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Guilty
Powerline Blog ^ | 5/30/2024

Posted on 05/30/2024 4:29:32 PM PDT by cuz1961

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To: Vision

There is a time for that. We are dealing with Totolitarians. Even Achient Rome wasn’t that.


21 posted on 05/30/2024 4:50:31 PM PDT by cowboyusa (YESHUA IS KING AMERICA, AND HE WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!)
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To: Fungi

Don’t think it will work. Without a grounds-up support network to legitimize the process, which the right lacks, these efforts will be quickly be seen as crudely vengeful, and de-legitimized.


22 posted on 05/30/2024 4:53:35 PM PDT by nwrep
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To: cuz1961

https://nyyrc.com/statements/merchan-made-his-bed-now-let-him-lie-in-it/

Merchan Made His Bed; Now Let Him Lie in It.
May 30, 2024

Never before has this happened. It’s official: we live in a banana republic. Joe Biden has become the first President of the United States to imprison a political opponent.

The history of American jurisprudence is marked by lows. Today’s verdict and the case which led to it will be remembered for their blatant partisan nature and their dogged pursuit of Donald J. Trump.

What motivates Colombia-born Judge Juan Merchan to attack Trump, to exclude and accept arbitrarily testimony on political merits, to instruct the jury in ridiculous contortions, is clear: he HATES the traditional American system and instead relishes its replacement by a leftist utopian vision.

Real Americans will not be fooled by Merchan’s antics. We know who our champion is, and if Donald J. Trump has shown anything, it is that he relentlessly fights for our people and its interests.

Merchan has done Biden’s will. Let’s see how it plays out for them.


23 posted on 05/30/2024 4:54:26 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: cuz1961

Never happen…..pubbies are political cowards….


24 posted on 05/30/2024 4:58:50 PM PDT by wny
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To: cuz1961

https://thenationalpulse.com/tag/trump-trial/

Trump Trial Day 17: Closing & Phantom Crimes.

