Thread by @lawofruby

NEW: Five-judge panel of NY state appeals court lowers Trump’s bond required to stay enforcement of civil fraud judgment to $175 million and gives him more time to post it. 1/

nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/cal…

Meanwhile, in a different courthouse downtown, Trump is having a much worse day in his criminal case. After reviewing Trump’s accusations of discovery misconduct by the Manhattan DA, Judge Juan Merchan notes a “pattern” that’s been “going on for months.” 2/

And that pattern, he says, is one in which he, as the presiding judge, reads or sees the same information as Team Trump but they come to a “very different interpretation.” 3/

Here, Merchan says, before taking a 45-minute-long break, the DA’s office “went so far above and beyond what they’re required to do” in terms of obtaining and producing discovery from federal prosecutors “that it’s odd that we’re even here.” 4/

As of today, Merchan had granted a 30-day adjournment starting 3/15. My guess is that he won’t rescind that per se, but in exchange for extra time for trial prep, Todd Blanche took a meaningful credibility hit with the judge before jury selection has even started. 5/

Why do I say that? In the process of an extended question and answer with both sides, Merchan forced Blanche to admit that the Manhattan DA’s office does not control DOJ prosecutors or the FBI, as would be necessary to impose extra discovery burdens on them under NY law. 6/

He further got Blanche to concede that it’s not Trump’s position that the DOJ purposefully withheld documents from Trump or the DA’s office. 7/

And finally, he got Blanche to tell the world what many already knew: He spent 4 years as a paralegal and then 9 years as a prosecutor at SDNY. 8/

And therefore, Merchan suggested, Blanche knows well that he could have complained about the DA’s discovery or requested it himself from SDNY well before two months ago. Stay tuned for a potential ruling and/or trial date after the break. FIN.