#Steinglass:
“And then, on Nov 8, the defendant was elected president.”
He notes that some of the conspiracy’s characters were aware of their roles in #Trump's election. “What have we done?” #StormyDaniels’s atty texted the #NationalEnquirer editor.
Steinglass: “we’ll never know if this effort to hoodwink the American voter” made the difference in 2016. But prosecutors don’t have to prove that it did — they just have to show that Trump was a part of a #conspiracy to aid his victory.
Justice #Merchan thanks the #jurors for their patience & flexibility as he dismisses them for a 20-min break. Then, after they leave the room, he tells the lawyers, “they look pretty alert to me” & says that he will seek to finish closing arguments today — likely sometime in the evening, people are saying 7PM-ish. (My fingers are not thrilled)
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
In the break #Trump posted “BORING!” & “FILIBUSTER” (separately. Also no such thing as filibuster in a court of #law).
#Steinglass says that after the #conspiracy to #influence the election & getting elected, #Trump still had to ensure no one found out “but here’s the problem, #MichaelCohen was out $130k.”
Steinglass says Trump couldn’t just write Cohen a check, & jurors should make no mistake: While Cohen wanted a head pat from his boss, “he also wanted his money back.”
#Steinglass discusses Jan 2017, the month #Trump was inaugurated. He describes a meeting between #MichaelCohen & #AllenWeisselberg who Cohen testified had made the arrangements to reimburse Cohen for the #HushMoney. “Right on the bank statement, Weisselberg & Cohen calculated all the money that was owed to Cohen,” Steinglass says.
[this IS literal. The notes are written by hand on the wire transfer statement, #exhibit35]
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass highlights #MichaelCohen’s testimony implicating #Trump in the charged #crimes. He shows jurors, using highlighted transcript pages, Cohen’s testimony that Trump not only approved the arrangement but was aware that the reimbursements would be classified as payments for #legal services.
Steinglass reminds jurors of the key role #AllenWeisselberg played for Trump. Weisselberg worked for Trump's father, #FredTrump, at the original #TrumpOrganization.
#Steinglass refers to exhibits that #JeffreyMcConney, a longtime loyal #Trump employee, testified about: #AllenWeisselberg’s notes setting up the repayments.
Steinglass refers to these exhibits as “the smoking guns” of the prosecution’s argument, saying they “completely blow out of the water the claim the money paid to Cohen” was for legal services.
(see above exhibit 35)
link:
https://ww2.nycourts.gov/press/index.shtml
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass is now focused on the“gross-up” of the amount that #MichaelCohen was paid for tax purposes. Legitimate legal fees are not “grossed up.”
Steinglass reminds the jury that #JeffreyMcConney, the fmr controller of the #TrumpOrganization, testified that in 50 yrs he was never aware of a payment being doubled for taxes. He then argues that this gross-up was made because the reimbursement was disguised as income.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass acknowledges that nearly every relevant piece of evidence in the trial suggests that #Trump would be reluctant to overpay for anything. But, Steinglass says, “it was worth it” to the newly elected president. “It was worth it to hide the truth about what this money was really for.”
Also you gotta think the #MichaelCohen extra costs were factored into the agreed upon figure to #StormyDaniels.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass puts his own spin on one of the defense’s #ClosingArguments, that the existence at the #TrumpOrganization of financial documents related to the charged #crimes shows that they were not crimes.
“You almost have to laugh at the way Mr. #Blanche explained it to you,” he says. “They would have destroyed evidence — committed another crime — to hide this crime, but because they didn’t do that, & these documents exist” that’s evidence that there was no crime.
If that logic held, no charge of falsifying business records would ever be successful because “The existence of the false business record in the first place would prove there was no intent to defraud.” Then, #Steinglass asks, concluding his point, “doesn’t that seem a little bit circular to you?”
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Blanche tried to make the fact that #MichaelCohen didn’t remember how much he was owed each month for the reimbursements into a suspicious thing. But #Steinglass says it demonstrates that there was no retainer agreement, & that the knowledge & the math was then in the hands of #Trump’s employees.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass addresses Blanche’s earlier point that #MichaelCohen did other #legal work for #Trump in 2017. He argues that Cohen did <10 hrs of legal work that year & says Cohen spent more time being cross-examined during this trial than he spent doing legal work in 2017.
Steinglass argues that, if the defense's arguments that Cohen was being paid for legal services held up, Trump would have ended up paying Cohen at a rate that would have added up to >$100M annually.
#Steinglass notes that #Trump himself has, several times in several places, “admitted” that the payments to #MichaelCohen were reimbursements, not payments for #legal services. This might not be a devastating argument for the defense if they’d proposed an alternative theory of the case. But instead they argued the $420k sent to Cohen was in fact a payment for legal services, so these admissions from Trump himself are not good for him.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
Steinglass shows Trump’s filing w/the federal government’s Office of Government #Ethics in May 2018 that revealed #Trump had made a payment to #MichaelCohen. The filing came days after #RudyGiuliani said on #FoxNews that Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the #StormyDaniels payment.
