Trump

NY Times - Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial had barely begun when he started to turn his anger toward his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche.Although Mr. Blanche has been Mr. Trump’s favorite lawyer for some time, behind closed doors and in phone calls, the former president has complained repeatedly about him in recent weeks, according to four people familiar with the situation. He has griped that Mr. Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and veteran litigator, has not been following his instructions closely, and has been insufficiently aggressive. Mr. Trump wants him to attack witnesses, attack what the former president sees as a hostile jury pool, and attack the judge, Juan M. Merchan.Mr. Trump, who often complains about legal fees and sometimes refuses to pay them, has also wondered aloud why his lawyers cost so much, according to the people, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.

Huffington Post - Donald Trump says he’d make local and state police departments participate in a massive immigration crackdown if he wins a second term in the White House, even though he wouldn’t have the authority to do this. ... “We’re going to be using local police,” Trump said, “because local police know them by name, by first name, second name and third name. I mean, they know them very well.” U.S. presidents don’t have the authority to order local and state police departments to carry out immigration policies run by the federal government. Asked to elaborate on his plans on this, Trump vaguely threatened that they could lose federal money if they don’t play a role in his crackdown.

Common Dreams - Former U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview published Tuesday that if reelected in November, he would allow states to monitor women's pregnancies and prosecute anyone who violates an abortion ban. That position, said one leading reproductive rights organization, underscores the grave threat the presumptive GOP nominee poses to fundamental freedoms. "There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose anti-abortion extremists and their horrifying agenda over American families every single chance he gets, and this new interview proves that he will ban abortion in all 50 states," Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, said in response to the former president's comments.

NBC News - The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial found that the former president violated a partial gag order nine times and threatened to jail him if he continued to violate it. The judge fined Trump $9000 and ordered him to remove the posts, which included attacks on likely witnesses Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, today.

Via @HC_Richardson

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