squistion

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795525882326454385 Katie's Sidebar: What Joshua Steinglass (the prosecutor) does here in Closing Arguments was impeccable (and something I've done before in jury trials when the timing of an event/incident has been at issue) [...] Regarding that 10/24/16 call from Cohen to Keith Schiller's cellphone: Steinglass, at a measured pace, "reenacts" how that conversation might have gone down. First: Cohen speaks to Schiller about the 14-year old teenager who was blowing up Cohen's phone and then, Cohen speaks to Trump about the Stormy Daniels' payment. In that non-rushed reenactment, the entire conversation with both Schiller and Trump only took 49 seconds, well within the time allotted per the cellphone records.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795524438361813097 STEINGLASS: The lies Cohen told to Congress had to do with the Mueller Investigation and the Russia Probe and what he lied about was the number of dealings Trump had with Russia and the only benefit was Cohen stayed in Trump's good graces and now those lies that Cohen told are being used by the same defendant to undermine his credibility and “that is what some people might call chutzpah”. STEINGLASS: That’s the “big lie,” echoing Trump's election denying conspiracies.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795522758941774324 Re. the Redfinch money: STEINGLASS: They say Cohen stole from the Trump Org when he and AW were working out the reimbursement. Redfinch was being used to rig a CNBC online poll to make the defendant seem more popular. Then CNBC pulled that poll, and Trump decided not to pay the bill, like he often does. STEINGLASS: That’s stealing and that was wrong, we agree. That didn’t come out in cross, though, Cohen admitted it readily. He’s also the one who brought it to everyone’s attention - he volunteered it. [ME: I LOVE this here:] STEINGLASS: In any event, none of this matters because Blanche said Cohen stole $60,000, but they are trying to have it both ways… They’re denying $420,000 was a reimbursement at all, but if that’s true, then there was no theft because Cohen was getting paid for legal services….. So "they can call him a thief, or claim this is not really a reimbursement, but not both.” “I am not asking you to feel bad for Michael Cohen. He made his bed. But you can hardly blame him for making a living off of the one thing he has left: his knowledge of Donald Trump and the Trump phenomenon." STEINGLASS: Defense also tells you should reject his testimony because he lied and took pleas in federal court. He has had some trouble accepting responsibility. For bank fraud conviction and his tax law violation, he said he admitted to you that he did the things. He plead guilty. He acknowledged info missing from tax and HELOC app. STEINGLASS: He feels like he was treated unfairly and as a first offender he should have been able to pay a fine and back taxes and he believes the Trump justice department did him dirty, whether that is true or not he accepted responsibility and went to prison for it…..

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795520947228995840 STEINGLASS: “In the simplest of terms, Stormy Daniels is the motive.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795519831263125542 Steinglass: You've got to use your common sense, here. Consider the utterly damning testimony of David Pecker, the defendant's friend for four decades. Keep in mind Mr. Pecker has no reason to lie, no bias towards the defendant and thinks Mr. Trump is still a friend and a mentor. "Hope Hicks, Graff, Westerhout, McConney, and Tarasoff: these people like the defendant, but each one provides critical pieces of the puzzle, building blocks…" STEINGLASS: “To be sure, other witnesses want to see the defendant held accountable. They’re angry with the defendant and want to see him convicted.” STEINGLASS: they have been attacked on social media STEINGLASS: It certainly is true you don't have to prove that the sex took place as that is not an element of the crime, but the defendant knew what happened and that just reinforces the incentive to buy her silence. STEINGLASS: If her testimony were so irrelevant, why did they work so hard to discredit her? STEINGLASS: Michael Cohen has baggage, he is a convicted felon. Cohen is interested in this and that’s a factor you should consider, but you’re not required to reject the testimony of an interested witness. Michael Cohen is understandably angry because he’s the only one who has paid a price. Steinglass: The defendant has escaped justice. Cohen was his right hand man, HIS CONSIGLIERE AND HE CUT HIM LOOSE LIKE A HOT POTATO. STEINGLASS: “Pecker got a non-prosecution agreement, [Dylan] Howard’s in Australia, and the defendant, up until now, has escaped justice.” STEINGLASS: All the while, the election law violations to which Cohen plead guilty were committed at the defendant’s direction. Anyone in Cohen's shoes would want the defendant held accountable. The defense urges you to reject Cohen’s testimony because he was seeking a benefit but he never got his sentence reduced and he's still here providing information about what went down.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795518018727883108 STEINGLASS: Another false notion is that Stormy Daniels was trying to extort Trump and trying to go public but that is not reality. [Gina] Rodriguez reached out to Dylan Howard first; she did not reach out to Michael Cohen….Howard tells Davidson that Gina is trying to hawk the Stormy Daniels story. STEINGLASS: In the end it doesn't really matter because you don't get to commit election fraud or falsify your business records because you think you’ve been victimized. "Extortion is not a defense to falsifying business records."

