The Defense Rests, Your Honor...

“…Got those highway blues, can't you hear my motor runnin'. Flyin' down the road with my foot on the floor. All the way in town they can hear me comin'…” Rockin’ Down the Highway… The Doobie Brothers. When lead defense counsel stood and rested his case, the road show that is Donald Trump’s hush money case came to an end. There’ll be closing arguments, the standard defense motions, the standard denials of those motions, then the judge will tell twelve citizens that closing arguments are not evidence, and to take their common sense back to the jury room and reach a unanimous verdict. It’s the foundation of the American judicial system and it works amazingly well. So, what kind of verdict will they bring back? I dunno’, beats the shit out of me, I’m not a juror, I didn’t hear the testimony. I will make one guess- I don’t think they’ll be out a long time, the jury either believed Michael Cohen, the “flip” witness, or they didn’t. “Flip witnesses” on their best day are a dicey proposition. A “flip witness” starts by agreeing they’ve lied and committed crimes in the past, but today they’re gonna’ tell the truth-it works about 50% of the time. Since he couldn’t bluster and threaten people, Trump summoned a bunch of MAGA clowns to show up in court. They weren’t sitting in the front row as character references for Trump, it was an attempt to do a little jury intimidation. This was so blatant that Tommy, the deaf, dumb, and blind kid in Pinball Wizard, could figure it out. As for intimidating jurors, you must be kidding. These jurors are New Yorkers, next to Philadelphia sports fans, the nastiest people you’ll ever meet. They ride the subway to work and walk the streets of the Big Apple, they’re not afraid of anyone, or anything. By the time they reach adulthood, most of them would qualify for a Combat Infantry Badge just getting back and forth from school or work. There was also the matter of NYPD, never known to be the most patient police department in the country. They were manned-up, and had sent a subtle, but unmistakable, message-don’t even think about trying us on. So, guilty, or innocent. My betting line says 3 to 2 they bring him in guilty, Cohen coupled with Stormy Daniels, and Trump’s reputation (which the jury will be told to disregard, but won’t) for being a sleaze bag will do him in. What nobody’s talking about, but what fascinates me is, if memory serves me correct, you can’t get a Top Secret Security Clearance with a felony conviction on your record. Presidential candidates, prior to election, get routine security briefings, and the president is briefed daily on the most sensitive matters around the world. I can’t wait ‘til we hear the “work around” on this little bump in the road…