Smoking Pistols In Trump Trial

From yesterday’s trial testimony (with documents) by Trump company executives — proof the Cohen fee was indeed a cover-up for Stormy payoff, which Trump lawyer denied in his opening statement.

Trump CFO Alan Weisselberg’s contemporaneous handwritten notes recording the underlying scheme – the true reason for payments to Michael Cohen – are written on a copy of the bank account showing the $130,000 hush money wired on Oct. 27 to Stormy Daniels’ lawyer!

———————

But in his opening statement Trump lawyer told jury that’s not what the money was for. Either they didn’t know about the bank statement handwriting, or that was REALLY REALLY stupid. Telling jury stuff you don’t proof is bad move, other side will crucify you.

———————

Trump Controller Jeffrey McConney ‘s handwritten notes showing how they got from $130K to $420K (including grossing up x 2 “for taxes”).

At this point it’s ridiculous for Trump lawyers to keep arguing the Cohen money had nothing to do with Stormy.

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Author: craigcrawford

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66 thoughts on “Smoking Pistols In Trump Trial”

  1. Attribution: Trump Farts In Court by Bob Englehart, PoliticalCartoons.com

     

    Craig, vis a vis your thread topic, didn’t the defense object to those records being introduced but the judge  let them in anyway?  wonder what their argument was as this might come up again in their inevitable appeal.

  2. stephen also recaps trial happenings yesterday

    Donald Trump spent his weekend making his Vice Presidential hopefuls debase themselves in front of GOP donors, Gov. Kristi Noem lied about meeting Kim Jong Un, and the parent company of this network is reportedly in merger talks with Sony.

  3. more colorful commenting on the trial according to huffpo

     Karen McDougal Appears To Address Trump Trial With Not-So-Subtle Book Choice (msn.com)

    Former Playboy model Karen McDougal appeared to comment on Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial with a post on X, formerly Twitter.
    McDougal shared a photograph of what appeared to be her legs inside a bubble-filled bathtub alongside a glass of red wine, a lit candle and a copy of Ronan Farrow’s 2019 book “Catch and Kill.”
    “#Reflecting,” she captioned the image.
    […]
    McDougal has said she had a monthslong affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. Trump married his third wife, Melania Trump, in 2004. Trump has denied a relationship with McDougal. But the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., has previously confirmed it paid McDougal $150,000 for the exclusive rights to her and Trump’s alleged romance as part of its “catch and kill” scheme to nix potentially damaging stories about Trump from coming out during his 2016 presidential run.
    Former Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified about the payment to McDougal, which is not part of the criminal case against Trump, during the first week of Trump’s trial.
    McDougal’s choice of bath-time reading was pertinent.
    Farrow’s book exposed how high-profile public figures and organizations tried to cover up damaging stories. It included details on the Enquirer’s alleged destruction of sensitive documents about Trump before the 2016 election.
    [continues]

  4. Smoking Pistols:

    OLBERMANN
    A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: The reaction to Justice Merchan’s stark warning to Trump that he may put him in jail the next time he violates the gag order, and the defense inside the Trump cult of Kristi Noem for murdering her dog and threatening Biden’s dog – these are actually the same story.
    The point is: killing.
    They are about one thing: at their core, Noem and Trump and MAGA and Trump’s Supreme Court Justices and his slaves inside the House and the Senate believe they have a right to kill. Today, they have a right to kill their dogs. Tomorrow? Your dog. Then the judge. The day after that immigrants. Finally, anything and anybody.
    Do not mistake them, nor what this is about. Do not forget that even as chilling a phrase as “political violence” is itself just a euphemism. Political violence is: murder. Individual murder, mass murder, or if the rest of us are lucky, just attempted murder or threatened murder.
    Every Trump attack on every witness, on every judge, on every prosecutor, on every opponent; every stochastic call to “end” this; every reference to “bedlam”; every meme of the President of the United States bound and gagged; every Tim Scott refusing to honor the outcome of an election; every reference to patriots and deep states and rigged elections and I am your retribution – they all have the unspoken second half: those who try to stop us will do what we say or we will kill them. One third of Trump supporters who’ve heard about Noem killing her dog told a YouGov poll that it WAS acceptable. 29 percent weren’t sure. So the total of Trump voters who would not criticize it was six out of ten.

