Thread by @lawofruby

TRUMP (BUSINESS) RECORDS: I was in court today for argument about where the Manhattan DA’s criminal case against Trump should be heard: in state court where it started or in federal court, as Trump wants. And after 2.5 hours and a surprise witness, it went exactly as expected. 1/

At the end, and while warning nothing he was about to say is binding, SDNY Judge Alvin Hellerstein practically announced the case will return to state court. That is not a shock. The more interesting part is why Team Trump flamed out, despite some fireworks. 2/

The crux of Trump’s argument was that as a former federal officer, he’s entitled to remove the case to federal court because the Manhattan indictment was “for or relating to any act under color of such office.” Specifically, he argued he hired Cohen as his personal lawyer… 3/

because of the need to separate the personal from the presidential in order to appropriately carry out his duties with fidelity to the Constitution. And therefore, his retention of Cohen as his personal lawyer was directly related to his status as president. 4/

That was a fine story, Hellerstein suggested, but Trump offered not a single piece of evidence to prove it was rooted in fact. As Hellerstein’s impatience grew, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said he had a witness with personal knowledge of those facts ready & waiting. 5/

And minutes later, after a short recess, Blanche called Trump Organization chief legal officer Alan Garten to the stand. 6/

Garten has been with the Trump Organization since 2007; his office was adjacent to Michael Cohen’s. And he was hardly the slam-dunk witness Trump’s team promised. He confirmed he has never seen any retainer agreement with Cohen & doesn’t know what services Cohen provided. 7/

And he could not articulate exactly why Cohen was hired as Trump’s personal attorney except to say that he and Eric Trump wanted to ensure that they did not undermine Trump’s separation from the business, as advised by his lawyers at Morgan Lewis. 8/

There was argument on whether Trump has a colorable federal defense on preemption grounds, but the die was cast once Hellerstein accepted the crux of the DA’s argument: That Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer, paid with Trump’s personal funds, and handled personal affairs. 9/

And the fault was Team Trump’s. Not only did they violate a prior agreement with the DA’s office not to call live witnesses, but they called the chief legal officer of Trump’s business, who could not attest to some of their key points and made some damaging admissions. 10/

It was a bold gamble without any payoff. And something tells me that tonight, Todd Blanche, Trump’s shiniest new legal toy, is no longer feeling so golden. FIN.