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‘He’s more delusional than I thought’: Libertarians jeer Trump during convention speech
If Donald Trump came to the Libertarian National Convention to make peace on Saturday, it could hardly have gone worse.
Within minutes of beginning speaking — and after enduring sustained jeering and boos — the former president turned on the third party, mocking its poor electoral record in presidential elections even as he appealed to them for their endorsement.
“What’s the purpose of the Libertarian Party of getting 3 percent?” Trump asked the crowd, which proceeded to pelt him with jeers. “You should nominate Trump for president only if you want to win.”
Trump Wishes Happy Memorial Day to ‘Human Scum’ Trying ‘So Hard to Destroy Our Once Great Country’
Former President Donald Trump shared a unique message designed specifically for what he called “the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country” — Happy Memorial Day!
On the eve of closing arguments in his hush money – election interference trial,Trump returned to his nearly constant state of aggrievement that he is a victim of a political “witch hunt.” and even referenced how he was found civilly liable for sexual assault against E Jean Carroll.
Trump too to social media Memorial Day morning and immediately lashed into the “Radical Left, Trump Hating Federal Judge” who presided over his cases.
Facing Global Outrage, Netanyahu Calls Civilian Deaths in Rafah Strike ‘Tragic Accident’
With international condemnation mounting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Monday that the killing of dozens of people a day earlier at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah was “a tragic accident,” but gave no sign of curbing the Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city.
The deadly fire that tore through the encampment on Sunday after an airstrike came at a particularly delicate time for Israel, just days after the International Court of Justice appeared to order the country’s military to halt its offensive in Rafah and as diplomats were aiming to restart negotiations for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Trump braces for final act of his historic criminal trial
Donald Trump’s first criminal trial has arrived at its dramatic final act with lawyers for both sides primed on Tuesday to hammer home their cases before jurors consider a verdict that could make history.
The summations mark the climax of a trial that started more than a month ago. They are expected to last all day Tuesday and could stretch into the following day. After Judge Juan Merchan instructs jurors on the law, Trump and the rest of the country will be held in suspense to see whether he will become the first ex-president and presumptive GOP nominee to be convicted of a crime after allegedly falsifying financial records to hide a hush money payment to an adult film star in 2016.
Charlie Pierce: SCOTUS’s South Carolina Gerrymandering Decision Is More Proof They Don’t Make Justices Like They Used to
In the middle of his senior year at Harvard, a handsome fellow walked off campus and signed up for an infantry unit of the Massachusetts militia. By July 1861, with the help of his illustrious father, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry. He subsequently served through the Peninsula Campaign, and at Ball’s Bluff, and at Antietam, and at Chancellorsville, and in the Wilderness. He nearly died from dysentery and was wounded three times, the ultimate parlay of peril for a soldier in the Civil War. By the time he was ready to return from his third convalescence, there was no 20th Massachusetts to which he could return. It had been destroyed by nearly endless combat.
Decades in the Making, a New Era Dawns for the N.C.A.A.: Paying Athletes Directly
Since its founding, the N.C.A.A. has operated with a business model that defined the college athlete as an amateur. Over the years, as college sports evolved into a mega-enterprise, lawsuits and labor actions chipped away at that model, which came to be increasingly seen as exploitative in big-money sports like football and men’s basketball.
But the N.C.A.A.’s $2.8 billion settlement on Thursday night in a class-action antitrust lawsuit represents the heaviest blow — and perhaps a decisive one — to that system.
Trump Wildly Claims That Putin Will Release Jailed WSJ Reporter as Favor ‘For Me, But Not for Anyone Else’
Former President Donald Trump suggested in an early morning social media post on Thursday that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would release imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as a personal favor to him.
“Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office,” declared Trump on Truth Social at 1:30am. “He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”
Trump Blames ‘Rigged’ Election for Oct 7. Terror Attacks: ‘Would’ve Never Happened!’
Former President Donald Trump claimed that had the 2020 election not been rigged against him, the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel would not have taken place.
The 2020 election was not rigged and Trump’s claim about the Oct. 7 attacks not happening under his watch is patently unfalsifiable.
Speaking at a rally in the Bronx on Thursday, Trump asserted that many of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas “are dead.”
Sen. Rick Scott enters race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP Senate leader
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced Wednesday that he is jumping into the race to succeed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnellafter he leaves the post later this year.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Scott’s plans, which he later shared publicly in a post on X.
He said in a letter to colleagues obtained by NBC News that his bid to become Republican leader stemmed from a belief that “now is a moment we need dramatic change.”
Former Republican Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley Says She Will Vote For Donald Trump
Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, a notable show of support given their intense and often personal rivalry during the Republican primary calendar.
But Haley also made it clear that she feels Trump has work to do to win over voters who supported her during the course of the primary campaign and continue to cast votes for her in ongoing primary contests.
“I will be voting for Trump,” Haley, Trump’s former U.N. ambassador, said during an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington.
Another Far-Right Flag Was Flown Outside Alito’s Beach House: Report
A second flag carried by rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol was displayed outside a home owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to a shocking report in The New York Times.
The newspaper published photos from neighbors and from Google Street View that show an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying outside the justice’s beach house in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
The flag, featuring a green pine tree on a white background, dates to the Revolutionary War, but is now linked with Christian nationalists and those who support former President Donald Trump.
Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty as Trump allies are arraigned in Arizona 2020 election case
Allies of former President Donald Trump were arraigned Tuesday in Phoenix on charges that include conspiracy, fraud and forgery that are related to an alleged scheme to put forward phony electors in the 2020 election who backed Trump despite President Biden winning the state.
Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty to nine federal charges in the case in a virtual appearance. The former New York City mayor and Trump attorney was served Friday night while leaving his 80th birthday party.
Other defendants include former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Jenna Ellis and Christina Bobb, former Turning Point USA youth director Tyler Bowyer and Arizona Republican state election officials.
Biden releasing 1M barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices
The Biden administration said Tuesday it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer.
The sale, from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. The approach will create a competitive bidding process that ensures gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the July 4 holiday and sold at competitive prices, the Energy Department said.
The move, which the department said is intended to help “lower costs for American families and consumers,″ follows a mandate from Congress to sell off the 10-year-old Northeast reserve and then close it. The language was included in a spending deal Congress approved in March to avert a partial government shutdown.
Georgia, Oregon, Idaho and Kentucky primaries 2024: Willis, McAfee win
On May 21, voters in Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, Kentucky and California held key elections for Congress and nationally watched local races. Two key figures from one of Trump’s legal cases, Fani Willis and Scott McAfee, easily won their races, while conservatives won a Georgia Supreme Court election fought largely over abortion. In the House, progressives lost two key races in Oregon, while California voters picked a successor to Kevin McCarthy.
As usual, 538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Trump Chooses Not to Take the Stand, and the Defense Rests
The jury heard his voice, saw his tweets and watched footage of him campaigning for the presidency. But in the end, the 12 New Yorkers weighing the fate of Donald J. Trump did not see him testify.
On Tuesday, the defense rested its case after Mr. Trump declined to take the stand at his own criminal trial, forfeiting his only opportunity to defend himself but also avoiding what could have been a calamitous error. His decision made, his lawyers concluded the testimony phase of the trial, and next week, the jury is expected to begin the momentous task of determining whether to make the former — and perhaps future — president a felon.
Defendants rarely testify, but Mr. Trump stands apart as the only American president to ever face a criminal trial, a serial litigant who thinks of himself as his own best advocate. Mr. Trump, who is once again the presumptive Republican nominee, had said repeatedly that he wanted to testify.
‘Not Good Judgement’: GOP Senators Ding Samuel Alito Over Upside-Down Flag
Republican senators criticized Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over the flying of an upside-down American flag at his house following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.
“Emotions are apparently high in that neighborhood but no, it’s not good judgment to do that,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told HuffPost on Monday.
“I don’t know what role ― he said his wife was insulted and got mad ― I assume that be true, but he’s still a Supreme Court justice. And, you know, people have to realize that moments like that, to think it through.”
Trump posts social media video seemingly suggesting his victory will bring ‘unified Reich’
Former President Donald Trump on Monday posted a video on his social media platform that uses a language that appears to mirror that of Nazi Germany, suggesting there will be a “Unified Reich” if he wins the 2024 election.
The phrase “Unified Reich” appears as a part of hypothetical news headlines that announce Trump’s hypothetical victory in the 2024 election, with the narrator asking, “What happens after Donald Trump wins?”
Under a big headline that says, “WHAT’S NEXT FOR AMERICA?” there is a smaller headline underneath that appears to read: “INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DRIVEN BY THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED REICH.”
Biden holds big cash edge as Trump’s new-look RNC steps up fundraising
Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are stepping up their fundraising, new reports show — but President Joe Biden and the Democrats maintained a healthy cash edge at the start of this month.
The Republican National Committee raised more than $32 million in April, its first full month under Trump’s hand-picked new leadership, a 55% increase from the previous month. And combined, the Trump campaign and the national party had more than $88 million banked away by the end of last month, a significant uptick since before Trump became the party’s presumptive nominee.
But even with that uptick, the Democratic National Committee reported raising almost $35.5 million in April to the RNC’s $32 million. And most significantly, Biden’s campaign reported raising more than 2.5 times more money into its campaign account than Trump’s did: $24.1 million to $9.4 million.
Prosecutors rest their case against Donald Trump in dramatic day of testimony
Prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump on Monday after another dramatic day of testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen, while the judge presiding over the trial ripped into one of the former president’s witnesses for disrespectful behavior.
State Judge Juan Merchan briefly booted the public from the New York City courtroom after he scolded witness, defense attorney Robert Costello, outside the presence of the jury. Costello had visibly and audibly reacted to the prosecution’s objections and Merchan’s rulings.
“I’d like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. As a witness in my courtroom, if you don’t like my rulings, you don’t say, ‘Jeez,’” Merchan told Costello. “You don’t give me side eye, and you don’t roll your eyes.”
Charlie Pierce: Heads Up… The Supreme Court Loves To Wild Out This Time Of Year
It is that time of the season in which the Supreme Court issues decisions, a time in which, at least recently, it’s wise to keep a good grip on yourself and on a bottle of very good bourbon whiskey. This is the ultimate ring-and-run exercise among our institutions of government, The justices drop bombs that overturn, say, 50 years of privacy rights for women, or over 100 years of sensible gun legislation for New Yorkers.
Bruen v. New York was issued on June 23, 2022. Dobbs v. Jackson came along the next day. And then it was off to fish for salmon in Alaska, or take a lovely vacation on the cuff courtesy of the likes of Harlan Crow while the rest of us stand blinking amid the ruins of what we once assumed were permanent things.
Read the rest of Charlie Pierce’s piece at Esquire Politics…
The Rude Pundit: Other Things Martha-Ann Alito Will Do If She’s Mad at the Neighbors
Apparently, if you call Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann, a “c-word” that rhymes with “runt,” she’ll fly the American flag upside-down at the Alitos’ house in sympathy with election deniers. And Alito won’t deny that that’s what it was for; he’ll just sigh and say, in essence, “Well, the little woman was made to feel bad so she did a treason.” So I guess that she just reacts in the weirdest ways when someone says something mean or puts up a sign that upsets her. She has it all worked out:
1. If you call her a “bitch,” she’ll fly a Nazi flag at her house.
2. If you put up a Black Lives Matter sign, she’ll come to the neighborhood cookout in a Klan robe.
Iranian President Raisi is confirmed dead in helicopter crash
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash, state media reported Monday morning.
- The cause of the crash Sunday was unclear. Iranian officials said fog and bad weather in the area slowed rescuers’ response.
- Early Monday local time, state-affiliated media reported that the exact location of the helicopter had been found. State media later reported that there was no sign of life.
- Raisi was returning with a government delegation that had attended the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan. There were no survivors among the nine people on board, who also included Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Rudy Giuliani is served indictment papers at his own birthday party after mocking Arizona attorney general
Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes on Friday announced that Rudy Giuliani had been served with the notice of his indictment in connection with an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona.
The announcement came less than two hours after a social media post from Giuliani taunted Mayes for failing to deliver his indictment. The notice was served to Giuliani during a celebration in Palm Beach, Florida, for his 80th birthday.
In a now-deleted post on X, Giuliani taunted Arizona authorities. “If Arizona authorities can’t find me by tomorrow morning; 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can’t count votes,” Giuliani posted Friday night. Accompanying the message was a photo of Giuliani smiling with six others and balloons arranged behind them.
Trump accepts NRA endorsement, urges gun owners to turn out to vote
The National Rifle Association is formally supporting former President Donald Trump, an expected endorsement that came Saturday at the group’s annual convention in Dallas.
The endorsement of his presidential campaign came shortly before Trump took the stage to keynote the NRA’s annual meeting, a speech he used to paint a picture of President Joe Biden as trying to erode gun rights without citing specifics.
“We have to have a Second Amendment that is meaningful. We will have … death and destruction like we have never see before,” Trump told a packed ballroom at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center of the possibility of a Biden re-election win.
Biden delivers Morehouse commencement speech as some on campus express pro-Palestinian messages
President Joe Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday morning, his most direct engagement with college students since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and a key opportunity for him to engage with a group of voters that data suggests is softening on him: young, Black men.
In his remarks, Biden ticked through his administration’s policies that he said have aided Black Americans, including a record $16 billion in new aid for historically Black colleges and universities.
And, in a nod to the pro-Palestinian sentiment among Morehouse students and faculty, Biden reiterated his calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, more humanitarian aid in the region and support for a two-state solution that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Biden Administration Moves To Reclassify Marijuana As A Less Dangerous Drug
President Joe Biden’s administration said Thursday that the Justice Department is officially moving forward with reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
With the White House’s approval, the DOJ will now publish an official notice that opens a two-month public comment period on the proposal to recategorize marijuana from a Schedule I drug ― which includes heroin and other drugs considered to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” ― to a lower Schedule III drug, which includes substances with “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
“This is monumental,” Biden said in a video posted to social media.
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Trump trial Day 18 takeaways: Fireworks on the stand as finish line nears
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the end is near in former President Donald Trump‘s hush money trial in New York City.
With the defense having nearly wrapped its cross-examination of Michael Cohen — Trump’s former attorney and fixer and a pivotal witness for the prosecution — closing arguments look likely to begin early next week in Manhattan criminal court.
As Day 18 of Trump’s criminal proceedings wound down Thursday afternoon, state Judge Juan Merchan laid out the road ahead in the heavily scrutinized and historic trial.
First aid flows into Gaza over massive U.S. pier
Trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid have begun moving ashore into Gaza using a temporary pier built by the United States, the U.S. military said Friday, as Israeli forces pressed on with sweeping operations in the north and south of the enclave.
The aid trucks began moving into Gaza at around 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.
“No U.S. troops went ashore in Gaza,” CENTCOM said. “This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature,” it added, noting that aid was being donated by a number of countries and humanitarian organizations.
Speaker Mike Johnson defends joining Trump at his New York trial
On the car ride from Trump Tower to the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was venting to Speaker Mike Johnson about the first 16 days of his hush money trial and how it’s kept him off the campaign trail.
“He’s clearly frustrated that he’s been tied up now for the fifth week in this trial that has no merit, that prosecutors had already passed on eight years ago, that they can’t define any crime that he has supposedly committed and the entire case is based upon a known perjurer, Michael Cohen. So it’s an atrocity,” Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday in an exclusive interview in his Capitol office with NBC News.
Trump Camp Reportedly ‘Irked’ That Biden Called His Debate Bluff
Although Donald Trump eagerly accepted Joe Biden’s offer to do two presidential debates, folks from Trump’s campaign weren’t as enthusiastic.
In fact, they were downright “irked,” according to CNN journalist Kristen Holmes, who spoke with Trump insiders after Biden “took over the debate narrative” Wednesday.
Trump had been making fun of Biden at his campaign rallies, suggesting that the Democratic president was unwilling to debate him.
Biden and Trump agree to CNN debate in June, ABC faceoff in September
President Biden and former president Donald Trump agreed Wednesday to a June 27 debate on CNN and a Sept. 10 debate broadcast by ABC News, bypassing the decades-old tradition of three fall meetings organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
The decisions by the major-party candidates to take control of the once independent debate planning process upended the timeline that has defined presidential contests for decades, adding unpredictability to an already close race. The two debates will happen much earlier than normal, which could decrease their impact on the election or awaken voters who have not yet tuned in.
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5 takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries
Voters headed to the polls in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia on Tuesday to set up several key down-ballot races.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks won the Democratic nomination in Maryland’s marquee Senate race, while Republicans in West Virginia appointed candidates likely to take over one of the state’s Senate seats and governor’s mansion.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump sailed to victory in their respective primaries, while restlessness in their respective bases persisted.
Journalist Says He Saw Trump Editing Speeches For His Stooges To Give Outside Court
New York Magazine journalist Andrew Rice said on MSNBC that on Monday he saw Donald Trump editing — as proceedings were ongoing during his hush money trial — what his Republican allies would later rant about on his behalf outside the courthouse.
Trump acolytes including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) have this week attended the New York court in a show of support for the former president and presumptive GOP nominee. They’ve also taken to parroting Trump’s complaints about the criminal proceedings outside. Both Vance and Burgum are reportedly in the running to become Trump’s running mate.
‘Don’t make it about yourself’: Michael Cohen faces grilling from defense. What you missed on Day 17 of Trump’s hush money trial.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche grew annoyed and raised his voice as he tried to press Michael Cohen into calling himself a liar and Donald Trump’s former fixer tried to skirt the question — it wasn’t quite the fireworks many had expected for the Tuesday cross-examination, but it did illustrate the tense questioning.
Cohen already testified that he had lied repeatedly for Trump.
“I regret doing things for him that I should not have — lying, bullying people in order to effectuate a goal,” Cohen said. “I violated my moral compass.”
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Protesters Disrupt Israeli Memorial Day Events Over War Raging in Gaza
Israelis gathered across the country on Monday for the first national day of mourning since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, with protesters disrupting several ceremonies as they demanded that government ministers do more to secure the release of hostages.
Israel’s Memorial Day is normally one of the most somber on the country’s calendar, a date when Israelis put aside their differences to grieve fellow citizens killed in war or terrorist attacks. But the protests on Monday underscored how feelings of wartime unity have given way to deep disputes over the war in the Gaza Strip, the fate of hostages taken on Oct. 7 and domestic politics.
Nikki Haley reemerges to thank big donors, not expected to endorse Trump
Nikki Haley will meet with roughly 100 of her biggest donors who supported her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination this week, taking another step toward reemerging back into public life following her defeat at the hands of her chief rival, former President Donald Trump, sources familiar with the event confirmed to ABC News.
The retreat, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will take place on Monday and Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, not far from Haley’s home in the state’s low country.
‘The benefit of Mr. Trump’: Longtime fixer Michael Cohen testifies in hush money trial. What you missed on Day 16.
Donald Trump’s longtime fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified Monday that he was acting at Trump’s behest when he made hush money payments to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
For weeks in Manhattan criminal court in New York City, Trump’s defense attorneys have sought to puncture Cohen’s credibility with the jury, and even witnesses have painted him as hot-headed, self-interested and untrustworthy.
“I didn’t know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person,” said Hope Hicks, Trump’s former communications aide, when she was on the stand. Cohen’s former banker said he was assigned to him because of his “ability to handle individuals who are challenging.”
Charlie Pierce: You Might Hate Your Job, But at Least You Don’t Work for Rep. Nancy Mace
This is one of my rare, but firm, bipartisan positions: In no neighborhood in any American city can there be found a greater number of horrible bosses than on Capitol Hill. (There once was a Massachusetts congresscritter whose new staffers were told by the veterans in the office that, on pain of death, the boss should not be told that members of Congress can avail themselves of police escorts if they think they need to get somewhere in a hurry.) It should not be necessary at this point to mention that the congressional office buildings more than occasionally turn into Peyton Place with position papers. And then, apparently, there is Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina and thoroughgoing public nuisance. Congresswoman Mace did an interview with The Daily Mail, one of Great Britain’s finer sewage-treatment plants, in which she did everything but rave about strawberries and rattle little steel balls in her fist.
The Rude Pundit: Stormy Daniels Is the Hero America Needs
In her testimony and especially in her cross-examination, writer/director/actor Stormy Daniels became the hero that America needs right now. She was on the stand for the prosecution of Donald Trump, a rapist who is also a former president, for falsifying business records to hide the hush money he paid to Daniels for a sexual encounter in 2006. Over the course of two days, first under questioning from Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger and then under dickish cross-examination from Trump attorney Susan Necheles, Daniels put a human face on what could be a somewhat dry financial crimes case and, in a much larger sense, responded to the complete bullshit of the Trump side with cutting common sense and a two feet squarely in reality.
Like in this exchange with Necheles, where Necheles was trying to say that everything Daniels was doing was just for money:
Q: That motivates you a lot in life, making more money; right?
A: Well, it is the United [States] — that’s what we do here. (Shrugs)
Trump, Bashing Migrants, Likens Them to Hannibal Lecter, Movie Cannibal
In an extended riff at his rally on Saturday in New Jersey, former President Donald J. Trump returned to a reference that has become a staple of his stump speech, comparing migrants to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer and cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs,” as he aims to stoke anger and fear over migration in advance of the election.
“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man,” Mr. Trump said in Wildwood, N.J. “He often times would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter.”
Wait. Why are 3 of Trump’s 4 criminal trials delayed indefinitely?
Former President Donald Trump’s public defense against his four, distinct prosecutions in four, separate jurisdictions is that they are a coordinated hit job and a political persecution – evidence, he says, of a double standard of justice.
Disproving Trump’s allegation is the likelihood, which seems to be growing this week, that three of the four criminal prosecutions might not reach the courtroom before Election Day.
The other prosecution – generally seen as the weakest case against Trump – has provided salacious and embarrassing moments for the former president. But the facts of that case in New York, focused on his effort to hide an alleged affair rather than his conduct as president or his effort to overturn the 2020 election, feel like something from a different time.
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Trump’s former ‘thug’ Michael Cohen set for trial-defining testimony in hush money case
Michael Cohen once described himself as Donald Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer.”
But this week, he has a new role. He will be the star witness for prosecutors trying to prove Trump illegally falsified business records after paying off adult film actress Stormy Danielsas part of an alleged election interference scheme in 2016.
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. His appearance will mark the zenith of a bitter personal feud between two brash New Yorkers obsessed with betrayal and revenge. And it marks one of the most lurid twists yet in the presumptive Republican nominee’s legal morass that is entwined with the 2024 election.
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‘No easy way out’: Biden faces anger from all sides as he navigates Israel-Hamas war
President Joe Biden is taking heat from all sides as he faces what could be the most fraught moment in the Israel-Hamas war since fighting broke out seven months ago.
A dizzying number of recent developments, both at home and abroad, have underscored the politically perilous path Biden finds himself on as he navigates criticism from Republicans and Democrats unhappy with his approach to the conflict.
All this mixed up with his reelection campaign in which polls show voters say they trust Donald Trump to do a better job in the same tough situation.
Stormy Daniels Is Steady on the Stand: 5 Takeaways From Trump’s Trial
In a combative cross-examination Thursday, Stormy Daniels battled the former president’s lawyers as they attacked her account of a sexual encounter with Donald J. Trump in a Nevada hotel.
Susan Necheles, a lawyer defending Mr. Trump in his criminal trial, spent almost three hours delving into Ms. Daniels’s memories of that 2006 night in Lake Tahoe, as well as suggesting that Ms. Daniels’s desire to tell her story was motivated only by money. Eventually, Ms. Necheles went straight to the point.
“You made all this up, right?” she asked.
Ms. Daniels responded forcefully: “No.”
Read the rest of the story at The New York Times
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Biden says Trump won’t accept 2024 election results
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump would not accept the outcome of the 2024 election.
“He may not accept the outcome of the election? I promise you he won’t,” Biden said in an interview on CNN, adding that it was “dangerous.”
Biden was responding to a question about Trump’s remarks last week in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that. If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country,” Trump said.
Biden says U.S. won’t transfer offensive weapons if Israel invades Rafah
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. would not supply Israelwith certain weapons and artillery shells if its military invades Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million people are sheltering.
If the Israeli military launches a ground offensive in Rafah, the administration will not supply “the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities,” Biden said in an interview on CNN.
“We’re not going to supply the weapons and the artillery shells used,” Biden said.
Speaker Johnson Survives Greene’s Ouster Attempt as Democrats Join G.O.P. to Kill It
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday easily batted down an attempt by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to oust him from his post, after Democrats linked arms with most Republicans to fend off a second attempt by G.O.P. hard-liners to strip the gavel from their party leader.
The vote to kill the effort was an overwhelming 359 to 43, with seven voting “present.” Democrats flocked to Mr. Johnson’s rescue, with all but 39 of them voting with Republicans to block the effort to oust him.
Members of the minority party in the House have never propped up the other party’s speaker, and when the last Republican to hold the post, Kevin McCarthy, faced a removal vote last fall, Democrats voted en masse to allow the motion to move forward and then to jettison him, helping lead to his historic ouster.
Malcolm Nance: SWORDS OF IRON Part 3 – End Game or Bloodbath?
Months of organized college protests in America and Europe gave HAMAS’s leader, Yahyah Sinwar, a feeling of confidence that the Israeli-HAMAS war was about to end in his favor. Almost ten weeks of wrangling and begging Hamas to accept cease-fires led protesters around the world to start chanting. “Palestine is almost free.”
Having just spent five weeks in Israel, it was pretty clear to me that protesters were living a delusion. Israel remains a mighty, likely nuclear-armed regional superpower that could defeat the best of whatever was thrown at them. Even after Iran had fired almost 350 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israel (virtually none of which damaged anything except critically wounding a Muslim Bedouin girl), the mood around American campuses was that their efforts were being noticed and that a cease-fire was imminent. Perhaps this irrational exuberance was seeping into the decision-making of the terrorist group’s senior management. It would be a fatal error. I’m sure the HAMAS fighters that were being bombarded on a minute-to-minute basis all across the Gaza Strip were not so agreeable.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Florida Judge delays Donald Trump’s classified documents trial indefinitely
The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents casehas now indefinitely postponed the trial date pending resolution of outstanding pretrial litigation, including disagreements about how the classified information is used during trial.
It comes as Judge Aileen Cannon has continued to delay various deadlines in the case, making it all but certain the case doesn’t go to trial before Election Day.
“The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture — before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues remaining and forthcoming — would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court, critical CIPA issues, and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury,” Cannon wrote in the new order.
U.S. paused shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel amid Rafah rift
The disclosure marks the first known instance of a pause in U.S. arms transfers since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack into Israel that killed more than 1,200 people.
Takeaways from Stormy Daniels’ testimony at the Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels dished out salacious details of her alleged sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump in 2006 from the witness stand on Tuesday, describing how they met at a celebrity golf tournament and what she says happened when she went to Trump’s Lake Tahoe hotel room.
In a mostly casual and conversational tone, Daniels recounted details from the floors and furniture in Trump’s hotel room to the contents of his toiletry kit in the bathroom. At one point in court, Daniels threw back her arm and lifted her leg in the witness box to re-create the moment she says Trump posed on his hotel bed for her, stripped down to his undergarments.
But some of the details Daniels described were so explicit that Judge Juan Merchan cut her off at several points. And Trump’s lawyers argued that Daniels had unfairly prejudiced the jury, asking Merchan to declare a mistrial. The judge denied the request but added that some of the details from Daniels were “better left unsaid.”
M.I.T. Orders Encampment Cleared, and Columbia Cancels Main Commencement
Tensions were rising at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday after pro-Palestinian demonstrators resisted an order from the school to clear their encampment, leading to some skirmishes between the protesters and the police.
The entrenched protest movement was also causing disruptions to university commencements, with Columbia announcing the cancellation of its main ceremony. The move came after a weekend in which student activism was on display at several graduation events, alongside the usual pomp.
The weeks of demonstrations that led to police raids and arrests on several campuses — including at least 100 more at California schools on Monday morning — have spilled into the start of graduation season, with protests over the war in Gaza briefly disrupting some ceremonies over the weekend.
With truce talks with Hamas at critical stage, Israel seizes Gaza side of Rafah border crossing with Eqypt
An Israeli tank brigade took control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.
The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal didn’t meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive – but only barely – for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It’s the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt. Israel has fully controlled all access in and out of Gaza since the war began.
Marjorie Taylor Greene backs off immediate vote to oust Speaker Johnson as she seeks deal
After a nearly two-hour meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., emerged from his office and said the two will continue their discussions Tuesday morning amid her threats to force a vote to depose him.
“We’re going to be meeting again tomorrow based on the discussion that we’ve had,” Greene said, standing in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, though she did not elaborate on what she and the speaker discussed.
She would not answer any questions about whether she was backing off forcing a vote on a so-called motion to vacate the speaker’s chair.
What you missed on Day 12 of Trump’s trial: Another gag order ruling and details on how Michael Cohen was paid
Two new witnesses took the stand Monday on the 12th day of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, shortly after the judge overseeing the case again cited the former president for violating the gag order he imposed last month.
Ahead of trial testimony, New York state Judge Juan Merchan found that Trump ran afoul of the order prohibiting him from attacking witnesses and others involved in the case. Trump was fined $1,000 and warned that he could face jail time “if necessary” for any further violations.
When testimony resumed, a former Trump Organization executive and the first current employee to testify described how many of the large sums that went to Michael Cohen, for the alleged purposes of hush money payments, came directly from Trump’s bank account.
Charlie Pierce: Judge Merchan Says Throwing Trump In The Can For Violating His Gag Order Would Be ‘The Last Thing’ He Wants
He really, really, double-dog—really, no kidding really, means it this time. From The New York Times:
In a moment of remarkable courtroom drama, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, addressed Mr. Trump personally from the bench, saying that if there were further violations, he might bypass financial penalties and place the former president behind bars. Justice Merchan acknowledged that jailing Mr. Trump was “the last thing” he wanted to do, but explained that it was his responsibility to “protect the dignity of the justice system.” The judge said that he understood “the magnitude of such a decision” and that jailing Mr. Trump would be a last resort. He noted: “You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well.” As the judge delivered his admonition and imposed a $1,000 fine, Mr. Trump stared straight at him, blinking but not reacting, and when the remarks were over, the former president shook his head.
Hope Hicks testifies at Trump trial about fallout from “hush money” payments
Nervous, and at one point in tears, Donald Trump’s former communications director Hope Hicks on Friday told the jury in his criminal trialabout how he reacted in 2016 and 2018 when news reports surfaced about allegations of extramarital sexual encounters and his attempts to suppress them.
Hicks was Trump’s top press aide during his 2016 presidential campaign and later served as White House communications director. On the stand, she testified about how she and others in Trump’s orbit handled revelations about the “hush money” payments made to two women before the election.
Earlier in the trial, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified that Hicks had been “in and out” of a 2015 Trump Tower meeting where Pecker, Trump and Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney at the time, allegedly hatched the scheme to bury stories about Trump, a tactic now known as “catch and kill.”
Israeli Army Tells Palestinians To Evacuate Parts Of Rafah Ahead Of An Expected Assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.
The announcement complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.
