The Conversation -- January 27, 2024
Octogenarian Power!
80-Year-Old Bests Top U.S. Elderly Misogynist
And She's Not His "Type"
This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she's been knocked down and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down. -- E. Jean Carroll, in a statement thanking her lawyers ~~~
~~~ Benjamin Weiser, et. al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump was ordered by a Manhattan jury on Friday to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of a decades-old rape, attacks he continued in social media posts, at news conferences and even in the midst of the trial itself. Ms. Carroll's lawyers had argued that a large award was necessary to stop Mr. Trump from continuing to attack her. After less than three hours of deliberation, the jury responded by awarding Ms. Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, finding that Mr. Trump had acted with malice. On one recent day, he made more than 40 derisive posts about Ms. Carroll on his Truth Social website.... In addition to the $65 million, jurors awarded Ms. Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages for her suffering." The AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Following are a few excerpts from the New York Times liveblog, also linked yesterday: ~~~
Benjamin Weiser & Maria Cramer: "Donald J. Trump walked out of the courtroom on Friday as lawyers trying the defamation case brought against him by E. Jean Carroll made their final pitches to a nine-member jury.... Roberta A. Kaplan, the lawyer for Ms. Carroll, told jurors ... that Mr. Trump has normalized behavior by people on social media who, because of his actions, thought it was acceptable to attack Ms. Carroll. Soon after, Mr. Trump, in an unusual breach of courtroom decorum, stood up and walked out, though Ms. Kaplan continued as if nothing unusual had happened. Mr. Trump returned to the courtroom more than an hour after he left, around 11:15 a.m., just before his lawyer, Alina Habba, began her closing arguments.... Trump appeared frustrated before the proceedings even began, shaking his head repeatedly. When Ms. Kaplan began describing last May's verdict that found Trump had sexually abused Carroll, he grew more frustrated -- scoffing, muttering and shaking his head. ~~~
~~~ "In her argument, Ms. Kaplan focused on the harm she said Mr. Trump inflicted on her client and her reputation, saying that the trial is about 'getting him to stop once and for all.' She emphasized that the only way to do so was to cost him as much money as possible."
Cramer: "Roberta Kaplan describes the relentlessness of Trump's attacks. 'The truly shocking part is that false denials and attacks have continued during this trial,' she says. She notes that Trump held a press conference last week 'while you were sitting in this jury box' and lied about Carroll. She plays a clip of the press conference and shows a post he put on Truth Social, his website, where he said he would keep denying her claims."
Kate Christobek: "Trump grew visibly frustrated during the closing statement by E. Jean Carroll's lawyer Shawn Crowley. He shook his head vigorously when Crowley told the jury 'there are ways to lawfully respond to an allegation -- you could say nothing.'... When Crowley made a comment about how Trump's legal team wants the jury to believe he is the victim here, Trump mouthed the word 'true.'"
Maggie Haberman: "It's hard to express how angry Trump is going to be about [the verdict]"
Maria Cramer: "Judge Kaplan tells the jurors that they are free of his order to maintain their anonymity. But, he said, 'my advice to you is that you never disclose you were on this jury.'"
Michael Gold: "Donald Trump just posted on Truth Social, calling the verdict 'absolutely ridiculous.' He said he plans to appeal, and again accused Carroll's suit of being a 'Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party.' He adds, 'They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "A federal judge threatened Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba with jail time on Friday, after the former president's lawyer kept contesting a ruling after it had been issued. 'You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup,' senior U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan warned. 'Sit down.' The bombshell remark came moments before the start of closing arguments in Trump's second trial in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ Marie: I just hope the court forces Trump to take the $83.3MM out of his own piggybank and doesn't let him get away with collecting the cash from contributors. I'm pretty impressed that Joe Biden can get to anonymous jury members and "direct" them to order Donald Trump to pay millions of dollars to Carroll. ~~~
~~~ Update: Susanne Craig, who won a Pulitzer for her work on a New York Times series on Donald Trump's finances, said on MSNBC Friday night that as far as she knew, Trump would be required to pay Carroll with his own money, and could not use money collected from donors. Craig said she was still checking this, but was fairly sure that was the case. Trump is, however, paying a substantial portion of his legal fees with outside contributions.
