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Judge Fines Donald Trump $9,000 for Gag Order Violations in Hush Money Trial

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Judge Fines Donald Trump $9,000 for Gag Order Violations in Hush Money Trial

(CTN News) – New York Judge Juan Merchan punished Former President Donald Trump for repeatedly violating the gag order during the hush money trial.

Donald Trump must erase seven “offending posts” from Truth Social and two from his campaign website by 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Merchan decided that Trump breached the gag order nine times by insulting expected trial witnesses in social media posts and on his campaign page. Trump must pay the $9,000 fee by the end of this week.

Merchan also threatened Trump with incarceration if he violated the gag order again, writing in his ruling, “THEREFORE, Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that, if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

Donald Trump did not react when the judge read his verdict in court.

During last week’s hearing on gag order violations, Trump’s defense contended that reposting other people’s words does not violate the order and represents protected political expression in reaction to insults.

Merchan dismissed both arguments in his contempt finding on Tuesday.

First, he discovered that reposts are, in this instance, endorsements.

“There can be no doubt whatsoever, that Defendant’s intent and purpose when reposting, is to communicate to his audience that he endorses and adopts the posted statement as his own,” he said.

Second, Merchan recognized that while the gag order allows Trump to respond to political attacks, critiques of important witnesses are not permitted.

“To permit such attacks on protected witnesses with broad claims that they are all responses to ‘political attacks’ would be an exception that swallowed the rule. “The Expanded Order does not include such an exception,” he wrote.

Prosecutors had requested Merchan punish Trump in contempt for violating the gag order. They cited 10 social media posts from before and throughout the trial in which the district attorney’s office accused Trump of violating the judge’s order prohibiting him from commenting on witnesses and jurors. They also want the posts removed.

Here are posts for which Donald Trump has been fined:

According to CNN, the posts were released on the following dates:

  • A Truth Social post on April 10 at 10:48am
  • Truth Social post, April 13, 12:56pm
  • Truth Social post, April 15, 9:12am
  • Truth Social post, April 15, 10:26am
  • Campaign website post, April 15
  • Truth Social post, April 16, 1:50pm
  • Campaign website post, April 16
  • Truth Social post, April 16, 7:09pm
  • Truth Social post, April 17, 5:46pm

Prosecutors referenced Trump’s remarks against Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and the jury pool.

Last week’s acrimonious hearing between the court and Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, resulted in the ruling.

Prosecutors have identified four new comments made by Donald Trump since last week’s hearing, including those against Cohen and former AMI chief David Pecker, who testified last week. Merchan has scheduled another hearing for Thursday to discuss the comments.

New York State law allows for a maximum of $1,000 per offense.

This is Donald Trump’s first consequence for violating the gag order.

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Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau

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Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau
Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau - CBC Image

Justine Trudeau and his Liberal Party are currently engaged in a fierce battle for second place against Jagmeet Singh’s socialist NDP, as both parties find themselves trailing by 20 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

A recent poll indicates that 38% of Canadians consider Trudeau to be the most ineffective leader the nation has encountered in over fifty years. An impressive 47% of Canadian Millennials indicated they would support Poilievre if an election were to take place today, while nearly half of all Canadians express a desire for an election to be called this year.

Pierre Poilievre’s strong appeal among young voters can be attributed primarily to economic factors: soaring inflation, a pressing cost-of-living crisis, and the challenge of housing affordability are pushing many away from the Liberals, who have held power for nearly nine years.

According to UnHeard, Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau due to his stringent measures aimed at controlling the internet to combat alleged disinformation, as well as his climate change initiatives, notably the carbon tax.

protest in downtown Toronto against mass immigration took place on Canada Day

Protest in downtown Toronto against mass immigration on Canada Day – TNC Image

An increasing number of Canadians are becoming aware of Trudeau’s ineffective policies and his approach to mass immigration. This past summer, there was significant outrage among parents of teenagers and young adults as they observed their children remaining at home without jobs.

The primary concern stemmed from the fact that most low-skilled and entry-level positions were being filled by unskilled, temporary foreign workers, predominantly from India.

There has been a notable rise in criminal activities linked to international students and unvetted temporary residents who are becoming involved with Punjabi gangs in Canada, contributing to a surge in auto thefts nationwide.

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives are actively seeking to alter Trudeau’s approach to mass immigration and prioritize the construction of more housing should they come into power.

Significantly, Pierre Poilievre is perceived as more trustworthy than Trudeau, with over half of Canadians characterizing Poilievre as “open and honest about his actions, decisions, and intentions,” while only 39% share that sentiment regarding Trudeau.

The characteristics in question may shed light on Poilievre’s favorable polling, particularly among younger voters and women, who have historically leaned towards the Liberals or the NDP rather than the Conservatives.

The Liberal Party’s support has dwindled to an estimated 7% of Canadians, revealing a significant number of disillusioned voters eager for transformation. Poilievre is emerging as the type of leader that resonates with the desires of many Canadians.

