A good start

April 23, 2024

As a Manhattan jury sat in judgment over a former president, the nation lumbered along, seemingly oblivious to the initial skirmishes in a trial whose very existence is a triumph for the rule of law. While Trump's supporters, friends, and family abandoned him, President Biden was busy advancing the interests of the American people.

The first day of the trial coincided with Earth Day and followed the House’s dramatic approval of aid for Ukraine last Saturday. It took place as the rights of women are under assault. As Trump's lawyers repeated his lies to the jury, President Biden powered through a full schedule, including the following:

Biden announced a major investment in solar energy on Earth Day 2024.  President Biden continued his commitment to green energy by announcing a $7 billion investment to make solar energy available to all Americans. See WhiteHouse.gov, President Biden Marks Earth Day 2024 with Historic Climate Action and Mother Jones, Biden Unveils $7 Billion “Solar for All” Investment for Earth Day.

The investment will help low-income families to reduce energy bills by making “rooftop solar” available to hundreds of thousands of households that spend as much as 30% of their income on energy costs. The investment will generate $8 billion in energy savings and create 200,000 new jobs—many of which will be in low-income communities.

President Biden’s continued delivery on his 2020 campaign promises has become so routine and expected it is hardly recognized as news in the major media. But you must note and remember that Biden is making “infrastructure investment” look easy—when it eluded his predecessor for four years.

President Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about aid. President Biden spoke with President Zelensky to offer reassurances about the US commitment to Ukraine. See White House.gov, Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Per the White House, President Biden said that the “administration will quickly provide significant new security assistance packages to meet Ukraine’s urgent battlefield and air defense needs as soon as the Senate passes the national security supplemental and he signs it into law.”

According to The Institute for Study of War, “aid will be in transit to Ukraine “by the end of the week” if the Senate passes the supplemental appropriations bill on April 23 and US President Joe Biden signs it by April 24.” Both Russia and Ukraine have picked up the pace of battlefield activity in anticipation of Ukraine receiving substantial new military aid from the US. See ISW, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 22, 2024.

President Biden announces new rule to protect medical records relating to reproductive healthcare. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, President Biden has been attempting to protect reproductive liberty to the extent possible in the absence of congressional action. Accordingly, Biden has been using federal regulatory power to blunt the effect of punitive state laws.

On Monday, Biden announced the finalization of a rule that will protect patient privacy against efforts by state authorities to place bounties on women and their healthcare providers. See WhiteHouse.gov, Statement from President Joe Biden on Final Rule to Strengthen Privacy Protections for Reproductive Health Care.

The new rule “prohibits the use or disclosure of [personal health information] when it is sought to investigate or impose liability on individuals, health care providers, or others who seek, obtain, provide, or facilitate reproductive health care that is lawful under the circumstances in which such health care is provided, or to identify persons for such activities.” See HHS.gov, The Biden-Harris Administration Issues New Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy Under HIPAA.

The new rule provides a small measure of protection against “bounty” laws in states like Texas. It falls woefully short of the rights guaranteed under the Constitution, but President Biden has taken a step in the right direction.

President Biden condemns antisemitism on college campuses and lack of understanding of Palestinian situation. During a press availability in Virginia, President Biden was asked about increasing protests on college campuses relating to war in Gaza. See Politico, Biden condemns ‘antisemitic protests’ — and absence of Palestinian empathy, too. Biden said, “I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.

For additional activity by President Biden on Monday, see What Did Joe Biden Do Today? (substack.com).

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Supreme Court hearing on local laws criminalizing homelessness

The US Supreme Court heard oral argument on a case challenging local ordinances that criminalize homelessness. While some observers feared that the Supreme Court would overrule a Ninth Circuit case that prohibited the criminalization of a “status”—like being an addict or an unhoused person—it appears that the Court is looking for an exit ramp from the controversy. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, A Supreme Court Case About the Rights of Homeless People Went Better Than Expected and Ian Millhiser in Vox, The Supreme Court doesn’t seem eager to get involved with homelessness policy.

Solutions to the problem of homelessness have evaded state and local governments for decades. The Justices seemed to recognize that they were unlikely to improve the situation by creating a “one-size-fits-all” solution. That unsatisfying outcome is preferable to a reactionary rule that gives carte blanche to local authorities to criminalize homelessness. As Mark Joseph Stern writes, “None of [this] is ideal . . . .[but with] this Supreme Court, we can’t hope for much better.”

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First day of Trump's election interference trial

As noted yesterday, I will attempt to maintain balance between reporting on the trial and other news. I recommend that you attempt to maintain a balance too, but if you are interested in more detail, I recommend two resources:

First, the New York court system will be publishing filings and daily transcripts on this website: People v Donald J. Trump (Criminal) | NYCOURTS.GOV. The transcripts will be published about 24 hours after the close of proceedings each day.

Second, Joyce Vance has been covering the trial in depth on her Substack blog, Civil Discourse. Her blog on Sunday covered lots of subjects in depth before the opening statements. See The Week Ahead - Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance (substack.com). 

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High-level overview of the proceedings:

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The Sandoval hearing—deciding what evidence can be used to cross-examine Trump.

On Monday, Judge Merchan held the “Sandoval hearing” to determine what topics are allowable areas of cross-examination if Trump chooses to testify. See Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, The Results of the Sandoval Hearing: Cross-Examining Trump? (substack.com).

For details, read Joyce Vance summary. In short, Judge Merchan allowed a half-dozen areas of cross-examination that highlight Trump's compulsive lying and falsification of documents. It would be foolish for Trump to take the stand. As Joyce Vance writes,

Here’s a rare prediction from me: If Trump takes the witness stand it will be gory. And it will end with a quick vote to convict from the jury. I don’t think he will, but with Trump, one can never be certain.

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The prosecution’s opening statement.

The prosecution’s opening statement was tight, organized, factual, and strong. The theme was “election interference” rather than “hush money.”

At the core of the election interference claim is the allegation that Trump “reimbursed” Michael Cohen for making a payment to Stormy Daniels for maintaining her silence.

Trump claims that the payments were for legal fees.

The prosecution has strong, difficult to refute documentary evidence that the payment from Trump to Cohen was “reimbursement” for the payment to Stormy Daniels rather than payment of legal fees.

For example, a note in Allen Weisselberg’s handwriting shows that the payment to Cohen was “grossed up” to cover Cohen’s income tax liability for the payment. But clients do not “gross up” fees to cover their lawyer’s income.

It was a strong, professional opening statement that is a good sign for the remainder of the prosecution’s case.

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The defendant’s opening statement.

Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, offered an opening statement that was error-filled, objectionable, and promised evidence that can only be offered through testimony from Donald Trump—who cannot possibly take the stand without inflicting irremediable prejudice to his defense.

Blanche repeatedly made objectionable statements. Judge Merchan upheld the prosecution’s objections on numerous occasions, including references to reliance on counsel, claims of extortions by Stormy Daniels, claims that Michael Cohen perjured himself in other proceedings. It is never a good look when a judge sustains objections to an opening statement.

Blanche promised to offer evidence that he cannot produce in the absence of testimony from Trump, including the following:

• Trump is innocent (a huge mistake; Trump isn’t required to prove his innocence);

• Stormy Daniels is lying about her sexual encounter with Trump; and

• The payment to Michael Cohen was not a reimbursement but was for legal fees.

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Gag order hearing set for Tuesday morning

Trump continues to violate the existing gag order. On Monday evening, he attacked the impartiality of the sitting jurors by claiming they were Democrats who would not be fair. He said,

That jury was picked so fast. 95% are Democrats. The area is mostly all Democrat. You think of it as a purely Democrat area. It's a very unfair situation that I can tell you.

See Trump Violates His Gag Order by Calling Jurors 'Democrats' – LA Magazine.

Judge Merchan must do something to stop further attacks on the jurors. Merchan will likely find Trump in contempt, impose monetary fines, and warn Trump of increasingly severe fines for future violations. While that outcome may not be satisfactory to many, Trump's disregard for the judicial system will be another strike against him with persuadable independents.

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David Pecker’s testimony

The prosecution called David Pecker as its first witness. Pecker testified only briefly about the National Enquirer’s “checkbook journalism” business model. He acknowledged that he had final editorial authority over the stories. A tantalizing beginning.

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Trump's supporters stayed away in droves

Trump issued a plea before the trial, asking his supporters to “Rally behind MAGA” at the park across the street from the courthouse. Depending the source, it appears that less than a dozen supporters responded to Trump's call. See NYTimes, The Circus Trump Wanted Outside His Trial Hasn’t Arrived.

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Major takeaways from first day of trial

The prosecution has a strong case with multiple corroborating witnesses. Trump has overpromised in his opening statement and cannot possibly deliver on the evidence he claims to possess. The first day of trial reflected the lopsided imbalance in the prosecution and defense case. Although Trump has otherwise competent defense counsel, he is forcing them to make mistakes. The first day was a promising start for the prosecution. But reserve judgment until the defense has had the opportunity to test the prosecution’s witnesses.

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Opportunity for reader engagement

Walk the Walk.

Please join Walk the Walk USA at its next Zoom meeting.  Register here:  Sunday, April 28th at 5:00pm PT / 8:00pm ET. 

We’ll be in conversation with our long-time partner, Our Voice Our Vote-Arizona. Hear first-hand, how this member-led organization is fighting the implementation of barbaric laws enacted in 1864, laws which deny pregnant people emergency and other medical care.  Walk the Walk USA uses data analysis and evidence.  It makes grants to grassroots organizations located in micro-geographies with outsized impact.  These grassroots use the most effective strategy, relational organizing, and they get results.  Please join us!  

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Help Buckeye State Rural put up billboards in the Toledo area.

Billboards reach thousands of people every day, who can't turn them off or drown them out.  They help counter the yard signs and flags the opposition has been flying since 2016: haven't you heard your friends' despair about still seeing MAGA-inspired flags everywhere? How much would seeing a huge billboard on a rural commuter route boost their spirits (and encourage them to volunteer and vote)?

And because they're billboards, your neighbors and colleagues may feel very comfortable contributing--because the messages aren't in their front yards or on their car bumpers. We bet you know lots of people feeling like a blue dot in their red county and who fear displaying their pro-democracy feelings on their property. 

We all want to do our part to have a good result for Ohio (re-electing Sherrod Brown) and the nation. Supporting billboard messaging is an important piece of those efforts. Here's a link to a recent webinar about our plans for 2024: BSR webinar January2024 (youtube.com)

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Concluding Thoughts

It is good to finally have Trump's first trial underway. The anticipation and worry create a false sense of the drama and conflict in trials. While there may be a few moments of high drama in a trial, they are (in the main) slow, methodical, cumulative, and predictable. The table has been set in the opening; the parties must now deliver on their promises. That process will take weeks.

The slow unfolding of the evidence is a positive aspect of trials. The mind is a causal inference engine. It attempts to impose patterns and explanations on facts that appear to be confusing and conflicting. That natural tendency favors discernment of the truth. Reality is a pesky thing—facts cling to reality effortlessly while lies clink and thud as they miss their mark.

The trial has started under the firm hand of an experienced judge and all indications are that the parties have selected a fair and impartial jury. That is all we can ask for—and the best we can hope for. As I said yesterday, let the jurors do their job while we do ours.

Keep the faith and stay strong!

Talk to you tomorrow!