Former president Donald Trump railed against the “rigged” trial that saw him convicted on thirty-four felony charges during a forty-minute press conference at Trump Tower in New York on Friday. In addition to speaking about the case and the individuals he believed to be responsible for corrupting it — DA Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, among others — Trump went on offense against the Biden campaign and administration and tied this latest trial to the years-long investigation into alleged Russian collusion and the three other cases pending against him. He claimed the United States is now officially a “fascist” country, flipping the term that Democrats have long used to describe him and and his plans for a second term. A spokesman for the Biden campaign recently revived the debunked “bloodbath” hoax and President Joe Biden himself falsely claimed that Trump had used “Third Reich” (Nazi) language in his campaign.
Since the verdict was handed down on Thursday by a Manhattan jury, Team Trump has been messaging this as perhaps a victory for Trump but a loss for the country. They have promised that the real verdict will take place on November 5, at the ballot box — and many noted that Trump’s fundraising website crashed shortly after the verdict. The National Republican Senatorial Committee had its highest online fundraising day Thursday, an early indication that Trump’s conviction won’t hurt down ballot Republicans much. He and his campaign warned, though, about the precedent that a deeply flawed judicial process against a former president — and the political opponent of the current president, who saw a top member of his Justice Department investigate the case — sets for the United States. Even some of Trump’s critics acknowledged that although they respected the jury’s decision, they did not think the case should have been brought in the first place.
Also during this press conference, Trump for the first time promised to appeal the decision (not a surprise to anyone). His sentencing date is July 11, just four days before the start of the Republican convention, where he will be officially crowned the party’s nominee. Legal experts seem to agree that Trump will not get prison time and even if he were, would likely receive a deferred sentence. The question is then how the convention might reference the case outside of Trump’s nomination speech, which will almost assuredly rip on the political prosecution.
-Amber Duke
On our radar
MANCHIN WITH A VIEW West Virginia senator Joe Manchin announced Friday that he is switching his party registration from Democrat to Independent. Manchin is retiring from his seat at the end of this year but has ruled out running as an Independent for president.
NRA VICTORIOUS The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that the National Rifle Association can continue its lawsuit against a New York State official who pressured financial institutions to stop doing business with the pro-Second Amendment lobby.
PANDA, PANDA A pair of giant pandas are coming to the National Zoo in DC by the end of the year, about six months after a previous group of the critters were returned to China per a lease agreement. The Smithsonian-run zoo has been instrumental in the conservation of the giant panda species.
Chief meets the Chiefs
President Joe Biden welcomed the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to the White House today. “Back-to-back,” Biden repeated. I thought he was on the verge of a senior moment in saying the phrase twice, but then he quipped, “I kind of like that.” LOL.
All-star tight end Travis Kelce spoke briefly and managed not to embarrass himself (or megastar boo Taylor Swift) or to chug a beer during his speech. Harrison Butker, meanwhile, the traditionalist Catholic who prompted outrage for espousing traditional Catholic values at Benedictine College’s commencement speech, attended the White House visit, but no controversy arose from his presence. It’s almost as if he’s a polite gentleman or something.
You can watch the event here.
–Teresa Mull
Bob Menendez, Independent?
A defiant Senator Bob Menendez isn’t going anywhere — at least not without a scrap. A full-blown rebellion by the New Jersey Democratic Party — which is now jeopardizing the seat in Congress occupied by his son as well — isn’t stopping the indicted senator from (allegedly) blowing past the threshold of signatures needed to qualify to run for reelection, as an independent this go around.
According to NBC News, Menendez only needs to collect 800 valid signatures by Tuesday in order to appear on November’s ballot — but the wily senator is aiming for 10,000. It is unclear if he is relying on paid signature gatherers — or if he is offering payment to them with some of his legendary gold bars.
The news is a shot in the arm for an otherwise moribund New Jersey Republican Party that hasn’t seen success since the days of Chris Christie. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released last month shows that in a three-way race, likely Democratic nominee Andy Kim’s lead against the two leading Republicans, Curtis Bashaw and Christine Serrano Glassner, narrows with Menendez garnering low single-digit support, mostly from Hispanic and black Democrats.
