If this be madness, yet there is method in it, said the Bard. If the Bard had been in the Manhattan courthouse today and saw Emil Bove, lawyer to Donald Trump, interrogate Stormy Daniel’s former lawyer, Keith Davidson, he would have seen what the motivation was behind each statement. Bove kept characterizing Davidson’s legal settlements as “extracting” cash. Davidson took umbrage to this, as well he should. A settlement is an agreement and “extraction” sounds a bit like extortion. A settlement made between two parties should be treated as such, absent some compelling evidence to the contrary, and so far Bove hasn’t offered any.
But it makes sense that Bove would want to characterize things thusly. Right now the best analysis that most commentators are coming up with vis a vis the Trump trial is that acquittal is not going to happen and therefore the goal to shoot for is a hung jury. To that end, discrediting as many witnesses as possible and casting doubt is the order of the day. On the other hand, being argumentative with witnesses is going to make an impression on the jury as well. It’s a fine line to tread.
Again, recall back to the Trump Organization fraud trial. Michael Cohen was on the hot seat and the goal was to discredit his veracity, same thing. This is a common technique that defense lawyers use and to good effect. The problem here is that the defendant is Donald Trump and millions of words have been written about him and his shady dealings, so there is a lot of pot calling the kettle black dynamic.
But, who knows? There may be enough doubt raised in the mind of one juror to where a hung jury is a possible thing. One guarantee that you have is that this is the modus operandi of the defense and they will do everything in their power to bring it to pass.
It only one stealth Trump is to.hang a jury