Ana Marie Cox, in a CNN opinion piece: "The $83.3 million verdict handed down in E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against ... Donald Trump on Friday is ... a vindication of Carroll --and a statement in favor of every survivor who ever questioned whether what happened to them was 'bad enough' to count as sexual assault.... I am disappointed that the mechanism of justice here was a civil court and not a criminal one.... I'd like to have at least a single instance where I could drop 'accused' and 'alleged' from my descriptions of the president's repeated predatory behavior. What's more..., I am doubtful of the Carroll verdict's ability to change [the' minds [of the Trumpist right].... I fear the upshot of an additional application of a slap-dash veneer of martyrdom upon the Trump brand." ~~~
~~~ Marie: As much as civil suits can do, the verdict also was a vindication of the American ideal of equal justice under the law. That ideal will always be aspirational at best. But when it works, as it did here, we can collectively grasp that flimsy thread of hope, even knowing it will not hold all of us. Violently attacking a woman in a Bergdorf's dressing room wasn't enough for Trump; he had to smear her again and again; he had to goad his sick surrogates to verbally abuse and threaten her again and again. But soon, we hope, he will have to pay a price for his grotesque lifetime of bullying.
Ben Protess & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... while he is waiting for an appellate court to rule, Mr. Trump need not cut Ms. Carroll a check. Yet the former president is still on the hook to pay something -- possibly a sizable sum -- while he waits. Mr. Trump can pay the $83.3 million to the court, which will hold the money while the appeal is pending. This is what he did last year when a jury ordered him to pay Ms. Carroll $5.5 million in a related case. Or, Mr. Trump can try to secure a bond, which will save him from having to pay the full amount up front. A bond might require him to pay a deposit and offer collateral, and would come with interest and fees. It would also require Mr. Trump to find a financial institution willing to lend him a large sum of money at a time when he is in significant legal jeopardy."
MEANWHILE. Sloppy Homework. Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "The court-appointed monitor overseeing Donald Trump's businesses told [Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron] on Friday that the former president's financial information has contained 'incomplete' or 'inconsistent' disclosures containing 'errors.' 'I have identified certain deficiencies in the financial information that I have reviewed, including disclosures that are either incomplete, present results inconsistently, and/or contain errors,' former federal judge Barbara Jones, tasked with scrutinizing the former president's business empire, wrote in a 12-page letter. Though she described Trump and his businesses as 'cooperative' with her investigation, Jones added that 'information required to be submitted to me pursuant to the terms of the monitorship order and review protocol has, at times, been lacking in completeness and timeliness.'"
Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday paused the permitting process for new liquefied natural gas export facilities in order to analyze their impact on climate change, the economy and national security.... The move could spell trouble for what would be the largest export terminal in the country, a $10 billion proposed project in Louisiana that has drawn scrutiny for its potential environmental impact. Mr. Biden's election-year decision is viewed as a win for climate activists who have pressed the administration to curb fossil fuels at a time when greenhouse gas emissions need to fall rapidly to stave off climate catastrophe." (Also linked yesterday.)
Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson sought on Friday to choke off the last remaining glimmers of hope for a bipartisan immigration compromise to emerge from Congress this year, repeating that a deal under discussion in the Senate would almost certainly be 'dead on arrival' in the Republican-led House.... As the immigration plan teeters, the fate of additional aid for Ukraine also hangs in the balance, with hard-right House Republicans also dug in against it and threatening to depose Mr. Johnson if he seeks to push it through over their objections." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The article has been substantially updated. New Lede: "President Biden fought on Friday to save a bipartisan immigration deal from collapse in Congress, vowing to shut down the border if the plan became law even as the Republican speaker pronounced it dead on arrival in the House. In a written statement that came as Senate negotiators scrambled to finalize a deal that ... Donald J. Trump is pressuring Republicans to oppose, Mr. Biden used his most stringent language yet about the border, declaring it 'broken' and in 'crisis' and promising to halt migration immediately if Congress sends him the proposal." ~~~
~~~ Politico's story is here. President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here. ~~~
~~~ Update. Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate negotiators have agreed to empower the US to significantly restrict illegal migrant crossings at the southern border, according to sources familiar with the matter, a move aimed at ending the migrant surge that has overrun federal authorities over the past several months. The Senate deal, which is expected to be unveiled as soon as next week, would also speed up the asylum process to consider cases within six months -- compared with the current system, under which it could take up to 10 years for asylum seekers."