  5. Old Berman, Part Two: NYTimes’ Sulzberger is aiding and abetting the Smoking Guns:
     
    AS THIS UNFOLDS, THE NEW YORK TIMES completely disconnects from reality.
    “When you are Democrat you start off essentially at 40 percent (of the vote) because you have civil service, you have the unions and you have welfare. They get welfare to vote, and then they cheat on top of that. They cheat,” Trump said of Biden and the Democrats. “’These people are running a Gestapo administration’ Mr. Trump told donors who attended the event at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.”
    An audio recording. OBTAINED by The New York Times.
    Where is this recording?
    Why has this recording not been made public by The Times? Why is the paper suppressing it?
    Incredibly, at the same time the paper’s editor gave an interview to Semafor News that discredits everyone who works at The Times as he dismisses any awareness that his coverage has normalized Trump without a sufficient sense of crisis or threat. “To say that the threats of democracy are so great that the media is going to abandon its central role as a source of impartial information to help people vote – that’s essentially saying that the news media should become a propaganda arm for a single candidate, because we prefer that candidate’s agenda,” said Joe Kahn. “It’s our job to cover the full range of issues that people have. At the moment, democracy is one of them. But it’s not the top one – immigration happens to be the top, and the economy and inflation is the second. Should we stop covering those things because they’re favorable to Trump?”
    Nothing to see here. Just the editor-in-chief of The New York Times living in a world defined by Fox News talking points, and populated entirely by strawmen.

  9. I’m curious what they need Stormy for. It’s irrelevant to the case whether or not they had sex, and the negotiations for payment went through her lawyer who has already testified.

  11. Poobah, I suspect that the prosecution is putting Stormy on for 2 reasons – the first, because if they didn’t the jury would wonder why not since the payment was to silence her during the election period (is that relevant?  Yes, to the extent it violates federal election law.) and second, to rebut the widespread public denial of Dumbass about having had sex with her while Melania was busy wit the new baby, which goes to Dumbass’ credibility.  Neither is a big deal but if Merchan allows testimony about that, it puts pressure on Dumbass to testify in rebuttal to it. I think THAT’A what Bragg’s team is really up to.  My thought is they are trying to play his narcissistic personality to overcome any tendency he might have to follow his lawyers’ advice for a change. Plus, there’s always the chance they might ask her about his mushroom.

  12. And of course, there’s this – WaPo:

    The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it took control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt overnight, marking its first ground incursion into the southern Gazan city. Wael Abu Omar, a Gaza border official, said travel and the flow of aid into the Strip “stopped completely” as a result. Israel said it would send mediators to Egypt to negotiate a cease-fire and hostage-release deal, renewing hopes for a pause in fighting even as it vowed to press on with its military operation in Rafah.

    Of course the aid through the Rafah crossing stopped.  Isn’t that the point?

  13. Yep Pogo. That could be the motive. Best I can figure is she can testify to the sudden urgency to shut her up after the Access Hollywood tape, which goes to proving they only paid her off for the election.

  15. Smart move having woman question Stormy. SUSAN HOFFINGER — The chief of the district attorney’s Investigation Division, she returned to the office in 2022 after more than 20 years in private practice with her sister, Fran. She worked on the Trump Organization tax fraud prosecution.

  16. Stormy met Trump in hotel gift shop. Had not heard that before. He promised her a spot on Apprentice. Wonder how often he used that line.

  18. With her testimony about the sexual encounter I wonder if prosecutors are trying to bait Trump into testifying, because he has always strongly denied it ever happened.

  21. Media pool report: “Daniels says when Trump showed her a photo of Melania, she said she was beautiful. He said not to worry, “We don’t even sleep in the same room.” Trump shook his head and muttered something to his legal team as she said this. He appears increasingly irritated as she testifies.”

  22. I can now see a prosecution rationale in that by getting into the details of their encounter it reinforces why Trump was so eager to silence her before the election.

