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[Francisco 2.0 32413]

Hey, the trial resumes today:

Keith Davidson will be the witness; but first, more on Trump's gag order violations:

 

The hearing is over and we will take a five-minute break before the jurors are brought in. I’ll be very curious to see whether we get a ruling soon. Justice Merchan seemed far more definitive in his thinking today than in the hearing last week.

 

Overall, I think it’s fair to say that this hearing is going better for Blanche than the last one. THe judge is nodding at some of his arguments about one alleged violation and already said that he was not concerned about another one. Even now, saying “you made your point” to Blanche, the judge softens the statement with a smile.

There is one argument, though, for which Merchan signals he has little sympathy: Trump’s comments about the jury, saying they were mostly Democrats. Hard to see the defendant not being penalized for those comments given Merchan’s tone here now.

 

Todd Blanche has moved on to Michael Cohen’s attacks on Trump, which have been manifold. Some of Cohen’s tweeted insults to his former boss are shown in the courtroom. This is potentially fertile territory for the defense; Justice Merchan had cautioned that witnesses — seemingly Cohen — should not use the gag order as an excuse to attack the defendant.

Blanche is now talking about Tik-Tok videos that Cohen has done criticizing Trump recently. “This is not a man that needs protection from the gag order,” Blanche says.

This is a serious concern for prosecutors. Their witness, who had said that he would be silent after having attacked Trump, has not fulfilled that pledge. And the judge has already written that he is somewhat sympathetic to the defense’s argument here.

While the defense's arguments about Cohen may be gaining some traction with the judge, it's also worth noting that this is happening while the jury is not in the room.

Justice Merchan extends a minor olive branch to Todd Blanche and says he’s not that concerned with the potential violation where Trump referred to David Pecker as “a nice guy.” He doesn’t fully explain his reasoning but certainly telegraphs that he won’t find this one in violation of his gag order.

 

An animated Todd Blanche is suggesting that Trump simply has to respond to reporters who ask him about witnesses. Justice Merchan is not buying it. “It was your client who went down to that holding area and stood in front of the press and started to speak. It wasn’t the press that went to him. He went to the press. He didn’t need to go in that direction.” He adds, “Nobody forced your client” to go talk to reporters in the courthouse hallway when he attacked Cohen.

After Justice Merchan points out that no one is forcing Trump to talk to the press, Todd Blanche’s response, “I agree with that,” draws a large laugh in the overflow room.

It’s notable that Merchan continues to express concern, as he did in his first ruling holding Trump in contempt, about Trump’s rights to free speech, particularly as a political candidate. The judge says that a whole press area has been set aside for Trump in the hallway so that “your client, as candidate for the presidency, has the opportunity to speak about absolutely anything he wants.”

Todd Blanche is still speaking quickly and his voice is high-pitched as he jousts with Justice Merchan. It’s a bit unusual to see a lawyer seem this agitated in what is a high-stakes argument, but essentially an academic one. Blanche is under a lot of pressure.

It’s quite something hearing Todd Blanche complain about media coverage, when Trump personally loves how much attention he gets from the trial.

Justice Merchan says he doesn’t understand Blanche’s argument comparing Trump’s inability to speak out freely with journalists' ability to report freely on him everyday. “They’re not defendants in this case," Justice Merchan says forcefully. "They’re not subject to the gag order.”

 

Todd Blanche is speaking quickly as he defends Trump’s comments about David Pecker, whom Trump said had been “very nice.” Blanche says that Trump sidestepped the reporter's question about him and gave a “factual and neutral answer.” He says there was no willful violation of the order. “It’s not just about Mr. Pecker,” the judge responds, saying Trump's comments affect other witnesses as well.

Blanche really has very little to work with during this hearing. It’s very hard to argue Trump hasn’t violated the gag order, especially after Tuesday’s ruling that he did previously.

It’s fascinating to hear Todd Blanche return to arguments that, for the most part, did not work for him last week. He now mentions a comment from President Biden at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in which the president made an oblique reference to Stormy Daniels, saying that Trump had been experiencing “stormy weather.” But the judge asks, isn’t it possible to respond to Biden without actually mentioning Daniels, a potential witness?

Trump appeared to get frustrated during this exchange and motioned with his hands.

 

Todd Blanche starts off by saying that the purpose of the gag order is to “protect the integrity of these proceedings.” After a rough performance at the last hearing regarding the gag order, Blanche is reading much of his argument, which appears to be written in front of him, rather than speaking extemporaneously. He argues that none of the four statements at issue were disruptive to the trial, and continues to paint his client’s statements as responses to political attacks.

So much of Blanche’s argument hinges on the notion that Trump — the former president, a wealthy man and a person who voluntarily entered the political realm — is being treated unfairly when he is criticized.

The prosecutors say “we are not yet seeking jail,” and Christopher Conroy sits down. Next up, Todd Blanche, Trump's lawyer.

Trump shook his head at the mention of “jail” during the hearing.

Emil Bove, another lawyer for Trump, smiled slightly when prosecutors said they were not yet seeking jail, saying they wanted to minimize disruptions to the trial.

Trump is notably not watching his lead counsel deliver these arguments. He is instead facing ahead and sitting motionless.