Kristi Noem suggests Biden’s dog Commander should be killed like hers
Kristi Noem suggested Sunday that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander should meet a similar fate as her 14-month-old dog Cricket, whom the South Dakota governor reportedly described shooting and killing in her coming book.
“Joe Biden’s dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people. So how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do with it?” Noem, who is considered a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Commander, a German shepherd, was relocated from the White House last year after a series of biting incidents.
The Rude Pundit: Protect the Free Speech Rights of the Student Encampments
On Friday, I spoke to author and activist Ashley Dawson. Like me, Dawson is a professor at the City University of New York, which has a bunch of campuses around NYC. Unlike me, he had been to the Gaza war protest encampment at the City College of New York, which is a CUNY school. The encampments have sprung up at universities around the country (and the world) as part of an outcry against Israel’s massacre of civilians in its war on Gaza, as well against the United States’s role in funding that massacre.
What Dawson described to me at CCNY sounded very much like the set-up at Occupy Wall Street, the protest that took up residence on a block in Lower Manhattan in Fall of 2011 and was beloved and supported across the board on the American left. He said of CCNY, “The encampment was a pretty amazing space. There were upwards of 40 tents, which included not just places for people to sleep but also a large and well-stocked people’s kitchen, a people’s library, and a medical clinic.”
Arizona Democratic governor signs bill repealing 1864 abortion ban
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation Thursday repealing the state’s 160-year-old near-total abortion ban, setting the stage for a 15-week restriction to remain law.
The Democratic governor signed the bill one day after it passed the GOP-held Senate, where two Republicans joined with all 14 Democrats in the chamber to advance the measure. The hourslong debate over the bill grew contentious as Republicans blasted the two defectors and railed against Democrats and a potential fall ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution.
At a signing ceremony Thursday, Hobbs and other Democratic leaders framed the repeal as the first step in a larger struggle over reproductive rights.
President Biden Addresses Growing Student Protests, Calls For Order
In brief, previously unscheduled remarks Thursday morning, President Joe Bidenaddressed the growing pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the country that have at times been marred by violence and vandalism.
“There’s the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos,” he said.
Speaking from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, Biden praised both the right to free speech and the rule of law as “fundamental American principles” and urged both be upheld and respected.
Secretly recorded phone calls and carefully worded denials: What you missed on Day 10 of Trump’s hush money trial
Taking the stand on Thursday, an attorney for porn actor Stormy Daniels fielded questions on a litany of celebrity gossip stories as attorneys for Donald Trump tried to paint him as an extortionist who helped leverage sex tapes into multimillion-dollar payouts.
Keith Davidson, the lawyer who represented two women — Daniels and Karen McDougal — who said they had affairs with Trump and were paid to stay quiet, gave jurors crucial insight into how the payment came about. Trump has denied the claims by McDougal, a former Playboy playmate, and Daniels.
More than 2,000 people arrested nationwide in pro-Palestinian campus protests
The clashes between police officers and pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses have seized national attention, putting a spotlight on modern-day campus activism, law enforcement tactics and the contentious debate over Israel’s war in Gaza. In the last three weeks, more than 2,000 people have been arrested across the U.S., according to a tally compiled by NBC News.
The arrests of protesters at Columbia University and UCLA have drawn particular scrutiny in recent days, but political demonstrations and heated confrontations have also roiled dozens of other campuses across the U.S., from state schools in the South and the Midwest to Ivy League institutions in the Northeast.
Trump acknowledges he told Secret Service on Jan. 6 that he would ‘like to go down’ to the Capitol
Former President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday that he told the Secret Service he wanted to go to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, depicting a different tone of an event that became a contentious detail of a former White House aide’s testimony before the House committee that investigated the attack.
In remarks at a campaign rally Wednesday afternoon in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Trump blasted the account of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson was a key witness during closely watched committee hearings in 2022.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson next week
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Wednesday she will force a vote next week to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, daring Democrats and Johnson’s GOP allies to step in and save his job.
Wearing a red “MAGA” hat, Greene accused Johnson, R-La., of betraying the GOP and going against conservative wishes on government funding bills, passing Ukraine aid and reauthorizing the foreign intelligence surveillance program without new warrant requirements, among other issues.
“So next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate. Absolutely calling it,” Greene said at a news conference outside the Capitol. “I can’t wait to see Democrats go out and support a Republican speaker and have to go home to their primaries and have to run for Congress again.”
U.S. Violence breaks out at some pro-Palestinian campus protests
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over to break up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring others.
In addition, police and protesters clashed at the University of Arizona’s Tucson campus, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
After a couple of hours of scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups, quelling the violence. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, as well as Muslim students and advocacy groups.
Arizona Senate passes repeal of 1864 abortion ban, sending it to governor’s desk
The Arizona Senate on Wednesday voted to repeal a strict, Civil War-era abortion banthat was recently ruled enforceable by the state Supreme Court.
Two Republican senators, T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick, joined the 14 Democrats in the minority and the bill passed 16-14, over vocal GOP objection.
Ahead of her vote, Bolick took a broadly anti-abortion position on the floor — explaining in detail the three difficult pregnancies she had herself, including the story of her own miscarriage — but she voted with Democrats, suggesting the repeal of the stricter ban might weaken support for a Democratic-led ballot initiative in November to broaden abortion access further.
Malcolm Nance: Will the Free Palestine College Protests End American Democracy?
When I found myself running around the west side of the Pentagon on the morning of 9/11, almost three hundred people were burning to death a few dozen feet away from me. I knew who had carried out the terrorist attacks. I had worked on the al-Qaeda mission, training special operations soldiers in their mindset and ideology since early 1997. I had studied, dissected, and analyzed al-Qaeda’s murderous playbook for years. I wrote extensively about it in my 2010 book, An End to Al-Qaeda.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Democrats win a New York special election, further narrowing the House GOP’s majority
Democrats won a special election for a House seat in western New York on Tuesday, The Associated Press projected, further shrinking the GOP’s narrow majority in the House.
Democratic state Sen. Tim Kennedy defeated Republican town supervisor Gary Dickson in the 26th District, a reliably blue area that includes Buffalo and some of its surrounding suburbs. Democrats will now control 213 seats in the House, compared with 217 for the Republicans. Five seats remain vacant.
Kennedy will serve the rest of Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins’ term. Higgins, who was in his 10th term, resigned in February to run a local performing arts center, and he had some choice words for partisan gridlock in the House. Higgins told The Buffalo News late last year that Congress is “in a very, very bad place” and that “we’re at the beginning phases of a deterioration of the prestige of the institution.”
Violent clashes at UCLA; police clear occupied Columbia building and arrest nearly 100
- There were violent clashes between the pro-Palestinian encampment and counter-protesters at UCLA overnight.
- Hours earlier, special police units breached the occupied building at Columbia Universityentering Hamilton Hall through a second-story window using a massive truck and a ramp. Officers cleared the area and arrested almost 100 people.
- The college said it was left with no choice but to call in the NYPD, and has asked police to maintain a presence on campus until May 17, after restricting access to residents and essential staff only.
Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions nationwide
The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the strictest Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. It would be the first time that the U.S. government has acknowledged its potential medical benefits and begun studying them in earnest.
What you missed on Day 9 of Trump’s trial: Gag order jail threat and testimony from Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer
The most consequential moment of Tuesday’s trial proceedingshappened just minutes after court began, when the judge held Donald Trump in criminal contempt over his social media posts and warned the former president that future violations could land him in jail.
Hours after New York state Judge Juan Merchan said he had violated the order’s prohibition against attacks on witnesses and jurors, Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, took to his Truth Social platform to call the trial “RIGGED” while attacking Merchan and vowing he would not stay quiet about the case.
When jurors returned to the courtroom, the focus was on the witness stand. The jury heard from four witnesses, including an attorney who helped broker the hush money agreements involving two women who alleged they had affairs with Trump. He has denied their claims.
Donald Trump’s hush money trial set to resume Tuesday as prosecutors continue to keep their plans secret
The third week of the Donald Trump criminal hush money business fraud trial will resume Tuesday with the Manhattan district attorney’s office continuing to be secretive about it its plan of attack.
Prosecutors are expected to pick up questioning of Michael Cohen’s former banker Tuesday morning.
It’s unclear what other witnesses will take the stand this week – Prosecutors have been tightlipped on their witness order, blaming Trump for his unpredictable public comments. In court, they said they would not give Trump’s legal team much in an effort to avoid subjecting witnesses to Trump’s social media wrath before they take the stand.
Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News ‘imminently’
Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News “imminently,” according to a letter sent to the network and obtained by NBC News.
The letter, dated April 23, puts the Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital on notice for litigation claims arising from the network’s alleged “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.”
A look at the protests of the war in Gaza that have emerged at US colleges
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at many college campuses following the arrest of demonstrators this month at Columbia University.
The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself. The number of arrests nationwide has approached 1,000 since New York police arrested demonstrators at Columbia on April 18.
Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities. Some universities say outsiders have joined student protesters and caused trouble.
Charlie Pierce: We’re Still Doing This Whole White House Correspondents Dinner Thing, Huh?
I guess this must have been what it was like at Versailles while all hell broke loose in Paris. From The Washington Post:
After a turn on the step-and-repeat with [owner of the music venue Echostage, Pete] Kalamoutsos, [social media content creator] Tony P was whisked upstairs, champagne in hand, to a roped-off VIP area, where he mingled with party doyenne and consultant Tammy Haddad and Axios CEO Jim VandeHei. Eventually, another guest joined the VIP section: former speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan. Tony P was star-struck. He worked up his courage. He shakes Ryan’s hand. “I would have voted for you in ’12 if I was old enough,” Tony P says to Ryan, even though Tony P is a Democrat. A dozen feet away and a foot lower in elevation from that stage, Henry considers this odd yet somehow perfectly matched pairing. “It’s Paul Ryan and Tony P. That’s the VIP section. And I feel like that’s emblematic of D.C.,” she says.
Be still, my heart.
The Rude Pundit: The Question that Justice Sonia Sotomayor Should Have Asked About Absolute Immunity for Presidents
Last week’s Supreme Court hearing in Trump v. United States (as accurate a case name as I’ve seen), aka “The One About Immunity from Prosecution,” was, to put it mildly, a shitshow at the monkeyfuck factory. In a case that should never have been taken, at least 5 of the justices, all the men, seemed to actually believe that Donald Trump and, presumably (but who knows), every president should have some immunity from being charged and tried as a criminal from acts done while president. In this case, it’s to try to get Trump out of any responsibility for the January 6 insurrection, which Special Counsel Jack Smith is trying to get to trial. Frankly, the hearing was a disgrace, a disgusting display of a deviant ideology that was disposed of in the goddamned Declaration of Independence. These right-wing dickholes actually tried to come up with ways that laws don’t apply to a president.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem stands by decision to kill dog, share it in new book
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem – who has been considered to be a potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – addressed on Sunday the recent attention on her new book where she writes about killing an unruly dog and a goat.
The Guardian obtained a copy of Noem’s soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move American Forward.” Noem is scheduled to be interviewed on “Face the Nation” next week about her upcoming book, set to be released on May 7.
In it, she tells the story of the ill-fated Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer she was training for pheasant hunting.
Biden swipes at Trump at White House correspondents’ dinner
President Joe Biden on Saturday used his White House Correspondents’ Association dinner speech to swipe at former President Donald Trump, taking shots at the presumptive GOP nominee while highlighting the stakes of the election.
Biden cracked jokes at his political rival’s expense and tackled age head-on, saying that he was “a grown man running against a 6-year-old.”
The president said later that age was the only thing he and Trump had in common, adding, “My vice president actually endorses me,” a reference to former Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to say he’ll back his former running mate in 2024.
Biden speaks with Netanyahu as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war mount in the US
President Joe Biden held a phone call on Sunday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the backdrop of growing U.S. college campus protests and a possibly imminent invasion of Rafah.
The two discussed areas of commonality, with Biden “reaffirm[ing] his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security” after Iran’s missile and drone attack on the country earlier this month, the White House readout said. The leaders reviewed hostage and cease-fire discussions and talked about humanitarian aid in Gaza as well.
But the call also underscored daylight between the two on Israeli strategy in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah. Netanyahu shows no signs of backing away from a ground offensive there — a potential move that the U.S. publicly opposes.
Pro-Palestinian Encampments Spread, Leading to Hundreds of Arrests
In the week since Columbia University started cracking down on pro-Palestinian protesters occupying a lawn on its campus, protests and encampments have sprung up at other colleges and universities across the country. Police interventions on several campuses have led to more than 400 arrests so far.
Student protests against the war in Gaza and against their schools’ financial and academic ties to Israel and to weapons manufacturers have intensified since Columbia initially cleared the encampment, on April 18. Scores of people have been arrested in recent days at Emerson College, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin.
Supreme Court signals further delay in Trump election interference case as it weighs immunity claims
The Supreme Court indicated Thursday that any trial in former President Donald Trump’s election interference case is unlikely to take place any time soon, with justices expressing concern about whether certain presidential acts should be off-limits.
Although the court appears likely to reject Trump’s expansive claim of absolute immunity, it could remand the case for further proceedings, making it less likely that a trial would take place before the election.
The court is weighing the novel legal question of whether a former president can be prosecuted for what Trump’s attorneys say were “official acts” taken in office, though much of the focus remains on whether the justices will rule quickly so a trial can take place before the November election.
Sexy Liberal Philadelphia w/ Glenn Kirschner, JoJo From Jerz, and Lindy Li is TOMORROW NIGHT!! Tix available HERE!!!
Don’t miss out on the biggest night in Philadelphia history! Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal “Save The World” Tour is Saturday! Tickets available at:
‘To protect Donald Trump’: Hush money trial witness details deals with Playboy model and porn actress
A key witness in Donald Trump‘s criminal trial testified Thursday about his role in hush money payments to a porn actress and a Playboy model the former president allegedly had affairs with — and Trump’s plan to make sure other negative stories about him never saw the light of day.
David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, said Trump at one point sought to buy the rights to Karen McDougal‘s allegations of a monthslong affair with him, as well as other information the Enquirer had on him in its archives. Trump has denied McDougal’s claims.
Pecker said that he eventually backed out of the deal for fear he could get into legal trouble — and that when he heard about adult film star Stormy Daniels’ claim of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, he decided he couldn’t front any more cash to keep his longtime friend out of trouble.
Glenn Kirschner: How prosecutors will ‘draw the sting’ during opening statements in Trump’s trial
The first criminal trial of a former president of the United States turns toward opening statements this week. Criminal litigators neither win nor lose a trial based on their opening statements. But jurors will begin to form important impressions: not only of the evidence for or against the charges they will be called upon to decide, but of the attorneys themselves.
To understand the different goals and priorities of a prosecutor giving an opening statement and those of a defense attorney, we need to start with the basic principles of a criminal trial. Every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until the evidence proves the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden of proof rests solely with the prosecution, to the point that the defense is not required to produce any evidence at trial.
Arizona Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump Allies (incl. Meadows & Giuliani), 11 Fake Electors
An Arizona grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 16 others for their roles in an attempt to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won Arizona in 2020. They include the former state party chair, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers, who are charged with nine counts each of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
The identities of seven other defendants, including Giuliani and Meadows, were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the documents. They were readily identifiable based on descriptions of the defendants, however.
Police arrest protesters at USC, UT Austin as pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread to more campuses
- University of Southern California police arrested 93 people after they warned protesters to disperse. The university said protests devolved into vandalism and confrontations.
- Columbia University said Wednesday that student protesters had agreed to take down “a significant number of tents,” but protests will continue.
- Police said 108 people were arrested in protests around Bostons’ Emerson College Wednesday night.
