Evening Report — Trump hush money trial resumes in NYC

A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow

View Online  Evening Report Tuesday, April 30 ©  AP Week 3 of Trump's hush money trial: Testimony resumed Tuesday in former President Trump's criminal trial over accusations that he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels hush money during the 2016 election after she alleged the two previously had an affair.    The day's proceedings opened with Judge Juan Merchan finding that Trump violated a gag order nine times and fined the former president $9,000 over recent posts on the social media platform Truth Social and Trump's campaign website attacking prospective jurors and potential witnesses.   Merchan instructed Trump to remove the posts and that additional violations could result in jail time.   Trump complied with the ruling, but not quietly: "This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED. This whole 'Trial' is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION," he wrote. Merchan is not protected under the gag order.   READ: Full Trump gag order ruling   The court then heard from witnesses that testified that long-time Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen was a "jerk" and an "asshole" and confirmed questionable negotiations in text messages.   Cohen's former legal advisor, Lanny Davis, told The Hill that the negative characterizations witnesses have attributed to Cohen are things of the past.   Cohen's ex-banker, Gary Farro, testified that Cohen misled the bank about why he intended to open the account for a real estate consulting business, and that if the bank knew it was a shell corporation that would be used to pay Daniels, "the account would not have been opened."   Attorney Keith Davidson testified that Playboy model Karen McDougal sold her story of an alleged affair with Trump to American Media Inc. instead of ABC News to ensure it was not published. He also testified that the release of a raunchy hot-mic moment Trump had during an "Access Hollywood" interview before entering the presidential race had an impact on efforts to allegedly quiet the women claiming they had affairs with Trump.   "Before (the) Access Hollywood tape, there was very little if any interest," in porn actress Stormy Daniels' story, Davidson said. "It wasn't until Access Hollywood that interest sort of reached a crescendo."   The court also heard from Keith Davidson, the attorney who organized the hush money payments for McDougal and Daniels.    The trial will resume Thursday.   For more coverage, read The Hill's live blog covering the day's proceedings.    Related coverage: Trump gag order: What happens if he does it again? Trump can go to son Barron Trump's graduation on May 17, judge says. Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. CATCH UP QUICK Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is on the way out. But he's not going quietly. For the third straight month, immigration topped the list of the most important problems for Americans in a Gallup poll. The Capitol is about to get a dose of — Bam! Splat! Zap! — at a Wednesday event marking Free Comic Book Day. NEW THIS AFTERNOON © Getty Images Campus unrest escalates as pro-Palestinian protestors take over Columbia University building Columbia University says it will expel students who took over a campus building Tuesday as ongoing protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza continue to roil college campuses across the country.  "Students occupying the building face expulsion," Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said in a statement. "Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances — and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday." Dozens of protestors stormed Hamilton Hall overnight. The academic building was similarly taken over during anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s.  Demonstrators this week who made it inside the building barricaded the doors, while hundreds more formed a human chain around the building.    Columbia has threatened to expel students involved in the occupation of the building. The move came as tensions continue to escalate on campuses across the United States, where pro-Palestinian protestors have taken to setting up campus encampments and other demonstrations.   The White House rebuked the protestors who took over Hamilton Hall.   "The president believes that forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach, that is not an example of peaceful protests," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.   Kirby stressed that disrupting education for other students on campus is "unacceptable."   Some Republicans have suggested sending in the National Guard to rein in the protests, but Kirby said there is no active effort to federalize the guard.   Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who went to the Columbia campus last week, denounced the demonstrations and said he has urged Biden to also visit the campus to see what's happening first-hand.   The White House didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on Johnson's remarks.   The Hill's Lexi Lonas and Miranda Nazzaro consulted experts on the topic, noting that "while protesting is a sacred right in the U.S. and is all the more cherished on college campuses, hundreds of students have been arrested in multiple states as administrators and elected officials try to enforce what they see as essential boundaries." Biden administration plans to ease marijuana restrictions The Biden administration is working to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk substance — a step toward aligning the nation's drug laws with public opinion. A source familiar with the decision confirmed to The Hill Tuesday that marijuana will be shifted from the list of Schedule I drugs, considered the most dangerous, to the lower tier Schedule III. Drugs on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Schedule I include ecstasy, heroin and LSD. Schedule III drugs include anabolic steroids, testosterone and ketamine. The process could take several months as it moves through the Office of Management and Budget protocol before it can be implemented. The plan wouldn't entirely legalize cannabis due to potential conflicts with state laws regulating its possession and sale. Americans overwhelmingly favor full marijuana legalization, according to a Gallup poll from November that found a record 70 percent of people surveyed said they are in favor.  CAPITOL WATCH Greene vows to move on Johnson ouster vote, Dems vow to help save him Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) says she will, at some unspecified point, call for a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), despite pushback from members of her own caucus and a vow from Democrats to save Johnson's job.   The top three House Democrats — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) —  announced Tuesday that they will vote to table a motion to vacate the Speakership if Greene brings it to the floor, effectively killing the effort and saving Johnson's job. But Greene said in a post on the social media platform X that she plans to bring it to the floor anyway.    "If the Democrats want to elect him Speaker (and some Republicans want to support the Democrats' chosen Speaker), I'll give them the chance to do it," Greene said. "I'm a big believer in recorded votes because putting Congress on record allows every American to see the truth and provides transparency to our votes."   Greene filed the motion last month but has not said when she plans to trigger a vote on it.   Only two other Republican lawmakers — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — have said publicly that they support Greene's ouster effort.     Related coverage: Newt Gingrich praises Johnson in Washington Times column. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) files ethics complaint against special counsel Jack Smith over Trump investigation. IN OTHER NEWS © Getty Images California's population grows for the first time since 2020 California has seen its first net population growth since 2020, state authorities announced on Tuesday. Officials attributed the net gain of 67,000 — to 39,128,162 individuals statewide as of Jan. 1 — to an improvement in legal foreign immigration policies, growth in the natural population and stabilized mortality rates. The state Department of Finance projected a continued positive population expansion, after consecutive years of decreases while states like Texas and Florida experienced population booms. "People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream and experience the success of the world's fifth largest economy," California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement.  Nine of 10 counties in the state with populations of more than 1 million — home to about 72 percent of the state's residents — saw upticks over the year. (The Hill) Supreme Court refuses to block Texas age-verification law for pornographic content  The Supreme Court has refused to stop a Texas law that would require pornographic websites to verify a user's age. The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, had filed an emergency appeal to the high court to temporarily block the law as challenges move through the court system. The court denied the stay, so it will stay in effect. The Supreme Court's order did not note any dissenting voices. The law, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed last year, requires that websites with pornographic content verify that users in Texas are at least 18 years old. Those sites also must post warnings about the alleged harms of pornography.  The Free Speech Coalition has argued that such age-verification laws are ineffective and violate free speech. (The Hill) OP-EDS IN THE HILL "Only aggressive US diplomacy can avert an Israeli-Hezbollah War," writes Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon and a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco.    "Everything you need to know about the TikTok ban — and why it might not even matter," writes Aron Solomon, JD, chief strategy officer for Amplify, a legal marketing agency.  ⏲️  COUNTDOWN 75 days until the Republican National Convention. 111 days until the Democratic National Convention. 188 days until the 2024 general election.  🗓  COMING NEXT Wednesday: Former President Trump will hit the campaign trail on his day off from trial. He has campaign events in Michigan and Wisconsin. President Biden is holding a campaign reception in D.C. Vice President Harris will hold a campaign event in Florida. Stay Engaged You're all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow! 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