Good morning from New York.
On Day 1 on the stand, David Pecker described how he turned his tabloid empire into the Trump campaign's "eyes and ears": promoting him, attacking his rivals, and silencing "women selling stories."
The ex-AMI chief's testimony resumes today. 🧵
"My mother's life mattered. My mother's life mattered."
— Garnell Whitfield, Jr., son of the oldest Buffalo massacre victim Ruth Whitfield, at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on domestic terrorism.
As cross-examination kicks off, the Sandy Hook family's lawyer grills Alex Jones about whether he broadcast a conspiracy theory that the judge is "involved with pedophilia and child trafficking."
Jones denies it.
They roll tape on InfoWars broadcasting that very claim.
Sen. Ted Cruz says Democrats will appoint justices who will ban books.
The only cases seeking to block publication of books that have hit U.S. courts in recent memory have come from President Trump and his family, seeking to block John Bolton and
@MaryLTrump
's memoirs.
Trump said that antibiotics are now ineffective because the novel coronavirus is a "genius."
Antibiotics fight bacteria.
The novel coronavirus is a virus.
Trump's lawyer Alina Habba appears again to deny Carroll's claims, prompting an objection.
Judge Kaplan reminds the jury that it's been established that Carroll wasn't lying.
Habba: "It is established by a jury."
Judge snaps to Habba: "It is established and you will not…
BREAKING: The Supreme Court upholds Trump's third travel ban. Chief Justice John Roberts writes the decision, holding in the 5-4 decision that Trump exercised his broad statutory authority to "suspend entry of aliens into the United States.
Key piece of context:
Justice Engoron just noted in court that "nobody asked for" a jury trial, which is why he'll be presiding over Trump's $250M civil fraud case without one.
The day his charges of conspiring to defraud donors of a border wall charity were unsealed, Steve Bannon was arrested on a Chinese billionaire’s yacht.
Rep. Raskin pressed Gaetz on fact that the pro-Trump post-election lawsuits failed, even among his appointees.
Gaetz pushes the talking point about dismissals on procedural grounds. (Some were dismissed on merits.)
Raskin, constitutional law prof, isn't having it.
WATCH
"Things like Mr. Jones and his intimate messages with Roger Stone, are not confidential. They are not trade secrets, none of them."
— Sandy Hook family's lawyer
BREAKING and DEVELOPING:
A federal judge partially advances a lawsuit accusing Felix Sater of laundering money through Trump Organization properties.
Ruling inside,
@LawCrimeNews
.
First reaction: There should be hearings as to how this was allowed to happen to a key witness in an investigation involving a global sex-trafficking conspiracy.
Big from Dearie:
He presses Trump’s lawyers on what he’s supposed to do. The government provided “prima facie evidence” of classification, ie, the markings.
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”
Obtained by
@CourthouseNews
, a never-before-published photo shows House Minority Leader McCarthy standing between two old donors - Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman - contradicting what he told me last week on Capitol Hill.
Investigation by me &
@MMineiro_CNS
:
Indictment: "[Ghislaine] Maxwell assisted, facilitated and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims...
"The victims were as young as 14."
Georgia GOP and Trump campaign's suit in Chatham County is in court this morning.
GOP witness conceded that he did not know whether a stack of 53 challenged ballots were received on time.
The board's witness testified they were.
Background:
Breaking—
Dominion WINS part of its defamation claims against Fox News on summary judgment, and Fox LOSES their bid to dismiss the remainder of the claims, which will go to trial.
Story soon,
@lawcrimenews
Background
Ken Starr says that the dead people who went into the voting booth and voted; somebody voted for the dead person.
Not a single court has found that happened, and the only courts that heard that claim found that's a lie.
BREAKING: Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster WIN the lawsuit seeking to block publication of “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” which hits bookshelves tomorrow.
ICYMI: My early write-up,
@CourthouseNews
BREAKING: The Second Circuit issues its mandate to unseal a large tranche of Jeffrey Epstein-related docs, as an old docket becomes public for the first time.