- Protests encampments are now in place on at least 20 college campuses across the U.S., including Harvard University, Brown University, the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
Trump trial to resume with testimony about hush money deals with Playboy model and porn star
The first criminal trial of a former president resumes Thursday with a key witness against Donald Trump expected to describe details of the hush money agreement that was struck on his behalf with porn star Stormy Daniels.
David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, is expected to outline his role in Daniels’ agreement, as well as another hush money deal involving Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claims she had a monthslong affair with Trump. McDougal alleges the affair began in 2006, the year Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with him. Trump has denied both women’s claims.
Supreme Court today will consider Trump’s claim of sweeping immunity in 2020 election case
The Supreme Court will convene Thursday to consider whether former President Donald Trump is entitled to broad immunity from federal prosecution, jumping into a blockbuster dispute that will be critical to the fate of his 2020 election case in Washington, D.C.
At issue in the case known as Trump v. United States is whether the former president can face criminal charges for allegedly official acts while he was in the White House. The dispute, which arose from the federal prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith, is the second to come before the justices in their current term with significant consequences for Trump’s political future.
The Supreme Court has never before addressed whether a former president is immune from criminal prosecution, and the outcome of the legal battle will determine whether Smith’s case heads to trial. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority, and Trump appointed three of its members.
Stephanie Miller Among Those To Enter Buffalo Broadcasters’ Hall Of Fame
The Buffalo Broadcasters Association (BBA) has announced this year’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees; included on the list is syndicated talk show host Stephanie Miller. Buffalo Broadcasters Association president Steve Monaco comments, “Our Hall of Fame classes become more impressive every year. Each inductee has made important contributions to broadcasting in Buffalo.” A standup comedienne and best-selling author, Miller gained her first radio experience doing comedy bits on Sandy Beach’s morning show. She began her talk radio career at Los Angeles’ KFI in 1994. Miller would later host afternoons in Los Angeles at KTZN in 1997, before doing evenings at KABC (1997 – 2000). Her show was heard on progressive news/talk KTLK from 2005 – 2013 and she started the “Stephanie Miller’s Happy Hour” podcast. In a 1995 Los Angeles Times interview, Miller admitted, “I never thought about doing talk radio. To me talk radio was like old gray-haired guys talking about the budget.” Miller’s fellow BBA 2024 inductees will be former WGR sports radio morning host Howard Simon; former WGR-TV news anchor/reporter Sheila Murphy (who was a news reporter/anchor at Buffalo radio outlets WGR-AM and WBEN); network television producer/writer/actor Nick Bakay; former WKBW-TV reporter Mary Travers Murphy; morning radio team Shredd & Ragan; WGRZ-TV videographer J. Dooley O’Rourke; and former director of national sales for Buffalo/Toronto Public Media Jim DiMino. The Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame Dinner will be held September 19 at 7:00 pm at Samuel’s Grande Manor in Williamsville.
Arizona Republicans block another Democratic effort to repeal 1864 abortion ban
Arizona Republicans on Wednesday again blocked a Democratic-led effort to repeal a controversial 19th-century ban on almost all abortions in the state, which the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled is enforceable.
Democrats in the state House failed to overcome procedural obstacles to advance House Bill 2677, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, to repeal the 1864 abortion law, which predates Arizona’s statehood and only provides exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Only one of the Republican representatives joined with the Democratic minority, leaving them one vote short of pushing the bill forward.
House Republicans release aid bills for Israel and Ukraine, eyeing weekend House votes
Facing a divided party and pressure to act, House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled out three bills Wednesday to provide assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, with the hope of holding final votes on Saturday.
The bills represent a major test of Johnson’s ability to navigate a thicket of political and global challenges with a wafer-thin majority. And it comes as Johnson, R-La., faces a serious threat to his gavel from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Johnson’s biggest challenge is Ukraine funding, an issue that has bitterly divided the GOP. He has been squeezed by conservative security hawks who want to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s aggression and by an empowered isolationist wing that is feeding off former President Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO and prior Ukraine aid measures.
Senate quickly votes to dismiss impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Mayorkas
Senate Democrats successfully voted to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, just hours after the trial formally opened.
The speed of the impeachment trial was an embarrassing blow to Republicans who had threatened to gum up the Senate and delay the proceedings in a bid to highlight what they argue is Mayorkas’ failure to secure the border and stop the flow of thousands of undocumented migrants at the border.
However, Democrats, who control the upper chamber, easily dispensed with the pair of impeachment articles — as well as several motions to adjourn the Senate.
On trial off-day, Trump complains about jury selection process for his criminal case
Former President Donald Trump ripped the jury selection process for his historic New York criminal trial Wednesday, the day after the first seven jurors were selected out of a pool of nearly 100 people.
Posting about the hush money trial on its scheduled off-day, Trump — who has repeatedly accused the judge in the case of being biased against him — suggested incorrectly that he should be entitled to unlimited strikes of potential jurors in his criminal case.
“I thought STRIKES were supposed to be ‘unlimited’ when we were picking our jury? I was then told we only had 10, not nearly enough when we were purposely given the 2nd Worst Venue in the Country,” he wrote on Truth Social before he decried the criminal cases against him as “election interference” and part of a “witch hunt.”
Malcolm Nance: WARNING… THE ISRAEL-IRAN WAR HAS STARTED
At just past 2 am local time (GMT+2), Israeli Air Raid sirens sounded across the country. Air defenses started engaging more than 300 incoming Iranian ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. What those sirens signaled was the start of the Israel-Iran war.
As predicted in my previous Substack (Warning: Are Israel and Iran going to War), Iran has carried out a promised retaliatory attack against Israel code-named True Promise. However, despite a week of hints and whispers from third parties, the attack was not proportionate to Israel’s killing of seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard Force officers. It was, in fact, massively disproportionate.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Israel Weighs Response to Iran Attack, With Each Choice a Risk
Israeli leaders on Tuesday were debating how best to respond to Iran’s unprecedented weekend airstrike, officials said, weighing a set of options calibrated to achieve different strategic outcomes: deterring a similar attack in the future, placating their American allies and avoiding all-out war.
Iran’s attack on Israel, an immense barrage that included hundreds of ballistic missiles and exploding drones, changed the unspoken rules in the archrivals’ long-running shadow war. In that conflict, major airstrikes from one country’s territory directly against the other had been avoided.
Historic impeachment articles against Alejandro Mayorkas sent to Senate, but will there be a full trial?
Articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, over his handling of the border, were officially transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday.
The House impeachment managers, selected by Republican leadership, walked the two articles through the Capitol led by the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms.
The charges against Mayorkas were read aloud from the Senate dais by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green.
Mayorkas is only the second Cabinet secretary to be impeached in U.S. history after William Belknap, a former secretary of war, in 1876.
Second Republican backs effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from power
A second House Republican said he will support an effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from power over his handling of foreign aid for Ukraine and other issues.
Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, who is a member of Johnson’s own Rules Committee, said he informed the speaker directly in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday that he is co-sponsoring a resolution offered by far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to remove Johnson, R-La., from the top job.
Fiery exchanges over Facebook posts and Trump’s behavior mark second day of trial
The first seven jurors were selected for Donald Trump’s hush money trial Tuesday amid a battle over prospective jurors’ old Facebook posts and calls to “lock him up” and the judge’s warning that the former president should not try to intimidate the panelists who will be deciding his fate.
“I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make this crystal clear,” New York state Judge Juan Merchan told Trump and his lawyer Todd Blanche outside the juror’s presence. Merchan told Blanche his client was “audibly” saying something in the direction of the juror while she was “12 feet away from your client.”
Caitlin Clark selected by Indiana Fever with No. 1 pick in 2024 WNBA Draft
Eight days after completing one of the greatest collegiate basketball careers ever recorded, Caitlin Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.
Clark is poised to not only help the Fever return to the postseason for the first time since 2016, but also use her star power to jolt the WNBA at a critical juncture in its history.
“I think more than anything I’m just really excited,” Clark told NBC News this past weekend.
Johnson Says House Will Vote on Stalled Aid to Israel and Ukraine
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday said he planned this week to advance a long-stalled national security spending package to aid Israel, Ukraine and other American allies, along with a separate bill aimed at mollifying conservatives who have been vehemently opposed to backing Kyiv.
Mr. Johnson’s announcement, coming after he has agonized for weeks over whether and how to advance an infusion of critical aid to Ukraine amid stiff Republican resistance, was the first concrete indication that he had settled on a path forward. It came days after Iran launched a large aerial attack on Israel, amplifying calls for Congress to move quickly to approve the pending aid bill.
US to Israel: If you strike back at Iran, you’ll do it alone
As Israel on Monday weighed its response to Iran’s stunning attacks this weekend, the U.S. is privately telling officials there: If Israel strikes back militarily, it will do so alone.
It’s an unusual message for a close ally that’s spent decades receiving more US military aid than any other country in the world and whose relationship with America is often described as “ironclad.”
But after months of Israel acting on its own in Gaza — and facing tough criticism from the U.S. and other allies that its military operations have gone too far – the Biden administration made clear the U.S. wouldn’t participate in offensive military operations against Iran, fearing a broader war in the Middle East.
Trump’s N.Y. hush money trial begins. Here’s what you missed the first day.
Donald Trump — now a former president on trial — has sought to turn his legal peril into a boost for his presidential campaign, animating his supporters and attempting to sow doubt about the motives of his opponents.
But facing 34 counts of felony charges, Trump argued on the historic first day of his New York hush money trial that he is the victim of a criminal justice system weaponized against him.
He called it “an assault” on the nation. And as the presumptive Republican nominee for president, he repeatedly attacked the prosecution for waging “election interference.”
It is “why I’m very proud to be here,” Trump said.
The Rude Pundit: GOP Ignores Trump’s Crimes and Makes Up Sh** About a Crime Wave
There’s a charming-ass Facebook group that Zuckerberg’s algorithm regularly feeds to my, well, feed. It’s a little ray of sunshine since the posts are all by people from other countries talking about their trips to New York City. And while some things will make any local cringe, like they really seem to love pedicab rides or they call the World Trade Center Memorial just “9/11” (as in “we went to 911”), the authors, from New Zealand or Indonesia or Argentina or Austria, mostly unabashedly really fucking love NYC. They share tips on places to go or stay or eat. They post their itineraries and ask for comment on if it’s doable. Like I said, just charming as hell.
One topic a bunch of them write about is something that comes as a surprise to them: they say how safe they felt all the time. They felt safe in Times Square or Greenwich Village or Central Park. They felt safe walking at night and in the subways. They heard that crime was out of control or there was a plague of unhoused people or just that New York City was a hellscape, an unending gauntlet of murder, robbery, rape, and assault. Then they get here and…it’s just not any of that. They let the group, which includes tons of people planning trips, know that they always felt perfectly fine.
Charlie Pierce: Ron DeSantis Crawls Out of Obscurity for a Minute to Limit Civilian Police Oversight
Remember Ron DeSantis? The guy who “won” the Covid epidemic? The guy who was going to save the Republican Party from El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago? Man fond of lifts in his shoes and white go-go boots? Exposed as a complete mutt as soon as the presidential campaign opened? He has returned to Florida as its governor and chief importer of terrible ideas.
Trump’s first criminal trial is a historic and solemn moment for America
The United States will cross a historic threshold on Monday when for the first time a former president goes on criminal trial in a case laced with fateful significance because Donald Trump could be back in the Oval Office next year.
When the presumptive GOP nominee walks into court for the start of jury selection, he and the country will enter a new state of reality as legal and political worlds collide in a trial almost guaranteed to deepen Americans’ bitter ideological estrangement.
The trial, related to hush money payments to an adult film actress before the 2016 election, will mark yet another extraordinary twist in the story of Trump, whose incessant testing of the limits of presidential decorum and the law has caused nearly nine years of political tumult and may still have years left to run. It raises the possibility that, depending on the jury’s verdict, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election could be a convicted felon. And given the case’s subject matter — details about a payment to a woman who alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Trump, which he denies — it could reflect poorly on Trump’s character and ethics as voters weigh their decisions in November.
Here’s what time taxes are due on April 15
The deadline for most people to file a 2023 tax return with the IRS is fast approaching; returns are due by 11:59 p.m., in your time zone, on Monday, April 15, with some exceptions.
Taxpayers in Massachusetts and Maine have until April 17 to file and pay taxes because of the Patriots’ Day and Emancipation Day holidays. There are also extensions in some areas impacted by extreme weather. Individuals and businesses impacted by the Oct. 7 attack on Israel have also been given an extension, the IRS announced. There are extensions for certain active-duty military members and citizens living abroad.
The IRS had received about 100 million returns as of the week ending April 5, but the agency expects more than 128.7 million individual tax returns to be filed by the deadline.
Trump’s Criminal Trial to Begin in Manhattan With Jury Selection
The first criminal trial of an American president will begin Monday as prosecutors and defense lawyers convene in a Manhattan courtroom to begin selecting the jury that will decide Donald J. Trump’s fate.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felonies, accusing him of falsifying documents to conceal a sex scandal involving a porn star.
The case, one of four indictments facing the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, could reshape the political landscape ahead of Election Day.
World Leaders Urge Restraint as Israel Weighs Retaliation Against Iran
Israel on Monday was facing international pressure not to retaliate against Iran for its missile and drone attack over the weekend, even as some far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government called for a swift, aggressive response.
Mr. Netanyahu faces a delicate calculation: Letting an unprecedented direct attack from Iran, even one that produced little damage, pass without a military response could open him up to criticism that he is endangering Israel. But overly aggressive retaliation could significantly raise the chances of a broader war in the Middle East as Israeli forces continue to battle Hamas in Gaza.
RFK Jr. consultant terminated after saying that voting for him helps ‘get rid of Biden’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign says it has ended its contract with a consultant who was seen on video encouraging people to vote for him in order to get “rid of Biden” even if that means electing former President Donald Trump.
Campaign manager Amaryllis Fox announced the decision in a post on X in response to a Kennedy supporter asking for the campaign to distance itself from the consultant, Rita Palma.
Video of Palma’s comments had energized Democrats online as they said it confirmed their accusations that the purpose of Kennedy’s campaign is to hand the White House back to Trump over President Joe Biden. Kennedy rejects that.
House Speaker Mike Johnson Is Negotiating With White House To Advance Ukraine Aid
House Speaker Mike Johnson is negotiating with the White House as he prepares for the treacherous task of advancing wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House, a top House Republican said Thursday.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that Johnson had been talking with White House officials about a package that would deviate from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security package and include several Republican demands. It comes after Johnson has delayed for months on advancing aid that would provide desperately needed ammunition and weaponry for Kyiv, trying to find the right time to advance a package that will be a painful political lift.
“There’s been no agreement reached,” Scalise said. “Obviously there would have to an agreement reached not just with the White House, but with our own members.”
Trump Tests Limits Of Gag Order With Post Insulting 2 Likely Witnesses In Criminal Trial
Days after a New York judge expanded a gag order on Donald Trump to curtail “inflammatory” speech, the former president tested its limits by disparaging two key witnesses in his upcoming criminal hush money trial as liars.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday, Trump called his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the adult film actor Stormy Daniels “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”
In an order first made in March, and then revised on April 1, Judge Juan Merchan barred Trump from making public statements about probable trial witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.”
Key trial figures react to O.J. Simpson’s death
The death of O.J. Simpson drew immediate reaction around the country Thursday, renewing public interest in his era-defining 1995 murder trial — and reviving painful memories for the families who were close to the events.
Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, capping off what legal analysts described at the time as the “trial of the century.”
Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, told NBC News that the news of Simpson’s death only further underscored his grief for his son, who was found stabbed to death outside Brown Simpson’s home in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994.
House Republicans revolt against spy agency bill, signaling trouble for Speaker Johnson
Nineteen far-right members on Wednesday opposed a procedural hurdle known as a rule, preventing FISA and three other proposals from being debated and ultimately voted on this week.
