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Donald Trump’s Criminal Trial Continues with Focus on “Catch and Kill Scheme”

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Donald Trump's Criminal Trial Continues with Focus on "Catch and Kill Scheme"

(CTN News) – The second day of Donald Trump’s criminal trial began on Tuesday, with New York prosecutors likely to spotlight a “catch and kill scheme” allegedly devised by the former president and the publisher of the National Enquirer to limit the harm caused by embarrassing discoveries.

The plan was devised in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election when Trump was in a close battle with Hilary Clinton, his Democratic competitor for the White House.

Prosecutors say the attempt at damage control resulted in hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star who claimed she had a sexual connection with Trump.

The Manhattan District Attorney claimed that Donald Trump fabricated corporate paperwork to conceal the payments and that the payments were part of a larger plot to influence the 2016 election.

Prosecutors’ Claims and Donald Trump’s Denial

Trump, the presumptive Republican contender in 2024, has denied having an affair with Daniels. He has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business paperwork linked to payments made to Daniels, making him the first former president in US history to face criminal charges.

The falsification allegations are primarily about the alleged mislabelling of repayments made by Trump to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had fronted the $130,000 given to Daniels in exchange for silence.

However, for the felony charges to stand, prosecutors must persuade a jury that the misrepresentations were made to commit another crime.

In his opening words on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo stated that prosecutors will focus on an alleged larger plan to “undermine the integrity” of the 2016 presidential election.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, said that attempting to influence an election is not improper, claiming the former president is innocent. “It’s called democracy.”

On Tuesday, prosecutors began questioning David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer and a close friend of Trump, to establish a pattern of his behavior.

Aside from the payments to Daniels, prosecutors have described two other instances in which Trump allegedly attempted to suppress unfavorable reports through his relationship with Pecker, who publishes the tabloid notorious for publishing details of scandalous celebrity affairs and misbehavior.

The payments included $150,000 from American Media, the parent company of the National Enquirer, to Karen McDougal, who also claimed an affair with Trump. The corporation has admitted that the payment was made intentionally to buy and conceal the story.

American Media also paid a Trump Tower doorman $30,000 for a report alleging that Trump had fathered an unmarried kid.

The defense has maintained that neither hush money payments nor so-called “catch and kill” strategies are inherently criminal.

Prosecutors had claimed that the coordination between Pecker and Trump, as well as the timing of the catch-and-kill scheme in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump was dealing with the political fallout from a separate scandal, were evidence of a greater criminal effort under New York law “to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means”.

They have also claimed that records relating to the hush money were falsified to conceal violations of federal campaign finance law and New York state tax law.

However, before any witnesses took the stand on Tuesday, the proceedings opened with a discussion of a gag order Judge Juan Merchan imposed on Trump last month. The order barred the former president from speaking or posting about any of the potential witnesses in the trial.

Prosecutors claimed Donald Trump had regularly breached the order and urged Merchan to take action against him.

The defense contended that Donald Trump’s social media posts were a defense against personal attacks.

In one exchange, Judge Merchan told Trump’s lawyer Blanche, “You’re losing all credibility with the court.”

During a pause, Donald Trump condemned the judge as “highly conflicted” on his Truth Social platform.

“Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I am not allowed to defend myself?” he said. “This is a kangaroo court; the judge should recuse himself.”

While Donald Trump faces three additional criminal proceedings, only the New York trial will conclude before the November election.

Donald Trump is facing accusations in Georgia for allegedly pressuring election officials to manipulate the state’s vote count for the 2020 election.

He is facing a federal criminal case in Florida for allegedly removing classified information from the White House and a separate federal case in Washington, DC, for alleged attempts to reverse the 2020 election results.

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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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