Developing, and will provide details and documents as they emerge.
Background
@CourthouseNews
BREAKING:
Eric Trump CANNOT delay his deposition by
@NewYorkStateAG
until after election.
"This court finds [Eric Trump's] application unpersuasive," Justice Engoran says, noting his is "not bound by the timelines of the election."
Background:
NEWS:
The day after Steve Bannon called for Fauci and Christopher Wray's head, his attorneys said they plan to withdraw from his criminal case.
DEVELOPING—Their letter inside,
@LawCrimeNews
:
Quite an exchange:
Trump’s lead lawyer Chris Kise made a lengthy request to postpone the former president’s testimony until an appeals court rules on the gag order.
Judge: “Plaintiff?”
The State: “Absolutely not.”
Judge: “Absolutely not. No way. No how. It’s a nonstarter.”
For those criticizing
@AOC
’s remarks on U.S. concentration camps, this sworn court declaration from last year is from the director of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.
She shares the fears of survivors in this testimony from last year. 🔽
"I feel an urgent necessity to speak out, to prevent the repetition of history, and it is in that spirit that I provide this declaration to the court."
Director of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, referring to the "Nazi practice" of family separation
A weeping mother has been forced to wear a yellow insignia (bracelet) as she is ripped away from her children indefinitely.
In the United States. By policy.
Read this story.
BREAKING:
Judge REJECTS the emergency conference requested by Ghislaine Maxwell.
"At this juncture, the Court has determined that an emergency conference is not necessary. Counsel shall proceed with unsealing as previously ordered."
@CourthouseNews
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers, not done fighting, request an "emergency forthwith phone conference" with Judge Preska, claiming that releasing the documents now would violate the judge's own stay.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office asks the judge to order Steve Bannon to surrender all of his passports and not apply for any new passports during the pendency of the case.
Carroll's lawyer Robbie Kaplan says Trump made his "most reprehensible statement of all last Thursday."
That was when Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I’ve said it once & I’ll say it again, a thousand times," before tearing into Carroll again.
Kaplan tells jurors that means he'll…
NEW:
A federal judge just GRANTED permission for Lev Parnas to share extractions from three more electronic devices with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The top prosecutor of the United States — a secular nation with no state religion, and whose legislators are forbidden to establish one under the First Amendment of its Constitution — slams “secularists and their allies.”
Attorney General Bill Barr: "This is not decay. This is organized destruction. Secularists and their allies have marshaled all the forces of mass communication, popular culture, the entertainment industry, and academia in an unremitting assault on religion & traditional values."
BREAKING: Judge Hellerstein finds that the purpose of the first clause of Michael Cohen's agreement was to interfere with his First Amendment rights.
@CourthouseNews
The federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. against the Trump campaign over its efforts to overturn the results of a free and fair election just was assigned to... U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, the jurist presiding over the Michael Flynn case.
"I was inspired by my grandfather who was a World War II vet. He went to Europe to fight for democracy."
One of Maricopa County's four GOP supervisors explains why he voted together with a Democrat to certify a vote that led to POTUS-elect Joe Biden's victory in Arizona.
WATCH
“I simply cannot believe that my government could have done this to these people,” legal coordinator for a Texas nonprofit, under oath, on Trump’s family separation policy.
One of 900+ pages of declarations by attorneys, immigrants and others recently made public.
Thread.
BREAKING:
After meritless litigation in Arizona failed, Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors (4-1 GOP) unanimously certifies as a free and fair election.
Unanimously.
Breaking—
There will be an anonymous jury in Carroll v. Trump, a judge rules, citing Trump's record of attacking "courts, judges, various law enforcement officials and other public officials, and even individual jurors in other matters."
Background:
#AlwaysReadTheFootnotes
MUELLER, p. 390, footnote 1991: "A possible remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office."
