Stormy Weather TFG on Criminal Trial in NYC

[Fastbackss]

Contumaciously - wow - that's worth more than four bits

[ponchi101]

Had to look it up, I admit:
Contumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court.

Like, perfect explanation.

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Ryan Goodman@rgoodlaw
9/9 The NYT scoop (in first post in this tweet thread) is by Ben Protess and
@Jonesieman
.

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[ponchi101]

The first witness in a trial about a former president paying a porn star some money is called Pecker.
Can't make stuff like that up. Just can't.

[ti-amie]

This is a truly remarkable development. Court stenographers control their work and charge varying rates. The transcript is never dropped into the case file.

It can be *$6.50 per page* a day for these "daily" transcripts. A day can be 200 pages = $1,300 a day.

To clarify, a transcript *may* end up in a criminal paper case file in NY state courts but it never is automatically added as a part of the record.

Please note: Transcripts will be posted …** before the end of the next business day. **

If you’d like to get the news sooner, or immediately, you’ll need to read your friendly neighborhood courts reporter.

But are the stenos still paid? Oh, yes.

“Immediate” or same-day transcripts cost even more than “dailies” and can run $7.50/page. I’ll bet the DA & Trump are getting them.

Many reporters are also paying for immediate transcripts to factcheck ASAP & bring you the news.

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Opening Statements in Trump’s Criminal Trial: Five Takeaways
Prosecutors signaled a sweeping case and Donald J. Trump’s lawyers began their assault on witnesses’ credibility. The judge seems intent on expediting the first trial of an American president.


Former President Donald J. Trump’s behavior was muted compared with how he has acted during past Manhattan court appearances.Credit...Pool photo by Victor J. Blue


By Jesse McKinley and Kate Christobek
April 22, 2024
Updated 5:35 p.m. ET

The prosecution has a big story to tell.

The charges faced by Mr. Trump may sound bland — “falsifying business records” doesn’t really set the heart racing — but the prosecution made clear on Monday that it plans on painting a much broader picture.

Matthew Colangelo, a prosecutor, laid out in his opening statement a tale that touched on tabloid journalism, tawdry affairs and covertly recorded phone calls. Jurors will likely be told about events inside fancy hotel rooms, Trump Tower and even the Oval Office. And the stakes? The presidency.

All that suggests that the case will keep jurors wide-awake during the six or so weeks it is projected to take. Indeed, when asked if they wanted paper and pens to take notes, more than half of the people in the jury box (12 jurors and six alternates) raised their hands.

The defense wants to destroy prosecution witnesses.

Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, used his opening statement to cast Mr. Trump’s actions leading to this case as run-of-the-mill business, and said that Mr. Trump is defending himself at trial, just as “any of us would do.”

He argued that the use of a nondisclosure agreement — the document Ms. Daniels signed after receiving the payment — was typical among the wealthy and the famous and “nothing illegal.” He continued that there was nothing wrong with trying to influence an election, adding: “It’s called democracy.”

Mr. Blanche also attacked Mr. Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Mr. Trump. He said Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance crimes in 2018, was a “criminal” who “can’t be trusted.” He added that Ms. Daniels was “biased” against Mr. Trump and made a living off her story about the sexual encounter.

He called the heart of the prosecution case just “34 pieces of paper” that don’t involve Mr. Trump.

Trump was muted during the abbreviated day in court.

On Mr. Trump’s way into the courtroom on Monday, he addressed reporters for about three minutes and blasted a range of perceived enemies, including New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the judge in a recent civil fraud case that resulted in a $454 million judgment against him.

But Mr. Trump’s behavior during opening statements reflected that he understood the gravity of the moment.

Mr. Trump made no outbursts during the prosecution’s opening statement, although he occasionally showed displeasure: He shook his head slightly at arguments that he orchestrated a scheme to corrupt the presidential election and then more strenuously when prosecutors said he was guilty of felonies.

During his own side’s opening statement, Mr. Trump sat largely motionless and expressionless watching his lawyer Mr. Blanche. Mr. Trump’s behavior was muted compared with his volatility during past Manhattan court appearances.

But at the conclusion of the trial day, Mr. Trump took his preferred spot in front of a television camera in the hallway, and spoke for more than nine minutes, attacking the prosecutor’s case — once again — as unfair.

David Pecker used to live on celebrity news. Now, he is the news.

Prosecutors’ first witness was David Pecker, the longtime publisher of The National Enquirer. He ambled to the stand and promptly gave a lesson in the ways of tabloid journalism, including the purchasing of articles — anything more than $10,000, he had to approve — and the significance of putting a famous face right out front.

“The only thing that was important is the cover of a magazine,” Mr. Pecker testified.

In about 30 minutes of testimony, Mr. Pecker also laid out trade secrets on sourcing, saying hotel workers and limo drivers could be a font of information on the rich and famous.

He seemed at ease: laughing at a prosecutor’s jokes, and sometimes directly addressing the jury just a few feet away.

