Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Prosecutors MAKE GOOD ON PROMISE at Trump Trial

Episode Date: May 6, 2024

At the criminal trial of Trump, the prosecutors are following the “statement of facts” script they publicly disclosed last year, to a T. Michael Popok explains the purpose of the “statement of facts”, what the prosecutors have proved already through the first 5 witnesses, and what and in what order is left to come over the next 2-3 weeks including —wait for it—Trump’s disgraced Controller and Accounts Payable Supervisor! Go to https://neurohacker.com/truth for up to 50% off and use code TRUTH at checkout for an additional 15% off. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/legalaf Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Order up for Damien. Hey, how did your doctor's appointment go, by the way? Did you ask about Rebelsis? Actually, I'm seeing my doctor later today. Did you say Rebelsis? My dad's been talking about Rebelsis. Rebelsis? Really?

Yeah, he says it's a pill that's That's right. Did you know it's also covered by most private insurance plans? Well, I'll definitely be asking my doctor if Rebelsis is right for me. Rebelsis. Ask your doctor or visit Rebelsis.ca. Order up for Rebelsis.

UV rays don't skip a day. Neither should your SPF. Introducing Daily UV Moisturizer from Umbrell. Broad spectrum protection and all-day hydration in one lightweight formula from the number one recommended brand by pharmacists and physicians. It's the unskippable SPF for your unstoppable day. New Umbrella Daily UP Moisturizer, now available online or at your local retailer. This episode is brought to you by RBC Student Banking.

Students, get $100 when you open an RBC Advantage Banking account, which includes no monthly fee, unlimited debit transactions in Canada, Avion points on debit purchases, and so, so much more. Unlock more perks for less with RBC Advantage. Conditions apply.

Offer ends June 30th, 2024. New eligible clients only. Complete criteria by August 30th, 2024. Visit rbc.com slash student 100. This is Michael Popak, Legal AF. The Manhattan DA prosecutors against Donald Trump in the New York criminal trial are following a script they made public over a year ago in April 2023 when they filed their statement of facts around the time of the indictment and they are tracking that script almost to a T. I'm going to walk you through the script.

I'm going to remind you that it existed. I'm going to walk you through each element of the script. It's only about 10 pages or so. I'm going to tell you where they are in the witnesses to establish each of the facts and why it's so important. And if you want to have a viewer guide besides Midas Touch and Legal AF, get ahold of the script. We'll put a link to it. And you can follow along. None of this should be a surprise. It was all disclosed to Donald Trump and his defense team over a

year ago at or about the same time, all of the evidence, the video evidence, the audio evidence, the other receipts like emails and text messages and checks and business records and when all of that and witness statements, all of that provided along with a statement of facts. Let me tell you, prosecutors, and I'll give it to you from a defense lawyer standpoint, prosecutors have an obligation to disclose as part of what we call either Brady material or other materials that the prosecution is obligated to turn over to the defense that can be exculpatory, tending to prove someone's innocence, or inculpatory, tending to prove their guilt. Whatever it is that can't be withheld by prosecutors

or that's prosecutorial misconduct, that is a violation of somebody's civil liberties, due process rights and the like. When prosecutors also in New York, particularly where I practice put together a statement of facts, even though they don't cite next to it, who's going to support those facts,

by the time they reduce it to the bare minimum of the facts they're going to prove to support the 34 felony count business record fraud in furtherance of another criminal conspiracy, in this case, election interference, they have vetted that document. It has gone through a series of acid baths and pressure testings internally. And every fact there is written to the limits of what they can prove, no more and no less. And we may not know at the time

that the document was filed in April of 2023, who each of the witnesses, we can guess, I can certainly decipher for you, who is attorney A and who is attorney B and who is, we can do that. We know that's barely disguised, but in terms of the physical evidence, the testimonial evidence, the video evidence,

the audio evidence, all which has kind of equal quality under the law, equal weight under the law, circumstantial, inferential, testimonial, documentary. Sure, juries weigh evidence, but because something is a video versus something is somebody's proper testimony, it's given sort of equal weight there. One doesn't have more value than the other.