Christopher Conroy, the prosecutor, now takes up the most difficult subject, an attack on Michael D. Cohen, Trump’s former fixer. The judge, in ruling against Trump after the first hearing, warned that witnesses could not use the gag order as a “sword,” attacking Trump while knowing that the former president would be fined for attacking them back. Conroy here acknowledges that, saying: “We understand the court's concern about Michael Cohen.” But he insists on this fourth and final violation being recognized, as he says Trump is trying to “disrupt” the process and that his statements are “corrosive to this proceeding.”

 

The prosecutor, Christopher Conroy, is going over the four instances of Trump allegedly violating the gag order. He lingers on one instance, in which Trump answered a question from a reporter during a campaign stop last week, after ignoring other questions. The question was about testimony from a key witness, David Pecker. “He selectively responded to this question and not others,” Conroy says, noting that Trump said Pecker had been “nice” so far. The message to other witnesses, Conroy says, is “be nice,” or face attacks.

“The defendant thinks the rules should be different for him,” Conroy adds.

The line from Conroy about the “rules” being different for Trump, in Trump’s mind, is an echo of an argument that Roberta Kaplan, the lead lawyer for E. Jean Carroll, made in Trump's federal defamation trial in January.

We begin with prosecutors reviewing the four alleged gag order violations. The prosecutor handling this hearing, Christopher Conroy, is the same one who succeeded at the last one, after which Trump was found to have violated the gag order nine of 10 times. The alleged violations today include attacks on Michael D. Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and, interestingly, a compliment made about another witness, David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer. Any speech directed toward witnesses, prosecutors say, even complimentary speech, is a violation.

Moments into the prosecutors' argument, Trump slapped the arm of his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, and gestured with his hands. They spoke briefly and then Trump sat back and immediately shut his eyes.

 

The judge has taken the bench and we are set to begin.

 

Trump and his lawyer Todd Blanche are whispering to each other. Despite Trump’s oft-mentioned germophobia, he and Blanche sit incredibly close to each other at times, and Blanche whispers very close to Trump’s face.

Trump has walked into court, with adviser Boris Epshteyn in tow. No one from his family is with him today. He has shed the red and blue ties and is wearing a yellow one today.

Our colleague Michael Gold, who is following Trump on the campaign trail, reports that the candidate attacked Justice Merchan at a rally in Wisconsin last night and said that the jury in this trial was drawn from a county — Manhattan — which is “a 95% or so Democrat area.” Trump added: “Other than that, things are wonderful.”

Trump continued the same line of attack in the courthouse hallway. According to a pool report, he referred to Justice Merchan as conflicted and bragged about yesterday's rallies.

 

 

Good morning from the courtroom where we expect to begin shortly with another hearing about Trump's gag order. Prosecutors will accuse Trump of repeatedly violating the order, which bars him from attacking witnesses and jurors, among others. He was fined $9,000 on Tuesday for earlier violations. The second crop of them — four in all — could raise the fine to $13,000.

Trump has also been warned that he could be sent to jail if he continues to violate the order. But because that warning came after prosecutors had already alerted the judge to the four new potential violations, it seems unlikely that the judge would make that move today.

There was little evidence of Trump supporters in front of the courthouse earlier this morning. On Tuesday, a crowd of a few dozen had assembled, waving giant Trump 2024 banners and wearing MAGA hats. Today, we saw just one supporter draped in a Trump flag.

Good morning. It's very animated today in line outside the courthouse, between the general public and the reporters. Michael Wolff, the magazine writer, showed up with a man filming him in tow.

Edited May 2 by Francisco 2.0

[Francisco 2.0 32413]

Keith Davidson back on the stand:

Joshua Steinglass finishes questioning Keith Davidson. Cross examination will come after a short break for the jury.

Keith Davidson is asked to explain an interaction with Michael Cohen as they drafted a statement to be sent to Chris Cuomo, then a journalist at CNN. We are starting to see — at this point in the narrative, February 2018 — the way that the story of Stormy Daniels was starting to draw broader attention from the news media.

Keith Davidson testifies that Michael Cohen threatened a lawsuit against Stormy Daniels “many times.” He can be a "very aggressive guy," Davidson says.

The prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, has asked witnesses several times to explain common internet abbreviations, including "lol." Keith Davidson was just compelled to tell the courtroom what “wtf” stands for.

The prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, is really bearing down on Keith Davidson, grilling him on how Stormy Daniels’s denials could have been thought to be true. It’s a really important point to highlight for jurors — and to make as memorable as possible — again to take the wind out of the sails of any argument by the defense that Daniels denied her encounter with Trump.

As Keith Davidson testifies about how handling both Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen made his life more and more complicated, he is describing the settings of conversations with remarkable vividness. Earlier, he spoke about a department store with “Alice in Wonderland”-themed decorations and now he is talking about the Marilyn Monroe suite at the Roosevelt Hotel, a “classic Hollywood place on Hollywood Boulevard.”

At the back of the courtroom today: Andrew Giuliani. (note: lulz)

Keith Davidson is being asked about texts with Michael Cohen referencing the State of the Union address that Trump was going to deliver. It underscores that some of this was happening as Trump was running the country.

We’re hearing now that in mid-January 2018, Michael Cohen texted Keith Davidson that he had tentatively scheduled Stormy Daniels to appear on the television program “Hannity,” which she never did. Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor, asked why Cohen was pushing for her to appear on the program. Davidson answered that Cohen believed Daniels would further deny the sexual encounter with Trump.

