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After maintaining a relative vow of silence on his predecessor's legal matters, it's possible President Joe Biden chooses to address the trial of his predecessor after the jury reaches a verdict in the case with three aides acknowledging that the uncertainty in the timing of the jury's decision complicates any planning.
Biden is on the road for much of next two weeks: On Tuesday, he will headline a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before traveling to Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to remember his son, Beau Biden, who died nine years ago from brain cancer.
On Friday, Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with the Belgian prime minister to discuss plans to utilize Russian assets sitting in Western banks to continue funding Ukraine's defense. The lion's share of that money is held by Belgium, which has had reservations about the precedent such a move would set.
Later Friday, Biden is set to welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House to celebrate the team's second consecutive Super Bowl win in an event that is usually light-hearted.
If the jury deliberations spill into the following week, there's a chance Biden could be en route to France; he departs on June 4 for several days to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day and be feted with a state dinner. During that time, Biden's son, Hunter, will be on trial for charges that he made false statements on a form to purchase a firearm during a time when he has said he was addicted to drugs.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined Tuesday to say whether Biden would address a verdict in Trump's trial, or provide insights into how the president would monitor his son's trial.

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Attorney Joshua Steinglass is showing the jury Trump's tweets the day after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty.
"Trump immediately went on the attack. An attack that continues to this day," Steinglass says.

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"These tweets were not only designed to punish Cohen, they were also designed to send a message to other potential witnesses," Steinglass says, adding: Cooperate and you will face Trump's wrath.

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Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is reading "Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life," another book by Donald Trump.
The excerpts cited about Trump's philosophy include:

• "I just can't stomach the disloyalty."
• "Like it says in the Bible. An eye for an eye."

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The jury has left the courtroom for a break.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is expected to resume his closing argument when the court returns.

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MD20/20 said:

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What possible reason is there for Trump's attorneys not objecting to improper jury argument? Is it not true that if you don't object you don't preserve error for appeal?

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aggiehawg said:

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Trump attorney Todd Blanche objects when Joshua Steinglass begins reading Michael Cohen's testimony about his guilty plea, which includes referencing the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Before the objection, Steinglass says it's disingenuous for the defense to tell the jurors that they should not believe Cohen because he repeatedly denied paying Stormy Daniels at all or with his own funds.

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"Those lies were told at the defendant's direction and at his behest and for his benefit" Steinglass says, with a tone expressing incredulity at the notion, calling it "chutzpah" from Trump's legal team.

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Judge Juan Merchan asks them to approach the bench.

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BMX Bandit said:

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Where are you seeing he's still going tomorrow? That's nuts

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Before the break, Donald Trump's Truth Social post calling Stormy Daniel's "horseface" is shown on the screen as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass talks about how Trump responds to disloyalty.
The Trump post is from March 15, 2023, around the time Daniels was testifying before the grand jury in connection to this case.
Steinglass says Trump was "clearly trying to pressure both Daniels and (Michael) Cohen to back off."
Trump also took legal action against Daniels in Florida to try to enforce a judgment to recover legal fees.

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"True to the promises in his books the defendant wanted everyone to see the costs of taking him on," Steinglass says.

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Steinglass says the lawsuits show "the lengths he's willing to go to punish those who dare to defy him."
The prosecutor also displayed the Trump post, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!!" Blanche objected and the attorneys gathered at the bench.
Trump's lawyers have argued that this tweet was about the campaign, not Cohen or Daniels.
As the jury waited while attorneys were at the bench, Trump's tweet remained on the screen.
'I'm not saying that was Mr. Trump's intention to have his throngs get involved." Steinglass says.
Then adds, "But you'll recall that Ms. Daniels testified about some of the security precautions she had to take."

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With the jury out of the room for the latest break, the lawyers are arguing about the tweet from Donald Trump "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!!"
Trump's attorney Todd Blanche argues that to link Trump directly to precautions Stormy Daniels took concerning security would be "prejudicial."
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass pushes back saying it was considered in pretrial motions and that the defense opened the door wide enough to drive a truck through it in its suggestions that Daniels was benefiting from the situation.
Merchan says, citing the length of Steinglass's summations:

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"I think you've gone as far as you need to go with that and you don't need to go any further."=

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Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench and court is back in session.
"Before we bring the jury back in. The jury has said all along today that they could work until 8 p.m. You've been going for four hours now."
Merchan suggests a colleague hand prosecutor Joshua Steinglass a note to let him know when it's 8 p.m. and to wrap it up.
Steinglass did not have any reaction to this suggestion.

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Im Gipper said:

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Merchan said this was the last break of the day. I don't see any indication he plans to let the prosecution keep talking tomorrow.

Unless he keeps talking past midnight! Lol

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BMX Bandit said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Im Gipper said:

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But not objectionable.
He's allowed to comment on the weight of the evidence, which is what he's doing with that comment.

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Disagree. But that's what lawyers do, after all.

