The adult film star, who was paid $130,000 as “legal expenses” for her silence about her affair with the former US president, warned the presidential candidate is “completely and utterly out of touch with reality”.
Teflon Don has become Felon Don, but the US constitution has no objection to him holding the highest office
It was the moment America, or at least America’s politicians and media, had been waiting for. It was the day justice finally caught up with Donald Trump. The former president’s manipulation of the 2016 election, by hushing up a sex scandal that threatened his chances, and his attempts to discredit a criminal justice system intent on punishing him, was famously thwarted. It was an all-time presidential and judicial first, a historic result that transformed Teflon Don into Felon Don, thanks to a jury of 12 ordinary men and women and a brave prosecutor, Alvin Bragg.
Looked at another way, however, last week’s much anticipated dramatic denouement of the criminal trial of the New York playboy, billionaire and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential candidate may turn out to be less pivotal than anticipated. According to the US networks, most Americans tuned out weeks ago, not least because cameras were barred from the Manhattan courtroom. One not untypical public survey found that 67% of respondents said a conviction would make no difference to how they voted this autumn. The 34 guilty verdicts were an overnight sensation. But they may not significantly shift the political dial.
US representative and failed contender for president says Kathy Hochul should grant pardon ‘for the good of the country’
The outgoing Democratic US representative who failed in his presidential primary challenge against Joe Biden called on the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, to pardon Donald Trump over his criminal conviction for hush-money payments to influence the 2016 election “for the good of the country”.
Minnesota representative Dean Phillips, who was the first Democrat to call on fellow party member Henry Cuellar to resign following bribery charges against the Texas representative, urged for the pardon on Friday in a post on X.
This is the story of how a low-budget Australian film – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – changed the course of history, loudly and proudly bringing a celebration of gay culture to the world that continues to resonate 20 years on. Narrated by Terence Stamp, Between a Frock and a Hard Place [57m] is also a social history of gay culture in Australia, drawing on footage from the famous movie as well as Sydney in the 80s.
A time when the AIDS epidemic had taken hold, this time provided inspiration to director Stephan Elliott, who wanted to tell a story about the world of gay people, celebrating in the face of sadness and fear with flamboyant defiance. Includes interviews with the film's key players – director Stephan Elliott, actors Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, and the creative team, as well as drag artists and members of the gay community.
Whether he ends up in prison or the White House – or both – the former president and felon will remain a malign hero to populists everywhere
As Americans stared at their TV screens early on Thursday evening, listening to the 34 Donald Trump “guilty” court verdicts rolling out one by one amid the former president’s histrionic cries that the trial was “rigged”, the immediate thought was: what on earth happens now?
To which the only honest reply is: no one knows. Anyone pretending they do is just as big a liar as Trump, dramatically convicted by a jury of his New York peers for fiddling the books to help him win the 2016 election.
National Association of Broadcasters rescinds honor after actor’s comments outside ex-president’s criminal trial in New York
Film actor Robert De Niro was scheduled to accept a leadership award from the National Association of Broadcasters, but the group has rescinded the award after the celebrity spoke out against Donald Trump outside his criminal trial in New York this week, the Hill and the Huffington Post report.
The National Association of Broadcasters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and his Republican allies sow distrust in US judicial system as analysts warn backlash could tear at social fabric in already volatile election year
A shameful day in American history. A sham show trial. A kangaroo court. A total witch-hunt. Worthy of a banana republic.
These were the reactions from senior elected Republicans, who once claimed the mantle of the party of law and order, to the news that Donald Trump had become the first former US president convicted of a crime.
Justices to address abortion, guns, social media – and whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for role in January 6 insurrection
The US supreme court is poised to deliver a raft of politically sensitive decisions as it ends its judicial term, addressing tumultuous issues including whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his role in the January 6 insurrection in 2021, abortion access for millions of women and the basic functioning of the federal government.
With the court entering its traditional June climax, observers are bracing themselves for yet another potentially seismic four weeks that could radically reshape American public life. Matters before the court include a possible loosening of gun laws in a country with already exceptionally lax controls, and new guardrails on how social media platforms deal with misinformation.
Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock finishes day down 5.3% on Wall Street, as ex-president’s stake falls from $6bn to $5.6bn
Donald Trump’s paper fortune dropped by hundreds of millions of dollars on Friday as shares in his media firm came under pressure in the wake of his conviction in his New York hush-money trial.
Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock finished the day down 5.3% on Wall Street, denting the value of the former president’s vast stake in the business.
The former president’s rambling tirade at Trump Tower contained a number of questionable assertions
Donald Trump delivered a rambling, incoherent speech laden with falsehoods and conspiracy theories from the atrium of Trump Tower, a day after the former president was convicted of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush-money criminal trial.
Here is a fact check of some of the things he said on Friday – and why they weren’t true.
The prosecution and the guilty verdicts are unprecedented. But making history is not the same as shifting election outcomes
Guilty. The New York jury’s unanimous verdicts on 34 counts mean that Donald Trump is not only the first sitting or former US president to be prosecuted in a criminal trial, but the first to be convicted.
Trump was found to have falsified business records to hide $130,000 of hush money paid to cover up a sex scandal he feared might hinder his run in 2016. Before his entry into politics, it would have been taken for granted that such charges would kill a campaign. Yet Trump is running for the White House as a convicted criminal. If he is jailed when he is sentenced in July – which most experts think unlikely – it is assumed that he would continue. If anything, the prospect of such a sentence spurs him on.
It was the latest example of journalists having to weigh the news value of a major political moment against the challenges of reporting on a candidate who regularly speaks in falsehoods.
Revisited: Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland speaks to Sam Levine about how Donald Trump became the first US president, sitting or former, to become a convicted criminal
Today, we are sharing Politics Weekly America’s latest episode with Today in Focus listeners.
Donald Trump has made history again, becoming the first US president, sitting or former, to be a convicted criminal. Late on Thursday a New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. Within minutes of leaving the courtroom, Trump said he would appeal.
Joe Biden warned on Friday that it was reckless and “dangerous” for anyone to claim Donald Trump’s criminal conviction was the result of a rigged trial, as the former president hit out at the verdict against him and Republicans maligned the integrity of America’s justice system.
Donald Trump hit out furiously on Friday morning at the new status of “felon” conferred on him by a New York jury, whose guilty verdict made him the first former US president ever to become a convicted criminal.
Cleta Mitchell, a rightwing attorney tied to Trump, has joined with anti-immigrant groups to pour resources into election effort
Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who helped Donald Trump in his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has joined forces with far-right anti-immigrant groups to pour resources into stoking unfounded fears of non-US citizens voting in federal elections.
Launched by powerful figures on the right, the effort includes members of Trump’s inner circle, rightwing nativist groups that promote restricting legal immigration and election-denying activists like Mitchell. Leaders of some of the prominent groups have become active on Capitol Hill, even appearing alongside the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, to introduce a bill requiring people to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The president said ‘Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself’ and ‘no one is above the law’
While Donald Trump and his team argued for a change of venue for the New York hush money trial because Manhattan was so heavily Democrat, New York was where Trump made his name. The 58-storey Trump Tower has been a part of the skyline since 1983. His hit reality show, The Apprentice, took place here.
After the verdict was read yesterday, New Yorkers reacted with both jubilation and horror.
This must be a day to reflect that in just one decade it has become realistically possible for a multiple felon to lead the free world
No rest for political cartographers. It turns out that what lay beyond America’s uncharted waters was some more uncharted waters. The unanimous verdict in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial found the former president guilty, making him the first US president to be convicted of a crime. Forgive me: 34 crimes. A potential bar to security clearance, voting and owning a gun – but not, apparently, a bar to running for president. “I am a political prisoner,” ran an instant campaign fundraising message from Trump, probably typed on the same gold toilet he once pretty much ran the world off.
And might well again. Previous polls have indicated some Trump voters would switch in the event of a guilty verdict, but this morning the betting markets had Trump’s chances above 50% for the first time. On the other hand, if criminal trial verdicts going the wrong way for you is such great news, how come Trump is trying so hard to stall the other three cases he’s facing? By way of a reminder, those involve mishandling classified documents, trying to change the outcome of the election, and fomenting the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. He’s already been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in another trial last year, and impeached twice. Take in his thousands of business-related court cases and he’s a one-man law degree.
