“Surrogates speaking very beautifully” chipping away at the rule of law.

May 15, 2024

The most important development on Tuesday was not in the Trump criminal trial in New York. Instead, it occurred outside the courtroom as politicians sworn to defend and protect the Constitution mounted a coordinated assault on the rule of law. They did so by disparaging the integrity of a public trial conducted by a respected judge before an impartial jury. They attacked the honesty and decency of witnesses, jurors, and the judge’s family. They declared the trial to be a sham and a travesty.

It was the first of its kind spectacle of debasement and depravity in our nation’s history that will never be surpassed. The watchmen guarding the ramparts were chipping away at the footings and pillars that scaffold the wall between the pale of democracy and the hellscape of anarchy.

Trump's gag order prohibits him from making “public statements” about any witness, juror, or family member of the court staff (including the judge). Trump violated the gag order ten times before Judge Merchan threatened Trump with detention for the next violation. Trump then switched tactics, inviting representatives—whom he called “surrogates”—to attend trial. Those surrogates made cameo appearances in the visitor’s gallery in the courtroom, followed by public statements attacking Michael Cohen, the jury, the judge’s family, and the trial itself.

In short, the surrogates made statements that Trump was prohibited from making himself. The shockingly dimwitted Senator Tommy Tuberville admitted on Newsmax that his appearance as a surrogate was “to overcome this gag order.” Hint: Don’t ever commit a crime with Tuberville as a co-conspirator. The man not only can’t keep a secret, he doesn’t understand what a secret is.

Trump praised his surrogates, saying,

I do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully. They come from all over ... and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.

The problem for Trump and his “beautifully speaking surrogates” is that their comments violate the gag order, which also prohibits

[D]irecting others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witness . . . or any juror in this criminal proceeding.

Trump's strategy of using surrogates to attack Michael Cohen and the jury plainly violates the gag order—which is the least offensive aspect this sorry story.

The appearances by Republican members of Congress, state officials, and failed candidates for president were nothing less than the attack by the legislative branch of government on the judicial branch. Worst of all, Speaker Michael Johnson is second in line of presidential succession—effectively entangling the executive branch in the assault on the judiciary as well.

The Republican Party once professed to be the party of law and order. That façade has crumbled. It has demonized the FBI, Department of Justice, and the nation’s intelligence community. It is now eroding public confidence in the court system—all to protect a conman and liar who will turn on his protectors the instant it is to his advantage. Do they not see what Trump did to Michael Cohen—a man who risked (and lost) his profession and liberty in service of Trump.

Finally, Trump has demanded that his vice-presidential suitors appear as surrogates willing to debase themselves as avatars of vengeance for a sexual predator who can’t stay awake during cross-examination of his main accuser. What a pathetic, demeaning, and perfectly illuminating exercise for Trump's vice-presidential candidates.

“Surrogates speaking very beautifully” for the most corrupt, flawed candidate for the presidency in the history of our nation. America deserves so much better.

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Michael Cohen’s cross examination was underwhelming. Why it matters.

The prosecution finished its direct examination of Michael Cohen on Tuesday. As on Monday, Cohen was controlled and disciplined. He completed his description of the falsification of business records to conceal the reimbursement of Stormy Daniels’ hush money.

During a sidebar, the prosecution disclosed that Cohen was the state’s last witness. Trump's attorney said that the defense might not call any witnesses—but kept open the possibility that Trump would testify. (He won’t.)

Accordingly, Trump's entire defense hinges on the cross-examination of Michael Cohen. Despite months of preparation, attorney Todd Blanche’s cross-examination was an unmitigated disaster. It was so bad that legal observers struggled to understand the flow or the point of the examination.

Blanche’s underwhelming examination was made worse by the failure of Blanche to use monitors in the courtroom to display the exhibits he referenced during the examination. As a result, Blanche and Cohen were frequently discussing exhibits that only the two of them could see. That failure was likely caused by Trump's unwillingness to pay for a trial technology team to digitize and automate the exhibit database. (That is my surmise; any competent counsel able to afford a trial technology team would hire one.)

Criticisms aside, the examination was bizarre—because it was Trump's counsel examining a Trump clone. Or, as Lucian K. Truscott IV put it, Trump's moral doppelganger is interrogated by the defense. Per Truscott,

[I]f Trump had a “type” when it came to women, he also had a “type” with the men he surrounded himself with. . . . But the person in this trial who by far best represents Donald Trump’s “type” is Michael Cohen, the lawyer Trump picked to represent him when he was president and CEO of the Trump Organization.

[Cohen] is a serial liar, a hustler, a con man, a double-dealer, a man, who if he had to, would sell his own mother to squiggle out of a corner he got himself into.  Donald Trump didn’t have to take the stand in this trial.  The prosecution put his moral doppelganger in the witness box in his stead.

Todd Blanche apparently has no inkling that attacking Cohen’s dishonesty, deceit, and depravity is also a frontal attack on Trump. For example, Blanche attempted to shame Cohen for selling tee-shirts depicting Trump behind bars—like Trump selling tee shirts with his mug shot. Two men monetizing the crime spree of a former president.

More to the point, as Truscott notes, they are both liars, bullies, and con men. Most of the lies told and crimes committed by Cohen were for Trump's benefit—a point that Cohen made several times during his cross-examination.