Cohen also had a relationship with the host of that show, Sean Hannity, who was a supporter of Trump. At a 2018 hearing before Cohen’s guilty plea related to this payment and other matters, it was revealed that Hannity was a legal client of Cohen’s, who apparently gave him real-estate advice.

Our readers may be wondering why the prosecution would provide a copy of Stormy Daniels’s initial denial of her relationship with Mr. Trump to the jury. The reason is likely the same that they are comfortable with witnesses insulting Michael Cohen: They want to familiarize and comfort the jury with these facts before the defense can use them, making it seem as if prosecutors hid important information.

We’re now seeing the aftermath of an unsuccessful hush-money payment, as Michael Cohen pleads with and cajoles Keith Davidson to bar Stormy Daniels from doing any interviews in response to The Wall Street Journal’s reporting about the deal. Davidson says Cohen was in one of his “pants-on-fire” stages, using that term for a second time. He seems to mean it to suggest that Cohen was running around as if his pants were on fire, but it’s a pretty convenient phrase for a defense team seeking to paint Cohen as a liar.

The statement from Stormy Daniels just shown in court seemed like an obvious non-denial denial when I was reporting on this story at the time for The Wall Street Journal. First of all, it came from Michael Cohen. How would he have had access to her? Second, she said she didn’t receive hush money from “Donald Trump” — we knew it was Michael Cohen who had paid.

The jury, previously unengaged, has been following this testimony closely, many jurors sitting up straight, gazing at Keith Davidson as he testifies about the “many many phone calls” and “many many text messages” he received from Michael Cohen, with “little regard” for his schedule.

Another fun moment as the prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, asks: “Did you intend for this statement to be cleverly misleading?” “I don’t understand the question,” Davidson responds, before going on to add that he would “never” use the term “hush money” for payment that was made. He prefers the term “consideration.”

 

We are now looking at a January 2018 statement from Stormy Daniels, in which she denied reports of a relationship with Trump, a denial she would later rescind. Later, she would say that while she did not have an affair with Trump, she did have sex with him.

Recently, Trump claimed in a social media post that this six-year-old statement was “JUST FOUND.” He was penalized $1,000 for that remark as a violation of the gag order.

The prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, has Davidson read Daniels's initial denial to the jury. He then asks Davidson: “How would you characterize the truthfulness of this statement?” Members of the public chuckled in the overflow room.

Trump’s eyes were closed at the start of Keith Davidson's testimony. But his lawyer Todd Blanche seemed acutely aware of how important it is to their case and glanced over at his client. Moments later, as Davidson continued describing Cohen’s words, including an expletive directed at Trump, Trump opened his eyes and nodded.

Keith Davidson has been an engaging witness, particularly when he talks about Michael Cohen. He describes receiving a call from Cohen in December 2016 while in a “strangely decorated department store.” Cohen was despondent, he says, as he complained to Davidson that “I can’t believe I’m not going to Washington.” This is a very important point as prosecutors continue to anticipate and address the defense's attacks on Cohen, who they say is seeking revenge on Trump after a series of slights.

The defense lawyers are almost certain to seize on this bit of testimony from Davidson saying Cohen told him he wanted a job in Washington. Cohen testified before Congress that he did not actually want one, although federal prosecutors who investigated him have said that he did.

Keith Davidson is now being asked about a text he sent Dylan Howard, the editor of The National Enquirer, on election night as the election was about to get called for Trump. “What have we done?” Davidson texted. Howard responded: “Oh my god.” Today, Davidson describes his text as “gallows humor,” but explains that “there was an understanding” that their “activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.”

As the results rolled in on election night, Dylan Howard was watching on television from home. When it became clear Trump would win, he called Michael Cohen, who invited him to the celebration at the New York Hilton in Times Square. He went with one of his reporters.

The testimony has gotten quite dry, as Keith Davidson is being asked to review specific aspects of the agreement signed with Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, signing “on behalf of” Trump. The jurors look a little bored, with at least one gazing off elsewhere in the courtroom.

Keith Davidson starts off the day by reminding the jury and the rest of us how bad things had gotten between him and Michael Cohen. Dylan Howard, the editor of The National Enquirer, had to step in because Davidson believed Cohen was “not telling me the truth” about the delay in receiving a hush money payment for Daniels’s story.

And now, on the screen, we see that Davidson, in the point he’s reached in the story, has received the hush-money payment. In a text message to Howard, he writes: “funds received.”

Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels's lawyer, is back on the stand for more questioning from prosecutors.

When Davidson left off testifying on Tuesday, he left us on a cliffhanger: He is at the part in the story where he is about to receive $130,000 from Michael Cohen to keep Daniels quiet about her story of having had sex with Trump.

In several hours of testimony on Tuesday, going into great detail about deals to pay off Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, both of whom claimed sexual encounters with Trump and both of whom were his clients in 2016. Trump denies both accounts.

Justice Merchan says that we can summon the witness back to the stand, an indication that we may not get an immediate ruling here.

Edited May 2 by Francisco 2.0

[Francisco 2.0 32413]

Cross Examination of Keith Davidson

The court is now taking a lunch break. We’ll return at 2:15.

