.It’s Day 7 of the actual trial! Day 11 if you include jury selection.
Best sources of live blogging that I have found.
Mark Sumner at Daily Kos – Live Blogging
Josh Kovensky at TPM – Live Blogging (no live blogging on TPM so far today but he is on twitter)
Just got home, what did I miss?
LAO
Hope Hicks is on the stand.
WaterGirl
@LAO: Are they just starting her testimony, or has it been going on for awhile?
The first thing I see in Mark Sumner’s live blogging is at 10:42, I wonder if he was late starting?
Did we get a ruling on the gag order violations?
LAO
@WaterGirl: She’s been testifying for about 15 minutes
Scout211
From NBC
And as I posted downstairs:
WaterGirl
Guessing that Hope Hicks is counting on having a future, and she doesn’t plan to do down with the Trump ship.
rikyrah
@Scout211:
Sounds like she’s doing peak performative White Woman.
Sigh….
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Am I crazy, or is it mostly the women who are standing up to him and telling the truth, and the guys are cowardly boot lickers?
smith
@WaterGirl: Nothing on the gag order. The first part of the morning was about admitting various items of evidence, with the testimony of people involved in compiling it, eg, the phone expert who examined Michael Cohen’s phone.
Scout211
Merchan was aware of Trump’s false statements to the press yesterday. He clarified what a gag order really means to Trump.
Misterpuff
Star Trials Episode 4 A New Hope
“Use Your Force (and Other People’s Money) Don, and always remember “They let you do it if you are a Star!”
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: It is a highly effective tactic. BTW did you see the white man/white woman equivalent of the bear/man meme?
WaterGirl
@smith: Ah, the asshole-ish “bore the jury to tears and hope they lose the plot” activities. thank you
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I take it Justice Merchan didn’t add “you are a lying scumbag who hopes your followers are stupid enough to believe you.”
LAO
IMO, Hicks is an effective witness for the prosecution because she remains fond of Trump (I don’t personally get it but whatever). It will undercut cross-examination because she has no bias against the defendant.
So far, she has established his total control over campaign messaging and everything went through Trump.
smith
@WaterGirl: Yep, the main reason they had to do it is because the defense wouldn’t stipulate to a number of pieces of evidence that normally would just be accepted. They’re apparently trying to prolong the trial for some reason.
LAO
@Scout211: It was an excellent benchslap.
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
I have, and I agree with it.
I’ll deal with Chad in the workplace over Karen anyday.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Oh I do too. One hundred percent.
WaterGirl
@LAO:
not in those words, of course.
LAO
@smith: I’ve represented defendants that absolutely refused to stipulate to any facts. It’s irritating but I’m not sure this is an attorney led attempt to delay or a defendant led effort.
Tom Levenson
@smith: Could be a lawyer-approved tactic. But it seems to me (not a lawyer) that this could just be Trump telling his attorneys to concede nothing and to fight everything.
I’d have thought that prolonging a daily news cycle that drip-drip-drips ugly information about someone waging a political campaign would be contraindicated, but what do I know?
WaterGirl
@LAO: Do you think it’s Trump driving this, being petulant as always, and thinking it makes him look powerful?
I would really love to know what his emotional age is. I’m going with 8-year-old bully.
LAO
@Tom Levenson: IAAL, and I approve this message.
LAO
@WaterGirl: Yes, I do.
smith
@WaterGirl: I’ve seen reports that he still refuses to stand for the jury. That tells you all you need to know about his emotional age.
WaterGirl
PSA: OT, but there is still $225 available on the Michigan angel match. If you want to be matched, add a comment to yesterday’s fundraising thread.
Scout211
She also testified that she had no prior knowledge of the Access Hollywood tape and learned of it when she was called by Farenthold for an official statement.
Melancholy Jaques
@smith:
From a former trial attorney: It could be that the tactic is just to do the opposite of what opposing counsel is trying to do. Break their rhythm. Also, stretch things out and hope for a mistake, however small, to exploit.
WaterGirl
@LAO: Surely that will backfire with the jury, yes?
