WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, March 14, 2024

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1/ The Manhattan DA’s office agreed to delay the start of the hush money case against Trump by 30 days. “Specifically, yesterday the USAO produced approximately 31,000 pages of additional records and represented that there will be another production of documents by next week,” the DA’s office wrote in a motion to the court. The newly disclosed evidence relates to Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty and served time for various offenses in a separate case in 2018. Trump’s defense attorneys had sought a longer postponement of up to 90 days and have asked the judge to sanction the DA’s office over the late disclosure of documents, claiming that the DA’s office engaged in “widespread misconduct” to improve their position in the potential trial. The trial was initially set to begin with jury selection on March 25. (NBC News / ABC News / New York Times)

2/ A federal judge in Florida rejected a motion to dismiss Trump’s classified documents case. In a brief written order, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon said some of Trump’s arguments merit “serious consideration,” but she also noted that dismissing charges at this stage over definitional disputes of the terms in the Espionage Act would be premature. Cannon also expressed skepticism towards the defense’s argument based on the Presidential Records Act. Trump’s lawyers highlighted the lack of prosecution against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server, despite the FBI finding no classified material in her emails. Trump and his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, have pleaded not guilty to all 40 criminal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents. (Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News)

• A federal appeals court unanimously rejected former Trump adviser Peter Navarro’s attempt to avoid prison while appealing his contempt of Congress conviction for defying a Jan. 6 committee subpoena. Navarro, 74, must report to a Miami facility by March 19 to serve a four-month sentence, becoming the first former Trump adviser jailed for actions related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (ABC News)

3/ Chuck Schumer criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a speech on the Senate floor and called for new elections in Israel. Schumer cited Netanyahu’s prioritization of political survival over Israel’s best interests in the wake of Hamas’ attack and the ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., emphasized the need for change and a negotiated two-state solution, while also calling for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step down. (ABC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal /