Page 11 - Us President Trump

Jail threat looms for Trump as prosecutors look at transactions in case

Donald Trump returns to his hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses in the final weeks of the case. Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump, and Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer and personal fixer who prosecutors say paid her to keep silent in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, are among those who have yet to take the stand but are expected to in the coming weeks. The jury on Monday heard from two witnesses, including a former Trump Organization controller who provided a mechanical but vital recitation of how the company reimbursed payments that were allegedly meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing and then logged them as legal expenses in a manner that Manhattan prosecutors say broke the law. The testimony from Jeffrey McConney yielded an important building block for prosecutors trying to pull back the .

Trump's lawyers will grill ex-tabloid publisher as first week of trial ends

After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of catch and kill tabloid schemes, defense lawyers in Donald Trump's hush money trial are poised Friday to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election. David Pecker will return to the witness stand for the fourth day as defense attorneys try to poke holes in the testimony of the former National Enquirer publisher, who has described helping bury embarrassing stories Trump feared could hurt his campaign. It will cap a consequential week in the criminal cases the former president is facing as he vies to reclaim the White House in November. At the same time jurors listened to testimony in Manhattan, the Supreme Court on Thursday signaled it was likely to reject Trump's sweeping claims that he is immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case in Washington. But the conservative-majority high court seemed incline

Ex-tabloid publisher says he scooped up damaging tales to shield Trump

As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye. But when it came to the seamy claims by porn performer Stormy Daniels, David Pecker, the tabloid's longtime publisher, said he put his foot down. "I am not paying for this story," he told jurors on Thursday at Trump's hush money trial, recounting his version of a conversation with Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen about the catch-and-kill scheme that prosecutors alleged amounted to interference in the race. Pecker was already USD 180,000 in the hole on other Trump-related stories by the time Daniels came along, at which point, he said, "I did not want to be involved in this." Pecker's testimony was a critical building block for the prosecution's theory that their partnership was a way to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. The Manhatta

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

Catch-and-kill strategy to be described as Trump's hush money trial resumes

A longtime tabloid publisher was expected Tuesday to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher who prosecutors say worked with Trump and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, on a so-called catch-and-kill strategy to buy up and then spike negative stories during the campaign, testified briefly Monday and will be back on the stand Tuesday in the Manhattan trial. Also Tuesday, prosecutors are expected to tell a judge that Trump should be held in contempt over a series of posts on his Truth Social platform that they say violated an earlier gag order barring him from attacking witnesses in the case. Trump's lawyers deny that he broke the order. Pecker's testimony followed opening statements in which prosecutors alleged that Trump had sought to illegally influence the 2016 race by preventing damaging ...

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.

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'

Donald Trump 2020 election case: I'm not on trial, says Fani Willis

For roughly two hours, Willis then fought for her professional reputation and the historic case she brought against the former president seeking a return to the White House

Supreme Court hears case to evaluate Trump's ouster from prez race

The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear former President Donald Trump's appeal to remain on the 2024 ballot, the justices' most consequential election case since Bush v. Gore in 2000. The court will be weighing arguments over whether Trump is disqualified from reclaiming the White House because of his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 election, ending with the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The case marks the first time the justices will be considering a constitutional provision that was adopted after the Civil War to prevent former officeholders who engaged in insurrection from holding office again. It sets up precisely the kind of case that the court likes to avoid, one in which it is the final arbiter of a political dispute. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump incited the riot in the nation's capital and is ineligible to be president again. As a result, he should not be on the ballot for the state's primary on March 5, the court ruled. It was the first tim

Trump preparing to cry foul if he loses election in expected Biden rematch

After he won the New Hampshire Republican primary Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump complained about his main GOP rival, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, about immigration, inflation, and his likely opponent in November, President Joe Biden. One thing he didn't complain about: Voter fraud in the election he had just won. That continues a pattern for Trump as he steamrolls through the GOP presidential primary and toward an increasingly likely November rematch with Biden. While Trump generally refrains from claiming voter fraud in elections he wins, he spends plenty of time laying the groundwork to cry fraud should he lose an upcoming vote. He's already been doing that with an eye toward November's general election. They used COVID to cheat. And they did a lot of other things, too. We're not going to let that happen, Trump said of Democrats in his Tuesday night speech to supporters in New Hampshire. You can never forget history, because if you forget, you never,

Vivek Ramaswamy ruled out as Trump's running mate by ex-president's advisor

Donald Trump's top adviser has ruled out Vivek Ramaswamy as the ex-US president's running mate after the Republican frontrunner publicly criticised the Indian-American presidential candidate ahead of the Iowa caucus. The Iowa caucuses, which begin on Monday, formally kick off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5. Trump's top adviser, Jason Miller, told the New York Post that voters could probably rule out 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur Ramaswamy as the ex-president's running mate. Pretty safe to say it won't be Vivek, Miller was quoted as saying in the report. On Saturday, Trump, 77, lashed out at Ramaswamy, who is most closely aligned with him in the race for the Republican nomination, accusing him of deceitful campaign tricks". The former president's criticism stemmed from shirts that Ramaswamy's campaign is handing out that say 'Save Trump, Vote Vivek' on them. Ramaswamy pos

