Trump trial date set in Stormy Daniels hush money case

A Manhattan judge Tuesday set the trial date for Donald Trump’s hush money case.

Judge Juan Merchan has set the date for March 25, 2024, CNN’s Abby D. Phillip tweeted.

Trump is charged with 34 felony counts on allegations he falsified business records. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” charging documents state.

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The unveiling of a bronze statue for a fired Trump Cabinet secretary is turning into an opportunity for online roasting.

Trump's former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem received a bronze statue in honor of her governorship of South Dakota, according to a post on X by CSPAN. Noem was ousted from the Trump administration earlier this year as her department dealt with the fallout of violent federal immigration enforcement and a scandal involving her husband, Bryon Noem (who wasn't at the unveiling ceremony).

Onlookers reacted to the unveiling of the statue, which depicts Noem with a cowboy hat and a horse, by recalling how Noem shot her dog, Cricket, her rumored affair with DHS advisor Corey Lewandowski, and more.

Journalist and political commentator William Coffin joked, "Bryon's statue unveiling was less well attended," and posted an AI-generated image poking fun at Bryon's reported cross-dressing.

The X account Prison Mitch similarly posted an AI-generated image of a statue depicting Noem pointing a gun at a dog, and wrote, "Now Cricket gets to watch Kristi Noem do it all over for eternity."

"Cricket would like a word," wrote progressive advocate and lawyer Jordan Rhone.

"Think everyone watching this held their breath for a sec when second figure was being unveiled," David Freedlander, a political columnist and features writer for New York Magazine, joked, referring to the unveiling of the horse.

"They forgot the dead dog at her feet," historian Brooks D. Simpson reacted.

"After they showed Noem first, I was expecting to see her husband with his freak fetish or Corey Lewandowski next to her as a part of the statue," right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong posted.

"Nice of them to include Corey in the statue like that," joked political commentator Andrew Donaldson, referring to the horse.

Filmmaker Cam Miller simply reacted to Noem's statue by writing, "But...why?"

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The Justice Department is refusing to return $2,000 in restitution paid by Felicia Konold, a pardoned Arizona Capitol rioter.

The DOJ argues her conviction was final when she received President Donald Trump's pardon and hasn't been vacated, CNN reported Friday.

Konold, who pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement and served 45 days in prison, joined the Proud Boys in breaching police barricades on Jan. 6.

The DOJ distinguishes between rioters with pending appeals at pardon time who are allowed to drop restitution payments, and those like Konold, whose convictions were already final.

This selective enforcement contradicts the Trump administration's simultaneous push for a now-defunct $1.776 billion fund, allegedly compensating victims of "weaponized prosecutions."

The fund drew bipartisan criticism before the Senate pressured acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to rescind it. He suggested, instead, that alleged victims pursue civil lawsuits.

A D.C. appeals court is weighing related challenges from multiple defendants.

Watch the video below.


Far-right Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback's latest stunt has President Donald Trump's Justice Department stepping in against him.

A hedge fund manager who has built up a cult following among young Republicans, Fishback is a long-shot candidate challenging Trump's endorsed pick for the race, Congressman Byron Donalds. And this week, Fishback tried to shake up the race by announcing that Donalds is under federal investigation for trafficking.

During a news conference in Tallahassee, Fishback claimed that a whistleblower notified him of a "disturbing pattern of behavior" from Donalds. "This government whistleblower, who approached my campaign, has confirmed that this investigation has now expanded to include U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds, who, along with Cory Mills, is under investigation for federal sex trafficking," said Fishback, claiming it stems from an overseas trip the two made.

But on Friday, the Justice Department's "rapid response" account stamped this out on X, dispensing with typical prosecutorial norms about not confirming or denying ongoing investigations.

"Falsely accusing someone of being under investigation is a dangerous form of weaponization," stated the account. "This claim is not true. Congressman Byron Donalds is not under investigation."

Fishback has ginned up outrage repeatedly for his overtly racist comments, including claiming that Donalds, who is Black, would "turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto," and even telling a Black questioner he "should be lynched" when confronted with allegations he himself engaged in sexual misconduct.

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