Trump’s Trial Is about What I Expected, As Dry As Paint. But Trump Seems To Have Regained His Focus

OK, look. I’m not a lawyer, I’ve never played one on TV, and I don’t pretend to be one in here. But the law, especially criminal law fascinates me, and I’ve read more than my share of true crime books, including the Vatican bank scandal, the Enron scandal, and Bernie Madoff, and I enjoy fictional courtroom drama as well, especially Steve Martini.

With that background, I must say that so far the Trump trial is pretty much exactly as I expected, it’s about as riveting as watching golf on television. Yes, I know, it has porn stars, and Playboy playmates, and secret hush money, and bumbling tabloid executives and lawyers. All that being said, what it all boils down to is a good old fashioned paper trail case.

Which just happens to be the hardest case to beat in court, simply because the. numbers. don’t. lie. But it also presents the prosecution with a challenge. The defense is going to do everything in their power to make the numbers confusing, and the prosecution has to find a way to get their salient points across without infecting the jury with a case of MEGO, My Eyes Glaze Over. And so far, the prosecution, as far as I can tell, is doing just fine. They started out with former AMI CEO David Pecker, who smoothly and easily laid out the entire foundation of the catch-and-kill scheme, while keeping if thankfully free of mathematical gobbledygook. Then came Trump’s longtime private secretary, Rhona Graff, who provided background details on Trump’s contact numbers, as well as confirming that she saw Stormy Daniels in the outer office, presumably to talk about a spot on Celebrity Apprentice. 

Then Michael Cohen’s former personal banker came on to detail the suspicious circumstances of Cohen setting up a shell company to transfer $130,000 from his new home equity loan to Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’s California based attorney. He noted that he found the whole transaction hinky enough that afterwards he filled out a STAR, Suspicious Transfer Account report to the federal database.

And now the aforementioned Keith Davidson is on the stand, describing for the jury his negotiations both with AMI on behalf of Karen McDougal, as well as Michael Cohen on behalf of Stormy Daniels. And again, his testimony is thankfully free of legal and accounting mumbo-jumbo, simply confirming the authenticity of the documents and contacts, and leaving it up to Michael Cohen to weave the threads into a convincing tapestry for the jury. And Cohen’s already well known animosity towards Trump, and the defense’s likely response will keep the jurors riveted.

But I have noticed a discernable change in El Pendejo Presidente’s conduct in the courtroom when testimony is going on. When there are procedural arguments outside the jury’s presence, or sidebars at the bench, which Trump skips, he is reported as logy, or even somnolent. Reporters continue to say that during these exchanges, Trump tends to close his eyes, and almost seems to nod off.

But when there is a witness on the stand, the change is palpable. When a witness is testifying, Trump tends to sit ramrod straight in his chair, occasionally taking notes, and leaning over to whisper something in his lawyer’s ear. When he’s not doing that, he’s laser focused on the witness, glaring or staring while the testimony comes in, completely ignoring the jury or their reactions.

And I think I know why. In court Trump is a fish out of water. He can’t control the witnesses, he can’t control the proceedings, and he can’t control the judge. In fact, Judge Merchan sanctioned Trump for nine violations of the gag order, admitted that a $9000 fine wouldn’t deter Trump’s behavior, and so threatened him with detention is he kept up his lame sh*t. And His Lowness had to sit there and take it.

But there’s one thing that Traitor Tot can control. And focus. And that’s his rage and thirst for revenge. These witnesses are former friends and associates of Trump. And while Trump is facing possible conviction and incarceration from this trial, he literally doesn’t give a sh*t about that. He is obsessed with winning the White House in November, and making all of this go away, once and for all.

And while he can’t control the proceedings or the results, the one thing that Trump can control is his rage and paranoia. And the one way to get through the humiliation of this trial is to take himself away into the dark recesses of the fetid swamp of his brain, gleefully plotting his revenge on everybody who dared to f*ck with him once he gets a tame Attorney General in charge in January.

Sadly my friends, this is where we are. Trump is mentally and egotistically incapable of facing the charges against him, And his escape hatch is to retreat into his fevered brain and plot his vengeance once he becomes the de facto dictator. And while it won’t change the eventual outcome of the trial, it will give him his much needed alternate universe to retreat to to plot his revenge. We’ve never seen anything like this before. Don’t touch that dial.

I thank you for the privilege of your time.