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Trump Criminal Trial: Day 8 Key Takeaways

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Here’s What We Know About the Jurors Seated in Trump Historic Criminal Trial

As the first full week of testimony wrapped up in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial, jurors were granted a three-day weekend to mull over what they had heard. After over 10 hours of detailed testimony across four days, David Pecker, the former chief of American Media Inc., concluded his time on the witness stand. 

Pecker outlined how he assisted Trump in suppressing negative stories and attacking his rivals in the National Enquirer during the 2016 campaign. Upcoming testimonies from Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen are heavily anticipated.

Friday afternoon, the prosecution called Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime assistant at the Trump Organization, followed by a banker for Cohen, indicating a shift towards the pivotal documents central to the charges against Trump.

The courtroom drama unfolded with more of the alleged scandalous affair, where the focus shifted to 34 counts of falsified business records. Prosecutors meticulously presented evidence, including a shell company and its dormant bank account, intended for hush money payments that never materialized. 

Pecker’s testimony, portraying a narrative of unique dealings and campaign assistance, clashed with Trump’s legal team’s efforts to discredit him by pointing out alleged inconsistencies. The jury was given testimony to navigate through a complex paper trail.

The Trump legal team worked to undermine Pecker’s credibility during his extensive testimony. Meanwhile, prosecutors portrayed Pecker’s deal with Trump as vital and positioned him as a campaign insider. Trump’s attorneys challenged this narrative by the prosecution. They pointed out alleged inconsistencies in Pecker’s testimony and disputed his claims about AMI’s acknowledgment of campaign finance violations.

Pecker concluded his time on the stand. The courtroom tension was high, with both sides contesting the credibility of his statements.

Of course, Trump raged outside the courtroom about witnesses and still violating his gag order. BTW, he’s still nodding off in court; He’s also complaining about how cold the courtroom is. But wait, isn’t he a strong alpha male that will make America great again? Or just another criminal defendant who can’t stand a little air conditioning? Meh, who knows at this point? 

The post Trump Criminal Trial: Day 8 Key Takeaways first appeared on The Source.

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Four Takeaways From Thursday’s Proceedings at Trump Hush Money Trial

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Four Takeaways From Thursday’s Proceedings at Trump Hush Money Trial

On Thursday, Trump returned to a Manhattan court for his criminal trial connected to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. To refresh, he is facing 35 felony counts. 

Here are key takeaways from Thursday’s court action:

1. Tabloid publisher David Pecker of the National Enquirer knew ‘catch and kill’ payments to ensure stories never saw the light of day was a violation of federal election laws.

2. Pecker testified that Trump was not worried in the slightest about his family learning of his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels. He said Trump showed no concern about the potential damage his family would receive after enduring his alleged extramarital affairs asserted by both Karen McDougal and Daniels. 

3. Prosecutors say Trump has continuously violated gag orders. Judge Juan Merchan barred Trump from speaking publicly or on social media about individuals involved in the case.

The judge will be ruling on allegations that Trump violated the gag order at least 10 times.

4. On Thursday, the Defense began their cross-examination of Pecker by Emil Bove.

A CNN Poll conducted by SSRS found that just 13% nationwide feel Donald Trump is being treated the same as other criminal defendants. A majority of the nation was divided over whether Trump is being treated more harshly (34%) or more leniently (34%) than other defendants. Only 44% of Americans believe that the jury will make a fair verdict, and 56% are more skeptical that a fair result will happen.

The post Four Takeaways From Thursday’s Proceedings at Trump Hush Money Trial first appeared on The Source.

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First Day of Testimony in Trump Criminal Trial Ends After Opening Statements and First Witness

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First Day of Trump Trial Ends After Opening Statements

The first day of testimony wrapped up Donald Trump’s history in New York’s hush money criminal trial. This is the first time a former President has been tried in criminal court, so here’s what you need to know.

Open statements were laid out. Prosecutors said this case is about a “criminal conspiracy and a cover-up.” The defense, unsurprisingly, tried to discredit their points. That’s their job, but let’s see if the jury buys it after the first day.

Then, the first witness testified. Now get this, his name is David Pecker. Insert chuckle. He’s the ex-publisher of the National Enquirer, arguably the most prominent tabloid magazine in the country. Pecker will resume testimony Tuesday. He only briefly took the stand on Monday. CNN reports that prosecutors believe Pecker was “a central player in the alleged hush money scheme in an effort to suppress” or kill negative details about Trump before the 2016 election.

