🥱 😴🥱

In case you’re wondering why no one is covering the NY trial anymore:

McConney testified that he and then-CFO Allen Weisselberg reviewed the final version of the financial compilations and that once Weisselberg signed off, he would notify their accounting company, Mazars. 

But he acknowledged that, through his own handwritten notation, he amended Mazars’ issuance letters to indicate Trump himself was entitled to a final review of the compilation of statements of financial condition. 

McConney distanced himself from whatever review Trump did or did not do, saying what happened before Weisselberg’s signoff was not within his knowledge, but he could not escape having to confirm that the letters were amended to make clear Trump was entitled to a final review. 

In addition, the AG's office showed McConney a list of Trump Org properties with listed values that he marked up the following year with new values. He said that for many years, he marked up the spreadsheets used for backup to the compilations; other times, he just made handwritten notations on the one-page list of properties and sent that back to Mazars. McConney, who's also a defendant in the case, was then shown letters he sent to a lender to disclose the statements of financial condition to Royal Bank America. That letter and others like it are part of how the AG will attempt to establish McConney’s liability for false financial statements, in addition to his involvement in preparing the statements themselves.

That’s very good reporting, by the way. But this is a prosecutor (plaintiff, actually) building a business fraud case brick by brick. 🧱 This is what it takes, and it’s BORING! 🥱 

This kind of testimony has been going on for three days, and you haven’t heard about it. You’ve heard about Trump scowling or muttering or poking his lawyer, and then going out at lunch to yell in the hallway (“Must cover! Can’t miss!!”). And you’re not hearing that anymore. Aside from summaries by Lisa Rubin. Who actually knows what she’s talking about.

Some report in Raw Story yesterday, which I couldn’t find again, said MSL was protected from the NY court by Florida’s homestead law. No; probably not. Very high probability not.

Texas has a homestead protection in its Constitution. Basically, the only liens on homestead are for taxes (Fed tax law overrides state protections anyway; supremacy clause, bitches), and loans (mortgages, equity). Not much else. I don’t know Florida law, but Texas law requires the designated homestead be the actual residence of an individual. My guess is Florida law is pretty similar.

So who owns MAL? Trump? Or an LLC currently a defendant in New York? And is MAL subject to Florida’s homestead laws? It’s restricted by deed to being a club and not a residence, although the county is specifically allowing Trump to live there. Does that make it a residence under Florida law? Does it need to be a residence? Is there a homestead designation which must be filed with the county for tax purposes (there is under Texas law)? (Texas offers a tax exemption (partial, not total) on the designated homestead. I doubt the Florida county would allow that for MAL, even if they aren’t strictly enforcing the deed restrictions.) Does the violation of the deed restrictions vitiate the exemption?

It’s complicated. So don’t just report “It is so” on such legal matters. You sound like Trump.

You never want to sound like Trump.

But the trial should be covered because it’s important; not because Trump is a spectacle.

Oh, who am I kidding?

Meanwhile, this is interesting:

Trump’s lawyers argued with lawyers from the AG's office about the motion Trump's team plans to file for a stay pending their appeal. Trump's team said they have not filed yet, but plan to file in front of the First Department of the Appellate Division tomorrow. They are refusing to disclose the scope of the requested stay before Judge Engoron, insisting that the motion will be presented to the First Department, not the trial court. 

Andrew Amer of the AG’s office insisted he is entitled to a 24-hour notice, and that the notice they provided — which does not reveal the scope — is defective. Amer said, “It is not a question of satisfying me, but satisfying the rule.” 

McConney then returned to the stand.

My first thought is: Trump’s lawyers are idiots. Kise works in Florida, I imagine he’s here pro hac vice. Abbas is an idiot, and the third lawyer hasn’t impressed me (he spent yesterday pissing off the judge; at least until Trump left). But the latter two are supposed to know NY law and practice. And “practice” includes the rules.

My guess is this rule is pretty damned plain and these clowns will threaten their own appeal if they don’t follow it (I imagine Kise in the courtroom frantically scrolling for the rule in question, cursing the stupidity of his co-counsel who should know NY appellate rules).

My second thought is one I had earlier: the Judge has ordered all defendants report all transactions to the special monitor.  Would the Appellate Division stay that? Seems grossly inequitable. All the court is doing now is preserving the status quo. So maybe the Appellate Division stays court proceedings; but they could do harm to stay everything. And I don’t even know why they’d stay court proceedings. At worst they’re going to order the trial court to try the count one allegations, too. Which really doesn’t make any sense, since there’s no jury involved. More likely the Appellate Division declines to do anything until the entire case is finished, and they can review it all at once (if only because a ruling against the summary judgment would be a preemptive ruling on the trial). (If this was going to the Fifth Circuit, I’d expect them to toss out the summary judgment, order the AG to pay Trump’s attorney’s fees, and order the judge to wear sackcloth and ashes for the rest of his life, and cancel the trial and tell the Judge to apologize to Trump on the courthouse steps in iambic pentameter. So, no, I don’t expect the Appellate Division to do anything at this point in proceedings.)

As for the appeal itself: how’s Trump doing with appeals? None of them are in the 5th Circuit, so lousy counsel is still hurting him. And while I might excuse his lawyers because they need to please him in court, only lawyers understand appellate proceedings. And even there they sound like mini-Trumps.

I don’t see anything good coming from this appeal, for Trump and the other defendants.