Trump and the Judge

 Justice Merchan's gagged witness goes public with what he would have told the jury and it's a doozy - Monica Showalter     "After Michael Cohen's disastrous testimony, it would seem that the case against President Trump over the bookkeeping entry in a hush-money payment case would be in tatters as it goes to the jury. Many legal eagles have said as much.

"But the politically partisan New York justice in this case, Juan Merchan, doesn't give up that fast and clearly wants to salvage the case. He's instructing the jury to ignore the detail about the 'underlying crime' and treat the case the same way a burglary case is treated." . . .

"The laws against election influence by foreign actors are suddenly being called into service in this case because hiding one's dirty personal laundry while trying to get elected is unthinkable, a felony, as the prosecution argues, as if no pol had ever done such a thing in the past. Right, John Edwards? Right, Bill Clinton? Grover Cleveland was unavailable for comment.

"What Smith demonstrates is just how valuable his testimony would have been to that jury about what the law is and how regulators enforce it, which instead has to take Michael Cohen's word for it that Trump, who didn't even know about the hush money paid according to another witness, somehow broke the law.

"Sound like a fair trial we have here? Only in a banana republic."

Judge Merchan’s tell-tale heart seems to be coming for him - Andrea Widburg

Merchan grows irate, begins EXCORIATING Robert Costello on the stand for making a few off-handed remarks and rolling his eyes during the testimony.

Merchan: Are you staring me down right now?

Costello: I'm not.

Merchan: GET OUT OF THE COURTROOM, NOW! GET OUT OF THE COURTROOM!… 

"Judge Merchan is hearing that tell-tale heart, and it’s no coincidence that it was triggered by catching someone’s eye. Merchan knows that he’s done something terribly wrong, and his long-dormant conscience is catching up with him. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump."

I was inside the court when the judge closed the Trump trial, what I saw shocked me: Alan Dershowitz | Fox News   "I have observed and participated in trials throughout the world. I have seen justice and injustice in China, Russia, Ukraine, England, France, Italy, Israel, as well as in nearly 40 of our 50 states.

"But in my 60 years as a lawyer and law professor, I have never seen a spectacle such as the one I observed sitting in the front row of the courthouse yesterday.

"The judge in Donald Trump’s trial was an absolute tyrant, though he appeared to the jury to be a benevolent despot. He seemed automatically to be ruling against the defendant at every turn.

"Many experienced lawyers raised their eyebrows when the judge excluded obviously relevant evidence when offered by the defense, while including irrelevant evidence offered by the prosecution." . . .

Ex-Elections Official Lays Out How Trump Trial Judge Who Restricted His Planned Testimony Gave Alvin Bragg A Leg Up | The Daily Caller   "Former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission Brad Smith said Monday night that the judge overseeing Trump’s trial has shown “very evident” bias in favor of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"Smith, who Trump’s defense team intended to call as a witness, announced that Merchan’s heavy restrictions on his planned testimony caused the defense to decide not to call him to the stand at all. Merchan ruled that Smith could not interpret campaign finance law or testify to whether or not the $130,000 payment Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election was a violation.

“ 'While judge wouldn’t let me testify on meaning of law, he allowed Michael Cohen to go on at length about whether and how his activity violated FECA,” Smith said. “So effectively, the jury got its instructions on FECA from Michael Cohen!” . . .

Judge In Alvin Bragg Trial Seems To Have A Not-So Subtle Habit Of Putting His Thumb On The Scale For The Prosecution   

Along with everything else, Merchan imposed a gag order that restricts Trump from speaking about witnesses like Cohen and Daniels, who have publicly attacked him. It also prevented Trump from responding to President Joe Biden’s remarks about the trial, his attorney noted during a hearing last week.