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#TrumpTrial has begun

#Trump’s #criminal trial for falsifying business records during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide an extramarital affair that occurred while his 4th(?) wife was pregnant from his majority #evangelical #Christian #electorate; to that end he arranged an illegal & financially fraudulent #HushMoney pay-off to the adult-film actress #StormyDaniels.

Once the prosecutor & Trump’s #legal team have outlined their cases to the jury, the 1st witnesses will be called.

Earlier, #Trump falsely claims #courthouse area is ‘completely CLOSED DOWN’ to protesters again suggesting there is a #DoubleStandard for him & his supporters, when evidence supports the opposite.

Facts:
~100 protesters at Columbia arrested.
Outside courthouse, there are some bike-rack-type barriers (haven’t we learned those are ineffective?), but #protesters have been chanting & walking on the sidewalk. The park outside the courthouse was closed off very early Monday, now it’s unlocked.

#Merchan read his #Sandoval decision re:

the #civil #fraud finding that he misstated his assets; his 2 violations of a #GagOrder stemming from that case; 2 separate court findings of #defamation of #EJeanCarroll; & the dissolution of the #Trump foundation as part of a settlement w/the NYAG.
The judge said he would not allow prosecutors to discuss in detail the underlying facts of those matters — but added a warning that could change.

“The court cautions defendant that this #Sandoval ruling is a shield, not a sword,” Merchan said. Defense arguments at court could prompt him to reconsider where he draws the line on these issues, he added.

The #jury is now in the courtroom. Justice Juan #Merchan is reading them their instructions.

Expected to be the first witness in the #TrumpTrial is #DavidPecker, the fmr publisher of the #NationalEnquirer, who bought & buried damaging stories about #Trump in a #CatchAndKill scheme to unlawfully #influence the 2016 presidential election.

#Merchan has explained the concept of #ReasonableDoubt, instructed the jurors that statements made by the various attorneys are not to be accepted as fact, & #jurors are listening intently, a reminder that jurors take many cues from judges - as the impartial arbiter & why #Trump's attacks on judges are stupid.

Besides this case, today there's a hearing to determine the sufficiency of Trump’s #civil #fraud #bond for the $454M penalty, & Thurs, #SCOTUS hears arguments on his bs #immunity defense.

#TrumpTrial #criminal #ElectionInterference opening statements have begun.

Matthew #Colangelo, one of the Manhattan DA’s prosecutors, up.

Per Jonah Bromwich:
“Colangelo is known for his writing, but he has very little experience in Manhattan criminal court — I’ve never heard him give an opening before. He begins by telling the jury that #Trump lied “over & over & over” again by disguising business records.”

As #Colangelo says that #Trump orchestrated a #criminal scheme to #corrupt the 2016 presidential election, Trump shook his head.

Trump has attacked Colangelo on Truth Social repeatedly. #StochasticTerrorism

Colangelo has outlined the #crime, & is on to the #GrandJury #indictment of Trump last year. His opening is expected to take >1 hr.

#Colangelo describes “#CatchAndKill scheme, in which #NationalEnquirer bought stories that were problems for #Trump & buried them.
NOT NORMAL #journalism

Colangelo describes some NE headlines that helped Trump's 2016 #campaign, embarrassing campaign opponents incl’g #TedCruz & #MarcoRubio.
Prosecutors are limited to the HEADLINES per #Sandoval. They go to Trump’s #intent: to #influence the election by promoting negative stories about others & suppressing those about himself.

Prosecutors to highlight 3 hush-money deals: #Trump & co-conspirators paid off the #PornStar, the #PlayboyModel & the #doorman.

#Colangelo emphasizes it was the 1st time ever that #DavidPecker, #NationalEnquirer, paid for info relating to Trump.

key: every one of these acts involving #HushMoney sprang from the meeting at which the #conspiracy was hatched.

IOW, prosecutors are accusing Trump of using The NE to do for Trump what Trump constantly says others do against him: promote “#FakeNews.”

