N.Y. judge says he'll bar Trump Org.'s selective prosecution claim

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CBS News

A Manhattan judge indicated Monday he won't allow attorneys for the Trump Organization to accuse Manhattan prosecutors of targeting the company out of animus for former President Donald Trump.

New York County Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said at an at-times testy hearing, six weeks before the company's Oct. 24 fraud and tax evasion trial is scheduled to begin, that he expects arguments and evidence to focus on the charges.

"I will not allow you in any way to bring up a selective prosecution claim, or claim this is some sort of novel prosecution," Merchan said, later adding that he "will have very little patience at trial any questions that are not in a good faith basis."

An attorney for the Trump Organization said earlier during the hearing that she thinks that's why prosecutors investigated the company's former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. The executive who spent decades by Trump's side at the company entered a guilty plea in the case on Aug. 18, acknowledging that he was part of a scheme to receive more than $1.7 million in off-the-books perks and compensation.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/n-y-judge-says-he-ll-bar-trump-org-s-selective-prosecution-claim/ar-AA11Knhv

[ificandream]

1. Not everyone is as delusional as The Donald. :)

[Marcuse]

2. It truly is selective prosecution. There is so much crime from which prosecutors can pick and choose

[Jarqui]

3. +1

[thesquanderer]

4. Even selective prosecution can only succeed if the person is actually guilty.

That defense seems about as plausible as telling the cop who pulls you over, "hey, what about that other car, he was going even faster than I was." Why it was you and not the other guy is not relevant to whether or not you are guilty.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

6. The Kraken level attorneys present Kraken level arguments, aimed to please tRump, not the law.

[dsc]

9. that is true

but the reason selective prosecution is a problem is that laws should be equally applied. While I think Trump is literally the last person on earth who has a legitimate claim of selective prosecution, selective prosecution, even of guilty people, undermines the rule of law. For example, if there is a law against all sodomy but only those engaged in sodomy with people of the same gender get prosecuted, then in point of fact the law is being used to discriminate against a disfavored minority.

[thesquanderer]

11. The answer to letting some people get away with something...

...is to stop them from getting away with it, not to let others get away with it too.

At least if you're talking about things that are seriously, unambiguously, Bad Things.

[GreenWave]

5. Right on! STFU with all the stupid ass shit!

If they don't want so many damn court trials, stop committing so many damn crimes!

[TomSlick]

7. It's really not a hard call.

There is no evidence that prosecutors have any particular animus toward Trump. (I will concede that anyone with two brain cells to rub together has some degree of animus toward Trump.) If there was any such evidence it would be irrelevant - there is no germane fact in dispute that such evidence would make more or less likely. Irrelevant evidence is not admissible. Reference by counsel to matters not in evidence is improper.

At this point, arguments by counsel that the judge has ruled improper would be contempt of court.

[TexasBushwhacker]

8. He is such a tool

Always takes credit, never responsibility.

[iluvtennis]

10. Great news! Set the expectations right up front. n/t