Trump’s extraordinary luck expired in dramatic fashion on Thursday with 34 guilty counts – unlike in his three other criminal cases
Donald Trump’s good fortune with his criminal cases ended in dramatic fashion on Thursday afternoon, when a New York jury convicted him of concealing a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The former president for months had extraordinary luck with his legal problems: one by one, the other three criminal cases became bogged down with intermediate appeals, and none is currently set for trial before the election in November.
In a divided world that can’t seem to agree on a single fact, we now have one that is impossible to argue with: Trump is a felon
For decades, he skated. Nothing seemed to stick to the Teflon-coated businessman-turned-president. The guy who didn’t pay his bills, who constantly lied, who mocked a disabled journalist, who insulted a Gold Star family, who bragged about grabbing women by their private parts, who praised dictators, who urged a violent mob to overturn an election, who was unperturbed as his own vice-president was threatened with hanging.
Yes, he skated – through two impeachments, through countless investigations and accusations, and through so much chaos that responsible US citizens became almost numb and hopeless.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
Donald Trump’s conviction on all 34 felony counts on Thursday marked a full-blown victory for Alvin Bragg, the first-term Manhattan district attorney who was criticized for using a novel legal strategy to bring a historic criminal case against a former president.
The decision to convict Trump on all 34 counts is significant. Jurors could have acquitted him on some and convicted on others. But the fact that they went all-in, and relatively quickly, suggests they believed the wider story prosecutors told at trial. It is a full-throated win for Bragg and the worst possible outcome for Trump.
The former president appears on front pages across the globe on Friday, as the world’s media takes in the unprecedented outcome of the hush-money trial
“Guilty on all counts,” is the headline on the Guardian’s front page on Friday, after Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a historic criminal hush-money trial.
It took the jury less than 12 hours to reach a verdict in the unprecedented first criminal trial against a current or former US president.
Twelve jurors in New York have presented their fellow Americans with a simple question: are you willing to elect a convicted criminal to the White House?
On Thursday, Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. The verdict makes him the first president, current or former, to be found guilty of felony crimes in the US's near 250-year history. Regardless, the conviction does not disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate or bar him from again sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump, who opted not to take the stand during the trial, has denied wrongdoing, railed against the proceedings and ahead of the verdict compared himself to a saint: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. The charges are rigged,” he said on Wednesday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to appeal the verdict.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has been in court over the last several weeks covering all the developments – here are three testimonies he found most memorable.
Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records set off a political firestorm in Washington on Thursday, with Republicans furiously lambasting the verdict as a miscarriage of justice while Democrats commended New York jurors for rendering a fair judgment in one of the most historic trials in US history.
Republicans unsurprisingly rallied around Trump, reiterating their baseless allegations that the Biden administration had engaged in political persecution of the former US president.
Donald Trump has made history again, becoming the first US president, sitting or former, to be a convicted criminal. Late on Thursday a New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. Within minutes of leaving the courtroom, Trump said he would appeal.
On a historic night for American politics, Jonathan Freedland and Sam Levine look at what the verdict will mean – both for Trump himself, and for the election in November
So rarely held to account, Trump has finally had a small taste of justice. This is a good day for American democracy
The former president of the United States, and the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, is now a convicted felon 34 times over. In New York on Thursday, 12 jurors found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records in order to influence the 2016 election. It is the first criminal conviction for Trump, who has also been charged with felonies in three other criminal cases currently under way in Florida, Georgia and Washington DC. He is the first former president to ever stand trial on criminal charges.
The jury found that Trump, who denies the charges, falsified business records in 2016 and 2017, when he made a series of payments to his lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to reimburse Cohen for a payment of $130,000 that he had made to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actor, in exchange for Daniels’ silence about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Paying Daniels to shut up, the prosecution had argued, amounted to a conspiracy to influence the election. Labeling the payments to Cohen, as Trump and his flacks did, as payments of Cohen’s “legal retainer” was a fraud committed in furtherance of that conspiracy.
Donald Trump has been found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The verdict came after a jury deliberated for less than 12 hours in the unprecedented first criminal trial against a US president, current or former. It marks a perilous political moment for Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican nomination, whose poll numbers have remained unchanged throughout the trial but could tank at any moment.
In a presidential election where poll after poll shows voters favouring Trump over Biden, the president’s tone will be crucial
Twelve jurors in New York have presented their fellow Americans with a simple question: are you willing to elect a convicted criminal to the White House?
