Justice Juan Merchan on Friday delayed former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money case until after the presidential election.
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Harvard Law’s Dershowitz Compares Lawfare Against Trump to McCarthyism, Says the Future is Dark
Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz say the political lawfare against former President Donald Trump is a return to the McCarthyism of the 1950s.
“I know lawyers who have been asked to defend Donald Trump on First Amendment grounds,” Dershowitz said on the Wednesday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “They would normally take the case, but they say, ‘we can’t afford it for our family because they’re coming after our bar license.’ It’s exactly what happened during McCarthyism.”
Read MoreCommentary: Trump’s Conviction Signals New Political Era
When an elderly relative is dying and the inevitable finally arrives, it still hurts a great deal. From the beginning, I had no faith in the legal process that has convicted Donald Trump in New York. Taking into account the prosecutor, the charges, the venue, the biased judicial oversight, and the sui generis nature of the proceedings, it was pretty obvious the fix was in from the beginning. But his conviction is a depressing spectacle all the same. It felt like we woke up in a different country on Friday.
Until the news arrived, I had not completely lost hope. After all, it was a jury trial. Juries have previously defied both public opinion and threats of riots to do the right thing by defendants. In recent years, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted, as was George Zimmerman. Because of the unanimity requirement, there was always a chance that one or more of the jurors might hold out and create a mistrial, at the very least.
Read MoreRule of Lawfare: Jury Instructions from NY Judge to Manhattan Jurors in Trump ‘Hush Money’ Case Contained Made-up and Selectively Chosen Language
A New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal counts related to falsifying business records last week, prompting outcry that New York Judge Juan Merchan, who was handpicked to handle the case and who donated to Joe Biden, committed misconduct during the trial, including how he handled the jury instructions. A CNN senior legal analyst reported that the case was full of so many legal stretches that employees of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office referred to it as the “zombie case.” Daniel Street, an attorney in Louisiana who writes about lawfare, told The Tennessee Star the jury instructions were “terrible.”
Read MoreJury Dismissed for the Day in Trump Hush Money Trial
The jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial was dismissed for the day on Wednesday afternoon, and will continue deliberations on Thursday morning.
Read MoreTrump Defense Plants Seeds of ‘Reasonable Doubt’ While Prosecutors Prop Up Cohen
Former President Donald Trump’s defense’s closing arguments in his so-called hush money trial on Tuesday were designed to plant seeds of reasonable doubt with the jury while the prosecution sought to prop up their key witness, Michael Cohen, who continues to be plagued by credibility issues.
Read MoreCommentary: Trumpophobia and the Left’s Projection of Their Own Failures
As Trump continues to show leads in critical swing states, as various lawfare-inspired cases against him seem to the public to be more persecutions than prosecutions, and as Joe Biden appears daily more incoherent and lost, the left on spec has resorted to warning the nation about all the supposedly catastrophic consequences of a future Trump presidency.
Ironically, the left seems oblivious to the reality that one reason Trump leads Biden in the polls is precisely because voters can compare the four-year record of the prior Trump presidency to Biden’s last 40 months.
Read MoreTrump Fundraising Surges, Outraising Biden by $25 Million, Even as Trial Limits His Campaigning
Amid an ongoing criminal trial that has largely limited his ability to campaign in-person, former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee managed to out-fundraise President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee by a hefty margin in April.
Collectively, Trump and the RNC raised $76 million last month, including $50.5 million raised at a single event in Florida. By contrast, President Joe Biden and the DNC managed to raise a combined $51 million over the same period.
Read MoreMichael Cohen’s Testimony Implodes on Prosecutors in New York Trial Against Trump
At the conclusion of key prosecution witness Michael Cohen’s testimony Monday in Donald Trump’s so-called “hush money” trial, jurors were left to ponder a litany of damaging statements that have further cut into Cohen’s credibility and likely made the prosecution’s case harder to prove.
Read MoreCohen Testifies He Stole from Trump Organization
Key prosecution witness Michael Cohen in the Trump hush money trial testified Monday under cross-examination that he stole from the Trump Organization, for whom he worked for over a decade.
Read MoreAttorneys Tell CNN Trump Defense ‘Knocked’ Michael Cohen Down and Put Him ‘On the Mat’
CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson and criminal defense attorney Bill Brennan, who previously represented former President Donald Trump, said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s star witness Michael Cohen experienced a beatdown on Thursday.
