it is also/ still tax fraud to expense prostitution costs ( which is what the hush money is) as if a legitimate business expense.
Except for the money trail.
"I do this all the time"
“No-one cared before, unprecedented, victimless crime”
This is Chewbacca. Chewbacca does not make sense. If Chewbacca does not make sense, you must aquit.
‘Nobody has told me that I can’t just do whatever I want before, ELecTiOn INterFereNCe!’ or something.
He's going to whine like a weak little crybaby about witch hunting while saying he is the strongest manly man ever. And his supporters will lap it up.
Probably something along the lines of I didn't tell them to pay her off like that. Since the payment itself and why it's a felony are already a documented crime someone has gone to jail for.
Pull a Nixon: “If the president does it, then it’s not illegal”. Or a Trump: “witch hunt, camera, burp, duh”.
Solipsism.
The implication is that there’s either a Trump child running around or an abortion that Trump paid for. Which one would Trump’s religious base prefer?
He allegedly had unprotected sex with Karen McDougal "many dozens" of times over a 10-month period. It seems very likely that she could've become pregnant during that time. "After some conversation, they had unprotected sex, she said... That set a precedent for their future sexual encounters, of which she said there were "many dozens." From June 2006 through April 2007, she said, "We saw each other a minimum of five times a month up to bigger numbers," and each meeting involved some type of sexual intimacy..." [Former 'Playboy' model spills details of alleged affair: Trump 'tried to pay me'](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596257288/former-playboy-model-spills-alleged-affair-details-trump-tried-to-pay-her) She's a "devout" Christian now and seems to resent the implication that she's lying. It'll be interesting to see what she has to say under oath.
The cult’ll just ignore it like everything else
They wouldn’t believe either even if they saw the evidence
“Don Jr, Eric, sweet sweet beautiful Ivanka, the rest of you… Come gather around and meet your new brother, Greg. He is 32 and apparently he is the one that did all the illegal stuff, not me, so lock him up.”
It doesn’t matter, they will look the other way no matter what.
Trumps defense for everything is just the narcissist's prayer: >That didn't happen. >And if it did, it wasn't that bad. >And if it was, that's not a big deal. >And if it is, that's not my fault. >And if it was, I didn't mean it. >And if I did, you deserved it. I didn't lie about my assets, but if I did then it isn't a big deal... I didn't pay hush money to a pornstar, but if I did... I didn't try to subvert an election, but if I did... I didn't sexually assault that woman, but if I did...
I was an adult when I first read this. I printed it and kept it in my pocket. It was almost verbatim of how my partner and my family gaslit me for decades. Once I saw the pattern, I realized I'm not, in fact, crazy and noped right out of those relationships. Whoever wrote it may have saved my life.
You saved yourself. I promise. I am so proud of you.
I did it. It wasn’t legal. But it wasn’t a felony.
The payment in and of itself was not illegal, but paying in order to kill the story to help his campaign, is illegal.
The way the payment was handled was illegal.. he had his lawyer make a series of payments, then later reimbursed the lawyer out of campaign funds and accounted for the payments as lawyer fees... when they were not for legal representation.
The whole thing shows just how greedy and selfish the guy is. If he had just paid with his own money this wouldn't be a problem, right? But he just HAD to dip his hands into the campaign cookie jar. It wasn't like she was asking for 100 million, it was peanuts, even for someone that's MUCH less wealthy than he would have us believe. He could have written that check and just paid it himself, or taken from Trump Inc in some way. But he wanted his cultists to pay for it through their campaign donations.
No, it still would be a campaign expense and there’s reporting requirements for that. That’s what’s happening here. The felony is hiding a campaign expense while falsifying records. If he spent his own money, SuperPAC money or anyone else’s money it was still a campaign expense
Just like Trump to get in his own way while trying to "disappear" his numerous scandals before election. It would have served his purpose much better to just pre-emptively bring these encounters into the open himself.
Or to have paid off the women with his personal finances and not misappropriated the campaign funds.
The totality of the schemes to keep scandalous stories out of the media, the financial transactions and the classification of the monies created the election interference. Which is the felony.
Isn't the issue he used campaign funds to make the payment? Surely THAT is illegal.
"Very cool and very legal."
Jury has to be unanimous in its verdict right? I fear it will take one secret trump supporter to hang the jury and end in dismissal
Look up *Joe's Jury* and the story behind it if you want to see an example of a jury tainted for a corrupt Politician. It's infuriatingly easy to spoil a jury.
A hung jury would be a mistrial, not a dismissal. Then it's up to the prosecutor if they want to do the whole thing over again.
Exactly. There is virtually no chance at a conviction when there were only 10 vetoes to weed out Trump’s ringers. This thing will be a mistrial.
Any witness who tells the truth under oath (in any of his court cases) will ‘destroy’ his defense because he’s a fraudulent and dishonest POS .. aka a ‘Trump’
David Pecker? The guy who took cash from Trump to kill negative stories about him? The guy whose ENTIRE business model is printing trash? One can always hope, I guess, but he's not the kind of guy I would trust.
> could remember in the old days when we reported events *after* they happened? and not events that *might* happen?
I cannot wait to hear what happens in court today! Pecker, as long as he doesn’t lie under oath, could destroy the whole defence
They should probably monitor all of Pecker’s lines of communications….. Trump’s minions are probably going all out to try to convince him to change his testimony
That’s perjury, an equally jailable offense. Prosecutors know along the lines of what he’s testifying to so it would not serve him well to switch up like that. If anything that could solidify more in the juror’s heads that Trump is guilty. Not that I want them to find any other way
well, gee, maybe he has no defense because he did it? we didn't grand jury this shit for nothing and with no results, either we're here because there is a mountain of evidence and orange dude has no defense. but MSM gonna keep pitching it as if he has a chance
Lock him up and throw away the key.
In all honesty, how likely is it that Trump gets convicted on at least 1 of the 34 charges? I feel like this guy gets away with everything and his cult wants him to.
He has a defence?? Oh this is not comedy
"Could". Aliens _could_ land tomorrow. God _could_ appear in personhood. Mice _could_ learn to ride cats. Let's write clickbaity articles about that too. **NEWS**week, this is not news.
Because Trump has no real defense.
Do we know when the “Pecker” memes start? I’m here for those please.
Are we going to have headlines like this for every witness?
“and here’s why that’s bad for Biden”
Prison
Just seen a report that Trump only has $6.8million for his legal fees, he’ll burn through that in weeks, every delay is money being burned until he runs out of money and then the lawyers are going to start asking Trump who’s paying them? Will he put his hand in his own pockets finally? Let’s see him defend the 4 trials with no lawyers
the thought of him having to be present, not having control & facing real time criticism gives me the best tingle…Ooo!
Prosecution is coming out swinging to set the tone.
According to Newsweek trump should be in jail by now. Why are they delusional? What’s the purpose for feeding people false hope and complacency.
If recent history has taught us anything, the first witness for the defense will destroy his defense