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795518369480777881 Steinglass: The defense is questioning our integrity and is suggesting call summaries were trimmed down but the phone records themselves are all evidence STEINGLASS: “Don’t fall for the suggestion that these call summaries were trimmed down to mislead you.” STEINGLASS: The defense can point to any call they want you to look at. They were given all of the records and in fact, what they did was double count half the calls on the summary of phone calls [during Costello's examination]. STEINGLASS: the absence of a phone record doesn’t prove a call never happened.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795517572923953267 Joshua Steinglass is up for the Prosecution to do Closing: "In his opening Mr. Colangelo told you this case is a conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election and to hide that conspiracy by hiding records to pay off Ms. Daniels for her silence…" Steinglass: You should focus on the facts and the logical inferences and the hard evidence, the notes, the voice recordings, we asked you to remember to tune out the noise and if you did that you will see the People have presented powerful evidence.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795517351947026453 Merchan: Jurors, before we hear from the Govt, you heard Mr. Blanche asked do not send the defendant to prison, that is improper and you must disregard it. If there is a verdict of guilty it will be up to me to impose a sentence.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795515798754132282 The lawyers are back in court. No jury yet. The lawyers are discussing Blanche's statement about prison to the jury before the lunch break, as well as the prosecution's claim that Blanche misstated the law (again) as it pertains to the need for retainer agreements in the state of NY. Judge Merchan rules that he is NOT going to give a curative instruction to the jury about Blanche's prison statement as it would bring more attention to it than is worth. The jury is being brought into the courtroom now.

https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1795506649311957014 Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass blasts Trump lawyer Todd Blanche's comment to the jury about prison time as a "blatant and whole inappropriate move" by the defense. Steinglass asks Judge Merchan to provide a curative instruction to the jury.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795499332784857309 Before the lawyers depart, Judge Merchan strongly tells Todd Blanche that he doesn’t think it was an accident when Blanche told the jury that the jury should think twice before “sending a man to prison.” Merchan to Blanche: Your statement was “outrageous” and “highly inappropriate.” Merchan’s tone was tempered but you could tell he was angry with Blanche. Merchan noted that Blanche’s experience as a federal prosecutor suggests that this was no accident on his part.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795497313651368180 Blanche has completed his Closing . Lunch Recess. Resume court at 2 pm.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795497124601503904 Blanche: This is not a referendum on the ballot box, who you voted for in 2016, who you will vote for in 2024.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795496706819158381 Blanche: "Michael Cohen is the GLOAT: the Greatest Liar of All Time." [ME: I wonder how long it took for Blanche to think of that one?...]

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795494772058017854 Blanche: Here are 10 reasons for you to have reasonable doubt - 1. The invoices: Cohen created them. They're accurate and Trump had no evidence to defraud. None of them were addressed to him; he was in DC the entire time. Sometimes he looked at them, sometimes he didn't. 2. The 2/14/2017 vouchers and checks: Trump never saw anything that Tarasoff and McConney did with the paperwork. He was running the country in 2017 at the White House. 3. No evidence of intent to defraud. 1099, Office of Govt Ethics filing, Trump tweet, etc. 4. No intent to unlawfully influence 2016 election. No evidence Trump willfully violated FECA. No evidence willfully violated tax laws. No evidence of falsification of business records. 5. No illegal agreement to influence the election. 6. AMI would have run Dino the Doorman's story no matter what. That's not catch and kill. 7. McDougal did not want her story published. That's not catch and kill. 8. Daniels' story was already public. 9. Manipulation of Evidence. Blanche attacks the chain of custody of Cohen's cellphones, etc. 10. Cohen is the Embodiment of Reasonable Doubt. Cohen lied to you repeatedly. He lied many times before you even met him. His financial and personal wellbeing depends on this

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795491536966467962 Blanche then argues that the prosecution lied to the jury. The prosecution objects—and Judge Merchan sustains the objection. Blanche: "Cohen is the MVP of liars." Blanche: Cohen has lied to his family, his wife, his kids, he lied to his banker, he lied to the FEC and every reporter he talked to...he has lied to Congress, prosecutors, business associates, his bosses, in fact he is also a thief, he stole tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Org.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795491128495550737 BLANCHE: There is no dispute that Trump never signed the agreement [with Stormy]. Trump never signed the side letter and the government wants you to believe he discussed it with Mr. Cohen multiple times? They want you to believe Trump thought this could cost him election, but he never signed an agreement, so how could it be enforced? [ME: Blanche is wrong about the enforceability of the agreement.] BLANCHE: “He told you he talked to President Trump on October 24 at 8:02 pm updating you on the Daniels situation. That was a lie, and he got caught red handed." BLANCHE: We all know he called Keith Schiller about the fact that a 14-year old had been harassing him for several days. BLANCHE: “That is perjury!”

Hasn't worked for me either for about a week.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795489207802044687 October Cohen to Davidson recording played to the jury: "What about me?" “Who else would do that for somebody?” “I wasn’t gonna play, penny wise pound foolish.” BLANCHE: “Mr. Cohen had an axe to grind, because Cohen didn't appreciate what President Trump did and did not do for him, when he became President of the United States.”

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795487392155201617 Blanche: Why did the prosecution call Stormy Daniels? They did it to try to inflame your emotions. To try to embarrass Trump. That's why. NOTE: The jury shows no reaction to being told by Blanche that prosecutors were trying to inflame their emotions by putting Stormy Daniels on stand.

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1795483064929591603 Todd Blanche is back at the podium to resume his closing. He advised Judge Merchan he has about 40 minutes left in his arguments. [Scheduling Note: Also, the jury indicated it's willing to work late today.]

https://x.com/NBCPolitics/status/1795468463193870792 During closing arguments, lawyer Todd Blanche repeatedly refers to Trump being in the White House when the repayments were made. He was "very busy," Blanche said. http:// nbcnews.to/3Kqax41

https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1795466225004216784 Defense lawyer Todd Blanche said in closing arguments that payments to Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen were recorded as legal expenses because there was no other option in the system for recording payments to lawyers.

https://x.com/juliareinstein/status/1795466035350376900 Trump atty Todd Blanche argues he didn't falsify records to promote his candidacy - but if he did "that’s still not enough" to convict. "It doesn't matter if there was a conspiracy to try to win an election. Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate.”