Emil Bove’s cross-examination of Keith Davidson has been a rollercoaster ride so far. He has seemed extremely calm and comfortable when attacking Davidson’s credibility and likely delivered some memorable moments for the jury to consider while evaluating him. But when asking about Davidson about the minutia of the case, and diving into documentary evidence such as text messages and emails, his line of questioning got complex and could be difficult to follow.

After a series of denials from Davidson, the jurors are excused. Bove says he has less than an hour of cross-examination remaining.

Emil Bove just sought to suggest that Keith Davidson violated California’s ethics code for lawyers by compensating non-lawyers with legal fees. It was a bit in the weeds — but the jury includes lawyers, who might take an interest in that tidbit.

Keith Davidson’s demeanor during the cross-examination is striking. Whereas David Pecker was almost carefree as he answered questions about the business of sleaze that he oversaw, Davidson appears something akin to ashamed as he is forced to answer questions about other celebrities who his clients purportedly had relations with, and from whom they sought money to stay quiet. Pecker’s demeanor, meanwhile, resembled Trump's over the years: he did not give in and showed no signs of shame.

It feels like he is embarrassed about some of the deals he has allegedly cut on behalf of his clients.

Emil Bove has looped back around to a line of questioning that came up earlier, insisting that Keith Davidson became familiar with extortion law after a brush with federal agents. The argument that regulators and investigators have often used about Trump is similar: that he has generally known where the line is.

The prosecution is not always as visibile as the defense as they discuss the proceedings. But prosecutors are huddling during this cross-examination: two of them, Joshua Steinglass and Susan Hoffinger, have kept up a pretty steady conversation throughout

It’s remarkable just how much of American life over a decade or so is coming up in this trial: It’s really a referendum, not only on the politics of 2016 but on the celebrity-obsessed digital media environment in which Trump rose to political prominence.

 

Emil Bove is back asking about Hulk Hogan, and the media outlet Gawker having run a sex tape involving Hogan. Bove says that Keith Davidson used connections at a different website, The Dirty, to get stills from the video posted there. Gawker was eventually sued out of existence by Hogan, in a lawsuit financed by the billionaire Peter Thiel.

 

Emil Bove just told Keith Davidson that he was “not here to play lawyer games” and something in Davidson, who had been acting like a punching bag until this point, seems to have changed. He’s now fighting back, telling Bove that he is “getting truthful answers, sir,” with a very sarcastic spin on the word “sir.” Very, very confrontational in here. The jurors are sitting straight up in their seats.

Davidson called Bove out for his “lawyer games” comment. He said if Bove didn’t want to play such games then he should not use the word “extract” to describe the way Davidson and his clients would get monetary settlements from celebrities.

Emil Bove asks Keith Davidson if it’s fair to say his memory “seems a little fuzzy around some of these issues?” Davidson says, by way of explanation, that he has had over 1500 clients in his career.

This is getting very hostile quickly.

Lots of “I don’t recalls” from Davidson during this cross-examination. Bove is making him appear not like a truthteller, but like someone who is unethical. And Bove is increasingly heading toward the suggestion that the money to Stormy Daniels may not have been paid to cover up an affair with Daniels, but because Trump was being shaken down.

Two more celebrities have just been named — Tila Tequila, a reality television star, and the actor Charlie Sheen. Emil Bove is at the moment accusing Keith Davidson of essentially extorting Sheen. The jurors are glued to this, just as they were to Davidson’s testimony earlier today.

David Pecker, when cross-examined by Emil Bove, also denied some of Bove’s implications, but he did so defiantly, seemingly making the defense lawyer hesitate. That’s not true right now: Bove is pressing his case and Keith Davidson’s denials, to my ears, are falling flat. As always, we can’t know what jurors are thinking, just our own impression of the testimony.

Much of this cross-examination so far hasn’t even been about Trump, but it is an effort by his legal team to discredit Davidson and persuade the jury that his previous testimony shouldn’t be trusted.

Emil Bove is successfully digging up unsavory episodes from Keith Davidson’s past to cast him as shady — for example, Bove says, a former of client of his leaked information that the Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan was in rehab.

Emil Bove is now trying to paint Keith Davidson as a serial extorter, asking for money in various situations and being mindful not to cross the line into actual extortion.

As Bove lodges this accusation, asking a version of the question “isn’t it true?” Davidson responds, simply, “no,” leading to a brief pause in the courtroom during this tense exhange.

Emil Bove, the defense lawyer, is going in a sharp direction with Keith Davidson. He recalls him saying Michael Cohen could be “aggressive,” saying, “And you can be aggressive too, can’t you?” “I suppose,” Davidson all but mumbles. “What does the word ‘extortion’ mean to you?” Bove asks. It is clear where this is going.

The point here is to make Keith Davidson look like a scuzzy almost-criminal who extorted the Trump campaign in 2016, and it is very clear that Davidson understands that and he is visibly unhappy about it.

As the lawyers huddle for a sidebar with the judge, Keith Davidson stares straight ahead, blinking. The only thing moving are his eyes. He looks exhausted after this morning’s testimony. And he is not even chancing a glance over at the defense table, where the former president is seated.

Emil Bove returns to the topic of how Michael Cohen wanted a job in Trump's White House and acted despondent, on a call with Keith Davidson, when he did not receive it. Davidson, asked about that call, says: “I thought he was going to kill himself.” Bove then squeezes into his questioning that Cohen had hoped for a high-ranking position, even as high as U.S. attorney general.

