Page 29 - Us Presidential Elections

Trump to be first ex-prez on criminal trial: All about the hush money case

Donald Trump will make history as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges when his hush money case opens on Monday with jury selection. The case will force the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to juggle campaigning with sitting in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks to defend himself against charges involving a scheme to bury allegations of marital infidelity that arose during his first White House campaign in 2016. It carries enormous political ramifications as potentially the only one of four criminal cases against Trump that could reach a verdict before voters decide in November whether to send him back to the White House. Here's what to know about the hush money case and the charges against Trump: WHAT'S THIS CASE ABOUT? The former president is accused of falsifying internal Trump Organisation records as part of a scheme to bury damaging stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign, particularly as Trump's reputation was suffering at the tim

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 .

Donald Trump to host Speaker Mike Johnson as House swirls in turmoil

House Speaker Mike Johnson is making a campaign pilgrimage to visit Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, a rite of passage as the embattled Republican leader positions himself, and his GOP majority, side-by-side with the indicted ex-president. The two are planning a joint announcement on election integrity ahead of November, but the trip itself is significant for both. Johnson needs Trump to temper hard-line Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's threats to evict him from office. And Trump benefits from the imprimatur of official Washington dashing to Florida to embrace his comeback bid for the White House and his tangled election lies. It is the symbolism, said Charlie Sykes, a conservative commentator and frequent Trump critic. There was a time when the Speaker of the House of Representatives was a dominant figure in American politics, he said. Look where we are now, where he comes hat in hand to Mar-a-Lago. Having the House speaker and the presidential contender align for the campaign season is n

New York court rejects Trump's third request to delay hush money trial

For the third straight day, a New York appeals court has rejected an attempt by Donald Trump's lawyers to delay the former president's hush money criminal trial. Trump's lawyers had argued that the trial should be put off indefinitely while they fight to remove the judge, Juan M. Merchan, and challenge several of his rulings. Justice Ellen Gesmer's ruling is another loss for Trump, who has tried repeatedly to get the trial postponed. The decision means the first of Trump's four criminal trials will start as scheduled on April 15. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he falsified business records to hide the true nature of payments made in connection with a scheme to suppress damaging stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump's lawyers tried Wednesday for a third straight day to get a New York appeals court to delay his hush money criminal trial. Among other grievances, they argued the former president and presumptive Republican nominee should

US Presidential polls: Trump to declare his position on abortion today

Former President Donald Trump says he will finally announce Monday when he believes abortions should be banned, after months of refusing to stake a position on an issue that could decide the outcome of November's presidential election. The presumptive Republican nominee wrote on his social media site Sunday night that he plans to issue a statement on abortion and abortion rights." He told reporters last week he would make a statement soon after being asked about Florida's six-week abortion ban going into effect. Trump for more than a year now has declined to say when in a pregnancy he would try to draw the line, even as Republican-led states have ushered in a wave of new restrictions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. His announcement will be closely watched both by Democrats who believe the fight over abortion rights helps them at the polls and Republicans who failed to push Trump to endorse a national abortion ban during the GOP primary. Great love and compassion

Biden, Democrats raise more than $90 mn in March, leaving Trump behind

President Joe Biden's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year's first quarter with $192 million-plus in cash on hand, further stretching their money advantage over Donald Trump and the Republicans. The Biden campaign and its affiliated entities reported collecting $187 million from January through March and said that 96% per cent of all donations were less than $200. That total was bolstered by the $26 million-plus that Biden reported raising from a March 28 event at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan that featured former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Trump's campaign, meanwhile, said it raised $50.5 million from an event Saturday with major donors at the Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson, setting a single-event fundraising record. Biden's campaign says the pace of donations has allowed it to undertake major digital and television advertising campaigns in ke

China may misuse AI to target polls in countries like India, US: Microsoft

China is likely to deploy Artificial Intelligence-generated content via social media to sway public opinion to boost its geopolitical interests during elections in countries like India, South Korea and the US, tech giant Microsoft has warned. Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats in India will take place between April 19 and June 4, spread across seven phases. South Koreans will go to the polls in a general election on April 10 while the US will hold the Presidential election on November 5. "With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, we assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests," Clint Watts, General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, said in a blog post. Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China's increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue and may prove m

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.

