Takeaways from a tense Day 19 of the Trump hush money trial
CNN
The prosecution rested their case against Donald J. Trump on Monday in the former president’s hush money trial, which is barreling toward a conclusion as soon as next week.
The prosecution rested their case against Donald J. Trump on Monday in the former president’s hush money trial, which is barreling toward a conclusion as soon as next week. Michael Cohen’s testimony finally wrapped up Monday after four days – and 17 hours – on the witness stand as the final witness in the prosecution’s case alleging that Trump falsified business records when he reimbursed Cohen for the hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 campaign. It wasn’t long after the defense began its case on Monday for things to get heated – Judge Juan Merchan admonished a witness for the defense, Robert Costello, and threatened to remove him from the stand after he audibly complained when the judge sustained objections to the questions he was being asked. Merchan even cleared the courtroom of the press briefly after dressing down Costello. It was an unexpectedly contentious moment for a trial that is quickly nearing a close. While the defense appears likely to rest its case on Tuesday, Merchan said he’s planning to have closing arguments next Tuesday, May 28, out of concern with having a four-day weekend for the jury when it could be deliberating (court is dark on Friday because of a juror’s travel, and Monday is Memorial Day). Regardless of the break, the Trump hush money trial is near its end – and roughly a week away from being in the hands of the jury. Here are the takeaways from Day 19:
The Trump administration ordered legal service providers working with unaccompanied migrant children to stop their work, according to a memo obtained by CNN.
Louis DeJoy, the head of the US Postal Service, intends to step down, the federal agency said Tuesday, after a nearly five-year tenure marked by the coronavirus pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses through cost and service cuts.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston was forced to close Tuesday due to the “sudden dismissal of federal employees,” the library’s foundation said in a statement to CNN.
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged in connection with an attempted coup d’état, according to documents filed by prosecutors Tuesday evening.
A federal judge considering whether to indefinitely block President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender service members described it on Tuesday as having “unadulterated animus” toward transgender Americans.
Argentine President Javier Milei has defended himself for promoting a cryptocurrency whose value collapsed within hours of its launch, likening those who invested in the token after his endorsement to gamblers at casinos.
A federal judge declined on Tuesday to temporarily block Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal data systems at a slew of executive branch agencies.
A Maryland court on Tuesday ordered a blogger known as Ziz who leads a cultlike group connected to six killings held without bail.
As President Donald Trump orders federal workers to return to the office, he spent the fourth straight day at home here at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has scheduled a hearing Wednesday to consider the Justice Department’s controversial motion to dismiss the charges.
Brazil’s government on Tuesday approved joining OPEC+, a group of major oil-exporting nations, signaling the country’s evolution into a major oil state just nine months ahead of hosting the United Nations’ annual climate summit.
The Trump administration has quietly fired multiple members of the “privacy team” and other officials from the office that oversees the hiring of federal workers, a move that limits outside access to government records related to the security clearances granted to Elon Musk and his associates, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
A Canadian woman “attempted to engage with the animal from the shallows in an attempt to take photographs,” the territory’s environmental department said.