Page 3 - Donald Trump Jr

Trump hush money trial: Jury to rehear testimonies of key witnesses

The jury in Donald Trump's hush money trial ended its first day of deliberations without a verdict on Wednesday but asked to rehear testimony from key witnesses about the alleged hush money scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The 12-person jury was sent home around 4 p.m. after about 4 1/2 hours of deliberations. The process is to resume on Thursday, when jurors are expected to rehear the requested testimony and at least part of the judge's legal instructions meant to guide them on the law. The notes sent to the judge with the requests were the first burst of communication with the court after the panel of seven men and five women was sent to a private room just before 11:30 a.m. to begin weighing a verdict. It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. It is yours, Judge Juan M. Merchan told jurors before dispatching them to begin deliberations, reminding them of their vow during the selection process to judge the case fairly and impartially. It's unclear how

US presidential polls: Trump overtakes Biden in fundraising for first time

Trump's fundraising boost comes on the heels of attending several high-dollar fundraisers, including a Palm Beach event hosted by billionaire John Paulson

Prosecution rests its case in Donald Trump's hush money trial case

Donald Trump's hush money trial entered its final stretch as the prosecution's star witness Michael Cohen returned to the stand Monday. In his testimony last week, Cohen placed the former president directly at the center of the alleged scheme to stifle negative stories to fend off damage to his White House bid. Among other things, Cohen told jurors that Trump promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted and was constantly updated about efforts to silence women who alleged sexual encounters with him. Trump denies the women's claims. Defense attorneys resumed cross-examination of Cohen with a series of questions about his business dealings and other activities in the lead-up to the payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. They further dug into Cohen's sources of income in the years since Trump originally took office, as well as income he has earned criticizing the former president. Prosecutors have said they will rest their case once Cohen's testimony concludes, though they could .

Michael Cohen to face tough round of cross-examination by Trump's lawyers

Donald Trump 's fixer-turned-foe awaits a bruising round of questioning from the former president's lawyers on Tuesday after testimony that linked the celebrity client to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. Michael Cohen returns to the stand on Tuesday as the prosecution's star witness, where a day earlier he delivered matter-of-fact testimony that went to the heart of the former president's trial. Everything required Mr. Trump's sign-off, Cohen said. He placed Trump at the centre of the hush money scheme, saying he had promised to reimburse money the lawyer had fronted for the payments and was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign. We need to stop this from getting out, Cohen quoted Trump as telling him in reference to porn actor Stormy Daniels' account of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier. The then-candidate was ...

Trump trial at pivotal moment: Michael Cohen poised to give testimony

The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president. Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer, is by far the Manhattan district attorney's most important witness in the case and his expected appearance signals that the trial is entering its final stretch. Prosecutors say they may wrap up their presentation of evidence by the end of the week. Cohen is expected to testify about his role in arranging hush money payments on Trump's behalf during his first presidential campaign, including to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who told jurors last week that the USD 130,000 that she received in 2016 was meant to prevent her from going public about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in a hotel suite a decade earlier. He also matters because the reimbursements he received form the basis of the charges 34 felony counts of ...

Trump's classified documents case: Judge postpones trial indefinitely

The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has cancelled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely. The order from US District Judge Aileen Cannon had been expected in light of still-unresolved issues in the case and because Trump is currently on trial in a separate case in Manhattan charging him in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 presidential election. The New York case involves several of the same lawyers representing him in the federal case in Florida. Cannon said in a five-page order Tuesday that it would be imprudent to finalise a new trial date now, casting further doubt on federal prosecutors' ability to bring Trump to trial before the November presidential election. Trump faces dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida classified documents that he took with him after he left the White House in 2021, and then ...

Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial case

Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court on Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president. The testimony from attorney Keith Davidson is seen as a vital building block for the prosecution's case that Trump and his allies schemed to bury unflattering stories in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He is one of multiple key players expected to be called to the stand in advance of prosecutors' star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer. Prosecutors are seeking USD 1,000 fines for each of four comments by Trump that they say violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case. Such a penalty would be on top of a USD 9,000 fine that Judge Juan M. Merchan imposed on Tuesday related to nine separate gag order ...

