Trump Corruption

Politico reports: Michael Cohen testified today that he enjoyed working for Donald Trump. He also testified that he sometimes lied and bullied in order to achieve what Trump wanted. Asked if he sometimes lied for Trump, Cohen said, “I did. It was what was needed to accomplish the task.” “Did you bully people?” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked. “Yes, ma’am,” Cohen …

“What this judge is getting away with is disgraceful, including the fact that we have thousands of people and 100,000 people in New Jersey. They would like to show their support. It’s like an armed camp outside. You can’t get one person within three blocks of this courthouse.” – Trump, with senators J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville hovering behind him …

Law & Crime reports: Rudy Giuliani, while ranting over the weekend that his WABC radio show was canceled for using the platform to repeat 2020 election conspiracy theories despite warnings from higher-ups, noticeably encouraged Dr. Maria Ryan, his ousted “Uncovering the Truth” co-host and girlfriend, to sue the station over a “hostile work environment” for women. But there’s just one …

Mediaite reports: Trump went on the attack in the middle of the night ahead of the biggest day of testimony in his criminal trial — but his target was Hollywood superstar Whoopi Goldberg. Trump — bound by a gag order — used the occasion of a 1:36 a.m. Truth Social outburst to blurt out an attack on the Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony (EGOT) …

“So I always keep this fake Hollywood money in my car so when a homeless person asks for money, then I give him like a fake $5 bill, so I feel good about myself, they feel good. And then, when they go to use it, they get arrested so I’m actually like helping clean up the community. You know, getting …

The Associated Press reports: He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors’ biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president’s hush money trial. But if Trump’s fixer-turned-foe is poised to offer jurors this week an insider’s view of the dealings at the heart of prosecutors’ case, he also is as challenging …

Law & Crime reports: Rudy Giuliani is being sued yet again by defamed Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss. And this time, they are asking a court to shut him up for good. In December 2023, the two women won a $148 million default defamation verdict over a campaign against the women in which Giuliani falsely …

The Independent reports: Jim Mattis, onetime secretary of defense for the Trump administration, described the former president as “a madman in a circular room screaming,” a new book reveals. The revelation was made by Tom Bossert, Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser from 2017 to 2018, and published in The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis. The new …

Politico reports: After spending the week sitting in silence as a parade of witnesses — from porn star Stormy Daniels to a former White House aide — testified in court, Donald Trump had to get a lot off his chest. Speaking before tens of thousands of people in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump called the hush money case a “sham.” He …

The New Republic reports: Trump made explicit policy promises to a roomful of Big Oil executives—while urging them to raise $1 billion for his campaign. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who has been presiding over hearings into the oil industry as chair of the Budget Committee, says it’s “highly likely” that the committee will examine the new revelations. …

“Silence of the Lambs. Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He often times would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me. I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But …

The New York Times reports: Paul Manafort, the longtime Republican strategist and chairman of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign, who had assumed an unpaid role advising party officials on the nominating convention, has stepped aside.  Mr. Manafort’s move came after The New York Times reported that he had been on the ground in Milwaukee last week for planning meetings for …

“I just want to be free to tell people the truth. And you want to stop me! Don’t ya? Yeah. The Democrat thing has something to do with it. And the fact that the Bidens are really zeroing in now on interference with the 2024 election. “I’m the one who revealed the hard drive. I spoke to the Post today …

Reuters reports: Donald Trump said on Saturday that former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not being considered to be his running mate in the November election, dismissing a report by news site Axios. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Citing people …

The New York Times reports: Former President Donald J. Trump used a dubious accounting maneuver to claim improper tax breaks from his troubled Chicago tower, according to an Internal Revenue Service inquiry uncovered by The New York Times and ProPublica. Losing a yearslong audit battle over the claim could mean a tax bill of more than $100 million. The 92-story, …

The Daily Beast reports: On Friday, watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, demanding an investigation into the alleged cover-up. The complaint cites new allegations from 2016 Trump campaign aide A.J. Delgado, which she lodged in a sworn court declaration earlier this week as part of her ongoing discrimination …

Media Matters has the transcript: STEVE BANNON (HOST): New York Times lead story is you’ve been fired by WABC, John Catsimatidis, your show has been canceled. Any truth? Because the New York Times is full of fake news, is this true? RUDY GIULIANI (GUEST): It’s absolutely true. We’re also the leading show at 3 o’clock in New York, leading Hannity, …

“We have a dual system of justice and we have a very unconstitutional gag order. As his legal spokeswoman, I’m nervous about what I can’t say and that’s also unconstitutional. The fact that they will not let a defendant speak and exercise his First Amendment rights — never mind the leading candidate for president — that is un-American, it violates …

The Daily Mail reports: Barron Trump is declining Florida’s offer to be a delegate to the Republican National Convention this summer, citing ‘prior commitments,’ according to his mother’s office. Melania Trump’s office made a statement to DailyMail.com on behalf of her son. ‘While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully …

The Daily Beast reports: In a turn that is oh-so-meta, a brand new hush money deal is now at the center of attention in Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial: $750,000 that prosecutors say the business mogul is dangling above Allen Weisselberg’s head to keep him testifying against his former boss. For the first time on Friday, prosecutors disclosed the …