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NBC News Exclusive:
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 30, 2024
Just hours after former police officer Michael Fanone called Trump "an authoritarian" with "a violence fetish" outside of the NYC courthouse where Trump's criminal trial is taking place, Fanone's mother was swatted at her home in Virginia.…
Trump Legal Team Pins Hopes on Hung Jury
Is one juror making eye contact to send signals to the defense—or “just doing that to fuck with us before they vote to convict”?
MARC A. CAPUTO
MAY 28, 2024
(Composite / Photos: GettyImages / Shutterstock)
AS THE JURORS FILED into the Manhattan courtroom, day after day, almost none of them would look at Donald Trump. It’s one of those unsettling signs for defendants and their lawyers who worry about a guilty verdict.
Those worries have only grown in Trump’s orbit as allies have all but abandoned hope of acquittal. Even Trump, though he railed Monday on social media about the judge and the case, has privately sounded a note of resignation.
“Whatever happens happens,” Trump told one person recently. “I have no control.”
But there is one clear hope MAGAville clings to: a hung jury that results in a mistrial.
If that happens, Trump allies suspect that it will be chiefly due to the one juror who has made friendly eye contact with Trump from time to time as the jury enters the room and walks right past the defense table.
“There are eight people on that jury who definitely hate Trump. If there’s one person who doesn’t, it’s [this] juror,” said one court attendee who, like others for this story, relayed their observations on condition of anonymity to The Bulwark, which is also protecting the privacy and safety of the juror in question by not disclosing identifying details.
As the trial has progressed since April 15, these sources relate, this juror has appeared to nod along in seeming accordance with the defense at times. On other occasions, the juror has seemingly reacted favorably to and made eye contact with Trump’s congressional surrogates who began joining him in court in recent weeks.
You need to know exactly what Trump and MAGA are thinking. Marc Caputo finds out. Every week. Join Bulwark+. Right now.
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But even Trump’s most ardent allies acknowledge they’re speculating at best—trying to read tea leaves. A juror or jurors making friendly eye contact might simply be displaying good manners in court irrespective of how they are seriously weighing the evidence and considering their verdict.
“You just never know what people are thinking or what they’re gonna do,” said one Trump insider. “Yeah, the[juror]looks friendly. But maybe [the juror is] just doing that to fuck with us before they vote to convict.”
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Whether the hopes about this juror are the result of wishful thinking or dispassionate analysis, the sentiment underscores a broad and growing feeling in Trump’s orbit that the best outcome he can hope for is a hung jury.
To the degree Trump is experiencing the stages of grief at trial, the way some are reading the body language of this juror might just be a type of psychological bargaining or even denial.
“They’re hoping for a single juror to give them a mistrial and they’re looking at tea leaves like ‘Are jurors making eye contact?’ as evidence that gives them hope. But no one knows,” said Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor and New York City-based criminal defense attorney who’s closely monitoring the case. “Even if an oracle sometimes got it right, at the end of the day, they’re just looking at bird guts.”
It’s not just Trump allies who believe that at least one juror may look favorably on the defense.
“There's one juror that people are worried about and I share the worry,” Harry Litmam, a Democrat and former deputy attorney general, wrote Tuesday on X, adding he “can't identify her or him per judge's orders but seems less engaged and slightly irritable.”
But in the meantime, body-language augury has only grown in MAGAville.
“Whenever our allies or elected officials are in the courtroom, [the juror] sort of gets animated,” said one, noting how the person makes eye contact or gives “a smile or a nod” in the defense’s direction at times.
“When [Sen. J.D. Vance] came to court, that [juror’s] face lit up. It wasn’t the only time.”
That source said the juror also reacted favorably to Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Lauren Boebert, Byron Donalds, and Matt Gaetz.
Another insider pointed out the juror could barely suppress a smile when Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, appeared to trip up Cohen on the witness stand during a heated exchange. Prior to that, Trump had expressed some displeasure with Blanche’s performance in court, which experts like Epner (and even some in Trump’s orbit) blame on the defendant, not the attorney.
“Todd is doing the best he can with the demands of you-know-who,” said one person familiar with Trump’s legal discussions. “This is a client issue.”
While they’re hoping for a mistrial, Trump’s legal team and allies are bracing for a conviction.
Trump plans to appeal immediately, and his presidential campaign already has fundraising appeals and merchandise ready to go, similar to the way it monetized Trump’s jail mugshot in his Georgia election interference case. Some wanted to sell jail-orange shirts (“orange after all is the new black,” said one insider), but that was deemed too edgy by others (“we don’t have to go there,” said another).
But there’s also a widespread belief in Trump’s orbit that, if convicted, he won’t see a prison cell. Legal experts say it’s a possibility. But no one is sure and CBS News reported the Secret Service has met with local jail officials.
