From Raw Story

  • Trump lawyer made an extremely 'important concession' at immunity hearing: ex-SCOTUS clerk

    Former President Donald Trump's legal team made a massive admission to the Supreme Court during oral argument about presidential immunity — acknowledging to Justice Amy Coney Barrett that at least some of the acts committed by the former president in the plot to overturn the election, like speaking to private attorneys about how to block elector certification, were not official acts.That could play a massive role in the justices' decision, former Supreme Court law clerk Joshua Matz told CNN's...

  • Trump Defense Secretary describes when he rejected then-president's unlawful order

    Donald Trump's former defense secretary, Mark Esper, rejects the idea of absolute immunity for a president, which was the argument before the Supreme Court on Thursday. But it certainly wasn't the first time he broke with Trump. Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, Esper said he hates it when examples are brought up, such as the president ordering the military to stage a coup, because it's too "outlandish."ALSO READ: ‘Fraudulent’: Trump tormentor Lincoln Project loses big money in cybertheft...

  • Trump about to be hit with 'significant tactical disadvantage' for defying judge: expert

    Former President Donald Trump has boxed himself into a serious disadvantage in his Manhattan criminal trial with his constant violations of Judge Juan Merchan's orders, former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday.This comes after Trump spoke about the first witness at trial, his former ally and National Enquirer boss David Pecker, who described how he orchestrated "catch and kill" schemes to protect Trump during the 2016 election, similar to the purpose of his...

  • 'A woman was murdered there': CNN fact-checker grills Trump's 'peanut' protest comparison

    Another day in the books for Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, and it ended with the former president speaking to reporters in the corridor talking about how "breathtaking" Thursday was and then tangentially editorializing on some current events — from the price of gas and pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses to SCOTUS and the economy. Then CNN fact checked him straightaway. "We're having protests all over," Trump told reporters, without taking questions. "Biden was talking...

  • Trump's gag order violations could come back to haunt him at sentencing: law professor

    Donald Trump has so far not even been fined for his purported gag order violations in connection with his criminal hush money cover-up case, but the judge may be planning something worse than a monetary penalty, according to a law professor Thursday.Just Security's Adam Klasfeld reported on Thursday that, as proceedings were ending in the criminal trial in which the former president faces more than 30 felony charges, Judge Juan Merchan addressed the issue of Trump's alleged violations of the gag...

  • Pro-Trump super PAC fined for election law violation

    A Donald Trump-connected super PAC has been fined by the Federal Election Commission for failing to disclose $150,600 of in-kind donations in a 2022 public financial report, according to a review of federal records by Raw Story.Make America Great Again, Again! agreed to pay a $6,075 fine and to distribute a policy to its staff on identifying in-kind contributions. The super PAC agreed to do both by May 24.Representatives of the super PAC told the FEC that the error was discovered during an...

  • 'Very low energy': Onlookers say Trump's courthouse rant made him 'sound 150 years old'

    Donald Trump left the Manhattan courthouse on Thursday slowly walking toward the press cameras and thanked them for being there. He then went off on a rambling rant that leap-frogged from one issue to the other. "The U.S. Supreme Court had a monumental hearing on immunity, and the immunity having to do with presidential immunity. And I think it was made clear—I hope it was made clear—that a president has to have immunity or you don't have a president"According to Trump, the pro-Palestine...

  • Ronna McDaniel was able to squeeze more than $100K from the RNC before she was forced out

    Even as former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel fights to receive a full payout from the six-figure NBC contract she signed before she was let go, she still enjoys a comfortable severance package from her time at the RNC. McDaniel was paid $118,769.99 two days before Donald Trump's takeover of the RNC, where he placed his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in the position of co-chair. The sum was the largest single payout to McDaniel ever reported by the Committee, The Daily...

  • FBI concealed that one of Trump's foes was being stalked: report

    Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page was reportedly being stalked by a "troubled" Marine, who has since been discharged for confessing he was obsessed with her and mass shootings. The military shared the information with the FBI, but no one told Page she could be in danger, according to the report. In fact, the FBI determined that the man wasn't an imminent threat, the New York Times reported. Months after the decision, he was outside of her home. John C. Perez pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal...

  • Conservative judge scolds SCOTUS for missing the 'only question' on Trump that matters

    The Supreme Court missed the boat entirely when it heard oral arguments in the case reviewing whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution in the federal election conspiracy case, retired appellate judge Michael Luttig wrote in a lengthy thread on X Thursday.During the argument, the justices hammered Trump's attorney with tough questions, although Justice Samuel Alito, at least, appeared to be searching for a rationalization to grant Trump the immunity he wants. But all of...

  • 'Whoa!' Prosecution shouts over defense during Trump's hush money trial

    Shouting erupted during court proceedings for Donald Trump's New York hush money criminal trial Tuesday, according to a journalist who was present in the courtroom. The heightened tensions began when Trump's lawyer Matthew Russell mentioned text messages between former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard and an unknown relative, Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee said in a post to X, pointing out that Judge Juan Merchan told the prosecution and defense some of the contents...

  • 'Very aggravated': Jury hears of Trump's fury at Playboy model's Anderson Cooper interview

    Then-President Donald Trump became "very aggravated" after learning that a former Playboy model had been permitted to give an interview to CNN about her alleged affair with him, a witness told a jury Thursday.In testimony for Trump's hush money case before a New York court, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker told Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass that he amended a contract to allow former model Karen McDougal speak to the media about the purported affair. Pecker had...