Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump legal team in COMPLETE CHAOS as trial set to begin

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

Michael Popok of Legal AF reports on breaking news that it looks like Trump is shaking up his legal team defending him in the E. Jean Carroll trial in New York federal court by adding a new senior attorney, Kansas City’s own Perry Brandt, just 4 days from the start of the trial. What does it mean for Tacopina’s and Habba’s continued lead trial roles — or has Brandt been brought in as the closer to get the case settled? Shop Legal AF Merch at: https://store.meidastouch.com Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 The Tony Michaels Podcast: https://pod.link/1561049560 American Psyop: https://pod.link/1652143101 Majority 54: https://pod.link/1309354521 Political Beatdown: https://pod.link/1669634407 Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://pod.link/1676844320 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Michael Popok, legal A F. Well, if you're in trouble in Manhattan, federal court, like Donald Trump is in the E. Jean Carroll civil rape case, what do you naturally do when you don't like your attorneys that you've chosen? Well, you reach out and go to Kansas City, of course. You go get a Kansas City male attorney by the name of a Perry brand, who nobody's ever heard of in New York or outside of New York, who'd been at a good firm in the Midwest for about 35 years or so, then retired out there, went to another firm in February, where they made a big announcement,

big splashy announcement about Perry Brandt, formerly a bar president in Kansas City and all that. But he's no longer there, because when he filed his notice of appearance, just 72 hours before the start of the trial to join the trial team, he listed a, not a law firm, he listed a PO box and a Gmail. Nothing says legitimate trial lawyer like a PO box and a Gmail address. But that's what Donald Trump obviously looking at Takapina and Habba,

losing a motion after motion after motion in front of Judge Kaplan in the last week has had enough. Now, here's my theory, because you don't bring in an outside lawyer with 72 hours to go. For those that don't practice, let me tell you, this is highly unusual. And that highly unusual phrase is doing a lot of heavy lift in that sentence. You don't practice. Let me tell you, this is highly unusual and that highly unusual phrase is doing a lot of heavy lift in that sentence. You don't do this. You don't change counsel this quickly. You're not going to get a continuance. You're not going to get a delay or an extension. A jury is going to be picked on Monday. Now, in the aftermath of the Fox and Dominion settlement

on Tuesday, one thing we learned, and one thing I've always known in my own career is nothing concentrates the mind, like a pile of money on the table, and a jury in the box at a judge impatiently waiting. Perhaps Perry Brandt has not been brought in to try the case which would be really kukukrazy, right? This 72 year old guy's gonna spend the weekend kind of getting up to speed

reading all the deposition transcripts and seeing all the evidence and he's gonna stay in front of the jury and help pick them and then do the opening statement because your lead trial lawyer's gotta do the opening statement. You gotta build credibility. You gotta build trust and authenticity with your jury, Joe Takapina,

has shown that he may be genetically incapable of doing that with a civil jury in a rape case. And we all know about Alina Habba. She's over her skis, having never tried a case of this dimension at any level, including in New York federal court. And Perry Brant seems to have no experience successful experience, none that I could find in doing my research before the hot tick in trying cases successfully in front of juries in New York. And juries in New York are not like juries in Missouri or juries in Florida.

You know, I have a national trial practice. I will tell you that the juries are inherently local and they need somebody that they can trust, not somebody who's parachuted in from Kansas City, Missouri, that they've never heard of to try to tell them why Donald Trump didn't rape E. Jean Carroll in the dressing room in 1995 or 1996, especially when the jury and the potential jury, which will be anonymous, probably got reporting that Perry Brant wasn't even associated with the case until like 48 hours ago or 72 hours ago. So here's my working theory.

Perhaps Perry Brant is being brought in as the closer. Maybe he's being brought in because Joe Takapina and Alina Habba have no credibility and no relationship with E. Jean Carroll's attorney, Robbie Kaplan, that they can't even open a dialogue at this late date, even if they wanted to try to settle the case. And look, we all want the trial. We all want to see, you know, E. Jean Carroll get her day in court and Donald Trump be judged by a jury that he committed a rape.

It's not a criminal case to civil case. But civil cases at the end of the day are not about anything other than vindication of rights and money. And that's all that a jury can really do. That's what they're being asked to do to find damage and to award money once they determine liability. So we want to use it as a proxy, as citizens, as patriots, as people that want to see Trump brought to justice. So we want her to go all the way. But you don't know what's gonna happen in a jury.

