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☆ Trump’s former ‘thug’ Michael Cohen set for trial-defining testimony in hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Cohen’s testimony is set to be the critical moment of the hush money trial that could make Trump the first ex-president to be convicted of a crime. He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump go to prison. He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump’s family go to prison. He has talked extensively about President Trump getting convicted in this case,” Blanche said. While the hush money trial harks back to the 2016 election, its end game could play a significant role in the destiny of the White House eight years later.

Persons: CNN — Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s “, Trump, Stormy Daniels, —, Cohen, Daniels, ” Cohen, “, Matthew Colangelo, “ Cohen, ”, ” Colangelo, Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Todd Blanche, Trump’s, ” Blanche, John Dean, Roy Cohn, He’s, Judge Juan Merchan, Fani Willis, Joe Biden, he’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, Republican, Trump Organization, House, Nixon White, “ CNN, Mr, Fulton, White House, GOP Locations: Russia, New York, Florida, Fulton County

☆ The biggest bombshells from Michael Cohen's testimony were all in Trump's own words
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But in his under-oath testimony for Trump's criminal trial Monday, Cohen placed Trump firmly in the room where it happened. AdvertisementIn 2015, Trump told Cohen he would run for president. When Cohen told Trump about it, his response was, "She's really beautiful," Cohen said. According to Cohen, Trump's goal was to postpone the payment until after the November 2016 election, at which point he didn't think it would matter. "I used quite a few expletives," complaining to Weisselberg, Cohen told jurors.

Persons: —, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump's, Cohen, Trump, Trump's, Daniels, Karen McDougal, Donald Trump, Jon Kopaloff, Curtis Means, Steve Granitz, " Cohen, David Pecker, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz's, Lee Harvey Oswald, Marco Rubio, Pecker, Melania Trump, — Cohen, TheDirty.com, Keith Davidson, Allen Weisselberg, Brendan McDermid, didn't, Weisselberg, Cohen he'd, Allen, Michael, stiffed, Susan Hoffinger Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, AMI, Republican, Washington Post, Manhattan Criminal Court, Reuters, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Trump, Mar, Florida

Cohen’s testimony ties together the prosecution’s allegations that Trump broke the law by falsifying business records to reimburse Cohen and conceal the hush money payment that Cohen said he made at Trump’s direction. Cohen described his conversations with Trump during the Daniels hush money negotiations, which prosecutors backed up using Cohen’s phone records to show when the two had spoken. Trump,” Cohen said. “Reimbursement of my money,” Cohen said. They joined Trump for the high-profile Cohen testimony, sitting in the gallery behind the former president at the defendant’s table.

Persons: CNN — Michael Cohen, Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Cohen, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, Todd Blanche, perjurer, David Pecker, Keith Davidson, Karen McDougal, Pecker, Davidson, Dylan Howard, Hope Hicks, “, ” Cohen, ”, Hoffinger, ” Hoffinger, “ Mr, Michael Cohen's, Melania, CNN “, Trump’s, reimbursements Cohen, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, “ David Dennison ”, Peggy Peterson ”, would’ve, ” –, McDougal, glanced, Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout, Cohen’s, wasn’t, Juan Merchan’s, Eric Trump, Susie Wiles, Sen, Rick Scott, J.D, Vance of Ohio, Tommy Tuberville, Nicole Malliotakis, Alina Habba Organizations: CNN, Trump, National Enquirer, Melania Trump, New York, Republican Locations: Yom Kippur, –, Trump, Cohen’s, Republic, Manhattan, Florida, Alabama, Staten, Iowa

☆ A wargame simulated a 2nd Trump presidency. It concluded NATO would collapse.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

If Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House in November, NATO may fall apart, a recent wargame found. "What Donald Trump can do is just really hollow out what NATO does," Grimble told Business Insider. The UK has traditionally backed a transatlantic, America-Europe alliance rather than a purely European defense bloc. Yet in the game, it could neither persuade Trump to ease his demands, nor the European NATO members to spend more on defense. "Many NATO members — except for France mainly — thought post-Trump it could be salvageable," Grimble said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Finley Grimble, Grimble, John Bolton, —, SACEUR, Jens Stoltenberg, NICHOLAS KAMM, hadn't, I'm, Florian Gaertner, Russia doesn't, God's, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, House, NATO, EU, US, Business, US National Security, Allied, Europe, Washington, Nato, Getty, European Union, Joint Expeditionary Force, Northern, —, European NATO, Trump, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Europe, Russia, NATO, Ukraine, China, American, United States, Finland, Romania, Poland, Baltic, France, Germany, French, America, Italy, Estonia, British, Turkey, Baltic States, Ukraine stalemated, Moscow, Russian, Kyiv . Europe, Beijing, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, European, Forbes