Trump's media firm's first month of trading sends investors on a ride

There have been lawsuits, short-selling and rampant speculation. Now, as Trump Media & Technology Group approaches its first month as a publicly traded company, it's clear that like the man it's named after there's nothing typical about the stock. If I woke up tomorrow and shares were zero dollars, or $100, I would not be surprised, said Matthew Tuttle, a professional investor who bought $800 in Trump Media stock last week when it was at an all-time low. A day later, it had spiked in value. This is not going to move on fundamentals, earnings, or anything I was taught in business school about how a stock is supposed to move," he said. With Trump facing dozens of federal felony charges and hundreds of millions in legal expenses, Trump Media went public on March 26 on the Nasdaq exchange. Unlike many other stocks, it has been hard for traditional analysts and investors to figure out where it's heading. Here are some key takeaways from experts and regulator filings that help explain

Trump compares Israel's college protests to 2017 white nationalist rally

Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the November elections, also sought to place blame for the campus protests on Democratic President Joe Biden

US Supreme Court weighs Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution

If Trump regains the presidency, he could seek to force an end to the prosecution or potentially pardon himself for any federal crimes

'No one above the law, not even the president,' says US Supreme Court

On the left and right, Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president. The law applies equally to all persons, including a person who happens for a period of time to occupy the Presidency, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2020. Less than a year earlier, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, then a federal trial judge, wrote, Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings. But former President Donald Trump and his legal team are putting that foundational belief to the test on Thursday when the high court takes up Trump's bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Trump's lawyers argue that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for their official acts. Otherwise, they say, politically motivated prosecutions of former occupants of the Oval Office would bec

US court rejects last-minute bid to halt Donald Trump's hush money trial

A New York appeals court judge on Friday rejected a last-minute bid by Donald Trump to halt his hush money criminal trial over defense complaints that jury selection was unfairly rushed. Justice Marsha Michael issued the ruling just minutes after a brief hearing. The arguments in the mid-level appeals court came hours after the jury selection process concluded in Trump's criminal trial, which is currently taking place roughly two miles south. The ruling will allow opening arguments to take place as soon as Monday in Trump's criminal trial.

Trump's landmark hush money trial starts today with jury selection

In a singular moment for American history, the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins Monday with jury selection. It's the first criminal trial of a former commander in chief and the first of Trump's four indictments to go to trial. Because Trump is the presumptive nominee for this year's Republican ticket, the trial will also produce the head-spinning split-screen of a presidential candidate spending his days in court and, he has said, "campaigning during the night. And to some extent, it is a trial of the justice system itself as it grapples with a defendant who has used his enormous prominence to assail the judge, his daughter, the district attorney, some witnesses and the allegations all while blasting the legitimacy of a legal structure that he insists has been appropriated by his political opponents. Against that backdrop, scores of ordinary citizens are due to be called Monday into a cavernous room in a utilitarian courthouse to determine whether they can .

Judge declines to delay Trump's trial over complaints of pretrial publicity

The judge in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case on Friday turned down the former president's request to postpone his trial because of publicity about the case. It's the latest in a string of delay denials that Trump has gotten from various courts this week as he fights to stave off the trial's start Monday with jury selection. Among other things, Trump's lawyers had argued that the jury pool was deluged with what the defense saw as exceptionally prejudicial news coverage of the case. The defense argued that was a reason to hold off the case indefinitely. Judge Juan M. Merchan said that idea was not tenable. Trump appears to take the position that his situation and this case are unique and that the pre-trial publicity will never subside. However, this view does not align with reality, the judge wrote. He said questioning of prospective jurors would address any concerns about their ability to be fair and impartial. Prosecutors had objected to Trump's request, saying that the .