Keith Davidson, a lawyer, has been cautious in his testimony so far. At one point during his direct examination by Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor, Davidson stopped mid-comment, said “strike that,” and rephrased his answer. I anticipate Davidson will be on even higher alert during the cross-examination as he likely understands, and wants to avoid, the traps that Emil Bove is trying to set for him, as Bove seeks to challenge his previous testimony.

Bove is taking a very laidback approach to this cross-examination. He is almost gentle with Davidson in his questioning. He appears to be trying to make the seamy, dirty world of gossip-brokering the jury has been hearing about for days seem a little more...normal.

Emil Bove continues to try to create distance between the hush-money deals and Trump, his client. If the prosecution tried to place the deals in Trump’s lap, casting him as the silent boss overseeing Michael Cohen, the defense is rowing the boat away from Trump as fast as they can.

I’m finding Bove’s initial questioning quite interesting. He’s almost retelling the prosecution’s story, but with subtle tweaks. Whereas the prosecutor made Keith Davidson seem almost passive as he dealt with Michael Cohen, Bove is enhancing Davidson’s role, and the role of Stormy Daniels’s manager in 2016, Gina Rodriguez.

Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove is now starting the cross-examination of Keith Davidson, the former lawyer to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. As a reminder, a cross-examination is the other side’s opportunity to challenge the testimony that has already been given.

Bove begins by establishing that Davidson has not met Trump, which may help outline the first stage of the cross-examination: that the former president had nothing to do with all this.

Bove’s line of questioning plays into a frequent conceit of Trump’s. He often says critics don’t know him or have nothing to do with him as a way to nullify what they’re saying.

Edited May 2 by Francisco 2.0

[henrygandorf 29194]

 

[YGIFS 19452]

German royalty protocol reminds you to refer to his son as, "the Barron VonShitzinpants."  

It's impossible we don't live inside a computer at this point.  

[C-Man 27253]

4 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

German royalty protocol reminds you to refer to his son as, "the Barron VonShitzinpants."  

It's impossible we don't live inside a computer at this point.  

I kind of wish Cohen would dial back on that a little bit. It was amusing for a bit but at some point, I think you see diminishing returns and it's really unnecessary.

[Underdog 28765]

MFer went to prison due/for Trump.  I say fire away, Michael. 

[dcbc 14507]

14 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

German royalty protocol reminds you to refer to his son as, "the Barron VonShitzinpants."  

It's impossible we don't live inside a computer at this point.  

 

/Tenzing Norgay

[texasdago 7577]

19 hours ago, dcbc said:

I knew him and David Beebe.  He was a year behind me in school, but he took several years off between high school and college to tour with BBS.  When I was a senior, he was a freshman at UT and we had a biology class together.  He's super nice and a great drummer.

 

/I was trying to fix the spelling when you replied.  

Beebe was in town two weeks ago... did a quick show with the Beebe 3 at Coral Snake.  I met him my sophomore year at a party in University Towers.  Great guy.

On Antone's on Guadalupe, 90% sure the Civil Goat location was Antone's 

[YGIFS 19452]

17 minutes ago, dcbc said:

 

/Tenzing Norgay

Wait, so is Trump 'our' Tenzing Norgay or 'their' Tenzing Norgay?  

Also, a perfectly fitting tribute to Trump because of the courtroom setting, Trump being sold out by one of the lobby employees (not quite a Baron or Concierge) when he raw-dogged Stormy, but the chef's kiss. In the movie, the hotel he worked at was "The Red Pants Hotel" (he says it in French IIRC).  And what do Trump's slacks look like at the end of the day.  Pants of Red Shit.  Coen Bros. ahead of us, once again.  

Edited May 2 by YGIFS

[Fudge Nuggets 19211]

If only this board had a Music forum. Focus, fuckers. 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33885]

45 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I kind of wish Cohen would dial back on that a little bit. It was amusing for a bit but at some point, I think you see diminishing returns and it's really unnecessary.

isn't that a comment he already made? the reason trump's lawyer read it all was because it was evidence, right? he didn't call him that in court

[dcbc 14507]

47 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Wait, so is Trump 'our' Tenzing Norgay or 'their' Tenzing Norgay?  

At some point, the analogy falls apart sadly.  Just remember the judge sits on the case, we stand.

Edited May 2 by dcbc

[C-Man 27253]

34 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

isn't that a comment he already made? the reason trump's lawyer read it all was because it was evidence, right? he didn't call him that in court

Yes, he first said it awhile back. I think it caught some attention and he really likes how it's played so he uses it quite a bit. Cohen is not a "good guy" in any of this sordid mess. He's useful for the prosecution but I think maybe he might be better served turning down the "asshole" bit just a little bit in order to hold better sway with the jury.

[achooloco 1072]

35 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

isn't that a comment he already made? the reason trump's lawyer read it all was because it was evidence, right? he didn't call him that in court

I’m reading the cohen critique as focused on his podcasts, TikTok’s, etc. over the last couple weeks. They’re funny and dunking on trump should always be welcomed, but I also hope they don’t damage the current case. 

[Biff Tannen 45708]

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

German royalty protocol reminds you to refer to his son as, "the Barron VonShitzinpants."  

