A former Manhattan prosecutor is baffled that Donald Trump didn't get a talking-to by the New York judge presiding over his falsification of business records criminal case over his social media activities that experts roundly say violated a tightened gag order. Catherine Christian appearing on MSNBC's "The Beat" with Ari Melber was at a loss why the former president is being given a pass on his conduct by Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan. "I don't quite frankly understand why Judge Merchan has not at a minimum admonished him, or reminded him, 'Sir, there's a gag order!'" Want more breaking politic...
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Former President Donald Trump could be easily controlled by Judge Juan Merchan in the courtroom during the Manhattan hush money trial, his longtime acquaintance and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton said on MSNBC — if only he's willing to throw a bit of Trump's bullying tactics back in his face. His suggestion came in response to former RNC chair Michael Steele discussing the former president's post-courtroom rant to reporters, where he waved around a stack of clippings from right-wing news outlets and called the whole trial a sham. "Well, that's Trump, you know?" said Steele. "Every corner...
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Donald Trump is used to getting away with rule violations, even in a court setting, but those days are over, according to a former prosecutor. Trump spent Thursday in court for jury selection in the former president's upcoming trial for allegations that he broke the law when he purportedly made hush money payments to hide an affair with an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election, and then covered it up by disguising the payment in his financial records. At the end of the day in court, there was a situation in which the judge sided with prosecutors on an issue involving divulging the informa...
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Former President Donald Trump feels uniquely powerless and helpless in the New York hush money trial, with no ability to control the situation or command the narrative, former GOP White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. This came after the former president gave a disgruntled and disorganized rant just outside the Manhattan courthouse, where he complained about the temperature of the courtroom, reiterated that he was being persecuted, and waved around clippings from right-wing media outlets criticizing the case. "This is very interesting, Alyssa," said Bli...
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Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has denied Donald Trump's classified document co-defendants' motions to dismiss. In her eight-page order, Cannon rejected efforts by Trump's aide Walt Nauta and former Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira to get the cases against them tossed, reported MSNBC host and legal analyst Katie Phang. She tweeted that Cannon shot down Nauta's request to be spared of a trial and instead "finds that the indictment puts him on enough notice so that he can adequately prepare for trial." Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story. ALS...
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Far-right Arizona state Rep. Austin Smith is ending his re-election bid after being caught forging petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. According to Yvonne Wingett Sanchez of The Washington Post, "State Rep. Austin Smith (R) — who was senior director at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA — was accused by a Democratic activist of submitting petition sheets with rows of voter names, addresses and signatures that 'bear a striking resemblance' to Smith’s handwriting, according to a complaint. Smith 'personally circulated multiple petition sheets be...
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Former President Donald Trump's partnership with the mob in his early days of business were legion, said biographer Tim O'Brien on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" — but deep down, even as Trump looked up to crime bosses, he was very scared of them. This conversation came during an analysis of the former president's hush money trial in Manhattan, where a full jury has been selected as of Thursday evening. "Donald Trump's first partners in Atlantic City, Ken Shapiro, a bag man for the Philadelphia mob, and a labor racketeer named Danny Sullivan," said O'Brien. "Those were his two partners in Atl...
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The prosecution team may need to be wary of Juror No. 2. Described as a married investment banker with a Master's degree is one thing. But the fact that he's read Trump’s bestselling book, "The Art of the Deal," and claims to track Trump's Truth Social posts — is another, according to one expert. Elliot Williams, aformer deputy assistant attorney general at the DOJ, flagged this particular juror as a potential concern for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to prove his case to a jury of former President Donald Trump's Manhattan peers. Want more breaking political news? Click for the lates...
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Former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money jury likely includes a person who arrived in "stealth" and has the potential to make or break the case against him, a legal expert said Thursday. Trial Behavior Consulting analyst Steve Duffy spoke with the Independent about the problematic "stealth juror" who appears impartial but harbors hidden biases. "No doubt possible stealth jurors exist on ‘both sides’," Duffy told The Independent. “[They] really want to be on the jury [but] have a very strong opinion, either for or against him, and are deliberately not saying anything to try to get on...
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In a post to X this Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he will not change the procedure for removing him from his leadership position, after far-right members erupted in anger over the proposed rule change. “Since the beginning of the 118th Congress, the House rule allowing a Motion to Vacate from a single member has harmed this office and our House majority,” Johnson wrote. “Recently, many members have encouraged me to endorse a new rule to raise this threshold. While I understand the importance of that idea, any rule change requires a majority of the full House, which we do not h...
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