Let's be clear, WE have to be the ones standing back and standing by. But the time for us is to stand back has passed. We need to step forward onto the front lines of this most important battle. We won't win from the back lines. We won't win by wishing that things were different. We will win by standing strong in the largest voting block in history!
The big problem is the scary Electoral College. Some real creeps have lost the popular vote and still became president, including George Bush (in 2000 thanks to hanging Florida chads and 1 Supreme Court vote) and tffg🎃🤡💩🪳 who had 2.8 million less votes than Hillary Clinton. Another thing that scares me is the prejudice of maggats against a mixed race female vice-president and her Jewish husband. That is the real issue of the holier-than-thous who believe tffg is a good Christian. This is what makes them love Putin and Hitler and the bigorangehater🤡.
In one of her chats, Heather Cox Richardson opined that a reason for Trump not being concerned about getting votes to win is because he's banking on the election being thrown to the House of Representatives to decide.
"In the event that neither Trump nor Biden receives the necessary 270 electoral votes, the election would move to the House of Representatives, which elects the president by giving each state delegation one vote."
"The current Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate are indicators of what could happen if voting goes to Congress. But, importantly, the incoming House and Senate would be responsible for picking the president and vice president, respectively — not the outgoing lawmakers."
So, the down ballot candidates are as crucial for who will win the presidency as the votes for the president are.
Hasn’t the RNC decided that all its efforts ($) will go to electing TFG, down ballot elections be damned? I hope the DNC is taking a far more holistic approach.
The RNC is spending all its money on the Yam's legal bills. With the Yam's hand-picked Chair and his DIL as Co-Chair, everything and all efforts are focused on him.
Where is the cash coming from to support downticket races? The Speaker doesn't seem to be the same prolific fund raiser that McCarthy was. Those funds aren't going to raise themselves.
The electoral college should be discontinued. Voting twice is not necessary and election wins should go to the individual that wins majority popular vote.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around being a "good Christian" and at the same time loving Putin, Hitler, and tfg. And thinking that someone as hateful as trump could be a good Christian. Our country is very confusing these days.
as a Christian I am appalled that the far right calls themselves Christians when they are the opposite of Jesus who was love, forgiveness, truth, kindness, & all good things. but the horrid far right is all hate, retribution, lies. etc. So shameful.
now when I say God Bless You, I usually add that I'm definitely not a far-right so-called Christian. They've (far right) stolen our flag & our Christian name.
The problem is they’ve been indoctrinated for forty years by both Fox and CBN into believing false historical bs by those who are using religion to support a false god which is GREED and to fulfill that greed they must have power and that means by any method that it takes to get it.
Unfortunately you are right. But I've lived too long to want to go there - I prefer the world the way I learned it was when I was growing up - where things made sense. It's hard watching sanity deteriorate.
Don’t be scared shitless. TFG will be found guilty and he will for the time being, become a convicted felon. Hands down. I intend to return to court next Tuesday to be a silent witness in court and a vocal one outside if the need arises. With press credentials, I can and will tap out in real time. See ya then.
You transcribed my feeling with great precision, on seeing that smug, smirking face of his. I swear, little Mattie has a face that screams out for a good slap. Maybe two.
I came to this country fleeing the same corruption. I first qualified to vote in 2016 and knew immediately that this ship was going down if tfg won. Where I came from is worse, but we have people here who will not give up on democracy. I’m with you in this fight.
He’ll win his district again in a landslide. They love him. We can’t fix stupid. We’re so screwed. Bye bye America. It was fun while it lasted. We’ll be ‘ruled’ by unserious asses who’ll throw granny & pappy out in the street.
