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Michael Cohen’s Testimony Shakes Trump’s Hush Money Trial
United States: On Monday, the former U.S. chairman’s felonious trial is likely to feature a star substantiation appearance by Michael Cohen, the estranged former fixer of Donald Trump. Cohen is anticipated to swear that he supported Trump in concealing a payment intended to silence a porn actress who claimed to have had a sexual hassle.
Cohen’s Background
Cohen,57, said he would take a bullet for Trump, a Republican seeking to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden in this year’s Nov. 5 U.S. election. Cohen previously worked as an executive and lawyer at Trump’s family real estate company in New York for almost ten years, opens new tab.
Trump’s Defense Strategy
After Trump’s tenure as president started in 2017, Cohen represented him personally. However, the two fell out as federal investigators looking into Trump’s 2016 campaign targeted Cohen. He has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal detractors, regularly criticizing the president on podcasts and social media.
Video captured Cohen leaving his house early on Monday without pausing to respond to inquiries from media.
Legal Battle Dynamics
Although this will be the jurors’ first time meeting Cohen face-to-face, his presence has hovered over the trial since it started on April 15 in Manhattan’s New York State Criminal Court. Numerous witnesses have testified about him, and from the beginning of the trial, Trump’s defense attorneys have attacked his credibility by labeling him a dishonest liar in their opening statement.
Following allegations by defense attorney Todd Blanche that Cohen had posted on social media while sporting a T-shirt picturing President Trump in jail, Justice Juan Merchan ordered prosecutors to instruct Cohen to cease making public statements about the case on Friday.
The trial revolves around Cohen’s USD 130,000 hush plutocrat payment to porn star Stormy Daniels previous to the 2016 election, which was made to help her from telling information about a 2006 contended sexual hassle with Trump.
Trump is charged by prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office of misrepresenting his 2017 reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal costs on the financial records of his New York-based real estate business.
Witness Testimonies
According to them, the tampered business documents concealed tax and election law infractions, turning the 34 charges against Trump from misdemeanors to felonies carrying a maximum four-year jail sentence.
Trump has entered a not guilty plea to each of the 34 charges against him and has denied ever having had sex with Daniels. He contends that the lawsuit is an attempt to sabotage his campaign with political motivations. The prosecutor, Bragg, is a Democrat.
“Fat Alvin, corrupt guy,” Trump referred to Bragg during a Saturday night election rally in New Jersey.
Joining Trump when he arrived at the courtroom on Monday were a number of Republican politicians, including Senators Tommy Tuberville and J.D. Vance as well as Representative Nicole Malliotakis.
The payment to Daniels, according to the execution, was a part of an unlawful plot to sway the 2016 election by copping the quiet of anyone who might have known dangerous information. Trump’s attorneys claim that he did it to avoid embarrassing himself in front of his family.
In 2018, Cohen entered a shamefaced plea for breaking civil crusade finance laws by compensating Daniels. He handed evidence claiming that Trump gave him the order to make the payment. Trump isn’t facing any felonious charges from civil prosecutors.
To dissociate Trump from the reimbursement checks and invoices at the center of the case, Trump’s defense attorneys have informed the 12 jurors and 6 alternates that Cohen is a liar who paid Daniels on his own.
Michael Cohen has been allowed to go on MSNBC and say the most ridiculous things about Trump night after night, and yet only Trump has the gag order.
Cohen's current income is based on making stuff up about Trump. The more outrageous the better. Great witness. pic.twitter.com/B0Q1zxguhK
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 13, 2024
Given Cohen’s repeated admissions of lying under oath, the defense has plenty of material to erode Cohen’s credibility.
He has admitted to lying to Congress in 2017 concerning a Moscow real estate project run by the Trump Organization, but he has since claimed that he did it to keep Trump safe. In 2018, he entered a guilty plea for breaking tax law, but he now maintains that he did not do it.
Prosecution’s Argument
Jurors witnessed the 34 invoices, company ledger entries, and checks that the prosecution claims Trump fabricated in order to conceal his payment to Cohen during last week’s testimony.
A former staff member of Trump stated in court that he was informed by the president’s chief financial officer that Cohen was being reimbursed for costs he had incurred while running for office. That might refute the claim put out by Trump’s attorneys that the money was paid for legal services.
But neither that employee nor another who gave testimony last week was able to confirm if Trump personally ordered the records to be fabricated in order to conceal the payment to Daniels; this is a gap that the prosecution will try to close with Cohen’s testimony.
Cohen has been the target of Trump’s vicious social media assaults, some of which the judge claims broke a gag order that forbade Trump from speaking negatively about witnesses, jurors, the judge, prosecutors, or their families in order to influence the case.
Trump’s Response
Trump has declared that the gag order violates his right to free expression and that it is unjust to prevent him from answering questions about allegations made by witnesses like Daniels and Cohen.
For ten infractions of the order, Merchan fined Trump $10,000 and threatened to put the former president in jail if he continued to attack.
Although the case is the only one that is guaranteed to get to trial before the election, it is generally regarded as less significant than the other three criminal charges that Trump is facing.
In the other charges, Trump is accused of attempting to reverse his loss in the 2020 presidential election and of mishandling secret materials after he left office. To all three, Trump entered a not guilty plea.
News
Trump Hints at Potential Ban on the Abortion Pill in Future Policy
United States: Former President Donald Trump, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, said he might consider stopping access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions.
Possible FDA Action
When asked by NBC News, Trump mentioned that there are options to change how these drugs are handled, and he didn’t rule out taking action like asking the Food and Drug Administration to remove mifepristone
“There are many things on a humane basis that you can do outside of that,” Trump added, saying that “you also have to give a vote” to people about abortion.