And in federal court, you got to have a unanimous jury. And perhaps there is a Trumper or a conservative person or somebody that just doesn't believe E. Jean Carroll. There's not a lot of corroborating evidence about the event. There's no video camera. There's not going to be any DNA evidence.

This happened in 1995 or 1996. So it's going to be her testimony, the testimony of people that she told Addera around the same time that this happened to show that she's been authentic and that it's more likely than not that it happened. And then the access Hollywood tape is going to be played about him saying that he regularly, sexually assaults women without their consent, of course. And then other women who are going to be put on the stand who will say me too, this happened to me as well. And the jury's going to going to be put on the stand, who will say me too, this happened to me as well.

And the jury's going to have to make a conclusion. But there is no way that Robbie Kaplan, the lawyer for E. Jean Carroll, is telling here this is a slam dunk. We got this in the bag. Don't even consider a settlement. First of all, it would be against their ethical obligations to tell her that. And certainly, and I know Robbie we've had around the show before. There's no way that she's telling that client that.

And if there is a substantial offer on the table and it won't come with an apology or a mission of guilt, it'll just be money. This could happen and maybe Perry Brant is being brought in as like from the bullpen in a baseball game as the closer to try to open a dialogue with E. Jean Carroll's attorneys. And if you use the Fox and Dominion case as a model

that just closed on Tuesday, of course, Donald Trump watched that case. He knows Rupert Murdoch, he's friendly with Rupert Murdoch. He knows that case got settled. After the jury was picked and waiting in the box, waiting for opening statements to start, after the lawyers for Fox were told by Dominion that the first three witnesses, first three witnesses after opening statement, were gonna be one roadmap witness for Dominion who had interacted with Fox and then Rupert Murdoch and then Tucker Carlson.

And they settled. One of the reasons that they settled and I have a hot take on this, I believe, is that there was a change in council prior to trial in the dominion case. Fox got kind of cold feet about its law firm at the time after they had lost a series of discovery fights about the exchange of information.

That's where all those emails and text messages came out of. A ruling by the judge that won against Fox, Fox lost confidence in its attorneys and brought in a new attorney, brought in Dan Webb, a very well-considered former federal prosecutor at a major law firm called Winston-in-Strong, ironically also for the Midwest, who had a history of settling cases like this because he had represented ABC News when they got sued for defamation by the meat industry and by meat manufacturers, by big beef when they reported sued for defamation by the meat industry and by meat manufacturers by big beef when they

reported ABC news, I don't know if it was on 2020 or one of their other shows that some additive was used in making hamburger which they referred to as pink slime. It was the pink slime settlement and that was for 150 million dollars in Dan Webb Led the efforts to settle that case. So maybe Perry Brand is not, which would be shocking, going to like do a cram course over the weekend, being taught the, being taught the case by Habba and Takapina and Donald Trump. And then he's going to stand up and like just they had water, instant trial lawyer, where has he been brought in for another reason?

Is he going to be more of the sober adult that's gonna pick up the phone and try to call Robbie Kaplan to see if there can be a settlement at some time? Maybe it's not the first day of trial. Maybe it's after opening statements, cases settle at all different places. I've been involved with cases where they settle

on the courthouse steps before you walked in. After the jury had already been picked, but before opening statements, after opening picked, but before opening statements after opening statements, but before witnesses were put on after a series of witnesses were put on and it went really terrible for one side just before the close of evidence after the close of evidence and jury instructions were given to the jury. They were just about to deliberate, even as far as jury already had the case was deliberating over their decision, but before the decision could be made, a settlement was reached.

So this can happen at any time, whatever, until the... I've been involved with the case where the jury said they returned to verdict, but before we heard what the verdict was, the parties decided that it was in their best interest to settle the case and take it away from the jury and that happens too. So we will have to see there's going to be a settlement discussion that's going to break out. The question is whether Perry Bratz going to be involved with it. I'm going to follow it like I do for the Midas Touch Network on these legal and political hot takes that I do about every day. I co-anchor a podcast called Legal AF also on the Midas Touch Network on Wednesdays and

Saturdays. If you like these kind of hot takes, give me a thumbs up on there. It helps with the algorithm, and keeps this content flowing to you. You can write a comment as well. I do read them to see what's going on. And you can follow me on all things social media at MSPOPOC. This is Michael POPOC Legal AF reporting. Hey, Michael Popoc, LegalAF reporting. Hey, Midas, Mighty. Love this report. Continue the conversation by following us on Instagram. At MidasTouch to keep up with the most important news of the day.

What are you waiting for? Follow us now.