He’s terrible for our District and people are starting to realize He’s nothing like his father Don Gaetz
His father is the reason he got elected in the first place I’m not voting for him Never have There used to be a billboard in Pensacola showing his orange jumpsuit mugshot after a DUI
I call the Trump apologists, "The Goebbels Brigade" because Goebbels was Hitlers propaganda man and spun gold out of straw. He told the Germans that Hitler cared about them like a benevolent father, that when things were hard they should suck it up for the country, and that things were going well when they were not. So, that would be Matt "Goebbels" Gätz and Lauren "Goebbels" Böbert. (Normally when you don't have an umlaut on a typewriter you put an e next to the vowel to make an umlaut, so I am changing their names back to the "correct German" spelling. I reserve a different name for Abbott. He is Greg "Himmler" Abbott, because Himmler was in charge of the death camps, and Himmler Abbott is already getting set up to do this by killing Mexican immigrants as they try to cross the border without a judge or jury or trial, just an executioner. He is turning his state into a death camp. Himmler Abbott is all 3 rolled into one. It is clear he is getting set up to do mass killings of people. What will happen to the people in Texas who are part of the Democratic Party. People like Representative Jasmine Crockett, who is part of the resistance movement to the fascist state she lives in. I have to say that with the Supreme court being so compromised I do not see the legal system as fair, and nothing about Trump's legal handling says fair. I see the Supreme Court handing the election to Trump in the end. Let us hope that if they do this, the military will stand with the person that actually won. All I know is that the American people should be preparing for that now, and not after the fact. Europe is growing increasingly right wing, as Putin proves that his Bots are more powerful than Democratic Bots. A counter to that is the demonstrations. I wish college students were as compelled to fight now for our democracy as they are for Gaza. This will be a life lesson for all of them if Trump wins and all sorts of rights that they don't think about are gone, and if they get deported to who knows where, can't just send people somewhere. The AfD in Germany thinks it is good when people are dual citizens, because then one can just send them back to the country of their other passport. Many Americans have only one passport though, so that is not so easy to do in the US.
Rachael Maddow described them as the Rocketts...when I stopped laughing, I had to agree. Do they even have a clue how stupid they look? I don't think they do...but stupid is as stupid does.
They made an effort to not dress alike yesterday. Cracks me up. The only thing that bothered them about the reactions to the first day of their circus was their costumes and not anything they said or that they attacked our justice system in favor of their lying, stealing, raping, cheating golden calf 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
As we know, the problem is they are seen by enough people as being courageous supporters of the wrongfully accused that it is mighty scary. I don't know how that happened or how anybody could consider that the right way to liberty, but i look and there it is before my eyes. Stupid and scary.
I had to look up catamite. Even scarier and yuckier than any other descriptors. Unfortunately you painted a picture my brain has run with… waking nightmare.
So, is Greg Abbot saying that it's okay to shoot anyone carrying an assault rifle around in public. If so, things in Texas are about to get very interesting indeed
So they treat the guy - Kyle Rittenhouse - who illegally crossed state lines with a gun that was not legally registered to him and shot and then killed a protestor and the GOP treated him as a hero. Same thing here. Murdered for being black. It's disgusting. If I believed in hell I would want them to rot there.
If I were a jurer I would wonder, "Where is Schiller's testimony for the defense?" Seems logical he could resolve the question of what was said. Without that info I would discount it as a factor in my decision and based on the checks and invoices, Trump knew what he was paying for and agreed to pay for it. Why didn't Trump just stiff Cohen like he does everybody else!
Thank you for including the Greg Abbot pardon, Joyce. I have reached a point where things like this are appalling but unsurprising. They may shock me, but not surprise me. Were the principles that the GOP promoted for generations all a lie? I don't think so, but they have been weakened since the Reagan years to a point where today's Republicans turn away from them with no sense of irony, only loyalty to the cult of Trump. This election is critical for the country, but the work will hardly be over, no matter the result.
As I understand it, Daniel Perry was pardoned in part based on Texas’ Stand Your Ground Laws. Apparently if you announce your plans to kill BLM protesters on social media, then drive your car into a crowd of them and shoot one, so long as what, your claim car is your domicile you can get away with it!? Exactly what ground was Daniel Perry standing after attempting vehicular homicide?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s any reason a civilian should be carrying an AK-47 or any other assault type rifle but it was legal where the victim had it. I also don’t think civilians should carry guns at all, but that’s another whole issue. What is additionally appalling is that apparently Daniel Perry now has his rights to carry guns restored. Because that’s such a good idea.
That's the pisser to that case, Daniel Perry wrote on social media (I think it was FB) about killing BLM protesters. I don't understand how his killing was self defense. I'm not a lawyer, but that sounds like premeditation.
