BREAKING: NY appellate court reduces Trump's bond to $175 million dollars in the NY AG's civil fraud case, if we wants to stay execution of the NY AG's judgment.
The LATEST in the Trump NY election interference/hush money case.
Background: Trump is in court in NY before Judge Juan Merchan trying to get his case either dismissed or continued further because of his claims of prosecutorial misconduct in not turning over discovery.
Judge Merchan is visibly ANGRY. He is demanding Todd Blanche, Trump's lawyer, explain why they waited until just two months prior to trial to obtain the discovery documents that he's complaining about today.
Merchan to Blanche: "You are literally accusing the Manhattan DA's Office and the people assigned to this case of prosecutorial misconduct...and you don't have a single [case] citation to support that allegation that the USAO is under the DA's control."
NEW: Judge Cannon enters an order GRANTING a request by Special Counsel to redact, delete, or substitute TWO entire “categories” of classified information from discovery.
She also grants the Government’s request as to portion of a third category.
Cannon reserves ruling on one entire category (as well as part of that other third category above), pending the outcome of some defense motions.
This ruling is the outcome of those series of CIPA (Classified Information Procedures Act) Section 4 hearings that were conducted a few weeks ago behind closed doors, at times with only one side being present.
(2) With regard specifically to the term "unauthorized possession" as used in the Espionage Act, Cannon wants the proposed jury instructions to contemplate both of the competing scenarios in the Order that she thinks are possibly relevant to Trump's case.
[continued]
(3) Cannon has yet to rule on Trump's Motion to Dismiss pursuant to the Presidential Records Act (PRA).
-In her Order denying w/o prejudice Trump's Motion to Dismiss for unconstitutional vagueness, Cannon punted the decision to when jury instructions are to be briefed.
JUST IN: Judge Cannon, in the MAL case, orders Trump and Special Counsel to submit proposed jury instructions and verdict forms regarding the "essential elements" of the Espionage Act.
Regarding the proposed language, Cannon also orders both Trump and the Government to submit language for the jury that contemplates competing factual scenarios that she sets forth in her Order.
So why would Cannon go through the effort to order both sides to submit proposed jury instructions and verdict forms if she's just going to dismiss the indictment under the Presidential Records Act?...