☆ Opinion: Michael Cohen has lied. Here’s why the Trump jury can believe him
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Pecker explained that for the scheme to further benefit Trump’s campaign, he later set in motion the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump claimed Cohen made the payment on his own and not at Trump’s direction, but Hicks did not believe him. He testified that he was under the belief that Cohen needed Trump’s approval to wire any funds and that Trump was the source. Former Trump Organization accountant Deborah Tarasoff also told the jury that Trump was directly involved in reimbursing Cohen. She spoke at length about how Trump continued to focus on personal and Trump Organization business minutiae while in the White House.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Donald Trump, CNN — Michael Cohen, Trump, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Norm Eisen, Daniels, David Pecker, Pecker, Hope Hicks, ” Hicks, Hicks, Allen Weisselberg, ” Trump, Weisselberg, Keith Davidson, Davidson, Deborah Tarasoff, reimbursing Cohen, Tarasoff, Donald J, Eric Trump, Reimbursing Cohen Cohen, Trump’s, Jeffrey McConney, I’ve, ” McConney, Madeleine Westerhout, Westerhout, Sally Franklin, ” Organizations: CNN, Trump, American Media, National Enquirer, Trump Organization, Trump Revocable Trust, White House, White, Twitter, Facebook, Random, “ Trump, The Trump Organization Locations: Trump’s Manhattan, Manhattan, Trump, “

☆ Trump's 'multi-tasking' defense is falling apart in court
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementThis is one of the arguments Donald Trump's lawyers have advanced in his defense for his hush-money trial: Trump didn't do anything wrong. Cohen met with Allen Weisselberg, the now-former Trump Organization CFO, in January of 2017 to hash out how he'd get reimbursed by Trump and the Trump Organization, according to records shown at trial. Occasionally, he'd write "VOID" on one he didn't want to be paid, according to Trump Organization employee Deborah Tarassoff. If Trump had a question about a check, he'd talk with a Trump Organization employee about it, Westerhout testified. Advertisement"Am I correct that when he would sign checks, he was often multitasking?"

Persons: —, Donald, Trump, Michael Cohen, reimbursing Michael Cohen —, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Cohen, Hope Hicks, Hicks, Susan Necheles, Madeleine Westerhout, Necheles, Westerhout, he's, — Trump, Allen Weisselberg, he'd, Weisselberg, Jeffrey McConney, Trump's, Keith Schiller, Deborah Tarassoff, Tarassoff, Rhona Graff, Donald Trump, Westerhout didn't, Rebecca Manochio, Manochio, Graff, what's Organizations: Service, Business, FBI, The Manhattan, Attorney's, Trump Organization, Wall Street, Trump, Washington Post, FedEx, White, Manhattan, New York Locations: United States, New York, North Korea, Russia, Manhattan, Washington, DC, New York City, Westchester

“It was Michael Cohen,” Davidson responded. Cohen is the only witness who will testify about Trump’s alleged involvement in both the decision to pay Daniels and the plan to reimburse Cohen for advancing the money. Prosecutors allege that during the February meeting, Trump and Cohen agreed how Cohen would be paid back. Arguably the most negative assessment of Cohen came from Davidson, who negotiated the hush money deal with Cohen on Daniels’ behalf in 2016. “There were times where Mr. Cohen did things that you felt were not helpful to what you were trying to accomplish, right?” Bove asked Trump’s 2016 campaign press secretary.