Trump, criticizing Arizona abortion ruling, says he wouldn’t sign a federal ban if elected.
Days after saying that abortion policies should be left to the states, former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday criticized an Arizona court ruling for upholding an 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions and said he would not sign a national abortion ban if he were elected president.
Speaking to reporters on an airport tarmac in Atlanta, Mr. Trump said he expected that the Arizona law would be “straightened out.” Hours later, Republicans in the State Legislature, which they control, blocked an effort by Democrats to repeal the ban.
Arizona Democrats Tried To Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban, But Were Shot Down By GOP
Arizona Democrats tried to repeal a controversial, 1864 law set to take effect that will effectively block almost all abortions in the state, but were stymied by Republicans in both chambers of the legislature on Wednesday.
Lawmakers tried to repeal the law, which dates to the Civil War era and predates Arizona’s statehood, in both the state’s House and Senate on Wednesday. During a fiery moment, state House Rep. Matt Gress (R) tried to initiate a vote on the matter before he was shot down by others in the GOP who then called for a recess and adjourned until next week.
The effort prompted outrage from Democrats, who repeatedly yelled “Shame!” at their Republican colleagues as they walked out of the the legislature.
New York appeals judge rejects Trump’s third legal challenge to delay hush money criminal trial
A New York appeals court judge on Wednesday denied a third effort in three days by Donald Trump’s attorneys to put on hold the former president’s impending criminal trial.
Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer for the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York denied Trump’s third legal challenge to delay the trial after a pair of state appeals court judges rejected similar efforts by Trump on Monday and Tuesday to pause the hush money trial, which is set to begin April 15 with jury selection.
The court docket for the state Appellate Division showed Trump’s attorneys filed the challenge as a lawsuit invoking a provision of New York law known as Article 78. Article 78 challenges allow litigants, whether in ongoing litigation or otherwise, to seek relief from allegedly unlawful state or local government action. The documents were filed under seal.
Arizona Attorney General Says She Wouldn’t Enforce ‘Unconscionable’ Abortion Ban
Shortly after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 150-year-old law criminalizing abortion in the state could be reinstated, the state attorney general pledged not to enforce it.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes minced no words in a statement that denounced the “unconscionable” ruling as “an affront to freedom.”
“By effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans,” Mayes said.
Judge in Trump’s classified docs case grants prosecutor’s request to keep names of government witnesses secret
The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump‘s classified documents case handed federal prosecutors a partial victory Tuesday in a monthslong dispute by granting their request to keep the names of government witnesses sealed.
U.S. District Judge Aileen issued the 24-page order in response to special counsel Jack Smith’s request to reconsider a previous order that the government said could lead more than two dozen potential government witnesses in the Florida case to be publicly identified.
Under Cannon’s new order, potential witnesses’ names will be redacted, though significant parts of witness statements to investigators may be made public.
Biden says Netanyahu is making a ‘mistake’ with his handling of the Israel-Hamas war
President Joe Biden upped his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the Israel-Hamas war but did not indicate any significant changes in U.S. policy toward its Middle East ally.
“I think what he’s doing is a mistake,” Biden said in an interview with Univision that aired Tuesday night in response to a question about whether Netanyahu is more concerned about political survival than Israelis’ national interest.
“I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden added in the interview, which was taped last Wednesday.
Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Arizona Supreme Court rules a near-total abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 160-year-old near-total abortion ban still on the books in the state is enforceable, a bombshell decision that adds the state to the growing lists of places where abortion care is effectively banned.
The ruling allows an 1864 law in Arizona to stand that made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one.
The law — which was codified in 1901, and again in 1913 — outlaws abortion from the moment of conception but includes an exception to save the woman’s life.
Charlie Pierce: Trump Finally Gave His Big Boy Speech About Abortion
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. On Monday, forced by events to confront yet another issue he doesn’t comprehend and chooses not to learn anything about, El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago gave his Big Boy Speech about reproductive freedom. It was truthless and incoherent. It was, after all, a day ending in y. From CNN:
“My view is now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social account. “Many states will be different,” Trump continued. “Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”
Appeals court judge denies Trump’s bid to delay next week’s hush money trial
A state appeals court judge Monday denied Donald Trump‘s bid for an emergency delay of his impending criminal trial in New York.
Justice Lizbeth González of the state Appellate Division issued the ruling after attorneys for the former president argued the trial needed to be halted because “an impartial jury cannot be selected right now based on prejudicial pretrial publicity.” González rejected the request in a one-line ruling late Monday afternoon with no explanation.
Trump’s attorneys had filed the eleventh-hour motion in an attempt to delay a trial that centers on charges that Trump falsified business records related to hush money payments. The long-shot legal maneuver came exactly one week before the first criminal trial of a former president is scheduled to start.
Highlights From the Total Solar Eclipse’s Dark Path Through the U.S., Mexico and Canada
The full force of the moon’s shadow crossed the United States, Mexico and Canada on Monday, as the first total solar eclipse in seven years plunged the day into darkness and reminded all in its path of our planet’s place in the cosmos.
For more than four hours, the silhouette of the moon ate into the yellow orb of the sun, obscuring all but the silvery glow of the corona. The celestial marvel carved a southwest-to-northeast pathacross North America, delighting sky gazers from the beaches of Mexico to the plains of Texas, past the raging waters of Niagara Falls and through the rugged coastline of Newfoundland. There in the city of Gander, gaps in the thick clouds revealed moments of the eclipse’s effects on the horizon before obscuring the sun in the moment of totality.
Mike Pence calls Trump’s abortion position ‘a slap in the face’
Donald Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, is calling Trump’s latest statement on his abortion policies “a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020.”
“Today, too many Republican politicians are all too ready to wash their hands of the battle for life. Republicans win on life when we speak the truth boldly and stand on the principle that we all know to be true – human life begins at conception and should be defended from womb to tomb,” Pence wrote in a post on Monday on X, formerly Twitter.
Pence has long been to the right of the former president on the issue of reproductive rights.
Special counsel Jack Smith urges Supreme Court to reject Trump’s presidential immunity claim
Special counsel Jack Smith urged the Supreme Court on Monday to reject former President Donald Trump‘s position that he should be granted absolute immunity in the federal election interference case, with prosecutors arguing that criminal law applies to a president.
The 66-page filing from Smith and his team laid out a series of arguments taking aim at Trump’s claim that a president is immune from criminal prosecution. Prosecutors argued that there are no presidential powers that would entitle Trump to immunity in this case and that “history likewise refutes” Trump’s arguments.
“The Framers never endorsed criminal immunity for a former President, and all Presidents from the Founding to the modern era have known that after leaving office they faced potential criminal liability for official acts,” Smith said in the brief, referring to President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal.
The Rude Pundit: We Can’t Rely on People to Just Vote Against Trump; They Have to Vote For Biden
All this Trump shit can get exhausting, can’t it? Watching this hemorrhoid in human form day in and day out as he blusters about perceived attacks by migrants and judges, ranting his brain-fucked comparisons between himself and Nelson Mandela or Jesus or Al Capone? And then we check the news on one of his four trials, whether it’s the one where he paid off the porn star he fucked to keep her quiet, or the one where he tried to get the Georgia Secretary of State to change the vote, or the one where he stole classified documents and refused to give them back, or the one where he tried to get people to violently overthrow the government for him, and we see them moving at a speed that would make glaciers say, “Jesus, pick it up already.” But we get signs and omens, reading every filing, every decision, with voices echoing on social media that this time he’s fucked up and it’ll all come crashing down or this time Judge Cannon has gone too far and will be booted from the case or this time he’s violated a gag order and will have to be jailed, all the tweets and threads and memes and toks that tik ready to soothe and satisfy that raging hard-on for Trump to finally be undone, for this to be over, when, really, truly, we know in our heart of hearts, that it will never be over, that we are damned to the mental Sisyphean task of rolling that boulder of hope up the hill of justice, only to see it tumble back down once again, and we know, as much as we try to resist, that we’re gonna roll that fucker up one more time.
Biden may have trouble getting on Ohio’s general election ballot, state’s top election official warns
Ohio’s secretary of state on Friday signaled that the Democratic National Convention may take place too late for President Joe Bidento appear on the general election ballot in the state, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
“The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to convene on August 19, 2024, which occurs more than a week after the August 7 deadline to certify a presidential candidate to the office,” Secretary of State Frank LaRose wrote to Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters.
ABC News first reported about the existence and content of this letter.
Trump tells billionaires he’ll keep their taxes low at $50 million fundraising gala
Former President Donald Trump emphasized the importance of extending his signature tax cuts to some of the nation’s wealthiest political donors, according to a readout of his private remarks Saturday night provided by a Trump campaign official.
“Trump spoke on the need to win back the White House so we can turn our country around, focusing on key issues including unleashing energy production, securing our southern border, reducing inflation, extending the Trump Tax Cuts, eliminating Joe Biden’s insane [electric vehicle] mandate, protecting Israel, and avoiding global war,” the campaign official said of a roughly 45-minute speech to donors in Palm Beach, Florida.
The campaign declined NBC News’ requests to have a reporter present for his remarks and to make a full transcript of them available.
Israeli military pulls troops from southern Gaza
The Israeli military says it has reduced the number of ground troops in the southern Gaza Strip following the conclusion of its monthslong operation in the city of Khan Younis, raising questions about the future of its offensive in the enclave amid pressure from the U.S. to reduce the war’s humanitarian toll.
In a statement on Sunday, the IDF said it was pulling its 98th commando division “to recuperate and prepare for future operations,” as Israeli army vehicles were seen heading to a base in southern Israel.
“The achievements made by the IDF’s Division 98 and its units, are extremely impressive,” Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said. “They have eliminated terrorists and destroyed terror targets including warehouses, weapons, headquarters, communication centers and more. Their activities enabled the dismantling of Hamas as a functioning military unit in this area.”
When and where the solar eclipse will be crossing the U.S.
A total solar eclipse will grace the skies over North America on Monday, one of the most hotly anticipated sky-watching events in recent years.
Weather permitting, millions of people in Mexico, 15 U.S. states and eastern Canada will have the chance to see the moon slip between Earth and sun, temporarily blocking the sun’s light.
The total solar eclipse will be visible along a “path of totality” that measures more than 100 miles wide and extends across the continent. Along that path, the moon will fully obscure the sun, causing afternoon skies to darken for a few minutes.
Dean Obeidallah: Trump’s Wealthy Donors Will Gladly End Our Democracy To Make More Money
In February 1933, Herman Goering—one of Adolph Hitler’s top leaders– sent telegrams to Germany’s 25 leading industrialists inviting them to a secret meeting in Berlin. The reason for the clandestine gathering was that Hitler–who had been named Chancellor of Germany the month before–had just called for new elections to take place the following month. Hitler, though, had one problem: His Nazi party desperately needed funds to wage a campaign.
At the meeting, Hitler spoke for nearly 90 minutes telling the German industrialists –such as arms and steel tycoon Gustav Krupp—of his plans to end the nation’s democracy after the upcoming election because they could better prosper in a dictatorship under his rule, explaining, “Private enterprise cannot be maintained in the age of democracy.” And later Goering told these wealthy businessmen a Nazi victory in the upcoming election would guarantee a favorable climate for business. In response, as Robert Jackson, the chief U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg and former Supreme Court Justice noted, “[T]he industrialists…became so enthusiastic that they set about to raise three million Reichsmarks [worth about $30 million today] to strengthen and confirm the Nazi Party in power.”
Read the rest of Dean Obeidallah’s piece and and subscribe to his Substack
Trump calls for Jack Smith’s punishment for criticizing judge in classified documents case
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said special counsel Jack Smith should be punished for issuing a scathing critique of a recent request for jury instruction proposals by the judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents case.
Smith “should be sanctioned or censured for the way he is attacking a highly respected Judge, Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over his FAKE Documents Hoax case in Florida,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform. “He is a lowlife who is nasty, rude, and condescending, and obviously trying to ‘play the ref.’”
In a court filing Tuesday, Smith slammed Cannon’s order for dueling jury instructions from his office and Trump’s lawyers, arguing the request is based on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise” that would “distort” the trial, potentially leading to a directed verdict for Trump. Smith signaled that federal prosecutors would appeal if the judge rules against their request to “promptly” decide whether the legal premise of her order constitutes a “correct formulation of the law.”
Georgia judge rejects Trump bid to dismiss election interference charges on free speech grounds
A Georgia judge on Thursday denied a bid by former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the state election interference case to dismiss the charges on First Amendment grounds.
In a 14-page ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said their right to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election did not protect them from the charges that District Attorney Fani Willis’s office brought.
The “Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State,” McAfee wrote, and their motions to dismiss are “therefore denied.”
Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents case using Presidential Records Act
A judge Thursday denied former President Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss a case alleging he mishandled classified documents, rejecting his argument that the papers were considered personal under the Presidential Records Act.
The charges against Trump “make no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offense,” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon wrote.
“For these reasons, accepting the allegations of the Superseding Indictment as true, the Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss,” the judge wrote, raising the possibility the defense argument could be used later.
Israel to open more aid routes to Gaza and increase deliveries after pressure from Biden
Israel committed to opening additional aid routes to allow for increased assistance to flow into Gaza after a call with President Joe Biden warning of a potential shift in U.S. policy after a strike this week killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said after Thursday’s call that Israel had committed to opening the Ashdod port to allow assistance to be directly delivered into Gaza, opening the Erez crossing to let aid flow into north Gaza and significantly boosting deliveries from Jordan.
“As the President said today on the call, U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers,” Watson said in a statementThursday night.
José Andrés Says Israel Deliberately Killed 7 Of His Aid Workers In Gaza Airstrikes
Chef and humanitarian José Andrés has accused Israel of deliberately launching the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers with his World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza, calling the incident a “direct attack” on humanitarian workers trying to provide food and supplies to desperate Palestinians.
In a New York Times opinion article published early Wednesday, the world-renowned chef paid tribute to the workers who were killed in Monday’s attack, saying they were the “best of humanity.” One of the victims was Palestinian. The others came from Australia, Poland, Britain, Canada and the United States.
Jack Smith rips judge’s jury instructions request in Trump classified documents case
Special counsel Jack Smith strongly criticized a recent order by the judge presiding over the case of former President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, saying that her request for jury instructions from his office and Trump’s lawyers is based on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.”
In a court filing Tuesday, Smith argued that the legal premise behind Judge Aileen Cannon’s request is “wrong” and that it would “distort” the trial, potentially leading to a directed verdict in Trump’s favor. The special counsel urged Cannon to “promptly” decide whether the legal premise in question represents a “correct formulation of the law,” and indicated that federal prosecutors would appeal if the judge rules against them.
Judge in Trump hush money case rejects attempt to delay trial with immunity defense
The judge presiding over Donald Trump‘s falsifying business records case shot down his bid to use presidential immunity as part of his defense, finding the former president waited too long to raise the issue.
In his ruling Wednesday, Judge Juan Merchan also denied Trump’s motion to delay the trial’s start date until the U.S. Supreme Courtrules on his immunity claims in the federal election interference case in Washington, D.C.
Trump had contended in a New York filing last month that he’s immune from state prosecution based on “official acts,” and that some of the evidence against him should be kept out of the impending trial because they were official presidential acts — including his tweets and public comments.
Biden and Netanyahu to hold first call since Israeli strike killed World Central Kitchen workers
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to speak by phone on Thursday, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the call.
It will be their first direct communication since seven aid workerswere killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza this week.
The discussion comes after Biden on Tuesday delivered some of his strongest criticism of Israel since the start of its war with Hamas, saying that he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths of the World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Monday.
