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A reminder that it sometimes takes 4 to 8 weeks to formalize a full jury. So they have much time to seat a full jury
Jail time appears to be a good idea here
I reject here the idea that Secret Service protection is a reason Trump can never be jailed:
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) April 18, 2024
'A clear violation': Gagged Trump posts Fox lie about criminal case jury pool https://t.co/wsmXV59mNb via @msnbc
This Jesse WattDick is bad news, always has been.
https://x.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1781000785125609813
and then there were 5
BREAKING: A second seated juror has been dismissed in former President Trump's criminal hush money case in New York. pic.twitter.com/0O6GcFdfbk
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 18, 2024
Someone tell the defendant who are the people responsible to decide whether he will be convicted or not
In my over 20 years practicing criminal law, I have never observed a defendant refuse to stand and face the jury.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 18, 2024
Any competent lawyer would tell their client that his fate is in the jury’s hands and they will watch everything he does.
Trump’s disrespect for the jury is unwise. https://t.co/w8HLLHV8Tg
Powerful stuff that will be used in court if Trump testifies
Read this:
News
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 17, 2024
In Trump's NY criminal case, prosecutors file their so-called "Sandoval" notice—disclosing uncharged prior bad acts they intend to use at trial to impeach his credibility.
The list in the document rattles off the NYAG civil fraud case, the E. Jean Carroll case, and more. pic.twitter.com/rlkeE3TisN
Oops, this will guarantee that Gallegos fully destroys KariLakeDumbGirl for Arizona Senator
Lawmakers vote against hearing Arizona bill repealing abortion ban on House floor
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/arizona-house-abortion-law-repeal/index.html
SpeakerDude finally doing the right thing - vote on Saturday
Johnson moving forward with Ukraine aid bill despite pressure from hardliners
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/mike-johnson-ukraine-aid/index.html
OPINION
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Donald Trump and American Justice
April 17, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/opinion/donald-trump-trial.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lE0.9kwc.czbVdHOFCNPC&smid=url-share
The former and possibly future president of the United States is now on trial in Lower Manhattan, the first criminal prosecution of an American elected to the nation’s highest office. Donald Trump, who relentlessly undermined the justice system while in office and since, is enjoying the same protections and guarantees of fairness and due process before the law that he sought to deny to others during his term.
A jury of Americans will ultimately decide Mr. Trump’s legal fate. It may be the only one of the four criminal cases against the former president that comes to trial before the November election. Though the election interference charges are not the most serious of those he faces, the case will determine whether 12 of his fellow Americans find him guilty of a felony — a result that most voters say they would consider to be serious.
In the first two days of this trial, Mr. Trump has offered a defense of himself to the public, in brief appearances between his courtroom table and the television cameras: He portrays himself as a victim of an unfair and politically motivated prosecution. That defense is built on lies. Mr. Trump is no victim. He is fortunate to live in a country where the rule of law guarantees a presumption of innocence and robust rights for defendants.
A guiding principle of the American experiment is that the law applies to everyone equally. At the same time, prosecuting any current or former elected official requires vigilance against bias and awareness about how the case will be perceived by the public. For this reason, judges and prosecutors have an obligation to hew to stringent standards of fairness, to reduce the risk that they appear to be interfering in electoral politics by using criminal cases to damage or favor one candidate over another.
The former president refers to the four prosecutions he faces as “witch hunts” motivated by partisanship and part of a nefarious scheme to keep him from returning to the White House. He has repeated this narrative even though the prosecutions have been brought by different prosecutors around the country, and even though different grand juries, each composed of a random selection of regular citizens in different states, handed up indictments that now total 88 felony charges against him.
In the weeks leading up to the start of this trial, Mr. Trump has argued, dishonestly, that the judge and the prosecutor have treated him unfairly, and that it will be impossible for him to get a fair trial in Manhattan because New Yorkers are biased against him. But the opening days of the trial, devoted to jury selection, have already demonstrated the great care and respect with which everyone involved in the trial, except for Mr. Trump, has treated the process. Joshua Steinglass, a member of the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, told potential jurors on Tuesday that the case “has nothing to do with personal politics.”
“We don’t suggest you need to have been living under a rock for the last eight years, or the last 30 years,” he said. “We don’t expect you not to have heard about this, or not to have discussed this case with friends. What we do need is for you to keep an open mind.”
Dozens of potential jurors took those instructions seriously and admitted they could not be impartial. One man was excused from service after telling the judge that it was “going to be hard for me to be impartial,” since many of his family members and friends were Republicans. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial, excused him, as other potential jurors stepped up. So far, seven jurors have been seated. At least two potential jurors were dismissed by the judge because of social media posts.
If anything, Justice Merchan has exhibited an extra degree of tolerance for Mr. Trump’s strategy of systematically attacking the legitimacy of the courts and court officials through repeated verbal outbursts and countless legal motions and other attempts to delay his trials. In the New York case, Mr. Trump received a short extension last month when federal prosecutors found a tranche of documents that had not been turned over to the defense team. In the week before the start of the trial, he filed three emergency appeals in three days, as The Times reported, including a civil action against the judge, which were quickly rejected by an appeals court.
