‘Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, made shortly before the 2016 election. Prosecutors have said the payment was intended to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump years earlier.
Prosecutors said Trump’s reimbursements to then-attorney Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels, were illegally documented as legal fees despite being carried out to support Trump’s campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty.’
Washington post
Bottomline: Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with the payment of $130,000 to Daniels for so called sexual encounter which Trump has denied. This payment was arranged by his then lawyer Cohen who subsequently paid himself $420,000. When asked why? He said it was to hide it from his wife.
Whether Trump had sex with Daniels (one time sexual encounter according to Daniels) or not does not require NDA or subsequent shell company to hide the payments.
$130,000 to Daniels
$150,000 to Karen McDougal
$420,000 for himself
Who is gaining in the whole set up? The lawyer, Cohen!
Daniels’ new lawyer, Avenatti, finds about it through the payments. They might have then set up a trap with a so-called unexpected meeting in a restaurant.
“Michael and I conversed, and I found that meeting productive,” Avenatti said. “That meeting could ultimately end up being a critical meeting.”
Avenatti spotted it during one meeting with Cohen, who let his tongue loose. “Had Mr. Trump witnessed this interaction, he would have blown a gasket.” according to Avenatti.
Did Avenatti realize Cohen was ripping off his client Trump without his knowledge, and there was no reason to draw an NDA or establish a shell company except for his own personal gain?
Avenatti may have tried to share the pie. Has he failed? Later, he goes after Cohen with guns blazing and bribes an IRA agent to get Cohen’s financial records, bank records, etc., leaks them to the media and even offers himself as an investigator for a federal investigation. Now, he sits in federal prison for extortion, blackmail, fraud, theft even from disabled clients, etc.
Is it possible that in 2016, Trump was busy with the upcoming election, and Cohen took advantage of it? Trump may have told him to fix it, but he is definitely unaware of what his lawyer was doing as he was extremely busy with the presidential election? Cohan decided to draw up an NDA and subsequent shell company. Daniels only had legs after the NDA, for which Cohen signed, not Trump.
Is it possible that Cohan started a relationship with Daniels at Trump’s expense? He tried to hide it from his wife and also saw an opportunity to make a nest egg for himself?
As you dig to the core, you see that Trump is totally innocent. Will he get a fair ruling? I doubt it.
Doubts of him getting a fair trial. Why?
Permanent New York laws of a general nature are codified in the Consolidated Laws of New York. As of January 2021, the Democratic Party holds supermajorities in both houses of the New York State Legislature, which is the highest paid state legislature in the country.
The state of New York is predominantly Democrat, with every state official being a Democrat.
Ruling Judge Juan Merchan, an immigrant from Colombia who contributed to Biden’s win,
Justice Merchan, who donated $15 to former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and has supported other Democratic causes, did not return messages.’
Post
Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, argued in the proceeding before Gesmer that New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan should have recused himself. Merchan denied a motion for his recusal in August after seeking the opinion of an advisory committee (who are also democrats?) that guided his decision.
‘Merchan rejected all of Trump’s arguments for his removal from the case, including that the judge’s daughter could financially benefit from the case because she runs a digital marketing agency that works with Democratic Party candidates.
“The speculative and hypothetical scenarios offered by Defendant fall well short of the legal standard,” Merchan wrote.
Really? Hypothetical scenario? Has networking been forgotten? A Democrat judge with mentors and predecessors who are democrats, in a majority run Democratic state, with a daughter raising millions for democrats’ cause, is the presiding judge of their stark enemy Republican Trump!
Loren Merchan — who worked for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign as “director of digital persuasion” — has said her father detests politicians using Twitter, an apparent reference to Trump.
“I’ve actually had a couple conversations with my dad recently where he’s kind of like ‘I hate that politicians use Twitter,’ and like ‘It’s so unprofessional’ and you know, ‘That’s not how a politician should behave themselves,’ and I explain that like yeah, I think there are a lot of instances where it is not used in, like when our President [Trump] tweets anything that he thinks, and like that’s not what he should be using it for,” the 34-year-old Merchan offered during a podcast appearance in June 2019.
Post
Does the daughter draw from the father’s power?
Example: In 2014, the Obama administration paid $172 billion to Ukraine, of which $32 billion disappeared. The Ukraine Mafia, Chinese Triad and Biden’s son benefited from it. Hunter Biden was paid $50,000 a month officially (and unofficially…?), plus a partnership with Chinese companies. His boss was jailed for money laundering, etc. Would the Ukraine even look at Hunter if he were not Biden’s son? Because he is the son of the then vice president of America, he would have gotten clout even if he had been mentally disabled. The mere fact he is the son of the then vice President is enough; the same goes for Judge Merchan’s daughter. She is raising millions because her father is the presiding judge in the Trump case.
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is president of Authentic Campaigns, a Chicago-based progressive political consulting firm whose top clients include Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was the lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment trial, and the Senate Majority PAC, a major party fundraiser.
“Authentic Campaigns, and thus the judge’s daughter, is actively making money from this sham attack against President Trump, rendering Judge Merchan conflicted out,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told The Post.
The judge also rejected Trump’s argument that Merchan should be recused because of how he oversaw a prior criminal case involving the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. Trump accused the judge of engaging in inappropriate conduct in the negotiations of Weisselberg’s guilty plea, but the judge faulted Trump’s defense team for turning in “inaccurate and misleading” information.
Post
Constitutional and criminal law attorney Alan Dershowitz said if the judge’s daughter is involved in anti-Trump politics, “there seems to be a basis for recusal of the father.”
“Under the law, close relationships can sometimes constitute a basis for recusal,” he told The Post.
Anti-Trump politics? Democrats hate Trump.
Permanent New York laws of a general nature are codified in the Consolidated Laws of New York. As of January 2021, the Democratic Party holds supermajorities in both houses of the New York State Legislature, which is the highest-paid state legislature in the country.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office called the defense argument “completely meritless,” saying a relative’s independent political activities are no reason to challenge Merchan’s credibility.
ABC News
Are Democrats following Hunter Biden‘s example? It was OK for Hunter to benefit from the aid given to Ukraine and for him to work fora money laundering Boss, be a partner to a Chinese company loan sharking around the world, mostly to poor third-world countries, and taking their land if they are unable to repay the loan.
Similarly, it is OK for the judge’s daughter to own a company mainly involved with the democratic party and earn millions? And be proud of the father who demonstrably hates Trump and has control over his ruling even though he probably knows Trump is innocent.
Judges, despite their best efforts, are not infallible. Like anyone else, they may harbor implicit biases based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, or other factors based on their backgrounds and life experiences that shape their perspectives.
Cultural and social biases can influence judges’ perceptions of parties, witnesses, and evidence.
Biases and financial interests can also impact their decisions. Direct conflicting financial interests occur when a judge or their family members have a stake in the outcome of a case, like his daughter, who is raising millions for Democrats.
What Trump may have to do:
28 U.S. Code § 455 – Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge
(a) Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
(b) He shall also disqualify himself in the following circumstances:
1. Where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding;
Cornell Law School
“I’ve actually had a couple conversations with my dad recently where he’s kind of like ‘I hate that politicians use Twitter,’ and like ‘It’s so unprofessional’ and you know, ‘That’s not how a politician should behave themselves,’ and I explain that like yeah, I think there are a lot of instances where it is not used in, like when our President [Trump] tweets anything that he thinks, and like that’s not what he should be using it for,” the 34-year-old Merchan offered during a podcast appearance in June 2019.
Post
Can the judge deny his conversation, opinion, and hatred of politicians using Twitter with his daughter? The judge is biased.
4. He knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding;Cornell Law School
His daughter is making millions. At the expense of him being a judge to the arch rival Republican Trump?
What are the Consequences of Judges Not Recusing Themselves When Necessary?
“If a judge declines recusal even though they were aware that proper grounds existed, there may be significant repercussions. If a judge’s decision not to recuse themself was accidental, then there is not likely to be any penalty.
First, the case result can be reviewed by an appellate court, and an entirely new trial may be ordered. This means the judge’s decision regarding a criminal conviction or monetary award may be reversed or set aside.
Second, a judge who refuses recusal when necessary may be further reprimanded or disciplined. Although disciplinary measures vary by jurisdiction, one such measure includes the judge losing their job”. Legalmatch.com
However, like all humans, judges are susceptible to biases, both conscious and unconscious. Additionally, financial interests, whether direct or indirect, can influence decision-making.
If Judge Merchan does not recuse himself, the Trump team has only one option:
- Disqualifying the judge on the grounds: ‘I hate that politicians use Twitter,’ he is very biased, and that he hates politicians using Twitter. Here the ‘bias factor’.
- His daughter is raising millions for her company from the democratic party, which is anti-Trump, paying her mainly because her father is the ruling judge of Trump’s case.
That may be one of the reasons why Judge Merchan is refusing to recuse. It could cost his daughter millions.
- Direct financial interests occur when a judge or their family members have a stake in the outcome of a case. Trump losing means a big win for his daughter
- Judges, despite their best efforts, are not infallible. Biases and financial interests can impact their decisions.
Also, he could relish having Trump’s fate in the palm of his hand. Or he may want to be the man who punishes him for using Twitter.
Elon Musk, be careful. Judge Merchan despises politicians who use Twitter to express their feelings. He may also hate other prominent politicians who use Twitter.
