Jeebus... Pecker would send Cohen articles before they were published so he could vet them. That's absolutely bananas.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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And now we've got a meeting in Trump Tower in August, with Hope Hicks present.
Holy shit, I wish I could be watching this live. It looks like the prosecution brought all the receipts, including ones I never even knew existed. Pecker attended Trump's candidacy announcement in 2015, invited personally by Cohen, and the prosecution have the email to prove it.
That in itself isn't illegal, of course, but it completely undercuts any future attempt by the defense to argue that Pecker and Trump weren't close.
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Seeing the latest updates, it appears David Pecker is actively throwing Trump under the bus. The increase in the level of communication between Pecker, Cohen, and Trump once Trump announced his candidacy is going to be really hard for the defense to explain away.
During jury duty, we got all sorts of shit for even whispering which court room we are going to. We were all numbers and even addressed ourselves as a number. And we were threatened repeatedly with fines and prison sentences.
This motherfucker gets to say whatever the fuck he wants and gets a bunch of verbal warnings and finger wagging.
This is why we lose trust in various govt systems
It's not just the special treatment. It's the fact that he's gonna turn around and say he's the one being treated poorly, and a good chunk of the population will agree, in spite of the plain evidence.
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Looking at the way this is going, I'm genuinely starting to wonder if Donald Trump ends up jailed for contempt sooner rather than later. It seems Merchan's patience has been exhausted.
If he wants to complain about 2 justice systems, I think that'd qualify as "fucking around and finding out."
I can't imagine anything that would bring Americans at large greater joy.
"Prosecutor Christopher Conroy has just said that prosecutors are not seeking jail time for Trump’s violations of the gag order.
We are not yet seeking incarceratory penalty. Defendant seems to be angling for that … We are asking the court to impose the maximum $1,000 fine for each violation."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/apr/23/trump-hush-money-trial-new-york-updates
"Defendant seems to be angling for that" ... so? Why are they taking into consideration what Trump wants? Just treat him like you would a black guy in Texas caught with a little weed.
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The prosecution made a point of not asking for any jail time in this hearing, but rather a warning that future violations will escalate to that. I don't think the Judge really wants to jail Trump while the trial is ongoing. Trump will get a hefty fine as well as that warning. Well see how long it takes for Trump to end up in Rikers.
But why, though? Trump doesn't give a fuck about fines; time spent in jail is the only thing that has any chance of getting through to him because his wealth/grift can't solve it for him.
I'm willing to bet even just sending him to the holding cells in the couthouse for a couple hours each time he makes another out-of-order outburst would shut him up real quick.
Because he wants to come off as a martyr to his base, and putting him in jail is exactly what he's aiming for to do that.
They will make him one no matter what, deciding not to carry out justice out of fear of an angry and uninformed mob just puts decision making entirely in the hands of that mob.
Can we try once? Just give him a night, let him know what he's up against?
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All a short term trip to jail would do is play into the Martyr complex that he and his supporters have. He would complain that he's not getting a fair trial, and low-information voters who are not paying attention will believe it.
While the judge doesn't care about Trump's political prospects, he does care that the trial is fair and that public perceptions don't make it into the jury's deliberations. But marching Trump off to a holding cell will be such an event that it would be impossible to keep it from the jury, and could give Trump a valid avenue for appeal.
However, if the judge establishes a paper trail that proves Trump was given every chance to comply, then it would make it harder for the appeal to succeed. Trump can't very well argue that the court is biased against him when they gave him extra opportunities to comply.
He would complain that he’s not getting a fair trial, and low-information voters who are not paying attention will believe it.
He has and will continue to do this, and worse, and his cult will believe all of it, and worse. We cannot make decisions, especially not exceptions to laws, based on fears of how a fascist cult of supporters will react to it. They are going to do and say stupid/crazy shit, all the time, no matter what.
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You think he'll try to force a mistrial somehow?
I mean, of course he's going to try to force a mistrial. It's not like he has a chance in hell of being found not guilty.
Juror #2 follows trump on truth social. Judy nullification is a very real possibility.
Nah, he'll get another paltry $5k fine that is unlikely to ever be paid.
Iirc NY law puts a $1000 cap on fines for contempt in criminal cases.
So the slap on the wrist will be even gentler than that.
If it happens at all.
Jail and prison time are both possible though.
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So far this morning, it's all about the prosecution pushing for Contempt charges.
Justice Merchan has repeatedly pushed Todd Blanche to clarify his arguments, only to have Blanche deny that he is saying what he seems to be saying. Trump is very lucky that the jurors are not here for this. Merchan is really dressing down Blanche right now.
Blanche is Trump's lawyer (for those who didn't know)
As Blanche insists Trump is trying to follow with the rules, Merchan interrupts him. “You’re losing all credibility with the court,” he says.
Ouch. When a judge has to tell a defense lawyer that, things are not going well for the defense.
Maggie Haberman writes:
Todd Blanche [Trump's lawyer] says Trump is entitled to complain about “two systems of justice.” “There’s two systems of justice in this courtroom? That’s what you’re saying?” Justice Merchan says.
I mean, there are two systems of justice in this country, and he's always been part of the better one. If he wants to see what the rest of us would have to go though, by all means, let's try him under that system of justice.
Yeah. If a non-billionaire (allegedly) tweeted out barely-veiled threats to jurors and witnesses and the judge's family that causes their friends to send death threats, you'd be in prison after you violated the gag order. Maybe not even get a gag order: just also charged with tampering.
I would literally just be held in contempt without bond if I was threatening a judge and their family.
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