The fact that he was able to have each of these motions fully considered is evidence of the justice system operating as it should, with deliberation and due process. Especially in criminal prosecutions, courts take the legal rights of litigants very seriously, to ensure that defendants receive fair trials. An appeals court is still considering Mr. Trump’s request to throw out a gag order that prevents him from verbally attacking witnesses, prosecutors or the judge’s family, but it will not delay the trial before the ruling. (Mr. Trump is not prevented from publicly criticizing the judge.)
In the other criminal cases against him, Mr. Trump has also been able to take full advantage of every legal protection available to him as a defendant.
He appealed his federal prosecution related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol on the grounds that he enjoys absolute immunity for actions he took as president. This argument has been rejected by every judge to consider it. Still, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal later this month, delaying the start of his trial in that case indefinitely, and possibly until after the election. While the Supreme Court weighs his immunity claim, the trial judge in the federal Jan. 6 case, Tanya Chutkan, put the proceedings on hold. In the other federal prosecution, on charges of illegally withholding highly classified national-security documents, Mr. Trump has had numerous favorable rulings from the judge handling that case.
The election-interference case out of Georgia was delayed by an extensive hearing on a possible conflict of interest for the lead prosecutor, Fani Willis, who had been in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, an outside prosecutor she hired to lead the case. After taking testimony from a series of witnesses, the judge decided Ms. Willis could remain on the case, but not with Mr. Wade. (Mr. Wade ultimately withdrew.) Mr. Trump appealed that decision, which the Georgia Court of Appeals is now considering.
The ability to file such appeals, successful or not, is essential to how the law functions in the United States. Despite having benefited from its protections, to Mr. Trump, the rule of law is nothing more than an obstacle to be overcome, an instrument of power to use at will.
Mr. Trump’s vision of an American legal system that protects his interests goes beyond his trial, of course, and extends in particular to the Justice Department. He has been explicit about his desire, if elected in November, to bring the Justice Department more fully under his control, to use it to protect his friends and, more important, punish his enemies. As president, Mr. Trump had an unparalleled record of abusing presidential pardons, and if he is re-elected, he appears likely to order the Justice Department to drop the criminal cases against him or to try to pardon himself for potential crimes. To Mr. Trump, independent prosecutors and Justice Department officials are precisely the problem. They will say no to him when he wants to do things that are illegal or unconstitutional, choosing to be faithful to the Constitution rather than to him. This Mr. Trump cannot abide.
Mr. Trump has said he intends to find a prosecutor to “go after” Mr. Biden and his family, suggesting that he intends to pursue prosecution with little regard to evidence or facts. According to The Washington Post, he also wants to investigate figures in his administration whom he perceives as being disloyal to him, including John Kelly, his former chief of staff; William Barr, his former attorney general; and Gen. Mark Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Mr. Trump has separately suggested General Milley should be executed for treason.)
As Mr. Kelly told The Post, “There is no question in my mind he is going to go after people that have turned on him.”
Mr. Trump has also repeatedly said that his prosecution is like no other. In fact, there are numerous examples of politicians, of both parties, who faced prosecution, and in some cases were convicted, during their candidacies. The former Texas governor Rick Perry, a Republican, ran for president in 2016 while under indictment for abuse of power. (Those charges were later dismissed.) Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat of New Jersey, was indicted on federal bribery charges, and may run for re-election as an independent.
The former president is singular in one respect: As much as he accuses others of warping the justice system, he is the one who consistently demeans and disparages the role of the courts and the exercise of due process. The leaders of the Republican Party, echoing the views of Mr. Trump’s fervent base of followers, have fallen in line behind him, indicating that they will continue to support his candidacy even if he is a convicted felon.
While a Manhattan jury weighs the evidence of Mr. Trump’s alleged crimes, it’s the American people who will weigh the evidence of Mr. Trump’s actions. His party has allowed him to act with impunity, but Americans voters still have the power to deliver accountability. They should consider not only the facts presented during the trial — the details about his judgment, his character and the way he conducted his life and his business — but also his disregard for the rule of law and his willingness to demean American justice when it suits his interests. Those actions render him manifestly unfit for office and would pose unique dangers to the United States during a second term. The greatest of those dangers, and the one that Americans should be most attuned to, is the damage that a second Trump presidency would inflict on the rule of law.
Geesh. This AssClownWoman is pretty bad
Do you see a problem with this post @LauraLoomer ? pic.twitter.com/rMC3vIY188
— ♿️ MIKE C (@PunkRockRadio69) April 16, 2024
Cool dude speaks. Ha!
Biden slams Donald so hard it woke him up: “If Trump's stock in his Truth Social company drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.” #StopTrumpsTaxScampic.twitter.com/IEBxftubtb
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) April 16, 2024
THEN THERE WERE 6
NEW: We now have SIX jurors who have been seated in Trump's NY criminal trial. Judge Merchan is giving them instructions about when they are to return to court, etc.
