Several past stories have updates:
Gaza: Israel not only increased its attacks against Rafah in southern Gaza but also returned to strikes against northern Gaza, including Jabaliya, the biggest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. About 500,000 people have fled Rafah on Israeli orders of evacuation. Much has been written about the tragedies in Gaza—the killings, including many women and children; the starvation; the destruction of homes and institutions; the complete lack of healthcare; basically the devastation of a civilization in the 140 square miles of the Gaza Strip. Little has been written, however, about the Israeli sexual assaults on Palestinian men and boys as documented in photos of torture while they are detained.
Egypt has joined South Africa’s December 2023 case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza after Israelis seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, eliminated humanitarian aid, and issued new evacuation orders for the city and north of Gaza. Colombia and Turkey have also asked to join the case. Egypt’s involvement is especially important because of its connection with Israel in a 1979 treaty.
Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) “intuition” that “a lot of illegals voting in federal elections” that clash with illegal voting data: A Brennen Center study found 30 suspected, not confirmed, noncitizen votes out of 23.5 million (0.0001 percent of the votes) in the 2016 election. The libertarian Cato Institute agrees. The ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation has a database of voter fraud back to the 1980s; it reports about 50 cases of non-citizens voting, many of them legal residents. The conservative bill requires proof of citizenship, but 5 to 7 percent of people in the U.S., millions of voters, don’t have “the most common types of documents used to prove citizenship.”
Another story about South Dakota Kristi Noem’s book: the French government questioned her claim that she “decided to cancel” a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron because “the day before we were to meet, he made what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press.” A representative from the Élysée Palace has no record of a scheduled meeting or an invitation to Noem, and she said, “This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book.”
Paul Manafort’s participation in the 2024 RNC presidential candidate conference: after backlash from the convicted felon allegedly being involved in DDT’s 2024 campaign, Manafort said he will not help manage the event, complaining about “the media” trying to use him “as a distraction.”
Consumer fees: A judge appointed by former Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) ruled that people must pay price-gouging credit card late fees as high as $41 despite a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cap of $8 going into effect on May 14. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated that “”banks make billions in profits charging excessive late fees.” An appeal would go to the 5th Circuit Court with 19 DD-appointed judges of 26.
Polling: Last month, New York Times/Siena College poll found 78 percent of women voters felt offended by what Trump has said, 43 percent recently offended. An anonymous GOP senator tried to spin the survey by saying that some of these offended women didn’t believe the allegations from Daniels’ testimony or the media reports.
DDT Trial Day 16:
Judge Juan Merchan ruled against prosecutors by refusing their request to enter Allen Weisselberg’s severance agreement from the Trump Organization into evidence. The company had agreed to give the former CFO $750,000 only if he doesn’t “cooperate” with investigators. Pleading guilty in a separate DDT case, he is serving five months in Rikers.
The judge did permit this tweet from 2018 to be admitted:
“Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are …”
The last witness convicted of perjury, DDT’s former lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen, has one sin for the MAGA base—not staying loyal to DDT, the one vital criterion for DDT’s base. He again displayed his disloyalty in his testimony that DDT’s covered up Stormy Daniels’ payoff from his fear that the story would end his political career along with his bragging about sexual assault in the Access Hollywood tape. In another coverup lie, DDT continually claimed that he lied to protect his wife. Cohen said DDT told him in 2015:
“Be prepared. There’s going to be a lot of women coming forward.”
Cohen testified that DDT “was polling very, very low with women” at that time and told Cohen, “This is a disaster.” About the payment, DDT told Cohen, “Just do it” and that Cohen would get repaid. Cohen reported that DDT snapped:
“Get control of it! Just get past the election. If I win, it’ll have no relevance when I’m president. And if I lose, I don’t really care.”
About Melanie Trump leaving DDT because of his relationships, DDT said:
“Don’t worry. How long do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long.”
Cohen used his own money for the payoff because Weisselberg didn’t want the payment connected to the business and testified about his disappointments after he paid the money: DDT’s cutting his 2016 bonus by two-thirds and not providing any place for him in the White House, including chief of staff. Experssing his anger about the bonus to Allen Weisselberg before New Year’s Day, the Trump Organization CFO said he would “take care” of the bonus “when we come back.” The $420,000 that Cohen received covered Daniels’ payoff, taxes, fees for the home-equity line of credit on his apartment to pay the $130,000, and the adjusted bonus.
Although DDT promised to repay David Pecker for Karen McDougal’s and a doorman’s stories about sexual relationships, he reneged, leaving Cohen to “fix” the situation. Earlier, Cohen taped DDT promising to make the payment; a tape between DDT and Cohen was played in evidence.
Critics predicted emotional outbursts from Cohen, but he delivered his testimony supporting former witnesses’ statements in dry tones. DDT occupied himself during Cohen’s testimony preparing a speech that he read at the press conference at the end of the day after the trial. To avoid violating the gag order, DDT read commentary from GOP legislators and pundits bashing the trial. More direct-examination and cross-examination are scheduled for Tuesday. Unable to successfully beat up on Stormy Daniels last week, the defense will likely try the same on Cohen.
After the media pointed out that no family member or supporters appeared at the trial, a few of them appeared. Possibly designated family member, DDT’s son Eric, was present as well as lawmakers currying favor. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) repeatedly bemoaned the courtroom being “depressing,” causing DDT “mental anguish.” Auditioning for vice-president, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) claimed that Merchan’s daughter is “raising money” for DDT’s opponents although a case against her was dismissed.
Justice Clarence Thomas is carrying his complaints to court personnel at an 11th Circuit Court conference in a speech lamenting what he calls “nastiness” and “lies” that he and his wife experience—serious documented ethics accusations. The 11th Circuit Court hears federal cases from Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The New York Times reported:
“It amounted to some of the most extensive public remarks he has made since revelations that he failed to disclose years of lavish trips from wealthy conservatives, like the Texas real estate magnate Harlan Crow, including on private jets and a superyacht.”
More reporting about Thomas includes the expensive recreational vehicle given him, and ProPublica’s lists of free gifts from “benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence … likely in the millions” of dollars: “at least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.” Thanks to these undisclosed favors, he lived the life of a wealthy man.
In Thomas’ speech, however, he didn’t define which claims are “lies.”
North Dakota’s Gov. Doug Burgum has recently been rising to the top of DDT’s vice-presidential choice because, as DDT says, he’s “rich.” At DDT’s Saturday rally, Burgum compared working with DDT to “a beautiful breeze at your back” before denigrating President Joe Biden as a “gale force wind in your face.” Later he said about DDT, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” referring to President Joe Biden’s attempt to stop Israeli genocide in Gaza. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) reminded Burgum:
“Trump didn’t just negotiate with terrorists; he invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11 and had his Secretary of State sign a surrender agreement with them.”
DDT met the Taliban at Camp David, a presidential getaway formerly used for meetings with respected leaders of other countries.
Nel's New Day 