Levin: My hope is that there's at least one juror with the smarts, guts, and conscience, who cuts through the static, the collateral evidence, and the judge's misconduct, and says no to Merchan, no to Bragg, no to the Biden regime

I am not in the Manhattan courthouse, but I am listening carefully to what lawyers I trust (from Fox) who are there are texting/emailing to reporters, who are, in turn, reading them on air at Fox, as well as those who have left the courthouse and are speaking directly on air. The judge is a disgusting fraud who has his foot on the defense lawyer's neck, while he allows the prosecutor to ramble on in every direction, including (only now) about federal campaign law and personal insinuations about Trump, as well as suggestions that Cohen's actions can be inferred on to Trump. Outrageous.

This judge was specifically appointed to handle this case. From the start, he has shredded the law and the rules of evidence, he has stomped all over due process, he has silenced Trump respecting most aspects of the case, he has allowed collateral evidence into the trial (of which there is a ton), he has assumed jurisdiction over federal election law (preventing the defense from putting on one of the top experts in the nation from testifying to the jury), he has not directed the prosecution to state the alleged federal crimes with specificity (re federal campaign law, he has not required proof of anything let alone a citation to what law they're only now inferring), etc. Then there was Stormy Daniels, who was used to embarrass Trump and spew her hate and nothing more. Michael Cohen, who lies whenever he opens his mouth, was the lead state witness. That is how preposterous this entire case is. Now, the Access Hollywood tape. None of this is relevant. It is all intended to create anger and hate against Trump by the jurors, which is an abomination. This character assassination, under cover of a so-called justice system, is pure Stalinism. One can only imagine what kind of jury instructions this so-called judge will give the jury.

Meanwhile, to underscore the political nature of all of this (as if it needs to be underscored), the Biden campaign used Robert De Niro, a foul-mouthed mad man, to accuse Trump of effectively being Genghis Kahn in the midst of the closing arguments, and the White House has told the media that Biden himself will comment as president after the jury issues its verdict.

Let's remember, this is a non-case. There is no crime, federal, state, or local. The state misdemeanor having to do with corporate reporting was not violated. The NDA was a legal expense and reported as such. The misdemeanor statue had already run anyway.

As a result of leftwing groups filing a complaint with the FEC, claiming the NDA was an illegal federal campaign contribution, the FEC said it was not. As if all of this were not enough, the SDNY U.S. attorney's office took another look at the case. It dropped it. Indeed, it was Cohen who agreed to committing a list of federal crimes, including perjury. The former Manhattan DA looked at it and dropped it. Bragg originally blew it off but when one of Biden's henchmen was sent to NY to work on the non-fraud fraud case, and then moved to the non-crime criminal case, it was taken up. Then the preposterous theory was concocted: well, the state misdemeanor statute can be revived if the NDA can be said to have covered up another crime, in this case a federal campaign violation. And their key witness, Cohen. Of course, the DA has no jurisdictional authority on federal campaign matters. The FEC and SDNY do have jurisdiction but refused to bring charges. Hence, there was no federal campaign violation. The judge refused to allow Brad Smith, former chairman of the FEC and federal campaign law expert, to testify for the defense as an expert witness, who would have fired a fatal legal torpedo into the DA's case. As he said on three different occasions on Life, Liberty & Levin, there was no federal election crime, which is precisely why the judge wouldn't let the jury hear from him. There's much more, of course.

The so-called judge in this case, Juan Merchan, is what we used to call a hanging judge. That is, the trial process is nothing more than a formality. In the end, nothing can be said, no evidence can be presented, no witness can alter, and no injustice can prevent the preordained outcome demanded by the judge. At least that is this judge's intent and goal.

Remember, at the crux of all of this, there has been no evidence that Trump violated federal election law, let alone did so with intent and for which there is no reasonable doubt. The state law cannot be revived without proving this. My hope is that there's at least one juror with the smarts, guts, and conscience, who cuts through the static, the collateral evidence, and the judge's misconduct, and says no to Merchan, no to Bragg, no to the Biden regime, and no to this horrendous tyranny.

None of what you posted is relevant, and some of it is false.

Trump joined Melania on the evening of her birthday.

