Thread by @meghanncuniff

“What if he was distracted? What if he just wasn’t paying attention?” Here’s my @lawdotcom article on the opening day of @JeffFortenberry’s federal criminal trial. bit.ly/3tilugu

I didn't make the trip up for Fortenberry trial today but will be back next week. They are only going until 1 today, and I expect Glen Summers' cross of @FBI agent will take up day. Summers was running into issues yesterday, with Judge Blumenfeld telling him to tone it down.

Summers ran into the same kind of problems in the last 15 minutes or so of his 40-minute opening, with Judge Blumenfeld repeatedly warning him not to argue the evidence. (It was all a shining example of why opening statements should NOT be called opening arguments.)

One witness Summers said we'll hear from next week is
@UF alum and former @NRCC, @NRSC counsel @JessFurst, who Summers described as totally dismissive of Fortenberry when he called her after the June 2018 call that turned out to be an @FBI ruse. bit.ly/3tilugu

Update: Johnson actually took the stand today. Here’s a rundown from @bayleybischof: bit.ly/3qddOdx

Fortenberry told House he can’t attend votes “due to the ongoing public health emergency” and didn’t mention that he’s in LA on trial for three felonies, and @NE_Examiner is still kind enough to say merely that he “might not be telling … the whole truth.” bit.ly/3KSnFgI

Thanks to @politico for the shoutout today on the Fortenberry coverage. May my Twitter threads always be described as “robust.” 🙏 politi.co/3JnGvMg

.@PaulHammelNE on the Fortenberry trial aka “Toto, we’re not in Nebraska anymore.”
“Now he’s fighting for his political future in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse that has hosted Hollywood celebrities including Katy Perry, Dan Akroyd and Paris Hilton.” bit.ly/3CW2lUA