Trump's attornies forgot to request a jury trial, so the judge has said it will be a bench trial. So the same judge that Trump has been insulting as late as this morning will be deciding his case.

Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman called it "mind-blowing."

"For Trump to have his fate in the hands of this judge, whom he has vilified, is malpractice by his lawyers and very ominous for him," Litman wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "It's incredibly easy to ask for a jury trial. You just check a box on a form. Hard to believe that Trump understood that his lawyers hadn't done it when he's been savaging the judge who is now the factfinder in his huge fraud trial," he added. "I honestly can't believe that any lawyer hired on such an important case could make this mistake," wrote defense attorney Andrew Fleischman. "But I also can't think of any strategic reason you'd want a bench trial in front of a judge who just sanctioned your lawyers for making frivolous arguments."

[www.yahoo.com]

A pre-law student would not make an error that stupid.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Trump tells his lawyers what to do or not do. He doesn't want to hear any advice because he knows everything. They probably tried to tell him. It could may be a passive/agressive move. Tired of waiting for him to scrape the gold off of a toilet to pay the retainer.

I'm not so sure that this was a mistake or oversight. Since the trial is in New York, which has a high proportion of not-insane people compared to where Trump's base is from, he would almost certainly be found guilty by a jury and punished to the tune of a very large sum. With a bench trial, his punishment might be lower. Also, he can make a lot of hay on the campaign trail by saying that he was railroaded by a single "democrat judge" whereas that would be much more difficult with a 12-person unanimous jury verdict. This is a strategy move IMHO.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

P45* will say he was a victim of a vindictive judge who had no cause what so ever to convict the most innocent man in the world, and cult members won't care that he went after the judge.

It may be a strategy move, but I seriously doubt it was P45*'s idea.

Democrats will need to get out and vote.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I’m surprised he didn’t fire Alina yet.

I’m surprised he isn’t a little closer to the cute attorney than the one on the other side.

Quote
btfc

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
Speedy
I’m surprised he isn’t a little closer to the cute attorney than the one on the other side.

I think he might've been just a teensy bit annoyed with her at that moment.

Could also be because finding but one crooked juror for a civil trial isn't enough.

Quote
RgrF
Could also be because finding but one crooked juror for a civil trial isn't enough.

[twitter.com]

she runs her finger across her nose and then pushes the snotty finger through her hair at 11 seconds in...

Trump is saying that he isn't allowed a jury trial - I suppose it's part of his insistence that it's all political.

video: [twitter.com]

There is some speculation that Trump chose a non-jury trial on purpose, because it allows him to rile up the base about the "political judge". Harder to do that with a jury.

I don't buy it, but it's out there.

Quote
anonymouse1
There is some speculation that Trump chose a non-jury trial on purpose, because it allows him to rile up the base about the "political judge". Harder to do that with a jury.

I don't buy it, but it's out there.

I don't know... sounds plausible to me. Hard to tell, though, without inside information.

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e pluribus unum

Quote
Ted King


I don't know... sounds plausible to me. Hard to tell, though, without inside information.

I've heard the 'Trumpo playing 8 dimensional chess' blather more than I care to mention.

Maybe the fact that he's left a decades-long trail of evidence of fraud will dissuade any belief in Q-endorsed abilities.

Letiticia James has broken this man. He's just floundering around trying to reach a life raft. Everything he's worked to cobble together is getting flushed down his gold toilet. The end of his empire months away. Even if he wins he loses. He cannot come back from this.

Democrats are fighting Republicans. The winner will be the party that brings the most hired guns to the polls.

Quote
vision63
Letiticia James has broken this man. He's just floundering around trying to reach a life raft. Everything he's worked to cobble together is getting flushed down his gold toilet. The end of his empire months away. Even if he wins he loses. He cannot come back from this.

I do so very much hope you are correct!

Quote
vision63
Democrats are fighting Republicans. The winner will be the party that brings the most hired guns to the polls.

Please, please, PLEASE find a different turn of phrase... there are those who might interpret this literally to ensure permanent voter suppression.

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g=

Quote
gabester

Quote
vision63
Letiticia James has broken this man. He's just floundering around trying to reach a life raft. Everything he's worked to cobble together is getting flushed down his gold toilet. The end of his empire months away. Even if he wins he loses. He cannot come back from this.

I do so very much hope you are correct!

Quote
vision63
Democrats are fighting Republicans. The winner will be the party that brings the most hired guns to the polls.

Please, please, PLEASE find a different turn of phrase... there are those who might interpret this literally to ensure permanent voter suppression.

The winner will be the party that brings the most Poles to the polls.

I went to get his picture and I'm happy to say that he's still alive!

I do so very much hope you are correct!


I second that emotion!

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

That's a hilarious pic of P45*.

He looks like he hates actually being in court, like some commoner-loser.

A much better pic would/will be him in an orange jumpsuit.

If only.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I don’t think his attorneys screwed up by not checking a box. It was a decision by Trump.

Not a real bright one, but not as bad as denigrating the judge repeatedly after you’ve opted for a bench trial.

I wonder if it is easier to appeal a bench trial than a jury trial.

Quote
gadje
I wonder if it is easier to appeal a bench trial than a jury trial.

It goes without saying that they will appeal to set aside the verdict if found guilty, that is standard for any civil trial. However, it is actually a bit harder to appeal a bench trial because anything having to do with the jury is no longer in play. He also cannot make an appeal for poor representation in a civil trial. So unless the judge makes prejudicial statements or improper rulings, then the only thing to really appeal is the sentence (lower the fine, etc.).

He can say whatever he wants and the base will believe it, so that doesn't matter. It is getting the truth across to the undecided voters that is important, they are less apt to be persuaded by his rantings.

---

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late