Persons: Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, David Pecker, Hope Hicks, “, Daniels, Keith Davidson, Daniels ’, Gina Rodriguez –, “ Gina, Keith, ’ ” Davidson, ”, Joshua Steinglass, ” Davidson, Trump, Trump’s, Pecker, ” Steinglass, Todd Blanche, Elie Honig, Cohen’s, antagonizing Trump, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Cohen ’, Emil Bove, ” Pecker, Bove, Gary Farro, ” Farro, Davidson, ” Cohen, Christ, I’m, I’ve, ’ ”, Jeff McConney, ” McConney, Matthew Colangelo, Hicks, –, ” Bove, ” Hicks Organizations: CNN, Trump, National Enquirer, American Media Inc, Prosecutors, Office, Daniels, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Trump’s New York, Moscow, thedirty.com, Washington

☆ ‘Time, Patience, Cold Blood’: Mexico Prepares for a Potential Trump Win
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Natalie Kitroeff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

They’re studying his interviews, bracing for mass deportations and preparing policy proposals to bring to the negotiating table. As Mexico heads toward its presidential election next month, government officials and campaign aides are also girding for a different vote: one in the United States that could return Donald Trump to the presidency. The last time Mr. Trump took office, his win surprised many of America’s allies, and his threat-filled diplomacy forced them to adapt on the go. Now, they have time to anticipate how Mr. Trump’s victory would transform relations that President Biden has tried to normalize — and they’re furiously preparing for an upheaval. For some, the memory of negotiating with Mr. Trump the last time he was in office, when he used extreme threats against Mexico, looms large.

Persons: They’re, Donald Trump, Trump, Trump’s, Biden, they’re Organizations: Mr Locations: Mexico, United States

☆ For US renters, the chance of owning a home is going from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —The American dream of homeownership is looking more like a nightmare. With inflation heating up again, the Federal Reserve is in no position to consider lowering interest rates at its upcoming meetings. That’s according to a New York Fed survey gauging consumers’ expectations of the housing market, released Monday. Consumers are gearing up for even bigger increases compared to the expected rise in mortgage rates over the next year, the New York Fed survey found. The issue of rent affordability is particularly pronounced in New York City, where housing costs have always been notoriously high compared to other parts of the country, absent a brief respite during the pandemic.

Persons: That’s, Kenny Lee, Aditya Bhave, Neel Kashkari, Bhave, ” Bhave, “, Perdue “, ”, Read, TikTok, Joe Biden, Brian Fung, Bytedance Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, New, Fed, Zillow, Bank of America, CNN, Minneapolis, Bloomberg, United States Department of Labor, Seaboard Triumph Foods, Perdue, Labor Department, Seaboard, Labor, Packers Sanitation Services, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit Locations: New York, New York City, Fayette, DOL, Sioux City , Iowa, Accomac , Virginia, China

☆ TikTok sues to block prospective US app ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

If it loses, TikTok could be banned from US app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app to a non-Chinese entity by mid-January 2025. But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, an advocate for the TikTok legislation, said in remarks on the Senate floor in April that the briefings provided critical insight into the risk TikTok poses. US policymakers have described the law at issue as a forced divestiture of TikTok, not an outright app ban. Some US officials have been trying to ban TikTok from the United States since 2020, when former President Donald Trump moved to block the app by executive order. (Trump has since reversed his position, saying a TikTok ban would only help Meta, a company Trump blames for his 2020 election defeat.)

Persons: Washington CNN — TikTok, Joe Biden, TikTok, Bytedance, “, didn’t, Virginia Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, Warner, they’ve, They’ve, ”, Tuesday’s, ByteDance, TikTok’s, Berman, Evelyn Douek, Biden, Gautam Hans, Hans said, Jennifer Huddleston, Donald Trump, Trump, Douek, ” Douek Organizations: Washington CNN, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Justice Department, Oracle, Foreign Investment, Republican, Democrat, Virginia Democratic, Senate, Stanford University, Cornell University . Still, Apple, Google, Cato Institute, European Commission, Trump Locations: China, United States, TikTok, Israel, Ukraine, Montana, Canada, United Kingdom, India

☆ Judge threatens Trump with jail for court violations: 'I have a job to do'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A judge on Monday delivered a dire warning to Donald Trump: Stop violating the court's orders, or you will be thrown in jail. "I do not want to propose a jail sanction," Merchan said, but "that I will, if necessary." But he said he would not hastily take the drastic step of throwing Trump in jail for his continued contempt. Prosecutors then called to the witness stand Jeff McConney, the former longtime controller of the Trump Organization. McConney, who worked under the company's former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, previously gave emotional testimony in a New York civil business fraud trial against Trump.