Biden campaign argues abortion rights ballot measure makes it easier to flip Florida from Trump
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is celebrating a court ruling that will add an abortion rights measure to the November ballot in Florida, giving voters the chance to undo the state’s current restrictions on the procedure.
That will “help mobilize and expand the electorate in the state” based on how widely supported similar such efforts have been elsewhere, Biden aides argue.
“Protecting abortion rights is mobilizing a diverse and growing segment of voters to help buoy Democrats up and down the ballot,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez wrote in a memo on Monday, in part.
Trump’s social media company sues co-founders, seeks to forfeit their shares
Trump Media & Technology Group is attempting to force two of the company’s co-founders to forfeit their shares and give up any claim to the company’s leadership.
Trump’s social media company filed the lawsuit against Wesley Moss and Andrew Litinsky — co-founders and former Apprentice contestants — in a Florida court on March 24, two days after shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the company’s merger.
The lawsuit alleges that Moss and Litinsky “failed spectacularly” in their leadership of Trump Media, made “reckless and wasteful decisions,” and caused “significant damage” to the company.
Trump Again Calls For Hush Money Judge To Recuse Himself After Gag Order Expanded
Former President Donald Trump once again called for the judge overseeing his hush money case in New York to recuse himself, his latest attempt to see the case delayed indefinitely rather than go to trial.
Trump’s attorneys filed a letter on Monday arguing that Judge Juan Merchan was subject to a conflict of interest over his daughter’s work for a political consultant that has Democratic clients. The former president attacked Merchan and his daughter, Loren Merchan, in recent days on social media to the point the judge expanded a limited gag order against Trump over the course of the case.
“Your Honor’s daughter is an executive and partner at Authentic Campaigns, Inc.,” Trump’s attorneys wrote to the judge. “Authentic and Your Honor’s daughter are making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump’s opponent, political rivals, and the Democratic Party.”
Biden Says He’s ‘Outraged’ By World Central Kitchen Deaths In Gaza
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he’s “outraged and heartbroken” over the deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza who were killed by an Israeli airstrike this week.
“They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war,” Biden said, of the seven slain humanitarian workers. “They were brave and selfless.”
Biden called out Israel for failing to “protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians” and demanded that the results of Israel’s investigation into the deaths be made public.
Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks expected to testify in his hush money trial
Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks is expected to testify for the prosecution at the former president’s criminal hush money trial in New York that is scheduled to begin later this month, multiple sources familiar with matter told ABC News.
Hicks met in March 2023 with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before Trump was indicted for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied all charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Florida Supreme Court allows 6-week abortion ban to take effect, but voters will have the final say
In a pair of significant decisions Monday, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a 15-week ban on abortion in the state while also allowing a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution to appear on the November ballot.
The conservative-leaning court’s decision on the 15-week ban also means that a six-week abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the woman, that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last year will take effect.
But the bench’s ruling to allow the constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot this fall means voters will have a chance in just seven months to undo those restrictions.
Trump posts $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case
Former President Donald Trump has posted a $175 million bond in the New York civil fraud case, preventing seizure of his assets while the case is under appeal.
A state appeals court ruled last week that Trump and his co-defendants had 10 days to post the amount, which was reduced from the $464 million judgment that was originally due March 25.
Before last week’s ruling, Trump was liable for $454 million, most of the fraud judgment, but the amount he owed had been growing by more than $111,000 daily because of added interest.
Trump attorney Alina Habba said Monday that he would be vindicated on appeal.
Judge expands partial gag order after Trump’s attacks on his daughter in hush money case
The judge presiding over Donald Trump‘s impending New York criminal trial expanded a partial gag order Monday night following the former president’s online attacks against his daughter.
State Judge Juan Merchan said Trump is barred from attacking his family members and those of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in addition to the witnesses, prosecutors, court staff members and their relatives whom he was directed to “refrain” from talking about in a previous gag order issued last week.
Charlie Pierce: Hats Off to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Which Has Found The Key to Covering Trump
The Cleveland Plain Dealer once was one of those famous local newspapers at which people like me dreamed of working one day. Its history went back past the Civil War to the days of Jacksonian Democrats. It had a romantic name, resonant with echoes of The Front Page. It won a Pulitzer for editorial cartooning in 1953. It won another for the columns written by my friend, Connie Schultz. Alas, in recent years, the paper fell into the dark mills of absentee owners. In 2020, its owners shuttered the print newsroom, leaving only Cleveland.com.
The Rude Pundit: It’s Not Just the Pandemic… We’re Traumatized Because of Trump and the MAGA Movement.
Look, I’m not disagreeing with the pair of doctors who wrote in The Atlantic that everyone is grappling with at least residual emotional detritus from the Covid pandemic that fucked us up 4 years ago and that’s why shit just seems so weird. I mean, how can you disagree with “In our lifetime, COVID posed an unprecedented threat in both its overwhelming scope and severity; it left most Americans unable to protect themselves and, at times, at a loss to comprehend what was happening. That meets the clinical definition of trauma: an overwhelming experience in which you are threatened with serious physical or psychological harm.” Yeah, no shit.
In my real job, I say all the time that we haven’t dealt with the effects of that asshole virus, and not just with all the students who had formative experiences cockblocked by lockdown. Senior years of high school, first years of college, graduations, to have all that over Zoom is gonna mess you up. And I know too many people who had to handle the worst of Covid firsthand, who said goodbye to loved ones through windows, who had empty funerals. Fuck, my stepfather (who really was my dad in all but sperm) caught it and didn’t treat it fast enough and it cashed in his check. Yeah, I’m traumatized, too.
Marjorie Taylor Greene gathers allies to support ousting Speaker Johnson
Days after his speakership was put on notice by a far-right member, Mike Johnson strategized with a key – and perhaps surprising – source: firebrand GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, the architect of the last effort to remove a speaker.
Gaetz, who is making clear he is firmly in Johnson’s corner, counseled the rookie speaker during a recent phone call to put some conservative wins on the board over the next few weeks as he navigates the threat of a potential motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
“I gave the speaker some unsolicited advice. That we’ve got to get into a fighting posture. And I was very pleased with how the speaker received that advice,” Gaetz confirmed in an interview with CNN. “”The speaker wants to put wins on the board for House Republicans, and we better start doing that. … I’m glad the speaker hasn’t rolled over to the $95 billion Ukraine supplemental that the Senate passed, and I think that he’s forging a better path on that issue as we speak.”
Trump must ‘immediately desist’ from targeting judge’s daughter, prosecutors say
Two days after former President Donald Trump targeted the daughter of the judge overseeing his New York hush money case on social media, lawyers for the Manhattan district attorney have asked Judge Juan Merchan to clarify the case’s limited gag order and “direct that defendant immediately desist from attacks on family members,” according to a letter sent to the judge.
“[T]his Court should make abundantly clear that the March 26 Order protects family members of the Court, the District Attorney, and all other individuals mentioned in the Order,” said the letter, which was sent to the judge Thursday.
Trump is ‘inciting political violence’ sharing Biden hog-tied video: Biden campaign
President Joe Biden’s campaign on Saturday excoriated former President Donald Trump for sharing a video on social media depicting what appears to be an image of Biden tied up and kidnapped in the back of a pickup truck.
“This image from Donald Trump is the type of crap you post when you’re calling for a bloodbath or when you tell the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by,'” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement to ABC News.
Earlier this month, while discussing the American auto industry, Trump said there would be a “bloodbath” if he did not win the presidential election in November, a comment that garnered swift backlash from Biden himself.
Israelis Stage Largest Protest Since War Began To Increase Pressure On Netanyahu
Tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government protest since the country went to war in October. Protesters urged the government to reach a cease-fire deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and to hold early elections.
Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others hostage. Nearly six months of conflict have renewed divisions over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the country remains largely in favor of the war.
Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, yet those goals have been elusive. While Hamas has suffered heavy losses, it remains intact.
Last Day is a TRIPLE MATCH DAY for FreeSpeech TV!!
This is it! The last day of the Spring Pledge Drive, and your last chance to make a year-end gift to Free Speech TV to support our 2024 Get Out the Vote campaign and election coverage. We’ve been talking about this for two weeks, and you’re probably wondering how much we’ve raised! You can find out at freespeech.org/donate. That’s also where you can make your year-end gift to FSTV. Don’t wait! You’re out of time! Today the Spring Frontline Funders are matching your donations not just once, not twice, but three times over! That means your gift of $100 right now will mean FSTV gets $400! All you have to do is go to freespeech.org/donate or call 877-378-8669. We can’t do it without you. Thank YOU, thank you, thank you. Here’s to our democracy! One that works for us all.
Massive effort to clear Baltimore bridge collapse is an ‘incredibly complex job,’ governor says. Here’s how they’ll do it
Crews working to clear the steel frame of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and the 984-foot cargo ship that felled it face “an incredibly complex job” – one that is essential to reopening the Port of Baltimore and recovering the remains that may lie under the wreckage, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday.
“When you have a chance to see that wreckage up close, you fully understand the enormity of the challenge,” Moore said in a news conference, noting, “Our timeline will be long.”
The largest crane in the Eastern Seaboard was expected to arrive Thursday evening to help clear the wreckage, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said, and three heavy lift vessels should begin arriving Friday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN.
Trump Once Again Goes After Daughter Of Judge Overseeing Hush Money Trial
Former President Donald Trump took to social media for the second time in two days to attack the daughter of the judge overseeing his upcoming criminal trial in New York.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump wrote that Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s daughter is a “rabid Trump hater.” He also called for the judge to recuse himself from the April 15 criminal trial on a case related to the hush money payments Trump made ahead of the 2016 election.
“Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately. His Daughter, Loren, is a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me, and yet he gagged me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
3 presidents, celebrity performances and protester interruptions at Biden campaign’s $26M fundraiser
President Joe Biden was joined Thursday by two of his Democratic predecessors for a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall that his campaign said brought in more than $26 million.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participated in the event in New York with more than 5,000 supporters in attendance — including several protesters who interrupted the program when the three presidents were speaking.
Actor and comedian Mindy Kaling hosted the program, which ended at around 10 p.m., and late night host Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation with Biden, Clinton and Obama. Special guests include celebrities like Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.
2 bodies found in truck at site of Baltimore bridge collapse as investigators pause search for missing workers, police say
• Search pauses after 2 bodies found: Two construction workers were found trapped in a red pickup in the Patapsco River at the middle of the collapsed bridge, according to the Maryland State Police. Search efforts have been paused for the four other workers who are presumed dead, because additional vehicles are encased in concrete and other debris, making it unsafe for divers, Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler said. Once salvage operations clear the debris, divers will search for more remains, he said. The workers were believed to be mending potholes on the bridge when it fell, officials said.
Fani Willis vows nothing ‘will derail’ Trump’s election interference trial
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis vowed to bring former President Donald Trump’s Georgia election interference case to trial in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, arguing that her office has fully complied with a congressional subpoena related to a federal funding probe.
“[N]othing that you do will derail the efforts of my staff and I to bring the election interference prosecution to trial so that a jury of Fulton County citizens can determine the guilt or innocence of the defendants,” Willis wrote in the letter, which was sent on Monday.
The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee in February issued a subpoena to Willis for documents related to her office’s use of federal funds intended to support at-risk youth, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by ABC News.
Trump ramps up attacks on judge in hush money case after gag order
Less than 24 hours after getting hit with a partial gag order in the New York criminal case involving his alleged falsification of business records, former President Donald Trump repeatedly lashed out at one person who’s not covered by the ruling — the judge.
On his social media platform, Trump called Judge Juan Merchan“biased and conflicted” while also taking aim at the judge’s daughter for a social media post that a court spokesperson said was wrongly attributed to her.
In a ruling Tuesday, Merchan noted the impending April 15 trial dateand said Trump must “refrain” from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation” in the case, as well as about individual prosecutors and court staff and their family members.
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman has died at 82
Former Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has died, his family announced in a statement Wednesday. He was 82.
Lieberman died Wednesday afternoon in New York with his wife, Hadassah, and other loved ones at his side after he suffered complications from a fall, his family said in the statement.
“Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest,” his family said.
The Rude Pundit: Abortion in Louisiana… The Real Criminals Are the Ones Enforcing the Bans
It must be terrifying to be pregnant in Louisiana right now. The state broadly banned abortion, thanks to a 2006 trigger law that went into effect after the savages on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs decision and handed control of women’s bodies to the states, subject to the whims of insane Christian nationalists and terrible leaders. It’s awful in many states, and Louisiana is one of the worst. The only exceptions to the abortion bans in Louisiana are if the mother’s life is in imminent danger and if the fetus is considered “medically futile,” a term not recognized by, you know the medical community, and wouldn’t survive. No exceptions for rape or incest.
Malcolm Nance: Are CIA-Ukrainian Terrorists in Moscow Making Our Bridge Collisions Gay?
The scene that unfolded on the night of 22 March at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow was one I had witnessed perhaps one hundred times in my career. A squad of gunmen, carrying only AK-47 automatic assault rifles and backpacks filled with extra ammunition, magazines, and explosives, stormed an unguarded public space and randomly started killing everyone they saw. This tactic, known as light infantry, weapons attack, or LIWA, has been the hallmark of terrorism since the 1960s. Virtually every terror group in the world has done this, from the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Al Fatah to the Shining Path guerillas of Peru. However, what made this attack unique was the ideology behind the group and how it ended.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
A rare mayday preceded Baltimore bridge collapse: ‘I couldn’t think of a worse situation’
The Dali cargo ship was cruising away from the Port of Baltimore when its lights suddenly went out just after 1:24 a.m. Tuesday.
The Singaporean vessel, which stretches nearly 1,000 feet long, had apparently lost power. It was now effectively rudderless and at the mercy of the currents.
“The worst sound you ever hear on a ship is dead silence, because that means everything’s gone wrong,” said Salvatore Mercogliano, a maritime expert and historian.
Supreme Court Justices Question Why Abortion Pill Suit Is In Front Of Them
Supreme Court arguments on Tuesday, regarding the legality of federal regulations allowing the distribution of the abortion drug mifepristone through the mail, hinged on whether the anti-abortion doctors association that brought the case had standing to sue in the first place.
The case, known as FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and combined with a similar case, centers on whether the Food and Drug Administration overlooked health and safety issues when it loosened restrictions around mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion, in 2016 and 2021. The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, and the medication has since been used by nearly 6 million people in the U.S., according to the department.
NBC Fires Ronna McDaniel Amid Election Lies Backlash
Ronna McDaniel, the onetime head of the Republican National Committee who helped former President Donald Trump spread lies about the 2020 election, was axed from her job at NBC News on Tuesday, just one week after her hiring was announced.
McDaniel was ousted following a meeting of top executives from NBC amid growing backlash to her hiring last week. McDaniel used her position as the RNC chair to spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election, and continued calling the election results into question even after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Every one of us knows we can never let what we saw in 2020 happen ever again,” McDaniel said during her party’s summer meeting in August 2021. “Democrats waged war on election transparency, security and integrity — undermining our elections, and we at the RNC are using every tool at our disposal to protect the vote.”
Judge Issues Gag Order Against Donald Trump In Hush Money Case
A New York judge Tuesday issued a gag order barring Donald Trumpfrom making public statements about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Judge Juan M. Merchan cited Trump’s previous comments about him and others involved in the case, as well as a looming April 15 trial date in granting the prosecution’s request for a gag order.
“It is without question that the imminency of the risk of harm is now paramount,” Merchan wrote.
