Trump Trial Time - banish all memories of Mueller.

[Spandauer]

Is this #132?
Still trying to rid the world of this troublesome twat.

Old thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4912378-trump-gets-gagged-mccarthy-gets-booted-whats-next-in-trumpworld

But we then return to the fact the senate requires a 2/3 majority.

Seems this rumour is growing legs.

And a Dem controlled house of Representatives could kick Trump off the ballot as an insurrectionist (as SCOTUS signalled).

MTG (aka "the space laser lady") has gone very quiet.

Best comment on the internet today :

"Come November I want the House to go so blue it looks like a smurg convention ..."

Right now it's GOP 218, Dem 213, 4 vacant seats. So the Dems only need 3 GOP to cross the aisle for a simple majority. And all it takes to remove a Speaker is a simple majority and Johnson knows that there would likely be at least a simple majority IF all the Dems vote to keep him.

I think the Dems will keep Johnson in office. They've got him by the short hairs if he wants to keep his job.

That's a great story for Johnson to sell ....

Commentators have speculated on the possibility that it's Johnson that started the aforementioned rumour. He is not to be dismissed as a lightweight by all accounts.

Order in court!
Next couple of days as summed up in Washington Post.

(Let's hope there is plenty of Frebreze on hand)

What’s ahead

On Monday in Manhattan criminal court, a prosecutor and a defense attorney are set to offer their opening statements in Trump’s trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment, and then the district attorney’s office will begin presenting witnesses and evidence to make its case for convicting the 45th president of the United States.


On Tuesday, the judge will take a quick break from witnesses to hold a hearing on whether Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for president — should be found in contempt of court for allegedly violating his gag order.

In a different New York courtroom, a court will weigh the state attorney general’s challenge to Trump’s $175 million bond on Monday. That’s important because the bond in question allows him to pursue an appeal and delay paying a nearly half a billion dollar civil judgment for misstating Trump company assets.


Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about Trump’s claim that he cannot be prosecuted for allegedly trying to block the results of the 2020 presidential election. Whatever the outcome for Trump personally, the case may force the highest court in the land to draw new, clearer lines about the limits of presidential power.

Thanks

Going to be a busy little bunny, isn't he?! 😂

No wonder he keeps falling asleep in court: just thinking about all that activity must be exhausting.

I am all for him taking his little naps; the more the public sees him as a dozy prat, the less they are likely to see him as presidential material. And for all Trump's "Sleepy Joe" crip-crap, I don't think anyone has seen any evidence of Joe Biden nodding off in an important meeting.

I strongly suspect he has been sedated ... a cheeky valium or two.

Another thing those near Joe Biden don't seem to think necessary!

He seems awake enough immediately before he goes into the courtroom and straight after he gets out, ranting away as usual, so the valium dosemust be carefully calculated, and administered at a very specific moment...

Place marking. Sorry the correct way doesn't seem to work on my app any more.

The hearing has begun, with Justice Juan Merchan saying court will end at 12:30 today so one alternate juror can deal with a health issue.

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan read from the bench his decision about what prosecutors may ask Donald Trump about a handful of issues: the civil court finding that he misstated his assets; his two violations of a gag order stemming from that case; two separate court findings that he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll; and the dissolution of the Donald J. Trump foundation as part of a settlement with the New York attorney general.

Donald Trump shook his head as Justice Juan Merchan began by ruling that Trump’s New York civil judgment can be used against him.

Justice Juan Merchan is allowing jurors to take notes if they wish, but they may not ask questions. During the jury’s verdict deliberations, they can have testimony read back to them by the court reporter, which many courts don’t allow.

(source Washington Post)

I'm assuming that it's only if he testifies. (But happy to be corrected!)

I can't call it re Trump taking the stand... will he be agitating to "speak his truth"? Positive his lawyers will be totally against it though!

Justice Juan Merchan is allowing jurors to take notes if they wish...

When I've served on a jury (in Scotland, multiple times unfortunately ), taking copious notes is the only way I've been able to stay awake

And you know, drugs administered by anal suppository are very fast acting!

Rat catcher turned rat?
Hope he's paid upfront given the Trumpster's history of unpaid bills.

More on Blanche:

Blanche left New York’s oldest law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to start his own firm and represent Trump. In addition to the New York trial, in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment, Blanche is also Trump’s lawyer in his two federal criminal cases, in Florida and D.C.

A graduate of American University and Brooklyn Law School, Blanche previously worked at the prestigious federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan. He has more experience as a prosecutor than a defense attorney, with few blockbuster trials as a defense attorney to his name. As a federal prosecutor, he worked alongside Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is now the top prosecutor in the state case against Trump.

Blanche first caught Trump’s attention when he helped Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, avoid state charges of mortgage fraud after Manafort was convicted at trial on similar federal counts. Blanche also represented Trump aide Boris Epshteyn when Epshteyn was questioned in a Justice Department investigation involving the former president.


Trump enlisted Blanche to help him find a lawyer to defend him in the New York criminal case. Blanche contacted former colleagues from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, a person familiar with the situation told The Washington Post recently. But their law firms said no, a nod to the fact that the nation’s most prominent white-collar practices have no interest in taking on such a controversial and combative client as Trump.


So Blanche took on the job himself.

Trump may want to take the stand, after all who does he think can 'justify' his actions better than he can. But I think his legal team will threaten him with resigning en masse if he insists on it.

In other news......don't we ALL want one of these for (US) Mother's Day?? So sorry all you Brits missed out on this for Mothering Sunday.

https://www.newsweek.com/melania-trump-necklace-donald-trump-hush-money-trial-website-1892661

Included in defence opening statement
Blanche, shortly thereafter, said: “He’s (Trump) also a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father, he’s a person who’s just like you and just like me.”
Excuse me! I am NOTHING like Trump! How dare you Sir!

Why have I only recently become aware of Marj Taylor Greene being nicknamed Empty G instead of MTG?

Oh hello? Mr Do As You Would Be Done By?
Or more simply - Pot Kettle Black

In the defence's opening speech (my bold)

Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche said key prosecution witness Michael Cohen cannot be trusted, because he is obsessed with getting revenge on his former boss.
“Unbeknownst to President Trump, in all the years that Mr. Cohen worked for him, Mr. Cohen was also a criminal,” Blanche said. “He cheated on his taxes, he lied to banks, he lied about side businesses.”

Also from Blanche "influencing an election is not a crime. It's Democracy "

Tell that to Trump who whines about Election interference non stop

That's such a joke re Cohen being an unbeknownst criminal .
His fluidity re what was legal was his most important quality to Trump

Court ended early, as agreed, to allow for alternate juror's health issue.

The judge reminded the lawyers that he will start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday with a hearing on whether Donald Trump repeatedly violated his gag order with his public and social media comments.


Testimony from the first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m.

I assume the also in ‘Mr Cohen was also a criminal’ refers to Mr Cohen being a criminal at the same time as working for Trump. As opposed to being a criminal as well as Mr Trump.

Can be read either way IMHO.

Ha ha ha!