Thread by @KlasfeldReports

Today in New York:

Voters head to the polls in the state primaries.

@TheDemocrats have their first court hearing against the Russian Federation, Trump campaign, WikiLeaks et al in their racketeering suit in Manhattan Federal Court.

Look out for my live coverage.

The hearing starts at 4:30 PM.

Courtroom is quiet. The attorneys are lined up at the tables waiting for the judge. The case should be beginning soon.

"All rise." The initial pre-trial conference is about to begin.

Attorneys introduce themselves.

Judge John Koeltl says that the DNC's motion to amend their complaint is unopposed.

DNC wants to file it before Oct. 12.

Koeltl grants that.

Michael Carvin, representing Donald J. Trump for President, says he plans to file a motion to dismiss.

Judge Koeltl wants to give the defendants 60 days to file the motion to dismiss from the date of the filing of the amended complaint.

The parties agree to that schedule.

Plaintiffs have until Oct. 12 to file the amended complaint, and the parties will provide the proposed scheduling order.

DNC wants a coordinated briefing schedule for the motions to dismiss given the large number of defendants.

"I certainly hope that you can avoid duplication," Koeltl agrees.

Trump campaign replies that different defendants may have different legal bases for trying to dismiss.

One example that the campaign's attorney gives is "sovereign immunity," presumably for Russia and GRU defendants.

The very brief hearing, devoted to these scheduling matters, ends.

Off to try to interview some attorneys. Story TK.

Couple of takeaways: Russian Federation was a no-show. After the hearing, DNC attorneys didn't comment on Mifsud, whom they previously said "may be deceased." (Subsequent news stories have suggested the report of his death is an exaggeration.)

The rest is scheduling.

Part of that schedule is to propose scheduling, with a joint proposal due by Sept. 28.

Amended complaint by Oct. 12.

Analysis: Initial pretrial conferences tend to be this uneventful and focused on scheduling. This was no exception. Sometimes, issues of legal service are discussed, and I was on the lookout for more information about missing Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud.

That didn't happen.

ICYMI, yesterday: If Mifsud is alive and does pop up sometime, he'll be facing some liabilities: certainly in Italy, and potentially in New York.

chron.com/news/politics/…

As you saw from this Twitter thread, this initial pretrial conference was uneventful, and we will not be publishing a story on it. We'll be tracking the case closely and let you know of any newsworthy developments.

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