  28. Media pool report: ‘Trump has touched the arm of his attorney seated to his right, Susan Necheles, twice now, seeming to urge her to object to the questioning.”

  29. Sturg, I am following several reporters on X, who are in the courtroom or media room. But CNN doing a good job keeping up in real time.

  31. A meeting is when people get together for any reason. But when they are sneaking to meet, notably as secret lovers, it’s called a tryst. The origin of the word tryst comes from Middle English, and originally referred to a designated hunting station. Today it has come to refer to mainly romantic meetings, often with a secretive feel to it. (That’s appropriate — aren’t we all hunting for love?) The word tryst might also suggest a hint of danger or intrigue. Perhaps the most romantic tryst in literature was the meeting between Romeo and Juliet — and just look where they ended up

    https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tryst

  32. Kudos to Stuart Varney for not letting her wiggle out.. ‘You Need to Stop!’ Kristi Noem Loses It At Fox Host For Repeatedly Asking About Puppy Killing.. https://mediaite.com/a/zulzi

    “This interview is ridiculous, which you are doing right now,” she exasperated to her host. “So you need to stop! It is okay. It is. Let’s talk about some real topics that Americans care about,” to which the Fox Business host replied. “I’m afraid we’re out of time.”

  35. The courtroom sketches are uuuh, a laughable abomination.  They’ve made Stormy look like Adolf’s fraternal twin.  Ahhh, I wish there were cameras in that courtroom.  When is Georgia?

  36. Almost on topic.

    The lining of the cape was embroidered with ravens. So was the sequined high-neck gown underneath. The hips and shoulders of the dress were exaggerated in a way that made her feel “powerful,” Ms. Ferguson said. The whole ensemble was covered in 60,000 green and blue Swarovski crystals embroidered into flowers. (This is one of those garments that designers proudly provide numbers for. At least 30 people worked on it for 8,500 hours.)
    Ravens were a motif in Mr. Browne’s most recent runway show, which took some inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Ms. Ferguson said she spent some time trying to “analyze” the poem in relation to “The Garden of Time,” the J.G. Ballard short story that inspired the Met Gala’s dress code.
    “I was trying to combine all of this imagery of his poetry and the dress, and I was like, ‘I’m going too far. No one else is going to think about this,’” she said. “It’s free, it’s spiritual, it’s timeless.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/fashion/rebecca-ferguson-met-gala-thom-browne.html

  37. BiD — On the Georgia case, Fanni’s request for an Aug. 5 trial is still on the table. Judge hasn’t said no, but hasn’t ruled on a schedule. Although it might have been telling he recently denied defense requests to postpone deadline for pre-trial motions.

  38. So this must be why they weren’t objecting . defense moves for a mistrial. Claims the testimony was not relevant, outside guardrails & very prejudicial

    The trouble with this approach instead of objecting — the jury heard the objectionable testimony.

    When getting a mistrial is your strategy you must think you’re losing.

  39. This is must be where the mistrial motion comes from..

    Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    THE PROSECUTION, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!

    May 07, 2024, 1:56 PM

  40. … and “Echoing his attorneys’ request for a mistrial, Donald Trump posted an all-caps message on social media, saying the prosecution ‘HAS GONE TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!'” Flirting with another contempt petition for commenting on a witness and evidence? I’m guessing that mistrial motion will fall on deaf ears.

  41. How he spent his lunch break .

    Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    This Witch Hunt is FALSE ANCIENT HISTORY that was fully adjudicated by the Voters in the 2016 Presidential Election. It only has to do with Election Interference, and trying to help Crooked Joe Biden get elected because he can’t do it by himself. It is a vicious attack by the Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, in strict coordination with the D.O.J. and the White House, on Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. IT IS ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND STRICTLY THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!

    May 07, 2024, 1:56 PM

    How was it “adjudicated by the voters” when you hid it from them?

  42. As I predicted:

    Justice Juan Merchan said a mistrial is not warranted, even though Stormy Daniels was allowed to say some things during her testimony that the jury should not have heard. (WaPo)

    Nice try, though.😂

  43. Judge just struck down mistrial motion, but said witness was a “bit out of control” and he was surprised they didn’t object more, suggesting he might have sustained them.

