All that’s missing from MichiganAdvance’s Jon King’s reportage on the ongoing Michigan 2020 fake electors trial is air-conditioned Cobo Arena, sports fans!
On the stand for a fifth day, [MI AG special agent investigator Howard] Shock spent nearly seven hours under a withering fire of defense questions, as well as criticism from the bench, about his competency and how he carried out the investigation. More importantly, the defense questioning sought to cast doubt that their clients, who are charged with a variety of felonies including conspiracy to commit election law forgery, knowingly broke the law when they signed the documents, which is a required element for conviction under that charge.
“The attorney general of the state of Michigan, Dana Nessel, that’s your boss, fair to say?” Freeman asked Shock. […] “This is a politically driven department that you work for, isn’t it?” pressed Freeman, who asked Shock when was the last time he briefed Nessel, a Democrat, on the case.
…and in a move reminscent of The Sheik vs Pampero Firpo…
While Assistant Attorney General LaDonna Logan objected, arguing that the question lacked relevance to the case, Judge Kristen Simmons overruled the objection and expressed what appeared to be frustration with Shock’s inability to answer defense questions.
“I think it’s glaring that we have a concern in this courtroom about the investigation and his ability to put forth information from that investigation. I took the bench after 9 o’clock and twice within that hour, I’ve had to break for him to refresh his recollection on his investigation,” said Simmons. “We’re not getting a great presentation. And so I can understand why the questions are now starting to [ask] how this investigation went about. Because if you’re not presenting your investigation well, we now need to understand what happened during this investigation.”
Emphasis mine – r2