by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch |
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by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch |
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© The Associated Press / Brendan McDermid, Reuters pool | Former President Trump spoke about his legal situation outside New York Criminal Court in Manhattan Monday. |
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Trump notches legal win; first trial starts next month |
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The first criminal trial of a former president is now pinned to a calendar ahead of Election Day. After various delays, jury selection will begin April 15 in former President Trump's hush money trial, a judge ruled Monday in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D). While speaking from the courthouse steps, Trump repeated his unfounded assertions aimed at appealing to his supporters that he's a victim of "election interference" backed by "Biden and his thugs." Fact check: No federal, state or other judge has agreed with Trump's claims that he cannot or should not be tried for alleged crimes ahead of an election. The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in an appeal brought by the presumptive GOP nominee as to whether presidents, current or former, are immune from prosecution for any acts or decisions made while in office. The Hill's Niall Stanage in The Memo describes Trump's legal wins and losses. Here are a handful of takeaways. Separately, Trump received a favorable break as a civil fraud bond was slashed by 68 percent Monday by a New York appeals court to $175 million while he appeals — if he posts the money within 10 days. Trump said he would comply. The original bond judgment was $454 million, which Trump's lawyers told the court their client had difficulty raising. Without naming him, Trump on Monday called Justice Arthur Engoron, who set the higher bond, "corrupt." If Trump loses his appeal, he might still have to pay a higher penalty with interest. In all, Monday's order was a significant victory for the former president as he contests the state's charges that he committed fraud to benefit his real estate empire. The bond reduction came just before New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) was expected to initiate efforts to collect the judgment by seizing some Trump assets. Next month's criminal trial, barring snags or delays, is expected to explore 34 counts accusing Trump of falsifying business records related to reimbursements made to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, for hush money payments. Those payments were delivered before the 2016 presidential election to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair (CNN). The Wall Street Journal: Here's how Trump's courtroom calendar collides with his campaign calendar. In a related development, Trump's SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) begins market trading today. Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. rose Monday in trading following investors vote to approve a deal to take Trump's Truth Social platform public under a new ticker, DJT. Trump on paper is now on Bloomberg's 500 wealthiest list after the Truth Social merger. Under the deal's current terms, he will not be allowed to sell shares in the company for at least six months. |
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- A portion of Francis Scott Key Bridge spanning Baltimore Harbor, forming part of the city's busy I-695, collapsed after being struck at 1:30 a.m. by a container ship. Emergency responders initially offered few details about possible casualties. A Port of Baltimore live feed of the span clearly shows the event HERE. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he spoke with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) to offer federal assistance.
- Amid a safety crisis that has engulfed the company, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said Monday he will depart at the end of the year while Stan Deal, Boeing's head of commercial planes, departed.
- The IRS says it has 940,000 unclaimed tax refunds from 2020 worth more than $1 billion set to expire in May. Is one of them yours? Here's what to know.
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© The Associated Press / Alex Brandon | NBC is under fire for hiring former National Republican Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who pushed falsehoods about the 2024 election while backing former President Trump. |
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A firestorm erupted Sunday and Monday in the wake of NBC News's hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor. The network is paying her a reported $300,000 for on-air insights about Trump during an election year. What's the beef? McDaniel is on record supporting Trump despite his disinformation and role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, making her commentary radioactive in the eyes of prominent NBC and MSNBC political journalists and hosts. Former NBC "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd excoriated the network Sunday for the hiring, while on Monday morning the hosts of MSNBC's popular "Morning Joe" program said they would not have McDaniel on as a paid contributor. MSNBC prime time host Rachel Maddow said she hopes NBC News would "reverse their decision" to hire McDaniel. "If you care what I think about this, the fact that McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me that is inexplicable," Maddow said on her show Monday. "You wouldn't hire a wise guy … a made man, like a mobster, to work in a DA's office. You wouldn't hire a pickpocket to work as a TA screener. And so, I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable." A source at NBC told The Hill on Monday that there was unanimous support among leadership at the network for McDaniel's hiring, and that the network reiterated to staffers that individual shows at the network have editorial control to book whichever contributors or guests they feel are most relevant to the news of the day. Inside NBC's headquarters in New York, some rank-and-file employees began discussing how to further pressure network leadership over McDaniel's contract, The New York Times reports. |
- The Washington Post analysis: McDaniel quickly demonstrates that her view isn't worth the cost.
