One of the less thrilling things I worked on today was trying to improve our Word template+styles for #legal briefs, pleadings & other formal docs. (Why do we use this again? Oh, yeah, bc everyone else in #law does. Ugh.)
It's both tedious to get Word styles to conform to the max number of various courts' rules and aggravating to know that as soon as it's in the wild, it'll degrade immediately under the pressure of attorneys actually using it. (Why can't I lock styles down?!)
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 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)
NEW: Justice Dept secures another #Jan6 guilty plea
Paul Orta acknowledges being in front of mob, w/ tactical vest & handheld radio .. pushing at barricade and advancing toward Capitol, yelling "We're taking that sh** today!"
#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.
#MichaelCohen is asked about additional work he did for the #TrumpOrganization, some of it #legal work, including for the #Trump Organization’s general counsel, Alan Garten. Cohen is saying he didn’t expect to be paid for that work & did not send invoices for it. Trump’s lawyers have indicated that they may argue that Cohen was doing real legal work, & was being paid for that. This may be an example of the prosecution seeking to air an argument before the defense can.
These same tweets were among the potential instances of #obstruction of #justice that were reviewed by Robert #Mueller, the special counsel who at the time was investigating the #Trump campaign’s possible ties to #Russia.
At this point in the narrative in 2018, #MichaelCohen was looking for reassurance that Trump was going to take care of him. He would soon lose that sense of security, as the #TrumpOrganization stopped paying some of Cohen’s #legal bills.
#MichaelCohen did not say that #Trump personally falsified the records, or even that he explicitly instructed someone else to do so. He did, however, testify that Trump knew the records would disguise the reimbursement as ordinary #legal expenses.
Importantly though, under NY #law, the concept of #AccessorialLiability does a lot of heavy lifting for the prosecutors, they only have to show that Trump intentionally aided his employees to falsify the records.
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
FYI, someone just asked me, "Could you please put a CW on those US politics posts?"
I said no sorry,, just mute me.
I don't understand CWing political posts. And that doesn't mean you need to @ me explaining why. I know THEIR reasons, I just disagree with them and won't do it.
I respect CWs for other things, but not politics. Politics is news and people need to be aware of what's happening. It's not gory or violent, it's politics.
@ignova Plus: Trials are not politics. And I'm presuming that's what he objected to, since I've been at it all day. Trials are legal, which is why I use the #legal hashtag on my threads. @artemesia
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.
#Hoffinger used #MichaelCohen to testify how #Trump didn't like leaving a written record of what he was doing, because, in Cohen's telling, he didn't want his words to get him into #legal trouble. This helps prepare the jury for a gap in the prosecution's case: that they need to rely on Cohen's word - & not a written record, like an email - to prove that Trump himself was involved in the falsification of business records.
Importantly, New York has a "one-party consent" law as to recording conversations. If a single party consents to a recording, it is #legal.
Jurors are played, for the 2nd time, the recording that #MichaelCohen described.
Jurors read the transcript of the recording on screens as the audio plays.
Cohen addresses the payment to #Pecker, referring to the publisher as "our friend David." Court again hears #Trump ask about financing & then advising Cohen to "pay in cash."
Add to this sum, Cohen was also given a $60k bonus, bringing the total he was to be paid to $420k. That amount was split — as shown in #AllenWeisselberg’s notes — into 12 months' of payments.
This #MichaelCohen testimony is crucial to the case. They allege that the repayments to Cohen were not, in fact, #legal expenses as indicated on the records & instead they were the #HushMoney payment "grossed up"
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/… more preamble, via Rupar:
Trump this morning printed out new NYT poll showing him ahead in swing states+ some Fox columns for good measure.
"A legal expense is a legal expense. It's marked down in the book, 'legal expense'" --Trump still pretending he doesn't understand why he was charged w crimes re Stormy payment
As Trump’s classified docs prosecution goes forward, now w no pretense of trial before the election, Judge #Cannon appears poised to permit him to use pub hearings in the case to sound his campaign themes. 1/… #legal
Yes, and it is normal to indict and punish a former public official, even if (s)he has been Consul or president. This is how it has been since the times of the Roman Republic. France, for instance, has had no qualms doing so.
I thought yesterday that it would be good for the US public to be educated (for the most part) or reminded of these essential lessons of history.
"Equal Justice Under Law" means just that ANYONE can and will be...