I will bet that that five-hour delay was somehow about Ellis' ability to continue presiding the trial. But if it was about that, it didn't work:
Judge T.S. Ellis returned to the courtroom at 2:22 p.m. ET, more than a half hour after they were scheduled to reconvene. After conferring with attorneys for the prosecution and defense briefly, Ellis said: "Mr. Andres, you may call your next witness."
Prosecutor Greg Andres reminded him the jury still needed to be brought in.
The courtroom erupted in laughter.
(CNN)
Ellis doesn't even know where the fuck he is. He is senile. "I'm glad you got a chance to see the criminal justice system at work," he said yesterday. This is so embarrassing.
And here is, as predicted, the government's second request for a curative instruction, which in layman's terms should be understood as a "Request to Shut the Fuck Up."
Another request for judge's correction
Prosecutors for the second time want Ellis to correct a statement he made to the jury.
In a filing Friday morning, they asked Ellis to tell the jury to disregard a comment Thursday during a witness' testimony about alleged bank fraud conspiracy that the attorneys "might want to spend time on a loan that was granted."
The judge's comment "misrepresents the law regarding bank fraud conspiracy, improperly conveys the court's opinion of the facts, and is likely to confuse and mislead the jury," prosecutors wrote.
The prosecutors want Ellis to explain that "that the jury is not to consider the court's comment and that loans that Manafort fraudulently applied for but did not receive are relevant to the charges in the indictment."
And here is, as predicted, the government's second request for a curative instruction, which in layman's terms should be understood as a "Request to Shut the Fuck Up."
Another request for judge's correction
Prosecutors for the second time want Ellis to correct a statement he made to the jury.
In a filing Friday morning, they asked Ellis to tell the jury to disregard a comment Thursday during a witness' testimony about alleged bank fraud conspiracy that the attorneys "might want to spend time on a loan that was granted."
The judge's comment "misrepresents the law regarding bank fraud conspiracy, improperly conveys the court's opinion of the facts, and is likely to confuse and mislead the jury," prosecutors wrote.
The prosecutors want Ellis to explain that "that the jury is not to consider the court's comment and that loans that Manafort fraudulently applied for but did not receive are relevant to the charges in the indictment."