No, Sioux, the fact that a "peaceful" protester was carrying a loaded AK-47 in a "low ready" position (look it up) is not just "another whole issue" but is precisely the issue here. And Perry was on the job, as an Uber driver, delivering a customer, and ended up trapped by the protestors, who were blocking the streets. He could not get away, and the protestors surrounded his car, doing damage to it, and then the protestor approaches him with a loaded ASSAULT weapon in a "low ready" position and started to raise up the weapon as if to shoot. Perry was active military and recognized the threat as what it was. What is peaceful about those facts??????
In my experience chaotic cross was likely to turn off the jury; it was a cardinal cross examination sin, it reveals lack of skill and lack of confidence. Also, screaming “you lied” is a sign of abject desperation.
So the defense theory (politely speaking) is that because Cohen didn't remember or misremembered one of what must have been a flurry of phone calls at the time and --- disregarding all of the other largely unimpeached testimony and a paper trail a mile long --- the jury must acquit on 34 counts? Yeah, that's the ticket.
I believe those phone calls were from eight years ago. Who remembers phone calls/conversations from eight years ago? That's ridiculous. It appears the Defense is trying to throw anything that will stick to the wall.
It is pretty much an article of faith among those who practice trial law, that jurors generally become protective of the courtroom, the process in which they're involved and especially of a firm but fair presiding judge. Trump's antics in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial probably cost him a few extra million. Here, the defense's minor "gotcha" moment almost certainly will be overshadowed not only by all the probative evidence that preceded it, but such performative events as Blanche's laughable attempt at showing anger and Orange 1's emotional support gerbils conspicuously filing into court during the cross-examination. Very little escapes a jury, and anything that can be considered disrespect, in particular.
I agree, they don't seem to have any witnesses on his behalf, so he gathered his gang together for some intimidation. It's amazing that trump thinks people outside his world intimidate so easily. Notice there's no NY congresspeople in that group.
Ben Wittes pointed out that in most every trial where a judge or jury has gotten a good look at DJT, they have found against him. This will be the same.
The prosecution was well aware that there would be credibility issues with Cohen and therefore introduced into evidence abundant documentary evidence and other testimony corroborating all of the key elements of the crimes for which Trump is charged.
The bait and switch trick that Blanche pulled on Cohen does not in the least undermine the prosecution's case, and no amount of smoke and mirrors and gladitorial histrionics have been produced by Trump's lawyers to weaken the paper trail and other corroborating evidence and testimony leading directly to Trump.
I also believe that it did not go unnoticed by the members of the jury that Trump orchestrated a spectacle for their benefit by parading his high profile Republican sycophants into the courtroom to both dazzle and intimidate them into disregarding the evidence. Trump has been all about manipulating people to service and promote him, and this was a prime example of Trump's exploitation of show biz theatrics to try to win over the jury.
I do firmly believe tffg put out a “call to action” because he is under a gag order. He thinks this violation is “disguised” because he didn’t do the talking. Proud Boys v 2.
His look-alike minions coming into the courtroom (on our taxpayer time), are there to unmistakably intimidate. That's going to backfire on trump with the jury. If you know you're innocent and feel you've successfully demonstrated that, you don't need to recruit a group of mini-me's that obediently come dressed like him (so there's no missing they're there for him) to appear in the courtroom in a display of might for the purpose of intimidating the judge and jury. I actually love this clearly desperate move. Can only hurt him.
I hope you are able to catch up on rest this weekend. The double overtime you've pulled this week has been formidable ... do take care of yourself please.
Whatever Cohen sez, there is documentary evidence of the conspiracy. Weiselberg‘s (sp?) writing all over the exhibit detailing payout is the smoking gun. I look at Cohen‘s testimony as icing on the cake. Ok, I may be naive, but, placing myself on the jury, I would find for the prosecution. In fact, all the noise around Cohen may be a red herring. Keep the faith !
What's next in your home state Joyce, after attempting to stop women from traveling to another for abortion care --- building a series of Female Inspection Stations? Get your vehicle and privates inspected in one trip ? Annual registration renewals for car and body? And "can you top this" will undoubtedly continue elsewhere. "Constitution ? Constitution !? We don't need no stinkin' Constitution!"