Persons: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Trump, Jeff McConney, McConney, Allen Weisselberg Organizations: Trump, Prosecutors, Trump Organization, White Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, United States, New York

☆ Opinion: The latest example of Trump’s seeming obsession with Nazism
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Opinion Dean Obeidallah | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Dean Obeidallah CNNIt’s not the first time Trump has kicked off an event by playing this song that celebrates the January 6, 2021, attackers. But that wasn’t even the most offensive thing Trump did at Saturday’s private luncheon for donors, which was held at his Mar-a-Lago club. It was Trump, after all, who has said that he would be a dictator on “day one” of his administration. And the fact is, there is one major party presidential candidate who repeatedly has invoked Nazi language — and it’s not Biden. In December, Trump caused a firestorm when he parroted language used by Hitler by describing migrants as “poisoning the blood” of the United States.

Persons: Dean Obeidallah, Donald Trump, ”, Dean Obeidallah CNN It’s, Trump, —, Joe Biden, indignantly, Prosecutors, Stormy Daniels, Adolf Hitler, it’s, Biden, Hitler, Mein, Trump hasn’t, “, ’ ” Trump, Hermann Göring, Lara Trump Organizations: CNN, Republican National, Trump, Dean Obeidallah CNN, Nazi, Republican National Committee, Gestapo, Republican, Beer, Twitter, Facebook, GOP, RNC Locations: Europe, New York, United States, Iowa, Bavaria, Germany

☆ Trump hush-money porn star trial: Here's what's happened so far
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Former US President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 2, 2024. The historic hush-money trial, which still has another three to five weeks to go, marks the first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. president. Fined $9,000 for contempt of courtFormer US President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Friday, May 3, 2024. Prosecutors dig inRepublican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump shouts during a campaign event in Freeland, Michigan, U.S. May 1, 2024. Pecker, who said that he purchased the story in order to bury it, said that Trump never reimbursed the company.

Persons: Donald Trump, Doug Mills, He's, he's, Juan Merchan, Trump, Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Joe Biden, —, doesn't, Trump's protestation, Chris Conroy, Brendan Mcdermid, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, David Pecker, Pecker, Donald Trump's, Timothy A, Clary, Cohen, Karen McDougal, Rhona Graff, McDougal, Gary Farro, Keith Davidson, Davidson, Hope Hicks, Alex Wong Organizations: Manhattan Criminal, Afp, Getty, Manhattan Supreme, Reuters, Attorney, Trump, Truth Social, Republican, National Enquirer, American Media, White House, Capitol Locations: New York City, Manhattan, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Waukesha , Wisconsin, Freeland , Michigan, U.S, Republic, Washington , DC

Much of Hicks’ testimony focused on her role on the Trump campaign in October 2016, just before Election Day. When cross-examining Hicks, Trump attorney Emil Bove elicited testimony that Trump was also concerned about what his wife would think. Video Ad Feedback Trump closed his eyes during Hope Hicks' testimony. There was a lot at play.”Hicks forwarded the email that included a transcript of the audio to several Trump campaign staffers including Kellyanne Conway. With Hicks’ testimony, prosecutors nudged closer to the repayment and the alleged charges.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Hope Hicks, Hicks, Daniels, Michael Cohen, “, ”, Trump, Matthew Colangelo, ” Hicks, Karen McDougal’s, Emil Bove, Kellyanne Conway, chuckling, Steve Bannon, Conway, Jared Kushner, Jason Miller, McDougal, Cohen, nudged, –, Honig, CNN Hicks, Colangelo, Michael, ‘ Mr, ’ Michael Cohen Trump’s, Douglas Daus, Trump’s, Daus, DANY, Cohen ”, ” Daus, Prosecutors, Chris Conroy, Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Daniel Dale, He’s, ” Merchan, ” Trump, Merchan Organizations: CNN, White House, Trump, Manhattan, Attorney’s Office, Trump White House, Trump Organization, Prosecutors, Wall Street, American Media, Inc, Wall, Washington Post, ” Prosecutors, House, New York Times, Trump “, Manhattan DA Locations: Washington, Manhattan, New York, Michigan