Trump campaign expecting to raise $43 mn at high-dollar Florida fundraiser

Donald Trump's campaign is expecting to raise more than USD 40 million on Saturday when major donors gather for his biggest fundraiser yet. The event at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson is expected to bring in USD 43 million for the former president's third run at the White House, according to Paulson. The high-dollar event is expected to include about 100 guests, including more than a few billionaires, and top a new single-event fundraising record set by President Joe Biden, who raised USD 26 million recently at a gathering with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The response to our fundraising efforts has been overwhelming, and we've raised over USD 43 million so far, Paulson, a hedge fund manager, said in a statement. "There is massive support amongst a broad spectrum of donors. The event, billed as the Inaugural Leadership Dinner," sends a signal of a resurgence of Trump and the Republican Party's fundraising, which has struggled

Federal Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution

A federal judge refused Thursday to throw out the classified documents prosecution against Donald Trump, rejecting a defence argument that the case should be tossed because he was entitled as a former president to retain the records after he left office. Lawyers for Trump had cited a 1978 statute known as the Presidential Records Act in arguing that he was permitted to designate records from his time in office as personal and take them with him when he left the White House. Prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team vigorously opposed that argument, saying the statute had no relevance in a case concerning classified documents. US District Judge Aileen Cannon sided with the government in a three-page order, writing that the indictment makes no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offence.

President Biden, Trump register easy victories in Rhode Island, Connecticut

Voters in four states weighed in Tuesday on their parties' presidential nominees, a largely symbolic vote now that both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have locked up the Democratic and Republican nominations. Biden and Trump easily won primaries in Rhode Island and Connecticut, with results in New York and Wisconsin still to come. Their victories add to their delegate hauls for their party conventions this summer. The outcomes, while hardly surprising, will nevertheless offer clues about enthusiasm among base voters for the upcoming 2020 rematch that has left a majority of Americans underwhelmed. In particular, the tallies in Wisconsin, a pivotal November battleground, will give hints about the share of Republicans who still aren't on board with Trump and how many Democrats are disillusioned with Biden. Trump campaigned Tuesday in Wisconsin and Michigan, two Midwest battlegrounds. All four states voting Tuesday have multiple candidates on the ballot, and thre

Trump to attack Biden on border, crime on his Michigan, Wisconsin visit

Donald Trump is expected on Tuesday to attack President Joe Biden over his handling of the US-Mexico border when he visits Wisconsin and Michigan, both critical battleground states in the 2024 election. Trump will first appear in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to deliver a speech about what his campaign calls Biden's Border Bloodbath. He will then hold a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on the day the state holds its presidential primaries. Polls suggest Trump has an advantage over Biden on immigration issues as many prospective voters say they're concerned about illegal border crossings hitting record highs. In recent weeks, Trump and others in his party have seized on several high-profile cases of immigrants in the US illegally being charged with crimes, including the killing of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, for which a Venezuelan man is charged. Trump on Tuesday is expected to discuss the killing of Ruby Garcia, a Michigan woman who was found dead on the side of a Grand Rapid

Trump to attend wake of slain NYPD officer as he attacks Prez Biden

Donald Trump will attend Thursday's wake of a New York City police officer gunned down in the line of duty, as presumptive Republican presidential nominee has made crime a focus of his third White House campaign and accused President Joe Biden of lacking toughness. The visitation for Officer Jonathan Diller, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Monday, will be held in suburban Massapequa. Police said 31-year-old Diller was shot below his bulletproof vest while approaching an illegally parked car in Queens. Diller, who was married and had a one-year-old son, was rushed to a hospital where he died. Trump's visit comes as Biden will also be in New York for a previously scheduled fundraiser with Democratic ex-presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Shortly after the former president's campaign announced he would attend the wake, a Republican Party account on social media posted headlines contrasting Trump's planned visit with Biden's fundraiser. Trump has deplored crime in .

When will Trump pay $175 mn appeals bond? Here's all you need to know

Former US President Donald Trump got a break this week when an appeals court cut down the amount of money he needs to put up to pause collection while he appeals a USD 454 million-plus judgment in his New York civil fraud case. Here's a look at what happened and what could happen next: What's the judgment? How did we get here? The judgment reflects the USD 355 million -- plus interest and growing daily -- that state Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay after a months-long trial. The trial stemmed from a lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Letitia James. She claimed that Trump, his company and key executives engaged in fraud by pumping up the tycoon-turned-politician's fortune on financial statements that helped secure loans and insurance. Trump, now once again the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, denied the allegations, as did his co-defendants. The defence said bankers and insurers used the unaudited statements only to inform their own assessments of Trump'