  45. Echoing your comment, Poobah, WaPo

     
    Jurors were previously shown evidence of Trump denying Stormy affair

    By Zach Purser Brown and Blair Guild

    A week ago, on April 30, the jury was shown footage of then-presidential candidate Trump at a rally in Greensboro, N.C., in October 2016, denying allegations of an affair with Stormy Daniels. “The stories are total fiction,” he said “They are 100 percent made up. They never happened.”
     
    Trump told the crowd, “If maybe 5 percent of people think it’s true — and maybe 10 percent think it — we don’t win.”

    Dumbass is disconnected from himself.  The video the jurors were shown a week ago laid the basis for what would otherwise have been irrelevant (except to the extent it went to stae of mind). He said “Didn’t happen.” She refuted that.

  47. When getting a mistrial is your strategy you must think you’re losing.

    hence the all-caps panic-posting
     
    hell of a prosecution, guess we’ll
    see if the jury is uncompromised 🤔 

  48. Ruh roh. NYT.

    Stormy Daniels is now being asked about a statement she signed denying having had an affair with Trump, dated Jan. 10, 2018. This is the same statement that Trump recently posted on Truth Social had been “JUST FOUND.”
    Todd Blanche struggled to defend the post last week in a contempt hearing related to Trump’s gag order. The statement clearly had not just been found.

    Contempt anyone?

  49. LOL, from NYT:

    As Stormy Daniels was testifying about her defamation claim against Trump, the former president appeared for a while to be solidly asleep.(Jonathan Swan)

    Some of the jurors, while Trump rests, are taking detailed notes on Daniels’s testimony. (Maggie Haberman)

    I guess that all caps posting during the lunch break just tuckered Dumbass out.

  50. Stormy was on a show (Kimmel?) and the signature didn’t look like hers. 

    If I ever have to sign something under duress, it will definitely not look like my signature.

  51. He couldn’t be “solidly asleep” unless they have him buckled into the chair.

  52. Defense is trying very hard to prove Stormy lied about their encounter, but even if the jury believes she’s lying, that doesn’t change the fact that she was paid for silence with falsely reported money to hide her story from voters — which is the charge.

  54. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-has-been-holding-up-several-weapons-shipments-israel-2-weeks-source-says-2024-05-07/
     “U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has been holding up certain Boeing-made arms shipments to Israel, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in what two of them said was an apparent political message to the close U.S. ally.”
    “The shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones, as well as Small Diameter Bombs.”

    “Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas has led to a seven-month-long military campaign that has killed a total of 34,789 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.”

    “The conflict has also left many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people on the brink of starvation…”

  55. When we are tired we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.
    —FW Nietzsche

  56. Apparently, Stormy got a little too graphic for their taste.  She must have been talking about mushrooms again.

     

  58. lol most blatant play for a potential SCOTUS nom ever 🤮 

    “…he can’t make me Chief Justice if he’s not the President!”

  59. Judge Cannon is in over her head with the complexities of the case, plus the pressure to perform to the expectations of the defendant. She’s boondoggling in the hopes the job will magically go away before revealing her incompetence or precluding her promotion out of it. 

  60. President Biden on Tuesday condemned a “ferocious surge of antisemitism” in the United States following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel and said people were already forgetting the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
    Speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance, Mr. Biden tied the anti-Jewish sentiment that led to the Nazi effort to exterminate Jews directly to Oct. 7.
    “This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust,” he said. “It didn’t end with the Holocaust, either.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/us/politics/biden-antisemitism-holocaust-speech.html

     

  62. For Jews monitoring a spike in hate crimes and instances of antisemitic rhetoric amid pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, Mr. Biden’s speech at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the Capitol was both fiercely necessary and fiercely appreciated. The Anti-Defamation League, which has been tracking antisemitic incidents since the 1970s, says the number of such episodes has reached all-time highs in four of the last five years.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/us/politics/biden-antisemitism-speech-reactions.html

  64. wisest lyric ever?

    (the whippersnapper set has not heard these songs two million times like us 🤯)

  65. “One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.”

    -Lou Reed

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