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Donald Trump was sentenced to “unconditional discharge” by Judge Juan Merchan at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday — just 10 days before his second inauguration to the presidency — after being found guilty on all counts at his hush money trial last year.
The Supreme Court declined to stop the sentencing, its justices ruling 5-4 in favor of allowing Judge Merchan to proceed.
The president-elect appeared virtually for the hearing and reiterated his objections to the case, repeating his claim that he was “very, very unfairly treated.”
Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to ensure her silence ahead of Election Day about an extramarital sexual encounter she alleges they had a decade earlier.
Trump insisted he would be filing a fresh appeal. He will be the first convicted felon to hold the office of the presidency.
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court for the second time in a week after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., lambasted the former New York City mayor for repeatedly attacking two election workers he defamed despite a court order blocking him from repeating false statements against them.
ICYMI: Trump tells GOP lawmakers plans to make Canada ‘51st state’, report says
Since winning the 2024 election, Trump has repeatedly spoken about expanding the US, including plays at Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. Wednesday evening proved no different when Trump reportedly met with Republican members of Congress behind closed doors to discuss plans to incorporate Canada into America, the Daily Mail reported.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Trumps ‘in talks’ to buy back their beloved D.C. hotel
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Unlike Trump’s first term, his company is not banning private foreign deals
The Trump family business released a voluntary ethics agreement Friday that marks a significant departure from Donald Trump’s first term by allowing it to strike deals with private foreign companies.
The so-called ethics white paper bars the Trump Organization from striking deals directly with foreign governments, but allows ones with private companies abroad. A six-page ethics pact that Trump signed eight years ago barred both foreign government and foreign company deals.
The Trump company also announced it was hiring an outside ethics adviser to vet deals as it did in the first term.
Continue reading…
Trump reacts after his chat with Obama at Jimmy Carter’s funeral goes viral
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Newsom invites Trump to visit California in wake of fire destruction
California Governor Gavin Newsom has invited Donald Trump to visit the state in the wake of the devastating fires in Los Angeles.
In a letter to the president-elect, the governor wrote: “The hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and fearful for the future – deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not politicizing a human tragedy and spreading disinformation from the sidelines.”
Read the full letter below:
ANALYSIS: Trump has been on a run of big wins — his own agenda push could end the streak
Eric Garcia writes:
Thin margins will make near-unanimity on many issues difficult — and Republicans can’t even agree how to go about pushing their legislative agenda through.
Continue reading…
Trump foe Gen. Mark Milley has portrait unveiled at Pentagon
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the first Trump administration, has had his official portrait unveiled at the Pentagon.
He remained in the role under President Joe Biden until September 2023 offering advice concerning Russia’s war on Ukraine. Books and other accounts of the Trump administration revealed a contentious relationship with the then-president.
In 2023, Trump accused Milley of treason for a call to Chinese authorities following the Capitol riot to assure them that the US was stable. In a post on Truth Social, the former president said the punishment would have been death in times gone by.
Milley has said that he fears being court-martialed under a new Trump administration, saying the president-elect is “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country, according to a book by Bob Woodward.
Greenland PM to Trump: Respect our wish for independence
The prime minister of Greenland has called for everyone to respect for the territory’s independence, as US president-elect Donald Trump continues to express his desire to take it under US-control.
Mute Egede, who has led the semi-autonomous Danish territory since 2021, says he has not spoken to Trump, who said this week that US ownership and control is an “absolute necessity” to guarantee American security.
Alex Croft reports.
Giuliani calls judge ‘unfair’ and on ‘mission to punish him’
Biden to deliver farewell address to nation
President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday, January 15 at 8 p.m.
Source: independent.co.uk