It's impossible we don't live inside a computer at this point.  

And has anyone else noticed one of the CNN reporters LOOKS LIKE STORMY DANIELS?!?!  I mean come on simulation.  That's just amazing.

[Francisco 2.0 32413]

Afternoon session begins.  Same witness (Davidson) as earlier

 

 

Emil Bove, the defense lawyer, briefly questioned Keith Davidson again in what is known as a recross-examination. He ended it by emphasizing that Davidson had never been in a room with Trump until this week.

 

In the recording we just heard, Michael Cohen said that Trump hates “the fact that we did it.” Keith Davidson clarifies that this in response to the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. It's fascinating to hear this on redirect — it’s a key piece of evidence, that would seem to corroborate Trump’s knowledge of and involvement in the deal.

For two days of testimony, the jurors have heard Davidson describe Cohen as a difficult man to deal with. But hearing Cohen’s hectoring, imploring voice right now, they really get a visceral sense of it, in a way that no testimony could quite capture.

Prosecutors are now playing a portion of a conversation with Keith Davidson that Michael Cohen secretly taped. We couldn’t hear the others before.

Cohen’s very recognizable voice has entered the courtroom, quite loudly. Jurors have been introduced to some of his qualities; now they hear his voice for the first time. Soon enough, most likely, they'll meet the man himself.

“Nobody’s thinking about Michael,” Cohen says to Davidson, referring to himself.

Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor, is reading through a transcript of Keith Davidson's recorded discussion with Cohen. He is racing through it, apparently because of all the expletives used in the conversation. The court reporter asks Steinglass to slow down.

Trump, over on Truth Social, used the lunch hour to post that he hasn’t been sleeping in court and is extra awake today.

 

The prosecution is now questioning Keith Davidson for redirect which, to remind you, is when prosecutors get to again question their witness, and seek to help adjust jurors’ perceptions after cross-examination.

Prosecutors have returned, this time with Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney.

 

Emil Bove ends his cross-examination of Keith Davidson. Re-direct from prosecutors will start shortly.

We are in an unusual situation again right now as Keith Davidson listens to a recording that is part of the defense's case. The recording has not been described to us, so while the defense lawyer Emil Bove, the prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and the judge’s law clerk follow along with their own headphones, the rest of the people in the courtroom, including the jurors, sit silently, waiting to hear about what exactly the headphone-wearing men are listening to.

The technology in this courtroom is far from state of the art. In order to hear his own voice, Davidson has to hold a device pointed toward a receiver.

The recording — made by Michael Cohen of a conversation he had with Davidson — has not been introduced as evidence in the case so the jury isn’t hearing it. The defense is using the recording to refresh Davidson’s recollection about the conversation so that Bove can question him about it.

 

After this morning’s build-up, in which Emil Bove implied that Keith Davidson, who represented Stormy Daniels in 2016, was a serial extorter who shook down celebrities, Bove is now putting the finishing touch on his argument, stating clearly that Davidson was seeking to do the same to Trump.

Emil Bove is making Keith Davidson listen to a recording that Michael Cohen surreptitiously made of him, on which Davidson apparently talked about people having “settler’s remorse,” a reference to Stormy Daniels.

Outfitted with an old-school set of headphones, Davidson looks vaguely like a U.N. translator.

Bove is now referencing Davidson's use the word “leverage” on the tape, suggesting that he was seeking to get leverage over Trump. Davidson denies that. He also says that Bove is “grossly mistaken about the dates” of when this conversation took place.

Emil Bove is a former federal prosecutor and I’m curious whether he’s managed to convince any jurors that the actions of Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen are on trial, rather than those of his client, Donald Trump. Bove certainly seems comfortable in his role as he seeks to paint first Davidson and now Cohen as villains.

And in doing so he is trying to leave the impression that Trump is the victim of whatever these two men had going on.

Now Emil Bove is shifting gears, and starting to question Keith Davidson about Michael Cohen. Once again, the jurors are completely engaged. They’re looking back and forth between the defense lawyer and the witness.

Bove is introducing something that was almost certain to come up — how Cohen would secretly tape people. Davidson acknowledges he believed Cohen was taping him at certain times.

A loud noise as Bove’s large binder falls off the lectern. He grabs it and refocuses. “That drop was catastrophic for my binder,” Bove says, and hands it to his colleague Todd Blanche. There is laughter in the courtroom.

The jurors have returned. One of them, a man, appeared to make eye contact with Emil Bove, the Trump lawyer cross-examining Keith Davidson, as he walked by. Now Bove is questioning Davidson about an item on a website called "The Dirty."

 

Justice Merchan is on the bench. Susan Necheles, one of Trump's lawyers, begins by asking for a clarification on the gag order, giving a copy of some news articles to the judge. The articles are by what she calls “legal commentators” including Jonathan Turley, saying, “These articles are all articles which President Trump would like to post on Truth.” She says they involve some witnesses and aspects of the case, but Trump has “concerns” about posting because they reference witnesses. She asks about “ambiguity” in the gag order.

Christopher Conroy, the prosecutor, says they need to go through the articles but that it’s “odd” that the defense is asking for an advance ruling.

As Conroy asserts that he thinks the gag order is “very specific,” Trump vigorously shakes his head.