Read MoreDisbarred Michael Cohen’s Testimony Did Little to Help Bragg’s Case, Credibility Still a Problem
Michael Cohen’s opening day of testimony—much like other witnesses—appeared to do little to bolster Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump, which at least one legal expert assesses is weak.
Read MoreAlvin Bragg’s Team Produced Docs at Center of Case Against Trump But Fail to Establish Direct Link
Prosecutors finally displayed the documents at the heart of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump on Monday, but have yet to establish a direct link to demonstrate Trump’s culpability.
Until Monday, prosecutors had been focused on setting up other pieces of their case: the context for the $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about claims of a sexual encounter and the broader “conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election they allege Trump was involved in. Monday’s witnesses — former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney and Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff — offered starkly different testimony than earlier witnesses like David Pecker and Keith Davidson, providing no salacious celebrity stories and an almost exclusive focus on accounting.
Read MoreTrump Turns Big Apple into His Political Playground
Former President Donald Trump is expected to spend much of the next two months in New York City while he attends his criminal trial, a development that has forced him to reimagine political campaigning to match his unprecedented circumstances.
Since the trial began earlier this month, he has begun campaigning throughout New York City with the intensity of a competitive mayoral candidate, despite the Big Apple’s status as a Democratic bastion.
Read MoreCommentary: Another Defense Against Bragg’s ‘Sham’ Indictment
Jury selection has begun in the New York City “hush money” trial of Donald Trump, who is charged in a 34-count indictment with falsifying business records of the Trump Organization. This case is part of a Democrat-led effort to engage in lawfare on various Progressive battlefields.
Read MoreJulie Kelly Commentary: Ties Between Judge Merchan’s ‘Child’ and Adam Schiff Represent Major Conflict in Hush Money Trial
At the end of 2019, Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was leading the first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump.
Read More‘Truly Unprecedented:’ Donald Trump Is Dominating the Early Primary Season Like Nothing in Modern History
Former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the early primary season in an unprecedented third bid for the White House, polling experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
This Republican primary cycle is like none other as the frontrunner is a former president, has a massive lead in the polls, his former vice president is running against him and Trump has two federal indictments under his belt. Polling analysts stressed to the DCNF the stark difference between this GOP primary season and previous cycles, arguing that it’s difficult to draw comparisons in modern history.
Read MoreGrand Jury Votes to Indict Trump in Stormy Daniels Hush Money Case
A Manhattan grand jury has reportedly voted to indict former President Donald Trump over his alleged role in a payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016, making him the first former president to face criminal charges.
Read More‘Race to the Bottom’: Legal Experts Fear Escalation Spiral Ahead of Possible Trump Indictment
Ahead of a prospective indictment of former President Donald Trump, legal experts and elected officeholders are warning that such an unprecedented move may spur a dangerous escalation spiral of retributive political prosecutions that undermine the nation’s justice system.
Trump announced last week that he expected to be arrested imminently. While that arrest has not yet occurred, the prospect of a Trump indictment looms large as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg continues his investigation into an alleged 2016 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Read MoreMemos from 2018-19 Shake Up Trump Case: Cohen Denied Having Incriminating Evidence on Hush Money
An attorney who advised disgraced Trump organization lawyer Michael Cohen provided Manhattan prosecutors with voluminous documentation, including contemporaneous emails and memos, purporting to show that in 2018 Cohen wanted Donald Trump to help cover his legal bills and repeatedly claimed he had no evidence incriminating the former president in a hush money deal with porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Read MoreManhattan DA’s Trump Case Rests on Shaky Legal, Ethical Ground, Experts Say
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday shocked the world with an announcement that he expects to be arrested Tuesday in connection with an ongoing investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a case legal scholars have suggested has a questionable legal basis.
The investigation involves Trump’s 2016 alleged payment of $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels via his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, whom he later reimbursed.
Read MoreNewspaper Giant McClatchy ‘Taking a Close Look’ at Its Cohen-Prague Reports in Wake of New Evidence
McClatchy news service says it is reviewing two reports published in 2018 that claimed to validate a key part of the infamous Steele dossier after declassified information showed that Russian operatives may have fed disinformation to dossier author Christopher Steele.
“We are taking a close look at this new information and will update or correct our story based on its merits. Until then, we continue to stand by our reporting,” McClatchy said in a statement to The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple.