☆ Trump gives his strongman’s ambitions free rein on a day off from court
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Donald Trump used his day off from a criminal trial related to a past election to cast a dark, familiar shadow over the next one. Trump cut an unrecognizable figure from the grim ex-president who bleats a daily dirge of complaints about his hush money trial outside Judge Juan Merchan’s court. On specific issues, surveys show Trump leading Biden on most issues including the economy, immigration, and the Israel-Hamas war. “A chilling glimpse into Trump’s second term plansSix months before the election, Trump’s searing campaign rhetoric is becoming less an exercise in performative demagoguery than a blueprint for a potential second term. In the Time interview, Trump comes across as confident and determined to learn the lessons of his first term in which he claims he was let down by “bad” officials.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, ”, Trump, bleats, Juan Merchan’s, ” Trump, he’s, Merchan, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Kamala Harris, Roe, Wade, David Axelrod, Barack Obama, Axelrod, CNN’s Erin Burnett, “, Trump’s, doesn’t, he’d, It’s, Eric Cortellessa, ” He’s, quagmire, it’s Organizations: CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Capitol, shudder, White, Democratic Party, “, Columbia University, Trump, National Guard, Guard, Republican, ’, ” Locations: Wisconsin, Michigan, Manhattan, America, crackdowns, “, “ New York, North Carolina, Israel, Florida, Freeland , Michigan, Washington, China

It was the most times she had mentioned Trump at an event so far this year, according to a Biden campaign official. She also mentioned how abortion bans like the one going into effect in Florida on Wednesday threaten medical providers with criminal prosecution. “Donald Trump stripped away the rights and freedoms of women in America,” Biden said in Tampa. In remarks last month from Tucson, Arizona, she issued a blistering rebuke of the state’s Civil War-era ban while warning a second Trump term could see a possible federal abortion ban. “Part of a full-on attack, state by state, on reproductive freedom – and we all must understand who is to blame.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, ratchets, Donald Trump, Harris, needled Trump, Trump, ” Harris, ”, Roe, Wade, Trump’s, ” Trump, “, Joe Biden, Fentrice Driskell, ” “, don’t, ” Driskell, it’s, Tampa –, “ Donald Trump, ” Biden, Jimmy Carter, …, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Nikki Fried, ” Fried Organizations: Florida CNN —, Biden White House, Biden, CNN, Tampa, Republicans, Democratic, Duval County, Jacksonville, Trump, Democrats, Democratic Party, Mar, Florida Democratic Locations: Jacksonville, Florida, America, Tampa, Duval, Duval County, Trump, Tucson , Arizona, Arizona, New York, North Carolina , Pennsylvania, Los Angeles , Nevada , Wisconsin, Georgia, Gainesville , Miami, Orlando, Lago, Palm Beach

Mr. Pecker was also asked whether he believed Mr. Trump was concerned that his wife or family would find out about the affairs. director, and Reince Priebus, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mr. Pecker reassured Mr. Trump that everything was fine. Mr. Trump then told the group that Mr. Pecker probably “knows more than anyone else in this room.”“It was a joke,” Mr. Pecker testified, adding, “They didn’t laugh.”Pecker did a lot for Trump, who could be hard to please. Mr. Pecker variously described Mr. Trump as becoming “very angry” and “very aggravated.”Still, Mr. Pecker said he felt no ill will. Mr. Pecker described a 2002 meeting in which Mr. Schwarzenegger asked Mr. Pecker not to run negative stories about him before his run for governor of California.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump, David Pecker, Pecker, Karen McDougal, Daniels, McDougal, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen, Marion Curtis, “, Mr, McDougal —, —, ” Mr, ”, Ahmed Gaber, James Comey, Reince Priebus, ” Pecker, Emil Bove, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Schwarzenegger Organizations: National Enquirer, AMI, ., Associated, Prosecutors, Trump, White, The New York Times, Republican National Committee, Mr, Republican Locations: Trump’s, California

