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☆ How a key witness lifted the lid on Trump’s handling of classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —A new glimpse inside Donald Trump’s inner circle shows how the ex-president’s men and women often confront a fateful dilemma under huge personal pressure. Butler’s comments are important because they foretell how he might testify in the federal classified documents trial that could be hugely damaging to Trump but that is increasingly unlikely to happen before Americans vote in the fall. Why ‘Trump Employee 5’ broke his silenceIt is too early to say whether Butler’s testimony would be decisive in the federal trial in the classified documents case. Walt Nauta, a Trump personal aide, and De Oliveira, who have not broken with the ex-president, have also denied wrongdoing. Cohen will be a key witness when Trump becomes the first ex-president to go on trial over a hush money case in New York later this month.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Brian Butler, “, hoarded, Butler, Trump, who’s, ” Butler, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ”, Mar, Carlos De Oliveira, Stephanie Grisham, Grisham, ” Grisham, CNN’s Erin Burnett, –, Peter Navarro, Rudolph Giuliani, CNN’s Collins, Jim Sciutto, John Kelly, John Bolton, Adolf Hitler, ‘, ’, Walt Nauta, De Oliveira, John Irving, Jack Smith, Andrew McCabe, Ryan Goodman, Burnett, Smith, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Cassidy Hutchinson, Mark Meadows, Hutchinson, she’s, Cassidy, ” Hutchinson, Joe Biden, Robert Hur, Hur Organizations: CNN, Trump, “ Trump, West Palm Beach, FBI, White, White House, Capitol, New York, Republican, ‘ Trump, Mar, ”, New York University, Republicans, CBS, GOP Locations: Florida, West Palm, New Jersey, Lago, New York

CNN —Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said Donald Trump would effectively end the war in Ukraine by cutting off funding to Kyiv, should the former US president return to power in November. “He (Trump) has a very clear vision,” Orbán said in an interview to Hungarian broadcaster M1 broadcast on Sunday. That’s why the war will end, because it’s obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own two feet.”Orbán’s comments came after Trump hosted the Hungarian strongman at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. And then the war will end,” Orbán said. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former US President Donald Trump are seen at the White House in 2019.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, “, ” Orbán, Trump, Orbán, won’t, Vladimir Putin’s, Viktor Orban, Brendan Smialowski, Orban, Erdogan, anybody’s, ” John Bolton, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Trump’s, Putin, ” Bolton, Kristen Holmes, Andrew Millman Organizations: CNN, Trump, Russo, Mar, European Union, NATO, Hungary's, White House, Getty, Republican, Ukraine Locations: Hungarian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Florida, Hungary, Europe, Moscow, AFP, Turkey, NATO

☆ Congress acted to protect NATO. But it might not be enough to stop Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Zachary Wolf | Analysis Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesPulling American generals out of NATO might force other NATO countries to seek their own nuclear deterrents. More members hit 2% benchmarkTrump frequently complains that NATO members other than the US don’t pay dues, which is a misstatement of facts. Multiple NATO countries do not hit that benchmark, although spending has risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s just like any relationship,” said Bergmann of the likelihood of permanent damage if Trump were to materially alter the NATO alliance. I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance,” Rubio said, although he added, “But there has to be an alliance.”

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Trump, “, Biden, Peter Bergen, Vladimir Putin, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, ” Sciutto, What’s, Kurt Volker, Chip Somodevilla, Volker, ” Volker, “ It’s, ”, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Max Bergmann, Bergmann, It’s, ” Marco Rubio, Sen, Marco Rubio, ” Rubio, he’s Organizations: CNN — Lawmakers, Trump, NATO, Republicans, Ukraine, CNN, Biden, Senate, House Intelligence, Allied, Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Palais, Bettmann, World Trade Center, Pentagon Locations: Russia, “, Russian, Soviet Union, NATO, United States, Atlantic, Washington ,, Europe, American, Chaillot, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Afghanistan, France, Marco Rubio of Florida, “ State

The funds were moved to Qatari accounts as part of a broad deal to secure the release of five Americans whom the US deemed had been wrongfully detained in Iran. There were bipartisan calls to freeze the funds in the wake of the deadly Hamas attacks in Israel this weekend. Still, the “quiet understanding” not to move the money right now appears to be largely symbolic, given the strict restrictions that were already tied to the funds. Blinken did not confirm that “a quiet understanding” had been reached but made clear the US is able to freeze the funds. The process for Iran to be able to spend the funds was expected to take months, if not years.