On Thursday, Donald Trump was convicted of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush-money trial, a verdict making him the first former president to be found guilty of felony crimes in America’s near 250-year history.
The ex-president lost a hush-money trial in New York. But if you think that will keep him from the Oval Office, think again
On Thursday, a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of conspiracy and fraud in a case stemming from payments that the former president arranged to cover up an affair with the adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The presumptive Republican nominee is now a convicted felon.
He was already an adjudicated sexual predator and fraudster. Trump once quipped that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Maybe not.
Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
Jurors in Donald Trump’s criminal trial found the former president guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The jury of seven men and five women living in Manhattan, over the course of two days this week, weighed whether the former president’s alleged efforts to conceal an affair with the adult film star Stormy Daniels, which he feared would damage his 2016 bid for the White House, were illicit.
The jury has reached a verdict and is currently filling out paperwork until about 5:15 Eastern.Trump was looking cheerful and relaxed, sharing smiles and laughs with his lawyers, as they prepared to leave for the day. As soon as the judge announced that instead we had a verdict, his demeanor changes dramatically. He crossed his arms and knitted his brows. He continued to whisper with attorney Todd Blanche, but no longer cheerfully.
Late-night host discussed end of Trump’s hush-money trial and public support from ex-president’s sons
Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Donald Trump and the end of his hush-money trial on last night’s edition of his late-night show.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host spoke about the former president’s New York City trial, where he faces multiple charges, which is coming to an end as the jury deliberates. Trump must stay in the courthouse to “sit there for hours farting next to the vending machine”.
Bill Pruitt also says the then reality TV star was incompetent and implied illicit trysts while engaged to Melania
Donald Trump used a racial epithet to reject the prospect of a Black winner on the debut season of The Apprentice, the Emmy-nominated series that transformed the former president into a reality TV star and fuelled his political career.
Trump rejected the views of close aides that Kwame Jackson, a broker who worked for Goldman Sachs, had been the most impressive contestant, saying, “Would America buy a [N-word] winning?”, according to a producer who worked on the NBC show’s opening series in 2004, when it was called Meet the Billionaire.
Justices release opinions on three cases – banking regulations, a free speech claim and a death penalty case – but delay rulings on Trump and abortion
If a New York jury finds Trump guilty of business fraud charges, what impact would it have on the election? Reporting from two swing states, the Guardian’s Alice Herman and George Chidi looked for the answer:
For Josh Ellis, a refrigerator technician from southern Wisconsin, Donald Trump’s trial in New York is a sideshow. He’s not convinced of the prosecution’s narrative, or the former president’s – and the verdict will not likely affect his vote in November, anyway.
‘I think Kwame would be a great addition to the organization,’ Kepcher says to Trump, who winces while his head bobs around in reaction to what he is hearing and clearly resisting.
‘Why didn’t he just fire her?’ Trump asks, referring to Omarosa. It’s a reasonable question. Given that this the first time we’ve ever been in this situation, none of this is something we expected.
Panel asks to rehear judge’s instructions as Trump rants about proceedings and compares himself to Mother Teresa
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money case in New York enters its second day of jury deliberations on Thursday with panelists weighing whether a payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels was part of a plot to sway the 2016 election.
The jurors deliberated for approximately four and a half hours on Wednesday after beginning their discussions at about 11.30am.
After days of testimony and a marathon closing argument from the prosecution, the jury for the Trump hush-money trial begins its second day of deliberations. They have requested a replay of not only some of the crucial testimony, but at least a portion of the hour-long instructions Justice Merchan provided. The specific crime Trump is charged with turns out to be fairly complex, and Lawfare has an explainer.
Many seem ambivalent on whether the ex-president will be found guilty – and some think it will only deepen polarization
For Josh Ellis, a refrigerator technician from southern Wisconsin, Donald Trump’s trial in New York is a sideshow. He’s not convinced of the prosecution’s narrative, or the former president’s – and the verdict will probably not affect his vote in November anyway.
“Biden’s running this country into the ground,” said Ellis, who said the economy was his main concern. At 49, Ellis has long viewed politicians as out of touch on economic issues; he used to vote for Democrats, but switched in 2016 to vote for Trump, who he saw as possibly offering a change.