The smug face on the sketchy, sociopathic, amoral and thoroughly reprehensible Matt Gaetz made me lose my figurative breakfast.
VOTE! Its the only way we'll rid ourselves of this Republican disease, or this country will fester until it dies of sepsis.
I'm scared shitless.
Let's be clear, WE have to be the ones standing back and standing by. But the time for us is to stand back has passed. We need to step forward onto the front lines of this most important battle. We won't win from the back lines. We won't win by wishing that things were different. We will win by standing strong in the largest voting block in history!
The big problem is the scary Electoral College. Some real creeps have lost the popular vote and still became president, including George Bush (in 2000 thanks to hanging Florida chads and 1 Supreme Court vote) and tffg🎃🤡💩🪳 who had 2.8 million less votes than Hillary Clinton. Another thing that scares me is the prejudice of maggats against a mixed race female vice-president and her Jewish husband. That is the real issue of the holier-than-thous who believe tffg is a good Christian. This is what makes them love Putin and Hitler and the bigorangehater🤡.
In one of her chats, Heather Cox Richardson opined that a reason for Trump not being concerned about getting votes to win is because he's banking on the election being thrown to the House of Representatives to decide.
"In the event that neither Trump nor Biden receives the necessary 270 electoral votes, the election would move to the House of Representatives, which elects the president by giving each state delegation one vote."
"The current Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate are indicators of what could happen if voting goes to Congress. But, importantly, the incoming House and Senate would be responsible for picking the president and vice president, respectively — not the outgoing lawmakers."
So, the down ballot candidates are as crucial for who will win the presidency as the votes for the president are.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4652293-donald-trump-joe-biden-electoral-college-tie-congress/
Thanks Lynell. So we are back to get out and vote. Vote. Vote. Let’s cover all the bases blue 💙💙💙💙💙. The GOTV texting operations are very well done.
Agree, Gigi!
I’m voting straight blue. I don’t have to like the candidate. In numbers we have strength.
I don’t think the majority of John/Joan Q Public truly recognize the significance of their down ballot votes and THAT IS SCARY!
Hasn’t the RNC decided that all its efforts ($) will go to electing TFG, down ballot elections be damned? I hope the DNC is taking a far more holistic approach.
Whether or not they stated that, Margaret, I have no doubt that it is true.
The RNC is spending all its money on the Yam's legal bills. With the Yam's hand-picked Chair and his DIL as Co-Chair, everything and all efforts are focused on him.
Where is the cash coming from to support downticket races? The Speaker doesn't seem to be the same prolific fund raiser that McCarthy was. Those funds aren't going to raise themselves.
Good to know. Thanks Lynell.
The electoral college should be discontinued. Voting twice is not necessary and election wins should go to the individual that wins majority popular vote.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around being a "good Christian" and at the same time loving Putin, Hitler, and tfg. And thinking that someone as hateful as trump could be a good Christian. Our country is very confusing these days.
as a Christian I am appalled that the far right calls themselves Christians when they are the opposite of Jesus who was love, forgiveness, truth, kindness, & all good things. but the horrid far right is all hate, retribution, lies. etc. So shameful.
Me, too. I find that I don't want to let anyone know that I am Christian - the kind that believes in the real Jesus, as you do.
Same here!
now when I say God Bless You, I usually add that I'm definitely not a far-right so-called Christian. They've (far right) stolen our flag & our Christian name.
The problem is they’ve been indoctrinated for forty years by both Fox and CBN into believing false historical bs by those who are using religion to support a false god which is GREED and to fulfill that greed they must have power and that means by any method that it takes to get it.
In these times, in is out, up is down, right becomes wrong, and left is right.
Unfortunately you are right. But I've lived too long to want to go there - I prefer the world the way I learned it was when I was growing up - where things made sense. It's hard watching sanity deteriorate.
Like
ditto scared shitless for me
Don’t be scared shitless. TFG will be found guilty and he will for the time being, become a convicted felon. Hands down. I intend to return to court next Tuesday to be a silent witness in court and a vocal one outside if the need arises. With press credentials, I can and will tap out in real time. See ya then.
Your optimism eludes me. Unfortunate.
I don't know what TFG stands for?
I hope you are right but I'm totally worried about the jury doing their job correctly & saying trump is guilty.
Or, more politely “The former guy”. It’s a way to mention him without using his name.
thanks for answering my question. Now I know.
That “effing” Guy
So am I..scared to death.
Me too
Iam so tired of living like we are wating for the world to end.
I went on a rampage on substack and every post about every piece of GOP shit I cursed every MF and called them every name in the book
You transcribed my feeling with great precision, on seeing that smug, smirking face of his. I swear, little Mattie has a face that screams out for a good slap. Maybe two.
I’ve packed a getaway bag….
Where ya gonna go ? I understand Canada is building a wall....Ha Ha
I've been practicing slinging a sledge hammer .....
I came to this country fleeing the same corruption. I first qualified to vote in 2016 and knew immediately that this ship was going down if tfg won. Where I came from is worse, but we have people here who will not give up on democracy. I’m with you in this fight.
He’ll win his district again in a landslide. They love him. We can’t fix stupid. We’re so screwed. Bye bye America. It was fun while it lasted. We’ll be ‘ruled’ by unserious asses who’ll throw granny & pappy out in the street.
He’s terrible for our District and people are starting to realize He’s nothing like his father Don Gaetz
His father is the reason he got elected in the first place I’m not voting for him Never have There used to be a billboard in Pensacola showing his orange jumpsuit mugshot after a DUI
He looks best in Orange lol
I thought he was going to run for governor, since the current one is term limited.
I call the Trump apologists, "The Goebbels Brigade" because Goebbels was Hitlers propaganda man and spun gold out of straw. He told the Germans that Hitler cared about them like a benevolent father, that when things were hard they should suck it up for the country, and that things were going well when they were not. So, that would be Matt "Goebbels" Gätz and Lauren "Goebbels" Böbert. (Normally when you don't have an umlaut on a typewriter you put an e next to the vowel to make an umlaut, so I am changing their names back to the "correct German" spelling. I reserve a different name for Abbott. He is Greg "Himmler" Abbott, because Himmler was in charge of the death camps, and Himmler Abbott is already getting set up to do this by killing Mexican immigrants as they try to cross the border without a judge or jury or trial, just an executioner. He is turning his state into a death camp. Himmler Abbott is all 3 rolled into one. It is clear he is getting set up to do mass killings of people. What will happen to the people in Texas who are part of the Democratic Party. People like Representative Jasmine Crockett, who is part of the resistance movement to the fascist state she lives in. I have to say that with the Supreme court being so compromised I do not see the legal system as fair, and nothing about Trump's legal handling says fair. I see the Supreme Court handing the election to Trump in the end. Let us hope that if they do this, the military will stand with the person that actually won. All I know is that the American people should be preparing for that now, and not after the fact. Europe is growing increasingly right wing, as Putin proves that his Bots are more powerful than Democratic Bots. A counter to that is the demonstrations. I wish college students were as compelled to fight now for our democracy as they are for Gaza. This will be a life lesson for all of them if Trump wins and all sorts of rights that they don't think about are gone, and if they get deported to who knows where, can't just send people somewhere. The AfD in Germany thinks it is good when people are dual citizens, because then one can just send them back to the country of their other passport. Many Americans have only one passport though, so that is not so easy to do in the US.
Perfect description of Gaetz.
Those dress-alike guys in red ties remind me of the Stepford Wives.
Rachael Maddow described them as the Rocketts...when I stopped laughing, I had to agree. Do they even have a clue how stupid they look? I don't think they do...but stupid is as stupid does.
They made an effort to not dress alike yesterday. Cracks me up. The only thing that bothered them about the reactions to the first day of their circus was their costumes and not anything they said or that they attacked our justice system in favor of their lying, stealing, raping, cheating golden calf 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Absolutely shows their shallowness!
They left their polo shirts, khaki pants, and tiki torches at home.
Next time maybe they will, I hope the ignite themselves with the tiki torches. What a shame that would be.
More like rockheads...
I still don't get how thoughts are posted. Meaning this post references a post comparing the red ties to the rockettes....
As we know, the problem is they are seen by enough people as being courageous supporters of the wrongfully accused that it is mighty scary. I don't know how that happened or how anybody could consider that the right way to liberty, but i look and there it is before my eyes. Stupid and scary.
