U.S. News

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker shared the information that elevates Donald Trump's criminal charges from misdemeanors to felonies on Thursday, ex -Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann revealed.

Speaking to MSNBC after Pecker broke from testifying, Weissmann noted that violation of campaign finance laws elevates the falsification of business records charges from misdemeanors to felonies.

American historian and expert on authoritarianism Ruth Ben-Ghiat said Donald Trump's MAGA movement had won by getting the former president's immunity hearing before the Supreme Court — no matter how the justices rule.

Taking to social media, she wrote, "Whatever the Court does, having this case heard and the idea of having immunity for a military coup taken seriously by being debated is a big victory in the information war that MAGA and allies wage alongside legal battles. Authoritarians specialize in normalizing extreme."

Donald Trump's lawyer, John Sauer, struggled to explain his argument before the Supreme Court on Thursday — and one justice came close to losing her patience.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson debated with Trump's lawyer over the claim of absolute immunity for presidents for "official actions." But, when Sauer divided presidential actions and non-presidential, it prompted more questions from the justices.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified Thursday that he believed Karen McDougal's accusations that she had an extensive affair with Donald Trump.

Law360's Stewart Bishop and Just Security's Adam Klasfeld relayed the specifics, quoting Pecker's statements from the stand as he gave evidence in the hush money trial.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office told the judge in Donald Trump's hush money case that the ex-president has violated his gag order another four times in just the past three days.

According to Just Security's Adam Klasfeld, prosecutor Chris Conroy complained about the extra violations Thursday. Judge Juan Merchan held a contempt of court hearing Tuesday to hear accusations of a previous 10 attacks on witnesses and jurors that could result in fines of up to $1,000 per case or up to 30 days in jail. A ruling from that hearing is imminent.

Donald Trump took a swipe Wednesday at the judge overseeing his New York hush money trial, accusing him of thinking he is "above the Supreme Court."

Speaking to Fox News, Trump slammed Judge Juan Merchan, accusing him of "prohibiting" the former president from attending arguments Thursday on presidential immunity and calling it "the most important case in many years" before the high court.

The U.S. has 50 states, but that didn't stop Republican Party co-chair Lara Trump from telling Newsmax that they have "litigation in 81 states."

Lara Trump made this declaration in a Newsmax interview that the Democratic National Committee shared on X Wednesday afternoon in a post that almost immediately drew ridicule.

Despite the sordid details, former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial has come as a welcome relief to Republicans, a new analysis contends.

Political commentator S.E. Cupp Wednesday made this claim in a New York Daily News editorial Wednesday unpacking GOP responses to Trump's ongoing trial in Manhattan criminal court.