Read MoreChristopher Steele Refuses to Cooperate with US Prosecutor Looking Into Origins of Trump-Russia Probe
by Chuck Ross Dossier author Christopher Steele will not cooperate with U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, telling an audience at Oxford University that he believes U.S. investigators have acted in “bad faith.” Steele, a former British spy, said at the Oxford event…
Read MoreIRS Analyst Who Allegedly Leaked Michael Cohen’s Bank Records to Avenatti Pleads Guilty
An IRS analyst pleaded guilty Wednesday to leaking former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s confidential financial records in 2018 to Michael Avenatti, the embattled celebrity lawyer.
Read MoreMueller Report Directly Contradicts Bombshell BuzzFeed Story
by Peter Hasson Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation directly contradicts an explosive BuzzFeed story that claimed Mueller had evidence President Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen, his former attorney, to lie to Congress about a potential Moscow real estate deal. The Jan. 18 BuzzFeed story claimed…
Read MoreDOJ Official’s Testimony Highlights Why One GOP Lawmaker Believes Glenn Simpson Faces ‘Real Legal Jeopardy’
by Chuck Ross Justice Department official Bruce Ohr’s congressional testimony undercuts testimony given by Glenn Simpson, the founder of the opposition firm that commissioned the infamous Steele dossier. Ohr’s testimony, a transcript of which was published Friday, also confirms reports that Simpson was the source of a heavily disputed…
Read MoreCNN Leak During Michael Cohen Testimony Recalls Memories of Network’s Bungled Don Jr. Story
by Chuck Ross In the middle of Michael Cohen’s private testimony to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, CNN reported the former Trump fixer provided the panel with documents allegedly showing President Donald Trump’s attorneys edited false statements that Cohen made to Congress in 2017 regarding efforts to build…
Read MoreMichael Cohen Pours Cold Water on Collusion in Congressional Testimony, But Makes Bombshell Wikileaks Claim
by Chuck Ross Michael Cohen will make several bombshell allegations about President Trump during his testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, including that he overheard political operative Roger Stone tell Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign that he had spoken to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the release of emails…
Read MoreMichael Flynn Sentencing Delayed
A U.S. judge in Washington on Tuesday sternly rebuked President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, for lying to investigators about his contacts with Russia in the weeks before Trump assumed power in early 2017, but delayed his sentencing. “I can’t hide my disgust, my disdain,” U.S. District…
Read MoreCommentary: Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea on Fake Campaign Finance Violations Does Not Make Law
by Robert Romano President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen never sought reimbursement from the 2016 Trump campaign for non-disclosure agreement payments of alleged mistresses of Trump’s. Instead, the reimbursements were sought and delivered from Trump’s business, the Trump Organization. Cohen didn’t think these were campaign expenditures back…
Read MoreMichael Cohen Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison
by Chuck Ross Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney for Donald Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison by a judge in New York on Wednesday. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley, is lower than prosecutors’ recommendation that the longtime Trump fixer receive…
Read MoreCommentary: Mueller’s Collusion Hoax Collapses
by Conrad Black The sudden death of the unutterable nonsense of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government, announced as it was in the hand-off to the Southern New York U.S. Attorney of the shabby fruit of Michael Cohen’s plea bargaining, has divided onlookers into three…
Read MoreVictor Davis Hanson Commentary: Defeat and the Dossier Explain Everything
by Victor Davis Hanson Donald Trump’s former consiglieri Michael Cohen, along with being charged with tax avoidance and improper business deals, allegedly is guilty also of trying to leverage money and attention by exaggerating his influence with candidate and later President Trump. In other words, Cohen to spec followed…
Read MoreNPR Falsely Accuses Don Jr of Lying in Senate Testimony
by Chuck Ross NPR published a report Friday asserting that Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony to the Senate about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow were inconsistent with Michael Cohen’s claims about the same project in his plea deal Thursday. A transcript from Trump Jr.’s Sept. 7, 2017…
Read MoreMemphis Democrat Steve Cohen Increasingly Unhinged, Calls President Trump and Rudy Giuliani ‘Pathological Liars’
Memphis-area Democrat Representative Steve Cohen appeared on MSNBC’s “Live With Alex Witt” Sunday to react to the latest, if unusual, developments with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen (no relation) and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing ‘Trump-Russia Collusion’ investigation. The five-term congressman has a well-established record of vitriolic statements aimed at conservative…
Read MoreFBI Seized 12 Audio Recordings During Michael Cohen Raid
by Chuck Ross Twelve audio files recorded by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen were handed over to federal prosecutors on Friday, according to a document filed Monday in federal court. Barbara S. Jones, who is serving as special master in a review of documents seized from Cohen in an…
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