Trump trial updates: Trump says he didn’t testify at hush money trial because of ‘my past’

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has roasted former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani over his latest business venture: selling coffee.

Katie Hawkinson has the details.

The Biden campaign is sharpening its edge on the broader issue of reproductive freedom as their ideological rivals continue to flounder in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe vs Wade.

While a unified stance on the issue of abortion continues to elude the GOP, Democrats are mounting a full-scale assault.

Hammering their opponents over a century-old abortion ban in Arizona and new restrictions put into place in Florida, the incumbent president’s party enjoys a clear strategic advantage in addition to their polling lead on the issue: Republicans cannot decide whether or not to pursue a ban on abortion at the national level.

The party remains split, even with Trump at the helm saying that he would not support such legislation.

Here’s more on the issue from John Bowden.

Here’s John Bowden on the failed run for Congress of ex-Capitol police officer Harry Dunn and what it has to tell us about the bigger picture.

Another flag carried by January 6 rioters was seen flying outside the New Jersey beach home of Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito on multiple occasions last year, according to a report.

The “Appeal to Heaven” flag, was carried by rioters during the pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol in 2021, was flown outside the vacation home of Justice Alito during the summer of 2023.

Also known as the “Pine Tree flag”, it dates back to the Revolutionary War.

It comes days after reports from The New York Times that a flagpole on the judge’s front lawn at a property in Virginia had flown an upside-down Stars-and-Stripes in late 2020 and early 2021 in the days after Joe Biden took office.

The “Appeal To Heaven” flag and the inverted US flag were both embraced by supporters of Trump’s “Stop The Steal” campaign, which falsely claimed Biden’s win was fraudulent.

Trump spoke to WABC radio last night and spoke rather unwisely about Manhattan prosecutor Matthew Colangelo.

He also flubbed an answer about why he chickened out of testifying on the witness stand and issued a bizarre warning about “terrorists” arriving at the southern border from the Congo, or some such rubbish.

Speaking of ring-kissers, Texas senator Ted Cruz was confronted with his flagrant hypocrisy by Kaitlan Collins on CNN last night.

Briefly, and improbably, the face of the resistance, “Birdbrain” now becomes the latest Republican to eat her words, set aside months of personal insults and abuse and dutifully kiss the ring.

Or, I don’t know, this?

Here’s John Bowden on the latest member of the GOP to sell off their hard-won credibility at a low, low price.

With his travel schedule badly hampered by the Manhattan hush money criminal trial and his near-daily court commitments, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has had to get creative with campaigning ahead of the 2024 election.

Today, Trump is set to hold a rally in New York, his first in the Empire State in eight years, and not in a MAGA stronghold like the rural north, western region or even the borough of Staten Island.

No no. Trump is heading to the South Bronx.

His campaign has filed a permit for a 3,500-person gathering in Crotona Park at 6pm on Thursday 23 May.

Trump is expected to use the rally to talk about the economy, crime rates, and the migrant crisis.

“New Yorkers have suffered greatly thanks to Biden’s failed policies,” the campaign said, announcing the event.

Here’s more from Oliver O’Connell.

A hearing in Trump’s classified documents case devolved into a chaotic shouting match on Wednesday as lawyers fought over claims of a threat allegedly made to a defense attorney.

The hearing on Wednesday morning had been scheduled for Walt Nauta, Trump’s co-defendant and valet, to share arguments that the office of special counsel Jack Smith had vindictively and selectively charged him with offenses.

Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, did not issue a ruling, according to CNN.

The hearing was quickly taken over by a disagreement over an August 2022 meeting including prosecutor Jay Bratt and Stanley Woodward, Nauta’s defense attorney, who claimed in court and legal filings that Bratt tried to convince Nauta to cooperate with the prosecution against Trump by threatening to affect the possible nomination of a judgeship.

Nauta argues that he was charged for not cooperating with the Justice Department and its probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified files.

Here’s more on the row from Gustaf Kilander.

Today’s big event in Trumpworld is the former president’s first New York rally in eight years as he takes to the rally stage in Crotona Park in the South Bronx.

Here he is cheerleading for it last night: