It has been a day of mixed fortunes for former President Donald Trump, with developments in both his civil and criminal proceedings through different sections of the New York Court system. Beginning the day with a somewhat controversial move, Trump took to his online media outlet to draw parallels between himself and the religious figure, Jesus Christ. The post, released amidst the Holy Week, found its fair share detractors, among whom were some of his self-proclaimed haters.
Transitioning into the realm of legal dealings, Trump encountered a favorable decision from the judges of the First Judicial Department of the Appellate Division, who reduced his bond from a strenuous $464 million to a more manageable $175 million. Last week, Trump claimed to be sitting on nearly half a billion dollars in cash but voiced a preference to retain his liquidity over having his real estate empire seized and auctioned off. These proceedings took an unusual turn when he attributed the concern over his financial penalty to Justice Arthur Engoron.
Simultaneously, there was less success for Trump at the Supreme Court level. Justice Juan Merchan demonstrated skepticism towards the argument put forward by Trump’s legal team that the severity of government misconduct over discovery was enough to warrant dismissal of the charges of creating false business records. Justice Merchan sided with the state, pinpointing that the majority of the new materials were related to Michael Cohen’s bank accounts and had no relation to the case at hand. This was corroborated by tweets from the Inner City Press.
The defence attempted to attribute the SDNY’s failure to turn over documents in a timely manner to the DANY as deliberate misconduct. There was little indication that the court agreed with the argument, predominantly because DANY and SDNY are entirely separate entities. In the conclusion, following a recess, Justice Merchan ruled that there was insufficient evidence of obstruction, the trial could not be dismissed or postponed further, and Jury selection would now commence on April 15.
Despite the turbulence of his legal proceedings, there was an upswing for Trump’s digital platform, as it witnessed a significant rise of 35% on its first trading day. This surge resulted in making him billions in paper profits. This turn of events led some admirers to liken him to their savior – a development that warrants further watch and analysis.