- Politico magazine: Why Todd's scorcher against McDaniel matters. The revolving door between political operatives and the mainstream media has been spinning for decades.
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Senate Republicans are warning Trump that abortion restrictions should be left to the states. The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports they said his tentative public backing of a 15-week national abortion ban would be a political blunder if GOP candidates are welded to that position while seeking distance from the issue. Republican lawmakers have argued for years that states should have the authority to set parameters on abortion and hailed the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022 for handing that power to the states. |
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- Curious about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s VEEP pick? The independent presidential candidate's big reveal is scheduled this morning in Oakland, Calif., at 11 a.m. PDT.
- A Republican Party committee is privately warning its candidates that just hitting Biden will be "insufficient" to win in November.
- Biden has gained ground against Trump in six of seven key swing states. The results make for his strongest position yet in a monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll
- Amid Texas's push to implement a restrictive immigration law, which is now before the courts, the state is plagued by doubts about SB-4's legality.
- Alabama Republican Teddy Powell is running against Democrat Marilyn Lands, who has shared her abortion experience with voters ahead of a special election for a House congressional seat near Huntsville. In vitro fertilization is part of the election debate.
- House Republicans are threatening to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress in pursuit of an audio recording of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with the president.
- Right-wing influencers are descending on the Darién Gap. The treacherous migrant crossing in Panama is drawing packs of American activists who are distorting how immigration is perceived, and debated, at home.
- Justice Department officials said reports of widespread threats against officials running the 2020 and 2022 elections have resulted in charges against roughly 20 people.
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The House will meet for a pro forma session at 9 a.m. The Senate will hold a pro forma session at 5 p.m. President Biden will receive the President's Daily Brief at 9 a.m. Biden will travel to Raleigh, N.C., to deliver a speech at 3 p.m. accompanied by remarks from Vice President Harris. Biden and Harris will headline a campaign fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. in Raleigh before Biden returns to the White House and Harris also returns to Washington. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m., he will meet with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will join White House senior adviser John Podesta and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Scott Nathan at 1:30 p.m. for a virtual meeting with non-governmental organizations about international climate finance. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will be in Michigan, where she served as governor until 2011. She will speak about workers and batteries at an event in Lansing at 9:45 a.m. EDT, accompanied by Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, Senate hopeful Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers. Granholm, Su and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) will meet with women involved in the transition to clean energy in the state. The secretary will speak at 2:40 p.m. EDT at LG Energy Solution in Holland, Mich. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. about access to the abortion drug mifepristone. Justices will decide whether to uphold or reverse a decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that would impose limitations on the availability of mifepristone nationwide. |
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Content from our sponsor: Small Business Payments Alliance |
Durbin-Marshall is a windfall for mega-stores |
Small business owners oppose the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill because new credit card mandates would deliver billions to the 5 biggest mega-stores and cost $1 billion in lost rewards. Read the new study here. |
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© The Associated Press / Phil Sears | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), pictured earlier this month, signed legislation Monday to ban social media accounts for children younger than 14 in the state. |
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📲 Too young for social media?: In Florida, former Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday to ban youngsters under age 14 in his state from having social media accounts. The legislation also requires 14- and 15-year-olds to obtain parental approval to hold accounts on social media platforms that employ algorithms and have "certain addictive features." Critics say they will contest the law in court on First Amendment grounds. 🌘 A city in darkness: Buffalo, N.Y., residents expect 1 million visitors for the April 8 total solar eclipse, which will last 3 minutes. They cannot wait (The New York Times).
