Live Thread: Trump's hush money trial begins in NYC

[mystery-ak]

9 minutes ago
Trump lawyers ask for mistrial, claim Stormy Daniels' testimony about spanking ex-prez was irrelevant
By Ben Kochman

Trump attorney Todd Blanche has asked again for a mistrial, claiming that Stormy Daniels' testimony veered into gratuitous detail about her alleged sex romp with the ex-president.

Daniels testified Tuesday that she spanked Trump with a magazine bearing his face on the cover during their tryst inside his Lake Takoe hotel suite.

"It almost defies belief that we are here about a records case, and the government is...asking a series of questions about rolling up a magazine and spanking him," Blanche said.

Judge Merchan did not issue an immediate ruling.

Blanche asked for a mistrial for similar reasons on Tuesday, but was denied, with Merchan saying that issues with Daniels' testimony could be worked out during cross-examination.

4 minutes ago
Stormy's testimony about Trump not using a condom 'dog whistle for rape': Blanche
By Kyle Schnitzer

Trump attorney Todd Blanche said that Stormy Daniels' testimony about Donald Trump not using a condom during their alleged sexcapade was "dangerous" evidence" that suggested rape.

“It’s a dog whistle for rape,' Blanche said in the courtroom.

Blanche claims that Trump's team didn't know the extent to what prosecutors were going to ask Daniels, who testified in detail about her alleged affair with Trump at a Lake Tahoe golf course.

"This is not a case about sex," he said.

He also said that the jury is now "hearing about an imbalance of power between a man and a woman."

[mystery-ak]

a minute ago
Prosecutors defend spanking question: 'Establish credibility'

Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that prosecutors had to ask porn star Stormy Daniels about spanking Donald Trump because it helped "establish credibility."

"We had to ask her about the spanking to establish credibility," Steinglass said.

Daniels testified that she spanked Trump with a magazine donning his own face in a hotel room in Lake Tahoe before she allegedly spelt with the former president.

[mystery-ak]

11 minutes ago
Judge rips Trump attorney for lack of objections during condom testimony: 'I don't understand'
By Kyle Schnitzer

Justice Juan Merchan said he has no idea why Trump attorney Susan Necheles didn't object during Stormy Daniels' testimony about Donald Trump not using a condom during their alleged sex affair.

“I agree – it shouldn’t have come out… but for the life of me, I don’t know why Ms. Necheles didn’t object," the judge said.

He later added, “Why on earth she wouldn’t object to the mention of a condom, I don’t understand.”

5 minutes ago
Judge denies Trump's bid for mistrial, says Don's lawyers opened the door to salacious testimony

Trump's bid for a mistrial over Stormy Daniels' salacious testimony was denied.

Judge Merchan ruled that Trump's attorneys had opened the door to "corroborate" her account of the tryst after they called her a liar in their opening statement and at other points in the trial.

"Your denial puts the jury in a position of having to choose who to believe in, Donald Trump who denies the encounter, or Stormy Daniels" who claims that it happened, the judge said.

Trump then stood up and left the room. The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

21 minutes ago
Trump flicks Blanche, appears agitated as prosecutors rip defense for not asking more about Stormy sexual encounter
By Kyle Schnitzer

An agitated Donald Trump flicked attorney Todd Blanche as Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass ripped into the defense for not asking more about the alleged sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels during their cross-examination.

Blanche appeared to motion to Trump to control himself after flicking his left elbow after Trump had a lively conversation with Emil Bove, another attorney.

Steinglass said Trump's side asked "eight questions" of mostly "yes and no" responses when pressing Daniels.

“We tried very hard to pull back the testimony and not have a fulsome description of the sexual act," Steinglass said.

[mystery-ak]

2 minutes ago
Trump rips ruling to deny mistrial a 'disgrace,' claims he is 'being held in this court with a corrupt judge'

Donald Trump ripped Judge Juan Merchan as "corrupt" while ripping his ruling to deny a mistrial in his 'hush money' case as a "disgrace" in fiery comments as he left court on Thursday.

"This judge is corrupt, he's a corrupt judge," Trump said. "This judge, what he did, and what his ruling was is a disgrace."

Judge Merchan ruled just moments prior that the former president's attorneys opened the door to “corroborate” Stormy Daniels' account of the tryst after they called her a liar in their opening statement and at other points in the trial.

Trump sat through extensive testimony by Daniels on Thursday that included her claiming that he did not wear a condom during their sexual encounter and her spanking him – which led to his attorneys requesting a mistrial.

"I have to get back on the campaign trail, I'm not supposed to be here," Trump said. "We are so innocent, there's never been anything like this."

[corbe]

Trump New York trial: Karen McDougal won’t take stand after Stormy Daniels testimony

By Kaelan Deese
May 9, 2024 5:00 pm

A lawyer for President Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon that prosecutors no longer plan to bring Playboy model Karen McDougal to testify at his New York criminal hush money trial after two days of testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said in court that “we have been informed the People no longer intend to call Karen McDougal as a witness,” according to reports from the trial. It is not immediately clear why prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office decided not to bring McDougal to the witness stand.

<..snip..>

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/2998553/karen-mcdougal-wont-take-stand/

[corbe]

   Gonna miss ya Karen.

[Hoodat]

From her seat on the witness stand, she's speaking far more slowly and clearly than she did when she detailed her alleged tryst with Trump when questioned by prosecutors.

Of course she is.  She's been coached for the last 36 hrs

[corbe]

   She upped her Mother's Little Helper.

[Cyber Liberty]

Trump New York trial: Karen McDougal won’t take stand after Stormy Daniels testimony

By Kaelan Deese
May 9, 2024 5:00 pm

A lawyer for President Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon that prosecutors no longer plan to bring Playboy model Karen McDougal to testify at his New York criminal hush money trial after two days of testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said in court that “we have been informed the People no longer intend to call Karen McDougal as a witness,” according to reports from the trial. It is not immediately clear why prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office decided not to bring McDougal to the witness stand.

<..snip..>

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/2998553/karen-mcdougal-wont-take-stand/

The possibility exists the Prosecution is lying.  Remember, they have been very cagey about whom they are calling and when.  They could just say "Ooopsy!" and call her anyway. 

@corbe, don't give up hope.

[corbe]

[LMAO]

   Gonna miss ya Karen.

 

[DB]

I thought I read somewhere on this thread that she was asked if she was saying she was drugged when she "blacked out" during sex with Trump. If the defense asked that question, it is an admission that there was sex between them. If the prosecution asked that question it means little.

[mystery-ak]

DAY 15

Former President Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen expected to take the stand Monday

Former President Trump's ex-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to be called to testify Monday as a witness in his former boss' criminal trial.

Cohen arranged the $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump, later, made several payments of $35,000 to Cohen, who was his personal attorney at the time.

Those payments served as the basis for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's indictment of Trump on charges of falsifying business records. Bragg is trying to prove those payments, which totaled $420,000, were a reimbursement for the hush money payment.

But Trump defense attorneys say that the $35,000 payments were "not a payback," but instead, legal payments.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

The former president has previously called Cohen a "proven liar."

Fox News' Eric Shawn and Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Posted by Chris Pandolfo

[mystery-ak]

40 min(s) ago

Trump declares: ‘We are so innocent’

Speaking after his Thursday appearance in court, former President Trump went on the attack against Judge Juan Merchan, who denied a request to modify Trump's gag order.

"So, what happened today? I don't think we have to do any expert explaining. I'm not allowed to anyway because this judge is a corrupt judge. This judge, what he did and what his ruling was, is a disgrace," Trump said after court adjourned, adding Merchan is "totally conflicted."

Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, said he's "got to get back on the campaign trail."

"I'm not supposed to be here," Trump said. "We are so innocent. There's never been anything like it.

"I'm innocent, and I'm being held in this court with a corrupt judge who's totally conflicted."

The former president said it is "a disgrace to the city of New York, to the state of New York and to the country."

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Posted by Chris Pandolfo

[mystery-ak]

18 minutes ago
Former Trump personal assistant returns to witness stand
By Kyle Schnitzer

Madeleine Westerhout will resume testifying as the judge just called for the jury to be brought into the courtroom.



7 minutes ago
Trump loves newspapers: testimony
By Kyle Schnitzer

Donald Trump attorney Susan Necheles has resumed her cross-examination of Madeleine Westerhout, with the pair talking about the front cover of the New York Times when Trump boarded Air Force One for the first time.

Westerhout testified that Trump was "proud" of the front cover, and that he often sent newspaper clippings to those close to him.

Asked if she probably saw Trump send clippings "thousands of times," Westerhout replied: "Yes."

[mystery-ak]

Judge quashes Trump effort to subpoena documents from DA Bragg's investigation

Judge Juan Merchan has denied former President Trump’s request to subpoena Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office who left and then wrote a book. 

According to a court filing, Trump had sought various documents from Pomerantz during his time as a special assistant district attorney. Trump wanted documents from Pomerantz from Feb. 2, 2021 to Feb. 23, 2022, including materials that dated up until a month before the prosecutor left the DA's office.

The judge wrote the requests “are far too broad and amount to and improper fishing expedition into general discovery." He also said Trump's legal team sought info on topics that are not relevant.

Republicans have claimed that Pomerantz was biased against Trump and politicized the investigation.

In a report released last month, the House Judiciary Committee argued the Manhattan District Attorney's Office "allowed political motivations and animus to infect its prosecutorial discretion."

The GOP-led committee released a 300-page report titled "An Anatomy of a Political Prosecution: The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Vendetta Against President Donald J. Trump."

Pomerantz testified before the committee in a deposition as part of the investigation. Pomerantz declined to answer most questions, but told the committee that was largely due to the then-pending investigation into Trump.

Pomerantz, a donor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, previously worked on the Trump investigation with ex-prosecutor Carey Dunne under District Attorney Alvin Bragg's predecessor, former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance. Both Pomerantz and Dunne resigned after Bragg took the helm and raised doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

After Pomerantz resigned, he wrote a tell-all book based on the investigation, which was still ongoing. The book seemingly made the case to charge Trump.

The committee quoted Pomerantz's book, which they said revealed "his animus, both personally and politically against Trump."

Pomerantz wrote in his book of his "enthusiasm to work on the investigation," but said it "had nothing to do with [his] views about Trump's politics." However, he admitted that he was "not a fan" of Trump, and "had little regard" for him.

Fox News' Maria Paronich and Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Posted by Chris Pandolfo

[mystery-ak]

a few seconds ago
Westerhout off the witness stand

Madeleine Westerhout wrapped up her testimony after about 45 minutes. A new witness, Daniel Dixon, is being sworn in.

Dixon works for AT&T as a lead compliance analyst. He's worked in that role for "roughly six to seven years," he said.

[mystery-ak]

10:18 AMMay 10, 2024
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rrahman
Westerhout says she saw Trump sign things without reviewing them

 Westerhout told Trump attorney Susan Necheles that she would see Trump signing things without reviewing them.

The witness responded “definitely” when Necheles asked if the former president was a person who multi-tasked.

Prosecutors are attempting to persuade jurors that Trump’s signatures on the checks he is charged over is evidence of his personal knowledge of the hush money arrangements, also highlighting portions of his books that suggest his frugality.

But the defense has leveraged Westerhout and other witnesses to suggest to jurors that aides would constantly ask Trump to sign various documents while in the White House and didn’t actually know what he was signing.

Cross examination is now completed.

— Zach Schonfeld

[mystery-ak]

09:50 AMMay 10, 2024
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rrahman
READ: Trump’s January 2017 Rolodex

Madeleine Westerhout has retaken the stand.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked her about the list of contacts she maintained for Trump once he arrived in the White House. The list ranges from news anchors such as Fox’s Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski to athletes including Tom Brady and Serena Williams.

