11 Minutes ago
House Speaker McCarthy furious at Trump’s focus on GOP retreat: ‘We’re tired of that’
US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during a press conference in Statuary Hall of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2023.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was concerned by questions about Trump’s possible indictment of a Republican retreat aimed at strengthening his party’s legislative agenda.
McCarthy, who over the weekend called on House committees to investigate Trump’s Manhattan district attorney’s investigation, reiterated his view that the former president’s potential prosecution is politically motivated.
“This is personal money. It’s not trying to hide — it’s seven years ago, statute of limitations,” McCarthy said of the DA’s investigation, which focused on a 2016 hush money that payment made by a porn star before the year. presidential election.
“And I think in your heart of hearts, you also know, that you think it’s just political,” McCarthy said during a press conference at the House Republican retreat in Orlando, Fla. “And I think that’s what the rest of the country. thinks and we’re a little tired of that.”
He stressed that GOP lawmakers are focused on policy, and lamented that reporters asked him about the possible impeachment of the entire retreat and reported that the issue “dominated the conference.”
“No, we didn’t talk about it in our conference. You just asked about it. So it just dominated your questioning,” McCarthy said.
— Kevin Breuinger
14 Minutes ago
Trump renewed attacks on former attorney Michael Cohen’s credibility
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, US, March 4, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein Reuters
Trump attacked his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for “deception and lying” in testifying about hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels.
“In the history of our Nation there may not have been a more corrupt or less credible trial witness than the thoroughly disbarred attorney and criminal, Michael Cohen,” Trump wrote in a pair of posts on Truth Social. Cohen is now a key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation.
Trump also claimed that Cohen “began lying about events” after the then-president refused to grant him a pardon related to Cohen’s past business dealings unrelated to his work for the Trump Organization.
Michael Cohen (C), former lawyer and fixer of Donald Trump, leaves the Manhattan courthouse after testifying before a grand jury, in New York, United States on March 15, 2023.
Works of Fatih | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The posts came after an attorney, Robert Costello, testified before a grand jury considering the DA’s case to question Cohen’s credibility as a witness.
Trump — who has railed against government law enforcement agencies he sees as out to get him — pointed to a federal prosecutor’s 2018 criticism of Cohen when he pleaded guilty to financing crimes. Those crimes, for which Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, are partially related to the same hish money payment that is now the focus of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s probe.
At the time of his sentencing, federal prosecutors said Cohen’s crimes “depict a pattern of fraud.” But Cohen has since testified at length in multiple investigations and provided possible evidence to support his claims, including personal checks from Trump that he says were part of his payment for hush payments. money.
— Kevin Breuinger
An Hour ago
No grand jury proceedings were set for the day after Cohen’s former legal counsel testified
Rudy Giuliani, former lawyer of Donald Trump, his lawyer Robert Costello, left, and Vernon Jones, former Republican Representative candidate for Georgia, right, arrive at the Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 .
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images
No grand jury proceedings are expected in Manhattan today, a day after Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen’s former legal advisor testified before the panel.
The grand jury’s next scheduled date is Wednesday, suggesting that would be the earliest day Trump could be indicted in the case.
On Monday, attorney Bob Costello appeared before the grand jury as a rebuttal witness for Cohen, who is believed to have testified long ago about paying porn star Stormy Daniels at the behest of Trump in 2016.
Costello is a former top federal prosecutor who most recently represented former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump ally who himself faces criminal investigations into his conduct.
“There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Michael Cohen has great difficulty telling the truth,” said Costello in a statement to reporters after he finished testifying. “He is, after all, a convicted whistleblower, and our track record with Mr. Cohen convinces us that he is a serial liar.”
Despite Costello’s statement, prosecutors on Monday did not call Cohen back to the stand to rebut Costello’s testimony.
“The facts and documents speak for themselves,” Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said afterward.
— Dan Manganese
2 Hours Ago
NYPD police ordered to report in full uniform in preparation for protests
New York Police Department officers set up barricades outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City on March 20, 2023.
Leonardo Munoz | Afp | Getty Images
All New York Police Department officers have been ordered to report to work in full uniform so they can be sent to the streets if necessary to deal with any protests related to Trump’s grand jury investigation.
A small protest is expected to start at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan and go downtown to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Separately, a small caravan of cars driven by Trump supporters headed into town from Long Island.
But if Monday is any indication, those cops may be all dressed up with nowhere to go.
That afternoon, a small number of members of the New York Republican Club rallied in downtown Manhattan to voice opposition to the criminal investigation, which they outnumbered members of the media assigned to cover. in the activity.
Trump in a social media post over the weekend urged supporters to “Protest, take back our country!” as he announced that he expected to be arrested soon.
“We must save America! Protest, protest, protest!”
— Dan Manganese
