Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Thursday released a written order detailing why he determined Donald Trump’s Wednesday sworn testimony denying that he attacked a court clerk “rings hollow and untrue” after he fined the former president $10,000 for his second violation of a partial gag order meant to protect courtroom staff.

The former president had claimed on the witness stand that he had been referring to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen as the “partisan” sitting “alongside” Engoron when he spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday. But the judge was unconvinced, deeming that excuse “not credible.”

“Witnesses do not sit ‘alongside’ the judge, they sit in the witness box, separated from the judge by a low wooden barrier,” Engoron wrote in the order, obtained by The Messenger. “Further, Donald Trump’s past public statements demonstrate him referring to Michael Cohen directly by his name, or by a derogatory name, but in all circumstances, he is unambiguous in making it known he is referring to Michael Cohen.”

He added: “Using imprecise language as an excuse to create plausible ambiguity about whether defendant violated this Court’s unequivocal gag order is not a defense; the subject of Donald Trump’s public statement to the press was unmistakably clear.”

      • Adderbox76@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        I think if Trump had direct dirt on them, he’s too stupid to not blab it out at some point during all the infantile name-calling he calls “campaigning”.

        More likely is that Putin has kompromat on most of the GOP, and the threat of ol’ Putin-on-the-Blitz giving that information to Trump is what allows him to hold on to their short and curlies.

        • Jazzy Vidalia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          8 months ago

          The people that vote for the GOP would probably not give two shits about the kompromat. Were talking about a party of criminals, rapists, pedophiles, crooks, grifters, grafters, racketeers, and every other thing you can think of. If anything, their voters love it. They see hypocrisy as a display of power—a flex. It’s a manner of “owning the libs.” The only thing the kompromat would do is serve to embarrass and shame, assuming they still have any sense if shame. And if they have no shame, it is to their benefit to embrace and show it off.

          We are dealing with a party that revels in wickedness. The only thing more powerful than kompromat is the words of the leader, the Orange Menace himself. If Donald Trump wanted to burn someone he’d just say something and his sycophants would believe it mostly without question.

      • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        It’s pretty simple. He gets votes. Votes let them personally get money. Everything is on the table if it gets votes.

        They will do anything to get votes because votes make them money personally, either directly with tax cuts, or via bribes for tax cuts.

        Thats it.

      • Grant_M@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        I always recall Cawthorne talking about the cocaine orgies…

    • TechyDad@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Trump is very good at one thing: riling up the MAGA faithful. And this is pretty much the entire GOP base now. So if you go against him, he’ll just post that you’re a RINO on Truth Social or denigrate you at a rally. Then, MAGA will push to get you primaried by someone Trump approves of.

      The GOP locked themselves into the room with MAGA and made them the GOP’s base. Now, they find that they can’t do anything Trump opposes because he controls MAGA. Even if he sends a crowd of MAGA to kill them, they need to reply with “thank you, sir, for almost getting us killed. We deserved that.”

    • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      For real, they love to fall in line behind a “strong man,” but trump literally does nothing but cry. It’s like his whole schtick. I don’t get it at all?!

      • Adderbox76@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        it’s funny that I would have expected Colbert to have the best insights/humour in their Trump bits.

        But instead it’s Seth Meyers, who i never liked on SNL but who absolutely shines with his political stuff, and Kimmel, who are leading the way.

        Of course that’s not including Oliver, because no one is on Oliver’s level.

        Fallon is a joke in comparison.