Read the list here.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24657483-peoples-69b-attached-contact-list-pdf-1242017

[mystery-ak]

 AT&T lead compliance analyst takes stand

Daniel Dixon, a lead compliance analyst for AT&T, is the next witness on the stand.

He is under direct examination by Chris Conroy.

Dixon, who was worked at AT&T as a lead compliance analyst for roughly seven years, assists with complying with legal demands and with LE interpreting records.

Dixon's appearance in court Friday came after AT&T received a subpoena.

Dixon was asked about call-detail records and subscriber records that are kept by AT&T.

Prosecution then moved to admit records from AT&T into evidence, with one such record being for Michael Cohen's cellphone.

Dixon went on to define certain words like "mobility," "voice usage" and "SMS." He adds that AT&T records are kept in the UTC time zone.

The direct examination concludes.
Posted by Kyle Morris

[mystery-ak]

09:54
Jennie Tomalin's testimony wraps up

Tomalin was cross-examined quickly by defense attorney Emil Bove.

She then left the stand.

09:43
Next witness: Jennie Tomalin

Jennie is a senior analyst at Verizon.

She is testifying about records in the hush money case.

Prosecutors introduced records of twelve phones from 2015 to 2017. One set of records belonged to Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization.

[mystery-ak]

09:47
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears in court

From Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in court:

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg entered the courtroom this morning.

He walked in carrying a brown folder and sat down a few rows back from the prosecution table.

He is watching Jennie Tomalin from Verizon testify about telephone records.

Bragg has visited the courtroom for the hush money trial before but has not sat in to observe most of the case.

Donald Trump continues to look forward as testimony continues.

[mystery-ak]

09:58
Court is on a short break

Donald Trump stood up and walked out of the courtroom for a break passing close to where Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was standing.

He appeared to avoid making eye contact as he walked up the aisle.

[mystery-ak]

09:58
Court is on a short break

Donald Trump stood up and walked out of the courtroom for a break passing close to where Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was standing.

He appeared to avoid making eye contact as he walked up the aisle.

2 hours ago
'I'd be very proud to go to jail for our Constitution,' Trump says of gag order
By Kaydi Pelletier

Donald Trump is talking to reporters in the court hallway after trial just ended for the day.

He again blasted the gag order that prevents him from publicly speaking about witnesses or jury members, saying the judge wants to throw him in jail if he says one word out of line.

"That could happen one day," Trump said. "And I'd be very proud to go to jail for our Constitution."

[mystery-ak]

2 hours ago
Prosecutors say they have told both Cohen and Daniels to stay hush about the case
By Ben Kochman

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass said his office has repeatedly told Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about the case -- so far to no avail.

"We have repeatedly asked the witnesses not to do that, but the fact of the matter is that the witnesses are not subject to the gag order," Steinglass told the court.

Cohen has repeatedly spoken about the case, as recently as Wednesday night on TikTok, Donald Trump's lawyer said.

Daniels also posted on X Thursday night, in a taunt to Trump, that "real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh...wait. Nevermind."

2 hours ago
Trump's attorney asks judge to put gag order on Michael Cohen over TikTok posts
By Kyle Schnitzer

Todd Blanche asked the judge to tell Michael Cohen to cool it with his TikTok posts after Cohen posted a new one Wednesday.

“He’s wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of President Trump behind bars," Blanche told the judge.

"It's becoming improper every day that President Trump is not allowed to talk to this witness, but he continues to talk."

Justice Juan Merchan asked Manhattan prosecutors to tell Cohen to "refrain from making any more statements" about Trump or the trial.

"That comes from the bench," Merchan said.

Prosecutors said they have instructed all witnesses and potential witnesses to refrain from talking about the case.

2 hours ago
Two witnesses expected to be called, prosecutors could rest next week
By Kyle Schnitzer

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said prosecutors plan to call two witnesses next week — and that their case could possibly rest by the end of the week.

“We expect to call eventually two witnesses and I think it’s entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week," Steinglass said.

Michael Cohen is expected to be the first witness Monday.