Trump’s legal troubles play out in NYC, SCOTUS |
Former President Trump‘s legal woes played out before the Supreme Court in the nation’s capital on Thursday, as Trump’s federal criminal trial continued in New York City.
Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of arguments made by Trump’s attorneys that presidential immunity could extend to an attempted coup or the assassination of a political rival, but they also seemed open to limited protections that could help the former president.
A delay from continued legal battles and Trump’s federal election subversion trial could push the issue past the November election. Trump’s team has argued that presidents can’t be charged for otherwise criminal acts. From The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Zach Schonfeld: Chief Justice John Roberts asked whether a president could be prosecuted for accepting a bribe for appointing someone to an ambassador post, while liberal Justice Elena Kagan asked whether a president selling nuclear secrets would have immunity.
Fellow liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked if “fundamentally evil” actions such as ordering the military to take out a political rival would be protected by presidential immunity.
From The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Nick Robertson: [Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson] later said she was concerned by Trump’s arguments that a president might be “chilled” in office if they must fear prosecution after they leave. “I’m trying to understand what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s “hush money” case continues in New York. The former president is accused of falsifying business transactions to hide an alleged affair with an adult film star. David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, was back on the stand Thursday to give more details about the timeline of his agreement to bury negative news about Trump during the presidential 2016 campaign.
Trump told reporters after court adjourned for the day that it was a “breathtaking” day of testimony.
“This is a trial that should have never happened,” Trump said. “This is a case that should have never been filed. And it was really an incredible day. Open your eyes. We can’t let this continue to happen to our country.” To catch-up on coverage from Trump’s hush money trial, check out The Hill’s live blog, recapping the day’s proceedings.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Pro-Palestinian protests continue to roil college campuses |
Pro-Palestinian protests are continuing on college campuses across the country, resulting in arrests and strict rebukes from conservative leaders.
The protests erupted last week when students at Columbia University in New York City created an encampment area on campus in protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Students have called for their colleges to divest from any entities with ties to Israel, for the U.S. to stop providing aid to Israel, and more broadly an immediate cease-fire.
D.C. -
Students and faculty from colleges and universities around the D.C. area joined together for a demonstration on George Washington University‘s (GWU) campus early Thursday.
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Hundreds of protesters, including some university faculty, erected tents on GWU’s campus. The encampment is about a half-mile from the White House.
Texas -
After Texas state troopers arrested more than 50 people at the University of Texas at Austin this week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has faced accusations that the state went too far to break up the pro-Palestine demonstration.
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Police in riot gear and some mounted on horses responded to Wednesday’s unsanctioned but nonviolent protest. Abbott declared the protests antisemitic and called for the university to expel students who participated.
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Former GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a warning to students on Florida campuses that they face expulsion if they decide to join the campus protest effort.
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“At places like Columbia and Yale, Hamas protesters rule the roost, and the universities are too weak and scared to do anything — even as these mobs harass Jewish students and faculty,” the governor said in a post on the social platform X. “If you try that at a Florida university, you are going to be expelled … we are showing you the door.”
Boston -
More than 100 people were arrested overnight after a pro-Palestinian protest broke out at Emerson College.
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Boston police said in a statement 108 people were arrested, with four injuries among police officers. There were three minor injuries and one serious one among the police, although all were non-life threatening.
- Emerson College canceled classes Thursday because of the unrest.
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Kim Kardashian joins Harris for roundtable with pardon recipients
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Vice President Harris hosted reality TV star Kim Kardashian at the White House on Thursday for a discussion regarding criminal justice reform — a day after President Biden granted clemency to 16 people who were convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.
April is Second Chance Month, a time focused on ensuring people “returning to their communities from jail or prison have a fair shot at the American Dream.”
Kardashian, an outspoken criminal justice reform advocate, successfully lobbied the Trump administration to commute the sentence of Alice Johnson, a Black woman who had received a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense in 1996. Johnson was released from prison in 2018 and eventually pardoned in 2020.
As part of the roundtable, Harris announced a Small Business Administration effort to remove restrictions on loan eligibility based on a person’s criminal record. Watch the video of the event here.
Biden granted clemency to 16 people Wednesday, pardoning 11 and commuting five sentences. Four of the pardon recipients joined Harris and Kardashian for their discussion. |
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House GOP targets nonprofit funding in changes to earmarks process
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House Republicans have changed the annual process members use to apply for funding for projects in their districts, after conservatives took issue with Democrat-backed earmarks earlier this year that were loosely linked to reproductive health and LGBTQ services.
The House Appropriations Committee said Thursday that nonprofits will no longer be eligible for “Community Project Funding in the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) account.”
The change, the committee said, is part of a larger overhaul to keep the funding focused on “community development goals of the federal program.”
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters earlier this month that some requests were creating “political problems.”
“That’s just the reality of it, and I shouldn’t have to have a political problem in my district because I voted for a bill that had your earmarks in it,” he explained at the time, while arguing it’s a concern that members on both sides of the aisle share.
But House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called the action “misguided” and vowed Democrats would reverse it if they reclaim House control after this fall’s elections.
“Deeming non-profits ineligible for Community Project Funding in the Economic Development Initiative account is a seismic shift, as nearly half of all the 2024 House-funded EDI projects were directed to non-profit recipients,” she said in a statement. “YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other groups vital to our communities are all now ineligible.” (The Hill)
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DC eyes chance to ‘exhale’ as it enters Correspondents’ party mode
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It’s party time in The District. The annual star-studded White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner is this weekend.
Conflicts abroad, on college campuses and on the campaign trail set the backdrop for a much-needed breather.
About 2,700 journalists, lawmakers, White House officials and Hollywood celebrities are expected to attend the dinner — not-so-affectionately dubbed “Nerd Prom” — at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday.
President Biden is expected to address the crowd at the gala, which will be headlined by “Saturday Night Live’s” Colin Jost. Other celebrities expected to join include “Black Widow” Scarlett Johansson, Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “Mrs. Masiel’s” Rachel Brosnahan, rapper Quavo, “Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm and Hiro Sanada from FX’s “Shōgun.”
“My hope is that people will recognize the irreplaceable value of a free press in a democracy when we have an election year, when we have a world with a lot of issues and crises,” Kelly O’Donnell, WHCA president and NBC News’s senior White House correspondent, told The Hill.
“And part of our culture is to be able to take moments, in a limited way, and allow people to exhale and allow people to celebrate the things that made us want to do this work in the first place. And then we’ll be right back on the job the next day.”
The Hill’s Judy Kurtz has all the details and the scoop on who’s coming to the dinner. Tune in from home: - C-SPAN: The full dinner will be broadcast live.
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CNN: Biden and Jost’s remarks will air as part of special coverage hosted by John Berman and Sara Sidner.
- Fox News: Comedian Jimmy Failla will air live from the red carpet for “Fox News Saturday Night,” and the network will carry the president and Jost’s speeches.
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NewsNation (owned by The Hill‘s parent company Nexstar Media Group): Biden and Jost’s speeches will air live.
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“It’s not just Biden versus Trump, but registered versus likely voters,” writes J.T. Young, a former professional staffer in the House and Senate who also worked in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget. “A new set of ‘Four Questions’ for anti-Israel protesters” from former U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.).
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80 days until the Republican National Convention.
115 days until the Democratic National Convention.
193 days until the 2024 general election. |
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