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Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial saw the cross-examination of the defendant’s estranged former “fixer” Michael Cohen commence on Tuesday, with Cohen challenged on his evolving attitudes to his ex-boss, colourful insults and the idea that he has profited from an “obsession” with Mr Trump since 2018.
Cohen remained calm and stood his ground on a second day of testimony in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom, emphasising his former employers’ strategy of “delay, delay, delay” when it came to making the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels at the heart of the case, which was intended to buy her silence about a sexual encounter she claims she had with Mr Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel room in July 2006.
Ms Daniels herself took to the witness stand last week to deliver some highly explicit and embarrassing evidence, appearing unflappable as the defence worked hard to discredit her.
The former president denies the affair and the 34 felony counts brought against him by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who accuses him of falsifying business records to hide the payout.
The cross-examination of Cohen will continue after Wednesday’s recess as the prosecution prepares to rest its case.
Alex Woodward and Kelly Rissman are covering the trial from Manhattan Criminal Court.
Trump-Biden debate news follows weeks of backchannel conversations between campaigns, report says
The public announcement follows private back-channel discussions about possible meetings. The officials with the Biden and Trump campaigns have privately had informal conversations on debates in recent weeks, focused on meetings that would not involve the commission, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private events.
Further:
The Biden proposal will be the subject of extensive negotiations between the two camps over the coming weeks, with Biden advisers now expecting proposals to come in from networks. Biden’s team has requested that only broadcast networks that hosted Republican primary debates in 2016 and Democratic primary debates in 2020 be eligible to host the first debate. Only four networks — CNN, ABC News, Telemundo and CBS News — hosted debates for both parties during those cycles.
Biden proposed that the moderator should be selected by the broadcast host from its “regular personnel,” with firm time limits for answers, equal speaking time, alternative turns to speak and microphones that are active only during each candidate’s turn. The first debate would take place after the June 15 conclusion of the Group of Seven summit in Italy and the conclusion of Trump’s criminal trial in New York. The September debate would take place before the start of early voting.
Oliver O'Connell15 May 2024 15:30
Biden accepts CNN invite for June 27 debate
“Over to you, Donald...”
Oliver O'Connell15 May 2024 15:24
‘Bruce Springsteen is bad but Hannibal Lecter is good?’
It was a confusing weekend in the Garden State.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 15:15
Trump’s ‘surrogates’ fill the courthouse to get around his gag order
Alex Woodward writes:
Donald Trump could end up in jail or face thousands of dollars in fines if he continues to violate a gag order blocking him from publicly attacking witnesses and the jury in his hush money trial in Manhattan.
Jurors and witnesses testifying against the criminal defendant former president now enter a room where a growing number of lawmakers and powerful Trump allies can stare them down and say whatever they want about them, in person and online.
Continue reading...
Oliver O'Connell15 May 2024 14:45
New York hush money trial: Did Eric Trump break court rules?
Trump’s middle son could be in trouble after tweeting from Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday as he sat to observe the first day of Cohen’s testimony at his father’s trial on Monday.
And he’s not alone...
Here’s our report on that apparent breach of the rules.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 14:15
Trump to Biden: ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’
Here’s some further response from the Republican to the president on Truth Social just now:
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 14:00
Laura Ingraham complains court ‘smells’ as Alina Habba cuts desperate figure
On Fox News last night, Ingraham – who witnessed the trial on Tuesday – unwisely complained that Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom smelled, leading to a deluge of new fart jokes on social media.
She also attacked the credibility of Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, very much doing Trump’s dirty work for him like the rest of the gaggle of Republican allies who attended yesterday to cheerlead for him.
On Sean Hannity’s show, Trump’s legal spokesperson Alina Habba appeared again with some pretty weak tea remarks about the whole affair, very much looking like she’s running out of steam.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 13:45
Joe Biden challenges Trump to debates: ‘I hear you’re free on Wednesdays'
Here’s the president channeling Clint Eastwood as he lays down the gauntlet to his embattled Republican rival.
He’s proposing two debates, one in June and one in September, abandoning the decades-old tradition of having three autumn face-offs organised by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
You can read Trump’s response in the tweet below.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 13:30
New York hush money trial: Trump and Johnson’s marriage of convenience just took a weird turn
House speaker Mike Johnson – the pious born-again Christian who uses an app that notifies him when his son watches porn (and vice versa) – appeared in public with Donald Trump, the man on trial over offences related to his alleged attempts to pay an adult film actress $130,000 in hush money to stay quiet over an extramartial affair.
Johnson said he hadcome to New York as a “friend” to the former president and then proceeded to attack Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan and even the judge’s daughter — all of which the court has prohibited Trump from doing under the threat of a gag order.
Speaking of which, here’s Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville on why he turned up at court on Monday (very much a case of saying the quiet part out loud):
Here’s Eric Garcia on the Damascene conversion of Speaker Johnson over a man he once warned was not morally fit to be commander-in-chief.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 13:15
New York hush money trial: Stormy Daniels wore a bulletproof vest to testify
Stormy Daniels’ lawyer has revealed that the porn star wore a bullet-proof vest to Trump’s hush money trial because she feared what “some nut might do to her”.
Clark Brewster, Daniels’ attorney, told CNN that testifying in the historic trial had taken its toll on her, revealing that she cried herself to sleep the night before taking the stand.
“She wore a bulletproof vest every day until she got to the courthouse,” he said.
“She was paralyzed with fear – not of taking the stand or telling her story, but what might some nut might do to her. And I’m genuinely concerned about it as well.
“She has a lot of fear... she was concerned about the security coming into New York.”
Katie Hawkinson has more.
Joe Sommerlad15 May 2024 12:45