A hypo for you: Blanche says in his summation: You all saw Hope Hicks after the prosecution was finished grilling her, didn't you? She was telling the truth as she knew it and had told them the same yet she was so afraid of the prosecution, ask youself why was that?"

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I'll answer for him.

Your comparison is going off the CNN version. The twitter version comparison wouid be Blanche said:

Mrs Hicks explained how this was not fraud despite tough questioning, and then cried

You are adding a lot that's not in the Inner City version.

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Jurors thank you again for your flexibility. We're taking full advantage of it tonight," Judge Juan Merchan says as the prosecution resumes its closing argument.

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"Thanks for sticking with me," prosecutor Joshua Steinglass tells the jury.
He then says "yesterday" and corrects himself to note it was today that he told them something.
Steinglass adds: "It feels like yesterday."

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aggiehawg said:

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Im Gipper said:

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Merchan said this was the last break of the day. I don't see any indication he plans to let the prosecution keep talking tomorrow.

Unless he keeps talking past midnight! Lol

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Not mutually exclusive, are they?

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Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has put up a timeline going back to August 2015.
The prosecution's slide show is pulling up pieces of evidence on a screen.
"Mr Trump Involved Every Step of the Way" reads a powerpoint slide as Steinglass starts back up.

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Im Gipper said:

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He has to know he's lost them.

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Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has highlighted a phone log on October 26 when Michael Cohen called Trump twice before initiating the transfer to attorney Keith Davidson, who represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

"Think about the timing of these phones calls. They're absolutely critical," he says pausing. "Unlike the call on the 24th. This was the final go-ahead."

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Joshua Steinglass is reminding the jury that David Pecker met Donald Trump at Trump Tower in January 2017 and they discussed Karen McDougal.

The prosecutor does raise one new detail he hadn't mentioned today: Pecker says Trump thanked him for his help on the McDougal story.

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Joshua Steinglass is now going over a November 4, 2016, call between Michael Cohen and Trump's former body Keith Schiller.
He tells the jury, "I know what you're thinking, how do we know" that this call between Cohen and Schiller's phone was actually a call between Cohen and Trump. Steinglass says the jury has to look at the circumstances and it makes sense that Trump and Cohen would talk during the "media monsoon."
According to Cohen's testimony, Weisselberg said "we're going to pay you over 12 months. That made Cohen believe (Allen) Weisselberg and Trump already discussed the repayment schedule," Steinglass argues.
He says Trump and Weisselberg had a "frick and frack" routine.

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Joshua Steinglass is walking through Donald Trump's actions across the timeline, including calls with Michael Cohen, meetings with David Pecker and the fact he signed nine of the checks, among other actions.

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Joshua Steinglass quickly goes through another summary slide titled "The defendant's direct involvement - Payments/coverup" which he says shows instances of "overt evidence" of Donald Trump's involvement, including the catch-and-kill scheme and the payment and coverup scheme that includes the nine checks he signed.
In addition to the overt evidence, Steinglass says the jury should also use their common sense.
The prosecutor says it's "inconceivable" that Trump would be involved in silencing the women but "suddenly stick his head in the sand" when it came to the reimbursement scheme.
Steinglass also notes that Michael Cohen "was and is a self-promoter."
"It simply defies all common sense to think he would undertake these herculean efforts" to help Trump and then keep it to himself, he adds.
Steinglass notes that Cohen told Trump about the American Media, Inc. deal so it defied logic he wouldn't have told him about Stormy Daniels, too.

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Donald Trump was "the beneficiary of the entire scheme" and the payment scheme to reimburse Michael Cohen in installments over a year did not help Cohen who needed to pay back his home equity loan without his wife finding out, Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.
"The false business records benefited one person and one person only and that's the defendant.

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Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass raises the question of reasonable doubt, telling jurors not to take the defense's "invitation to consider each piece of evidence in a vacuum."
"You've got to look at the evidence as a whole," he says.
Steinglass tells the jurors to listen to the judge's instructions on reasonable doubt carefully, saying that "the people have proven this case beyond all reasonable doubt."
Nobody is saying Trump got behind a computer and generated vouchers and checks but he set the scheme in motion, Steinglass says.

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As the prosecutor appears to be winding up his closing arguments, Judge Juan Merchan for the second time in a few minutes sustains a defense objection and tells Joshua Steinglass that he will instruct the jury on the law.

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Steinglass: On the conspiracy to violate election law, we're basically beating a dead horse here.

The stenographer misses the remark.

"Beating a dead horse here," Steinglass repeats, as he and the court laugh a bit at the cosmic joke.

"Quiet down," a court officer tells the…

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 28, 2024

Prosecutor Steinglass: They committed FECA violations
Trump's lawyer Blanche: Objection
Justice Merchan: Overruled.
Prosecutor: This was a campaign contribution, that's why it was made... The defendant already announced he was going to run for President again.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 28, 2024

Troy91 said:

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This is really turning into a circus today. Multiple violations by the prosecution of court orders re: closing statements.

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