Persons: Wally Adeyemo, Adeyemo, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ”, ” Blinken, John Kirby, “ It’s, “, we’ve, Saturday’s, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Max Organizations: CNN, Saturday, Democrats, Administration, National Security Council, White, State Department Locations: United States, Qatar, Iran, Israel, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Qatari

CNN —Former President Donald Trump endorsed Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for speaker of the House Friday. The former president is not expected to go to Capitol Hill, a source close to Trump said Thursday night. Republicans are slated to hear from speaker candidates at a forum next Tuesday, setting up the next possible House-wide speaker vote on Wednesday, October 11. Trump is “entirely focused” on running for president, the two sources said, characterizing his public posturing on the narrative that he could be elected speaker as Trump relishing the attention. All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan on Wednesday during a break from his civil fraud trial.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jim Jordan’s, Trump, Jordan “, Steve Scalise, Jordan, McCarthy, ”, I’m, ” Trump, Fox, Kevin McCarthy’s, Troy Nehls, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Lawler, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Lawler, “ Organizations: CNN, Ohio, Capitol, Republicans, GOP, Fox News Digital, Trump, Republican Party, Republican Locations: Manhattan, Texas, Georgia, New York

☆ Analysis: Trump's trial calendar vs. the US political calendar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

On Monday, a federal judge in Washington, DC, set March 4, 2024, as the start date for the first of his two federal criminal trials. Track developments in Trump’s criminal cases. There will also be a busy court schedule between now and the trial date start as the prosecution and defense offer and respond to pretrial motions, witnesses and other issues. Chutkan said during the proceeding Monday she contacted the judge overseeing Trump’s criminal trial in New York, related to hush-money payments in 2016, which is set to begin March 25. He told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Monday that there should be time to complete the federal election interference case before voters choose the next president.

Persons: CNN — Donald Trump’s, Read, Tanya Chutkan, Barack Obama, Trump’s, Chutkan, Trump, Fani Willis, Willis, Mark Meadows, Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Andrew McCabe, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, “, ” McCabe, Ethan Cohen, Cohen, Jean Carroll, –, Letitia James Organizations: CNN, Republican, GOP, White House, Republicans, FBI, South, Primaries, Trump, New York Locations: Washington ,, Texas, California, New York, Florida, Fulton County, Georgia, Milwaukee, Iowa, Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho, North Dakota, Alabama , Alaska , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Maine , Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee , Texas, Utah, Vermont , Virginia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Washington, Arizona , Florida , Illinois , Kansas , Ohio, Louisiana, Delaware, Rhode Island , Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland , Nebraska, West Virginia, Kentucky , Oregon, Montana , New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota

☆ Why a stalled Ukrainian offensive could represent a huge political problem for Zelensky in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

And even if Trump is not the GOP nominee in 2024, ebbing public support for the war could hurt Biden. Therefore, for political, as well as strategic reasons, there is huge pressure on Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive this summer to produce significant battlefield breakthroughs. Any suggestion that Ukraine’s offensive has been bogged down will deepen that skepticism over a prolonged US commitment. Soon after the Russian invasion in February 2022, 62% said the US should do more to support Ukraine. The political dynamics in the House represent a rather precarious foundation for Ukraine’s vital US support, underscoring why a stalled offensive could represent a political disaster for Zelensky in the United States as well as a strategic loss for Ukraine at home.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Putin, Trump, Biden, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, bleakly, Ukraine’s, Zelensky, ” Zelensky, ” It’s, Mark Hertling, ” Hertling, darkens, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Kevin McCarthy, John Kirby, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, He’s, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence –, there’s Organizations: CNN, GOP, Senior, Ukraine, Army, Republican, Democratic, Trump Republicans, National Security, New, New Jersey Gov, South Carolina Gov Locations: US, Ukraine, Moscow, United States, NATO, Russia, Kyiv, Washington, Boston, Saudi Arabia, Crimea, George H.W ., Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey

CNN —The Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media will be back in court Wednesday for a hearing on whether he will be kept in jail. Prosecutors are expected to argue to a judge that Teixeira should stay behind bars during the course of his legal case. According to charging documents, Teixeira began posting classified information to the Discord chatroom in December 2022, and he began uploading photos of the classified documents in January 2023. The fact that the documents sat online for months before being discovered has revived questions about how classified information is handled across the government. The Pentagon has limited access to classified materials in the wake of the leak, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has directed a 45-day review of classified intelligence handling across the Defense Department.

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