...
Former President Donald J. Trump’s lead counsel, Todd Blanche, handled the defense team’s closing arguments on Tuesday. For over two weeks, a Manhattan jury has heard evidence from prosecutors and the defense alike regarding allegations that former President Trump allegedly made hush money payments to Stormy Daniels as part of an effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.After long days of testimony and some fairly explosive moments in the courtroom, Blanche’s summation began much like his opening argument a little over two weeks ago, stressing that the prosecution cannot meet the burden of proof.
‘THE BURDEN OF PROOF.’
“I started out by saying something that I’m going to repeat to you right now. It’s as true right now as it was on April 22. And that is President Trump is innocent,” Blanche told jurors. He added: “He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof — period. The evidence is all in.”The Trump defense attorney stressed the weakness of District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s case. Blanche told the jury, “The evidence should leave you wanting more. You should want and expect more than the testimony of Michael Cohen.”“You should demand more than the testimony of Keith Davidson, an attorney who really was just trying to extort money from President Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 election,” the defense attorney added.
ALL ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS.
As he continued his closing argument, Blanche reiterated that at its core, District Attorney Bragg‘s case is one about documents and nothing else. He stressed that the testimony of Stormy Daniels has no bearing on the case or charges. “This case is about documents. It’s a paper case. This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago,” he told the jury.Blanche also stressed that the alleged encounter, according to former President Trump, never even occurred in the manner that Daniels claims.Shifting back to Cohen, Blanche told the jury they must determine if the former President “had anything to do with how payments to Michael Cohen” were recorded or “booked on his personal ledger for his personal account at Trump Tower.” He reiterated to the jury that at the time, Trump wasn’t even living at Trump Tower but was instead serving as President of the United States and living in the White House in Washington, D.C.“The invoices were all submitted by Michael Cohen,” Blanche argued. He continued: “You’re going to hear me talk a lot about Michael Cohen today, and that should not surprise you. You cannot convict President Trump of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt on the words of Michael Cohen.”
‘COHEN LIED TO YOU.’
While the defense’s closing began with a plodding start, Blanche finally delivered blows to Michael Cohen as the prosecution‘s star witness. “They were lies. Pure and simple,” he said of Cohen’s testimony. Blanche stressed that no evidence was presented that backed up Cohen’s assertions, and even more damning, there were no credible witnesses presented who could corroborate what Cohen claimed.“There were key conversations, key interactions that he claimed he had with Dylan Howard, with Keith Schiller, Allen Weisselberg. Those are important,” Blanche told the jury before hamming home: “Keith Schiller, Dylan Howard, Allen Weisselberg were not witnesses in this trial.”The defense attorney continued, explaining to jurors that to convict, the prosecution would have needed to demonstrate that there were false entries on the payment paperwork and that Trump had intended to defraud. “The records were not false, and there was no intent to defraud,” Blanche stressed.“Cohen typically wrote ‘for services rendered.’ But here’s the thing, and I don’t even think there’s a dispute about this, Cohen was rendering services to Trump as his personal attorney,” Blanche contended. While acknowledging that invoices were at times stapled to checks presented to Trump to sign, the lead defense counsel added: “General practice is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”“Cohen lied to you,” Blanche emphasized to the jury, pausing on each word before repeating: “Cohen lied to you.”
CATCH, KILL, & ELECTION INFLUENCE.
Blanche stressed that the alleged “catch and kill” plot with David Pecker and American Media, Inc. (AMI) was anything but. “This is the same thing AMI has been doing for decades. They had been doing it for President Trump since the 90s,” Blanche argued. He added: “This was good business for them — a mutually beneficial relationship with celebrities.”Noting that AMI’s flagship publication is little more than a supermarket tabloid, Blanche said: “The idea, even if there was something wrong with it, the idea that sophisticated people like President Trump and David Pecker believed that positive stories in the National Enquirer could influence the 2016 election is preposterous.” He emphasized that the total circulation of the National Enquirer in 2016 was just 350,000.“Millions and millions of people voted in the 2016 election, so the idea that they really thought that this meeting in 2015 at Trump Tower would ultimately influence the election makes no sense,” Trump’s lead counsel contented before continuing: “The idea that the National Enquirer could criminally influence the election by republishing stories that had already been out there in other forms should make you shake your head. It makes no sense.”Blanche, now showing the jury a PowerPoint presentation, outlined how the alleged “catch and kill” scheme was never discussed during the August 2015 meeting with David Pecker. “It wasn’t even discussed at the time the conspiracy was formed. No financial discussion. No discussion about catch and kill. Think about that,” he said.
‘AN AXE TO GRIND.’
Closing out his summation, Blanche took full aim at Michael Cohen‘s credibility. The defense attorney argued that Cohen had made the payments to Stormy Daniels of his own accord in a scheme to ingratiate himself with Trump in the hopes he’d receive a high-ranking position in the White House. Hitting on Cohen’s motivation to lie to a court again, Blanche argued: “He told you he didn’t want a job in the administration. But that was a lie, another lie.”“Mr. Cohen had an axe to grind because he didn’t appreciate what President Trump did and did not do for him,” he added. After reviewing the testimony of Cohen’s former legal adviser, Robert Costello, Blanche told the jury: “I don’t know how many lies is enough lies to reject Mr. Cohen’s testimony.”Next, Blanche reminded the jury of the pivotal moment where he exposed Cohen for having lied regarding his alleged phone call with Trump regarding the Daniels payment. “That was his sworn testimony. It was a lie… This isn’t a little lie. This was a lie about the charged conduct involving Ms. Daniels,” Blanche said, adding: “He told you he talked to President Trump on October 24 at 8:02 PM, updating him about the Daniels situation. That was a lie, and he got caught red-handed.”“He’s repeatedly lied under oath. He’s lied to his family. He lied to his wife about the home equity line of credit … he lied to his banker,” Blanche said of Cohen, concluding: “He’s literally like an MVP of liars.”
TEN REASONS FOR REASONABLE DOUBT.
In the conclusion of his summation, Blanche laid out ten reasons for reasonable doubt to the jury that he had covered throughout his closing arguments. The list included:
Cohen created the allegedly fraudulent invoices, not Trump;
There’s no evidence Trump knew the invoices were sent;
There is “absolutely” no evidence that Trump had any intent to defraud;
The prosecution has not shown an attempt to commit or conceal another crime;
There is “absolutely” evidence of an agreement to influence the 2016 election;
AMI would have run the doorman’s story no matter what if it was true;
Karen McDougal did not want her story published. Thus, it was not a “catch and kill” plot;
Stormy Daniels‘s allegations were already public well before the 2016 election;
Prosecutors never present anything showing manipulation of evidence;
Cohen cannot be trusted: “He’s the human embodiment of reasonable doubt.”
MERCHAN INTEVENES.
Democrat-aligned Judge Juan Merchan, for the most part, gave the defense enough room to make its case in its closing arguments. However, when Blanche, at the end of his summation, told the jury, “You cannot send someone to prison, you cannot convict somebody, based upon the words of Michael Cohen,” the prosecution was quick to object with an irate Merchan sustaining the objection.“You know that making a comment like that is highly inappropriate. It is simply not allowed. Period. It’s hard for me to imagine that was accidental in any way,” Merchan said, scolding Blanche for making the “outrageous” comment at the end of his summation.Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the judge he believed Blanche’s comments were “a blatant and wholly inappropriate” effort to influence the jury and gain sympathy for former President Trump. Judge Merchan told the court that he’d give a curative instruction to the jury regarding Blanche’s prison comments.
...