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U.N. Special Rapporteur Calls on Thailand’s Banks to Cut-Off Myanmar Junta

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UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Thailand's Parliamentary Committee

The U.N special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar has said the Bank of Thailand, commercial banks, and the anti-money laundering office are working on measures to stop the Myanmar Junta from acquiring weapons through Thailand’s banking system.

Tom Andrews the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said that some banks commercial in Thailand had aided Myanmar Junta’s by facilitating transactions that supplied military equipment to the Junta through the international banking system.

He called on the Bank of Thailand and financial institutions to do more to stop Myanmar’s junta acquiring weapons which they use on civilians to maintain power.

The special rapporteur was in Bangkok to address a parliamentary committee on security, he called on the Thai government to stop financial transactions that help supply weapons to Myanmar’s junta in line with a plan promoted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that sets out an end to violence as a first step toward peace.

In his 2023 report “The Billion Dollar Death Trade,” Andrews noted that Singapore had implemented a clear policy opposing the transfer of weapons to Myanmar.

Thailand's Banks

Thai Baht – File Image

Thailand’s Banks Lacked Clear Policy

As a result, exports of weapons and related materials from Singapore-registered entities using the formal banking system dropped from almost U.S. $120 million in fiscal year 2022 to just over $10 million over the next 12 months.

However, he said Thailand had no explicit policy position opposing weapons transfer to the Myanmar Junta, which saw exports from Thai-registered entities more than double in 2023, from just over $60 million to nearly $130 million.

He called on Thai Government to conduct a thorough investigation into transfers as Singapore had done into its companies’ dealings.

Andrews told the the committee that five Thai commercial banks and Thai-based companies were assisting Myanmar’s junta obtain weapons, dual-technology items and jet fuel, enabling Military Junta to conduct atrocities against the people.

But said he had found no evidence that the Thai government was involved or was aware of the transactions or that Thai commercial banks had knowledge.

Thailand's Banks

Photo courtesy of The Nation

Banks Condemn Myanmar Junta Violence

Meanwhile representatives from Thailand’s central bank, anti-money laundering office and the commercial banks named in the report were also present at the parliamentary meeting at government house in Bangkok.

A representative of the Bank of Thailand said officials were working with the commercial banks and the anti-money laundering office to make sure that enhanced oversight was properly practiced.

The Thai Bankers Association that was also at the parliamentary meeting said it did not have the means to investigate and monitor such irregularities beyond Thailand’s borders.

Mr. Pongsit Chaichatpornsuk, a Thai Bankers Association representative told the committee that If government security agencies tell us, we will stop transactions. We don’t support arms procurement by Myanmar Junta or any military government to violate human rights.

Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar and hosts many thousands of refugees fleeing conflict there, has tried to promote dialogue between Myanmar’s military rulers and opposition forces but no progress has been made.

This Article was first published in RFA

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People Rushing Sign Online Petition to Impeach South Korea’s President Crash Site

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South Korea's President

The Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea said in a statement that an online petition calling for South Korea’s President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment crashed due to the enormous number of individuals attempting to sign the petition. Saying the National Assembly would resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

Since the petition was launch on the National Assembly’s website on June 20, more than 811,000 people have signed it. The petition urges Parliament to introduce legislation to impeach President Yoon on the grounds that he is unfit for office.

Late on June 30, National Assembly Speaker Mr. Woo Won-shik issued an apology for the disturbance and stated that Parliament would take action to protect the public’s fundamental rights.

People attempting to access the petition on July 1 experienced delays of up to four hours. At one point, an error message indicated that more than 30,000 individuals were waiting to access the site.

South Korea’s Parliament Hesitant

The online petition accuses Yoon of corruption, escalating the risk of conflict with North Korea, and endangering South Koreans’ health by failing to prevent Japan from leaking treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.

By law, Parliament must assign every petition signed by more than 50,000 people to a committee, which will then decide whether to put it to a vote in the assembly.

However, the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in Parliament, is hesitant to turn the petition into an impeachment bill, according to media reports, with a spokesperson stating that the party has yet to address the topic.

The Parliament can impeach a president with a two-thirds majority. The Constitutional Court then deliberates the motion and decides whether to remove or reinstall the president.

Meanwhile, on Monday Reuters reported North Korea criticized a joint military exercise performed this month by South Korea, Japan, and the United States, according to official media, saying such drills demonstrate the three nations’ alliance has evolved into “the Asian version of NATO”.

On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale combined military drills named “Freedom Edge” featuring navy destroyers, fighter fighters, and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, with the goal of strengthening defenses against missiles, submarines, and air strikes.

The drill was designed at a three-way meeting at Camp David last year to boost military cooperation amid concerns on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea’s weapons testing.

Pyongyang will not overlook the strengthening of a military bloc led by the United States and its allies, and it would respond aggressively and decisively to defend regional peace, according to North Korea’s foreign ministry, as reported by KCNA.

 

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