Trump's last Hope

May 4, 2024

On Friday, Hope Hicks gave devastating testimony that eviscerated Trump's defense in the election interference case. Trump's former Communications Director credibly established that Trump concealed his sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels to protect his election prospects in 2016. She also removed all doubt that Trump knew of and approved the payment to Daniels (via Michael Cohen) to “catch and kill” her story.

All that remains is for Michael Cohen to establish that Trump agreed to mischaracterize the nature of the reimbursement to Cohen and the prosecution’s case will be irrefutable. An impartial jury should convict Trump on all counts.

Hope Hicks was a peculiar witness. She remains fiercely loyal to a serial sexual assaulter but nonetheless told the truth about Trump's corrupt motivation and guilty knowledge. If Trump is reelected, he will not make the mistake of appointing another Hope Hicks. Trump will scrape the bottom of the barrel to find sychopants willing to lie no matter the consequences.

Hope Hicks will be Trump's last Hope. If there is another Trump administration, it will be populated with the likes of Michael Flynn, Steve Miller, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell (the “My Pillow Guy).

Regardless of the jury’s verdict, the criminal trial for election interference has been a victory for the rule of law. Trump's procedural guilt or innocence will be decided by the jury. But the prosecution’s meticulous proof has established an enduring foundation for the judgment of history—i.e., Trump unlawfully interfered in the outcome of the 2016 election and falsified documents to conceal his crime. That accomplishment should not be overlooked.

The judgment of history will not be diminished or altered if a juror nullifies the prosecution’s case by rendering a political judgment rather than a legal one. The force of the prosecution’s case has been overwhelming. Trump's defenses have been reduced to conspiracy theories and attacks on the character and credibility of his hand-picked advisors—or, as Trump described them, “Only the best people.”  

It is difficult to find coverage of the day’s events in the courtroom that does not center on Hope Hick’s tearful breakdown in the first moments of cross-examination. As Lawrence O’Donnell and others noted, Hope Hick’s tears are meaningless. She stood by Trump as he did his worst. She repeated his lies even when she disbelieved them. She charmed and distracted male members of the press who should have been challenging her treadling of Trump's schemes.

Slate does as good a job as any outlet in summarizing the day’s events after describing Hope’s perfectly timed tears. See Slate, The Trump Defense Made Hope Hicks Cry. The Prosecution Got What It Wanted.

The key moment came when Hope Hicks testified that she did not believe the story concocted by Trump and Michael Cohen that the latter paid Stormy Daniels on his own initiative “out of the goodness of his heart.”

Per Slate, Hope testified as follows:

“President Trump was saying that he had spoken to Michael and that Michael had paid this woman to protect him from a false allegation and that Michael felt like it was his job to protect him and that’s what he was doing.” She added: “And he did it out of the kindness of his own heart—he never told anybody about it.”

At this point, the prosecutor asked whether this was “in character” for Cohen—to pay $130,000 out of the kindness of his heart—and Hicks responded, like many of the other witnesses have, by taking potshots at Cohen.

“I would say that would be out of character for Michael,” she acknowledged. “I didn’t know Michael to be an especially charitable person, or selfless person. [He’s] the kind of person who seeks credit.”

Trump is on his heels as the prosecution carefully builds an escape-proof room around Trump’s defenses.

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More good economic news

The US released jobs and unemployment data on Friday. Job growth slowed but remained respectable while unemployment ticked up slightly. Still, unemployment remained under 4%--for a record-breaking 27 months. See The Guardian, US adds 175,000 April jobs as hiring slows and unemployment stays steady.

Although the economy remains strong, the slight downtick in two key indicators gave the media plenty of opportunity for negative headlines. Don’t believe them. Instead, read this statement from President Biden: Statement from President Joe Biden on the April Jobs Report | The White House

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Violent crime at 50-year low. Tell a friend.

Republicans push a false narrative that crime has increased under President Biden and is out of control. The opposite is true. See Statement from President Joe Biden on Record Decrease in Violent Crime in 2024 | The White House.

As noted in President Biden’s statement,

After the prior Administration oversaw the largest one-year increase in murders ever recorded, violent crime is at a near fifty-year low.

Americans are safer from violent crime today than a year ago. Today, an independent organization of police chiefs from the nation’s largest cities released data showing that, compared to a year earlier, violent crime declined across every category in the first quarter of 2024 and murders are down 17%. These decreases build on substantial decreases in previous years.

Bookmark the above release from the White House and be prepared to tell friends, neighbors, and complete strangers about the true facts when you hear someone claim that President Biden is responsible for a non-existent crime wave.

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Truth Social’s auditor is barred from auditing public companies

One sign of a company’s legitimacy is its ability to attract high quality auditors to issue opinions on the company’s financial statements. When Truth Social was merged into an acquisition company (“Trump Media”), the company’s auditors were of dubious reputation. On Friday, the federal agency charged with oversight of the accounting profession permanently barred Trump Media’s auditing firm from issuing opinions on the financial statements of public companies. See CNN Business, Trump Media’s accounting firm charged with ‘massive fraud’. Trump Media will be required to find a new auditing firm.

By a show of hands, who is surprised that Trump Media’s outside auditor is accused of running a “sham audit mill”? As of today, there is no indication that Trump's Media’s financial statements were materially misstated. But the odds are good that someone is taking a look into that question in light of the permanent suspension of its outside auditor.

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Opportunities for reader engagement

Focus for Democracy Zoom Briefing

Focus for Democracy's recommended organizations are already making a strong impact on the 2024 election cycle - honing strategies with more data-driven experiments, running more tested ads, expanding to more key battleground states, and talking to more movable voters.

Learn how you can be part of this movement to protect our democracy by joining their next network event!

Tuesday, May 7th
5:00pm PT / 8:00pm ET
Register here: http://tinyurl.com/F4D7May

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The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The States—with NC Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton and Author David Pepper. 

Join Markers for Democracy and States Project Giving Circles for a great discussion with NC Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton and Author David Pepper in a conversation on the importance of State Legislatures on Thursday, May 9th, at 7:00 pm ET.

Please to hear from a remarkable 26-year-old rising Democratic star, Chair Anderson Clayton, paired with the always energizing David Pepper. Co-hosted by eight States Project Giving Circles; read more about the co-hosts here.

Read their bios and RSVP HERE. Read a fun profile of Chair Clayton here. "She's the linchpin for Democrats winning over her state." Wow.

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Concluding Thoughts

Trial is a great equalizer. Bound by the rules of evidence and judicial procedure, Trump's baseless defenses evaporate into nothingness. That is why he is seeking to delay his federal trials for election interference and unlawful retention of defense secrets. We should never be hesitant or fearful about meeting Trump in front of a jury of his peers. The truth will out—despite stealth jurors and compromised judges.

All Americans should be encouraged by the administration of justice in Judge Merchan’s courtroom, regardless of the jury poll after deliberation. We have a fundamentally sound system—which is worth fighting to preserve. Let’s do our best to ensure it remains intact for another two centuries—and more!

Talk to you on Monday!