☆ Supreme Court might not give Trump sweeping immunity — but it's likely to give him the one victory he wants
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But a majority of Supreme Court justices appear ready to hand the former president an immediate victory. Still, the Supreme Court justices do not appear likely to dismiss the former president's claims quickly, raising the likelihood that Trump may not face trial for trying to overturn the 2020 election before November. He drew his arguments from an earlier Supreme Court case that mapped the line for presidential immunity in civil matters. The Supreme Court weighs Trump's immunity claim. It is possible that the Supreme Court could rule that a more detailed review of Trump's conduct is best left to a lower court.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, Jack Smith, Trump's, you've, Brett Kavanaugh, Sauer, Kavanaugh, Tanya Chutkan, Smith, Joe Biden, it's, John Sauer, Jabin, Samuel Alito, Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, John Roberts, Jackon, Justice Alito, Roe, Wade, Anthony Kennedy's, Hodges, Neil Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Trump, Washington, Getty Locations: DC, Dobbs v, Obergefell

☆ Opinion | Trump’s Act Was Getting Stale. Being a Courtroom Victim Is Just What He Needed.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stuart Stevens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The trial will afford Mr. Trump the opportunity to define the essence of his candidacy: I am a victim. The very competent operatives running the Trump campaign didn’t draw this up as their ideal campaign plan, but they will appreciate its potential. The Manhattan courtroom will be the setting for Mr. Trump to play the role of a familiar American archetype: the wronged man seeking justice from corrupt, powerful forces. But here’s the most important element of scheduling: putting a candidate in a setting that gives them a chance to excel. Mr. Trump loves big rallies.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, George W, Bush’s, Bush Organizations: Republican, Trump, Cable Locations: New York City, Manhattan, Texas

☆ Trump can’t be in two places at once in double courtroom drama
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But Donald Trump’s return to his hush money trial Thursday does not even represent the most critical courtroom drama of his day. The ex-president’s attention is certain to stray from what he has repeatedly complained is a “freezing” court in New York to the neoclassical splendor of the US Supreme Court. Trump blames Judge Juan Merchan for dashing his hopes of being at the Supreme Court Thursday. Trump’s Supreme Court gambit is also part of his wider campaign strategy. CNN reporters in the courtroom said Trump was deeply engaged at times during Pecker’s earlier testimony.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, —, David Pecker, Juan Merchan, ”, Joe Biden, he’s, Boris Epshteyn, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani, Merchan, quagmire, Michael Cohen, Cohen, “ Michael Cohen, ” Trump, WPVI, David Pecker –, Pecker, Karen McDougal – Organizations: CNN, US, Republican, Law, The New, Fox News Digital, Trump, Trump voters, Trump’s, White House, Prosecutors, American Media, National Enquirer, Pecker’s AMI Locations: New York, Washington, Manhattan, The New York, Arizona, Michigan, WPVI Philadelphia

☆ Opinion: Both sides brought their A-game for opening of Trump’s trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Opening statements, followed by a few minutes of testimony from the first witness, concluded Monday in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump. Norm Eisen Courtesy Norm EisenMy takeaway: The prosecution has the upper hand based on the evidence and the law, and Trump knows it. As expected, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo hammered home his theory of the case: that it is all about election interference and its cover-up. Colangelo made the complex simple, going through the chronology of evidence that prosecutors will present to prove the election interference. ACT THREE: A payment to another person with a damaging story — Karen McDougal, who alleged she had an affair with Trump.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Donald Trump, Norm Eisen, Trump, Matthew Colangelo, ”, Colangelo, David Pecker, Pecker, Michael Cohen, Dino Sajudin, Karen McDougal, Hope Hicks, Trump’s, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, Daniels, Todd Blanche, Blanche, ” Blanche, Juan Merchan, –, “ Trump, couldn’t, Hicks Organizations: CNN, ACT ONE, Trump, American Media, National Enquirer, ACT FOUR, White House, ACT FIVE, Trump Organization, ” Locations: Trump

CNN —The first criminal trial of Donald Trump is officially underway. Prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys delivered opening statements and the first witness – a former National Enquirer publisher – was called Monday in the historic and unprecedented criminal trial of a former president. “The defendant Donald Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election,” said prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors. At the hearing, Trump’s attorneys came to an agreement with the New York attorney general’s office on the terms of that $175 million bond. Trump’s attorneys representing him in the civil matter later stopped by the criminal trial and spoke to cameras in the hallway outside the courtroom where Trump sat at the defense table.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Stormy Daniels, Trump, ” Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, ”, Matthew Colangelo, “, ” Colangelo, Cohen, David Pecker, Colangelo, it’s, Todd Blanche, “ Donald Trump, ” Blanche, he’s, Blanche didn’t, It’s, Blanche, Cohen’s, Trump ”, Trump’s, Michael Cohen, President Trump, He’s, Pecker, Karen McDougal –, Letitia James, James ’, ” Alina Habba, Merchan, Chris Conroy, Emil Bove Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, National Enquirer, Trump, American Media Inc, Defense, AMI, Pecker’s AMI, New, Specialty Insurance Locations: New York

☆ Opening statements to show the stark personal and political stakes of Trump’s first criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But on Monday, his diminished reality as a criminal defendant will become clear in humbling fashion during opening statements in his first criminal trial. The process, known as a Sandoval hearing, offered the ex-president a glimpse of personal and unflattering revelations that the trial could dredge up. The political case against the prosecutions was laid out by South Dakota Gov. But Noem rehearsed a political argument that Trump and his associates will be seeking to land as the trial goes ahead. But the deeply consequential political and personal stakes for the former president will become even clearer when the first trial begins for real on Monday.

Persons: Donald Trump, he’s, Trump, Joe Biden, –, victimhood, He’s, “, ” Trump, president’s, haggled, Sandoval, Stacey Schneider, Jean Carroll, ” Schneider, it’s, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Pecker, Joshua Steinglass, ”, Juan Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Biden, There’s, Kristi Noem, ” Noem, CNN’s Dana, Noem, Cohen Organizations: CNN, White, Republican, Trump, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, Prosecutors, Manhattan, Attorney, Democratic, Mar, South Dakota Gov, New York Times Locations: Manhattan, North Carolina, New York, United States, “ State, Siena, Dakota

☆ India kicks off the world's largest elections this week. Here’s what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | In Charmainemariajacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A worker fixes a flag of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on a hoarding of their leader and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 15, 2024. The 2024 general elections will pan out in seven phases over the next six weeks, starting April 19. India's meteoric riseUnder Modi's rule, India's economy has scaled to new heights. It is now the world's fifth-largest economy with a GDP of $3.7 trillion and has set its sight on becoming the world's third largest economy by 2027. Home to 1.4 billion people, the world's most populous country is the fastest growing economy in the world.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Idrees Mohammed, Hong Kong's, Modi, Suyash Rai, Joe Biden, Chietigj Bajpaee, Biden, Bajpaee, Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Amitendu Palit, Modi's, R.satish Babu Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, India's, Afp, Getty, Voters, Monetary Fund, Carnegie India, CNBC, White, Bloomberg, India, South Asia, Chatham House, BJP, National Democratic Alliance, Indian, Developmental Inclusive, Indian National Congress, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, NDA, Centre, of Foreign Relations, Reuters Locations: Lok Sabha, Lok, Hong, Washington, U.S, India, China, Raipur, Coimbatore

☆ A beheading meme and 'Mark Ruffalo, naked' — how 'anti-Trump' posts got 5 New Yorkers booted from the hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

She was the first of the prospective jurors who were challenged by Trump's defense team on Tuesday over their "anti-Trump" social media. AdvertisementThe prospective juror, identified only as "B-133," had clearly "attended an "anti-Trump rally," defense lawyer Susan Necheles protested. When it was released in 2016, the clip was shared on the Facebook account of the husband of prospective juror B-330. "I would have to say that politically, yes, I do," the prospective juror answered. "Boys request to return to cave"The final prospective juror questioned on their social media posts was a retired grandmother from Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Persons: —, Trump, Mark Ruffalo, Donald Trump's, Juan Merchan deadpanned, Todd Blanche, who'd, Joe Biden's, Susan Necheles, Joshua Steinglass, stammered, Blanche, he'd, DJT, Donald Trump, Robert Downey Jr, Neil Patrick Harris, Donald Trump …, sheepishly, Barack Obama, Trump's, Steinglass, Biden, Harris, Blanche complainingly, Blanche huffed Organizations: Service, Trump, Business, Yorkers, Facebook, Economic Development Corporation, Biden, Thai, White, Republicans Locations: New York City, Midtown, Manhattan's, Thailand, Trump

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