WaterGirl
Where are you guys following along on-line today? I put this post up as soon as I got home, added the Mark Sumner live blogging and then put up the post without checking for other options.
Betty
@Scout211: The judge seemed to be aware of Blanche nodding as Trump lied. I guess his credibility went down another notch with the judge.
Scout211
@WaterGirl: I read the NBC live updates. They typically are a few minutes behind but seem to go into more detail and have more quotes. I tried Sumner but it feels too drive-by for my understanding.
smith
@WaterGirl: Mostly Katie Phang and Adam Klasfeld. I find it’s pretty easy to check each every half hour while I’m doing other things, so it’s not gobbling up the whole day.
Scout211
Oh this is funny.
LAO
@WaterGirl: Well, I can’t be sure but generally, most defense attorneys agree to stipulate to certain types of evidence because if it’s admissible it’s coming into evidence. It’s a waste of time and defense counsel credibility before the jury.
Trivia Man
There seems to be chain if custody issues with Cohens phone. All they need is reasonable doubt in one juror. 4 day gap in custody should have some explanation I think
Scout211
More about the tape:
prostratedragon
To savor during recesses
We know he’s an asshole, but there’s a wonderful meme in the comments that provides further explanation.
Steeplejack
@Tom Levenson:
It could be Trump’s tunnel vision on “delay, delay, delay,” no matter the cost.
cain
@Scout211: “Trump read..”
unbelievable.
Jackie
OT, but this HUGE!
👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻
Gloria DryGarden
@rikyrah: I have not seen it
TBone
@prostratedragon: thank you!
RevRick
@WaterGirl I got home after getting in my daily steps and collecting litter and recycling along the way. Before that I led a Zoom meeting of the Penn Northeast Conference (UCC) Racial Justice Team as we reorganized for the year. We talked about making trips to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, and to the museums in D.C. and Charleston, South Carolina, about encouraging congregations to have discussions about racial justice, environmental racism, and around the question of “who is my neighbor?” We also talked about making partnerships with other church bodies around these issues.
Meanwhile, tomorrow MrsR and I will sojourn to Philly to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #3 with guest pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. We have seats in the Conductor’s Circle, behind the orchestra.
Gloria DryGarden
I just found out if I’m editing or adding to a comment, and the time runs out, I lose my edits. I’m new here.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I snorted when I read the bolded part. Literally.
Snorting is always so attractive, I think, don’t you? //
Danielx
@Steeplejack:
He keeps channeling Roy Cohn, whether it makes sense or not.
TBone
Deleted
TBone
@RevRick:
Ooh, fun! Please let us know how it was when you can.
Steeplejack
@Gloria DryGarden:
You can save after a partial edit, which restarts the five-minute timer, then go in and edit some more. Repeat as needed.
Geo Wilcox
“She conceded that her strategy of denying the conversation on the tape proved to be more difficult once the recording came out.”
She must be really dumb, any moron would know this.
Scout211
@Gloria DryGarden: Here’s a trick. If you want to edit your comment, start first by adding a period some where and then click update. That will start a new countdown clock on your edit instead of the clock clicking down on your original comment. You can keep doing this to get another countdown clock.
ETA: Steep, always helpful, got there first.
Danielx
@WaterGirl:
Better than coughing your beverage of choice all over the screen and keyboard, which I’ve done a few times while reading BJ.
TBone
@Geo Wilcox: it’s always good to remind the jury how these things went down, how dumb this shit truly is…
Steeplejack
@Gloria DryGarden:
Extremely short version:
If you’re a woman alone in the woods, would you rather meet a man or a bear? Bear.
if you’re a black woman alone in an office conference room, would you rather see a white man or a white woman come in? Man.
Omnes Omnibus
@LAO: Also, stipulating can let you minimize some things. The jury doesn’t have the memory of someone sitting in front of them and talking about the “bad thing.” You potentially can downplay it if it’s stipulated.
WaterGirl
@Gloria DryGarden: I explained that to you a few days ago in a reply that you must not have seen.