US election: Trump leads Biden in 6 of 7 states, says latest opinion poll

Ahead of the upcoming US election scheduled for November, President Joe Biden is trailing behind his main opponent Donald Trump in six of the seven battleground states, according to a latest opinion poll. Voters are broadly dissatisfied with the national economy and there are deep doubts about Biden's capabilities and job performance, the survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal revealed. Trump leads between two and eight percentage points in six battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. However, Biden is leading Trump by three points in Wisconsin. In every state in the survey, negative views of the president's job performance outweigh positive views by 16 percentage points or more, with the gap topping 20 points in four states. By contrast, Trump earns an unfavourable job review for his time in the White House in only a single state Arizona where negative marks outweigh positive ones by 1 percentage point, The Wall Street Journ

Trump's campaign raised About $66 mn in March, cutting into Biden's lead

Trump is set to get another large cash infusion later this week when hedge fund manager John Paulson will host a fundraiser for Trump in Florida, that is anticipated to raise more than $30 million

US elections 2024: Wisconsin voters approve ban on private money support

Private money to fund elections will be banned in Wisconsin after voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday put forward by Republicans in reaction to grants received in 2020 that were funded by donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Voters also approved a second question put on the ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature that amends the constitution to say that only election officials can administer elections. That's already state law, but putting it in the constitution makes it more difficult to repeal or change. Democrats opposed both measures, which they argued would make it more difficult to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state. Both constitutional amendments on the ballot were in reaction to grant money that came to Wisconsin in 2020 from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a liberal group that fights for voter access. That year it received a $300 million donation from Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan to help election ...

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

US prez polls: Judge refuses to toss out tax case against Hunter Biden

A judge refused Monday to toss out a tax case against Hunter Biden, moving the case closer to the possible spectacle of a trial as his father campaigns for another term as president. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi denied eight motions to dismiss the indictment accusing President Joe Biden's son of scheming to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the nine felony and misdemeanor tax offenses filed in Los Angeles. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, contended the prosecution is politically motivated, among other arguments, but Scarsi found he had little support for the claims. Defendant fails to present a reasonable inference, let alone clear evidence, of discriminatory effect and discriminatory purpose, he wrote. Hunter Biden's attorneys maintained that the handling of the case was abnormal. We strongly disagree with the court's decision and will continue to vigorously pursue Mr. Biden's challenges," Lowell said in a

Republican states challenge Prez Biden's student loan repayment plan

A group of Republican-led states is suing the Biden administration to block a new student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, 11 states led by Kansas argue that Biden overstepped his authority in creating the SAVE Plan, which was made available to borrowers last year and has already cancelled loans for more than 150,000. It argues that the new plan is no different from Biden's first attempt at student loan cancellation, which the Supreme Court rejected last year. "Last time Defendants tried this the Supreme Court said that this action was illegal. Nothing since then has changed," according to the lawsuit. Biden announced the SAVE repayment plan in 2022, alongside a separate plan to cancel up to USD 20,000 in debt for more than 40 million Americans. The Supreme Court blocked the cancellation plan after Republican states sued, but the court didn't examine SAVE, which

Republicans invite Prez Biden to testify as impeachment inquiry stalls

House Republicans on Thursday invited President Joe Biden to testify before Congress as part of their impeachment inquiry into him and his family's business affairs. Rep James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Democratic president, inviting him to sit for a public hearing to "explain, under oath", what involvement he had in the Biden family businesses. "In light of the yawning gap between your public statements and the evidence assembled by the Committee, as well as the White House's obstruction, it is in the best interest of the American people for you to answer questions from Members of Congress directly, and I hereby invite you to do so," the Kentucky Republican wrote. While it is highly unlikely that Biden would agree to appear before lawmakers in such a setting, Comer pointed to previous examples of presidents' testifying before Congress. "As you are aware, presidents before you have provided testimony to congressional committees, including ..

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 .

Hunter Biden's attorneys push California judge to toss out tax charges

Attorneys for Hunter Biden asked a judge Wednesday to toss out the tax case accusing him of a four-year scheme to avoid paying USD 1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. President Joe Biden's son has pleaded not guilty to the nine felony and misdemeanour tax offences. His attorneys argued the prosecution is politically motivated, was tainted by leaks from IRS agents who claimed publicly the case was mishandled and includes some allegations from before he moved to California. Prosecutors framed the claims as far-fetched during the three-hour hearing. Prosecutor Leo Wise scoffed at the idea that the case was tainted by the IRS agents "who I couldn't have picked out of a lineup". Defence attorney Abbe Lowell, on the other hand, maintained the case was hopelessly contaminated by partisan politics, calling it "the least ordinary prosecution a person could imagine". US District Judge Mark C Scarsi appeared to be sceptical, telling Lowell the hard evidence for some of

Debt damper

High US govt debt can increase risks