It's weighed differently by a jury as the trier of fact. But we didn't know what backed up each of the points I'm gonna make for you from the statement of facts from the prosecutors, which is the script, but they do. And they're using it and they're checking off in this, I'm sure the statement of facts, what they have already established through the parade of witnesses

that have started this case from David Pecker, right, to Keith Davidson, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, through the banker for First Republic Bank about his interactions with Michael Cohen, Hope Hicks, right, Ronna Graff, the insider for Donald Trump, they're all there for a reason and they're being sequenced by the trial team for the prosecutors in a way to build momentum and credibility with the jury. That's the reason you go inside and outside. You use inside witnesses

where you can, like Ronna Graff, like Hope Hicks, you use outside witnesses like David Pecker, like the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, like the banker at First Republic, inside and out. You move the jury in and out, corroborating internally as you do that. That's the reason you don't just do, let's do all the inside witnesses, let's do all the outside witnesses.

You have to have some sort of organizing principle, internal logic to the presentation of your evidence. I'm talking to you now as a trial lawyer. It has to make sense in order to track as you hang these pieces on the jury. You can't just do it helter skelter, scattershot, boom. It's not a jigsaw puzzle. Here, jury, you figure it out on the table. No, you have to give them big pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and then attach them together in a logical way, especially over the course of a six or eight-week trial. Let me read now. Let's go to the statement of facts in particular, because it has been hiding in plain sight for over a year to the statement of facts in particular, because it has been hiding in plain

sight for over a year. The statement of facts here, we'll put up on the screen, says that defendant Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election. There you have both the crimes there that make this into a classy felony in New York. So in paragraph two, from August 2015 to December 2017, the defendant orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the presidential election

by identifying and purchasing negative information. In order to execute this unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and caused false entries in the books and records of the various entities in New York. The participants also took steps that mischaracterized for tax purposes the true nature of the payments made. Stop right there. Who are we talking about? And who's testified already? David Pecker, the publisher or the editor of the National Enquirer,

has already talked about the Trump Tower conspiracy. The three participants in it, well, a couple of more. The main three participants are orchestrators, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and David Pecker. David Pecker has already testified. Michael Cohen will testify down the road consistent with David Pecker. And thencker has already testified. Michael Cohen will testify down the road consistent with David Pecker and then paragraph two will be proven. Allen Weisselberg, the disgraced CFO who is also and now in jail also participated in this scheme. The Manhattan DA is so confident that all the other testimonial and evidence that they're going to be bringing in written documents and receipts is enough. They don't even need Allen Weisselberg, who they're leaving in prison

because he's already been convicted of a second crime of outlying. Now you go to the actual description of the scheme in paragraph three about lawyer A, who's Michael Cohen, covertly paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, that he made the payment through a shell corporation paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, that he made the payment through a shell corporation he set up and funded at a bank in New York. This payment was illegal.

It was an illegal campaign contribution. And they also repaid him in a way, as they said in paragraph two, that was a illegal scheme to avoid taxes. What's that about? Well, Donald Trump, through his companies, repaid Michael Cohen over 34 payments to reach not only the hundred and thirty thousand dollars that Michael Cohen took out from his home

equity line to pay Stormy Daniels so there wouldn't be a cash trail at Trump Organization and to Donald Trump after a phone call that we've already heard in the courtroom between Donald Trump and Michael Cohen about not using his cash, making, you know, having a paper trail so that you could track, Donald Trump arranged to overpay Michael Cohen so he wouldn't pay income tax on phantom income because this payment to Michael Cohen listed

as legal expenses by Donald Trump, right, would have resulted in Michael Cohen paying the IRS for income tax. And so they gave him double the money or more, up to $400,000 to cover his taxes. And we know that's going to be coming out. The banker for First Republic Bank has already started the testimony in front of the jury about the Shell Corporation being established and it was funded at a bank in New York. That's First Republic Bank. So we're already halfway through proving paragraph number three. Well, have you heard about NAD+, it's one of the most important molecules in the human body to age well. NAD+, helps promote cellular

energy, maintain healthy DNA, detect nutrients efficiently, supports detoxification, and supports your cellular health. Simply put, keeping your NAD Plus levels high is vital to helping the body feel youthful. But did you know NAD Plus levels plummet with age? So by age 50, most people's NAD Plus levels are only half of what they were at age 20. Luckily, science has discovered a way to boost your NAD Plus levels are only half of what they were at age 20. Luckily, science has discovered a way to boost your NAD plus levels up to 50% and it's called Qualia NAD plus, a groundbreaking supplement from Neurohacker Collective. The reason so many health experts

are partnering with Neurohacker and the reason I'm proud to have them sponsor this podcast is you're simply not going to find more carefully researched life-changing nutritional formulas, especially for aging well. Qualia NAD Plus is a supplement that includes ingredients called NAD Plus precursors that your body can convert into NAD Plus to boost your NAD Plus levels up to 50%. And Qualia NAD Plus has many other holistic ingredients that support all other major aspects of NAD Plus production in your body. Look, I want to feel 30 when I'm 58. That's why I'm staying at the cutting edge of aging research and boosting my NAD Plus levels and Qualia NAD Plus is a huge part

of how well I age and putting it in my control. After just a month on Qualia NAD+, I'm feeling energy support and vitality return that I haven't felt in years. This stuff's amazing. I feel like I did 15 years ago. To boost your NAD plus levels up to 50%, go to neurohacker.com slash truth, T-R-U-T-H, for up to 50% off and use code TRUTH at checkout for an additional 15% off.

That's Neurohacker.com slash truth for an extra 15% off your purchase. Thanks to Neurohacker for sponsoring today's episode. Paragraph number four, a series of checks that were used by the Trump organization, disguising them as payment for legal services. That has not yet come in. There will be a witness, I assure you, that the prosecutors recall where they will establish the authenticity of all of these checks that were made processed through the Trump Organization back to Michael Cohen under a BS legal retainer agreement.

Then you have the catch and kill program, paragraph seven, the scheme, and all of the scheme that's listed in paragraph seven, the party's agreement, and Michael Cohen being convicted of crimes related to it, and the AMI, the publisher of the National Enquirer, entering into a non-prosecution agreement in order to avoid prosecution, to ensure that they did not,

that the Catch and Kill program was to ensure that the sources did not publicize damaging allegations about the defendant before the 2016 election and thereby influence that election. That paragraph seven has already started to be proven by David Pecker, by Keith Davison, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, and by emails that have been put into evidence.

Then the statement talks about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2015. Everything in paragraph eight, everything in paragraph nine has already been established by David Pecker and will be reinforced by Keith Davison. So we're already making our way quickly through this document. Then we go to paragraphs 12, suppressing women's account. That's Karen McDougall. And everything in paragraph 12 about the payoff by the National Enquirer to Karen McDougall has been proven by David Pecker's testimony and all the documents and checks related to it. So that takes care of paragraph 12 in the statement of facts, the fact that the payment was made and it was recorded on the books

and records of AMI. Falsely there that's been established paragraph 13 by David Pecker's testimony. Paragraph 14 in a conversation captured in an audio recording in September 2016, the defendant Trump and lawyer A, that's Michael Cohen, discussed how to obtain Karen McDougall's story from AMI and how to reimburse AMI for payment, right? And this is where Trump asked, so what do we, what do we pay for this? 150. When lawyer A disagreed, Trump then mentioned payment by check. And after the conversation, lawyer A, Michael Cohen, creates a shell company. That's already been established in a combination of things, including the audio being played in court in paragraph 14 a little bit by David Pecker's testimony and some by the First Republic Bank testimony that takes care of paragraph 14 paragraph 15 about

the signing of the agreement between the National Enquirer and Karen McDougal right that takes care of paragraph 15 with the testimony that we've already had of David Pecker, ultimately of Michael Cohen. Then we've got everything about the Access Hollywood tape, it's starting in paragraph 16, and Stormy Daniels in paragraph 17 and the negotiations between Cohen and Keith Davidson, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels in paragraph 17, and the negotiations between Cohen and Keith