With a week to go for Iowa's caucuses, Donald Trump appears strong

When Donald Trump launched his 2024 presidential campaign after a disappointing midterm election for Republicans, his trajectory was something of a mystery. But seven days before Iowa's kick-off caucuses, his standing among the GOP faithful is hardly in doubt. Voters, campaign operatives and even some of the candidates on the ground here overwhelmingly agree that the Republican former president is the prohibitive favourite heading into the January 15 caucuses whether they like it or not. Everybody sees the writing on the wall, said Angela Roemerman, a 56-year-old Republican from Solon, Iowa, as she waited for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to arrive for a weekend rally at Field Day Brewing Co. in North Liberty. It's a little depressing, Roemerman said as her order of tortilla chips arrived, lamenting all the drama surrounding Trump. We don't need another four years. But Trump's going to win. Just beneath all the perceived certainty about Trump's victory, however, lie

Prosecutors urge court to reject Trump's immunity claims in election case

Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court Saturday to reject former President Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from prosecution, saying the suggestion that he cannot be held to account for crimes in office threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation" of the country. The filing from Smith's team was submitted ahead of arguments next month on the legally untested question of whether a former president can be prosecuted for acts taken while in the White House. Though the matter is now being considered by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, it is likely to come again before the Supreme Court, which earlier this month rejected prosecutors' request for a speedy ruling in their favour holding that Trump can be forced to stand trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The outcome of the dispute is critical for both sides especially since the case has been effectively paused while Trump advances h

Trump defends comments about immigrants poisoning nation's blood in Iowa

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his comments about migrants crossing the southern border poisoning the blood of America, and he reinforced the message while denying any similarities to fascist writings others had noted. I never read Mein Kampf,' Trump said at a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa, referencing Adolf Hitler's fascist manifesto. Immigrants in the US illegally, Trump said, are destroying the blood of our country, they're destroying the fabric of our country". In the speech to more than 1,000 supporters from a podium flanked by Christmas trees in red MAGA hats, Trump responded to mounting criticism about his rhetoric over the weekend, when he doubled down on anti-immigrant blood purity remarks in front of several thousand supporters in New Hampshire. They're poisoning the blood of our country, Trump said in New Hampshire about the record numbers of immigrants coming to the US without immediate legal status. At Tuesday's rally, he reprised his comments fr

Appeals court to decide whether to reinstate gag order against Trump

A federal appeals court is hearing arguments on Monday on whether to reinstate a gag order against Donald Trump in the federal case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith's team will urge a three-judge panel of the Washington-based appeals court to put back in place an order barring the former president from making inflammatory statements about lawyers in the case and potential witnesses. The prosecutors say those restrictions are necessary to prevent Trump from undermining confidence in the court system and intimidating people who may be called to testify against him. Defence lawyers have called the gag order an unconstitutional muzzling of Trump's free speech rights and say prosecutors have presented no evidence to support the idea that his words have caused harm or made anyone feel threatened. The gag order is one of multiple contentious issues being argued ahead of the landmark March 2024

US Republican candidate Tim Scott drops out of 2024 GOP presidential race

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, about two months before the start of voting in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. The South Carolina senator made the surprise announcement on Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy. The news was so abrupt that one campaign worker told The Associated Press that campaign staff found out Scott was dropping out by watching the show. The worker was not authorised to discuss the internal deliberations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The news comes as Scott, 58, continued to struggle in the polls and just days after the third Republican primary debate. The only Black Republican senator, Scott entered the race in May with more cash than any other Republican candidate but couldn't find a lane in a field dominated by former President Donald Trump. I love America more today than I did on May 22, Scott said Sunday night. But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential

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Donald Trump to be questioned under oath in lawsuits from ex-FBI employees

Donald Trump is scheduled to be questioned under oath Tuesday as part of lawsuits from two former FBI employees who provoked the former president's outrage after sending each other pejorative text messages about him. Peter Strzok, who was a lead agent in the FBI's investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, has alleged in a lawsuit against the Justice Department that he was wrongfully fired for exercising his First Amendment rights when he and a colleague traded anti-Trump text messages in the weeks before he became president. Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer who texted with Strzok and had also been assigned to the Russia investigation, has sued as well, alleging that the Justice Department violated her privacy by disclosing copies of her messages with Strzok to members of the news media. She voluntarily resigned from the FBI in May 2018, and Strzok was fired several months after that. Both allege that the Justice Department acted under unrelenting pressure from ...

India levies high taxes, would return favour if voted to power: Trump

Former US president Donald Trump, who is seeking his term, has once again raised the issue of high tax by India on certain American products in particular the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and has threatened to slap with reciprocal tax if voted to power in the 2024 presidential elections. During his first term as the US president, Trump described India as a tariff king and in May 2019, terminated India's preferential market access -- Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) -- to the United States alleging India has not given the United States equitable and reasonable access to its markets. In an interview to Larry Kudlow of Fox Business News, Trump said came down heavily on India tax rates, which he alleged was quite high. The other thing I want to have is a matching tax where, if India charges us -- India is very big with tariffs. I mean, I saw it with Harley-Davidson. I was saying, how do you do in a place like India? Oh, no good sir. Why? They have 100 per cent and 150 per

US Capitol riots: Justice Dept seeks 33 yrs sentence for ex-Proud Boys head

US prosecutors have asked for 33 years of sentencing for former 'Proud Boys' chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and leader Joe Biggs in connection with the January 6 Capitol Riots