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Trump Attorney Attempts to Poke Holes in Witness Credibility as Bragg Trial Hits Day 8

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Former President Donald Trump’s attorney attempted to poke holes Friday in the credibility of the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, as the first full week of testimony came to a close.

Defense attorney Emil Bove resumed his cross-examination of Pecker Friday morning, continuing to drive home the point that purchasing stories is “standard operating procedure” for Pecker’s tabloid while working to draw out inconsistencies in his testimony. Some jabs landed, some seemed to fall flat: the exchange was nevertheless the most heated in a tedious day of laying the groundwork on both sides, which saw testimony from two new witnesses.

“I’ve been truthful to the best of my recollection,” Pecker told Bove at the end of cross-examination, where Bove had whipped back and forth between various topics trying to highlight contradictions.

Some points of contention were relatively small, like whether Trump had thanked him during a 2017 meeting at Trump Tower “handling” the Karen McDougal and doorman stories. Others of greater consequence, like whether American Media’s conciliation agreement with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2021 included an admission of a campaign finance violation.

“Was that another mistake?” Bove pressed Pecker on the former point. Pecker declined to recant his earlier testimony. (Read more from “Trump Attorney Attempts to Poke Holes in Witness Credibility as Bragg Trial Hits Day 8” HERE)

Supreme Court Poised to Agree With Trump: Former Presidents Are Immune From Some Prosecutions

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By Breitbart. A majority of Supreme Court justices sympathized with Donald Trump’s attorneys’ arguments that a president does enjoy some level of immunity that endures past the term of office.

The court heard oral arguments regarding if Trump is immune from prosecution on charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as Special Counsel Jack Smith claims.

A federal trial court ruled in Smith’s favor that Trump is not immune from prosecution, but Smith’s prosecution in D.C. has been on hold until the Supreme Court weighs in, likely in late June.

Arguments revealed that a majority appears to agree that presidents do enjoy some scope of immunity after their term in office, but the ultimate question will be the establishment of a standard.

If the Court institutes a test, it would vacate (i.e., strike) the lower court decision that former presidents have no immunity, sending that case back to trial court. That court would then undergo a painstaking point-by-point analysis on each fact to determine if immunity exists. (Read more from “Supreme Court Poised to Agree With Trump: Former Presidents Are Immune From Some Prosecutions” HERE)

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Supreme Court Struggles With Immunity for Presidents Over Official Acts

By Washington Times. Supreme Court justices clashed Thursday over former President Donald Trump’s claims of “absolute immunity” from prosecution for his official acts in the White House as they sorted through competing dangers of an unleashed president on the one hand or a crippled commander in chief on the other.

Justices seemed to agree that some presidential conduct is immune from prosecution, but they sparred over where to draw the line and what it would mean for presidents long after Mr. Trump’s case is decided.

“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” said Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, a Trump appointee.

The court’s liberal-leaning justices were the most skeptical of Mr. Trump’s claims.

“The founders did not put an immunity clause in the Constitution,” said Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee. “Not so surprising. They were reacting against a monarch who claimed to be above the law. Wasn’t the whole point the president was not a monarch, and the president was not supposed to be above the law?” (Read more from “Supreme Court Struggles With Immunity for Presidents Over Official Acts” HERE)

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Exposed: 13 Major Banks Colluded With Government to Spy on MAGA Supporters

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Republicans in Congress are intensifying their scrutiny of major banks, probing allegations of collusion with federal agencies in the surveillance of Americans following the January 6 protests. According to a report in the Daily Mail, more than ten banks are under investigation for their role in a witch hunt against Trump supporters, targeting “extremism” indicators [via Daily Mail]:

Bank of America, Chase, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank and Truist were already being targeted in the probe looking to expose how the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the FBI worked together.

Now, DailyMail.com can first reveal that seven other financial firms are also under investigation for ties to an FBI and FinCEN plot to spy on Americans’ private banking transactions without first obtaining a warrant.

Charles Schwab, HSBC, MUFG, PayPal, Santander, Standard Chartered and Western Union have all been asked to turn over documents and communications with FinCEN and the FBI to the committee, according to letters exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com.

The investigation, led by the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, is shedding light on the cooperation between financial institutions and government agencies, particularly the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the FBI. Initial reports from Fox News revealed that federal investigators requested banks to monitor customer transactions using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump,” with purchases of Bibles flagged as signs of extremism.