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) April 16, 2024
The March donation numbers are in
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-leans-small-group-rich-020656590.html
Slimy MF Giulinininini nailed by judge
JUST IN: Judge Howell upholds the jury's defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani in a 48-page opinion.https://t.co/dso7cRM1wM pic.twitter.com/I5ZHr00HXL
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 15, 2024
Whoaaaa, cool stuff happening in court
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/15/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-live-updates/#link-HFHJTZULQRBULP7ZOVQEXQEXSU
Judge goes over Trump’s rights and responsibilities as a defendant
Return to menu
By David Nakamura
Reporter covering the Justice Department and civil rights.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan went over Donald Trump’s “Parker warnings” — instructions regarding a defendant’s rights and responsibilities during trial — and asked Trump to confirm that he understood them.
Merchan said that Trump is required to be present for the duration of the trial to help in his own defense, but that he could lose his right to be there if he disrupted the proceedings. Furthermore, if he failed to appear, a warrant would be issued for his arrest and he could be incarcerated, and the trial would continue in his absence, Merchan said.
Likewise, if Trump was found guilty and was absent for a sentencing hearing, a sentence would be declared and Trump would be arrested and the sentence carried out.
Trump responded that he understood the requirements.
Yes, that is actually a good point
here you go
"He looked like he was nodding off."
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 15, 2024
WATCH: NY Times Investigative Reporter @susannecraig on Trump's demeanor in the courtroom. pic.twitter.com/HoBmGbRBWf
Can you imagine a MF falling asleep at the first day of trial for 3 dozen criminal acts that might end up with prison time?
The beginning of the slow path, about a few weeks, for theformerpersonrapist to be jailed for violating the gag order.
NEW: Manhattan DA’s office asks court to impose a $1k sanction for each of 3 prior posts, order him to take them down, and warn him that further violations will result in jail time. DA notes a 9:12 am post today, potentially made inside the courthouse, also violates the order.
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) April 15, 2024
And.. an expert just told me that he also is required to be in court during jury selection, which will last 2 to 4 weeks
Ha! Conway at his best...
Click the Twitter post to see bottom of message with George's comments
Ha!
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 14, 2024
Does Trump have to be in court every day?
Yes. The judicial process is built around the idea that defendants are there to answer charges, and New York law requires that a defendant be present at trial.
There are a few exceptions. Trump could ask to be excused and waive his right to be present, but the prosecution could object. Disorderly or disruptive defendants can also be removed from court during their trial.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/13/politics/questions-trump-trial-answered-what-matters/index.html
This needs to be read:
Nate White, a British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 13, 2024
“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”
A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no… pic.twitter.com/3wmkNUvyp9
The sheer number of Trump officials − a minimum of 16 − speaking out against their former boss, and the severity of their criticism, is highly unusual. It has no historical precedent in the last century, according to three presidential historians and a political scientist… pic.twitter.com/ITVnRp5UrH
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 12, 2024
Bang! The final one before Monday's hearing
Judge rejects Trump’s attempt to delay hush money trial over pretrial publicity
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/12/politics/trump-hush-money-trial-pretrial-publicity/index.html
actually it will take about 3 to 4 weeks to complete the jury selection, then the trial will begin and last about 6 weeks
Those.Paid.Actors
Michaelah Montgomery, the person who hugged Trump at Chick-fil-A, runs a conservative group, was a Republican Party intern and former Blexit city director. Blexit was founded by Candace Owens.
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) April 12, 2024
These Trump photo ops are pre-staged with supporters prior to his arrival. https://t.co/gfqxMeJYqb pic.twitter.com/OTv8vvAsvF
and now the dude is dancing with the cousins
The freaks at Mar a Lago. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tSs3G7pIUh
— ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕪 (@LePapillonBlu2) April 12, 2024
Powerful stiff
Lawrence O'Donnell may have just delivered the most brutal and humiliating takedown of Donald Trump ever aired on national television pic.twitter.com/4nRnZRoo3k
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) April 12, 2024
Good read. Run boy run run run
https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-manhattan-da-criminal-trial-may-be-the-most-important
And speaking of those Donald Trump names out there:
😬 LA Times accidentally uses the name "Trump" in place of "Simpson" near the end of their obit: https://t.co/BVoH4fYKQz pic.twitter.com/Y5qLS6EN23
— Zack Stanton (@zackstanton) April 11, 2024
I was under the impression that the defendant must be present in Federal criminal trials but not in some State criminal trials.
I take it that in this NY criminal trial, he does have to be present.
This is truly going to make him go ape-shit bonkers
Opinion: Trump seems to be searching Manhattan for one angry juror
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/10/opinions/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-eisen/index.html
Dear State of Arizona, welcome to the cool blue club
CNN commentator boldly predicts Trump has already lost Arizona after abortion ban
https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-commentator-boldly-predicts-trump-already-lost-arizona-abortion-ban
Joe Biden is Now Beating Donald Trump in the Majority of Polls
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-donald-trump-polls-presidential-election-2024-1888914