The US presidential election is six months away and this Monday marks the fourth week and 12th day of hearings in the first criminal case against former President Donald Trump. A White House nominee faces trial in New York for circumventing business laws governing his real estate empire to cover up a bribe paid by actress and X-rated film producer Stormy Daniels to silence former adultery, which would damage the image of the tycoon.
Since the trial began, prosecutors have not announced in advance the names of the people they will call to testify. So we don’t know when Stephanie Clifford (real name Stormy Daniels) will show up at the bar, nor does lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 out of his own money before being reimbursed by the Trump Organization. A cursed soul of Trump, who for years called him “my pit bull,” a personal lawyer and friend, Cohen agreed to cooperate with the courts to avoid being prosecuted too harshly and reduced his prison sentence for tax evasion. The two men cut all ties. In the fall, Cohen already testified against Trump in court on charges of falsifying his company’s accounts. His questioning is bound to anger Trump, who is struggling to comply with his gag order.
Because a New York Supreme Court judge
Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial in Manhattan, forced the defendant to remain silent during questioning and cross-examination. But the irascible Trump sometimes emerges from his sleepy posture – which cannot be said to be genuine or exaggerated – and has repeatedly defied the order. Last Tuesday and Thursday, Judge Merchan held two parallel hearings on recent alleged abuses, either in the courtroom, in his posts on his social media site Pravda, or in his campaign materials. The defendant has already paid a $9,000 fine for nine breaches of silence, but Judge Merchan also warned the tycoon’s lawyers that he could go to prison if he continues to violate court rules.
On Friday, he reminded Donald Trump that the ban did not silence him, as he said during the meeting. “An order restricting out-of-court statements in no way prevents you from testifying, prevents you from speaking, or limits or minimizes what you can say,” he reminded her.
Trump accused Biden of running a ‘Gestapo administration’
The magistrate also warned Cohen and Daniels that he could impose the same order on them if they continued to publicly criticize Trump, especially during interviews.
Last week concluded with testimony from Hope Hicks, the candidate’s press secretary during the 2016 campaign and then his White House communications director until February 2018. Forced to appear in court because of a restraining order, the former close aide revealed how Trump feared old stories about women would anger his wife Melania and dissuade Republican voters from voting for him.
She specifically mentioned a 2016 but 2005 “Access Hollywood” story in which Trump bragged to a TV host about his attempts to seduce married women and kiss them, claiming, “I’m not even waiting for (their agreement, ed.) ed.). When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, grab them by the pussy… You can do anything.” When the tape was authenticated, candidate Trump seemed surprised that people were surprised by the typical conversation between the two men, Hicks said.
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Proving that the lawsuit will not tarnish Donald Trump’s image among his supporters, his campaign manager Chris LaCivita and the Republican National Committee announced Saturday that they raised more than $76 million in April, up ten million from 65.6 million. dollars raised in March. “With half of the funds raised coming from small donors, it’s clear our base is energized. The Republican Party is united, and voters across the country are ready to fire Joe Biden and elect Donald Trump,” they rejoiced. Democrat Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has regularly outpaced Donald Trump’s campaign in fundraising, but the gap is trending narrower.
Privately, the Republican nominee continues to accuse Democrats and the US media of conspiring to undermine his re-election. On Saturday, at a private donor event in Florida, he even accused the White House and President Biden of being Nazis. “These people are in charge of the Gestapo administration,” he accused, according to an audio recording heard by the New York Times and the Washington Post. “And that’s the only thing they have.” And this is the only way for them to win,” he criticized.
Source: Le Parisien
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