Throughout the trial, Trump advisers have nervously watched his poll numbers against President Biden and have been somewhat surprised that the former president maintains an inside-the-error-margin lead.
“What would a conviction do? We have no idea, but so far so good,” one adviser said. Polling still shows it would be a net negative for Trump.
A hung jury, the source added, would be “a win for us” echoing Trump’s penchant for always declaring victory anyway. “If they can’t get a conviction in Manhattan, what’s that say about the case? . . . Alvin Bragg can charge again, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-legal-team-pins-hopes-on-hung-jury
Learning that this is not an appealable order. Smith will have to re-file after a meet and confer. https://t.co/sy3u9wNjkc
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 28, 2024
He has the best laugh!
Family reveals PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray died by suicide
ESPN News Services
May 26, 2024, 11:44 AM ET
The parents of professional golfer Grayson Murray on Sunday revealed that the two-time PGA Tour winner died by suicide on Saturday morning.
"We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone," Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement. "It's surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It's a nightmare.
"... Life wasn't always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now."
EDITOR'S PICKS
Murray, 2-time PGA Tour winner, dies at age 30
3h
Grayson Murray, 30, withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial after the 16th hole of Friday's second round in Fort Worth, Texas. The PGA Tour cited the reason as illness at the time.
"We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes," his parents said in their statement. "By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and -- it seems -- by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.
"We would like to thank the PGA Tour and the entire world of golf for the outpouring of support. Please respect our privacy as we work through this incredible tragedy, and please honor Grayson by being kind to one another. If that becomes his legacy, we could ask for nothing else."
Murray spoke about alcohol and mental health in the past, saying he used to drink during tournament weeks as a rookie because he knew he had talent and felt he was invincible. He made a massive turnaround this year and won the Sony Open, hitting wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the final hole to get into a playoff and winning it with a 40-foot putt.
"It took me a long time to get to this point," Murray said in January. "That was seven years ago, over seven years ago. I'm a different man now. I would not be in this position right now today if I didn't put that drink down eight months ago."
He also won the Barbasol Championship as a 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie in 2017.
Murray, who was No. 58 in the world ranking, was coming off a tie for 43rd in the PGA Championship last week at Valhalla. He also made the cut in his Masters debut, finishing 51st, and was in the field for next month's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Murray, who grew up in North Carolina, was among the most talented juniors in the country. He won the prestigious Junior World Championship in San Diego three straight years and earned the Arnold Palmer Scholarship at Wake Forest.
He wound up going to three colleges, lastly at Arizona State.
Murray said when he won the Sony Open in January that he had been sober for eight months, was engaged to be married and felt his best golf was ahead of him. He was appointed to the PGA Tour's 16-member Player Advisory Council the same month.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who flew to Texas on Saturday, said grief counselors were on-site at the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour event.
"To be in the locker room, to see the devastation on the faces of every player that's coming in, it's really difficult to see. And really just profound," Monahan said during the CBS broadcast Saturday.
"Grayson was a remarkable player on the PGA Tour, but he was a very courageous man, as well. And I've always loved that about him, and I know that the locker room is filled with people that really will take that away when they think about Grayson
This is going to be fantastic.
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) May 25, 2024
🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/pA6ACqWHVd
How many Trumpsters will think that's real?
As ‘The Apprentice’ Seeks Cannes Sale, Trump Team Sends Cease and Desist Letter to Block Film’s Release (EXCLUSIVE
)
By Brent Lang, Katcy Stephan
“The Apprentice”
Attorneys for Donald Trump have sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmakers behind “The Apprentice” in an effort to block its U.S. sale and release. It warns the team behind the film not to pursue a distribution deal, according to two people who have read the letter. “The Apprentice,” which looks at Trump’s early years as a real estate developer and his relationship with Roy Cohn, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week.
“The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president,” the producers of the film said in a statement regarding the cease-and-desist letter. “We want everyone to see it and then decide.”
The movie, which was independently produced, stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as Cohn. It presents a damning portrait of the former president as an ethically compromised, philanderer who stiffs contractors and cuts deals with the mob to get his buildings completed. It includes other controversial details, including a scene where Trump rapes his first wife, Ivana, and depicts him abusing amphetamines to lose weight, as well as undergoing liposuction and plastic surgery.
Trump’s camp responded with a blistering note, threatening legal action. “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire,” Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, said in a statement.
When reached for comment about the letter, the Trump campaign referred to its earlier statement on the film.
“The Apprentice” was directed by Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish filmmaker behind “Holy Spider” and “Border,” and features a script by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who covered the Trump administration.
