Trump is guilty on all counts
Donald Trump was convicted of all 34 felonies in a criminal case involving hush money payments to a porn star in the run-up to the 2016 election. He is the first U.S. president to be declared a felon, a stain he will carry with him as he seeks re-election.
The 12 New Yorkers who formed the jury heard weeks of tawdry testimony describing tabloid dealings, sexual encounters between Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels, and efforts to silence her. $130,000 compensation.
Prosecutors argued that Trump defrauded the American people, saying he falsified records related to reimbursements from his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid her out of his own pocket.
My colleague Jonah Bromwich reported from the court that Trump made no visible response after hearing the verdict. But once outside, he recited a now-familiar litany of complaints: The judge was biased, prosecutors brought the case to keep him out of the White House, and he should be allowed to change venues because he was too liberal — tilting Manhattan. “The real judgment will be made by the people on November 5th,” Trump said.
The jury’s decision is an indelible moment in American history, ending the only one of four criminal cases against Trump that could go to trial before Election Day. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention.
detail: The felony conviction calls for up to four years in prison, but Trump may never see the inside of a cell. He is likely to receive a suspended sentence, and he will certainly appeal the sentence. The case could take years to resolve.
But regardless of the sentence, nothing can stop a felon from running for president or serving in the White House. Trump is already campaigning on the verdict, painting himself as a victim of a Democratic cabal. Shortly after he was found guilty, Trump’s campaign issued a fundraising appeal via email, calling him a “political prisoner.”
If a former president is sentenced to prison, the law provides that the Secret Service that protects the former president will be imprisoned with him. This is what it looks like.
Biden will allow Ukraine to use US weapons in Russia
Senior U.S. officials said yesterday that the Biden administration’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to attack Russian territory is aimed at weakening Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region.
The decision came after weeks of discussions with Ukrainians after Russia began a major offensive on the country’s second city, Kharkiv. The U.S. permission only applies to strikes against Russian military sites used for attacks in the Kharkiv region.
Russian forces have been attacking areas around the city using artillery and missiles fired from or fired from Russian territory, and Ukrainians are asking the United States to give them more leeway, a U.S. official said.
Leaders of NATO, France and Germany recently urged the United States to make the decision. In internal government discussions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also supported the move.
In eastern Germany, the East German Museum in Pirna hosts a May Day event where people can celebrate communist-era cars. They were smaller and less powerful than their Western counterparts—the Trabant had a reinforced cardboard chassis—but they were both a source of local pride and a source of political discontent.
conversation starter
sports news
art and ideas
What makes a museum?
The New Banksy Museum in New York City does not own or display any real Banksy—just replicas. Like the Met, it has an admission fee of $30, but even in the broadest sense it’s not really a museum.
But here’s an interesting thought experiment: Does street art still have a role after it leaves the streets? Can an artist be anti-establishment and still fetch millions of dollars at auction?
Ultimately, the Banksy Museum is the kind of thing Banksy himself might have built to mock the market’s fascination with street art. The effort in many ways proves his point: art has become inseparable from commerce.