Some professional news:
I’m proud to announce that I will be an
@MSNBC
legal contributor on
@TheLastWord
with
@Lawrence
over the course of Trump’s criminal trial.
Breaking—
A federal judge in Florida DENIES former President Trump's request to temporarily block
@NewYorkStateAG
from requesting documents about his trust in connection with her fraud lawsuit.
Background,
@LawCrimeNews
Breaking:
A federal judge grants nearly $1 million in SANCTIONS against Donald Trump and his lawyers for their "frivolous" RICO suit against Hillary Clinton and others, in a scathing ruling.
Background from a recent, similar ruling,
@LawCrimeNews
.
Carroll's lawyer skewers Trump's "she's not my type" comment
The subtext: "Ms. Carroll must have been lying because she was too ugly or too unattractive" to sexually assault.
It was meant to humiliate Carroll—but that was a lie, she notes.
She rolls tape on Trump mixing up a…
Twitter labeling packs of lies as "disputed" seems worse than taking no action at all.
It denies that observable reality can exist, which is part of the sentiment that got us here.
News—
A federal judge REFUSES to loosen anonymous jury restrictions in E. Jean Carroll v. Trump, citing ex-president's recent attacks on Justice Merchan and his family in hush-money criminal case.
Story soon.
Background,
@LawCrimeNews
Lev Parnas’ attorney Joseph Bondy filed a motion calling for Attorney General Bill Barr’s recusal and the appointment of a special prosecutor outside
@TheJusticeDept
for his client’s case.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C.—
Rudy Giuliani FAILS in his effort to reverse the massive defamation judgment he has to pay Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman.
The Justice Dept. CANNOT intervene in
@EJeanCarroll
's lawsuit, a federal judge rules.
"Even if he were such an 'employee,' President Trump's allegedly defamatory statements concerning Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment."
One cannot imagine that Judge Kaplan, or Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina, will be happy about this.
Currently on Truth Social, just before the jury gets the case.
(Note: Trump was repeatedly "allowed to speak and defend" himself — and chose not to testify.)
Nothing's going to keep me from sticking to this beat, at this moment in our history—and our team at
@TheMessenger
covered it as aggressively and fairly as any in the business, bar none.
My coverage will be uninterrupted, just seeking a new home.
I'm sad to say
@TheMessenger
is indeed over. It's been one hell of a ride. I couldn't be prouder of the journalism done here these last nine months. I couldn't be prouder of my colleagues and all the hard work we've done.
I'll land on my feet. My DMs are open. Stay tuned.
#30
#
BREAKING:
A federal judge DISMISSES President Trump's second attempt to block Manhattan DA Vance's probe and UPHOLDS the prosecutor's subpoena.
Background,
@CourthouseNews
E. Jean Carroll and her attorney have released the following statements.
“This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed,” Carroll said.
Big development in the case of Reza Zarrab.
If true, this is explosive—a dam breaking.
Trump Urged Tillerson to Help Giuliani Client Facing DOJ Charges
Breaking:
An appellate court judge REJECTS yet another attempt by Trump's legal team to delay the start of his New York criminal trial.
Between lower and appellate court attempts, that's more than 10 attempts, by the DA's count.
Breaking:
An appellate judge has REFUSED to pause proceedings as Trump fights his gag order in his New York criminal case.
(The appeals court denied a separate stay request yesterday.)
Senator Brown asks Mnuchin whether the withdrawal of the Treasury nomination for Jessie Liu is "another stop on the president's personal retribution tour."
After Mnuchin said he learned two days ago about the nomination withdrawal, Brown reminded him he's under oath.
In a loss for Rep. Nunes, an SDNY judge ruled that CNN does NOT need to turn over discovery to the congressman before a motion to dismiss is decided.
@CourthouseNews
The loud "What the fuck?!" can be heard right after Acting SecNav Modly calling Capt. Crozier "too naive or too stupid" if he did not think the info would come out. (minute 1:57)
Also overheard: "He was just trying to help us." (minute 3:18)
Listen. 🔽
Good morning from New York.