Colangelo is now describing the 2nd “#CatchAndKill” deal in question, relating to #KarenMcDougal, a fmr #PlayboyModel who said she had an affair w/ #Trump. #Colangelo says evidence will show that Trump “desperately” didn’t want that info public. “Before the meeting, during the meeting, after the meeting,” Colangelo says, #NationalEnquirer publisher was in touch w/ #MichaelCohen, putting this deal right at Trump’s doorstep.

#Colangelo says #Pecker will testify that $150k was more than The #NationalEnquirer would typically have paid for such a deal, & that Pecker had trouble being reimbursed. Crucially, Colangelo says, Pecker will testify that he spoke to #Trump about it.

Colangelo mentions an audio #recording #Cohen made between himself & Trump discussing the #McDougal deal.

#Colangelo says that jurors will hear #Trump, in his own voice, urging the money be repaid in cash. This doesn't connect Trump to the actual #crime, which only relates to a payment to #StormyDaniels. But it suggests a pattern of behavior.

Colangelo is now describing the emergence of the "#AccessHollywood" tape on Oct 7, 2016, beginning w/ email outreach to Trump spox #HopeHicks. Colangelo reads aloud the worst of Trump’s language, bragging about grabbing women's genitals.

As #Colangelo describes the "#AccessHollywood" tape that he says turned the 2016 campaign upside down, he refers to this email chain. We learned it would be admitted as #evidence only last wk. It's really striking how much important #evidence in this opening was just allowed in, & emphasizes the importance of the judge's decisions.

When Colangelo said the "Access Hollywood" tape transcript depicted the defendant bragging about #SexualAssault, #Trump shook his head.

"Another story about sexual infidelity, especially w/ a porn star, on the heels of the '#AccessHollywood' tape, could have been devastating to his campaign," #Colangelo says of the #StormyDaniels story. He says that "w/pressure mounting & Election Day fast approaching, Donald #Trump agreed to the #payoff & directed #Cohen to proceed."

Colangelo says Trump told Cohen to drag out paying Daniels, in the hopes of getting past the #election & then not paying her at all.

Reportedly, #Trump pursed his lips at ↑ that & wrote a note which he passed to his atty Todd Blanche, then whispered to atty, Emil Bove.

#Colangelo described a communication from Keith Davidson, the lawyer for #KarenMcDougal, to Dylan Howard, a #NationalEnquirer editor, as it became clear Trump was winning the #election: "What have we done," he said.

Finished w/describing the series of payoffs, #Colangelo details the part the #criminal charges stem from. He is describing the paperwork arrangement to reimburse #MichaelCohen for the #HushMoney payment he made to #StormyDaniels, & how #Trump & #AllenWeisselberg, sought to “disguise” the repayment.

There were chuckles in the courtroom as Colangelo says Trump was a "very frugal businessman" who watched all the spending at his empire.

#Colangelo says #Trump's willingness to go to the trouble of the convoluted repayment scheme to #Cohen “shows just how important it was to him to hide the true nature of Cohen's illegal payment to Ms. Daniels & the overall #election #conspiracy that they had launched."

#MichaelCohen is a key witness. Colangelo explained the litany of problems w/Cohen to get ahead of defense’s attempt to discredit him - something Trump's lawyers can't do, their client won't let them: admit mistakes were made.

#Colangelo insists that much of #Cohen's testimony will be #corroborated, incl’g by witnesses from The #NationalEnquirer & "an extensive paper trail."

Because the prosecution bears the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, it gets to go first (& last) in a #criminal case. The advantage of that can be seen in action here, as Colangelo gives the jury his own frame through which to view #MichaelCohen.

#Colangelo depicted #MichaelCohen as a flawed man who has lied before, saying he lied about the payment to #StormyDaniels initially "to protect his boss."

"This case is about a #criminal #conspiracy & a #coverup," Colangelo says, st the start of his conclusion of his opening statement, adding that at the end of the case, jurors will have no #ReasonableDoubt about #Trump's #guilt.

#Colangelo encourages #jurors to "tune out the noise" & "focus on the facts" during the course of the #TrumpTrial. He summarizes the evidence again, & says after all the evidence is in, Joshua Steinglass, another prosecutor, will do the closing argument.

He ends by saying there is "only one conclusion: Donald Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree."