Comments are asking if this is a crime. The easiest example would be bribery if there was an agreement to make the loan in exchange for the appointment under 18 USC 201. Not clear that’s the case here. justice.gov/jm/criminal-re…
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was convicted in federal court of bribery for appointing businessman Richard Scrushy to a state board in exchange for loans related to a failed lottery. nytimes.com/2006/06/30/us/…
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1/There was little doubt before last week that federal Judge Aileen Cannon was determined to delay Trump’s criminal case in front of her—the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case—until after the election. Now, there is none.
2/Last week Judge Cannon canceled the May 20 trial date & refused to set a new one. Jack Smith had asked for a July date, but she wrote it would be “imprudent and inconsistent” with her duty.
3/Judge Cannon has now done what Trump asked her to do in July 2023, when he filed a joint motion to “postpone initial consideration of any rescheduled trial date until after substantive motions have been presented and adjudicated.” This is what Trump wanted all along.
1/Trump’s lawyers staked their case on Stormy Daniels’ story being a lie. They promised the jury in their opening statement that none of it was true. But they didn’t deliver. Stormy Daniels did.
2/Soon prosecutors will call Michael Cohen. Presumably, his testimony will connect Trump directly to the crime. We know that there is a partial audio recording of at least one of their conversations.
3/Yesterday, during redirect of Daniels, she testified about a civil case where Trump conceded he reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels. That’s going to make it difficult for Trump to deny it now because evidence of his concession in that lawsuit can be introduced here.
1/ One tactical hurdle lawyers deal with at trial is that they can't explain the significance of the testimony they’re eliciting while questioning witnesses. The lawyers can't testify, only witnesses. So there’s no introduction where the lawyer can tell the jury why they’re calling a witness & how their testimony helps.
2/ The lawyers put the pieces of the puzzle together for jurors in closing argument. While they’re taking testimony, they’re noting key points from each witness that they’ll focus on when they argue their case.
3/ This case is based on circumstantial evidence. There won't be direct testimony that Trump told anyone to conceal the crime with false business records. Prosecutors build proof by layering many different pieces of evidence together, so there is no reasonable doubt.
1/ In court this morning Judge Merchan says Trump can attend his son's graduation and then slaps him with fines for contempt on 9 of 10 violations prosecutors alleged.
2/ This casts Thursday's hearing on additional violations by Trump in a whole new light.
1/Opening statements explained: "The trial will start with opening statements from the lawyers. They are not permitted to argue their evidence at this point. Opening statements are for telling the jury what each side expects the evidence will show" open.substack.com/pub/joycevance…
2/Trump’s lawyers will have their work cut out for them as their demanding audience of one meets the rules & strictures of behavior in court. They won’t be able to make some of Trump’s wild arguments, both b/c they run afoul of what the rules permit AND very importantly..
3/because of one of the most important rules in a trial: if you promise the jury something, you’d better be able to deliver on it! If you promise the jury certain evidence or that the people will fail to prove a point, you can count on jurors to take note and remember it.
2/GOP voters shouldn't care if he's a conservative, a role model for children, or modest & dignified--I suppose that's a good message because Trump is none of the things quite obviously.
The tone & pacing of the video carries an echo of WWII fascism that makes me feel queasy.
3/The important message Trump endorses about himself? "He knows we're in a war" & "he know how to win."
Who is the enemy? It's us. You & me. It's Democrats. It's anyone who doesn't support Trump, anyone who is other. Believe him when he tells us who he is before it's too late.