#unlawfulmeans — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #unlawfulmeans, aggregated by home.social.
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#Merchan rereads the complex charges:
#Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a second crime, a conspiracy to aid an election by #UnlawfulMeans (click hashtag for more on the legal term).
The options for those unlawful means include several other crimes.
Each individual #criminal charge contains within it several other crimes.
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Justice #Merchan explains again the potential #UnlawfulMeans that jurors could decide #Trump or other conspirators used to aid Trump’s election in 2016.
Merchan explains #motive — & its difference from #intent.
Intent means “conscious objective or purpose,” motive is “the reason why a person chooses to engage in #criminal conduct.”
Jurors must consider Trump’s intent, but prosecution did NOT have to prove motive.
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Justice #Merchan explains the reason prosecutors charged #Trump w/falsifying business records as a #felony: Because, they say, he covered up a second #crime, violating the state #ElectionLaw that forbids a #conspiracy to aid a person’s #election by #UnlawfulMeans.
Last week, prosecution won a major argument when they argued that the jurors did not have to agree #unanimously on the “unlawful means” (#crimes) they might determine that Trump used.
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Justice #Merchan turns to the #crimes w/which #Trump is charged: 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump is charged w/ falsifying records to cover up a second #crime — the violation of a state #ElectionLaw that forbids a #conspiracy to aid any election by “#UnlawfulMeans.” (See above)
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Because the #UnlawfulMeans could be any or all of the other crimes, each individual false-records charge that #Trump faces contains w/in it multiple possible crimes for jurors to adjudicate, & #law for Justice Merchan to explain.
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In #NewYork, falsifying records is a #misdemeanor, unless the documents were faked to HIDE ANOTHER CRIME. The other crime, prosecutors say (they also presented evidence of other #crimes), was Trump’s 2016 violation of state #ElectionLaw that prohibited #conspiring to aid a #political campaign using “#UnlawfulMeans.”
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“As part of this process, yet another false business record is created,” #Steinglass says, leaving a trail of potential #UnlawfulMeans that jurors could draw on during deliberations as they seek to determine whether #Trump unlawfully influenced his election victory.
On 27 Oct 2016, the money was sent, & on 28 Oct, just 11 days before the #election, #StormyDaniels signed the NDA.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
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Defense argues that to reach a #guilty #verdict jurors MUST not only to agree #unanimously that #Trump had falsified records to conceal a #conspiracy to win an election by unlawful means, but also jurors must be unanimous on what the #UnlawfulMeans are; making reaching a verdict nearly impossible.
Trump's attys argued that while that unanimity is not required by #law, Justice Merchan can use his discretion in asking for it.
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Defense & prosecution debate what types of #UnlawfulMeans apply. Defense asks for additions that to make it clear only #crimes should count, while prosecution suggests #civil violations should apply, too.
#Merchan rejects defense’s request to tell jurors that candidates weren’t limited in 2015 & 2016 — before #Trump's election —— from contributing funds to their own campaigns. Prosecution called it misleading & Merchan determined it was unnecessary to explain it to the jury.