Former Prosecutor Weighs in on Jury Deliberations in Trump’s Criminal Case

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The jury in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan began deliberations Wednesday after closing arguments. The 12-member jury is tasked with determining whether to convict or acquit Trump on the 34 charges he faces.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to an alleged “hush money” payment to porn star Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Zack Smith, a former prosecutor who now is a Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow, sits down with “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what discussions the jurors likely are having and possible outcomes of the trial. (Heritage launched The Daily Signal in 2014.)

(Read more from “Former Prosecutor Weighs in on Jury Deliberations in Trump’s Criminal Case” HERE)

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Report: Republican Governor Allows Gun Ban to Become Law Despite ‘Concerns’ Over ‘Practical Impacts’

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Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott reportedly allowed a bill to pass Tuesday that is set to ban so-called “ghost guns.”

The bill, which would prohibit people from owning firearms without serial numbers, was passed without his signature, according to multiple reports. These firearms are often assembled from kits that can be legally purchased online or built using a 3D printer.

The existence of these firearms has sparked debate, with opponents arguing that they are more difficult to trace and can be used to bypass state and federal background checks.

The legislation reportedly requires the individual to take the gun to a licensed firearm dealer who would perform a background check and inscribe a serial number onto the weapon. Those who commit a crime while possessing a weapon without a serial number could also face harsher punishments, according to the reports.

The governor, in a letter to lawmakers, reportedly questioned the legislation’s “practicality and impact.” Scott explained that he would allow the measure to pass because “[a]s a public safety measure, I agree firearms should be serialized, according to ABC News and VTDigger.

(Read more from “Report: Republican Governor Allows Gun Ban to Become Law Despite ‘Concerns’ Over ‘Practical Impacts'” HERE)

Marco Rubio: Trump Trial Similar to ‘Sham Trial” Soviet Union Used Against Political Opponents

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) compared the Trump business records trial to the “sham trial” the old Soviet Union used against “political opponents.”

Rubio’s comments came hours after Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s trial, gave the jury instructions prior to their deliberations beginning. Various reports came out regarding what Merchan said in his instructions.

CNN reported that Merchan told jurors they “must be unanimous if they find Trump guilty on each count – on whether he committed the crime personally, acted in concert with others or both.”

Others, such as John Roberts, the co-anchor of America Reports on Fox News, and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, reported Merchan said there was “no need to agree on what occurred. They can disagree on what the crime was among the three choices. Thus, this means that they could split 4-4-4 and he will still treat them as unanimous.”

“Judge in Trump case in NYC just told jury they don’t have to unanimously agree on which crime was committed as long as they all at least pick one,” Rubio wrote in his post on X. “And that among the crimes the can pick from are ones Trump WASN’T EVEN CHARGED WITH!!! This is exactly the kind of sham trial used against political opponents of the regime in the old Soviet Union.”

(Read more from “Marco Rubio: Trump Trial Similar to ‘Sham Trial” Soviet Union Used Against Political Opponents” HERE)

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Biden Mocked on X After Renewing Call for ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

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On Tuesday, President Joe Biden used a post to X to renew his call for an “assault weapons” ban and was mocked in response.

Biden posted:

He was immediately mocked on X, with one user responding, “It’s time for a new president.”

Another user wrote, “You’re advocating for the disarming of citizens while you try to imprison your opponent. How fascist of you.”

Yet another added, “‘Shall not be infringed’ means ‘Shall not be Infringed.’ End of discussion.” (Read more from “Biden Mocked on X After Renewing Call for ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban” HERE)

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‘Misleading The Jury’: Alan Dershowitz Says That Alvin Bragg’s Team Told 2 Lies During Closing Arguments; Bragg’s Team — With Judge’s Blessing — Argues Unproven Claim Trump Violated Federal Law In Lengthy Closing Argument

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By Daily Caller. Noted attorney Alan Dershowitz on Tuesday accused prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of telling two lies to jurors during closing arguments in the trial of former President Donald Trump.

Closing arguments in Trump’s trial based on the indictment of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records secured by Bragg in March 2023 took place Tuesday. Dershowitz said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Dershow” on Rumble that prosecutors misled the jury about Michael Cohen’s claims regarding Trump’s motives for making the $130,000 payout to porn star Stormy Daniels as part of a confidentiality agreement being corroborated.