Shift in Position
As reported by NBC news, Trump’s comments Thursday appeared to be a shift from his position in June, when the former president as said in the CNN debate: “I will not block it.”
In the response to clarifying the questions that have been asked on the Trump’s position, Karoline Leavitt and the Trump’s campaign’s national press secretary told the NBC news about this.
As the president Trump said that he wants everybody to vote and, on the issue, reiterating his long-held position of supporting rights and of states to. Make the decisions on abortion.
Leavitt later clarified that, “As a President Trump had said the numerous times during the press conference and the questions being asked were difficult to hear and his position on the mifepristone remains the same and the Supreme Court unanimously decided on the issue and the matter which is settled.
Policy and Future Announcements
The idea of directing the FDA to revoke access to mifepristone is a rare core policy plan in the project 2025 also a 900-plus page document written by conservative groups and organized by the Heritage Foundation that lays out a governing plan for the next GOP presidential administration.
Recently at a press conference on Thursday Trump was also asked how he planned all these thing to vote in Florida’s ballot initiative and this fall to expand abortion the access and the former president a Florida resident didn’t say how would vote but hereby also teased a future announcement on that and added that abortion isn’t is a big factor anymore.
Criticism from Opponents
However, Harris-Walz campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez also critized the Tumps’ comments in a particular statement this Thursday.
“Already, women across the country are suffering because of the nightmare Donald Trump unleashed by overturning Roe v. Wade,” she said.
“That reality — women forced to the brink of death before receiving the care they need, doctors facing the threat of jail time for doing their jobs, and survivors of rape and incest made to flee their states for basic health care.
News
Kamala Harris Shows How Black Sororities Influence Politics
United States: On July 10, just before Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Kamala Harris attended a veritably important event for Alpha Kappa Alpha(AKA) in the Harward University, a major Black sorority she joined in council.
AKA, innovated in 1908 at Howard University, supports Black women and is one of the most influential sororities in America. Harris’s aunt was also a member in 1950. notorious women like Coretta Scott King, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou were part of AKA. In a 2021 Vogue cover, Harris was shown in AKA’s colours and wearing its hand plum choker.
Harris’s Continued Involvement with Black Sororities
As reported by The Guardian, since Biden stepped down and became the presumptive nominee, Harris has spoken at more sorority events, including one for Sigma Gamma Rho. There, she addressed comments from Donald Trump questioning her race. Harris feels a strong connection to these events, saying, “When I look out at everyone here, I see family.”
The Influence of Black Greek Letter Organizations
Black Greek letter organizations, like AKA, have a huge impact on politics. In 2020, when Biden chose Harris as his vice-presidential pick, AKA members raised a lot of money and helped get voters to the polls through creative campaigns. They used their networks to support voter registration and education, which was crucial for Biden’s election. These organizations, together known as the Divine Nine, have over four million members and significant funds.
Harris’s Journey and Black Greek Organizations
Lawrence Ross, an expert on the Divine Nine, explains that these organizations are more than just college groups. They continue to support members throughout their lives and focus on important issues like voter education. Harris’s involvement with AKA is a key part of her identity, like how Barack Obama’s connection with his church shaped his identity. Both Harris and Obama made choices that tied them to a distinctly American form of Black culture.
The Role of Divine Nine in U.S. History
Ross points out that the Divine Nine played a very vital and major role in the civil rights movement. Important figures are like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Jesse Jackson were members of these organizations. Harris’s sorority sisters remember her as ambitious and cool, balancing her serious approach to education with a relaxed side.
Excitement for Harris’s Historic Role
Harris’s sorority sisters are excited about her being a major political figure and see it as a historic moment. They are committed to supporting her and making sure her impact is recognized, especially in this important election. According to Ross, the Divine Nine’s involvement has been vital for advancing Black civil rights and continues to be influential today.
News
Harris Begins Campaign with Walz as Running Mate
United States: Vice President Kamala Harris is set to appear publicly with her new running mate, Tim Walz, at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. This event will mark or will be identified as the start of a five-day campaign tour across seven key battleground states.
Tim Walz’s Political Background
As reported by the telegraph, Tim Walz, who has been chosen as Harris’s running mate, has a notable political history. Elected to a Republican-leaning district in 2006, Walz served nearly 12 years before becoming governor of Minnesota. As governor, he advocated for progressive policies including free school meals, climate change action, and LGBT rights.
Selection Over Josh Shapiro
Walz was chosen for the vice-presidential spot over Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania. Some Democrats were concerned that Shapiro’s strong pro-Israel stance might be problematic for the campaign.
Walz’s Reaction to the Selection
Tim Walz described his new role as “the honour of a lifetime” in a post on X. He expressed his excitement to join Kamala Harris in the campaign.
Democrats Highlight Walz’s Gun Ownership
Democrats have emphasized or focused on that Walz is a “gun holder” and a “supporter of the Second Amendment of the constitution.” According to a press release, Walz is an avid pheasant hunter who has backed universal background checks for gun purchases as governor. He believes that more needs to be done to address gun violence.
Poll Shows Many Unfamiliar with Walz
A recent NPR/PBS/Marist polls shows that most Americans do not know Tim Walz well or they don’t have any specific idea about him. The survey, conducted from August 1-4, found that 71% of U.S. adults had never heard of Walz or were unsure about him. Hereby almost 17% viewed him favourably or can say in the favour, while 12% had an unfavourable opinion.
Harris Praises Walz’s Leadership
Kamala Harris has praised Walz’s “principled leadership” and his proven track record in Minnesota. In a message to supporters, Harris expressed confidence that Walz will bring strong leadership to their campaign and to the vice presidency. She also asked for immediate support to help defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance, emphasizing how much their backing means to both her and Walz.