While major banks such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo were already under scrutiny, DailyMail.com has disclosed that seven additional financial firms, including Charles Schwab, HSBC, and PayPal, are now part of the investigation. Letters obtained by the publication indicate that these banks have been asked to provide documents and communications related to their collaboration with FinCEN and the FBI.

The inquiry has sparked concerns among lawmakers and privacy advocates about the erosion of civil liberties and the misuse of financial data for surveillance purposes. House Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), have raised alarms over the weaponization of financial information, warning against the casting of routine transactions and political expressions as indicators of extremism.

This collusion reveals a troubling trend of overreach by government agencies and corporate entities, with serious implications for individual privacy and constitutional rights.

Trump Defense Attorney Fires Crippling Shots at Alvin Bragg’s Case Just Minutes Into Cross-Examination

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Former President Donald Trump’s lawyer sought to cast doubt on arguments at the core of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case just minutes into cross-examining the prosecution’s first witness.

Defense attorney Emil Bove questioned former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker about the tabloid’s business practices, pointing out that purchasing stories to keep them from getting out, as he did for Trump, is not unusual for what has been described as the publication’s “checkbook journalism.” The prosecution had previously questioned Pecker on the details of purchasing former playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an alleged affair with Trump, one of three instances they argue demonstrate an illegal “conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election by Pecker, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and Trump.

Bove sought to flip the script and demonstrate the McDougal deal was just “standard” procedure. He highlighted multiple instances where Pecker’s magazine suppressed damaging stories for other individuals in the public eye, including for politicians like Rahm Emanuel, current U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Democratic mayor of Chicago, and former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He also emphasized that Pecker’s relationship with Trump pre-dated the 2016 election. Pecker had been providing Trump a heads up on potentially negative publicity for over a decade, Bove noted, and Pecker confirmed the first time he did so was in 1998.

Pecker agreed that he ran articles about Trump because it was “good for business.” They had a “mutually beneficial” business relationship: Trump would also tip Pecker off with information about “The Apprentice,” including rating and access to participants. (Read more from “Trump Defense Attorney Fires Crippling Shots at Alvin Bragg’s Case Just Minutes Into Cross-Examination” HERE)

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Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Whether Trump Has Immunity From Federal Prosecution

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The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Thursday about whether former President Donald Trump can invoke presidential immunity to shield himself from federal prosecution.

The court agreed to take the case in February after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit panel ruled against an immunity claim Trump had asserted to shield himself from special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election case. Trump has contended that presidential immunity is necessary to ensure that presidents are able to do their jobs without fear of political retaliation.

“If a President does not have Immunity, the Opposing Party, during his/her term in Office, can extort and blackmail the President by saying that, ‘if you don’t give us everything we want, we will Indict you for things you did while in Office,’ even if everything done was totally Legal and Appropriate. That would be the end of the Presidency, and our Country, as we know it, and is just one of the many Traps there would be for a President without Presidential Immunity,” Trump posted on Truth Social last Friday.

“Obama, Bush, and soon, Crooked Joe Biden, would all be in BIG TROUBLE. If a President doesn’t have IMMUNITY, he/she will be nothing more than a ‘Ceremonial’ President, rarely having the courage to do what has to be done for our Country,” the former president added. “This is not what the Founders had in mind! Protect Presidential Immunity.”

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on “whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.” (Read more from “Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Whether Trump Has Immunity From Federal Prosecution” HERE)

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Biden Reads Out ‘Pause’ Instruction During Speech; Bizarrely Lies About Trump Giving Him Boots

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President Joe Biden or President Ron Burgundy?

In a case of life imitating art, the commander-in-chief blurted out the stage note “pause” Wednesday while addressing union members in the nation’s
capital.

“Four more years. Pause,” said Biden, 81, a la Will Ferrell’s buffoonish newsman character in the classic 2004 comedy “Anchorman.”

Members of North America’s Building Trades Unions stepped in and dutifully chanted “four more years” in response to the president’s botched cue.

It was not immediately clear whether the instruction was included in Biden’s teleprompter or in his prepared remarks.