Stupid AND immature bullies!
Fellow penguins sliding off the Trump/GOP glacier come November.
Stepford Husbands?
Stepford catamites?
Oooo, now there's a word I haven't seen in a long while. Good one, though.
I had to look up catamite. Even scarier and yuckier than any other descriptors. Unfortunately you painted a picture my brain has run with… waking nightmare.
Well done.
I know--and don't they look stupid. Nearly as stupid as does their worthless Maximum Leader.
Exactly. In fact the GOP itself has become a Wife.
or Lollipop Guild
I keep thinking they need straw hats and canes, that they should break into a soft shoe routine.
So, is Greg Abbot saying that it's okay to shoot anyone carrying an assault rifle around in public. If so, things in Texas are about to get very interesting indeed
Only if they're Black,
Or brown. Or red. Just as long as they are not pasty white.
So they treat the guy - Kyle Rittenhouse - who illegally crossed state lines with a gun that was not legally registered to him and shot and then killed a protestor and the GOP treated him as a hero. Same thing here. Murdered for being black. It's disgusting. If I believed in hell I would want them to rot there.
Wasn't texas going to secede.....
No dear, if you check your facts (see my lengthy post, it is NOT the same thing here.
Could you give us a link to your post? It would be a contribution to understanding a broader base of frameworks of reasoned thinking.
Thanks
Bob, sorry but I don't know how to do that. Feel free to copy & paste it for your use.
Okay.
Thanks for taking part in these comments.
It's nice to be appreciated!
If I were a jurer I would wonder, "Where is Schiller's testimony for the defense?" Seems logical he could resolve the question of what was said. Without that info I would discount it as a factor in my decision and based on the checks and invoices, Trump knew what he was paying for and agreed to pay for it. Why didn't Trump just stiff Cohen like he does everybody else!
Thank you for laying out the "Perry Mason moment" and poking it from all sides for us.
The Republicans continue to carry trump's water. I just wish they'd drown in it.
I had the same thought about the speed of the Menendez trial. It seems like yesterday he was indicted!
for the second time!! Remember he was accused before. Hes no victim.
The arrogance of these accused folks continues to amaze me. How Menendez figures he will explain the cash and gold bars and car is clearly delusional.
He blamed his wife.
Yep and he didn't take it down until neighbors reported.
That seems to be a thing these days —blaming the wife.
Thank you for including the Greg Abbot pardon, Joyce. I have reached a point where things like this are appalling but unsurprising. They may shock me, but not surprise me. Were the principles that the GOP promoted for generations all a lie? I don't think so, but they have been weakened since the Reagan years to a point where today's Republicans turn away from them with no sense of irony, only loyalty to the cult of Trump. This election is critical for the country, but the work will hardly be over, no matter the result.
TX is a wild country when "legally carrying an AK-47" is normal.
Or even legal…WTF
But when you do walk around w/an AK...
Abbott’s TX fascism!
As I understand it, Daniel Perry was pardoned in part based on Texas’ Stand Your Ground Laws. Apparently if you announce your plans to kill BLM protesters on social media, then drive your car into a crowd of them and shoot one, so long as what, your claim car is your domicile you can get away with it!? Exactly what ground was Daniel Perry standing after attempting vehicular homicide?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s any reason a civilian should be carrying an AK-47 or any other assault type rifle but it was legal where the victim had it. I also don’t think civilians should carry guns at all, but that’s another whole issue. What is additionally appalling is that apparently Daniel Perry now has his rights to carry guns restored. Because that’s such a good idea.
The jury agreed with you and he got 25 years. Abbott is a MAGA rogue.
That's the pisser to that case, Daniel Perry wrote on social media (I think it was FB) about killing BLM protesters. I don't understand how his killing was self defense. I'm not a lawyer, but that sounds like premeditation.
No, Sioux, the fact that a "peaceful" protester was carrying a loaded AK-47 in a "low ready" position (look it up) is not just "another whole issue" but is precisely the issue here. And Perry was on the job, as an Uber driver, delivering a customer, and ended up trapped by the protestors, who were blocking the streets. He could not get away, and the protestors surrounded his car, doing damage to it, and then the protestor approaches him with a loaded ASSAULT weapon in a "low ready" position and started to raise up the weapon as if to shoot. Perry was active military and recognized the threat as what it was. What is peaceful about those facts??????
