The lawyer for serial sex abuser Donald Trump (SSAT) asked the judge for permission for SSAT to speak for two or three minutes during closing arguments and the judge asked “Do you promise to just comment on the facts and the law?”. But then SSAT immediately started speaking without answering and did his usual rigamarole about this being a persecution by the prosecution and the judge. SSAT spoke for five minutes before the judge cut him off.
I am not sure what the point of this was other than for SSAT to let off steam. After all, there was no jury to convince. All it does is further tick off the judge who is going to make the final determination of the size of the penalty.
SSATs own mouth is his greatest enemy, when not surrounded by fawning cult members. Let him blather, preferally without being restrained by his own lawyers. At a minimum, it will provide material for late night TV hosts, at best he will indict himself.
It let Trump turn the closing arguments into a campaign event. As his campaign is based on a belief in political persecution this is powerful for him. That it happened behind closed doors and will be reported in the press doesn’t matter, he can repeat his part at a press conference and the exact details don’t matter anyways. It’s boosting the perception that he is being persecuted.
JM, nah.
Those who believe his crap don’t need it, and it’s wasted on everyone else.
Only among those who already believe that.
The rest of us just know he’s stuck into performative grievance mode.
Same old, same old.
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I do appreciate the judge’s cleverness, actually.
As in, Trump (sorry Mano, can’t bring myself to use your dismissive neologism) can’t say he wasn’t given a chance to speak for himself. And everyone who knows anything knows he has been given more latitude than anyone could expect, yet again.