Davidson, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels. So as far as I can see, everything in paragraph 16, 17, 18 have all been established already by testimony without even Michael Cohen taking the stand of Keith Davidson, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, and the David Pecker testimony related to the involvement of the National Enquirer. Then we have paragraph 19 talking about the defendant, Trump directed Cohen to delay making the payment to Stormy Daniels to see if they could get

beyond the election so they didn't have to pay her. And we already had testimony from Keith Davison that supports that they were jerking around with Keith Davison, the lawyer. They didn't wanna pay Stormy Daniels until the very last moment, if they had to pay her at all. And then only because he pressured them and gave them a deadline and an ultimatum

did they ultimately pay it. So as far as I'm concerned, everything in 17, paragraphs 17, 18, 19, and 20 has already been established without Michael Cohen even taking the stand, primarily from Keith Davidson and from David Pecker. The paragraphs 22 and 23 about post-election communications with David Pecker, in which he was thanked for his role in getting Trump elected president, that he went to the inauguration, that he went

to a White House dinner. That's all been established by David Pecker. That's paragraphs 22 and 23. So what we have left is the falsification of the business records. So if you're looking to see where this case is going next, pick up with paragraphs 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and all the ways that the payment to Michael Cohen, reimbursing him for the $130,000 with a payment for $420,000 in order so he could have a gross-up payment to pay his income taxes, that is yet to to come that's going to be through a person with bank records they're going to put these on methodically in front of the jury and

they're going to set up Michael Cohen's ultimate testimony a week or two from now after the false business records come in so this is now an area of the statement of facts that has not yet been addressed by the witnesses to date But I expect will be as they methodically as you can see make their way as prosecutors through their statement of facts So I see the defendant falsifying business records Roman numeral to that whole section is yet to come including how the accounts payable supervisor prepared checks. I expect we're gonna see the accounts payable supervisor

for the Trump organization. We're gonna see the Trump controller for the Trump organization come in. I mean, if you're asking me what witnesses are gonna take care of section two, besides Michael Cohen and taking the chief financial officers now in jail out of the mix, it's gonna have to be the controller of the Trump Organization at the time who's

already cooperating with the prosecutors. It's gonna be him and it's gonna have to be whoever is the Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor. And they know who this is because remember the Manhattan DA already tried successfully a 17 count criminal conviction against Donald Trump's companies two years ago. So they know the organization and who knows what better than the Trump Organization does. So we're gonna hear from the accounts payable supervisor

and the controller. It'll be very dry testimony But very important to prove this section of the statement of facts that goes on for each of the payments that were made then Roman numeral three the investigation into lawyer a and the defendants pressure campaign the whole story about the FBI executing a search warrant on Michael Cohen and Donald Trump throwing Cohen under the bus and all of these other things about other lawyers

for Donald Trump, this is yet to come. So look for the trial in about two weeks or so to turn into the pressure campaign against Michael Cohen, the Trump trying to signal to Michael Cohen not to flip on him, using lawyers who will be taking the stand related to this that are gonna have to testify and we're gonna have that section. Then starting on page 11 of the statement of facts we're to be looking at paragraphs 41 through 44 or so.

That's going to be the end of the trial. Probably the last week or two is going to be that Cohen and AMI admit guilt in connection with the payoffs of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. They've already started that a bit with David Pecker. They'll pick it back up with Michael Cohen when Michael Cohen testifies. And then you can draw a line under all of that. That is the script that the prosecutors believe

they need to follow and fill in with each of the witnesses. I've given you an outline of what they've already done. I would say for the first two sections, there are about two thirds of the way done through their presentation of evidence. And now we're going to move into the last two sections, including walking through all of the checks with the controller and the accounts payable supervisor and other people in the Trump Organization as they put those records into evidence. And then they'll wrap it with Michael Cohen towards the end as he talks about the aftermath

of all of this. So you've got the script, we're gonna follow it here closely, you can follow it here closely on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF and also join us on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Eastern time where we do a show called Legal AF at the intersection of law and politics

and then on audio podcast platforms of your choice. So if you like this kind of content where you get this kind of insider knowledge to help you make sense of what's happening in the Trump trial, leave a comment here, give me a thumbs up, it helps with the ratings. Then you can go over and follow me on all things social media at MSPOPOC and go over to the MidasTouch YouTube channel. Look under playlists, look under Michael Popok, you'll find my entire body of work. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Popok reporting. Heary, heary, Legal AF Law Breakdown is now in session.

Go beyond the headlines and get a deep dive into the important legal concepts you need to know and we discuss every day on Legal AF. Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, all for the price of a couple of cups of coffee. Join us at patreon.com slash legal AF. That's patreon.com slash legal AF.