The gaffe was one of a series of bizarre moments that peppered the speech, including Biden saying his predecessor, Donald Trump, had given him a pair of boots as a present. (Read more from “Biden Reads Out ‘Pause’ Instruction During Speech; Bizarrely Lies About Trump Giving Him Boots” HERE)

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Indictments Issued for Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows in Alternate Electors Case (VIDEO)

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An Arizona grand jury indicted several important allies of former President Donald Trump — including former Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arizona Republican Chair Kelli Ward, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — for their roles in disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Along with Ward, Meadows, and Giuliani, former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, along with several members of the Arizona Republican Party, were among those indicted, according to the Washington Post.

Meadows, Giuliani, Ellis, and Epshteyn are among those who were indicted for allegedly attempting to help Trump receive Arizona’s electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, which was more than three years ago.

People such as Ward and Arizona state Sens. Jake Hoffman (R) and Anthony Kern (R) were also hit with charges long after they signed paperwork on December 14, 2020, certifying that Trump was the winner of the election.

The indictment of several Trump allies and members of Arizona’s Republican Party comes as a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted between April 8 and 15, found that President Joe Biden is trailing Trump in several key swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina by six or more points.

(Read more from “Indictments Issued for Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows in Alternate Electors Case (VIDEO)” HERE)

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NYT Claims Trump Is Getting ‘Favorable Treatment’ from the NYPD

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The New York Times criticized the support former President Donald Trump has received from the New York Police Department as his ongoing Manhattan hush money trial continues to get unwanted media attention.

The NYPD has been appearing to protect Trump from undue media attention as he enters and exits the Manhattan courthouse every day.

The police force has shown unwavering courtesy to Trump, a stark supporter of law enforcement, making “law and order” a major theme of his 2020 presidential campaign with more than 900,000 officers endorsing him during the cycle.

The NYT critically highlighted the “favorable” treatment Trump has gotten from the NYPD.

Trump continues to receive favorable treatment from the New York City Police Department. For a week, a large N.Y.P.D. dump truck has been parked in the intersection of Hogan Place and Centre Street, with a uniformed driver sitting inside. Minutes before Trump’s arrival each morning, the dump truck has pulled a half-car length forward, blocking news photographers’ views of him entering the side door of the courthouse. And this afternoon, like those before it, the driver did the same maneuver for Trump’s 2:37 p.m. departure. Via the NYT.

(Read more from “NYT Claims Trump Is Getting ‘Favorable Treatment’ from the NYPD” HERE)

‘Historic Mistake’: Law Professor Takes Apart Alvin Bragg’s Case Against Trump — Then Predicts the Outcome

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Jed Handelsman Shugerman, a law professor at Boston University, thinks Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of Donald Trump is a “historic mistake.”

Shugerman made that conclusion after witnessing opening arguments on Monday in which prosecutors alleged Trump “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.” . . .

The problems with their thesis, Shugerman wrote in the New York Times, are obvious: an “unprecedented use of state law” and a “persistent avoidance of specifying an election crime or a valid theory of fraud.”

“As a reality check, it is legal for a candidate to pay for a nondisclosure agreement. Hush money is unseemly, but it is legal,” Shugerman wrote.

He continued:

In Monday’s opening argument, the prosecutor Matthew Colangelo still evaded specifics about what was illegal about influencing an election, but then he claimed, “It was election fraud, pure and simple.” None of the relevant state or federal statutes refer to filing violations as fraud. Calling it “election fraud” is a legal and strategic mistake, exaggerating the case and setting up the jury with high expectations that the prosecutors cannot meet.

(Read more from “‘Historic Mistake’: Law Professor Takes Apart Alvin Bragg’s Case Against Trump — Then Predicts the Outcome” HERE)

An Overlooked Trump Cabinet Pick Could Upend the Left’s Grip on Power

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President Joe Biden summed up his education vision last year with a few words.

“There is no such thing as someone else’s child. No such thing as someone else’s child. Our nation’s children are all our children,” Biden said while honoring the 2023 teacher of the year.

Biden’s remarks triggered a firestorm among Republicans, education activists and parents alike.

Now those Biden critics are strategizing for a potential second Trump administration. Priorities have been outlined, shortlists have been drawn. Some are preparing to join the administration.

But it’ll be up to Trump to make his pick for the unheralded but critical cabinet spot of education secretary. (Read more from “An Overlooked Trump Cabinet Pick Could Upend the Left’s Grip on Power” HERE)

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