Trump tries to block Stormy Daniels from testifying at hush money trial: Live – The Independent

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Lawyers try to stop porn star and former private attorney Michael Cohen from speaking out while Alvin Bragg seeks to prevent defendant from engaging in ‘violent rhetoric and public attacks’ around case
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Trump tells Joe Biden ‘You’re fired’ as he wins South Carolina Republican primary
Donald Trump’s lawyers have moved to block the porn star Stormy Daniels, ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal and the businessman’s former fixer Michael Cohen from testifying at his New York hush money criminal trial, which is set to begin next month.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg accuses Mr Trump of falsifying business records in order to conceal payments made to Ms Daniels and Ms McDougal by Mr Cohen during the 2016 election in order to buy their silence about earlier extramarital affairs he is alleged to have had with both women.
The Republican presidential candidate denies the affairs and has pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony charges he faces.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche submitted a 47-page motion yesterday attacking the credibility of the potential witnesses, suggesting Ms Daniels would offer “false” and “salacious” testimony and calling Mr Cohen a “liar”.
Also on Monday, Mr Bragg requested that Mr Trump be placed under a gag order to prevent him from engaging in “violent rhetoric and public attacks” around the case, while the candidate appealed the $454m judgement in his separate New York civil fraud trial.
He is up against Nikki Haley in the Michigan Republican primary today.
Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), has announced that she will step down from the position on 8 March, three days after Donald Trump takes on challenger Nikki Haley on Super Tuesday.
“The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honour that tradition,” Ms McDaniel said in a statement.
“I remain committed to winning back the White House and electing Republicans up and down the ballot in November.”
Joe Sommerlad reports:
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has already endorsed North Carolina Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley as his choice to succeed her
When Donald Trump moved into the White House in early 2017, his wife Melania picked out a whole new range of furniture for the couple’s future home.
But Mr Trump’s tastes were gaudier than his wife’s, and while she was still preparing to move down from New York City he replaced her choices with his own.
That is according to American Woman, a new book by New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers, which lays bare the numerous arguments between Donald and Melania Trump during their time in office.
According to People magazine, Ms Rogers reports that the pair clashed over everything from white supremacist violence to Mr Trump’s alleged affairs, and which TV channel to watch.
Io Dodds has the details:
‘American Woman’ by Katie Williams lays bare new details of the domestic discord behind the 45th presidency
Former president Donald Trump called Melania ‘Mercedes’ as he praised his wife during a speech in Washington DC. The crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gave the former First Lady a standing ovation as Mr Trump described how “people love her”. “Oh look at that Mercedes, that’s pretty good” he said as the audience stood and applauded. The GOP presidential hopeful was making the keynote speech on 24 February on the same day as voters head to the polls in the South Carolina primary.
A frustrated bench of defence attorneys for Donald Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia came up short in a hearing they hoped would extract bombshell evidence in their case to disqualify the district attorney’s office prosecuting them.
Instead, Terrence Bradley said he was only “speculating” about his knowledge of a relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the prosecutor she hired to lead the sprawling election interference case against the former president and his allies.
Mr Wade’s former law partner – and former divorce attorney – was ordered to return to the witness stand on Tuesday after the judge overseeing the case determined that what he could say about their relationship was outside the bounds of attorney-client privilege.
Alex Woodward reports on what happened in court today:
Terrence Bradley says he was only ‘speculating’ about a relationship that now threatens an election interference case in Georgia
In a rambling 90-minute keynote speech at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Donald Trump boasted about how he hasn’t stepped down in the face of several indictments and felony charges.
“I’ve watched over the years as politicians get indicted,” Mr Trump said. “And they start by going to a microphone about two minutes after that. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I will be resigning from office today. I will be home go home with my family, my friends, and I will fight for my name.’”
“Well, that’s the last you ever hear from that poor guy,” he continued. “And with me, we have a big voice we have — you can see by this crowd.”
The former president is facing 91 felony counts after prosecutors brought four indictments against him in the last year.
Katie Hawkinson filed this report:
The former president faces 91 felony counts across several states as he brags about not stepping down from politics
Donald Trump celebrated his comfortable victory in the South Carolina Republican primary by predicting that he would beat Joe Biden in a likely presidential election rematch in November. The former president claimed his fourth straight primary win on Saturday night (24 February), beating rival Nikki Haley in her home state. “We’re going to be up here on 5 November, and we’re going to look at Joe Biden,” Mr Trump said as the crown loudly cheered him. “He’s destroying our country and we’re gonna say ‘Joe, you’re fired. Get out. Get out, Joe. You’re fired.’” Mr Trump also compared himself to Al Capone during a CPAC speech on Saturday.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both set to visit the southern border on Thursday, following the breakdown of congressional talks on immigration after the former president indicated his dislike of the proposed legislation.
A White House official said Mr Biden would visit the border community of Brownsville, Texas “to meet with US Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officials and local leaders” and “discuss the urgent need” for Congress to enact the bipartisan border security and foreign aid funding bill negotiated by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz), James Lankford (R-Olka) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn), calling that compromise bill “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades”.
“He will reiterate his calls for congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional US Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more,” the official added.
Mr Trump will visit the border more than 300 miles away from where his successor – and likely 2024 election opponent – will be.
Continue reading…
Biden ‘will reiterate his calls for congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional US Border Patrol agents,’ White House says
After a brief break and another round of questions from another defence attorney, and no questions from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, Mr Bradley is excused from the stand.
The only things we learned today were:
Terrence Bradley testified during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse
“Did you lie to Ms Merchant when you told her facts?” Mr Bradley is asked by attorney Richard Rice,
“Not that I recall, I don’t recall… I mentioned earlier that I speculated on some things, I testified to what I did know, so I can’t recall whether or not I… No.”
Lawyers for the defendants are suggesting that he’s lying under oath or that Mr Wade intervened through a mutual attorney friend to change his testimony.
“Do you pass on lies about your friends?” Mr Bradley is asked.
“Have I passed on a lie about a friend? Is that what you’re asking?” he responds.
“Do you tell lies about your friends?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you tell lies about your friends in a case of national importance?”
“I could have. I don’t know.”
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Donald Trump at CPAC 2024
REUTERS
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