donald trump
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In a striking moment, former President Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a case brought against him by a Manhattan jury.
The civil case came to a historic conclusion on Tuesday (May 9th) in a Manhattan courtroom as the jury composed of six men and three women found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming former magazine writer E. Jean Carroll. The decision meant that Carroll had sufficiently proven her allegations that Trump had committed the abuse upon her over 30 years ago in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store.
While the jury did not find that the former president raped Carroll per her claims, they did award her $5 million in damages. “I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” Carroll said in a statement after the verdict. “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.” Judge Lewis Kaplan informed jurors that they could identify themselves, but advised them not to. “My advice to you is not to identify yourselves. Not now and not for a long time,” he said in his instructions.
In a post made to his Truth Social account after the 3 P.M. verdict, Trump defiantly wrote: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!” His lawyer, Joseph Tacopina said to reporters that they plan to appeal the verdict. He also complained about the jury’s anonymity with their identity kept hidden even from the lawyers, claiming a “bias displayed by the court.” Trump did not testify, but the jury did see the deposition he recorded for the case. He faces no criminal
The decision has left the Republican Party with a quandary regarding their support of Trump for his 2024 presidential aspirations, with some still standing with the twice-impeached president. “That jury is a joke, the whole case is a joke,” said Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio. Others like Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska felt the verdict was just. “I think he showed a lot of disrespect for the jury and the court… The way he treated them, he got what he deserved,” he said afterward.
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Donald Trump will not go away quietly in the night, especially if major news networks continue to give him a platform to tout his MAGA philosophies at will. The former Swindler-In-Chief will appear in a town hall hosted by CNN, and the timing looks just a little curious.
As pointed out by the homies Crooks and Liars, CNN announced that the network will open its channels to host the town hall that puts Donald Trump back into the national spotlight. Despite the fact that the business mogul is embroiled in several legal tie-ups, Trump still holds sway over the Republican Party and the rabid MAGA base who want to see him returned to power.
More from CNN:
“CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the event at St. Anselm College, which will air at 9 p.m. ET on May 10 and will feature the former president taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
This will be Trump’s first appearance on CNN since the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump is positioning himself to become the Republican Party nominee for the 2024 presidential race and seems to be the frontrunner according to some analysts. If successful, the race could be a repeat of 2020 as President Joe Biden announced plans to run for reelection.
The timing of this town hall might ring curious to some as CNN just fired anchor Don Lemon, a known critic of Donald Trump. Looks a little funny in the light if you ask us.
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Fox News managed to avoid further embarrassment in a defamation trial by reaching a historic settlement with Dominion Voting Systems before it got underway.
The right-wing media network came to terms on a settlement with the company on Tuesday (April 18) after a reportedly racially diverse jury selection in the defamation trial held in Delaware related to false claims made about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential elections by former President Donald Trump was completed. Judge Eric M. Davis informed the court of the settlement, which was later revealed to be $787.5 million. Dominion was originally seeking $1.6 billion in damages.
“Money is accountability and we got that today from Fox,” said Dominion attorney Stephen Shackleford in a statement outside of Delaware Superior Court after the trial’s dismissal. “The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” said Justin Nelson, another attorney for the voting system manufacturer. Dominion Voting Systems also has pending lawsuits against Newsmax and OANN as well as Trump supporters Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell, and Sidney Powell.
Other details of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but the most striking element was that Fox News was not required to issue an apology on air. In its vague statement issued afterward, it conceded being found at fault: “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.” The settlement also means that Fox’s top personalities such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and founder Rupert Murdoch would not have to take the stand and testify.
Judge Davis had previously ruled that Fox had aired false claims in 20 broadcasts on its network concerning Dominion’s role in the presidential election, with implicit “no contest” pleas for several pretrial findings in the case. Many observers noted that while Dominion had a high bar to prove defamation in the trial, the volumes of damning information it had from Fox News stars reluctant to amplify Trump’s false claims and being sanctioned for withholding evidence placed the network at a serious disadvantage.
The settlement doesn’t mean Fox News is safe. Another election tech company, Smartmatic, has a lawsuit against the network. In a statement to Semafor political reporter Ben Smith published on Twitter, their lawyer Erik Connolly stated: “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest.” The case is still in the discovery phase.
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Stephen A. Smith is one of the most notable sports pundits in modern times but he largely isn’t thought of as someone who offers opinions on politicians. However, the veteran ESPN host made a statement that he doesn’t think Donald Trump is racist but says he’d stop short of voting for him should he become a presidential candidate again.
Stephen A. Smith recently appeared at the Semafor Media Summit on Monday (April 10) and spoke about a variety of topics during the chat. Smith shared that he and Trump used to have a friendship that involved the pair talking about sports before the business mogul’s presidency. However, Smith says that while he no longer speaks with Trump, he doesn’t believe his old associate has racist tendencies.
“I think he’s changed, but I will tell you this: I think when people call him racist and stuff like that, I’ve never thought of Trump that way. He’s not against black people, he’s against all things not named Trump,” Smith said.