“The other claim is that he was intending to defraud the voters of New York, who obviously thought Donald Trump would never do anything wrong sexually and they would have been shocked to learn that maybe he paid hush money to a porn star,” Dershowitz said. “They would have yawned, ‘This is New York, ho hum, so he paid money to a playmate. So he paid money to a prostitute, big deal.’ He was sparing his wife some embarrassment, but you know everybody knows who Donald Trump is and nobody’s voting for him on the grounds that he’s celibate.”

“But the government’s case just crumbles of its own weight and the prosecution is misleading the jury when they say that everything Cohen says is corroborated,” Dershowitz continued. “Yeah, everything Cohen says is corroborated except the two major points, except what turns it into a crime. What’s not corroborated is his testimony that he told Trump he was gonna list these things as legal expenses instead of as compensation and Trump knew all about it. Those are the two things that are not corroborated, so the prosecution is misleading the jury when it makes that closing argument.” . . .

“The other lie that the prosecutors told the jurors is he wouldn’t, Trump would not have been elected in 2016 if the Stormy Daniels issue had come out,” Dershowitz said. “Really? The jury, the voters had already heard the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape where he said I can touch, you know, any anybody’s genitals.” (Read more from “‘Misleading The Jury’: Alan Dershowitz Says That Alvin Bragg’s Team Told 2 Lies During Closing Arguments” HERE)

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Bragg’s Team — With Judge’s Blessing — Argues Unproven Claim Trump Violated Federal Law In Lengthy Closing Argument

By Daily Caller. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team spent time during closing arguments Tuesday arguing the unproven assertion that former President Donald Trump violated federal campaign finance law by seeking to suppress unfavorable stories ahead of the 2016 election.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury that stories American Media Inc. (AMI) purchased on behalf of and in coordination with Trump in a so-called “catch-and-kill scheme” equated to “unlawful campaign contributions,” according to multiple reports. Steinglass rehashed the three payments to suppress stories — to former Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin, former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels — that they’ve argued demonstrate Trump engaged in a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election through “unlawful” means.

“It turned out to be one of the most valuable contributions anyone ever made to the Trump campaign,” Steinglass said of the agreement to suppress negative stories about Trump that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker made during a 2015 meeting at Trump tower, according to CNN. “This scheme cooked up by these men at this time could very well be what got President Trump elected.”

Steinglass called the Trump Tower meeting “the subversion of democracy,” per the outlet. He explicitly argued the $150,000 Pecker’s AMI paid to McDougal was “the definition of an unlawful corporate campaign contribution” and “the antithesis of a normal legitimate press function.”

A violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) is among the three theories Judge Juan Merchan allowed prosecutors to present to the jury as the “other crime” they allege Trump committed. While Trump was indicted on 34 counts for allegedly falsifying business records related to reimbursing Cohen for the Stormy Daniels payment, prosecutors alleged that he falsified the records to conceal or commit another crime to charge them as felonies.

(Read more from “Bragg’s Team — With Judge’s Blessing — Argues Unproven Claim Trump Violated Federal Law In Lengthy Closing Argument” HERE)

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Suddenly, Big Trouble for Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith

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The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case rejected on Tuesday special counsel Jack Smith’s request to impose a gag order, admonishing his team for their failure to “meaningful[ly] confer” with the defense.

Trump’s attorneys aired their frustration Monday night with prosecutors’ decision to file the motion before the Memorial Day weekend without first conferring about the matter, asking Cannon to impose sanctions for prosecutors’ “bad-faith” decision to rush an “extraordinary, unprecedented, and unconstitutional censorship application.” Judge Aileen Cannon declined to impose sanctions but warned prosecutors in her sharply worded order that she may impose them in the future if they fail again to comply with “basic requirements,” writing that motions should not be filed “absent meaningful, timely, and professional conferral.”

“It should go without saying that meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise,” Cannon wrote. “Sufficient time needs to be afforded to permit reasonable evaluation of the requested relief by opposing counsel and to allow for adequate follow-up discussion as necessary about the specific factual and legal basis underlying the motion.”

“This is so even when a party ‘assume[s]’ the opposing party will oppose the proposed motion [583-1], and it applies with additional force when the relief sought — at issue for the first time in this proceeding and raised in a procedurally distinct manner than in cited cases — implicates substantive and/or Constitutional questions,” Cannon continued.

Smith’s team asked the judge on Friday to amend Trump’s conditions of release to clarify that he cannot “make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation and prosecution of this case.” (Read more from “Suddenly, Big Trouble for Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith” HERE)

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Trump Mocks ‘Wacko’ Robert de Niro After Actor’s Biden Campaign Press Conference: ‘Pathetic and Sad’

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Donald Trump skewered Robert De Niro early Wednesday, calling the actor a “wacko” and mocking his participation in a Biden campaign press conference outside the Manhattan courthouse where the former president is being tried.

“I never knew how small, both mentally and physically, Wacko Former Actor Robert De Niro was,” Trump railed in a Truth Social post.

“Today, De Niro, who suffers from an incurable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, commonly known in the medical community as TDS, was met, outside the Courthouse, with a force far greater than the Radical Left – MAGA,” the former president said.

“Robert, whose movies, artistry, and brand have gone WAY DOWN IN VALUE since he entered the political arena at the request of Crooked Joe Biden, looked so pathetic and sad out there. Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio!!!” the post continued.

De Niro, 80, delivered prepared remarks at the surprise Biden campaign press conference Tuesday afternoon as Trump’s defense team made its closing arguments in the former president’s hush money trial.

@realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial

(Read more from “Trump Mocks ‘Wacko’ Robert de Niro After Actor’s Biden Campaign Press Conference: ‘Pathetic and Sad'” HERE)

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Rep. Stefanik Files Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Juan Merchan Over ‘Random’ Assignment to Trump’s NYC Trial

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Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) filed a misconduct complaint Tuesday against the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial, alleging that his selection to handle the former president’s case — and others involving his allies — is “not random at all.”

The House Republican Conference chairwoman’s complaint with the inspector general of the New York State Unified Court System called for an investigation into Justice Juan Merchan “to determine whether the required random selection process was in fact followed.”

“The potential misconduct pertains to the repeated assignment of Acting Justice Juan Merchan, a Democrat Party donor, to criminal cases related to President Donald J. Trump and his allies,” Stefanik wrote.

“Acting Justice Merchan currently presides over the criminal case against President Trump brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,” she said.

“Acting Justice Merchan also presided over the criminal trial against the Trump Organization and will be presiding over the criminal trial of Steve Bannon, a senior advisor in President Trump’s White House and a prominent advocate for President Trump,” Stefanik continued, noting that there were at least two dozen sitting justices eligible to oversee the cases but Merchan – an acting jurist – was selected for all three related to the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee for president and his allies. (Read more from “Rep. Stefanik Files Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Juan Merchan Over ‘Random’ Assignment to Trump’s NYC Trial” HERE)

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Vladimir Putin Has ‘Army of Sleeper Agents in UK Ready to Strike With Novichok Attacks’

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Vladimir Putin has an army of sleeper agents who have already infiltrated the UK – and they are ready to strike with terrifying nerve toxin chemical weapon attacks.

That’s the view of experts in terrorism and radicalisation who warn that Britain is not ready to deal with this threat.

Professor Anthony Glees from the University of Buckingham says that our country has been penetrated by covert operatives who are now embedding themselves within the nation.

He claims Putin was emboldened by the UK’s weak response to the Sergei Skripal poisoning incident.

Last weekend marked the sixth anniversary of double-agent Skripel being released from hospital after he nearly died having been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. (Read more from “Vladimir Putin Has ‘Army of Sleeper Agents in UK Ready to Strike With Novichok Attacks’” HERE)

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A Tech Company Posted a Job for ‘Whites Only.’ Here’s What Happened Next.

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A Virginia-based tech company is being ordered to pay $38,500 for posting a “whites only” job advertisement.

According to The Hill, in March 2023, minority-owned federal contractor Arthur Grand Technologies Inc. advertised a Salesforce Business Analyst and Insurance Claims position based in Dallas, Texas. Reportedly, the posting restricted candidates to “only US born citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].”

The job posting “drew outrage” on social media, causing the Department of Justice to open up an investigation into the company. When interrogated, the company claimed the posting was done by an employee working for its subsidiary in India. Per The Hill, the company insisted it “denied approving” the posting.

The Justice and Labor departments have fined the company a civil penalty of $7,500 and also ordered the company to pay $31,000 overall to 31 people who complained about its posting.

“It is shameful that in the 21st century, we continue to see employers using ‘whites only’ and only US born’ job postings to lock out otherwise eligible job candidates of color,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. (Read more from “A Tech Company Posted a Job for ‘Whites Only.’ Here’s What Happened Next.” HERE)

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