#Trump has his posse again. Today it’s more #Republican elected officials. Today, Trump will be joined by the #House speaker, #MikeJohnson, as well as #NorthDakota’s governor, #DougBurgum, a contender to be Trump's running mate. Also present will be Representatives #ByronDonalds & #CoryMills of Florida, & #VivekRamaswamy, who was one of Trump's primary rivals this year. Both Donalds & Ramaswamy are longshot hopefuls to be Trump's running mate.
Prosecutors are arguing that #Trump’s sign-off on the repayment plan, along w/his knowledge that #MichaelCohen would be falsely reimbursed for “#legal services,” indicates that he approved of what they say was a #crime.
There’s mountains of documentary #evidence that #Cohen was paid for legal services he didn’t actually provide, & that these were reimbursements. The question of what Trump knew relies mostly on Cohen’s testimony.
This is truly soul-salving stuff. That this all this could've been avoided if #Trump had simply paid #Cohen makes it all the sweeter. Watching Trump's own cheapskatishness slowly strangle him is like watching someone's glued-on underwear shrink while they wear it. This is great stuff. Thanks, @Nonilex
Remember: I cannot reply while live-posting, so plz use NFL (Not For Laffy.. no hashtag) so I can skip your replies. THANK YOU.
1/… First, via Lawrence O'Donnell:
J.D. Vance was on the phone the entire time. He wasn’t taking in a word of testimony. Tuberville, to his credit, looking straight ahead, taking it all in as best he can, whatever sense he can make of it
Cohen says that he came into Trump’s circle by purchasing Trump properties. Then, he says, Trump himself offered him an opportunity to work at the #TrumpOrganization “as his special counsel.” He describes that transition into Trump’s world.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #Cohen if Trump paid him for early #legal work he did at a Trump building, Trump World Tower. “No, ma’am,” he replies.
#MichaelCohen is asked if he was “strong” or acted in a “threatening manner,” to which he replies, “I would say so,” but adds, not all the time.
#Hoffinger asks if #Cohen interacted frequently w/the press — seeking to emphasize how much #Trump cared about what was written about him, even before he ran for president. Hoffinger asks if Cohen worked to “minimize negative stories” & enhance positive ones.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #MichaelCohen if he ever talked to #Trump about whether he was concerned that negative personal stories would come forward. #Cohen describes a conversation before the presidential campaign kickoff, quoting Trump saying, "You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared, there's going to be a lot of women coming forward."
Trump's a lying coward. He didn't break the #GagOrder today that I know of. He made a point of avoiding it, in fact... so far.
If he were really willing to be a martyr, he would have made sure he was in jail by now by bashing the jury. He's doing this to rile up his base, but he does NOT want to be in jail.
Via @atrupar Threats of a good time --
#Trump says "I'll do that sacrifice any day" about possibly going to jail for violating gag orders
@GottaLaff@atrupar The press is already asking #Trump questions about the trial, trying to trip him up into breaking the gag order. I don't think we'll have to wait long, all it will take is #Cohen up on the stand and Trump won't be able to help himself. Trump will be so riled he'll make some comment to break the gag order. #TrumpTrial
#Pecker says allegations about women & #Trump were always met by this response from #MichaelCohen, Trump's fmr fixer: "It's not true."
#Cohen, Pecker & #DylanHoward, the #NationalEnquirer editor who interviewed #KarenMcDougal, had a phone call after the interview. Howard said that McDougal claimed to have had an affair w/Trump. Cohen immediately denied the affair happened, but then said that he would look into it. Eventually, he said that a member of the group should try to buy the story.
Prosecutors in Trump’s #criminal trial say he has violated a #GagOrder barring him from attacking #witnesses, #jurors & others close to the case. Testimony is set to resume later Tuesday morning.
#Pecker said #MichaelCohen called him furiously denying the child was Trump's, saying he offered to take a DNA test & bc #Trump was German-Irish & the woman was Hispanic, it was impossible.
FTR, Pecker was saying that #Cohen indicated a child w/a #Hispanic woman couldn't be Trump's. (#Racist 🤬 that he is)
Trump often talks "good genes" & bloodlines. He denigrates #immigrants from #LatinAmerica & says undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."
Alright, who’s ready to see #Trump get his just deserts? He fucked up the whole damn world & that’s not an overstatement.
PS #BabySquirrel & I had a lovely weekend. It’s as boy! (He’s developed discernible - stuff)
He is doing quite well! Name: “Ramone” because he’s a sweet little punk rocker.
"Another story about sexual infidelity, especially w/ a porn star, on the heels of the '#AccessHollywood' tape, could have been devastating to his campaign," #Colangelo says of the #StormyDaniels story. He says that "w/pressure mounting & Election Day fast approaching, Donald #Trump agreed to the #payoff & directed #Cohen to proceed."
Colangelo says Trump told Cohen to drag out paying Daniels, in the hopes of getting past the #election & then not paying her at all.
#Colangelo says #Trump's willingness to go to the trouble of the convoluted repayment scheme to #Cohen “shows just how important it was to him to hide the true nature of Cohen's illegal payment to Ms. Daniels & the overall #election#conspiracy that they had launched."
#MichaelCohen is a key witness. Colangelo explained the litany of problems w/Cohen to get ahead of defense’s attempt to discredit him - something Trump's lawyers can't do, their client won't let them: admit mistakes were made.
Because the prosecution bears the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, it gets to go first (& last) in a #criminal case. The advantage of that can be seen in action here, as Colangelo gives the jury his own frame through which to view #MichaelCohen.
It seems like #Blanche will seek to convince the jury that everything was appropriate & done by the book, not even worthy of notice. That #Cohen was #Trump's lawyer, & he was paid for #legal services. But he'll also seek to distance his client from the matter: "President Trump had nothing to do w/the invoice," he said.
Why is a former gambling casino owner on trial for $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels?
At an August 2015 meeting, Trump spoke with #David#Pecker, then-CEO of American Media, the parent company of tabloid the #National#Enquirer.
Pecker told Trump he could be the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s presidential campaign, on the lookout for any salacious stories people were telling about him. Prosecutors would later call this strategy a “catch and kill” scheme.
As Trump’s campaign began to grow, Pecker learned about an adult film actor who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, the year after he married Melania, and was willing to go public with her story.
With the help of his former fixer #Michael#Cohen, Trump would allegedly pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about her story.
After Trump became president, prosecutors say, he started reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he would record in his financial records as legal fees to Cohen.
These payments could land Trump in prison. Prosecutors allege that Trump broke the law by falsifying these business records to hide illegal hush-money payments and protect Trump’s chances during the presidential election
No argument from me. That's why I dislike her personally.
Michael #Cohen wrote the check to Stormy Daniels. He went to jail. Lev Parnas fed the Biden-Ukraine BS story. He went to jail. George Papadopoulos spewed the #Trump story. They are all darlings of #MSNBC with resume and insight. The only difference is that they saw the light.
We ignore those with whom we disagree at our peril.