I'm back in Manhattan criminal court, where jurors are about to hear closing arguments from the Trump Org & local prosecutors. Did the ex-president's company dodge taxes? Did it fake biz records? "You and you alone are the judges of fact in this case," Justice Juan Merchan says
The Trump Org's lawyer, Susan Necheles, is first up. "We are here today because of one reason and one reason only: the greed of Allen Weisselberg." The strategy here is to make it seem as if the CFO & company controller did this on their own, and the Trumps were blameless.
Necheles: "No member of the Trump family knew about his ongoing efforts to evade taxes. He was ashamed of what he was doing. You saw him on the witness stand almost crying." Oh man, I knew Weisselberg's emotional moment on the witness stand was going to factor into the defense.
And she's clearly preparing for prosecutors to point out the utterly ridiculous fact that Weisselberg—the betrayer!—held a birthday party at Trump Tower this year & is still getting paid $1 million+ a year. Necheles: "How do you fire a member of your own family?"
This trial will all depend on whether Weisselberg & his lackey played accounting games to aid their employer. Firm lawyer critiques DA. Necheles: "They have failed to prove… they did so in behalf of the corporation—in other words, with some intent to benefit the corporation."
Here's a good explainer from @Jonesieman & the NYT, which has been in the courtroom the whole time: nytimes.com/2022/11/30/nyr…
@Jonesieman Trump Org lawyer now totally selling out company execs over the undeniable stuff they received: tax-free luxury NYC apartments, cars, no-show job for a wife, electronics, furniture. “The wrongdoing is all being done by Jeff McConney, Allen Weisselberg, and Matthew Calamari."
@Jonesieman Necheles: "But that’s what the individuals did wrong. The individuals are not sitting here in this case." Well, yeah. One took a plea deal. Another got immunity by testifying before the grand jury. The other was let off the hook, which is bizarre.
@Jonesieman Necheles is now going through trial transcripts to show that this accounting fraud was all for these execs to help themselves. Company didn't know, she says, pointing to how company controller McConney kept secret docs in a locked box.
@Jonesieman Jurors were just asked to step out, after an utter display of incompetence from the Trump Org lawyers. They keep showing transcripts of moments when they asked questions, prosecutors objected, and judge sustained those objections. Objections matter.
@Jonesieman For the uninitiated: You know those courtroom dramas where someone yells "objection!" Judges rule on them to make sure jurors only hear/consider what's appropriate and fair. Trump Org lawyers just showed they DGAF.
@Jonesieman Judge Merchan, who is such a cool-headed stoic that he has the presence of a bronze lion statue, is reprimanding the Trump Org team. "This is standard. Practitioners know… it’s problematic." "It’s your responsibility to make sure… this doesn't happen again."