A hearing is scheduled to begin shortly in the case of
@MaryLTrump
v. Donald Trump.
Covering the proceedings virtually,
@LawCrimeNews
.
NEWS
New York State court system's official representative debunks Trump's false claims about the judge's wife:
“Justice Engoron’s wife has sent no social media posts regarding the former president. They are not hers.”
Developing,
@TheMessenger
Ghislaine Maxwell's secret marriage was a detail that zipped by the shaky audio and breezy revelation of yesterday's hearing.
The prosecutor chastised the defense for not revealing the "assets of [Maxwell's] spouse whose identity she declined to provide to Pretrial Services."
Trump "glares" at
@MaggieNYT
"for several seconds as he walks out," hours after she broke the news of the former president's in-court snooze.
(per
@Law360
's pooler
@frankrunyeon
)
Pam Bondi notes that Hunter Biden joined the Burisma board while there was an *open* investigation into the company, emphasizing that word.
That emphasis cuts against her point: Any alleged misconduct predated Hunter Biden's work there.
A rush of E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump exhibits have been released — including the former president's video deposition.
Here's an excerpt where Trump mistakes Carroll with his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Background,
@LawCrimeNews
:
Mid-afternoon recess in People v. Trump:
Trump reportedly said earlier that Michael Cohen “didn’t have the guts” to show up in court.
Cohen replies.
Back in a few
Trump's lawyer John Lauro accuses the government of trying to "interfere with the campaign, that's the goal."
Judge Chutkan: "I'm not going to accept that."
"I haven't seen any evidence that it's politically motivated."
News—
Hours after Trump said in Ireland that he’d fly to New York to “confront” E. Jean Carroll, his attorney Joe Tacopina disavowed those claims to a federal judge at a sidebar.
“I know you understand what I am dealing with,” he said.
@LawCrimeNews
News
The judge presiding over Trump's NY criminal case REFUSES to budge from his order forcing lawyers to ask his okay to file any more motions.
He also WARNS Trump's lawyers to obey that order, citing his "power to punish for a criminal contempt."
Doc
I know I’m doing something right when
@TuckerCarlson
is threatened by my reporting and making baseless claims about bad grammar.
As the great Beyoncé said, “Boy bye.”
Breaking:
Elon Musk LOSES his bid to terminate the consent decree he entered with the SEC.
"None of the arguments hold water," the judge found.
Story soon,
@LawCrimeNews
News—
Elon Musk can be served with a subpoena through Tesla in the Jeffrey Epstein-related case against JPMorgan, a federal judge ruled.
Background,
@LawCrimeNews
Just in—
All “previously redacted portions” excerpted from Donald Trump’s deposition as exhibits in
@EJeanCarroll
's must be unsealed, a federal judge ruled.
DEVELOPING: We'll be on it once the clerk processes the unsealing order,
@LawCrimeNews
.
News
There are "incomplete" and "inconsistent" disclosures with "errors" in Trump Org's financial information, a court-appointed monitor told the civil fraud trial judge.
Her 12-page letter's inside.
Developing,
@TheMessenger
Justice Merchan kicker before the morning recess:
“The People went so far above and beyond what they were required to do that it’s odd that we’re even here.”
Judge:
"Mr. [Alex] Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with discovery. [...] That is not true. You may not say that again.
He also may not say that he's bankrupt, even if he filed for bankruptcy.
She explains to him the difference.
"This is not your show."
When Trump's lawyer questioned a juror about Facebook posts, the former president reacted audibly and visibly.
After she leaves, Justice Merchan angrily warns him via his lawyer:
"I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear."
Good morning from New York.
Two big cases have hearings today in SDNY—
* Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Alan Dershowitz this morning at 9am EST.
* Case of Giuliani’s associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman heads to court at 2pm EST.
Covering both.