Justice Merchan says he is not going to pre-judge Trump's postings. “I’m not going to give advance rulings,” he says. “There is no ambiguity, I believe, in the order.” He advises that if Trump is in doubt, he should "steer clear."

Of all of Trump's lawyers, Justice Merchan is consistently roughest on Necheles, who defended the Trump Organization in a criminal tax case two years ago.

Edited May 2 by Francisco 2.0

[YGIFS 19452]

14 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

And has anyone else noticed one of the CNN reporters LOOKS LIKE STORMY DANIELS?!?!  I mean come on simulation.  That's just amazing.

I'll need a name, or a clip, and possibly a tissue.  

I remember years ago, before I even knew about this affair.  I watched one of those HBO Real Sex episodes.  And it was Katie Morgan (IIRC) and Stormy and they were giving like "behind the scenes" look into porn shoots.  And it stuck with me that as ditzy as she seems, apparently Katie Morgan is mensa-level smart.  And then Stormy was asked about her pre-scene prep.  And she says she goes over her likes and dislikes with the guy before they shoot so nobody gets uncomfortable.  Something about her touching her butthole, sensitive nipples, etc.  But then I still remember her saying something about she says she doesn't condone any 'throat-fucking' because she has a sensitive gag reflex, that she'll control the pace of the oral sex.  And then a famous man passes through her life who couldn't throat fuck a hummingbird with his mushroom dick and her "gag reflex" is now the subject of the most famous "gag order" in jurisprudence history.  

Just remember fellow Surly-ites.  I'm stuck inside a box of madness we call reality.  Judge all you want, but you're stuck in here with me...

[texasdago 7577]

[Zonahorn 8079]

The fakest news

 

[texasdago 7577]

33 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Sorry y'all... I got Onioned. 

[Francisco 2.0 32413]

New Witness:  Douglas Daus

 

Douglas Daus has been excused, but will be back to testify more tomorrow, for a bit at least. We’re done for the day.

Trump left the courtroom, squinting strangely at Lawrence O’Donnell, the MSNBC host, as he did.

Emil Bove, cross-examining the forensic expert Douglas Daus, is questioning him about the chain of custody of Michael Cohen’s phones. He is seeking to imply that perhaps the data on the phones — including the recording of Trump the jury just heard — might be compromised.

The prosecution has finished, and Emil Bove, the defense lawyer, is now cross-examining this witness, Douglas Daus.

The key part of this tape is the end, where Michael Cohen is telling Trump,  “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David.” Cohen says he talked to Allen Weisselberg, who was the Trump Organization's chief financial officer at the time. Cohen references “the financing,” and Trump interjects, “What financing?”

The David, in question, was David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer and first witness at this trial. This call related to the hush-money deal made with Karen McDougal, not with Stormy Daniels. Still, it’s incredibly damning to Trump for jurors to hear how involved he was in this earlier hush-money payment, with all its similarities to the later one.

On the recording, Cohen is talking to Trump, with what sounds like Hope Hicks in the background. Cohen is explaining they had just gotten served by The New York Times to unseal records from Trump’s first divorce. That divorce, from Ivana Trump, was incredibly contentious.

The courtroom is now hearing a recording Michael Cohen secretly made of Trump talking.

The jury continues to be introduced to Michael Cohen in stages. Earlier they heard his voice for the first time during the trial, and now a big photo of Cohen behind the press secretary's lectern in the White House briefing room is being displayed on video screens.

The prosecutor is walking this witness, who extracted data from Michael Cohen's cellphones, through confirming that Cohen was texting with Hope Hicks, at the time Trump’s spokeswoman.

A report from this witness, Douglas Daus, shows that one of Cohen’s phones had 39,745 contacts — a very large number, he noted.

Over the past two weeks of trial, prosecutors have developed a pattern: Call a witness who can testify to the larger scheme  — and who provides several days of sweeping and, at times, dramatic testimony — and then follow it up with dry, but crucial, testimony from a custodial witness.

As a reminder, these custodial witnesses — who are tasked with entering records into evidence — are in part necessary because the defense did not stipulate that the records they are entering are true. In most trials, lawyers agree that certain exhibits should be understood to reflect the truth; Trump’s legal teams typically decline to do so, stretching out proceedings and adding heaps of testimony to his civil and now criminal trials.

The testimony from this witness, Douglas Daus, is so far quite dry, about the mechanics of authenticating a device taken after a search warrant.

It turns out this witness helped extract data from two cellphones belonging to Michael Cohen.

A new witness, who works for the district attorney’s office, has just been sworn in. His name is Douglas Daus and he is a senior forensic analyst.

This may help explain why the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is in the courtroom for the first time in awhile: He may be here to support one of his employees. Bragg is an unusually un-hierarchical district attorney, and has been known to run late to meetings given his fondness for chatting with employees in his office: not just the other prosecutors, but witness aides, paralegals and forensic analysts, like Daus.

Edited May 2 by Francisco 2.0

[jimmyjazz 46075]

Just now, Francisco 2.0 said:

A new witness, who works for the district attorney’s office, has just been sworn in. His name is Douglas Daus and he is a senior forensic analyst.

Well, if that doesn't scream "Deep State", I don't know what would.

[Red Five 40881]

Deep State Doug.