It is possible that Todd Blanche will take a remedial course in cross-examination on Wednesday—when the trial is not in session. But Blanche will likely be busy listening to ridiculous suggestions from a client who believes he is smarter than his lawyers. Unless there is a dramatic change, it appears that Trump's only opportunity to put on a defense will dissolve into a fog of rambling and obtuse questions designed to please Trump.

A final note: According to observers in the courtroom, Trump kept his eyes closed, his head lolling to one side, and his mouth open for most of the day—clear signs that he was asleep. More to the point, he was sleeping through the direct and cross-examination of his main accuser in a criminal trial that could land him in jail. His inability to remain awake is no laughing matter—and it deserves serious attention from the media.

If Joe Biden dozed off at a state dinner in Asia after a 14-hour trans-Pacific flight, the media would demand invocation of the 25th Amendment. But Trump appears unable to remain conscious for hours at a time during a criminal trial, and the media ignores it (for the most part).

The case will go to the jury next week. The jury should deliver a verdict (or report that it cannot reach a verdict) within a few days thereafter. Judge Merchan and the prosecutors deserve great credit for conducting a fair, efficient, and professional trial. The public is not entitled to a conviction of Trump, only that he is tried in a fair proceeding. The rest is in the hands of a jury of Trump's peers.

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Opportunity for reader engagement

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Developments regarding arms shipments to Israel

The Biden administration has told congressional aides it will seek approval to sell $1 billion in arms to Israel. The subject of the request apparently does not include the 2,000-pound bombs that President Biden has threatened to withhold if Israel commences a large-scale attack on Rafah. The request to ship $1 billion to Israel will likely obscure the decision to delay the shipment of large bombs to dissuade Israel from launching a major attack on Rafah.

President Biden is being criticized from all sides for his policy toward Israel. Many readers have expressed concern that Biden’s foreign policy toward Israel (and by extension, the war in Gaza) will cost him the election. It is possible that the war in Gaza will be the tipping point. Other tipping points include inflation, immigration policy, and the alleged spike in crime. In a close election, we can point to dozens of issues and conclude, “That will make all the difference.”

Focusing only on the “Biden side” of the equation is a logical error. On every “tipping point” issue for Biden, there is an opposing and equal (at least) vulnerability for Trump. Democrats are just more prone to worry that every issue will be the difference between victory and defeat—because they care so deeply about the stakes of the 2024 election.

The war in Gaza and US foreign policy toward Israel are serious issues that have caused stresses and fractures in some parts of the Democratic coalition—at least for now.

So, what is the opposing vulnerability for Trump? It is that Trump will adopt more extreme positions on Israel and the war in Gaza. Case in point: While Biden may be critical of the protests of his support for Israel, Trump would deport pro-Palestinian protesters. See Mother Jones, Trump Wants to Deport Pro-Palestine Protesters—and GOP Lawmakers Are Filing Bills to Make It Happen.

Per Mother Jones, Trump said the following at his rally in New Jersey last Saturday:

When I’m president, we will not allow our colleges to be taken over by violent radicals, and if you come here from a violent country and try to bring jihadism, or anti-Americanism, or antisemitism to our campuses, we will immediately deport you. You’ll be out of that school.

Senator Marco Rubio is urging the Department of Homeland Security to hold “expedited deportation proceedings” for participants in “antisemitism and pro-Hamas protests” on college campuses. See Marco Rubio’s letter here.

GOP Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas has introduced legislation that allows for the deportation of people “charged with any crime related to their participation in . . .  antisemitism rallies or demonstrations.”

Under Trump's proposed policy and proposed legislation, student protestors expressing support for Palestinian autonomy or a “single state” state solution could be subject to summary deportation (if a future Trump administration deems support for those solutions to be antisemitic).

Without regard to the merits of any of the positions above, only one candidate seeks to summarily expel students from the US based on their speech about the war in Gaza.

So, while Biden has vulnerability based on the resumption of arms to Israel, Trump would not only send the arms to Israel, but he would also seek to expel student protesters based on speech.

Democrats have about six months to communicate the alternative scenarios to voters concerned with Biden’s foreign policy toward Israel and Gaza. If we can do that, the issue will be a tipping point—against Trump.

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Concluding Thoughts

Readers of this newsletter joined in a wonderful fundraiser for Rep. Colin Allred on Tuesday. The event was a great success—because Colin Allred was phenomenal! He is an earnest, charismatic, thoughtful candidate with a solid chance to beat Ted Cruz. Winning a US Senate seat in Texas would go a long way toward protecting Democratic control in the Senate.

Every time I meet a Democratic candidate I am impressed anew at the candidates' passion, commitment, and quality. If Democrats can continue to attract people like Colin Allred to run for office, we will win control of both chambers of Congress. If you are anxious and need a boost, I urge you to watch Colin Allred’s campaign launch video here: Colin Allred | Our Team is Texas. I guarantee you will feel better about our prospects of retaining control of the Senate in 2024.  

The 2024 election is not only about the presidency. It is about Congress, state legislatures, gubernatorial races, judicial elections, city council seats, school boards, and more. Democrats have better candidates up and down the ballot—all of whom will help create a draft that will have a positive effect on Joe Biden’s candidacy. Candidates like Colin Allred will help Joe Bien win in swing states—another reason to be hopeful about the 2024 election, but not a reason to be complacent!

Talk to you tomorrow!