Trump denies making positive comments about Hitler

(NEW YORK) — The only path forward in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case in New York is vacating his conviction and dismissing the case prior to Trump taking office, lawyers for the president-elect argued in a court filing unsealed Friday.

Trump’s lawyers, responding to a filing by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed Wednesday, rejected each of Bragg’s proposals to preserve the president-elect’s conviction while respecting the office of the presidency, accusing Bragg of “thuggish tactics” by proposing the judge in the case delay Trump’s sentencing until 2029.

“[A] stay would require President Trump to lead the Country while facing the ongoing threat that this Court and DANY are prepared to impose imprisonment, fines, and other punishment as soon as he leaves Office,” the filing said. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics.”

Trump’s lawyers also described a plan proposed by Bragg to abate Trump’s conviction — a mechanism generally used when a defendant has died while a case is pending — as “unhinged” and “extremely troubling.”

“As a further illustration of DA Bragg’s desperation to avoid legally mandated dismissal, DANY proposes that the Court pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” wrote Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who Trump has nominated to top jobs in the Department of Justice.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election — but his sentencing in the case has been indefinitely postponed following his reelection. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the entire case should be dismissed because a sitting president is immune from prosecution.

In their filing earlier this week, prosecutors proposed three alternative options to preserve Trump’s sentencing while respecting the prohibition on prosecuting presidents, including delaying the sentencing until 2029, abating the sentencing — which would terminate the case but preserve the record of his conviction — or sentencing Trump to a punishment that does not include incarceration.

Trump’s lawyers rejected each option as unconstitutional and called the case politically motivated, taking the unusual step of citing in the filing’s introduction a Truth Social post by Sen. John Fetterman in which the Pennsylvania Democrat called the case an example of “weaponizing the judiciary.”

“DA Bragg’s interest in maintaining the jury’s verdicts as a notch in whatever belt he plans to wear to campaign events in 2025 is not a basis for interfering with the Executive Branch,” the filing said.

Trump’s lawyers argued that delaying the sentencing until Trump leaves office in 2029 would unfairly require Trump to serve as president while the threat of potential imprisonment hangs over him.

“Staying the proceedings during President Trump’s second term would impede the Presidency and give New York County intolerable leverage over the Executive Branch, which exists for the protection of the entire Nation,” the filing said.

The filing argued that prosecutors’ proposal to abate the case would violate Trump’s right to appeal, and sentencing Trump to something other than prison or jail would still be a “grave and impermissible” danger to the functions of the presidency.

“One would expect more from a first-year law student, and this is yet another indication that DANY’s opposition to this motion has not been undertaken in good faith,” Trump’s lawyers said about the abatement idea.

The filing took an overtly political tone, repeatedly referencing Bragg’s 2025 campaign for reelection and accusing the district attorney of politicizing the case “to defend his poor record.”

“It is abundantly clear at this point that DANY will say and do anything — including urging the Court to disregard the Constitution, the New York Court of Appeals, and the Second Circuit — to try to make this abomination stick,” the filing said.

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(WASHNGTON) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, is meeting with senators on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance, making his case for the job hours before the House Ethics Committee is set to discuss its report on him.

Several senators have called for the House Ethics Committee to release its report into Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before they consider his confirmation.

The Justice Department also spent years probing sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz, as well as allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the allegations investigated during the congressional and Justice Department probes.

After Trump announced Gaetz has his attorney general pick, the Florida congressman resigned from the House, meaning the House Ethics Committee no longer has the jurisdiction to continue its investigation into him — however Republicans and Democrats have argued whether a break in that precedent is necessary for the Senate to perform its constitutional duty to advise and consent to presidential nominations.

Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham met with Vance and Gaetz Wednesday morning.

Graham told reporters that the meeting went well and that Gaetz deserves a fair nomination process.

“Here’s what I told him, no rubber stamps and no lynch mob. I’m not going to be part of a process that leaks information that shouldn’t be leaked,” Graham said. “I’m not going to legitimize the process to destroy the man because people don’t like his politics. He will be held to account in the confirmation process. He deserves a chance to make his argument why he should be attorney general.”

Hawley was walking into the meeting when he told reporters that in his view, Congress should move forward with Gaetz’s confirmation process and respond to the allegations against him.

“Do the hearing and let him respond to everything under oath in public,” Hawley told reporters.

The fate of the Gaetz report is in the hands of the committee, and it’s not clear if the committee will vote on whether to release the report.

If there is a vote, a majority of the five Democrats and five Republicans on the committee must approve its public disclosure — meaning at least one Republican must break party ranks to join Democrats to force its release.

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(LINCOLN, N.E.) — Over the past few weeks, independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn has shaken up what many thought was a predictable race in Nebraska.

Partisan polls show that two-term Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is facing a tougher than expected road to reelection in a state where former President Donald Trump is ahead by more than 10 points over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race. 538’s polling average shows Osborn and Fischer running neck-and-neck.

Osborn, a former union president and Navy veteran, is a first-time candidate running in a traditionally GOP stronghold. Nebraska’s two senators and three members of Congress are all Republicans.

In his first network television interview, Osborn decried the polarized state of politics and told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl he’s looking to “challenge the system” by running for office.

“I’m frustrated with the two parties,” Osborn said on “This Week.” “The fighting, the infighting, the outfighting, not getting anything done.”

Osborn’s momentum can be traced to a creative ad campaign, in which the candidate says his opponent “has taken so much corporate cash, she should wear patches, like NASCAR.”

The Nebraska race has attracted $21 million from outside groups while Osborn has raised $8 million and Fischer $6.5 million.

An onslaught of advertising by Republicans to boost Fischer seeks to depict Osborn as a liberal. The National Republican Senatorial Committee placed a $172,000 ad buy in September, according to AdImpact.

Ads run by Fischer’s campaign call Osborn a “dangerous Trojan Horse,” with Trump casting him as a “Bernie Sanders-type Democrat” in another.

In response to these claims, Osborn said he’s been “a registered independent from the time I could vote.”

A newcomer to politics, Osborn has often spoken out against what he calls a “two party doom loop,” and criticized Fischer for voting against the bipartisan border security bill last spring.

Osborn led a strike at Kellogg’s cereal plants in 2021, successfully winning higher wages for workers. He said that this experience with Kellogg “really opened my eyes to the fact, you know, the way our world is and the way our government’s run.”

Democrats are defending 23 seats in the Senate and Republicans 11 this cycle. With razor-thin margins, an Osborn victory could deny Republicans the opportunity to claim a firm majority — depending on which party he chooses to caucus with.

When pressed by Karl on his potentially tie-breaking role in the Senate, Osborn declined to align himself with either party. He also didn’t say who he is supporting for president.

“I need to navigate down the middle because that’s what, that’s what the two party doom loop means,” said Osborn. “It means we’re so far apart and politics is so polarized.”

Osborn has said he wouldn’t accept any party endorsements, yet many Democrats are rallying around his candidacy. The Nebraska Democratic Party is supporting Osborn through press releases and mail materials to voters.

Trump endorsed Fischer in September, posting on Truth Social that “Deb Fischer has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Fischer said she was “honored to have President Trump’s support.”

Osborn told Karl that he “votes on the person,” noting that he supports a veteran if there’s one on the ballot.

If he prevails and Nebraska sends an independent to the Senate, Osborn said his election could be a “national movement.”

“I think this is the start of something special,” he said. “People are ready for it. And I want to be a part of it.”

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