In my experience chaotic cross was likely to turn off the jury; it was a cardinal cross examination sin, it reveals lack of skill and lack of confidence. Also, screaming “you lied” is a sign of abject desperation.
The guy doesn’t have the facts or the law so he’s in the pounding the table phase.
So the defense theory (politely speaking) is that because Cohen didn't remember or misremembered one of what must have been a flurry of phone calls at the time and --- disregarding all of the other largely unimpeached testimony and a paper trail a mile long --- the jury must acquit on 34 counts? Yeah, that's the ticket.
I believe those phone calls were from eight years ago. Who remembers phone calls/conversations from eight years ago? That's ridiculous. It appears the Defense is trying to throw anything that will stick to the wall.
It is pretty much an article of faith among those who practice trial law, that jurors generally become protective of the courtroom, the process in which they're involved and especially of a firm but fair presiding judge. Trump's antics in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial probably cost him a few extra million. Here, the defense's minor "gotcha" moment almost certainly will be overshadowed not only by all the probative evidence that preceded it, but such performative events as Blanche's laughable attempt at showing anger and Orange 1's emotional support gerbils conspicuously filing into court during the cross-examination. Very little escapes a jury, and anything that can be considered disrespect, in particular.
I agree, they don't seem to have any witnesses on his behalf, so he gathered his gang together for some intimidation. It's amazing that trump thinks people outside his world intimidate so easily. Notice there's no NY congresspeople in that group.
Ben Wittes pointed out that in most every trial where a judge or jury has gotten a good look at DJT, they have found against him. This will be the same.
The prosecution was well aware that there would be credibility issues with Cohen and therefore introduced into evidence abundant documentary evidence and other testimony corroborating all of the key elements of the crimes for which Trump is charged.
The bait and switch trick that Blanche pulled on Cohen does not in the least undermine the prosecution's case, and no amount of smoke and mirrors and gladitorial histrionics have been produced by Trump's lawyers to weaken the paper trail and other corroborating evidence and testimony leading directly to Trump.
I also believe that it did not go unnoticed by the members of the jury that Trump orchestrated a spectacle for their benefit by parading his high profile Republican sycophants into the courtroom to both dazzle and intimidate them into disregarding the evidence. Trump has been all about manipulating people to service and promote him, and this was a prime example of Trump's exploitation of show biz theatrics to try to win over the jury.
Excellent point! It would feel intimidating to me. When
someone uses intimidation rather than facts, it screams "guilty". What a desperate (guilty) idiot.
I do firmly believe tffg put out a “call to action” because he is under a gag order. He thinks this violation is “disguised” because he didn’t do the talking. Proud Boys v 2.
His look-alike minions coming into the courtroom (on our taxpayer time), are there to unmistakably intimidate. That's going to backfire on trump with the jury. If you know you're innocent and feel you've successfully demonstrated that, you don't need to recruit a group of mini-me's that obediently come dressed like him (so there's no missing they're there for him) to appear in the courtroom in a display of might for the purpose of intimidating the judge and jury. I actually love this clearly desperate move. Can only hurt him.
I bet this jury needs little time to convict.
I hope you are able to catch up on rest this weekend. The double overtime you've pulled this week has been formidable ... do take care of yourself please.
Whatever Cohen sez, there is documentary evidence of the conspiracy. Weiselberg‘s (sp?) writing all over the exhibit detailing payout is the smoking gun. I look at Cohen‘s testimony as icing on the cake. Ok, I may be naive, but, placing myself on the jury, I would find for the prosecution. In fact, all the noise around Cohen may be a red herring. Keep the faith !
I really hope the jury believes Cohen and that a guilty verdict is in the offing.
I really hope the Easter bunny is real....
Me too, but it's not as high on my wish list
What's next in your home state Joyce, after attempting to stop women from traveling to another for abortion care --- building a series of Female Inspection Stations? Get your vehicle and privates inspected in one trip ? Annual registration renewals for car and body? And "can you top this" will undoubtedly continue elsewhere. "Constitution ? Constitution !? We don't need no stinkin' Constitution!"