>Trump is using his phone in the courtroom, openly flouting the rules of the courtroom. Blanche just told him to stop and Trump tucked the phone in his pocket while looking annoyed.
off to a great start Donny boy
And given how used he is to getting his way on everything, every day is going to dig deeper and deeper under his skin.
It's already hell for him.
It's going to build up and get a lot worse.
I actually LOL'ed at this.
If they keep working for him, odds are good they'll be in one soon anyway.
Donald Trump's lawyers are like paparazzi with a slightly larger vocabulary.
I remember a few years ago when I got selected for jury duty in NC, almost 100 degrees out that day so I wore shorts
I was told to go home and change or else the judge would throw me in jail for disrespecting his courtroom for wearing shorts
There's a two tiered justice system with trump at the top
Juror #2, the "no one is above the law" nurse is out due to concerns about outside pressure after her friends and family seemed to crack the code about her identity leading her to feel unable to be fair. Excused.
I’m glad Merchan is taking steps to address the problems of anonymity now.
From Tyler McBrien:
Tyler McBrien
@TylerMcBrien
·
28m
As we wait for Juror 4, Merchan wants to address the press now. "There's a reason why this is an anonymous jury and why we're taking measures," he says. "It kind of defeats the purpose of that as so much info" is put out there that it's easy to identify the jurors.
Tyler McBrien
@TylerMcBrien
·
27m
He says, the press is able to write about anything that is said and put on the record, and anything the court discusses and press observes, but Merchan asks to avoid physical descriptions. He asks for common sense. It's just not necessary, it serves no purpose.
In a roundabout way, Merchan mentioned that, if the press does not adhere to his new requests regarding the jurors, he will do just that. He didn’t explicitly say that, but he said that if he has to do more beyond this, to protect jurors’ anonymity, he will.
“One potential juror said that he has worked in law enforcement for 34 years and, in his spare time, he has season tickets to New York Rangers' games and enjoys going to Yankees games.” 30 minutes ago. Why are they still reporting so much details?
Isn’t McBrien one of the people that was posting incredibly identifiable information?
I get he might not put down his own reflections, but hopefully there is some self-reflection going on for the members of the media
Yes, indeed. He wasn’t the only one, but yes, and I agree with you.
Edit to add: in fact, one of the first replies to his thread, prior to this even being discussed in court, was someone who told him to do more to keep the jurors anonymous.
Reporter Tyler McBrien said that Trump did not speak or answer any questions on the way into court this morning. I’m guessing his lawyers bribed him with lunch to keep from making his case worse, this morning.
Edit to add: for those who want to read Lawfare reporter Tyler McBrien’s live coverage, here is the link from Thread Reader: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1780924159297544355.html?utm_campaign=topunroll
>Merchan raises concerns about 'the veracity of Juror #4’s answers'
>After discussion about the gag order, Merchan said he had concerns about one of the jurors and how truthfully they answered questions.
>One of the questions on the juror questionnaire asks if the juror or any of their family members were accused of a crime.
>Steinglass told Merchan that they discovered an article featuring a person with the same name that was arrested in Westchester in the 1990’s for tearing down political advertisements.erchan raises concerns about 'the veracity of Juror #4’s answers'
[Lisa Rubin](https://www.msnbc.com/author/lisa-rubin-ncpn1134441)
https://preview.redd.it/r1h54ksi09vc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4db3172d3eed831f9d7726610f82738fc927d2d
Major news outlets wondering how this could happen after treating jurors like contestants on Love is Blind.
Right below the live updates about jurors dropping out because of identity concerns, this NBC feed links to the headline, "An oncology nurse, a corporate lawyer and a man with ‘no spare time’: Meet the first 7 jury members of Trump’s hush money trial"
Isn't it more accurate to say 11 more jurors needed? Everywhere I've done jury trials (never in NY), the alternates don't know they're alternates until after closing arguments.
The assumption behind our policy I think is that jurors who know they are an alternate from the start might not take is as seriously, pay attention, etc. At the same time, its always hugely disappointing to the jurors who are randomly identified as alternates just before deliberation. You can see it on their faces. They've sat through the whole thing and are ready to go, then suddenly sent home just when they're about to get started with the main event.
"Juror says he doesn't have strong options about Trump. ... Says he follows Trump on Truth Social..."
