Replies

Dershowitz added:

"I'm sure Costello was trying to hide his contempt for the court, but the judge had such a thin skin that he threatened him. He said he would strike the testimony and hold him in contempt if he rolled his eyes again. You have a constitutional right to roll your eyes and to stare at anybody. It was absurd!"

"And then, to sit so close to Cohen, watching him give lie after lie — would you believe what he actually said? He would not have accepted a pardon from Donald Trump after he had previously said he would do anything to avoid prison. He would, essentially, he would lie, he would cheat, he would do anything to avoid prison — but 'I won't accept the pardon from Donald Trump,'"

"If you believe that, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. There [were] so many lies! And then, failure to allow a full testimony from the expert when the other side was allowed to introduce letters saying — that the jury will believe it, as Jonathan correctly said — that it was illegal. 'It was illegal! It was illegal!' This expert was gonna come in and rebut that. This judge has committed more reversible errors in the one day I was in the courtroom than I've seen in years and years of practicing law."

“Then, to sit so close to Cohen, watching him give lie after lie — would you believe what he actually said? He would not have accepted a pardon from Donald Trump after he had previously said he would do anything to avoid prison. He would, essentially, he would lie, he would cheat, he would do anything to avoid prison — but ‘I won’t accept the pardon from Donald Trump,’”

“If you believe that, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. There [were] so many lies! And then, failure to allow a full testimony from the expert when the other side was allowed to introduce letters saying — that the jury will believe it, as Jonathan correctly said — that it was illegal. ‘It was illegal! It was illegal!’ This expert was gonna come in and rebut that. This judge has committed more reversible errors in the one day I was in the courtroom than I’ve seen in years and years of practicing law.”

In Nazi Germany:

People’s Court judge, Roland Freisler didn’t allow the Defendant to actually have any defense.

Why waste time with things that didn’t matter?
So, here we are.

posted on 5/20/2024, 4:01:00 PM by ClearCase_guy

It's obvious that Merchan expects a conviction and is doing everything he can to ensure one. He allowed the prosecution to keep interrupting Costello so the jury would not get a clear idea of his testimony, and he didn't allow the expert on federal election law to testify at all. Trey Gowdy has opined that the jurors tend to side with the judge, and of course the judge did his best to exclude anyone who might be impartial. Then he lets the jurors spend the next seven days around family and friends and being exposed to the mainstream media (although I think he told them not to watch the news).

Some people are hoping for a hung jury and that is not impossible but I think the chances are pretty slim, maybe 10%.

Assuming the judge gets the conviction he wants, does he order Trump to prison immediately or let the appeals play out first? The White House and DOJ (who are behind the case in the first place) would love to see Trump imprisoned but that might be a bridge too far even for Merchan.

Costello pointed out that Bragg did not present his exculpatory evidence to the grand jury even though he was required to do so. If he had, the grand jury probably wouldn't have voted for a trial.