Presidential Race
Edward-Isaac Dovere & Alayna Treene of CNN: President "Biden has been taunting Donald Trump -- and appearing to relish it -- calling him the 'former president' or saying, 'he's already Herbert Hoover' -- an allusion to Trump's comments that he didn't want an economic crash on his watch because he didn't want to be like the 31st president. Biden greeted Trump's Iowa caucuses victory with a smirking video in which he said, 'You know it's kind of funny: all these Republican candidates in the primary trying to beat Donald Trump, and I'm still the only person to beat Donald Trump.' Biden has been hoping Trump is paying attention. And, people close to Trump tell CNN, he is. 'I do think he's trying to get under his skin, and I think it's the smartest thing the Biden campaign has done yet,' a person close to Trump said. 'It rattles him and takes him off message.'"
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "A group of Colorado voters laid out its argument to the Supreme Court on Friday for why ... Donald J. Trump should be barred from the state's primary ballot, contending that his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol amounted to an insurrection. In a court filing embedded with photographs of rioters attacking the Capitol and tweets from Mr. Trump, the voters forcefully asserted that Mr. Trump had spurred a brazen attack on democracy, betraying his oath of office. 'As president, Trump swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,' the voters' brief said. It added, 'Instead of peacefully ceding power, Trump intentionally organized and incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol in a desperate effort to prevent the counting of electoral votes cast against him.' Mr. Trump's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court declared him ineligible because it found that he had engaged in insurrection in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election leading up to the Capitol riot." The NBC News story is here.
Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: The night Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses in a landslide, carrying 98 of 99 counties, "the former president and his usual coterie of top aides were joined by about a dozen Iowa staffers headed for New York, boarding the plane his campaign calls Trump Force One.... Mr. Trump had lost Johnson County, home of the University of Iowa, by a single vote. The regional political director who had overseen the area was not given a seat on the plane. The next morning..., she was informed by a terse email from her supervisor that her contract with the Trump campaign was not being renewed. It was the type of ruthlessness the Trump team had deployed in the prior 14 months: Win -- or else.... How Mr. Trump swept the first two states ... is certainly a tale of cutthroat politics. But that's only part of the story. The former president and his allies had luck and a cunning strategy on their side. They put Mr. Trump's unerring instincts for revving up the Republican base and belittling his opponents to effective use." (Also linked yesterday.)
Kevin Draper of the New York Times:"Vince McMahon, the longtime chairman and former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, resigned from the board of W.W.E.'s parent company on Friday, one day after a former employee accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a lawsuit.... The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, accuses Mr. McMahon of trafficking the employee, Janel Grant, as well as physically and emotionally abusing her. The graphic complaint, which also named John Laurinaitis, a former W.W.E. executive, and the company itself as defendants, says that Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis had once taken turns raping Ms. Grant, among numerous other allegations."
~~~~~~~~~~
The New Civil War
** Matthew Choi & Robert Downen of the Texas Tribune: "From the Texas House to ... Donald Trump, Republicans across the country are rallying behind Gov. Greg Abbott's legal standoff with the federal government at the southern border, intensifying concerns about a constitutional crisis amid an ongoing dispute with the Biden administration. At issue is concertina wire that the Texas National Guard has been using as a barrier between the Rio Grande River and Shelby Park, a 47-acre area in Eagle Pass. In a 5-4 decision earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Biden Administration when it vacated a lower court's ruling that prevented Border Patrol agents from cutting the wire to apprehend people who had crossed the river. On Wednesday -- and as the Texas National Guard and state troopers continued to roll out the wire and prevent federal agents from accessing much of the park -- Abbott continued to publicly challenge the ruling and 'hold the line.' He declared that Texas was under an 'invasion,' giving the state the constitutional right to defend itself and claimed that President Joe Biden's practice of paroling migrants into the country amounted to a refusal to enforce current immigration laws." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ When One Insurrection Is Not Enough. Trump Promotes New Civil War. Tess Owen of Vice News: "In a multi-part social media post shared Thursday night, [Donald] Trump called on 'all willing states' to deploy their national guard forces to Texas 'to prevent the entry of illegals, and to remove them back across the Border.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Tucker Carlson on Friday, that so far, ten governors had sent National Guard or other law enforcement resources to assist on the border, and will be 'disappointed' if others do not follow suit. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told Fox News on Friday that he also 'absolutely' plans to send national guard soldiers to Texas. 'We've already started putting the numbers together,' said Stitt. (Less than 24 hours earlier, Stitt joined Newsmax host Carl Higbie for a casual chat about potential 'force-on-force conflict' breaking out at the border.) Stitt is one of 25 red state governors who have released statements expressing support for Abbott, who is continuing to defy the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this week that found that the federal government, not states, have ultimate jurisdiction over border enforcement."