At a press conference in Cannes for “The Apprentice,” Abbasi responded to Trump’s legal threats. “Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people — they don’t talk about his success rate though, you know?” he said. He also offered to screen the movie for Trump, saying, “I don’t necessarily think that this is a movie he would dislike.”
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/apprentice-donald-trump-team-cease-and-desist-letter-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-1236015819/
In typical bully fashion, MTG isn’t a fan of getting her energy reciprocated.
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) May 24, 2024
Check out this video of her getting called “bleach blonde bad built” at the airport 🤣🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/6Ml61Jbkvq
The only one having difficulty understanding is cannon.
So now, regarding Trump’s classified documents case, Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon says, “the legal nuances of the case may be too difficult for jurors to understand.” What the h&ll is she talking about?! She should NOT be presiding over Trump’s federal prosecution in FLA. pic.twitter.com/Fv7j0OTxnA
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) May 24, 2024
I don’t know if anyone here watches Survivor. I have watched the show from the very beginning and actually knew family members of two contestants.
The coming attractions of the next season of Survivor were shown last night and I saw a familiar face. It isn’t anyone I know personally but he is pretty well known in political circles.
It is Jon Lovett from Pod Save America. He was also a speechwriter for President Obama.
https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Text&utm_campaign=AudDev_FY24_Phase1&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIie6UiYGlhgMV0k1HAR2sBAZZEAAYASAAEgIXsfD_h
It's not just Justice Alito.
— Andy Kroll (@AndyKroll) May 23, 2024
Here's the "Appeal to Heaven" flag flying outside of conservative powerbroker Leonard Leo's home in Maine.
Photo taken by a nearby resident who shared it with @ProPublica and gave us permission to publish it. 1/x pic.twitter.com/dmwRAvNkMM
This is perfect!
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) May 19, 2024
I got claustrophobic just watching the video!
Goose slide.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/KYPa7pYb2y
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) May 18, 2024
because one of his neighbors put up a sign with a swear word on it.
Would she feel the same way if there was a flag that said Let’s Go Brandon?
I have a neighbor who flies that flag.
“I have long said that Supreme Court Justices, their spouses, and their families should conduct themselves in all ways and at all times such that they are beyond reproach. The honor of serving the nation on the Supreme Court requires nothing less than this,
— @judgeluttig (@judgeluttig) May 17, 2024
Jamie Raskin trying to cover his face while laughing was also priceless.
Gotta love Jasmine Crockett
Oh wow, Jasmine Crockett goes off on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Luna pic.twitter.com/AShjGfPXoe
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 17, 2024
BREAKING: "Stop the Steal" symbol on display at Justice Alito's house. Gift article: https://t.co/NbkDTzoss8
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 16, 2024
Scheffler, Zalatoris, Cantlay, Fowler, Horschel
274
Cohen continuing to testify about perhaps the most important document in the case: his bank statement with his and Weisselberg's handwriting breaking down the repayment scheme "Grossed up" for taxes
— Norm Eisen (#TryingTrump out now!) (@NormEisen) May 13, 2024
Devastating corroboration of the witness👇 pic.twitter.com/xqv3xEWnSm
Does it let you move the email from junk to your inbox?
I see white and gold
Keir Johnston who gained fame when a dress his mother-in-law wore caused a global debate over whether it was black and blue or white and gold, has admitted strangling his wife.https://t.co/TravuoJrNB
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 11, 2024
I don’t believe what Trump posted. I think he will end up picking Haley because of how she has been doing in the primaries even though she dropped out.
This story quickly prompted a Trump post: https://t.co/lph9w5YTQ9 pic.twitter.com/RoYUdWLy3d
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 11, 2024
France's government is disputing a portion of Kristi Noem's book that describes a canceled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 11, 2024
A representative from the Élysée Palace disputed Noem's account, saying there’s no record of a scheduled meeting, nor was there an invitation…
Here is the story.
Giuliani Is Suspended by WABC, and His Radio Show Is Canceled
The radio station disciplined Rudolph W. Giuliani after he violated company policy by trying to discuss the legitimacy of the 2020 election on the air.
By Nicholas Fandos
May 10, 2024, 3:16 p.m. ET
Rudolph W. Giuliani was suspended by WABC radio on Friday and his daily talk show was canceled after he violated station policy by trying to discuss discredited claims about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election on air.
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire who is a major Republican donor and owns the station, said he had made the decision after Mr. Giuliani refused to comply with the policy related to the election after repeated warnings.
“We’re not going to talk about fallacies of the November 2020 election,” Mr. Catsimatidis said in a brief phone interview. “We warned him once. We warned him twice. And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it.”
“So,” Mr. Catsimatidis continued, “he left me no option. I suspended him.”
Mr. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, was one of the leading figures in former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to contest and overturn the 2020 election results. He was Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer at the time and helped coordinate legal challenges to Mr. Biden’s victory in several states in a bid to keep Mr. Trump in office.
