After brashly declaring he wanted to #testify in his #criminal trial, it appears increasingly unlikely that #Trump will do so, as the #jury seems poised to hear #ClosingArguments next week.
Defendants rarely testify, because their #lawyers advise them that the risks of doing so, particularly when it comes to being questioned by prosecutors #UnderOath, are simply too great.
In Trump’s case, the judge’s discussions w/ #lawyers in recent days indicate that even if the defense calls a small number of witnesses, they do not expect #Trump to be one….
4 people close to Trump said next wk’s plan does not include him testifying, & they expect the #jury to start deliberating later in the wk. Trump is famously mercurial & could always demand to testify….
“It sounds like we might possibly be done w/ the presentation of evidence on Monday,” NY Supreme Court Justice Juan #Merchan said Thurs.
Blanche quickly added, “I was not speaking about President Trump, obviously. … That’s another decision that we need to think through.”
★ If #Trump were to take the stand, such testimony could take many days, which would significantly extend the trial.
What is supposed to be a holding room for a former president’s security has, at their own admission, become a de facto campaign HQ . . . in a government building.
Olivia Nuzzi:
The #Trump campaign has moved its operational headquarters from West Palm Beach to a holding room inside Manhattan criminal court.
#KnowNothing#CardiB is too stupid to realize that NOT voting for #Biden is a vote FOR #Trump, and that her boycott of #Election2024 could be her last — She might not get another opportunity to vote EVER.
@Green_Footballs They been knowing it for a loooong time. They want Republicans in power, it’s good for the bottom line. Why do you think they work so hard to hide who he is.#MSM#Journalism#tRump#USPol
#WompWomp Arizona’s attorney general says Rudy #Giuliani has been served an indictment in the state’s fake elector case alongside 17 other defendants for his role in an attempt to overturn #Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
"The Telemundo/NBC debate would be widely watched by Hispanic voters, but Biden’s handlers are petrified to allow him to defend his disastrous record." - Danielle Alvarez, Trump Campaign spokesperson
@w7voa#Trump is HATED WITH PASSION by latinos everywhere except "Latino-Americans"! Here's an example that, at one point, displays trump's severed bloody head on a silver platter. Quite a few US citizens think that should be the fate of all current US politicians... #GenocideJoe too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCPBfkEKz_U
just yesterday: a black ford f-150 (gee, i never could have guessed) with a "don't blame me, i voted for #trump" bumper sticker
my problem is when i pull up next to them at the stoplight, i have to restrain myself from gawking. and if i catch their gaze, smiling and laughing my ass off. i don't need the road rage
it takes all my composure to not engage
the intrusive thoughts are going to get me in trouble some day
Worth emphasizing this, because most news outlets did not:
“Rep. Matt #Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Thursday ominously invoked Donald #Trump’s call to far-right violent extremists while joining the former president at his criminal trial in New York.
“Standing back and standing by, Mr. President,” Gaetz wrote on social media, along with a photo of himself positioned behind Trump at his trial.”
per Rawstory; "Donald #Trump 's legal problems are starving state Republican parties of much-needed campaign cash.
A growing number of state #GOP operations are nearly broke — or are already bust — and the former president's takeover of the Republican National Committee requires the party to run its donations through his Save America PAC, which spent more than $50 million on Trump's legal fees last year, wrote Democratic strategist Max Burns for #MSNBC."
At Justice #Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display
An upside-down flag, adopted by #Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case. #SCOTUS
An expert on deceptive communication says the jury might not like that #Trump is sitting with his eyes closed instead of making eye contact – or they might view it as him sending a message.
That’s just one of the observations he has, in a discussion with a former federal judge about this week’s testimony:
During the #TrumpTrial questioning of Michael Cohen they are talking about his relationships with reporters. But will they bring up how Cohen threatened former Daily Beast reporter Tim Mak on Trump's behalf regarding a story about Trump raping his first wife as revealed in their divorce papers.
Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
#Blanche notes that while #MichaelCohen has talked a lot about using Signal, an encrypted app that makes use of disappearing messages, many of the sensitive conversations that we’ve seen & heard about in this trial just took place over text.
(Probably because having not disappeared, they could be admitted into evidence. Duh.)
Blanche asks about negotiations he had w/ ABC News reporter John Santucci regarding the #StormyDaniels story.
Blanche is restating his opening argument point that NDAs were typical among the wealthy & famous & that they were not illegal. (No one has said otherwise)
#Blanche shows the #HushMoney contract that #MichaelCohen struck w/ #StormyDaniels. He gets Cohen to agree it’s a “perfectly legal contract.” He’s raises his voice for emphasis — trying to make the #jury feel like this arrangement was business as usual.
It may be usual to have NDAs, but this was unusual for other reasons.
#Blanche tries to undermine the relationship #MichaelCohen said he had w/ #Trump. He asks whether Cohen did #legal work not only for Trump, but also for his family & the #TrumpOrganization. Then Blanche notes that Cohen did not have a legal retainer to do the work. (He was employed but the TrumpOrg. A retainer would be redundant)