[bluto 4940]

Limu Emu up next 

Edited May 2 by bluto

[SimonBolivar 10958]

37 minutes ago, Zonahorn said:

The fakest news

 

"Especially not today"

 

 

[YGIFS 19452]

37 minutes ago, Zonahorn said:

The fakest news

 

I mean two quick ones that jump out to me with "take it all in"

1.  "I take it all in just like Stormy Daniels.  Which is some small feat."  

2.  "I take it all in and then defecate it out just like VonShitzInPants"

 

[Rimbo 26042]

by the way, if any of y'all have a library card, check if you can get a free subscription to nytimes.com through it

I'm able to read the Times via my library so I don't have to give those anti-Biden tankies any of my money

[Gil Bang 25995]

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

Sorry y'all... I got Onioned. 

Nope.  It was read aloud in court today. 

[Gil Bang 25995]

19 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

by the way, if any of y'all have a library card, check if you can get a free subscription to nytimes.com through it

I'm able to read the Times via my library so I don't have to give those anti-Biden tankies any of my money

I need to know your location so I can get the local GOP to have NYT removed from your library. 

[texasdago 7577]

18 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Nope.  It was read aloud in court today. 

I thought maybe the referenced comment about it being struck from the record was the fake one.  Either way, the fact that any of it is true is glorious.  

[YGIFS 19452]

1 hour ago, Red Five said:

Deep State Doug.

Was he also known as Donkey Dong Doug?  Friends with P.J., Squee, & @Biff Tannen  ???

[Gil Bang 25995]

10 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I thought maybe the referenced comment about it being struck from the record was the fake one.  Either way, the fact that any of it is true is glorious.  

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-von-shitzinpantz-has-formally-been-entered-into-the-record-2024-5

[Rimbo 26042]

22 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

I need to know your location so I can get the local GOP to have NYT removed from your library. 

Aren't you also in America's Finest City too? You can totally be freeloading the NYT just like I am.

(And the LA Times, tho why anyone would read THAT rag is beyond me.)

[Gil Bang 25995]

I actually pay for NYT.  it's only a buck a week, and I feel like I'm supporting a great paper. 

[HenryJames 66157]

51 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

I actually pay for NYT.  it's only a buck a week, and I feel like I'm supporting a great paper. 

Well you’re not.

[Rimbo 26042]

58 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

I actually pay for NYT.  it's only a buck a week, and I feel like I'm supporting a great paper. 

[Smax 3800]

what in the actual fuck...

 

 

[South Austin 52561]

“I can’t answer that, because I’m under a gag order. But I’m going to go ahead and violate the gag order.”

[immamac 42911]

Yeah he violated the gag order immediately what a moron. 

[texasdago 7577]

1 hour ago, Smax said:

what in the actual fuck...

 

 

What a whiny liar. Seriously, this guy takes it to a whole new level... "a level like nobody's ever seen before."

[Sawbonz 27583]

No one has ever had a gag order

[Fudge Nuggets 19211]

3 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

No one has ever had a gag order

It would be cool if he got hold of some under cooked McNuggets and gagged to death on his own vomit.

[YGIFS 19452]

I know it's way down the list of egregiously moronic advice he's gotten from his attorneys who previously specialized in Construction Law, Personal Injury, and Professional Sports Representation.  And I also acknowledge that I have no familiarity with the State of New York's Bar Association.  But the dipshit behind Trump, on camera, agreeing to talk about how he's violating his gag order after telling him not to violate the gag order and then claiming the gag order prohibits him from testifying which he's completely allowed to do despite warnings from his own counsel and then goes to on to violate the gag order again?  I mean, at some point somebody apolitical at the NYS Bar has to take them aside say, "You know that was on the news right?  When you acknowledge complete and total bullshit and don't even coach your client on how gag orders/self-testimony work, that's like a basic function of your fucking job dipshit.  We could suspend you in 60 minutes, but we don't want to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulder.  You go to Samoa University of American Law, SAUL?"  

[The Dog 44115]

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

3 minutes ago, The Dog said:

“The judge must inquire about the substance of confidential attorney client communications”  sounds like some great thinking. 

[TwiceHorn 31526]

Well, the orange shitgibbon moron did in fact say "testify" and that the gag order prevented him from doing so.

But I think we all know he actually meant "talk to the press."  

Which is why it can be so difficult, in a legal/judicial sense, to infer or conclude anything from what he actually says.

[Born to Run 6569]

by the way, if any of y'all have a library card, check if you can get a free subscription to nytimes.com through it
I'm able to read the Times via my library so I don't have to give those anti-Biden tankies any of my money

Good call, and a lot of libraries offer sharing/ reciprocal memberships. I was able to get Austin access for my son Via Lakeway. Allowed us to do Homework all over between soccer games and practice. Libraries get a bad rap, I use one about once a week to knock out work between meetings.
it's not all overdoses and grooming.

I mean come for grooming, but stay for the strong wifi, cold ac, and quiet.

[Born to Run 6569]

Aren't you also in America's Finest City too? You can totally be freeloading the NYT just like I am.
(And the LA Times, tho why anyone would read THAT rag is beyond me.)

San Dimas?

[Rimbo 26042]

40 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

4 hours ago, Rimbo said:

Aren't you also in America's Finest City too? You can totally be freeloading the NYT just like I am.
(And the LA Times, tho why anyone would read THAT rag is beyond me.)

San Dimas?