25 posted on 05/30/2024 4:59:27 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: cuz1961
‘Republican attorneys general and district attorneys should bring criminal charges against Democratic officeholders wherever possible’

Yes they should and no they won't. Instead we have a**holes like Mike DeWine scurrying to get Biden onto the Ohio ballot despite missing deadlines. Republicans, by and large, are garbage.
26 posted on 05/30/2024 5:00:23 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: cuz1961

Well then, precedent is set. Time to put Clinton on trial for the $850,000 paid to Paula Jones to make her go away. And how many members of Congress will stand trial for payments, paid out on their behalf from the “secret” hush money fund funded by We The People?


27 posted on 05/30/2024 5:07:08 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: cuz1961

lol...one of the funniest and most naive article I’ve ever read. The author talks as if the “Republican’ party has a different goal and ideology then the Democrat party.

If we believe the party is going to ride to the rescue and fight against its own kind we are living in a fantasy world.

I’ll go further. The author is complicit in the destruction of the United States by advancing the false idea that there are different ideologies in the parties. He is continuing the illusion of choice being presented to us by the beast power.


28 posted on 05/30/2024 5:07:45 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: cuz1961

“ ‘Republican attorneys general and district attorneys should bring criminal charges against Democratic officeholders wherever possible’…”

YES!!!


29 posted on 05/30/2024 5:08:59 PM PDT by piytar
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To: cuz1961
What’s clear is the third-world trash judge made numerous reversible “errors.” The fact there were so many indicates they were intentional, not errors. Merchan should be facing election interference charges for his many intentional acts.

Of course, Republicans face a disadvantage that Democrats don’t. Some cases, including, I assume, a criminal prosecution of Biden, would have to be brought on the Democrats’ home turf, Washington, D.C. If that is the case, so be it: as Mark Steyn says, the process is the punishment.

Regarding venue, Congress controls Article 3 courts. They could require Trump’s retributive cases be brought in more normal areas, like the Midwest or the South, instead of the leftist DC district. A large measure of expensive turnabout must be implemented.

30 posted on 05/30/2024 5:09:27 PM PDT by Sgt_Schultze (When your business model depends on slave labor, you're always going to need more slaves.)
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To: DouglasKC
ken paxton proves you wrong

you may now return to laying on your back and peeing on yourself

( forgive my euphemism )

with all due respect

31 posted on 05/30/2024 5:10:47 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: Sarah Barracuda
They wont, the GOP are feckless cowards they only send out strongly worded tweets while America burns to the ground

You are correct sir. They don’t have the stones, and many of them, are on the side of the rats 🐀

32 posted on 05/30/2024 5:15:02 PM PDT by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. Father of Air Force pilot. Both bitten by the aviation bug)
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To: cuz1961

Absofrigginlutely!


33 posted on 05/30/2024 5:17:29 PM PDT by From The Deer Stand (Mp)
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To: cuz1961

It’s an old story with Republicans: They should, but they won’t.


34 posted on 05/30/2024 5:20:56 PM PDT by djpg
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To: clive bitterman

The Bible says nothing about God helping those who help themselves.
Quite the opposite.


35 posted on 05/30/2024 5:22:38 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: From The Deer Stand

the dems have really underestimated

https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1796299638586446093

( cussing in vid )


36 posted on 05/30/2024 5:23:31 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: cuz1961

Every AG and DA should be convening Grandy Juries to issue arrest warrants for those involved in this overthrow of the US government. Arrest the judge and prosecutors and bring them to trial.


37 posted on 05/30/2024 5:24:37 PM PDT by CodeToad (Rule #1: The elites want you dead.)
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To: cuz1961
454735-567b72ebd4a1c19eb8db04f812e19e9a
38 posted on 05/30/2024 5:40:45 PM PDT by cuz1961
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To: cuz1961

Mark Levin— just now, speaking of Landmark Legal Foundation— to DO JUST THIS. It is time for LEGAL Brass Knuckles applied to the DEMONRAT machine politicians. Directed aggressive attacks- make them PAY AND PAY AND PAY, and still Lose!!


39 posted on 05/30/2024 5:47:54 PM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis )
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To: chuckee

Hur is or was ostensibly a Republican, iirc. Will need to look him up. Clearly Merrick Garland chose him for JUST the results he gave.. to protect Poopy Pants Dementia Boy Joe.


40 posted on 05/30/2024 5:49:34 PM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis )
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