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Courtside with Tiffany
The third week in the criminal trial of Donald Trump, and our court correspondent, Tiffany, who professes to have a photographic memory, was granted a press front row seat, by lottery, on Tuesday, the day Michael Cohen was cross examined. From her seat, next to the court illustrator, Tiff’ could see the back of the defendant and look at what he was looking at. The judge and witness were in plain sight. The jury sat at a three and four o’clock position, which required a body shift and head turn by the defendant.
The following is a rough transcript of her report.
Tiffany (breathless): Wow. What a day. Where do you want me to start?
Me: From the beginning, Tiff’. Take it easy. Sip some water. Take your time. We’re not going anywhere until Thursday.
Tiffany: Well, first off… He wasn’t watching the screen.
Me: What? You mean he wasn’t watching the screen which displayed the exhibits, like the handwritten note from Weisselberg?
Tiffany: Right.
Me: What was he watching?
Tiffany: He wasn’t watching. He stared ahead at the judge, and then down at the table. But he wasn’t nodding off. He was writing. He had in front of him what looked like a typewritten document that he was scribbling on. With a sharpie.
Me: Could you see what it was?
Tiffany: Sure, you couldn’t miss it. There were two columns with what looked like typewritten notes. He had written with a sharpie at the top of each column. You couldn’t miss what it said.
Me: What did it say?
Tiffany: One column said, ‘GAGA.’ The other said, ‘MAGA.’ He was scribbling names in the margin. Like he was making notes by each column.
Me: Names? What names?
Tiffany: Well, I remember seeing ‘Tommy’ and ‘JD’ and ‘Byron.’ I remember ‘Byron.’ He wrote it several times.
Me: What did he write?
Tiffany: Well, next to ‘Byron,’ he scribbled “Emphasize MILLIONS of dollars. Be angry. Remember, we are going to fight in Florida. Look forceful. Good for fundraising. Florida is ours.”
That was in the MAGA column.