The judge ruled that, on Monday, he would allow Trump to be asked about the civil fraud and the E. Jean Carroll verdicts, among other previous cases, if he decided to testify. ICYMI, Trump was ordered to pay over $400 million in penalties after a New York civil court found he defrauded the state of NY through years of fraudulent business dealings. As for Carroll, a civil jury found that Trump defamed her when he said he did not rape her in the mid-nineties. A jury believed some of her accounts and found he sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll and defamed her. When Trump defamed her again, he was ordered to pay over $80 million in damages. The former President is appealing both verdicts. 

Now, get this. Trump is under a strict gag order. The judge said there will be a gag order hearing to determine if Trump violated the order. That is set for 9:30 a.m. ET tomorrow, and the jury has been excused until 11 a.m. ET while the prosecution and defense argue over Trump and his gag order, which he seemingly is violating. 

The Trump legal saga continues.

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Here’s What We Know About the Jurors Seated in Trump’s Historic Criminal Trial

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Here’s What We Know About the Jurors Seated in Trump Historic Criminal Trial

CNN reports that so far, and in lightening quick fashion seven people have been seated on the jury in the unprecedented Donald Trump hush money trial in Manhattan. Court will not be in session Wednesday. Jury selection will continue Thursday until prosecutors and defense counsel can agree on 12 jurors and probably six alternates in the first criminal trial of a former President of the United States.

Let’s get to what we know about the seven jurors that have been already seated. Not that this reporting comes from CNN:

  1. The first seated juror, who will be the foreperson on Trump’s jury, is a man originally from Ireland. He works in sales and has some college education. He is married but doesn’t have kids. He reads the New York Times and Daily Mail and watches some Fox News and MSNBC.
  2. The second juror is an oncology nurse who lives with her fiancé. She’s a native New Yorker. She reads the New York Times and watches CNN.
  3. The third seated juror is a corporate lawyer. He’s originally from Oregon. He gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Google. He’s a younger man who’s never been married and doesn’t have kids. 
  4. The fourth juror is an older Puerto Rican man who’s married with adult children and two grandkids. When asked about his hobbies, he said, “I guess my hobby is my family.” He has an IT business for training and consulting and attended one year of college. He told the court he finds Trump fascinating and mysterious. “So many people are set off one way or the other and that is interesting,” the man said. “Really, this one guy can do all of this, wow.” Trump “makes things interesting,” the man said, but also didn’t indicate any strong feelings about his politics.
  5. The fifth juror is a young Black woman who teaches English language in a public charter school system. She has a master’s degree in education, is not married and doesn’t have any kids. The juror said that as a person of color she has friends who have strong opinions on Trump, but she personally is not a political person. She said she tries to avoid political conversations and doesn’t really care for the news. The juror did say she appreciates Trump’s candor: “President Trump speaks his mind and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking.” She was also the only juror of 18 in the box Tuesday morning who said she wasn’t aware that Trump is facing charges in other criminal cases.
  6. The sixth juror is a software engineer at a large broadcast company who recently graduated from college. She voiced no strong feelings about Donald Trump one way or the other and said, “I will be fair and impartial.” She is not married and has no kids, currently living with three roommates in Chelsea. The juror gets her news from the New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok. She asked the judge whether her sister’s wedding on a Sunday in September would be a scheduling conflict. Merchan quipped, “If we were still here in September that would be a big problem,” garnering laughs in the courtroom.
  7. The seventh juror is a civil litigator who is married with two kids and lives on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. Originally from North Carolina, he reads the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Washington Post. He said he has “political views as to the Trump presidency” and that he thinks there were likely Trump administration policies he disagreed with. “I don’t know the man and I don’t have opinions about him personally,” he said. “I certainly follow the news, I’m aware there are other lawsuits out there. But I’m not sure that I know anyone’s character.”

The post Here’s What We Know About the Jurors Seated in Trump’s Historic Criminal Trial first appeared on The Source.

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Critics Claim Trump’s Chick-Fil-A Was Staged For Photo Op

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In a surprise appearance at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Atlanta’s Vine City last week, former President Donald Trump found himself at the center of controversy once again after a young Black woman embraced him in what appeared to be a spontaneous show of support. However, new revelations suggest that the encounter may have been more orchestrated than it initially seemed.