Mr. Guiliani’s removal from WABC, one of his only current sources of income, could add to the mounting legal and financial woes that have accumulated since then. The suspension will also deny him what may be one of his largest public platforms.
Mr. Giuliani has been criminally charged in two states, Georgia and Arizona, for this role in the effort to overturn the 2020 results and has been implicated in a number of recent lawsuits. He has also been besieged by creditors, including two Georgia election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and to whom he now owes $148 million.
Mr. Giuliani could not immediately be reached for comment.
WABC aired Mr. Giuliani’s show every weekday and on Sundays. Mr. Catsimatidis said he did not pay Mr. Giuliani a salary; the former mayor instead earned a percentage of the advertising revenue the show brought in.
Mr. Catsimatidis said Mr. Giuliani had tried to speak on air during the closing minutes of his Thursday show about election-related issues, but that station employees had cut him off.
“Look, I like the guy as a person, but you can’t do that,” Mr. Catsimatidis said. “You can’t cross the line.”
He added: “My view is that nobody really knows but we had made a company policy. It’s over, life goes on.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/nyregion/giuliani-radio-suspended.html
he will now be incarcerated during the election.
Great news
Looks like Moscow Marge even lost Matt Gaetz
He is so good!
Cannon indefinitely postpones Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents trial
Judge Aileen Cannon has indefinitely postponed former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents case, punting some court dates into late July while declining to set a trial date.
The Tuesday order — issued less than two weeks before Trump’s trial was still on the books to kick off on May 20 — leaves unclear when Trump’s case will ever come before a jury.
Cannon pinned the delay on the need to resolve numerous issues dealing with how classified information will be handled at trial, details governed by the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA).
“The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture—before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues remaining and forthcoming—would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court,” Cannon wrote.
DEVELOPING
Think he’ll make it to both? pic.twitter.com/wi04KNXPBj
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 7, 2024
A new odd couple! Should be interesting.
My new podcast The Campaign Managers with @davidplouffe launches May 22! Tune in to hear us delve deep into the complexities of the 2024 election where we'll go beyond the headlines to dissect the latest campaign strategies, analyze the pressing issues shaping the political… pic.twitter.com/upZxLSUjdU
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) May 6, 2024
I bet on the two horses I mentioned because someone who follows horses said they liked them.
I also bet on Mystik Dan because my Godson’s name is Dan.
$2.00 w/p/s on 3 horses = $18.00
Win $65.54
Any picks for the Derby? My picks are Just a Touch or Domestc Product
Trump Media’s accounting firm charged with ‘massive fraud’
BF Borgers, Trump Media & Technology Group’s independent accounting firm, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday with widespread fraud impacting more than 1,500 filings.
The SEC made no allegation of wrongdoing against Trump Media, which is not mentioned in the charges from the regulator.
The SEC accused BF Borgers of “deliberate and systemic failures,” including “fabricating” audit documentation and falsely representing to clients its work would comply with accounting standards. The agency described this as “massive” fraud taking place between January 2021 and June 2023.
Trump Media currently lists BF Borgers as its independent auditor. According to filings, Borgers served as Trump Media’s independent registered accounting firm before it went public in March. Later in March, the audit committee of Trump Media approved the hiring of Borgers as the public company’s accounting firm.
Although Trump Media may be the highest profile client of BF Borgers, the firm had 350 clients during this time period subject to SEC rules, according to the agency.
The SEC review only focused on public companies, meaning BF Borgers’ work for Trump Media when it was private was not included.
Neither Trump Media nor BF Borgers responded to requests for comment.
The SEC said in the press release that to settle the charges, BF Borges agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty and its owner Benjamin Borgers agreed to pay a $2 million penalty.
I was listening to MSNBC on the radio in my car when they were talking about this.
The judge will never put Trump in jail for contempt.
They were talking about how the judge could move him in the court room. At first I thought that was ridiculous but then I had this picture in my mind of Trump being put in the corner with a dunce cap on. IMO that would burn his butt much more than any fine.
Nancy never misses a beat.
Nancy Pelosi: “Donald Trump has the worst record of job loss of any president.”
— The Recount (@therecount) April 29, 2024
MSNBC host Katy Tur: “That was a global pandemic.”
Pelosi: “If you want to be an apologist for Donald Trump, that may be your role, but it ain't mine.” pic.twitter.com/DLOsYJpwy5
“One vote from the end of democracy:” Andrew Weissmann sounds alarm on SCOTUS immunity case | @AWeissmann_ on Jen Psaki's show: https://t.co/T7tzlsGcwO, via @msnbc. pic.twitter.com/4R6SibMWCK
— hana martin (@nitramanah) April 28, 2024