Digby in Salon: "Donald Trump is having a rolling hissy fit that's escalating by the day. From courtrooms to rallies to incoherent interviews, his behavior is making it clear the pressure is getting to him and he's coming unglued. Ever since he realized that Nikki Haley is not going to be a good little girl and quit the race on his time table, Trump has been beside himself." Digby covers a list of Trump's recent crazy, including calling for civil war: "The putative GOP nominee for president is exhorting Republican governors to send the National Guard to Texas to fight the federal government. It's unclear how this is going to work out but we know now that these Governors are all on board the Trump train and eager to help him exacerbate the problem for his political gain." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you don't think this is serious, I beg to differ. This isn't just saying, "We disagree with the Supreme Court." That's fine. This isn't just idle bluster & saber-rattling. Trump and the GOP governors are openly talking about taking up arms against the United States. Stitt of Oklahoma directly says so. That's treason. That's civil war. ~~~
~~~ AND U.S. Civil War II, like Civil War I, is about white supremacy. I watched the film "The Good Shepherd" on Friday. It's a fictional tale about intrigue, corruption & miscalculation within the early CIA and is based very loosely on real characters. One scene speaks to the attitude of Republican governors and their cohort: Joe Pesci plays an American mobster, & Matt Damon, the main character, is a very WASP-y CIA leader:
New York. Azi Paybarah & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo 'subjected female employees to a hostile work environment' and 'retaliated against employees who spoke out about the harassment,' the Department of Justice announced Friday, after reaching a settlement with the state. The settlement does not require Cuomo to pay anything or admit any wrongdoing, according to his spokesman. The department said its report is based on an investigation it conducted into allegations against Cuomo, who resigned in August 2021 after a state investigation found the third-term Democrat sexually harassed 11 women and oversaw an unlawful attempt to exact retribution against one of his accusers. Cuomo, according to the Justice Department, 'subjected at least thirteen female employees of New York State, including Executive Chamber employees, to a sexually hostile work environment.' The report said he 'repeatedly subjected these female employees to unwelcome, non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Gaza war are here: "An oil tanker is on fire in the Gulf of Aden after being hit by a Houthi missile strike, with military vessels providing assistance to the tanker, U.S. Central Command and the vessel's operator said, adding that no injuries have been reported. Early Saturday, U.S. forces conducted a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile in Yemen that was aimed into the Red Sea and prepared to launch, Centcom added.... A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi militants said the Marlin Luanda tanker was targeted in Friday's strike as part of the group's protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza. A fire was still burning on the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker on Saturday, the operator said." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Saturday are here. CNN's live updates are here: "The US and several other nations are pausing funding to the main UN agency in Gaza over allegations its staff were involved in the October 7 attacks. The agency -- UNRWA -- fired several employees over the claims on Friday. Israel has suggested it will seek to ensure that UNRWA will not operate in Gaza after the war. The country's relations with the UN have deteriorated in since the conflict in Gaza began. The UN meanwhile is warning of deteriorating humanitarian access in Gaza, after Israeli protesters blocked a key crossing. The organization says the actions risk exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation."
Patrick Kingsley & Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Top officials from at least 10 different administrations are trying to forge a head-spinning set of deals to end the Gaza war and answer the divisive question of how the territory will be governed after the fighting stops. The narrowest set of major discussions is focused on reaching a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This would involve the exchange of more than 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas for a cease-fire and thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. A second track centers on reshaping the Palestinian Authority, the semiautonomous body that administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. American and Arab officials are discussing overhauling the leadership of the authority and having it take control of Gaza after the war ends, assuming power from Israel and Hamas. In a third track, American and Saudi officials are pushing Israel to agree to conditions for the creation of a Palestinian state in exchange for Saudi Arabia forging formal ties with Israel for the first time ever."
Share Article
Reader Comments (13)
Dan Froomkin rewrites Peter Baker or What is the point of NYT political coverage?
I’m thinking that there must be some significant fallout for Alina Habba, as there has been for so many other lawyers who have seen fit to trade in their professional reputation in order to curry favor with as disputatious, demanding, and delusional a client as Donald Trump. Perhaps she’s always been this kind of person, but in this latest trial she’s displayed the professional decorum of a colicky donkey.
She’s taunted the judge, shown up late for trial, repeatedly ignored warnings from the bench, and shown herself to be outrageously disrespectful, all in a seeming attempt to mimic her loser client’s assholism. Here’s hoping future opportunities dry up faster than Greg Abbott can drown innocent families.
Prospective clients should, after seeing this latest display of unwarranted and unnecessary insolence think twice about going before a judge with such an unprofessional and dangerously unhinged person as their legal representative. Fucking disgrace.
@Akhilleus: Not only that, but I've heard several seasoned trial lawyers on the teevee, some from the defense side & some former federal prosecutors, say that she didn't know what the fuck she was doing. The reason the judge so often admonished her was that she didn't know the basic federal rules of evidence. It wasn't that she pushed the line, as a good attorney will do to try to sneak in something she wants the jury to hear but knows she can't say outright; Habba said stuff that was outrageously out of bounds because she had no idea what the bounds were.
@mKJ: Thanks. Peter Baker has never seen what is wrong with he-said/she-said "journalism." In fact, he thinks he's being fair-and-balanced (a la Fox "News," I guess) when he compares applies to oranges. He has quite a smart wife -- Susan Glaser of the New Yorker -- but apparently she hasn't been able to teach him anything.
I confronted him once years ago at an Obama event to explain why his both-sider approach to political reporting was a fallacious to us dunderheads in the public. Turns out Baker was the dunderhead. He really could not understand what I was talking about. I think I was quite clear (but respectful!); he said, "I don't know what you mean." And he didn't.
Not then, not now, when cogent critiques of both-sides-do-it "journalism" appear in well-read publications with some regularity. Clearly, Baker has not had time to read these analyses, perhaps because he's so busy trying to find answers to "How is this side not like the other side?"
Marie,
That sounds pretty on the money.
Habba’s astonishing courtroom demeanor likely signals a couple of things. First, that Trump has exhausted the pool of skillful, qualified, experienced attorneys, either that or members of that group know enough not to sign on with a client who has “Fuck you, judge!” tattooed across his forehead, a client who refuses to accept your advice despite a clear view of smirking guards holding the jailhouse door wide open for him.
Second, Trump’s penchant for representation by attorneys who know fuck all about the law but are fully prepared to serve as his foot rest. Just recall his continued reliance on the Kraken lady who took legal advice from nut jobs who talk to the wind.
Habba clearly is less Lincoln Lawyer and more missing link lawyer.
To hell with both of them.
Is there any hope at all that the federal government will take some action against the seceding states for defying the immigration laws?
Withhold infrastructure funding, which amounts to billions each for Texas and Oklahoma for just once instance, or something else more visible and direct?
By doing nothing it would seem we are emboldening the blowhards. Is it too much to liken our present do-nothing stance toward the red state crazies to a mini-Munich?
@Ken Winkes: I agree that Sunny Joe or Merrick the Unready has to do something. I'd start with a few very publicly-lobbed carrots. But if the carrots don't pierce the cruel heart of Greg Abbott, I'd nationalize the Guard and have them surround the governor's mansion in Austin, cart Greggers off to the nearest federal pen & stop by Ace Hardware for some clippers suitable for cutting concertina wire. And if that doesn't impress Trump & those other governors flirting with treason, well, there's plenty of room at Club Fed.
Six a.m. raids, boxer shorts on the lawn, please, a la Jeffrey Clark.
@Marie
In department of second thoughts, I'd guess we will do nothing during this election year. Political calculation will prevail.
But it still pisses me off.
Chris Hayes showed one of Carroll's lawyers this message left at Trump Tower to her.
Republicans are all in on Trump these days and will do almost anything to please him.
CNN
"The National Security Agency has been buying Americans’ web browsing data from commercial data brokers without warrants, intelligence officials disclosed in documents made public by a US senator Thursday.
The purchases include information about the websites Americans visit and the apps that they use, said Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, releasing newly unclassified letters he received from the Pentagon in recent weeks confirming the sales.
The disclosures are the latest evidence that government agencies routinely buy sensitive information about Americans from commercial marketplaces that they would otherwise be required to obtain via court order.
And it comes amid rising concerns that foreign governments are doing the same; CNN reported earlier this week that the Biden administration is preparing an executive order meant to curb foreign purchases of US citizens’ personal data."
If lawyers advertised:
Alina Habba: I'll plead your speeding ticket down to first degree murder.
I reckon that Trump is hoping there's a lot of loose change under the couch cushions in Mar a Lago.
Forrest,
She’d try, but she’d piss off the judge so much, you’d end up with lethal injection.
For a speeding ticket.