We’re moving right along.

Over the past five trial days, the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, has shown that he is eager to keep this trial on schedule. He seems serious about keeping his word to the jurors that the trial will last six weeks.

On Monday, truncated by a juror’s dental emergency and the Passover holiday, he decided to start with the first witness — Mr. Pecker — despite having only half an hour left on his schedule.

On Tuesday, the court will first consider a prosecution motion to hold Mr. Trump in contempt over recent comments that they say violated a gag order meant to keep him from attacking participants in the trial and their families.

Then, Mr. Pecker will continue on the stand, probably diving deeper into the “catch-and-kill” scheme used to buy up — and cover up — unflattering stories, a central element of the prosecution’s narrative.

Court will end early again, at 2 p.m., for further observance of Passover and then will have its weekly Wednesday break.

But there is little indication that as the weeks pass, Justice Merchan will let the pace slacken.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/nyre ... aways.html

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Adam Klasfeld
@KlasfeldReports
With trial adjourning today at 12:30 a.m.,(sic) we're only going to get a little bit of David Pecker on the witness stand.

We're back.
Prosecution: "The People call David Pecker."

Pecker raises his right hand to be sworn. He swears to tell the truth and is seated.

Pecker, 72, provides some biographical information. He's married, and he now does consulting work.

After seeing that Jurors do not currently have notepads, the judge asks those who want them to raise their hands.

Their hands immediately shoot up — a studious bunch.

They are provided with them.

Pecker describes AMI and its composite companies, including The National Enquirer, Globe, InStyle, Us Weekly, Star and others.

Pecker on assigning budgets for stories:

"We used checkbook journalism, and we paid for stories."

ADA Josh Steinglass asks if he had "final say" on stories editorially.

"Yes, I did," Pecker says, without hesitation.

Steinglass: Did you participate in editor meetings?

Pecker: Yes, I participated in all of them.

Asked if the National Enquirer was AMI's best-known tabloids, Pecker says: "Yes."

The prosecutor asks Pecker about the last four digits of his phone number.

Pecker gets it wrong at first, and in seeking to jog his memory, blurts out the whole number, only somewhat under his breath.

Steinglass notes Pecker gave more than the last four, and he chuckles.

Q: Are you here today pursuant to a subpoena?
A: Yes, I am.

Q: Are you represented by counsel?
A: Yes, I am.

Pecker is now being questioned about the Enquirer's former editor-in-chief Dylan Howard.



Asked whether Howard ran any decision to run a "juicy story" by him, Pecker says he did.

(Tweet edited for clarity.)

That's the end of the first day of former President Trump's criminal trial, which breaks early today in observance of the Passover holiday.

After the jury leaves, Trump's attorney Emil Bove renews an objection about David Pecker's testimony about Dylan Howard on relevance and hearsay grounds.

Prosecutors say it is admissible under an exception for witness availability.

"Your objection is noted," Merchan says.

Bove anticipates that prosecutors may invoke AMI's non-prosecution agreement with the SDNY. He says the defense will request a limiting instruction at that time.

The judge requests proposed instructions this afternoon.

The polygraph administered to Stormy Daniels was inadmissible, and the defense wants the same logic to apply to Dino Sajudin.

Prosecutors say they do not plan to cite either polygraph.

Bove says the last issue relates to records relating to Pecker or some other custodian at AMI, including emails.

Also text message exchanges.

* Typo.

That clearly should be "p.m."

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I guess he'll have to pay to have them bussed in from Long Island, Staten Island and New Jersey

[ti-amie]

Katie Phang
@KatiePhang
All of the lawyers have gone to discuss some issues with Judge Merchan before the contempt hearing gets started. Trump remains seated all by himself at counsel's table.

Katie's Sidebar: It's interesting to see Trump when he is alone at the defense table. He is not able to come and go as he pleases. He is required to be present while court is in session.

But let's be clear: Trump waived his right to be present at sidebars. He originally claimed he wanted to participate, but then said "no, thanks."

9:40 AM · Apr 23, 2024

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...

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Adam Klasfeld
@KlasfeldReports
·
8h
This is the current language of the order.

Expect it to be parsed, in molecular fashion, during the morning session.

Adam Klasfeld
@KlasfeldReports
·
7h
Merchan:

"Two matters have been called into the record.

On April 15, prosecutors "asked this court to sign an order to show cause" on allegations that Trump violated the gag order on three occasions.

On April 18, they did so again on seven more alleged violations.

ADA Christopher Conroy:

The court found the "types of extrajudicial statements" Trump made pose a "very real threat" to the integrity of the proceedings.

Yesterday, "here in this building, right outside those doors [...] the defendant violated the order again on camera."
Conroy says prosecutors will be filing another application for an order to show cause "on this violation later today."

The prosecutor says Trump seems to think: "No one is off-limits to this defendant, and he can attack and intimidate any one he wants."

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Conroy:

"We are not yet seeking an incarceratory penalty."

"Defendant seems to be angling for that."

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