According to reports from Fox 5, the embrace was orchestrated by conservative activist Michaelah Montgomery, founder of Conserve the Culture, a group that recruits and educates college students and young alumni at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) about conservative ideas. Montgomery, a former Georgia Republican Party staffer, allegedly coordinated the event after being notified of Trump’s visit to the area.

“Everybody got together at around 9:30 in the morning and walked on over to the Chick-fil-A, and then we sat there and waited until the president showed up,” Montgomery revealed. She expressed frustration at the media’s portrayal of the event, emphasizing that it was not a spontaneous encounter but a planned gathering.

Montgomery’s admission has sparked outrage and skepticism, with many questioning the authenticity of the moment captured in viral videos.

Meanwhile, Angela Stanton, a staunch supporter of Trump and founder of “Auntie Angie’s House,” a non-profit support center for expectant mothers in Vine City, expressed disappointment after failing to secure a visit or position in the Trump campaign. Stanton, who campaigned vigorously for Trump for many years, faced the ultimatum of keeping “Auntie Angie’s” doors open or accepting a paid consulting position with Bobby Kennedy’s campaign. Ultimately, she chose the latter, feeling insulted by the lack of acknowledgment from the Trump camp.

Watch her video below.

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More Than 50 Potential Jurors Dismissed on First Day of Historic Trump New York Criminal Trial

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More Than 50 Potential Jurors Dismissed on First Day of Historic Trump New York Criminal Trial

The historic first criminal trial ever against a former President of the United States started with emphatic energy as dozens of prospective jurors, more than 50, were dismissed from the first pool during the jury selection process on Monday. According to various reports, most said they felt they could not hear the case fairly or impartially and were denied the running of the 12-seat jury. 

Full stop CNN and other news outlets reported Trump seemingly nodded off during day one of the trial’s jury selection process. He reportedly fell asleep. You can’t make this up. 

This underscores the scathing reality of finding not only an adequate but also an impartial jury during easily one of the most high-profile criminal cases in this country’s history.

Get this: at least nine more jurors were excused after saying they could not serve for any other reason. That left about 34 of the 96 potential jurors from the first pool, this from reporters inside the courtroom as cameras are not allowed in New York hearings. One juror said, “I just couldn’t do it,” from the hallway outside the courtroom.

The remaining members of the first pool must fill out a questionnaire about how they consume media and the news, along with their habits for such indulgence, where they reside, and whether they have a relative or have ever volunteered or worked for the Trump campaign, as well as a host of other inquiries.

As you can imagine, attorneys from both sides will scrutinize the remaining candidates. They will also review their social media profiles and ask more personal questions to search for potential bias against or for the polarizing defendant. 

“You really don’t want jurors who bring something to the table, other than the fact that they have a general understanding Trump was the president,” said Joshua Naftalis, a former federal prosecutor in New York and now a partner at Pallas, who told Axios.

Whoever they seat to be jurors, along with the alternates, is in for one heck of a ride in the first of four criminal trials Trump is facing. 

The post More Than 50 Potential Jurors Dismissed on First Day of Historic Trump New York Criminal Trial first appeared on The Source.

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The People of New York v. Donald Trump: First Criminal Trial of U.S. President Begins

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Donald Trump will once again negatively make history. Today (April 15), Trump will be the first former president to stand tiral on criminal charges. The first step in the trial will be jury selection.

Trump is required to attend each trial hearing, which, according to NBC News, could last up to eight weeks. Trump has pleaded not guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, which can be punishable of up to four years in prison.

The charges are connected to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office claim Trump engaged in a plot with his former attorney, Michael Cohen, and the National Enquirer’s publisher to suppress scandalous reports about him leading up to Election Day.

One of these reports involved adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who asserted she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has refuted the allegation, and Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to silence her about the claim. Subsequently, after Trump’s election, he reimbursed Cohen through payments categorized as legal expenses within his company’s records—documents the DA alleges were doctored to conceal the hush money transactions.

Trump attempted to delay the case, with focusing on the election. However, that attempt failed. Just selection is expected to last up to two weeks.

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Trump Clarifies His Stance on Abortion Rights in Video Posted on Truth Social

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Donald Trump said today that if he is elected POTUS, abortion rights should be left to the states, as reported by CNN. For once, he gave a clear stance on a hot-button issue across politics in America.

“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,” from Trump in a video he posted to his Truth Social account. The same Truth Social that just lost 2 billion in value and had two large shareholders plead guilty to insider trading. 

