Okay honestly trying to make sense of #Trump’s “remarks” or attributing any sense to them is pointless. He is all over the place, rambling, throwing in the occasional recognizable rally line. It’s just nuts. He is lying nonstop & sounds crazy. And it’s still happening.

#law #politics #2024Election #BidenHarris2024 #VoteBlue
#law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #GagOrder #StochasticTerrorism

The #verdict must be unanimous on the primary crime falsification of business records.

Once #jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Justice Juan #Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson.

Merchan must still affirm the verdict & enter a final judgment.

There’s a #verdict

They request 30 minutes to fill out the forms.

Trump, who had been smiling a minute ago, is suddenly serious after the judge’s alert that there’s a verdict.

His arms are now crossed across his chest as he whispers with his lawyers.

Justice #Merchan explains, “proof of guilt #BeyondAReasonableDoubt [#BARD] is proof that leaves you so firmly convinced of the defendant’s guilt that you have no reasonable doubt of the existence of any element of the crime, or of the defendant’s identity as the person who committed the crime.”

Justice #Merchan explains the concept of #ReasonableDoubt. He says, “It is an actual doubt, not an imaginary doubt. It is a doubt that a #ReasonablePerson, acting in a matter of this importance, would be likely to entertain because of the evidence that was presented or because of the lack of convincing evidence.”

[“Reasonable person” is a legal term as well w/its own definition]

Justice #Merchan reminds the #jurors they need to “set aside” personal opinions or bias against #Trump.

He reads standard #legal language on #fairness, one phrase: “As a juror, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community.”

An unintentional reminder that this is #CitizenTrump — just “another member of the community.”

#Trump entered court, today he is accompanied by his son Donald Trump Jr., his *friend* Steve Witkoff, his aides Natalie Harp & Karoline Leavitt, & his indicted *legal* adviser Boris Epshteyn. Eric Trump is not here today. Trump's aides Jason Miller & Steven Cheung are at the back of the room.

As usual, #Trump has been quite active on his social media. Since court ended last night, he falsely claimed that prosecutors had introduced new “lies” about him during their closing arguments (you cannot introduce anything NEW in summation) & described #MichaelCohen, w/o specifically naming him, as “the bum that got caught stealing from me.”

#StochasticTerrorism #MobTactics #GagOrder
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Blanche pointed out that #MichaelCohen secretly taped #Trump & other people, raising questions about why he’d record his own client.

Redirect addressed it neatly, Cohen said he made it to prove to McDougal’s atty that Trump would come through.

Steinglass now has to guide jurors through some of the most important parts of his argument to drive home key points.

Break over. Justice #Merchan thanks the jurors for their flexibility & calls #Steinglass back to the lectern. Before they returned, the judge told Steinglass that he needed to wrap up — at least for the day — by 8PM (wuh?). If he does not conclude by then, it sounded as if it was possible that Steinglass would have to conclude tomorrow.

Wonder how the #NodFarter aka #Trump will hold up…

With the jury out of the room, the prosecution & defense argue about whether #Steinglass can talk about #StormyDaniels’s state of mind.

Justice #Merchan hears the lawyers out & sides w/the defense, telling Steinglass that he’s gone as far as he needs to go in talking about Daniels being #intimidated by Trump, & that no further argument to that effect need be made.

#Steinglass: “Ask yourselves, why did the defendant lie about this & why did he do it while the grand jury was considering charges in this case?”

Steinglass asks why, if #Trump simply had a business relationship w/ #StormyDaniels, he attacked her in March 2023 when she made public that she had appeared before the grand jury.

#Steinglass again reads passages of obe of Trump’s books, in which he wrote that he can’t stomach disloyalty. Steinglass argues that #Trump disparages #witnesses who speak out against him in order to discourage other witnesses from coming forward.

Steinglass reads a Truth Social post of Trump’s from Aug 2023, in which he wrote in all capital letters: “if you go after me, I”m coming after you.”

Prosecutors have argued that a lawyer named #RobertCostello was dispatched to keep #MichaelCohen loyal. Costello was the only substantive witness called by the defense, & his appearance was nutso

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/nyregion/trump-hush-money-trial-robert-costello.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Justice #Merchan thanks the #jurors for their patience & flexibility as he dismisses them for a 20-min break. Then, after they leave the room, he tells the lawyers, “they look pretty alert to me” & says that he will seek to finish closing arguments today — likely sometime in the evening, people are saying 7PM-ish. (My fingers are not thrilled)

#Steinglass lands his argument by saying that while the sex between #StormyDaniels & #Trump took place in 2006, the payoff wasn’t until 2016 because his concern was NOT his family, as his lawyers have suggested, but the #election.

Though many of Trump’s family members have been staring at their phones throughout this summation, all of them looked up when Steinglass said that.

#Steinglass needs to show the jurors that the *alleged* #Trump Tower conspiracy between David #Pecker, #MichaelCohen & #Trump involved using “unlawful means” to aid Trump’s election.

Steinglass displays one of the unlawful means, a document called a business information overview that Cohen created as he sought to obtain the cash to pay #StormyDaniels.

Now, having painted a picture of just how desperate the #Trump campaign was as it spun the #AccessHollywood tape, #Steinglass reintroduces the jurors to #StormyDaniels (well done Josh).

“During the exact same month that the defendant was desperately trying to sell the distinction between words & actions, he was negotiating to muzzle a porn star who was preparing to go public,” Steinglass says.