#Trump has his posse again. Today it’s more #Republican elected officials. Today, Trump will be joined by the #House speaker, #MikeJohnson, as well as #NorthDakota’s governor, #DougBurgum, a contender to be Trump's running mate. Also present will be Representatives #ByronDonalds & #CoryMills of Florida, & #VivekRamaswamy, who was one of Trump's primary rivals this year. Both Donalds & Ramaswamy are longshot hopefuls to be Trump's running mate.
#MichaelCohen is asked about his #House testimony on the #Russia investigation. This will lead to questioning about him lying to #Congress re plans to build a #Trump Tower in #Moscow. Cohen has said that he did it to protect Trump.
Cohen testifies that at the time the #TrumpOrganization was paying for his lawyer, & he was part of a joint defense agreement. Cohen testifies he felt he “needed” the protection of Trump at the time & to protect him in return.
#Trump looks directly at Cohen on the witness stand as he says that he lied for Trump “out of loyalty & in order to protect him.”
#MichaelCohen says that he was under a “tremendous amount of pressure” when he lied to #Congress but he was happy to have a lawyer paid for by the #TrumpOrganization. This is useful for prosecutors, many witnesses are still loyal to the TrumpOrg. Cohen underscores for the jurors those witnesses' possible motives.
Facing Russian Advance, a Top Ukrainian General Paints a Bleak Picture
#Ukraine’s forces are stretched thin & have minimal reserves to draw on, the chief of #military#intelligence said, in addition to shortages of #weapons.
“The situation is on the edge,” Gen Kyrylo Budanov, head of #Ukraine’s #military#intelligence agency said…from a bunker in Kharkiv. “Every hour this situation moves toward critical.”
His assessment echoed…other Ukrainian officers…, the country’s military prospects are dimming. Besides being outnumbered, Ukrainians face critical shortages of #weapons, esp artillery ammo, & $60.8B worth of arms from the #US —approved 3 wks ago after months of gridlock in #congress —has barely begun to arrive.
As Trump’s classified docs prosecution goes forward, now w no pretense of trial before the election, Judge #Cannon appears poised to permit him to use pub hearings in the case to sound his campaign themes. 1/… #legal
If he wins but is then convicted, he must be #impeached.
If he loses, we can't simply drop the case just because HE personally is no longer a threat (he'll ALWAYS be a threat.) Too big an issue and a threat to national security.
The #Biden admin has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that #Israel’s military campaign in #Gaza has violated #InternationalLaw, but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of #military aid, #State Dept told #Congress Fri.
In the admin’s most detailed assessment of #Israel’s conduct in #Gaza, #State said in a written report to #Congress that Israel “has the knowledge, experience & tools to implement best practices for mitigating #civilian harm in its #military operations.”
But it added that “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the #IDF are using them sufficiently.
“The #US weapons ‘pause’ doesn't apply to the $26 Billion in ADDITIONAL #Israel ‘aid’ passed by US #Congress, along with $827 million MORE in weapons...
And the #Biden admin made SURE Israel had enough munitions for a #Rafah invasion.
Only 11 #Republicans supported the move to “table” a measure by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), while 196 Republicans embraced keeping Johnson in the speaker’s job. #Democrats also overwhelmingly voted to save the GOP speaker, 163 in support of keeping him & 32 against doing so. The overall vote was 359 - 43, w/ 7 Democratic lawmakers voting present.
#Conservatives are typically loath to sign off on any #government spending patch aimed at averting a #shutdown, slamming those stopgaps as further evidence of a broken Washington [as they cause the breakage] stuck on a woeful fiscal trajectory.
“The CR should be into next year, not into the lame duck,” said Rep #JimJordan (R-OH). “Because you want to give the new president a chance to weigh in on what we spend & where we spend it.”
“We know there’s going to be a CR. I think that CR will go into [2025],” said Rep #ChipRoy (R-#Texas). “I think you shouldn’t drop it into a lame duck, because frankly nothing good happens for America in a lame duck.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene fails to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (www.bbc.com)
The House killed the far-right Republican's motion to remove Mike Johnson over support for Ukraine aid.