“Many states will be different,” Trump added. “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.”

Trump previously said he might support a 15-week federal ban with exceptions in the cases of incest, rape, and when the life of the mother is in danger. But, his decision to hand off the delicate issue back to the states and stand on a national ban like some of his hard right-leaning Republican lackeys, oops, meant to say colleagues, was still “denounced by a major anti-abortion rights organization, which said his position did not go far enough” as stated in CNN’s reporting.

But let’s not forget how he placed the SCOTUS judges on the bench that overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump stood on his business when he stated he was “proudly the person responsible” for doing just that and took the issue “out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, minds, and vote of the people in each state.”

Trump’s video on Truth Social came with immediate backlash from anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which states that a 15-week national ban is their standard for Republican candidates in the presidential primary. These, sheesh.  “We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act,” said the group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser. Naturally, Trump had to add yet another false statement when he said “all legal scholars, both sides” wanted Roe v. Wade terminated and that we now have “abortion where everybody wanted it, from a legal standpoint.” If this issue bothers you, here’s a way to do something about it – vote, vote, and keep voting. 

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Billionaire Firm Backed Trump’s $175 Million Bond Saying It Was an ‘Easy Transaction’

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Donald Trump Reportedly Teases 2024 Presidential Run at CPAC

In Trump’s world, the former president was up against the wall after losing his civil case, in which he, his sons, and his organization were found liable for fraud in New York. To appeal the astronomical judgment, he had to post a bond of $464 million. Trump seemingly lucked out after an appellate judge dropped his required bond from half a billion bucks to only $175 million. Only.

In a CNN report, Don Hankey, the chairman and majority shareholder of Knight Specialty Insurance, saved Trump as the underwriter of the $175 million. As Hankey put it, the deal came together quickly. And get this: Trump supposedly posted all cash as collateral.

“It’s what we do. I’m happy to do it. We would have done it for anybody else,” Hankey said in a phone interview. “It was an easy transaction. It was put together very quickly.” Knight Specialty Insurance is based in California, and is known for providing subprime auto loans to car buyers with weaker credit scores. Oh, they do that type of business. “We had a conversation about putting together a bond of that size,” Hankey said to CNN.

It’s not a coincidence that Hankey came to the rescue. He has supported Trump’s presidential campaigns in the past. CNN reports that he “initially reached out to the Trump Organization last month when the former president was having trouble putting together a bond of $464 million.” Hankey is pretty well off and has a fortune that Forbes values at $7.4 billion.

“Ultimately, he put up all cash,” Hankey added but says he does not know where the $175 million in cash that Trump posted came from. It is interesting that they don’t do any due diligence on a transaction of that magnitude. 

It’s no surprise that Hankey told CNN that he, along with his wife and two sons, have all donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and will support him again in 2024. Well, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. 

Even with all that he has done Hankey said he hasn;t event heard directly from Trump, but he said Trump’s son Eric reached out Tuesday to thank him for the business. How nice of him. 

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Trump’s Media Stock Plummets, Dropping His Net Worth by $1 Billion  

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Trump’s Media Stock Plummets, Dropping His Net Worth by $1 Billion  

For those who swear by Trump being so great for the American economy, here’s something for your bingo card today. His shares of Truth Social just plummeted. That’s his social media app, with the ironic name that he owns and uses to regularly rage over, well, anyone that stands in his way, starting with the “radical liberals” and the witch-hunting ‘insert prosecutor’ in any of his criminal cases. H

ere’s how it all went down, quite literally. CNN reported that Trump Media & Technology Group just disclosed that it lost more than $58 million and only generated very little revenue in 2023, like $4.1 million for the entire year. Comparatively, the same company allegedly profited $50.5 million in 2022. 

Now, as you can imagine, the former president is the majority shareholder of Trump Media & Technology Group. Hence, after the financial disclosure, his net worth is nose-dived by more than $1 billion today. Donald Trump owns a majority stake of 78.8 million in the newly public company. But the revenue has been in a tailspin, dropping 39% “year-over-year in the fourth quarter to just $751,500,” as CNN reports. That is pretty scary; investors never want to see that from any start-up.

The disclosures of the significant losses are so drastic that Trump Media’s accountants warned they “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern,” which can be taken as Wall Street jargon for: We may not be able to stay in business. One can only hope … they figure it out. Wink. Wink.

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