squistion

https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1795575794846364055 Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass to the jury: "These documents are so damning that you almost have to laugh" at the defense's arguments.

I am pretty sure they played that tape during the trial but I can't recall if they made that argument. I think they are allowed to draw a conclusion during the closing arguments they did not make during the trial, but maybe one of the attorneys here can speak to that.

People are calling an 80 year old a has-been.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795543959520870572 We're on a brief recess.

https://x.com/tribelaw/status/1795532793742802969 Laurence Tribe “This scheme could very well be what got President Trump elected.” — Josh Steinglass, for the People of New York, in his devastating closing argument. Think this was a minor crime? Think again! It was arguably the biggest felony in American history. Certainly the most harmful.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795541272381526247 STEINGLASS: “This tape unequivocally shows a presidential candidate actively engaging in a scheme to influence the election…” STEINGLASS: So now Cohen has gotten his approval from the boss and the plan is to transfer Karen McD life rights via a shell company. STEINGLASS: And the next day transfer docs are signed by Pecker and Cohen. STEINGLASS: But transfer never goes through because the general counsel said no don’t do that. STEINGLASS: After speaking to his general counsel, Pecker changes his mind, and then calls Cohen in first week of Oct. and tells him to rip up agreement. STEINGLASS: AMI ends up eating the whole $150,000.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795540418429620315 Re. the 9/6/16 secret recording of Trump by Cohen: STEINGLASS: “The metadata for this file proves it was not tampered with in any way." STEINGLASS: This recording shows the defendant's “cavalier willingness to hide this payoff.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795538991061823551 Re. AMI's conciliation agreement with the FEC: Steinglass reads from the Statement of Admitted Facts in Non-Prosecution Agreement from AMI with the SDNY. STEINGLASS: Critical here is Pecker’s acknowledgement is he never intended to publish the story under any circumstances, despite this would’ve been National Enquirer gold - a year long sexual affair with a presidential candidate - and he was never going to publish STEINGLASS: “Pecker was willing to sacrifice AMI’s bottom line in service of Trump’s Campaign. This deal was the very antithesis of a normal, legitimate press function.” This was in coordination with the campaign the very definition of an unlawful campaign contribution.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795537302782943581 STEINGLASS: The deal he sends over wasn't what they were expecting. AMI didn't give a hoot about the contract. They didn't give a hoot about the magazine covers. They were window dressing, there to disguise…. STEINGLASS: So that Karen McDougal couldn't take them somewhere else. It was so they could have have plausible deniability. STEINGLASS: Davidson tells Howard they he told Cohen that Howard was instrumental in getting deal done. “Another one done” the text reads. STEINGLASS: NDA with McDougal had effective date of August 5. 8/10/16 payment made to Karen McDougal.

Indeed, I have lost track of how many times I seen commentators compare this case to what happened in To Kill A Mockingbird.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795536508536906063 7/28/16 TEXT MESSAGES by and between Davidson and Howard: “I’m going to Make Australia Great Again” STEINGLASS: The joke is funny because it's a palpable recognition of what they’re doing. They’re helping trump get elected by squashing this story. Trump is looming behind everything they’re doing.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795535629289242750 STEINGLASS: “This call makes it impossible for the defense to claim that Cohen was acting on his own here”….this transaction was an unlawful corporate contribution to the Trump Campaign and not only did defendant know about it but he participated. It's powerful evidence of the defendant’s participation. STEINGLASS: Pecker testified Cohen said he’d get back to him with defendant's answer, told him to buy it and said "don’t worry the Boss will take care of it." Pecker understood this to mean Trump/Trump Org. would reimburse him for any money spent buying story STEINGLASS: Pecker knew and testified that authorization was coming. Because as he told you, Cohen was not authorized to buy lunch without Mr. Trump’s approval.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795535389278830929 STEINGLASS: Pecker advised Trump to buy the story anyways because it was too risky so close to the election - they should take the story off the market. They’re not talking about jumpstarting Karen McDougal’s career here; they’re trying to protect the Trump campaign.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795534298348466478 STEINGLASS: As Cohen told you, he was under strict orders to keep the defendant informed of these developments. [STEINGLASS is walking the jurors through the cell records] STEINGLASS: Cohen was also texting with Howard directly. Howard was giving real-time updates but Cohen wants to speak on the phone STEINGLASS: Cohen was pushing so hard he even got Pecker to reach out even though the meeting was still ongoing. Why? Because he needed to provide updates to the Boss. STEINGLASS: during a three-way call, Howard says explicitly I’ve got this locked down for you and won’t let it out of my grasp. STEINGLASS: There’s not a lot of room for debate here. Howard is not shopping for a story… he’s “acting in cahoots” with a candidate to kill a story. Pecker said Trump said Karen [McDougal] was a nice girl which suggested to Pecker that Trump knew her and Pecker believed the story to be true and Pecker told Trump he should buy the story but the defendant was reluctant because he felt the story always gets out.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795533233926582710 Now, the Karen McDougal catch and kill scheme: "Catch and Kill Volume 2" STEINGLASS: On June 6, Keith Davidson reached out to Dylan Howard and Davidson texted Howard that he had a blockbuster Trump story. He could get more than anyone for it.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795532838848336024 STEINGLASS: “This was overt election fraud,” an act in furtherance of a conspiracy to promote president Trump's candidacy.. STEINGLASS: “It was an illegal corporate campaign contribution made by AMI, and it was done in collusion with the candidate.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795532710280040498 STEINGLASS: On December 15, someone at Trump Org. called Cohen on his cell and spoke for 6 mins. The following day Cohen called Dylan Howard, and day after that, AMI and Dino the Doorman signed the amendment to the source agreement. As I mentioned, this amendment called for immediate payment.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795531997458190844 What is interesting: even though the story was not true they still shelled out $30,000….they knew the story wasn't true and when asked why are you paying for an untrue story Pecker testified that if the story got out to another publication it would have been very embarrassing to the Trump Campaign…… STEINGLASS: “This was really catch and kill.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795531293129871461 Re. the Dino the Doorman catch and kill: STEINGLASS: Pecker testified he was willing to pay “far more” for this story than they’d normally pay because of potential embarrassment to the Trump Campaign. Story turned out to not be true.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795530754119655524 STEINGLASS: Once AMI purchased stories on a candidate's behalf and in coordination with the campaign, those purchases became unlawful campaign contributions. I suggest to you that the value of this corrupt bargain at the Trump Tower meeting cannot be overstated. It turned out to be one of the most valuable contributions ever made…. “This scheme, cooked up by these men…could very well be what got President Trump elected…”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795529368309321988 STEINGLAS: At that Aug 2015 meeting at TT, the prism you should analyze the evidence in this case: three rich powerful men high up in TT trying to become even more powerful trying to control the flow of information to voters. The key components of that August 2015 agreement: to accentuate the positive. To promote campaign without endorsing Trump - by colluding with the campaign to manufacture favorable content - outside of its normal press function. They even gave advance copies to Trump. To publish stories attacking the defendant’s political opponents. Real game changer of this meeting was the catch and kill component. Prior to the August 2015 meeting and Mr. Pecker was very clear about this, he never agreed to publish hit pieces and he never ever paid for a Trump story for the purpose of killing it. No matter how many times the def says otherwise, this was not business as usual. STEINGLASS: You may say: Who cares if Trump slept with a porn star 10 years before the election?! Plenty of people feel that way. “But it's harder to say the American people don’t get the right to decide for themselves.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795527902722953660 STEINGLASS: It is obvious they want to make this case about Michael Cohen, they had him on cross for three days and asked him only an hours' worth of questions that had anything to do with this case. “This case is not about Michael Cohen. This case is about Donald Trump.” STEINGLASS: Whether they falsified business records to cover up an election law violation, Michael Cohen provides context and color to the documents; he is a tour guide thru the physical evidence. “You don’t need Michael Cohen to connect these dots, but as the ultimate insider, he can help you do just that.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795527562988515374 STEINGLASS: “As we discussed in jury selection, he question is not whether you like Cohen, or whether you want to go into business with him. The truth is, he was in the best position to know….” “He was in the best position to know because he was the defendant’s right hand”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795526908106493952 STEINGLASS: The judge will tell you that Cohen was an accomplice because of the crimes in this case. STEINGLASS: In this case there is literally a mountain of evidence, of corroborating testimony that tends to connect the defendant in this crime. STEINGLASS: From Pecker to Hicks, from his own tweets, and rallies…. STEINGLASS: “It’s difficult to conceive of a case with more corroboration.” STEINGLASS: Costello was actually a double agent...to discourage Cohen from cooperating and to keep the defendant informed and it became clear to Cohen they were setting him up to be the fall guy.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795526303631692032 Steinglass: Here the defense is trying to have it both ways: Cohen will say anything to get the defendant convicted and so if Cohen’s purpose was to come in here and lie, how easy would it have been for him to go further? If Mr. Cohen wanted to lie, he could have just said the defendant said “Yeah, I slept with her, it was the greatest night of his life, whatever.” STEINGLASS: We didn't choose Michael Cohen as a witness… “We didn't pick him up at the witness store…” “The defendant chose Michael Cohen. He was his fixer.” STEINGLASS: Trump chose Cohen for the same qualities that they want you to reject him for… [SHOWING PASSAGE FROM TRUMP’S THINK BIG BOOK]: “As a matter of fact, I value loyalty above everything else - more than brains, more than drive, and more than energy.”