Today is a FreeSpeech TV MATCH DAY
Well, it’s a new week and we’re pushing hard to close out the Spring Pledge Drive this week with everything we’ve got. Our Spring Frontline Funders stepped up to make today another match day! If you’re a new viewer, what that means is that anything you give today will be matched dollar-for-dollar. So, if you give $10, it’ll become $20. During today’s programming, each of us has to unlock $2,500 of match money. That means we need everyone out there watching to pitch in what they can, whatever that is! If we don’t unlock the match during the show, we lose it! Whether you’re a long-time viewer or new to our network, it’s important to know that all this is made possible by viewers like you. We’re nearly 100% viewer supported. That means, no corporations get to influence what and how we cover anything. That’s going to be particularly important as we face the 2024 elections that are already inundated with mis and disinformation. Your donation today will go twice as far and will help ensure our 2024 Get Out the Vote campaign and election coverage is healthy and thriving. Please donate now at freespeech.org/donate or call 877-378-8669. Thank you so much!
Israel cancels high-level meeting in Washington after U.S. abstains on cease-fire resolution
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a delegation that was supposed to visit the White House this week. He accused the U.S. of hurting Israel’s war effort by failing to veto the cease-fire resolution. President Joe Biden requested the delegation to discuss the looming ground invasion of Rafah and for the U.S. to offer alternative options to reduce potential civilian casualties.
Trump bond lowered to $175 million as he appeals civil fraud judgment in New York
A New York appeals court has given Donald Trump 10 more days to post his bond as he appeals the civil fraud judgment against him and cut the amount necessary to $175 million
It’s a major lifeline for the former president, who, along with his adult sons and his company, were fined more than $464 million, including interest, after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.
The ruling staves off the prospect, for now, of New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to seize the former president’s property to enforce the judgment against him. Trump had been struggling to come up with the means to post a bond of more than $500 million, the total that he would have needed before Monday’s appellate decision.
Trump Criminal Trial Is Set for April 15 as His Attempt at Delay Fails
Donald J. Trump is all but certain to become the first former American president to stand trial on criminal charges after a judge on Monday denied his effort to delay the proceeding and confirmed it would begin next month.
The trial, in which Mr. Trump will be accused of orchestrating the cover-up of a simmering sex scandal surrounding his 2016 presidential campaign, had originally been scheduled to start this week. But the judge, Juan M. Merchan, had pushed the start date to April 15 to allow Mr. Trump’s lawyers to review newly disclosed documents from a related federal investigation.
Charlie Pierce: The ‘Mainstream Media’ Isn’t the Bulwark Against Totalitarianism We Wish It Were
On the electric Xwitter machine, Brynn Tannehill brilliantly eviscerated this hopeless Politico piece about the consequences of a Trump presidency that makes Pollyanna read like Mickey Spillane. I recommend reading all of Tannehill’s demolition, but in light of events over the weekend, I’d like to concentrate on one element of the Politico story—the one that deals with my chosen profession and its continuing failure properly to confront the threat posed by El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago. In fact, the author cites the “mainstream media” as one of the primary bulwarks against encroaching authoritarianism.
It’s FreeSpeech TV’s Spring Fund Drive!!
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Eric Trump, in Brutal Self-Own, Says Insurance Companies ‘Were Laughing’ as He Tried to Secure $464M Bond for Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s youngest adult son, Eric Trump, brutally self-owned on Fox News — saying that insurance companies “were laughing” when he tried to secure his father’s half-a-billion dollar bond.
The former president has until Monday to come up with $464 million he was ordered to pay in his New York fraud case or risk having Attorney General Letitia James begin seizing his assets, including his bank accounts and properties like Trump Tower.
Eric Trump told Sunday Morning Futures’ Maria Bartiromo that it’s impossible to secure such a large bond in the United States.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski signals openness to leaving the GOP
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, signaled that she would be open to leaving the Republican Party.
Pressed on whether she is considering becoming an independent, Murkowski replied, “I’m very independent-minded,” adding, “I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.”
Murkowski demurred when asked whether she would be open to being an independent who caucuses with Republicans.
Trump’s Options Dwindle as $454 Million Judgment Bears Down on Him Today
Monday is judgment day for former President Donald J. Trump — the day he fears a $454 million judgment against him might come due.
Hoping to stave off a financial crisis, Mr. Trump is racing the clock to block the New York attorney general from collecting the monetary penalty imposed in a civil fraud case. The attorney general, Letitia James, who brought the case accusing the former president of fraudulently inflating his net worth, has the power to freeze many of his bank accounts and begin the long, complicated process of seizing some of his properties.
Under New York law, Ms. James could have enforced the $454 million judgment once it became final last month, but she provided Mr. Trump a 30-day grace period that expires on Monday. Although Ms. James could move to collect at any moment, she is not expected to take any aggressive action Monday.
Barrett News Media: Stephanie Miller Still Brings Humor to Serious Topics 20 Years Into Syndicated Show
You could argue Stephanie Miller should be viewed as Republican royalty. The daughter of William E. Miller, the former New York Republican Representative, RNC Chairman, and 1964 running mate of Barry Goldwater, Miller would be a shoo-in conservative. But, that’s not the way her cookie has crumbled.
Miller is an unabashed liberal talk show host, with The Stephanie Miller Showserving as one of the largest programs on the political left. And despite a career spanning acting, stand-up comedy, and television, among others, Miller continues to be fueled by her radio show.
“It really honestly is my passion. I feel so lucky…I can’t believe I’m an adult and this is my job,” she joked. “It’s still just a lot of fun and I’m really passionate about what’s going on in our country.”
Charlie Pierce: The Governor of South Dakota Is Promoting a Texas Dental Practice Now?
There’s an undeniable sideshow aspect to American conservatism these days. This would be comical if it weren’t in charge in places like South Dakota, where Governor Kristi Noem is the current hot attraction on the conservative midway. Noem is a loyal follower of El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago; over the weekend, she joined him as he unspooled at one of his wankfests in Ohio. She was often mentioned as a possible running mate. Which made it a fascinating national political story last week when she apparently embarked on a second career as a television pitchperson.
The Rude Pundit: Regarding Bloodbaths… Let’s Remember What Trump Said Would Happen If Biden Was Elected in 2020 That Didn’t Happen
Republican presidential nominee and a shit-filled garbage bag with a bewigged, rotting rump roast on top, Donald Trump, loves to promise that violence and horror is coming unless he is elected. Forget that actual horror and violence happened while he was president. Oh, no. We’re supposed to look back at the riots and disease four years ago and nod, like delusional fucks, that, yes, we are better off now than we were then.
In every “speech” (if by “speech,” you mean, “a maniacal march through a miasma of mendacity and madness that would make Lovecraft scream for it to stop”), Trump paints a Brueghelesque picture of streets overrun with immigrant demons who drag precious white maidens into a gaping Hellmouth, where pig-faced criminals run through innocent chain stores and ransack them, dragging their booty to their homes made of fetus bones, where cities crumble as a demonic leader cackles while cutting off the genitals of children and forcing them to use unholy pronouns. If you think I’m making this up or exaggerating for grotesque effect, check out what Trump really said this past weekend. From migrants being “not human” to a “bloodbath” for the economy if he’s not restored to the White House, Trump gleefully baits and bashes with abandon. If Joe Biden is re-elected, Trump ominously intones, the world as we know it will cease to be and we will become slaves.
Fulton County judge says Fani Willis disqualification ruling ‘should be out Friday’
Judge Scott McAfee said his long-awaited ruling on the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “should” come out Friday.
“I made a promise to everybody. These kind of orders take time to write. I need to make sure I say exactly what I want to, and I plan to stick to the timeline I gave everyone,” McAfee said, according to ABC affiliate WSB who spoke to him Thursday evening.
“Should be out tomorrow,” he continued.
Attorneys for several defendants have been pushing for the disqualification of Willis from the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others.
Prosecutors Request Delay Of Trump’s Hush Money Trial
In a surprise move on Thursday, prosecutors in New York asked a judge to push back former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial by up to 30 days in order to allow all parties time to sort through a cache of potential new evidence.
The case, centering on payments made to silence accusations of extramarital affairs in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, had been set to go to trial on March 25 as the first of its kind for a former president.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a court filing that, although his office is still prepared to begin trial on the scheduled date, they would prefer more time in light of the fact that the U.S. Attorney’s Office only recently released tens of thousands of pages of records in response to a subpoena from Trump’s legal team.
Judge denies one of Trump’s motions to dismiss classified documents case
The judge presiding over the federal criminal case involving former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents denied one of his two motions to dismiss the case Thursday, saying the motion was premature.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon found that Trump’s argument — that the main statute prosecutors are using against him is unconstitutionally vague as it applies to presidents — is better-suited to be addressed later “in connection with jury-instruction briefing and/or other appropriate motions.”
Cannon issued the ruling shortly after a daylong hearing on Trump’s motions to toss the case, with Trump in attendance. Cannon, whom Trump nominated to the bench, made it clear she was skeptical of his attorneys’ arguments on their other motion to dismiss, which contends that the Presidential Records Act bars his prosecution.
James Crumbley, father of Ethan Crumbley, found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in son’s school shooting
A jury on Thursday convicted James Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter in connection with his teenage son’s deadly school shooting in 2021, in step with his wife, who was found guilty last month on the same charge.
The jury’s decision after about 10 hours of deliberations caps a landmark case that for the first time in the U.S. held the parents of a mass school shooter criminally responsible. James and Jennifer Crumbley’s son, Ethan, who was 15 when he opened fire at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit, pleaded guilty as an adult and was sentenced in December to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“These were egregious facts in this case. These parents could have prevented this tragedy. It was foreseeable,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said after the verdict.
Hunter Biden Gun Case Gets June 3 Trial Date As Judge Mulls Motions To Dismiss
Hunter Biden could face trial in Delaware on federal firearms charges as soon as June, in the midst of his father’s reelection campaign.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika set the tentative date during a short telephonic hearing Wednesday, though she is still weighing several defense motions to toss out the case against the president’s son that could yet derail any potential trial.
The trial is slated to begin June 3 and could last up to nine days. A separate trial on tax charges against him in California is now tentatively set to begin later that month.
Elon Musk Cancels Don Lemon’s Show On X Right After Their Interview
Elon Musk must have been really unhappy with his recent interview with former CNNanchor Don Lemon.
That’s because he canceled a proposed X partnership right after Lemon interviewed him for his new show, which had been set to debut on the platform March 18.
Lemon made the announcement on X Wednesday and said the cancellation came “hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday.”
The interview is still the show’s premiere episode, but it will run on YouTube instead.
Judge in Georgia election interference case dismisses three counts against Trump
The judge presiding over the election interference casein Georgia has dismissed some of the criminal counts against former President Donald Trump.
In a ruling Wednesday, Judge Scott McAfee found that six of the counts in the indictment against Trump and some of his co-defendants, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani, lacked sufficient detail. The judge left open the possibility that prosecutors could re-file the counts.
“As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony solicited. They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently,” McAfee wrote.
House passes bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S., sending it to the Senate
The House voted Wednesday to pass legislation thatcould ban TikTok in the U.S. as Republicans and Democrats alike sound the alarm that the popular video-sharing app, owned by a China-based company, is a national security threat.
The vote was 352-65, with one member, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, voting present. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain fate and there appears to be less urgency to act.
“Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement after the vote, warning that TikTok could be used to access American data and spread “harmful” information.
Malcolm Nance: Biden’s Joint Task Force Gaza Says Dead US Soldiers and Sailors is a Reality You May Need to Accept
President Biden announced during the State of the Union that he was ordering the US military to conduct “an emergency mission” to establish a pier that would allow sea cargo to return to the Port of Gaza. The purpose of this effort would be to increase the flow of humanitarian traffic and goods directly into North Gaza, bypassing the severe restrictions Egypt and Israel place on truck cargo. It sounds like a pretty good idea, except that it would be taking place in a ruined city, with virtually no infrastructure, and rely on the protection of the Israeli army to make sure US service members are not killed or captured by Hamas terrorists.
I mean, given the rabid intensity of hatred towards Israel and the United States by Palestinians, Iran, Russia, and Trump … What could go wrong?
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Trump’s newfound opposition to a TikTok ban isn’t swaying Republicans
Former President Trump reversed course and now opposes a ban on social media giant TikTok. But his new stance — and a full-court press from TikTok and its millions of users — isn’t swaying his fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill.
House GOP leaders are charging ahead with a vote Wednesday on legislation that would ban TikTok from U.S. app stores unless its parent company, China-based ByteDance, agrees to divest the popular video-based video app.
And even some of Trump’s conservative allies in Congress said they have no problem calling out their party’s presumptive nominee for president over his newfound position on TikTok.
5 Takeaways From Hur’s Testimony About the Biden Classified Documents Inquiry
Robert K. Hur, the former special counsel who investigated President Biden’s possession of classified documents after he left the vice presidency, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Republicans grilled Mr. Hur about his conclusion that the evidence was insufficient to charge Mr. Biden with a crime. Democrats, for their part, attacked him for disparaging remarks in his report about Mr. Biden’s mental acuity — including calling him a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who had “diminished faculties in advancing age.”
Read the rest of the story and see the Top 5 list at The New York Times
Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura Top R.F.K. Jr.’s List for Running Mate
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently approached the N.F.L. quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his running mate on an independent presidential ticket, and both have welcomed the overtures, two people familiar with the discussions said.
Mr. Kennedy confirmed on Tuesday that the two men were at the top of his list. It is not clear if either has been formally offered the post, however, and Mr. Kennedy is still considering a shortlist of potential candidates, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Mr. Kennedy said that he had been speaking with Mr. Rodgers “pretty continuously” for the past month, and that he had been in touch with Mr. Ventura since the former governor introduced him at a campaign event last month in Arizona.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden Clinch Their Party Nominations
President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday secured the delegates necessary to clinch their parties’ presidential nominations, according to The Associated Press, cementing a general election rematch in November months in the making.
Both men and their campaigns have long anticipated this moment. Mr. Biden faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary, as is typical for a sitting president, while Mr. Trump had been his party’s dominant front-runner for months.
Their November collision began to look even more likely after Mr. Trump scored a decisive win in Iowa in January. His victory cleared the field of all but one of his major Republican rivals and put him on a glide path to his party’s nomination. His last remaining primary challenger, Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign last week, further clearing a path that had already been remarkably free of obstacles for a candidate facing considerable legal problems.
Writer E. Jean Carroll Could Sue Trump For Defamation Again, Her Lawyer Suggests
An attorney representing E. Jean Carroll suggested the writer might again sue former President Donald Trump for defamation after he began to launch attacks against her once more, despite a recent $83.3 million judgment penalizing him for similar remarks.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lead attorney, made the comments after Trump, at a campaign rally in Georgia, complained about the $91.6 million bond he posted earlier this month to cover the $83.3 million jury award for defamation as he appeals the verdict. The former president said the verdict was “based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about,” adding that he “didn’t know” and had “never heard of” Carroll.
“The woman is not a believable person,” Trump told the crowd of his supporters. He later went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday to complain once more, calling the writer “Miss Bergdorf Goodman” and saying he had “no idea who she is.”
Trump Asks Court To Delay Hush Money Trial Until SCOTUS Rules On Immunity Claims
Donald Trump is seeking to delay his March 25 hush money trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases.
The Republican former president’s lawyers on Monday asked Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to adjourn the New York criminal trial indefinitely until Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved. Merchan did not immediately rule.
Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers argue some of the evidence and alleged acts in the hush money case overlap with his time in the White House and constitute official acts.
Republican National Committee senior staffers among employees terminated after Trump takeover
At least four senior staffers were among the Republican National Committee employees who were terminated Monday as the Trump campaign brass more formally took the reins of the RNC, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
One of the key staffers to depart was Elliot Echols, the RNC’s political director.
The RNC met in Houston last week to install a pair of new leaders selected by Trump: Chairman Michael Whatley, who previously led the North Carolina Republican Party, and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair. Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel agreed to step down last month after Trump formally endorsed Whatley.