Smith went on to add that while he shares conservative political views and isn’t above voting for a Republican Party candidate, he would withhold his vote from Trump.
Check out a portion of Stephen A. Smith speaking at the Semafor Media Summit below.
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The legal representation for Donald Trump rang a familiar tone for Meek Mill, who pointed out that they share the same lawyer online.
As the former president was present in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday afternoon (April 4), the Expensive Pain artist shared a photo from the arraignment on his Instagram Story featuring Trump seated with his lawyers in the courtroom. With a headline in bold letters across it, Meek Mill’s caption read, “Trump graduated from the streets…sharing criminal lawyers [with us]…Joe Tactical.”
“Joe Tactical” is the rapper’s moniker for Joe Tacopina, who is representing the former president in this case. Meek Mill would then post another photo, this time of himself standing next to Tacopina after a court hearing. The picture stems from the rapper’s 2017 case where he sought to overturn a prison sentence he received for violating probation on a decade-old gun and drug case.
Tacopina and the rest of the legal team would prove that Judge Genece Brinkley’s initial ruling was “unjust.” The ruling led to Meek Mill being released by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after serving five months. The case would go on to be a bellwether that highlighted the racial disparities seen in the probation process and the criminal justice system overall. Meek Mill has since become a strong advocate for criminal justice reform.
Tacopina has made a name for himself as a tough and steely litigator who was formerly a criminal prosecutor in Brooklyn. He’s been a fixture on television since being retained by Trump, insisting that the former president hasn’t broken any laws and calling the indictment “political persecution.” Tacopina has not shied away from representing high-profile figures. He represented A Bronx Tale actor Lillo Brancato on murder/weapons charges, actress Taryn Manning on assault charges, rapper YG on suspicion of robbery and former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez during his steroid scandal and suspension in 2014.
There are some who view Tacopina in a bad light, one of them being former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik. A firm supporter of Trump, Kerik declined to comment when asked about Tacopina’s hiring. “I am not going to get into it,” he said. Records show that Kerik had requested the state disciplinary committee to disbar Tacopina, whom he accused of cooperating againstjoe tacopina him in secret during a federal investigation that would see the former cop serve a 48-month prison sentence.
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You just knew Van Jones couldn’t let a historic moment like a former President being indicted just go by without putting his tap dance shoe in his mouth. The known Op is getting cooked on Twitter after he caped for Donald Trump having to sit and listen to the judge during his arraignment.
By now you should know that Trump was charged with 34 felonies, and pled not guilty. Which is his right.
But Van Jones went out of his way to show sympathy for the racist and bigoted former POTUS known for tax evasion and acting like a whole donkey on social media—the receipts are out there.
“He looks sad, he looks like the weight of it is hitting him,” said Van Jones on CNN prior to the revealing of the charges. “Just as a human being, I don’t take joy…I don’t like the prison system…I don’t like this process … doesn’t mean that accountability is not owed, we don’t know what he is going to be charged wit…but at that moment that is not a conqueror, that is a granddad having a very bad day.”
Sounds like Jones wants to give Trump a hug. Trump is also the same guy who came for the presiding judge in the case’s daughter and wife. Does he feel bad about Alvin Bragg and his family being put in harm’s way? Also, it’s a safe bet Cheeto wouldn’t spit on Jones if he was on fire.
The audacity of Jones expressing the sads about the start of Donald Trump actually being held accountable for just some of his illegal activity quickly led to another slander session from Twitter. Jones should be used to this—like when it was revealed he worked on Trump’s police reform plan on the quiet.
Peep some of the best slander in the gallery.
8. Relevant
Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday (March 30) on charges stemming from 2016 payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters.
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The historic event marks the first criminal case against a former U.S. president. The news comes as Trump is also facing investigations into his alleged involvement in 2020 election interference by his supporters and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in addition to his handling of classified documents after he was no longer in office.
“He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this this political prosecution in Court,” lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said in a statement, according to Associated Press.
At press time, the New York grand jury’s exact charges toward Trump are unknown.
In late 2016, amid Trump’s presidential campaign, his former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her silent about an incident a decade earlier after they met at a celebrity gold tournament. Earlier that year, Cohen had also arranged for the National Enquirer‘s publisher to pay McDougal $150,000 to stop her story of a Trump affair. Trump was implicated in court filings as knowing of the arrangements.
Trump reacted to the indictment in a statement, calling the situation “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” as well as a “Witch-Hunt” led by “Radical Left Democrats.”
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” he wrote.
A number of stars have taken to social media to react to the news, including Questlove, Jason Isbell and more. See below.
START SPREADIN THE NEWWWWWSSSSS— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) March 30, 2023
Trump has been indicted. Game on. New precedent has been set✔️— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) March 30, 2023
Trump Indicted! First among many!— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 30, 2023
With Trump facing arraignment, I am thankful federal law enforcement under Merrick Garland arrested over 1,000 insurrectionists from Jan 6, sending a strong signal that violent, anti-government protests from MAGA and militias will not be tolerated.— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 30, 2023
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
In news that everyone expected, but that no one quite knew of the exact timing—on Thursday, March 30, a Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict former POTUS Donald Trump. The indictment remains under seal, for now, but they do reference a felony.