💵 Jobs and wages: California restaurants are cutting jobs ahead of a mandated April increase to $20 an hour as the minimum wage for fast food restaurant workers (The Wall Street Journal).
💧 Climate: Democratic governors are unveiling state-based climate plans as part of a competition for grants supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (Politico). … Rising temperatures and available water supplies could push millions of Americans northward (The Atlantic). 🔎 Big settlement, big fees: Here's how a group of politically connected private lawyers teamed up to go after insurers for inflating the costs of patients' medications and reached one of the largest Medicaid settlements in history. It was a lucrative effort begun in 2018 when it produced contingency fees of at least $108 million to date for the lawyers hired by the states (The New York Times). 💉 Health: Measles cases in the U.S. this year exceed the reported number in all of 2023. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want adults and children to get vaccinated against the highly contagious virus and offer information HERE. Other nations are also grappling with outbreaks (USA Today). |
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© The Associated Press / Craig Ruttle | The U.N. Security Council Monday passed a cease-fire resolution in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its first demand to halt fighting. The U.S. abstained. |
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CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION: Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are on a collision course. The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed its first resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza after the U.S. abstained from the vote. The resolution calls for an immediate cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the immediate release of all hostages. The vote took place just two days after Russia and China vetoed a Security Council resolution from the U.S. that tied a cease-fire to the release of hostages (The Hill). In response, Netanyahu on Monday canceled a senior delegation to Washington, and his office called the U.S. abstention "a clear retreat from the consistent position of the United States at the Security Council since the beginning of the war." The suspension of a meeting with the Israeli delegation chilled efforts by the U.S., which is concerned about a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, to persuade Netanyahu to consider alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the administration is "disappointed" Israeli officials will not make the trip, although Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington and is still expected to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (The Hill and Politico). KREMLIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to attribute some blame for the Moscow terror attack carried out by ISIS-K last week to Ukraine is spurring fears he may use the tragedy to ramp up the war against Kyiv, The Hill's Brad Dress reports. Four suspects were arrested in connection to the Friday attack, in which more than 130 were killed when multiple gunmen opened fire into a crowd at the suburban Moscow Crocus City Hall and set fire to the music venue. ISIS-K, the Afghanistan branch of the Islamist terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. French and U.S. intelligence has also supported that conclusion. But in an address on Saturday, Putin said the attackers were fleeing toward Ukraine, where they had a "window" to escape. The terrorists in Moscow were part of a branch of the Islamic State connected to foiled attempts in recent months to attack France, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. Over the weekend, he increased his country's terror alert warning level (Reuters). |
Reuters: Russia's security state has been ruthlessly effective at detaining Putin's opponents, but the Moscow shooting raises questions about priorities, resources and intelligence gathering. The Washington Post: Before Friday's attack, ISIS spinoffs were on the march from North Africa to South Asia. One group appears laser-focused on terrorist attacks abroad. - The Wall Street Journal: "A ticking time bomb": In Syrian refugee camps, fears of an Islamic State revival rise.
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- Trump's new stock deal is another pig in a poke, by Adam Lashinsky, contributing columnist, The Washington Post.
- Some ancient Greek wisdom on why America shouldn't ban TikTok, by David Ottlinger, opinion contributor, The Hill
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© The Associated Press / Virginia Mayo | Chocolate rabbits in Belgium in 2020. |
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And finally … 🐰 The Easter Bunny will make an appearance over the weekend, bearing chocolate and candy. While we're partial to Cadbury Mini Eggs over here at Morning Report, DoorDash analyzed the most popular Easter candies across the states. Chocolate eggs ranked supreme in 47 states, with Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs taking the most popular spots. New Hampshire's candy of choice is jelly beans, and Mental Floss has traced the bean-shaped candy's unexpected appearance in Easter baskets. Getting sticker shock while shopping for chocolate eggs and bunnies? You're not alone. Higher cocoa prices mean consumers are paying more for favorite sweets. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. |
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