Former Mar-a-Lago worker comes forward and describes moving materials in Trump classified docs case
A man who says he worked at Mar-a-Lago is going public with his recollection of events leading up to the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida residence over the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
In a televised interview with CNN, Brian Butler said he helped Trump aide Walt Nauta load about 10 to 15 boxes onto Trump’s plane at the West Palm Beach airport near his resort in June 2022, when representatives from the Justice Department were meeting with Trump and his attorneys about unreturned classified material.
Butler, whom CNN identified as “Trump Employee 5” in an indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith, said in the interview that aired Monday that the boxes were “the boxes that were in the indictment, the white banker’s boxes,” referring to photos in the federal indictment.
Charlie Pierce: I No Longer Believe The Republican Party Will Ever Return To Normalcy
In Wisconsin, the political class has finally emerged, blinking and staggering, out of the long, gerrymandered nightmare that began with the election of Scott Walker a decade or so ago, only to discover that, yes, once again, the experiment has gotten out of the lab. From the AP (via Politico):
Supporters of the recall campaign plan to present signatures Monday to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, saying they have more than the required 6,850 signatures from voters in Vos’ southeast Wisconsin district. “With more than 10,000 signatures on our recall petition, they’ve said it loud and clear: they’re tired of the status quo and demand new representation,” Matt Snorek, who started the campaign in January, said in a statement. Vos has dismissed the recall attempt as a waste of time and resources, which he reiterated in a statement Sunday. He questioned the group’s tactics and the validity of the signatures, promising that a team he had assembled would “evaluate each individual signature.”
Harry Litman: For the second time in days, the Supreme Court helped make another Trump presidency possible
The Supreme Court held Monday that a single state such as Colorado can’t prohibit Donald Trump from running for president as an insurrectionist under the 14th Amendment. It was the second time in less than a week that the court provided a crucial boost to the former president’s campaign to return to the White House.
The court’s strong inclination to restore Trump to the ballot was clear from the oral argument in the case last month, and indeed the justices reversed the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously. The “per curiam,” or “by the court,” opinion further emphasized that the court was speaking with a single voice.
Read the rest of Harry Litman’s piece at The Los Angeles Times
Dispute Over Gaza War Heats Up Between Biden and Netanyahu
A day after President Biden asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu dismissed that contention as “wrong,” escalating the leaders’ increasingly public dispute.
Mr. Netanyahu, in an interview with Politico that was to be aired on Sunday night, challenged Mr. Biden’s assessment of Israel’s military strategy in the Gaza Strip, saying that his policies represented the “overwhelming majority” of Israelis.
“I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts,” Mr. Netanyahu told Politico. An excerpt from the interview was released by the prime minister’s office.
Biden team brings in $10 million in the 24 hours after the State of the Union
President Joe Biden’s re-election machine brought in $10 million in the 24 hours following his State of the Union address on Thursday — a financial jolt as the campaign looks to build general election momentum off the speech.
The sum, which was shared first with NBC News, is a record for Biden’s re-election effort, the campaign said. And it’s notable even in the context of big political fundraising numbers. Biden’s campaign and affiliated committees powering the Democratic National Committee and other party groups raised $42 million in the entire month of January, for example.
The money flowed in via approximately 116,000 donations from 113,000 contributors, a senior Biden campaign adviser said. And the total builds on Biden’s early financial advantage over former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Katie Britt attempts to clean up her misleading State of the Union response
Alabama GOP Sen. Katie Britt on Sunday responded to allegations that her response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address was misleading.
The criticism centers on a story Britt told about a victim of human trafficking, which she implied happened during Biden’s tenure.
Britt spoke in her Thursday-night speech about visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023 and speaking to this woman.
“She had been sex-trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped,” Britt said in her response to the State of the Union.
‘Oppenheimer’ dominates Oscars, collecting trio of major awards among its 7 wins
“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s portrait of the father of the atomic bomb, won best picture Sunday at the 96th Academy Awards, along with six other awards.
The movie dominated the night, earning honors for best director (Nolan), best actor (Cillian Murphy), best supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), best cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), best film editing (Jennifer Lame) and best original score (Ludwig Göransson).
“Movies are just a little bit over 100 years old,” Nolan said in his best director acceptance speech. “Imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater. We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”
The Rude Pundit: The State of the Union is, Finally, “Eat Sh**, Republicans”
One of my greatest worries in Joe Biden becoming president was that he “believes that his capacity to forgive and forget with Republicans is an asset” and that he could “work in partnership with Republicans.” I said that back in 2019 as one reason that I didn’t support him in our innocent, pre-pandemic period. And in his previous State of the Union in 2023, that Joe Biden was still on display as he praised vile hate-goblin Mitch McConnell and said, “To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,” adding multiple pleas for such unity of purpose.
Well, something shook loose because the President Biden who delivered the 2024 State of the Union last week was fucking done trying win over the savages on the GOP side. And, amid the right-wing commentariat’s hand-wringing about how “political” and “angry” Biden’s speech was, there was an air of “oh, fuck” to their typical nonsense. Some of that “oh, fuck” came from Biden’s display of energy, which threw them off their game of endlessly calling Biden “sleepy” or “weak.” Over on Fox “news,” Sean Hannity, who always looks like he’s about to burp up a little bit of that puppy he ate, hilariously said Biden’s speech was “frightening” and called Biden “Jacked-Up Joe” because “he sounded like a hyper-caffeinated, angry old man.” Frankly, “Jacked-Up Joe” is an awesome nickname. Nutzoid right-wing spoogesock the Washington Times got a doctor to say that Biden had to be on Adderall to have that much energy. (This same psychiatrist told paper in 2021 that “parents are losing their teens…to the influence of teachers, peers and social media pushing political agendas,” so, really, she’s just there to polish the bullshit the Washington Times craps out.)
Biden announces ’emergency’ US military mission to build pier off Gaza coast to deliver aid
During his State of the Union speech on Thursday night, President Joe Biden announced an “emergency” military mission to construct a port in the Mediterranean Sea on Gaza’s coast to get humanitarian aid in.
“I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters,” Biden said in his address to Congress from the U.S. Capitol
“No U.S. boots will be on the ground,” he said. “This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. But Israel must also do its part.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene Dons MAGA Hat, Accosts Biden At State Of The Union
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) put on a red “Make America Great Again” hat as President Joe Biden entered the House chamber to give his State of the Union address on Thursday.
Greene grabbed a seat near the center aisle so she could make a video of herself greeting Biden. She handed him a pin bearing the name of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college student who was murdered last month.
“Laken Riley,” Green said in her video.
“I know how to say the name,” Biden said as he accepted the pin, with Greene responding, “Say her name.”
Sen. Katie Britt’s ‘Deeply Weird’ Biden Response Is Freaking People Out
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) found her name trending on social media on Thursday night, but perhaps not for reasons she may have wanted.
Britt delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union addressfrom her kitchen with theatrical flourishes, such as taking a deep, dramatic breath after using the word “breathtaking.”
In one short stretch, her tone shifted from happy and nearly laughing to nearly tearful and then angry.
If the speech was theatrical, plenty of people were ready to play critic ― and many of them panned the unusual approach.
‘Wake up’: Biden delivers fiery State of the Union — sparring with critics and swiping at Trump
President Joe Biden said he wanted to use his State of the Union to “wake up” Congress, but he was the one who seemed suddenly energized as he sparred with Republican hecklers and repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump.
Shaking off lackluster approval ratings and his own party’s anxiety about his political and physical health, the 81-year-old delivered on Thursday one of the feistiest and most political presidential addresses to Congress in recent memory.
He referenced “my predecessor” 13 times, not saying Trump’s name once but making him a clear focus of his speech, shouted back at firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and sarcastically mocked Republican lawmakers.
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Nikki Haley ends presidential campaign with ‘no regrets,’ ceding GOP nomination to Trump
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dropped out of the 2024 presidential race Wednesday after losing every state but Vermont in Super Tuesday’s primary contests, ceding the Republican nomination to former President Donald Trump.
Haley’s decision to end her campaign effectively kicks off the general election, with Trump and President Joe Biden taking unofficial command of their parties early in primary season after a string of victories.
“I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country, but the time has now come to suspend my campaign,” Haley said in a speech Wednesday morning. “I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard — I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
Mitch McConnell Endorses Trump, Whom He Once Denounced
Three years after delivering a scorching denouncement of Donald J. Trump after the Jan. 6 riot, Senator Mitch McConnell endorsed him for president on Wednesday, illustrating Mr. Trump’s power to bend the Republican Party to his will as he marches to the G.O.P. nomination.
Mr. McConnell, the Senate Republican minority leader, and Mr. Trump had not said a word to each other since December 2020. But people close to both men had been working behind the scenes for weeks to pave the way for the endorsement.
The Kentucky Republican had been the highest-ranking member of the party to withhold an endorsement for Mr. Trump. And for the former president, Mr. McConnell’s backing could be important as he tries to corral some Republican donors who have been leery of him.
Biden Preps for the State of the Union Speech and Rowdy Republicans
Fueled by throat-soothing tea, guided by teleprompters and surrounded by six aides and one historian, President Biden spent hours at Camp David last weekend honing a State of the Union speech that will be watched by one of his biggest audiences before the November election.
So the pressure is on.
Mr. Biden, it should be noted, had with him at Camp David a copy of “Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict,” a book by William Ury, an international negotiation expert.
“You’ll hear me on Thursday,” Mr. Biden said when reporters asked on Tuesday about his preparations.
Surprise! Nikki Haley Beats Donald Trump In Vermont GOP Presidential Primary
Nikki Haley on Tuesday pulled out a surprise win against Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary in Vermont.
She was right on the edge of winning more than 50% of the vote late Tuesday, as a small percentage of remaining votes were still being tallied. If she does, she’ll net herself 17 delegates. If she stays below 50%, the delegates will be spread out between her and others on the ballot.
It’s the second time the former South Carolina governor has topped Trump in a GOP primary. She picked up 19 delegates on Sunday after winning the primary in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) Announces She Won’t Seek Reelection
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) announced on Tuesday she won’t be seeking reelection in November, ending months of speculation about her political future.
In a video released by her office, Sinema complained about the death of civility and compromise in American politics.`
“The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic, attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word,” Sinema said. “I believe in my approach. But, it’s not what America wants right now.”
Biden to launch task force to crack down on ‘unfair and illegal pricing’ amid rising inflation
President Joe Biden on Tuesday will launch a new task force to take on “unfair and illegal” corporate pricing, which Biden sees as a major reason why consumers are not yet feeling the impact of cooling inflation rates and a strong economy.
The task force will be jointly led by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, two agencies at the forefront of the Biden administration’s aggressive regulatory agenda over the past three years.
“We’re excited to be co-chairing the president’s new Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, which builds on the FTC’s far-reaching work to promote competition and tackle unlawful business practices that are inflating costs for Americans,” FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a call Monday.
Five Super Tuesday takeaways on a big night for Biden and Trump
Primaries and caucuses in 16 states and American Samoa have brought further clarity to a presidential race that has been on a glide path to a rematch of the 2020 election.
But the Super Tuesday contests also have offered the first clues about down-ballot races that will help determine control of statehouses and Congress this November.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remain on track to face off again in the fall. Biden continued to outperform marginal opposition for the Democratic nomination. And former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley continued to struggle to win over Republican voters — even in states that on paper seemed more favorable to her.
Malcolm Nance: Remember Them… Two People Who Deserve a Trumpless America This November
This story has been an extremely difficult one to write. Because my heart is breaking as I do it. I returned from Israel a couple of weeks ago, and a pair of terrible personal events has placed me in a very dark mood, is illuminating how serious is the situation we face.
First, a tragic event occurred that impacted me personally and took me back to the grievous and tempestuous days after I had lost my wife. Then the second whammy hit. And now I am in Germany trying to save a man’s future.
About six weeks ago before I left for Israel, I had met the daughter of a friend who was an up-and-coming social media management star. She had been a fashion model for years but was now a beautiful and vibrant 32-year-old woman. She was intensely sharp and quite witty. She offered her services to help me with the marketing of my project and was even willing to come along to Israel, a country at war but a country she loved.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Amy Coney Barrett disagreed with the majority over Trump, but admonished the liberals instead
Justice Amy Coney Barrett packed two very different messages into her one-page opinion on Monday as the Supreme Court declared states could not toss former President Donald Trump off the ballot.
She chastised her colleagues on the right for breaking significant – and in her mind unnecessary – ground in the breadth of their legal reasoning.
But then she admonished the court’s three liberal justices, who also split from the majority’s legal rationale, in unusually biting terms.
“In my judgment, this is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency,” Barrett wrote. “The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election. Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up.”
Will Super Tuesday be Haley’s last stand against Trump? It’s ‘all about how competitive we can be’
Nikki Haley has repeatedly promised to remain in the Republican primary raceagainst Donald Trump until Super Tuesday, which offers the last big chance for the former governor and ambassador to start catching up to the former president in delegates for their party’s 2024 nomination.
But Haley has also repeatedly hedged on her plans after Tuesday, turning the day’s results — across 15 states — into a potentially pivotal moment in the course of her campaign.
“Super Tuesday, we’re going to try to be competitive. I hope we go forward,” she said on Friday. “But this is all about how competitive we can be.”
Kamala Harris Meets Israeli Cabinet Official Despite Netanyahu’s Rebuke
Vice President Kamala Harris met on Monday with a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet who came to Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Biden administration intensifies its efforts to push more humanitarian aid into war-battered Gaza.
White House officials said Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, requested the meeting and that the Democratic administration believed it was important that Harris sit down with the prominent Israeli official despite Netanyahu’s objections.
President Joe Biden, Harris and other senior administration officials have become increasingly blunt about their dissatisfaction with the mounting death toll in Gaza and the suffering of innocent Palestinians as the war nears the five-month mark.
Supreme Court rules states can’t kick Trump off the ballot
The Supreme Court on Monday handed a sweeping win to former President Donald Trump by ruling that states cannot kick him off the ballot over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — bringing a swift end to a case with huge implications for the 2024 election.
In an unsigned ruling with no dissents, the court reversed the Colorado Supreme Court, which had determined that Trump could not serve again as president under Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The provision prohibits those who previously held government positions but later “engaged in insurrection” from running for various offices.
Charlie Pierce: This Supreme Court Decision On The Colorado Ballot Is A Death Threat To The 14th Amendment
It turns out that there is gambling going on in here. From NBC News:
The court in an unsigned ruling with no dissents reversed the Colorado Supreme Court, which determined that Trump could not serve again as president under section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The court said the Colorado Supreme Court had wrongly assumed that states can determine whether a presidential candidate is ineligible under a provision of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The ruling makes it clear that Congress, not states, has to set rules on how the 14th Amendment provision can be enforced. As such the decision applies to all states, not just Colorado.
There is the unmistakable aroma of chickenshit to this ruling. An unsigned ruling with no dissents? Sonia? Elena? Ketanji? Hello? Is anybody there? Is this thing on? Testing — one, two? Hello? This lines up neatly with Bush v. Gore on the roster of ring-and-run Supreme Court decisions regarding election law.
The Rude Pundit: Democrats Should Go on the Offensive Against the Supreme Court
Look, the Supreme Court is not some super secret cabal of demigods who fly above the filthy, earthbound realm of politics. No, they are nine human being who shit and fart and fuck (one would hope), and you only need to look at the highly political negotiations behind the scenes when decisions are being made to understand that.
And Supreme Court is the top of the Judiciary, one of three supposedly co-equal branches of government. It’s like the president is the top of the Executive branch and the leaders of the Congress…you get the fuckin’ idea. And the president has no problem talking shit about Congress and vice versa. But, for some reason, while it’s fine to talk shit about lower courts, there’s this bright line around the Supreme Court.