Donald Trump, the ex-President, seemed displeased with the jury instructions provided by Judge Juan Merchan of New York County on Thursday morning.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges, but we’ll see. We’ll see how we do. It’s a very disgraceful situation,” Trump told reporters. “These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged,” he added.
“We’re going to take back our country from these fascists and these thugs that are destroying us with inflation and with everything they do,” Trump continued, “allowing 15, 16, 17 million people into our country, totally unvetted, totally unchecked.”
“We’re going to bring back our nation,” Trump vowed. “November 5. Remember, most important day in the history of our country.”
“In the meantime, this trial is rigged,” he said.
…Merchan instructed that Cohen is an accomplice and, as such, there is a special concern over such testimony particularly when there are benefits for testimony. There must be corroborating evidence. In other words, you may not convict the defendant solely on the basis of the…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 29, 2024
…So a dead misdemeanor for falsifying business records was zapped back into life by alleging that under NY election law 17-152 it was done to influence the election by the unlawful means of falsification of business records. It is so circular as to produce vertigo. So the jury…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 29, 2024
This violates every principle of the Due Process Clause and criminal process known to man. (Or of the Privileges & Immunities Clause according to Justice Thomas's view.)
1) Merchan's approach violates fair notice. And it's not remotely fair notice to tell a criminal defendant… https://t.co/TmitvCcE4C
— Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) May 29, 2024