Calls, notes and witness testimony appear to fit with prosecutors’ case that Trump falsified records as part of plot to influence 2016 election
As the jury began deliberations on Wednesday, Donald Trump appeared to have little room to extricate himself from the mass of evidence presented in the weeks-long case.
A recording of Trump directing hush money to be paid in cash. Handwritten notes by Trump’s ex-chief financial officer about how to reimburse Cohen. A parade of witnesses who testified the Trump campaign was desperate to suppress the story of his affair with the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
by violating the Federal Election and Campaign Act, which in 2016 made it a crime for any person to make contributions to a campaign in excess of $2,700 per year, or for a corporation to make a contribution of any amount to any candidate’s campaign in a federal election.
by causing the falsification of other business records, including bank records for the shell companies that Cohen established on false pretenses to pay the hush money to Daniels.
by violating federal tax and New York state tax law 1801(a)3 and 1802 since Cohen’s reimbursement for the hush money was “grossed up” to compensate him for taxes he would have to pay on the $130,000 when he recorded it as income on his tax returns.
Prosecutors evaluating more claims of sexual misconduct and new indictment could be filed before New York retrial on rape charges
Manhattan prosecutors told a judge in New York on Wednesday that they are evaluating more claims of sexual misconduct against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and could potentially seek a new indictment against him before his scheduled retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.
Assistant district attorney Nicole Blumberg said during a court hearing that additional people have come forward with assault claims, and prosecutors are currently assessing which fall under the statute of limitations.
The Town of McClellanville, South Carolina revolves around seafood: Shrimp, Fish, Oysters, Crabs, and Clams. Shrimp are the bread-and-butter of the industry. Each year they celebrate the Blessing of the Fleet, with it's own underground anthem referenced in the post title ([4m14s], Some NFSW Lyrics) Vimeo or YT.
The industry is threatened by more than imported shrimp (previously, previously): the owner of the fish house is ready to retire, with no one in line to take over.
As many traditional working waterfronts become vulnerable to high-end residential development, commercial activity, and climate change, much of the South Carolina commercial seafood industry has been affected by changes in waterfront property use. The changes make it increasingly difficult for commercial fishermen to secure dependable and affordable docking space, fuel, and ice. This is cause for concern among McClellanville, S.C. watermen and their community, as the town's largest seafood business owner is approaching retirement and the future of the working waterfront along Jeremy Creek is uncertain.
So they have set up a foundation and developed a Master Plan to preserve the industry in the Town.
The speculative value of the waterfront property upon which Carolina Seafood sits likely exceeds its use value as an ongoing business. That is, it is worth more as vacation or resort property than as Carolina Seafood
...
Providing the watermen with fuel and ice on credit against future delivery of harvest is an ordinary practice by Carolina Seafood and Livingston's both. This benefits the wholesalers and allows harvesters to maintain cash flow. Watermen also described that Mr. Leland would extend credit for unexpected expenses. This ranges from "slack" in payment time to fronting the cost of important engine parts or equipment for the boats, and so forth, against future payment. After Mr. Leland's retirement, his successor at Carolina Seafood may not be inclined – or financially able – to provide this sort of financial cushion.
They have also started an apprenticeship program with the SC Sea Grant Consortium. Before you sign up, check the list to see if this adventure right for you:
Do not get seasick or motion sick
Are able to work outside in bad weather
Do not mind getting dirty and smelling of fish and rancid smells
Don't forget the less-adventurous bullet points:
Are financially responsible and able to make sure your taxes get filed
Are comfortable getting your own health insurance coverage
Disclaimer: I have friends and family who work in and adjacent to the industry. I live 40 miles away and am an enthusiastic consumer.
Bonus Lowcountry Oystering Video: Mud and the Blood [12m]
Wall Street Journal reports pair have had several phone calls recently and that Musk could assist if Trump wins another term
Donald Trump has floated a possible advisory role for the tech billionaire Elon Musk if he were to retake the White House next year, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.
The two men, who once had a tense relationship, have had several phone calls a month since March as Trump looks to court powerful donors and Musk seeks an outlet for his policy ideas, the newspaper said, citing several anonymous sources familiar with their conversations.
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money case in New York inched towards its conclusion on Wednesday with jury deliberations starting just before 11.30am local time.
Right after jurors began weighing the former president’s fate, Trump railed against the proceedings and compared himself to a saint, saying in the hallway: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. The charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged.”
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