Cohen is notorious for taping phone calls and even conversations. So much so, that people on the Trump campaign started refusing to meet with him because he was taping all of their conversations.
Which is no doubt making for some VERY interesting listening material for the SDNY right now. 
Cohenâs attorneys are involved in the case being heard by Judge Wood; theyâre bound by the no-publicity strictures as firmly as Avenatti would be.
IANAL, but I think he played this exactly right. He got Cohenâs attorneys to admit to the existence of the tapes, and has said elsewhere that he has heard that the conversation that was leaked involved Davidson with both Cohen and Trump⌠and that would make it conspiracy to commit a crime, and thus not covered by privilege.
Yes, heâs playing things as close to the edge as possible, but (a) itâs working (keeping both Cohen and Trump off balance and reactive) and (b) heâs getting away with it. So far, at least, Daniels is very much getting her moneyâs worth!
Do you really doubt he released the contents of a SAR? Iâm glad he did, btw.
Not sure. I think he was given information that was possibly from a SAR, but I donât think he released the actual form and may have never had it. He may have been given assurances that it was valid info in much the same way that a reporter gets information. I donât get the impression from him that he fears any legal repercussions for doing so and the payoff has been huge for his client as well as SDNY as it has put Cohen on the defensive.
I think Avenatti has enough fish to fry. He has accomplished exactly what he wanted to accomplish. There was little more to be gained by intervening in the criminal matter. More importantly he would have been effectively shut up by Judge Wood if he had. Hence he withdrew his motion. Smart move on his part.
Curiously performative hostility to Avenatti by the judge. Shrewd though. She would obviously be concerned about a prospective appellate argument that she wrongly permitted the participation of counsel who was intent on prejudicing the proceedings. Props to Avenatti for forcing the issue of the Trump tapes. That could be the subject matter of a future intervention by some counsel other than Avenatti
But judges do hate spectacles where they arenât the ringmaster.
Hey everybody, attorney client privilege doesnât apply to any taped communication between Davidson and Cohen and Trump. That isnât how attorney client privilege works. Eventually he is going to be able to secure that tape by regular discovery. Ryanâs admission that it exists means Ryan canât âaccidentallyâ misplace it.
Also: that wasnât a tough hearing for Avenatti. Not by a long way. Judges giving you a hard time is routine.
MehâŚdepends on whether the attorneys involved are clowns or not. Smart ones know that neither the court nor the jurors want a spectacle, which invariably wastes their time.
And to be clear: we can like Avenattiâs crazy antics all we want for political reasons, but as a litigator myself, I say heâs primarily been a clown so far.
Moreover, I am not exactly on the bus when it comes to crazy theories about him playing eleventy-dimensional chess. Heâs clearly got the CA-celeb thing rattling around in his brain and ego and is acting out that fantasy. Some of what he has done so far indicates heâs perhaps doing good work behind the scenes and there was certainly a time and place for the publicity blitz, but despite his claims today, I donât think he really gained much and probably lost more than he gainedâŚpublicity blitzes belong in the media, not a courtroom, and I have some real trouble believing that there was much more to this gambit than that. The judge presiding over his clientâs case is most certainly watching.
Certo, thatâs just common sense.
I donât think Avanetti is a clown.
HaâŚcertainly a true qualifier
Judge Wood is one smart, shrewd, by-the-book judge.
I think Avanetti knew that going in, too. I think he got what he wanted.
Plus there is no such thing as bad publicity, Avenatti still maintains his media presence. He is now free to comment, and when he does comment, that will be reported.
I wonder what he has planned for next week.
I suspect Avenatti is calling the reporters who called him to tell him of certain audio recordings they had heard relating to his client (Avenatti has alleged by implication that Cohen made such releases). He will ask the reporters to push back on Cohen and demand the whole tape before publishing anything. Cohen may give said tape up in order to telegraph to the feds and to Trump that he can take a deal.
Yes, I think these are key points. He doesnât need to win every motion to win.
Judges certainly abhorred the spectacle of Ito losing control of his courtroom.
Totally OT but related to the grifting done by the trump family and other political type people in both parties.
Brotha dis be how it is done!!!
I bring you Jesse DuPlantis and the Prosperity GospelâŚ
Thatâs a $54 million private jetâŚto go with Jesseâs other three jets. All paid by âŚnot him. But he gets to use 'em at his whim. Cuz theyâre owned by his Ministry. The Jesse DuPlantis Ministry.
Dang, what a racket. And he doesnât hafta worry about taxes either. Other than his personal income that is.
We must be very VERY careful with the tender rights of Republican Filth. If I was on a jury my only rule would be âthe Republican deserved itâ. AWESOME!