From The Hill (4/26/2024) - Trump laments missing Melania’s birthday for hush money trial: ‘It would be nice to be with her’

Former President Trump is sending a long-distance birthday message to his wife, Melania, straight from the New York City courthouse where he’s on trial in his hush money case.
“I want to start by wishing my wife, Melania, a very happy birthday,” Trump said in brief remarks to the press Friday outside the lower Manhattan courthouse.
The former first lady turned 54 on Friday.
“It would be nice to be with her,” Trump said before entering court for the fourth day of proceedings, the first criminal trial of a current or former American president.
“But I’m in a courthouse for a rigged trial. It’s a rigged trial — terrible,” Trump, who’s repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the judge in the case is corrupt, told reporters.

Merchan adjourned the court at 4:30pm on Friday April 24. Trump flew home on Friday evening for the weekend, a three hour flight, which means he wouldn't have gotten home until after 10:00PM. Some birthday.

For SCOTUS arguments, it’s typically just attorneys who attend as there is no other testimony.

Irrelevant and false. The gallery is full of spectators.

Jack Smith isn't licensed to argue before the Supreme Court, but he was present in the gallery.

The President wanted to attend the arguments for the case that bears his name (Donald J. Trump v. United States (23-3228). Merchan said no.

The dental appointment was in April. Barron graduated in May.

Irrelevant.

President Trump requested the day off on the first day of the trial. Merchan dithered rather than immediately saying yes or no.

From People Magazine (April 15, 2024) Donald Trump Says He Needs to Pause His Criminal Trial So He Can Attend Son Barron's High School Graduation

Trump's counsel asked the judge to adjourn court on a few specific dates so that they could attend other events, including a Supreme Court hearing this month and Barron's high school graduation in May.
While Merchan quickly declined to adjourn for the Supreme Court hearing — noting that Trump's first priority should be attending his trial — he kicked the question of Barron's graduation down the line, saying that he has no issue with the nature of the request but needs to see how the trial unfolds before making a decision.
"Regarding counsel's request that the court adjourn on Friday, May 17th for Mr. Trump to attend his son's high school graduation and Friday, June 3rd to allow a member of the defense team to attend their son's graduation, I cannot rule on those two requests at this time," Merchan said.
"It really depends on how we are doing on time and where we are in the trial," he continued. "If everything is going according to schedule without unnecessary delays, then I am sure we will be able to adjourn for one or both of those days, but if we are running behind schedule, we will not be able to."

From Daily Caller (April 22, 2024) CNN Panel Finds It ‘Pretty Remarkable’ Juror Can Go To Dentist Appointment While Trump Restricted From Major Events

A CNN panel on Monday said they found it striking that an alternate juror in former President Donald Trump’s case can attend a dentist appointment while the defendant cannot attend momentous events...
“It’s interesting. Court today was supposed to go to 2:00,” CNN legal correspondent Paula Reid said. “That’s an abbreviated day to recognize Passover, but instead it‘s actually going to go to 12:30 because one of the alternates has a dentist appointment. So, the judge said that he is going to allow that alternate to go to the dentist appointment, saying we can‘t afford to lose one of our alternates.”
“Just pretty remarkable to, I don’t know. I’m curious to know what the former president thinks about having to stop today at 12:30 because of a juror’s dentist appointment,” host Anderson Cooper said...
“And the fact that he can’t attend Thursday‘s historic Supreme Court argument on presidential immunity and there’s an open question about whether he’ll be able to attend his son’s graduation,” Reid added. “The judge said he’ll consider that, but look, he’s a criminal defendant. He has to attend every single day of court unless he gets a waiver, but the jurors, the judge has signaled he’s going to work around their schedule.”

From People Magazine (April 30, 2024) Donald Trump Can Skip Court for Son Barron’s High School Graduation, Judge Rules

Donald Trump will be able to attend his son Barron Trump’s high school graduation after all.
On Tuesday, April 30, New York Judge Juan Merchan gave the former president — who is on trial for 34 felony charges — permission to miss a court date in May in order to attend Barron's graduation from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida.
“I don’t think the May 17 date is a problem,” Merchan said in the courtroom, per the The New York Times...
"We picked the jury pretty quickly," he said, according to the outlet. "So Mr. Trump can certainly attend that date."

-PJ

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

"Merchan is a crooked judge, pure and simple"