Fogbow

“We Will See How This Goes”: Journalists Prepare to Cover Trump on Trial
For months, reporters, lawyers, and court officials have been negotiating media access to the camera-free proceedings. The historic trial, says one journalist, is sure to be “a physical and mental marathon.”

It was around this time last year that reporters swarmed Lower Manhattan to cover Donald Trump’s arraignment for his alleged role in the 2016 hush money payout to porn star Stephanie Clifford (a.k.a. Stormy Daniels). The first-come-first-serve approach to accessing the proceedings made for some chaos, with journalists—or professional line-sitters that some outlets had hired—queuing up more than 20 hours early to secure a seat in the courtroom. On Monday, a mass of media will again converge outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, as Trump’s hush money trial—the first, and likely only, before the presidential election—kicks off with jury selection. But this time around will be a more orderly experience for those covering it. At least, that’s the hope.

Luke wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 3:23 pm Don't want to jinx it, but the dotard can whine his favorite phrase "You're Fired" to his lawyers and get a delay. He can even do that Monday morning. Let's hope his ego doesn't let that happen. There's a rumor that a team of commando sausage dogs arrived in NYC, but there's been absolutely no comment from the 699th.

chancery wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 3:58 pm Yes and yes.

One can imagine extremes of behavior that might create a conflict so extreme as to force a delay, but it would come with disadvantages so severe that even Trump could understand why it wasn’t a good idea.

Dave from down under wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 5:08 pm Claim to have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COViD

Frank G. Runyeon @frankrunyeon wrote: New: Trump wants a record of potential jurors who say they cannot serve because they’re too biased.

The idea is to support any later Trump appeal (ex. to move the trial).

He’d also like to ask about more anti-Trump group affiliations.

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Frank G. Runyeon @frankrunyeon wrote: New: Justice Merchan denies Trump bid to adjourn trial due to prejudicial publicity.

The solution to the publicity is “thorough, thoughtful and effective voir dire” — aka, jury selection.

Basically, see you Monday.

'[T]he People take issue with the liberties defends counsel has apparently taken in alleging that the People recently "coerced" Allen Weisselberg into pleading guilty and that the date of Weisselberg's sentencing was chosen to maximize prejudice to the Defendant. ... The People's justifiable concern, compels this Court - again, to express its continuing and growing alarm over counsel's practice of making serious allegations and representations that have no apparent basis in fact - or at least are unsupported by a legitimate basis of knowledge.

The People here strive to "make sure that the record is clear as to defense counsel's pattern of presenting inflammatory, baseless, or downright false claims in sworn filings to this Court. ... Because the people "seek no further relief at this time, the Court, for the time being, will merely make its observation for the record.

chancery wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 7:45 pm Really, really bad idea to have a witness go on TV before shortly before testifying, especially one with a history that, let's say, offers lots of areas for potentially damaging cross-examination.

George Conway @gtconway3d wrote: “Defendant appears to take the position that his situation and this case are unique and that the pre-trial publicity will never subside. However, this view does not align with reality. In just the past 12 months, Defendant has very publicly been involved in a multitude of criminal and civil cases across several states in both federal and state jurisdictions. In this County alone, Defendant has had two civil trials, one in State Court and the other in Federal Court. In those two matters, he was personally responsible for generating much, if not most, of the surrounding publicity with his public statements, which were often made just a few steps outside the courtroom where the proceedings were being conducted, and with his unrelenting media posts attacking those he perceived to be responsible for his plight. The situation Defendant finds himself in now is not new to him and at least in part, of his own doing.”

Katie Phang @KatiePhang wrote: JUST IN: Judge Merchan REJECTS Donald Trump's attempts to *indefinitely* adjourn his first criminal trial, after Trump complains about "prejudicial pretrial publicity."

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 5:35 pm

Dave from down under wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 5:08 pm Claim to have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COViD

word on the bird site is that tfg is going to duck out on this claim. We'll see.

Dave from down under wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 3:06 am If he tries that [claiming covid contact] remand him in custody until he tests negative while appearing each day via video.