#Blanche cited this same filing as #evidence that Trump had no #intent to #defraud.
“The defendant didn’t actually pay a lawyer, he paid a porn star by funneling money through a lawyer” Steinglass says.
#Steinglass says that defense is arguing that #AllenWeisselberg & #MichaelCohen assumed authority over large amounts of #Trump’s money. “That’s crazy,” Steinglass says. “Neither one had anywhere near that kind of authority.”
Steinglass attacks defense’s “false narrative” about #Trump not attending to his finances after he became president. He notes an assistant in the #WhiteHouse, #MadeleineWesterhout, testified Trump paid extremely close attention to his personal finances.
#Steinglass revisits the passages of #Trump’s books which were read to the jury during the trial. Trump described himself as a frugal micromanager who advised always looking at & questioning invoices.
In one excerpt, Trump said that while decorators are generally good people, you should be very careful checking their invoices. “If Donald Trump is checking the invoices for his decorator, you can bet that he’s checking the invoices for #MichaelCohen,” Steinglass says.
More quotes from #Trump's books:
“No detail is too small to consider” &, after talking about his preference for personally signing checks “When you sign a check yourself, you’re seeing what’s really going on inside your business.”
Steinglass points jurors to testimony from #HopeHicks, in which Hicks said that Trump had expressed it “would have been bad” to have the #StormyDaniels story come out before the election.
#Steinglass describes evidence from Feb 2018.
Jurors are showing signs of fatigue.
When Steinglass talks about the the #TrumpOrganization, he says “In New York state, bottom line, you cannot lie in your business records.”
There’s a sidebar on the schedule for the remainder of the day.
As Steinglass leaves he asks jurors directly if they’re good to go a bit longer. Some must have said they could, because he is continuing .
#Steinglass is now in hour 5 of his closing (including breaks).
Steinglass is telling the prosecution’s theory w/a strong narrative. Blanche’s didn’t; his version was, everyone’s a liar & out to get #Trump.
Steinglass reviews evidence from spring 2018, when #MichaelCohen was under investigation & beginning to question his loyalty to Trump. He argues that, whatever jurors think of Cohen, “he was the defendant’s fixer, & like all fixers, he knew where the bodies were buried.”
Prosecutors have argued that a lawyer named #RobertCostello was dispatched to keep #MichaelCohen loyal. Costello was the only substantive witness called by the defense, & his appearance was nutso 🦇💩
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/nyregion/trump-hush-money-trial-robert-costello.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
#Steinglass moves to #MichaelCohen’s guilty plea to federal crimes. When #Hoffinger questioned Cohen about the pleas, she asked if he’d committed #crimes at Trump’s behest. Cohen said that he had.
Steinglass reads portions of that testimony aloud, before pivoting to #Trump’s tweets blasting Cohen right after he pleaded guilty.
Steinglass argues the tweets were a message to other witnesses. “Cooperate, & you will face the wrath of Donald Trump.”
#Steinglass again reads passages of obe of Trump’s books, in which he wrote that he can’t stomach disloyalty. Steinglass argues that #Trump disparages #witnesses who speak out against him in order to discourage other witnesses from coming forward.
Steinglass reads a Truth Social post of Trump’s from Aug 2023, in which he wrote in all capital letters: “if you go after me, I”m coming after you.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #WitnessIntimidation #StochasticTerrorism #MobTactics
#Steinglass continues the argument on #WitnessIntimidation, noting that #Trump attacked #StormyDaniels on social media the same day she had an interview w/the Manhattan DA’s office. Steinglass argues that the post contains a lie — in it, Trump said that he hadn’t seen or spoken to Daniels since meeting her on a golf course in 2006.
Steinglass says that the jury knows it to be a lie because #RhonaGraff, Trump’s loyal asst, testified that Daniels had met w/Trump at Trump Tower.
#Steinglass: “Ask yourselves, why did the defendant lie about this & why did he do it while the grand jury was considering charges in this case?”
Steinglass asks why, if #Trump simply had a business relationship w/ #StormyDaniels, he attacked her in March 2023 when she made public that she had appeared before the grand jury.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
With the jury out of the room, the prosecution & defense argue about whether #Steinglass can talk about #StormyDaniels’s state of mind.
Justice #Merchan hears the lawyers out & sides w/the defense, telling Steinglass that he’s gone as far as he needs to go in talking about Daniels being #intimidated by Trump, & that no further argument to that effect need be made.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
Break over. Justice #Merchan thanks the jurors for their flexibility & calls #Steinglass back to the lectern. Before they returned, the judge told Steinglass that he needed to wrap up — at least for the day — by 8PM (wuh?). If he does not conclude by then, it sounded as if it was possible that Steinglass would have to conclude tomorrow.
Wonder how the #NodFarter aka #Trump will hold up…
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Steinglass, who had stuck to a chronological timeline, goes back to 2016 to connect #Trump to each element that prosecutors say is a #crime. He argues that David #Pecker corroborated the idea that #MichaelCohen had kept Trump up to date on the #HushMoney payments at every step. Cohen, Steinglass says, “is not some rogue actor here.”
Steinglass talks about the infamous tape of Trump & Micahel Cohen discussing the payment to #KarenMcDougal.
Blanche pointed out that #MichaelCohen secretly taped #Trump & other people, raising questions about why he’d record his own client.
Redirect addressed it neatly, Cohen said he made it to prove to McDougal’s atty that Trump would come through.
Steinglass now has to guide jurors through some of the most important parts of his argument to drive home key points.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Steinglass says there’s no reason to believe that #MichaelCohen didn’t alert #Trump to #StormyDaniels’s story in early Oct 2016.
He reviews the evidence from that month that corroborates Cohen’s testimony, including his calls w/Trump.
Steinglass rhetorically asks, “Is this timing just all a coincidence, every single one of these things?” Then says, “Mr. Trump is being kept abreast of every development.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass highlights other key testimony, including #HopeHicks's remarks that it would have been “out of character” for #MichaelCohen to have made that payment out of the kindness of his heart — meaning, without approval from #Trump.
Steinglass is linking Trump to each & every action that prosecutors say led to the #crime, the falsification of 34 business records related to the #HushMoney payment to #StormyDaniels.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass began prosecution’s closing arguments at around 2:07 PM ET.
Steinglass takes jurors through Trump’s own words in 2018, when he described the payments to #MichaelCohen as “reimbursements.”
Steinglass displays a tweet from #Trump, but he also said it in a #FoxNews interview that summer.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass reviews the case for what may be the final time, starting w/the #Trump Tower meeting. So this is an abridged version of his already abridged timeline, reducing the case down to its key elements.
Steinglass presents the very many moments at which Trump spoke to key players in this series of events around the #StormyDaniels payment.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass makes a specific argument — that #MichaelCohen wasn’t just freelancing, as the #Trump lawyers have suggested repeatedly trying to distance Trump from the events in the case. It’s a microcosm of scenarios we’ve seen over & over w/Trump for decades.
#SEC investigators are told that staffers made mistakes, or reporters are told Trump was never really involved in specific controversies & aides actually had.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass offers 3 rebuttals of the defense’s argument that #MichaelCohen acted on
his own, without Trump’s knowledge.
1. #Trump was a micromanager who was directly involved w/the details both of his business and his political campaign.
2. Cohen was & is a self-promoter & it “defies all common sense” that he’d undertake these extensive efforts on behalf of Trump & keep it to himself.
3. Trump was the only one who would have benefitted from the scheme.
#Steinglass says that #MichaelCohen just wanted to be reimbursed & had no reason to push for creating false business records. “The defendant was the beneficiary of this entire scheme,” Steinglass says. “He was the one trying to get elected.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Steinglass tells the jurors that thejudge will explain reasonable doubt to them and & them to listen carefully. He reminds them of the concept of #AccessorialLiability: That a person who directs someone to commit a #crime is equally guilty of that crime. Steinglass brings up his preferred analogy for this, the husband who hires a hitman to kill his wife. The defense objects & the judge sustains it: It is his role to explain the #law, not Steinglass’s.
#Steinglass again shows the jury People’s Exhibit 350, a chart created by the prosecutors that summarizes the 34 counts. Earlier, Steinglass specifically called out this exhibit & told the jury that they could request to see this document during their deliberations. It will be interesting to see if they take him up on that when they start to deliberate tomorrow.
Steinglass says the prosecution presented a “mountain of evidence” related to its theory of the #Trump Tower #conspiracy.
#Steinglass says that #Trump’s #intent to #defraud could not be any clearer, arguing that Trump could have simply paid #StormyDaniels himself, but instead devised an elaborate scheme to pay Daniels secretly that required the involvement of at least 10 other people. “Everything Mr. Trump & his cohorts did in this case was cloaked in lies,” Steinglass says, adding, “The name of the game was concealment, & all roads lead to the man who benefited the most, Donald Trump.”
#Steinglass says that the evidence is overwhelming & that while #Trump is a former president, the #law applies to him the same as it does to everyone else.
Specifically, Steinglass invokes Trump’s infamous line about being able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue & get away with it, saying that he in fact can’t. Blanche objects, & Merchan sustains it.
Trump shakes his head as Steinglass says this line.
#Steinglass says that soon it will be time to deliberate and that the jurors should return & find #Trump guilty on all 34 counts against him. He asks that, in the interest of #justice & the state of #NewYork, the jurors find Trump guilty. He thanks the jurors for their time & he’s done.
#ClosingArguments have ended in the first #criminal trial of an American president.
Tomorrow, the jury will receive instructions on the #law from the judge, & then begin their deliberations.
Nonilex
Ross of Ottawa