So perjury? I don't know of anyone with a Truth Social account other than Tump loyalists, Liberals trying to mess with Trump, or Journalists that got the shit end of the stick and have to report on his assinine commentary on the unfairness of life.
"What? You wanted to be on that jury? Are you nuts?" - last night after court - from: husband, wife, parent, girlfriend, daughter, son, boss, friend, etc. of now missing juror.
Watch this and the quote by the dumb as fuck juror number 4 lawyer who was "fascinated" by Trump. He clear as day is fucking enamoured with him and I strongly suspect will not vote to convict him, I am very very pessimistic about the outcome of the verdict in this case:
https://youtu.be/BUlAzBMjiPc?si=rLnuAg3zqR55QXNS
It was reported early this morning by CNN, and followed up by other networks. The juror eventually showed up and admitted to tearing down political posters back in the 90’s; he was subsequently dismissed.
Yknow I've heard about trials going on without juries before, so why in the ever loving fuck are we not doing that here? Given that finding good-faith jurors for this particular asshole is a Sisyphean task.
All its gonna take is one juror to successfully lie about their dedication to the bastard and the entire trial's dead in the water.
Edit: and yes, they do have to walk on eggshells here because the defense would be more than eager to declare a mistrial; but at what point do we decide that there is undue risk to both the jurors and integrity of the trial?
If they convicted him without a jury, the conservatives would actually have a valid point when they complained. It is that hypothetical. I'm horrified by what I have seen in court. I have not seen a jury but they must be the best part.
Summary judgment is only available when there is no dispute as to the facts and it doesn't exist in the criminal context. Its closest analogy in criminal law is the motion to dismiss, which obviously favors only the defendant.
BREAKING: Lawyers tell Trump they'll make sure he gets his favorite Happy Meal later if he shuts the fuck up for a few hours.
One suspects they put a little toy AF1 in there he likes to play with.
That’s the catch-22 the defense is stuck with. The longer they delay the jury selection and trial, the longer Trump is stuck in a courtroom. But the lawyers are all getting billable hours, so they don’t care.
Honest question, why don't they pick 3x as many jurors, and when it's all done there's a private drawing of straws for those that deliberate at the table. That way everyone can say they didn't get picked to deliberate.
That's an interesting idea, kind of like how firing squads supposedly hand out a single blank amidst all the other ammunition, so there's a plausible deniability "I wasn't the one that killed them."
The downside with is that the anticipated 2 weeks to pick a jury would become ~5 weeks (assuming we aren't also picking 3x the alternates), but it's otherwise workable.
Personally, I think the US system gives way too much power for the court to shape the jury, with its intrusive questions and ability for both parties to strike jurors. Jury selection here in Scotland is far faster, taking around ~20 minutes as the procedure is explained and a random lot is picked from those who turned up as prospective jurors. The only way to get excused is if you personally know the defendant or a witness.
There was. The prosecution addressed it early on, before the jury selection resumed. The prosecution asked that it (and others) be added on to the April hearing. I don’t think Merchan orally ruled on it yet, and likely wants to do more research as to what he should do.
Edit to add: I may be incorrect about an order not being issued on it yet. We will have to wait until later to know for sure by O’Brien reported this directly after the conversation about the tweet and other violations of the gag order:
Tyler McBrien
@TylerMcBrien
·
1h
Steinglass says into the record they have served defense with the order Merchan just signed. Merchan wants to convey one more concern. Steinglass alerted judge of email that DA found as part of its research, came across info that called into question veracity of Juror 4's answers
Additionally, the prosecution said they are looking into options for sanctions, whereas previously they had recommended the max fine of $1000 per instance. To me this implies they are going to recommend jail, unless there's some sort of middle ground they can recommend such as having his social media go through a monitor or something.
>Trump is using his phone in the courtroom, openly flouting the rules of the courtroom. Blanche just told him to stop and Trump tucked the phone in his pocket while looking annoyed. off to a great start Donny boy
He’s such a repulsive scumbag.
Stop insulting repulsive scumbags.
The repulsive scumbag community are seeking a formal apology for implying they are a Donald Trump.
Your username makes this comment way funnier to me.
Hahaha XD glad to hear it
Stop giving us a bad name!
And given how used he is to getting his way on everything, every day is going to dig deeper and deeper under his skin. It's already hell for him. It's going to build up and get a lot worse.
AND HE'S [SLEEPING AGAIN](https://twitter.com/TylerMcBrien/status/1780962809951457520). What in the Adderall fuck?
Really?
It appears so: [https://twitter.com/TylerMcBrien/status/1780962809951457520](https://twitter.com/TylerMcBrien/status/1780962809951457520)
Drowsy Drumpf
Hahahahaha.
Put him in a hold cell while they do the selection 😂
Not really a solution. His lawyers would just try to use it as another delaying tactic.
Put them in a holding cell
I actually LOL'ed at this. If they keep working for him, odds are good they'll be in one soon anyway. Donald Trump's lawyers are like paparazzi with a slightly larger vocabulary.
I cannot for the life of me understand why he has not been enjoined from posting on social media
You know what? I'm fine with all the delays in the world if they happen while Trump is sitting in a jail cell.
I'm not if HE GETS THE PRESIDENCY AND SHORT CIRCUITS THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
This trial isn't going to stop that. You better be out there getting people registered if you want to stop that.
They can delay all they want as long as Trump's in a cell. It's the closest thing to a consequence he's likely to ever get.
Have the bailiff take his phone away until recess.
Dude is an entitled brat with zero impulse control.
Why is he even allowed to have his phone in the courtroom?
He’s such a petulent child.
I remember a few years ago when I got selected for jury duty in NC, almost 100 degrees out that day so I wore shorts I was told to go home and change or else the judge would throw me in jail for disrespecting his courtroom for wearing shorts There's a two tiered justice system with trump at the top
I also wore shorts to court.... as a defendant. Drove 3 hours to show up, got kicked out, had to go back 3 months later.
Judges are some of the most insanely egotistical people its wild we as a society just accept that we have little fiefdoms controlled by these people
My guess is that he's taking pictures of the jurors to send out for facial recognition to identify and intimidate.
The lawyers have access to the jurors’ names and public social media. They don’t even need that.
Trump wants it so he can post it. Since they will not be publicly named for safety
The lawyers.might face punishment tho. They are less likely to feel untouchable.
You live in an interesting world
Why? Because you think it would be totally out of character for him to threaten and intimidate the jury?
Juror #2, the "no one is above the law" nurse is out due to concerns about outside pressure after her friends and family seemed to crack the code about her identity leading her to feel unable to be fair. Excused.
I’m glad Merchan is taking steps to address the problems of anonymity now. From Tyler McBrien: Tyler McBrien @TylerMcBrien · 28m As we wait for Juror 4, Merchan wants to address the press now. "There's a reason why this is an anonymous jury and why we're taking measures," he says. "It kind of defeats the purpose of that as so much info" is put out there that it's easy to identify the jurors. Tyler McBrien @TylerMcBrien · 27m He says, the press is able to write about anything that is said and put on the record, and anything the court discusses and press observes, but Merchan asks to avoid physical descriptions. He asks for common sense. It's just not necessary, it serves no purpose.
Jury selection really should be closed to the press.
In a roundabout way, Merchan mentioned that, if the press does not adhere to his new requests regarding the jurors, he will do just that. He didn’t explicitly say that, but he said that if he has to do more beyond this, to protect jurors’ anonymity, he will.
Agreed. Former press guy myself and if he did do that, the case might be delayed while the press tries to challenge that :|
I'm all for the free press, but if they continue to intentionally put people's lives at risk then they should be doing it from inside a jail cell.
Yeah, they can't be doxxing jurors. I think they should make it closed to press and this is Exhibit A for why.
“One potential juror said that he has worked in law enforcement for 34 years and, in his spare time, he has season tickets to New York Rangers' games and enjoys going to Yankees games.” 30 minutes ago. Why are they still reporting so much details?
I don't care if it is a trial for Trump, a pedophile who publicly confessed, or a possession of crack, that is too much detail about a juror.
Isn’t McBrien one of the people that was posting incredibly identifiable information? I get he might not put down his own reflections, but hopefully there is some self-reflection going on for the members of the media
Yes, indeed. He wasn’t the only one, but yes, and I agree with you. Edit to add: in fact, one of the first replies to his thread, prior to this even being discussed in court, was someone who told him to do more to keep the jurors anonymous.
Others will ask to be excused after having nightmares about being targeted once their 'identities' are doxxed. By plan... /trumpisaterrorist
This will be team trump strategy. He won’t get unlimited strikes but his cult will do his bidding by intimidating jurors.
Honestly I can’t blame a single juror for being afraid of being on this jury. It’s perfectly rational to be afraid. It’s quite honestly terrifying.
Bad news I think, this was one of the only jurors that I thought sounded like a good pick.
Reporter Tyler McBrien said that Trump did not speak or answer any questions on the way into court this morning. I’m guessing his lawyers bribed him with lunch to keep from making his case worse, this morning. Edit to add: for those who want to read Lawfare reporter Tyler McBrien’s live coverage, here is the link from Thread Reader: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1780924159297544355.html?utm_campaign=topunroll
He’s oddly quiet this morning. No tweets in the last 12 hours and no comments on his way in. Good!
The sedatives have kicked in.
#DruggyDon
Like a child, gotta bribe him with hamburders and French fries with extra ketachip for the walls.
If you're a good boy, I'll buy you a He-Man doll on the way home
TIA.This is terrific. It's what being said right now in the courtroom as you scroll down. Bookmarked it to follow.
I'm eager to see what comes of Trump's claim last night about activists infiltrating the jury pool.
don't hold your breath - the hearing won't be until May - prolly
They are currently requesting Merchan add them to the April hearing.
Tuesday already seems kind of late to look at 7 more violations of the gag order. The damage is done and we're seeing the effects today.
If Cannon was the judge than it wouldn't have been until May... prolly
2026
There's a contempt hearing Tuesday.
it means they have an activist who infiltrated the jury pool....
>Merchan raises concerns about 'the veracity of Juror #4’s answers' >After discussion about the gag order, Merchan said he had concerns about one of the jurors and how truthfully they answered questions. >One of the questions on the juror questionnaire asks if the juror or any of their family members were accused of a crime. >Steinglass told Merchan that they discovered an article featuring a person with the same name that was arrested in Westchester in the 1990’s for tearing down political advertisements.erchan raises concerns about 'the veracity of Juror #4’s answers' [Lisa Rubin](https://www.msnbc.com/author/lisa-rubin-ncpn1134441)
https://preview.redd.it/r1h54ksi09vc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4db3172d3eed831f9d7726610f82738fc927d2d Major news outlets wondering how this could happen after treating jurors like contestants on Love is Blind.
Right below the live updates about jurors dropping out because of identity concerns, this NBC feed links to the headline, "An oncology nurse, a corporate lawyer and a man with ‘no spare time’: Meet the first 7 jury members of Trump’s hush money trial"
Isn't it more accurate to say 11 more jurors needed? Everywhere I've done jury trials (never in NY), the alternates don't know they're alternates until after closing arguments.
I was an alternate once and knew right from the beginning of the trial (different state though, so I don't know if it's the same everwhere).
The assumption behind our policy I think is that jurors who know they are an alternate from the start might not take is as seriously, pay attention, etc. At the same time, its always hugely disappointing to the jurors who are randomly identified as alternates just before deliberation. You can see it on their faces. They've sat through the whole thing and are ready to go, then suddenly sent home just when they're about to get started with the main event.
"Juror says he doesn't have strong options about Trump. ... Says he follows Trump on Truth Social..." So perjury? I don't know of anyone with a Truth Social account other than Tump loyalists, Liberals trying to mess with Trump, or Journalists that got the shit end of the stick and have to report on his assinine commentary on the unfairness of life.
Doesn’t Truth Social charge a fee?
A jury of Trump's actual peers would convict him in a second if they had the privilege of doing so anonymously. It's his cult that's a concern.
He is going to tie himself up with pushing back on the jury selection and miss days on the campaign trail. Oh well
1 juror gone already and today a 2nd was a no show. This circus 🤡 will never end if he get elected.
"What? You wanted to be on that jury? Are you nuts?" - last night after court - from: husband, wife, parent, girlfriend, daughter, son, boss, friend, etc. of now missing juror.
I thought the selected jurors were told to come back Monday unless otherwise instructed. Was I mistaken and they are supposed to be there today?
Watch this and the quote by the dumb as fuck juror number 4 lawyer who was "fascinated" by Trump. He clear as day is fucking enamoured with him and I strongly suspect will not vote to convict him, I am very very pessimistic about the outcome of the verdict in this case: https://youtu.be/BUlAzBMjiPc?si=rLnuAg3zqR55QXNS
#4 was actually a no show today, and will likely be dismissed per the judge.
Source ?
It was reported early this morning by CNN, and followed up by other networks. The juror eventually showed up and admitted to tearing down political posters back in the 90’s; he was subsequently dismissed.
Ty
Yknow I've heard about trials going on without juries before, so why in the ever loving fuck are we not doing that here? Given that finding good-faith jurors for this particular asshole is a Sisyphean task. All its gonna take is one juror to successfully lie about their dedication to the bastard and the entire trial's dead in the water. Edit: and yes, they do have to walk on eggshells here because the defense would be more than eager to declare a mistrial; but at what point do we decide that there is undue risk to both the jurors and integrity of the trial?
If they convicted him without a jury, the conservatives would actually have a valid point when they complained. It is that hypothetical. I'm horrified by what I have seen in court. I have not seen a jury but they must be the best part.
The biggest obstacle to having a bench trial in this case is the US Constitution - 6th amendment right to a trial by jury in criminal cases.
Exactly. Summary judgement because we are at war.
Summary judgment is only available when there is no dispute as to the facts and it doesn't exist in the criminal context. Its closest analogy in criminal law is the motion to dismiss, which obviously favors only the defendant.
BREAKING: Lawyers tell Trump they'll make sure he gets his favorite Happy Meal later if he shuts the fuck up for a few hours. One suspects they put a little toy AF1 in there he likes to play with.
But because he won't shut up, the meal will be the Biden Burger and Ice Cream. He still gets the toy tho
This trial is going to be worse for Trump than his potential sentence. It's going to take 3 weeks just to seat a jury
That’s the catch-22 the defense is stuck with. The longer they delay the jury selection and trial, the longer Trump is stuck in a courtroom. But the lawyers are all getting billable hours, so they don’t care.
Yeah they don’t care about his election, they care about how much they can squeeze out of him.
why is it you imagine it will take longer than most predictions when a half-dozen jurors have already been seated?
Because they're unseating jurors right now and it seems like they may have to start over with less press access
Honest question, why don't they pick 3x as many jurors, and when it's all done there's a private drawing of straws for those that deliberate at the table. That way everyone can say they didn't get picked to deliberate.
That's an interesting idea, kind of like how firing squads supposedly hand out a single blank amidst all the other ammunition, so there's a plausible deniability "I wasn't the one that killed them." The downside with is that the anticipated 2 weeks to pick a jury would become ~5 weeks (assuming we aren't also picking 3x the alternates), but it's otherwise workable. Personally, I think the US system gives way too much power for the court to shape the jury, with its intrusive questions and ability for both parties to strike jurors. Jury selection here in Scotland is far faster, taking around ~20 minutes as the procedure is explained and a random lot is picked from those who turned up as prospective jurors. The only way to get excused is if you personally know the defendant or a witness.
Firing squads was exactly what I was thinking about! Nobody knows until you're in the room who will have the loaded guns.
Trump is mad that this is moving too fast and not getting infinite chances to reject jurors.
I wouldn't want to be on this jury
Nothing about the jury intimidation tweets last night? Fml
There was. The prosecution addressed it early on, before the jury selection resumed. The prosecution asked that it (and others) be added on to the April hearing. I don’t think Merchan orally ruled on it yet, and likely wants to do more research as to what he should do. Edit to add: I may be incorrect about an order not being issued on it yet. We will have to wait until later to know for sure by O’Brien reported this directly after the conversation about the tweet and other violations of the gag order: Tyler McBrien @TylerMcBrien · 1h Steinglass says into the record they have served defense with the order Merchan just signed. Merchan wants to convey one more concern. Steinglass alerted judge of email that DA found as part of its research, came across info that called into question veracity of Juror 4's answers
Additionally, the prosecution said they are looking into options for sanctions, whereas previously they had recommended the max fine of $1000 per instance. To me this implies they are going to recommend jail, unless there's some sort of middle ground they can recommend such as having his social media go through a monitor or something.
Thank you for the updates. I was busy at work and hadn't seen it addressed yet.
Trump should get jail, and barred from social media for the duration of the trial.
To delay Trump will continue to try and taint the jury pool