Yes, if you are editing when the 5-minute clock runs out, your edits are lost. But you can edit and update your your post before the 5 minutes is up, and then you can edit again with a brand-new 5- minute edit window.
If you’re taking a long time to edit something, that’s the way to go.
WaterGirl
@RevRick: So I’m not the only one with a full day before 11 an? :-)
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Yeah, but both of you explained it better than I did, which was after you guys.
My trick is to add an “x” not a period, because it’s easier to spot. :-)
Melancholy Jaques
@Gloria DryGarden:
That’ s happened to me a few times. Oddly, it only happens when my edited comment would have been brilliant.
WaterGirl
@Danielx: And I was alone, so no one actually heard me snort. :-)
Anoniminous
@Steeplejack:
I ‘get’ the bear thing. This, not so much …. until I thought back to my Jim Crow Era upbringing and then it clicked.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: “It wasn’t even important enough for them to fight it!”
Gin & Tonic
@Melancholy Jaques: The key is always to write brilliantly in the first place.
Soprano2
@smith: That means he can whine about the “totally unfair and biased trial” for a longer period of time. The MAGA’s eat that up.
Steeplejack
@Melancholy Jaques:
Be more stupid. That works for me.
Steeplejack
@Anoniminous:
As rikyrah said above: “I’ll deal with Chad in the workplace over Karen any day.”
emjayay
@Gloria DryGarden:
@Scout211: The short edit period is one of many shortcomings of the formatting of this blog
Also the Guardian has a running report on the Manhattan trial every day, including today.
Anoniminous
@Steeplejack:
Thinking out loud, not try to invalidate
lowtechcyclist
@Gloria DryGarden:
Even though I’m familiar with the trick everyone else has already explained, sometimes I simply lose track of the time when editing. It’s always fun when your edits just go ‘poof’ right before your eyes.
ETA:
@Melancholy Jaques:
:D
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Correct. Doesn’t always work.
The whole purpose of pretrial motion practice is to cut the trial down to the issues that are in dispute and only those. The jury decides factual issues. If there is no dispute over a fact but the jury needs to know that particular fact to make a good decision about other facts, you can just agree that it is true. The judge and jury will appreciate it.
Steeplejack
@Anoniminous:
Didn’t think you were.
WaterGirl
@emjayay:
The choice of 5 minutes for the edit period was based on input from commenters. Sorry to hear that you see that as one of the many shortcomings of the blog
I always appreciate constructive criticism, but I’m not entirely fond of cheap shots or passive-aggressive comments.
JoyceH
Tell you what, the lawyers might be following client’s instructions to drag out the trial, but I think it’s a mistake. The ‘stress’ of the trial (getting up early, having to sit all day and behave) is wearing Trump down bit by bit. If the trial takes the original estimate of 6 to 8 weeks, he’s going to be a babbling lunatic before they reach the end of it.
And this is trivial, but am I the only person who’s noticed a strange divergence in the pronunciation of Michael Cohen’s name? Some commentators pronounce it the usual way, with two syllables, but some make it one syllable – Michael Cone. Anyone else noticed? Anyone know why? How does Cohen himself pronounce it? I’ve never noticed that in the pronunciation of other Cohens.
WaterGirl
@JoyceH: When I have seen or heard others introduce him, it has been the tradition two-syllable pronunciation.
Steeplejack
@emjayay:
Disagree. A long or unlimited edit window allows for distortion of the thread “dialogue” if someone retroactively changes things that then look like they were part of the original comment.
Five minutes seems like a reasonable time to correct typos and make small edits after you see your “real” comment. For large, substantive changes, if you miss the window you can always reply to the original comment. “What I meant was . . .”
Or—hear me out—maybe spend more time crafting your original comment before posting it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: No one has time for that.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Omnes Omnibus: “Never time to do it right. Always time to do it over.”
Steeplejack
@JoyceH:
I’ve noticed several people pronouncing it sort of like “Cone.” Can’t tell if they’re just speeding through it and getting “Coh’n” instead of “Co-hen.”
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
I knew it when I wrote it. 😿
@Mr. Bemused Senior:
😹
oldgold
Earlier today, in connection with the hours of time being eaten up this week by authenticating witness, I noted:
“Trump’s strategy in all of the criminal proceedings has been to cause delay so as to run the clock.
What is surprising in the hush money case now being tried, is that this slow down the process strategy is being pursued by Trump’s attorneys in the actual trial. It is surprising because one would have thought that the last thing Trump wants to do is extend the number of days he has to sit in the courtroom. Yet, as this trial proceeds, it is becoming clearer that Trump’s attorneys are intentionally throwing sand in the gears to slow it down.”
Now, some are suggesting that Trump’s continued violation of the Gag Order might be part of this strategy as well.
“Donald Trump might be risking jail for contempt of court in an effort to delay his hush money trial.”
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-contempt/
LAO
@Omnes Omnibus: Absolutely
JPL
fyi LAO and Omnes, Hope’s memory is not as sharp after lunch and has to be reminded of her grand jury testimony. She also stated that trump was concerned about Melania.
What do you think?
Trivia Man
@Steeplejack: Then how can i be Frist?
LAO
@JPL: I don’t assign nefarious intent for her failure to remember everything that happened in the grand jury. It’s fairly common. I do find it odd that she burst into tears at the beginning of cross examination.
sab
@lowtechcyclist:Lol. That is my experience with the edit window. I think it’s fine as is.
JPL
@LAO: Thanks! The tears were odd, but speculation is that she knew she hurt trump. I hope she really did hurt trump.
Scout211
I wonder how reliable Hicks really is as a witness. Does this sound like Trump? 🙄
LAO
@JPL: I also think she hurt Trump. And, I think the kid gloves treatment she got on cross (as well as Pecker) shows Trump is directing the defense, not his attorneys.
Ironcity
@JoyceH:
“Tell you what, the lawyers might be following client’s instructions to drag out the trial, but I think it’s a mistake. The ‘stress’ of the trial (getting up early, having to sit all day and behave) is wearing Trump down bit by bit. If the trial takes the original estimate of 6 to 8 weeks, he’s going to be more of a babbling lunatic before they reach the end of it.”
There, fixed that for you
Barbara
@Scout211:
I’d add that at least for me, the Daily Kos layout is too difficult to follow.
arrieve
This thread is probably dead, but I did want to mention that I had to take a professional development workshop in Lower Manhattan today and I walked past the Criminal Court building on Centre Street afterwards. Except for the sidewalks on both sides of the street being barricaded against foot traffic on that block, it was surprisingly quiet. There were at least a dozen huge news vans parked one street over, and in the park in between, facing the entrance to the courthouse, there were a total of three protestors in MAGA hats, one of whom was babbling to himself about Reagan and the Taliban. Very low energy. Sad!
WaterGirl
@arrieve:
That makes me happy!
NotMax
@arrieve:
Quoth the lion#8230;.
:)
NotMax
Grr. Stupid fingers. Fix,
@arrieve:
Quoth the lion….
:)
Ruckus
@smith:
They are trying to delay till after November. They think, or SFB thinks, that if he can get elected this will all go away. But his mental capacity/acumen is clearly lacking any ability, which will not help him, hopefully. Also November is a bit away, he should be wearing clothing that will make him look a lot better by then, you know a prison uniform, or at least he will have to stand on a street corner with a cup – begging for money.
Gloria DryGarden
@WaterGirl: thank you. No I didn’t see it. On the I/P thread , I think it was “trial day 9”, I stopped reading and perhaps commenting by #198, though I did see your bullet summary #285. A clear summary is so soothing and calming, even on a hot topic…
(That thread got up 483, I think. I was engrossed, but got tired, or maybe I thought I should do regular life for awhile.)
if I knew how to go back and reference all my comments and all the replies to my nym, I’d go look for it.
Gloria DryGarden
@Ruckus: I have sewn him an orange jumpsuit. I’ve embroidered it with his monogram. I am so eager to forward it to his new mailing address…
The Lodger
@Steeplejack: They’re pronouncing it like Trump’s former lawyer Roy Cohn, not Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen with two syllables.