In an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday night, Alina Habba sounded less than optimistic about her client Donald Trump’s chances of prevailing in his New York criminal case. The former president has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments intended to cover up extramarital affairs he had before the 2016 election. Jury selection concluded last week, and opening arguments commenced on Monday. Jurors have already heard testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who described a “catch and kill” scheme whereby his publicatio ..read more

Federal inmate Michael Avenatti continued his Hail Mary bid to receive a pardon in the event that erstwhile nemesis Donald Trump becomes president again. To be clear, I do not know Avenatti and have no inside information as to what he is thinking, which is why this post is labeled “Opinion.” On the other hand, come on. The former attorney for Stormy Daniels has been making the media rounds from a federal prison on Terminal Island in Southern California. He is currently serving 19 years on convictions for extortion, fraud, obstruction, and identity theft. Some of those charges stem from his the ..read more

President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan on Wednesday. The president is facing mounting pressure over his support for Israel during its ongoing war in Gaza, but he brushed aside those criticisms. “My commitment to Israel,” he said, “is ironclad.” Biden has repeatedly green-lit aid to Israel and even twice bypassed Congress to deliver it. But despite the president’s unwavering support, not everyone in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is impressed. “The U.S. is not projecting strength under [Biden’s] leadership, and it’s harming Israel an ..read more

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) joined Jesse Watters on Fox News on Wednesday evening after he spoke at Columbia University earlier in the day and blasted the protests there that he condemned as anti-Semitic. “We met with a big group of Jewish students before we went to the campus, and they’re hiding in fear,” Johnson said while recapping his visit to the campus, adding: They don’t go to class. They’re afraid they’re going to be assaulted. It’s not fair to them. Some of them have had to bring a federal lawsuit, civil rights violations that are being committed there. And taxpayer dollars sho ..read more

An Arizona grand jury indicted Rudy Giuliani and other Donald Trump allies on Wednesday for their role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state. The news prompted former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb to say that Trump’s former personal attorney “sold his soul” for his former boss. Among those charged were 11 Republican electors prosecutors say falsely signed paperwork declaring Trump the winner of the state. Seven others were also indicted, but their names were redacted. However, the Washington Post reported those defendants are “former Trump White House chi ..read more

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana Rep. Jared Moskowitz (R-FL) took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Wednesday over the progressive leader’s ongoing call to cut off aid to Israel amid its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands dead. Sanders reiterated his call to cut off U.S. funding for “Netanyahu’s war machine” on Tuesday, sharing a statement online and adding, “It is a dark day for democracy when the Senate will not even allow a vote on whether U.S. taxpayer dollars should fund Netanyahu’s war against the Palestinian people.” Moskowitz replied to Sanders’s tweet, writ ..read more

Photographer: Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post/ Pool A state grand jury in Arizona charged top 2020 Trump campaign aides and lawyers alongside 11 so-called “fake electors” on Wednesday over their efforts to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state. The indictment lists the 11 fake electors, but redacted the names of seven other individuals who were indicted following the investigation led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D). The Washington Post reported the names of those seven individuals as “former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney ..read more

AP Photo/Eric Gay Texas Governor Greg Abbott said pro-Palestinian protestors “belong in jail” while dismissing them as anti-Semites. Demonstrators have been protesting Israel’s war in Gaza on university campuses across the United States. That includes the University of Texas at Austin. On Wednesday, hundreds of UT students walked out of class to protest the war while demanding the school disassociate itself from businesses that make weapons of war. At least 20 people have been arrested on campus. One witness who happened upon the protest said he did not see any violence. “I didn’t think it w ..read more

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Grace Chong, the CFO and COO of Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, reacted to the heckling of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Columbia’s campus on Wednesday by arguing its time for MAGA and the progressives to join forces. As Johnson spoke on campus and condemned the anti-Semitism he sees gripping the campus, he was heckled by many on campus. Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender wrote on X that hecklers yelled, “We can’t hear you!” Solender added that some also yelled “Grandstand louder” and “Speak up you piece of shit.” Mike Johnson is pretty much ..read more

CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on Wednesday about the protests that continue to grip college campuses across the country and the widespread accusation that those protests have taken an anti-Semitic turn. “So the president of Columbia University is getting a lot of criticism. Your fellow Democrat from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, the senator, has called on her to do her job or resign. What’s your take?” Tapper asked. “Well, I think we need to restore some order on campuses, at Columbia, and across this country. Certainly, students and others have a right to pe ..read more