The three ring circus trial has begun with the media breathlessly following…..
The firsts criminal trial for a American ex-President…..
Nixon avoided the distiction by quiting…
Oh , and Trump was trying to stay awake in court….
HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW:
- Trump is charged with 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with a porn star.
- The trial begins with jury selection. The goal is to identify potential jurors who don’t raise any red flags for bias.
- Trump will be staying at his Trump Tower residence in midtown New York while the trial is ongoing.
….
The district attorney’s office is asking the judge to impose a fine of $1,000 for each of three Truth Social posts that prosecutors say violate the judge’s gag order, prosecutor Christopher Conroy said. Prosecutors are also asking the judge to order Trump to take down the posts.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that Trump wasn’t violating the gag order because he was merely “responding to salacious repeated attacks by these witnesses.” Merchan replied: “I don’t recall that there’s an exception if he’s being attacked.”…
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The first courtroom sketches are in and everyone looks… sullen.
One of them features a fairly intense moment of eye contact between Trump and his lead attorney Todd Blanche. There’s also one of Justice Juan Merchan looking down at some papers and another of prosecutors scowling in the direction of Trump’s defense table….
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Folks, prepare for some hurry up and wait.
Justice Juan Merchan’s trial schedule — driven by his habit of using Wednesdays to deal with other court business, as well as the Passover holiday — means Donald Trump’s trial will meet on seven days in April. On two of those days, court will adjourn early. Nearly all days are likely to be consumed by jury selection.
That means we may not get a single day of substantive testimony — or even opening arguments — until May.
My quick math: Trial will be in session on April 16, 18 and 19 this week. Plus, the two shortened days on April 22 and 23. Then full trial days on April 25 and 26 before the trial recesses until May 2….
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New York Times: “Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”
“Trump has apparently jolted back awake, noticing the notes his lawyer passed him several minutes ago,”
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image….In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump (left) sits with his attorney Todd Blanche before Justice Juan Merchan at the beginning of his trial at a Manhattan criminal court in New York, on April 15, 2024. | Pool photo by Jane Rosenberg
Trump IS gonna get convicted
Half of Possible Trump Jurors Said They Couldn’t Be Fair
New York Times: “Of the 96 possible jurors brought into the room, more than 50 raised their hands to say they couldn’t be fair. They were immediately excused.”
Politicalwire