A Democrat judge in New York has just handed a big win to George Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg by denying almost all of President Donald Trump’s pre-trial motions.
Trump’s criminal trial in New York is slated to begin next month after a temporary delay.
The case, based on charges of alleged falsification of business records, and how that eventual trial will play out is beginning to take shape.
Presiding Judge Juan Merchan, who has donated to Democrats and President Joe Biden’s election campaign, issued two separate orders on the case.
The orders included his decisions on a host of pre-trial motions submitted by both the defense and prosecutors.
However, the overwhelming majority of those decisions were in favor of the Democrat prosecutors, according to The Hill.
Merchan, who also previously worked in the Manhattan DA’s office before becoming a judge, granted almost all of Bragg’s requests.
The bulk of those motions from both sides dealt with could and could not be submitted as evidence during the trial.
It was clear from Merchan’s rulings that Trump will face a decided disadvantage in that regard.
Judge Merchan first issued a nine-page order to address Trump’s motions.
The first of Trump’s motions asked to preclude the testimony of former personal attorney Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness.
The request was made on account of Cohen’s lengthy documented history of being a dishonest perjurer.
That motion was denied as the judge preposterously claimed that there was no evidence Cohen had ever lied about the matter at hand – the alleged falsification of business records to cover up payments to Cohen in 2017 that reimbursed him for making “hush money” payments in 2016 to silence individuals who made “salacious” claims against Trump.
Merchan also denied motions that sought to preclude arguments from the prosecution that the alleged payments improperly influenced the 2016 election.
Prosecutors claim, without evidence, that those payments included an “element of intent to defraud” that was part of a broader “catch-and-kill scheme” to keep embarrassing stories hidden from the public.
Trump did win a partial victory in terms of a split decision from the judge on his request to preclude testimony from porn actress Stormy Daniels, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and former Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin.
The three individuals claim they were allegedly paid to remain silent about their “salacious” claims against Trump.
Those individuals will be allowed to testify, but their testimony will be limited by the court.
Finally, Merchan denied Trump’s request to exclude the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape from evidence, arguments from the prosecution about federal campaign finance laws, the records of the media organization allegedly involved in the “catch-and-kill scheme,” Trump’s ties to the Trump Organization, and Trump’s own prior statements that prosecutors intend to use against him.
Following that almost entirely one-sided order denying Trump’s motions, the Biden-supporting judge issued a 13-page order in which he did nearly the exact opposite and granted virtually all of the requests made by the prosecution.
That includes strictly limiting the testimony of Trump’s “expert” witness on campaign finance laws.
It also prohibits Trump from arguing that he shouldn’t be prosecuted because both the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department declined to charge him for similar alleged campaign finance violations.
“That the FEC dismissed the complaint against Defendant and the DOJ decided against prosecuting Defendant for potential FECA violations are probative of nothing,” Merchan wrote.
“These matters are therefore irrelevant and Defendant is precluded from eliciting testimony or introducing evidence about both.
“There are countless reasons why the FEC and DOJ could have decided not to pursue enforcement against Defendant, all having nothing to do with whether he is guilty of the charges here against him.”
The judge also noted that, per prosecutors’ requests, he would strictly limit Trump’s ability to argue that he is the victim of selective prosecution or government misconduct, and likewise granted a motion to exclude any defense arguments or evidence showing Cohen’s lack of credibility in the view of federal prosecutors.
He further granted motions from the prosecutors that would preclude Trump from raising certain defense arguments related to “advice of counsel” during the trial, as well as other arguments Trump previously intended to raise but had been previously ruled against by the judge.
Finally, Merchan reserved judgment on a motion from prosecutors to submit alleged evidence of other “bad acts” by Trump against other alleged “victims.”
The judge signaled that he would render a decision on multiple points raised in that motion once he had an opportunity to more thoroughly review what prosecutors intended to submit.
