TWIT: More Evidence of Obstruction

Latest:  Defendant Trump plead not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York Superior Court today.  The indictment was unsealed and its text can be read here.  DA Bragg's statement of facts can be read here. The false records were made with the intent to commit and conceal another crime, which elevates making each false record to a felony offense.  The enhancing crime is outlined in the statement of facts and is related to election law violations committed through a conspiracy with David Pecker to buy and bury scandalous stories about Trump prior to the 2016 presidential election. ("The Scheme"). The statement refers to Karen McDougal and Stefanie Clifford as "Woman 1" and "Woman 2". Hush money repayments to Michael Cohen were misrepresented as retainer payments.  Defendant Trump predictably lambasted the judge in his case, accusing him of being biased because his daughter once worked on Kamala Harris' 2020 election campaign.  Don Jr. published a picture of the woman on-line. 

{03.04.2023} Jack Smith, Special Prosecutor of Defendant Donald Trump, is focusing on obstruction of justice in the Mar-a-Lago Papers case to distinguish it from the government documents found in the possession of Joe Biden and Mike Pence. In both of those situations, government documents were returned after being discovered in their private residences. According to press reports Trumpillini reviewed some of the document boxes in his possession after a subpoena was issued for the papers return, apparently looking for items he wanted to retain. His personal valet Walt Nauta has testified to the grand jury that he moved the storage boxes after the grand jury subpoena was received in May 2022. His testimony is corroborated by security video tape and a waiter who helped move the material. Last month at least two dozen people on the Mar-a-Lago staff were summoned to testify. DOJ investigators are guided by notes and messages to and from Molly Michaels, former executive assistant, which give a window onto the quotidian at Mar-a-lago Resort.

Investigators are said to have collected evidence that the Orange Menace ignored requests to return government documents for a year and told aides to mislead officials trying to recover the records. When aides told him he should return the documents, he sought advice from other advisors. He reportedly told his aides that the documents belonged to him and he wanted to keep them. According to inside sources, investigators have been asking if Trump showed the classified material to political donors. Evan Corcoran, his attorney at the time, is ordered to testify to the grand jury sitting in Washington, DC. after loosing his appeal on grounds of attorney-client privilege.  The privilege does not apply if a crime is being committed.

Meanwhile™, Trumpilini has raised a reputed $4 million from his deluded MAGA acolytes based on his Manhattan indictment for fraudulent business records used to cover his "catch and kill" scheme with David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer.  Defendant Trump traveled to be arraigned in New York tomorrow.