Monday, Dec 01st
Last update10:42:03 AM GMT
Political Glance
The highly anticipated testimony of former President Trump in his New York civil fraud trial Monday heaved chaotically between defending his business practices and decrying those involved in the case as politically motivated “Trump haters.”
Months of bubbling tensions between Trump and New York Judge Arthur Engoron reached a boiling point in the courtroom almost as soon as the real estate mogul took the witness stand, with the judge at one point asking Trump’s lawyer to control his client.
A visibly upset Biden, in remarks at the White House, voiced concern for any Americans who may be held hostage by Hamas, the Iran-backed group that launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza on Saturday.
At least 14 Americans died in the attack. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the U.S. believed 20 Americans were missing but that it remained unclear if they were being held hostage.
A New York appeals court declined to temporarily pause former President Trump’s civil fraud trial but did halt the cancellation of Trump’s business licenses until after an appeals court hears his case.
The order follows a Friday motion filed by Trump’s legal team to stay the trial and the enforcement of an earlier ruling issued by the New York Supreme Court that found Trump and his businesses liable for fraud.
In that 1,154-page court filing, Trump’s legal team wrote that Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision imposed “unauthorized, undemanded, overbroad relief” to the New York attorney general’s office, which will result in “significant, irreparable harm” to the former president and his business.
“Supreme Court clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing.
A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US as children.
US district judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the US supreme court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.
Hanen barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals process. Hanen said his order does not require the federal government to take any actions against Daca recipients.
A federal judge Wednesday ruled to restrict former President Donald Trump's access to classified information in the case against him in Florida, affirming recommendations by special counsel Jack Smith.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-nominated judge presiding over the classified documents case, also ruled to restrict Trump's ability to discuss classified information, including with his defense team. She emphasized that a violation of these orders may also be a violation of the law.
Trump, who is campaigning for the Republican nomination for re-election, has pushed for flexibility about how and where he can discuss classified records with his defense team. The team has sought the ability to pore over information with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida or his Bedminster, N.J., home. Smith has opposed this, CNBC reported.
Republicans in Wisconsin are threatening to remove from office the newly elected state supreme court justice Janet Protasiewicz if she refuses to recuse herself from cases involving gerrymandering. The effort comes on the heels of Republicans in the state senate advancing a move to oust the state’s top elections official.
The efforts to remove Protasiewicz and the Wisconsin elections commission administrator, Meagan Wolfe, from office have been decried by Democrats and government watchdog groups as undemocratic and could affect the administration of elections in 2024.
Judge Arthur Engoron on Wednesday denied a request by former President Donald Trump and other defendants named in the civil lawsuit overseen by New York Attorney General Letitia James to have next month’s trial postponed.
Lawyers for the defendants asked that the trial be delayed until at least three weeks after the court rules on both sides’ motions for summary judgment.
“A trial of this magnitude should not begin in chaos,” they wrote in a Tuesday court filing shared by Insider. “The Court and the Defendants are entitled to know the claims and issues to be tried sufficiently in advance to prepare adequately for trial.”
But Engoron disagreed.
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