Donald Trump’s Staff Tries the ‘Regina George’ Protection

The Donald Trump protection quantities to the “Regina George” protection, as New York Journal reporter Olivia Nuzzi known as it, claiming that Michael Cohen was “obsessed with President Trump.”

Ex-president Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche started his protection by telling the jury, “President Trump did not commit any crimes.”

Sure, Blanche is asking Mr. Trump “President Trump,” in what will not be solely an ego therapeutic massage and audition for the previous president, but additionally an try and instill reverence and respect in a person whom many in Manhattan have disliked lengthy earlier than he ran for president in 2016. The truth is, Blanche said he would name Trump “President Trump” as a result of “he has earned” the title.

Blanche additionally falsely equated the accusations of election interference with being in a democracy, saying as reported by MSNBC’s Adam Klasfeld, “I have a spoiler alert. There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy.”

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Blanche advised the jury that Michael Cohen wished a job within the administration after the 2016 election. Klasfeld continued:

“He didn’t get one,” he says.

Blanche calls Cohen a felony, emphasizing the responsible pleas unrelated to Trump, like financial institution to a financial institution and tax fraud

That is the place Nuzzi suggests the Trump team is introducing the Regina George defense, that Cohen is obsessive about Trump.

Trump’s authorized staff introduces the Regina George protection. Blanche tells the jury: “You will learn that Michael Cohen was obsessed with President Trump. He’s obsessed with President Trump to this day.”

Blanche encourages the jury to be skeptical of phrases like “scheme” and “conspiracy.” He rolls his eyes as he refers back to the “‘Catch and Kill scheme.’” Blanche says that Trump’s habits, described by prosecutors, is “not a scheme” and “not towards the regulation.

So principally, that is Trump’s protection, together with ‘Trump is a man who cares about his family’ (no phrase on why a person who cares about his household has had two alleged affairs round his spouse’s being pregnant and supply):

The dialogue for anybody who doesn’t keep in mind it:

Regina: Let me inform you one thing about Janis Ian. We have been finest mates in center faculty. I do know proper, it’s soooo embarrassing. I don’t even…no matter. So then in eighth grade I began going out with my first boyfriend Kyle, who was completely beautiful however then he moved to Indiana–and Janis was like, weirdly jealous of him. Like if I might blow her off to hang around with Kyle, she’d be like “Why didn’t you call me back?!” and I’d be like, “Uh, why are you so obsessed with me?”

… after which she dropped out of college ’trigger nobody would discuss to her and he or she got here again within the fall for highschool and her hair was all minimize off and he or she was completely bizarre and now I assume she’s on crack. (gasps and turns) Oh my God! I really like your skirt, the place did you get it?

Lea: It was my mother’s within the ’80s.

Regina: Classic, so lovely.

Lea: Thanks. (Lea walks away.)

Regina: That’s the ugliest effing skirt I’ve ever seen.

Blanche tried to counsel that Cohen perjured himself within the civil fraud case, however, “That sparks to objections from the prosecution, both sustained,” Klasfeld reported. He then did a truth test, noting, “From the civil fraud ruling against Trump: ‘Michael Cohen told the truth.’”

From the civil fraud ruling towards Trump:

“Michael Cohen told the truth.” pic.twitter.com/TeoWkUzFDH

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 22, 2024

Earlier, prosecutors advised the jury that the Trump marketing campaign was in a tailspin after the Entry Hollywood tape, by which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting ladies and the way they let him do it as a result of he was a “star.”

Prosecutors laid out that the tape was damaging to Trump with ladies voters, and so they have been attempting to keep away from additional disclosures “that would hurt the candidate even more with women voters,” as Nuzzi put it. “They argue that the hush money payment was not about communications or ‘spin’ (spin being PR-speak for lying) but about ‘election fraud.’”

The Trump protection is about smearing the motivations of the witnesses, which is a traditional means of preventing info with a fallacy. It seems proper now as if Trump’s total protection is a smorgasbord of fallacies, from is the Straw Man to the advert hominem to the fallacy of relevance.

Within the case of Michael Cohen’s testimony, the jury is being advised to contemplate the motive, as a substitute of the declare, which is loads like calling bragging about sexual assault “locker room talk.”

Distracting individuals with fallacies has been Trump’s go-to his total political life. However he’s in a courtroom now, and info are speculated to matter. If the prosecution can show their case, Trump spin received’t purchase the identical loyalty because it did as PR spin.