Previously, Trump claimed that he would be indicted on Tuesday, March 21, which the moments he shared on social media was clearly something he pulled out of his ass. A grand jury works in secret, with only people who may have participated leading to the press knowing what transpired. Nevertheless, mainstream media ran with the date as if it was fact.
However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not waiver, going about his business and ever curving pressure and potential interference from Congress. But the hammer has finally dropped, more like “initially,” on Individual One. The charged will be tied to the hush money he paid sex worker Stormy Daniels while he was campaigning to be come President.
Reports the New York Times:
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to five people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges.
In the coming days, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will likely ask Mr. Trump to surrender and to face arraignment. The specific charges will be announced when he is arraigned.
Read: Donald Trump is going to be getting mugshot, just like any other citizen who gets indicted.
It goes without saying that Twitter is having a field day, and celebrating. Of course the MAGA wing of Twitter is having a fit, but that’s every day for that team.
2. FOX News gonna FOX News.
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Political allies of former President Donald Trump have begun attacking New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg by making false claims about his ties to political donor George Soros.
As the former president is facing an indictment from a grand jury convened by the Manhattan District Attorney, Republican politicians have initiated a stream of attacks following his lead against Bragg on social media. In a post on his TruthSocial network on Monday (March 20th), he wrote: “Alvin Bragg received in EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS from the Radical Left Enemy of ‘TRUMP,’ George Soros.”
The attack was echoed by other right-wingers such as J.D. Vance, the freshman senator from Ohio who has been an ardent Trump supporter over the past year despite prior misgivings. Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio has expressed a desire to have Bragg testify before a House committee about the investigation.
There is a link between the district attorney and Soros, who has been attacked for years by right-wing politicians and conspiracy theorists for his donations to Democratic candidates with many noting these attacks based on antisemitism as the Hungarian-born billionaire is Jewish. But an examination of campaign records shows no impropriety.
The connection dates back to when Bragg first campaigned to be district attorney. He was endorsed by the progressive criminal justice group Color of Change in 2021. The group intended to spend $1 million on voter turnout efforts for him and did not directly contribute to his campaign. Soros would donate that amount to Color of Change in May of that year, one of a number of donations that he made personally and through his Democracy PAC political action committee. Color of Change would ultimately spend $500,000 in contributions backing Bragg’s campaign, 11 percent of its $4.6 million spent during that campaign year.
“George Soros and Alvin Bragg have never met in person or spoken by telephone, email, Zoom, etc.,” Mr. Vachon said. “There has been no contact between the two.” It is noted that his son, Jonathan, and his wife did donate $20,000 to Bragg’s campaign directly before Bragg won the Democratic primary for the D.A.’s office in 2021.
Despite those facts, GOP politicians aren’t letting up in their attacks on Bragg. Color of Change President Rashad Robinson highlighted the racism and anti-semitism behind those smears in a thread on his Twitter account. “Make no mistake, over the next couple of days as more news about potential consequences for Trump circulates, we will see a flood of anti-Black and anti-Semitic attacks from the former President and his supporters and enablers,” he wrote last weekend.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Chris Rock
Chris Rock is done delivering hot takes. Oops, we mean jokes. No, he’s not talking about Jada Pinkett and Will Smith. He is now focusing on Donald Trump.
For those who have been under a rock or in their social bubble, the word on the street is that Donald Trump will be arrested. Well, the word came from the disgraced former president himself. The orange menace wrote on his sorry a** social media platform in all caps, “WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK,” sparking outrage from loyal MAGA clowns and hilarious AI-generated images of him either running from the law or getting cuffs put on him.
Anyway, Deadline reports that Rock decided to chime in on the matter while paying tribute to his good friend Adam Sandler during the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in DC on Sunday night. The comedian joked that if Trump gets arrested, it will “make him more popular,” comparing him to the late rapper Tupac, who saw his album Me Against The World sell over 3 million copies while in jail.
Per Deadline:
Chris Rock noted the big news of the weekend: The potential arrest of Donald Trump in New York, as the former president has called on his supporters to protest.
“Are you guys really going to arrest Trump? Do you know that this is only going to make him more popular? It is like arresting Tupac. He’s just going to sell more records. Are you stupid? He slept with a porn star and paid off someone so his wife wouldn’t find out. That’s romantic.”
Will This Really Help or Hurt Trump?
Popular with who is the question? Rock is echoing an argument that some political talking heads are making, but is Trump finally paying for his crimes really going to energize a base of people already in bed with him?
We shall see.
Plus, there are Republicans who want Trump to go away and are looking for a new leader of the party who isn’t a legal liability.
We still want to see him thrown in jail, and, plus, WE LOVE that its Black prosecutors leading the charge. Just saying.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty