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‘Important Corroboration’: E. Jean Carroll Judge’s Opinion Likely Sealed Trump’s Fate Says Legal Expert

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If a Manhattan jury sides with writer E. Jean Carroll in her defamation and rape civil lawsuit filed against Donald Trump, her lawyers can thank Judge Lewis A. Kaplan for a 23-page opinion he authored, according to one former federal prosecutor.

In a column for MSNBC, Carol Lam, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, explained that Carroll’s case — which hinged on a “he said, she said” recollections about an assault decades ago — was bolstered by testimony by other women who have also claimed to be victims of the former president’s assaults.

And it was Judge Kaplan who paved the way to allow them to speak in the civil trial, wrote Lam.

Pointing out that two of the women’s testimony was “important corroboration of Carroll’s testimony — that is, it was introduced to show that the rape allegation was not a recent fabrication,” Lam added, “But Judge Kaplan’s more fraught decision was whether to allow Carroll’s legal team to introduce evidence from two other witnesses: Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff.”

Writing, “Kaplan ruled that Leeds, who said Trump sexually attacked her when she was seated next to him on a plane, and Stoynoff, a reporter for People magazine who said Trump sexually assaulted her while she was at Mar-a-Lago covering a story, should be allowed to testify,” the former federal prosecutor added, “… in this case, Carroll’s lawyers had an advantage. This is a civil case alleging rape, and a federal rule of evidence, passed in 1994, explicitly says that “in a civil case alleging sexual assault, the court may admit evidence that the party committed any other sexual assault.”

Lam also noted that Kaplan’s ruling is “bulletproof” shoud the former president’s lawyers attempt to appeal a guilty verdict — which is expected.

“An appeals court could still find that Kaplan did not appropriately weight the probative value of Leeds’ and Staynoff’s testimony against the prejudicial nature of their evidence,” she wrote before predicting, “But, given that only two women out of many testified to Trump’s similar sexual aggressions in the past and given Kaplan’s carefully written analysis of the probative nature of the evidence, it is likely that his decision will hold up if Trump is found liable and there is an appeal.”

You can read her whole piece here.

 

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US Could Slide Into Putin-Style Rule After Trump Foreign Policy Shift: Journalist

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In a stark warning on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, The Bulwark’s editor, Jonathan V. Last, suggests that under Trump, America may adopt Putinism as its domestic policy, having already adopted it for its foreign policy.

“Will Putinism take over American domestic politics, too?” Last asks, in an opinion piece titled, “This Is the End.”

“America has adopted Putinism as its modus operandi for foreign affairs,” he says. “Why would America not also adopt Putinism in its domestic affairs? Why would the American regime tolerate free and fair elections or the transfer of power to an opposition party?”

Pursuing the question, Last continued: “Are there examples of expansionist, rogue regimes which ignored international law and attempted to subjugate free people abroad, but respected liberal democratic outcomes that terminated their possession of power at home?”

READ MORE: ‘Dictators’ Tea Party’: Trump’s Board of Peace Ridiculed as New Details Revealed

To those who suggest Trumpism is temporary, Last suggests he disagrees.

“Many people comfort themselves by saying some version of ‘Donald Trump is an aberration’ or ‘This isn’t who we are,'” he writes.

But, he continues, “If Trump was an aberration and his actions did not have sufficient public support, then he would be removed from office. There are two mechanisms for doing so—impeachment and the 25th Amendment.”

“Trump will not be removed from office; which allows one of two conclusions. Either: Trump’s policies are supported by a sufficient percentage of Americans to be viable; or America’s constitutional order is so ossified that it no longer functions to safeguard the will of the people.”

“Neither of these is an alibi,” Last warns, noting that, “either one supports the conclusion that the problem is not Trump. It is America and Americans. This is who we are. Like it or not.”

Last also makes several other predictions:

“The days of intelligence sharing between America and our former allies are drawing to a close.”

“The death of NATO.”

“Germany, Poland, and Canada will acquire nuclear weapons. So will Japan. Sweden, Australia, and South Korea may develop nuclear capabilities as well.”

“Europe will draw closer to China.”

“Greenland will become disputed territory.”

READ MORE: ‘Enemy Is Within’: Trump Boosts Post Casting NATO as a ‘Threat’ in Social Media Spree

 

Image via Reuters

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Treasury Chief Draws Ridicule for Wanting to Protect Americans With ‘5, 10, 12 Homes’

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Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent was met with mockery after explaining he wants to protect “mom and pop” owners who have up to a dozen homes they’ve bought as retirement investments.

Bessent and President Donald Trump have declared they want to ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes as housing becomes more scarce and less affordable.

“We are going to give guidance at some point to see what is a mom and pop, that someone — maybe your parents — for their retirement, [bought] about 5, 10, 12 homes,” Bessent told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“So we don’t want to push the mom and pops out,” he continued. “We just want to push everyone else out.”

READ MORE: ‘Enemy Is Within’: Trump Boosts Post Casting NATO as a ‘Threat’ in Social Media Spree

Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, has an estimated net worth of $521 million, according to The Street.

Critics were quick to ridicule Bessent as out of touch.

“Good news for the forgotten man,” declared The Bulwark’s Tim Miller. “The mom and pop real estate investor who has purchased 12 homes can breathe easy, the Treasury Secretary is looking out for you.”

“These people are completely out of touch with how life is for you,” observed The Lincoln Project.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office commented, “Scott, people are trying to buy 1 house — to live in. Could the Trump Admin be any more out of touch?”


READ MORE: ‘Code Red’: Newsom Tells Europe They’ve Been Played by ‘T-Rex’ Trump

 

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‘Enemy Is Within’: Trump Boosts Post Casting NATO as a ‘Threat’ in Social Media Spree

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While facing opposition from European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Donald Trump took time out late Tuesday morning to go on a social media spree, including promoting a post that labeled NATO and the United Nations as threats while declaring that the “enemy is within.”

Trump’s controversial Board of Peace is “falling apart,” according to Bloomberg News UK Political Editor Alex Wickham, who reported that “The UK is not joining the board as things stand,” and that its spokesperson said the UK’s commitment to the UN is “unwavering.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has also announced that he would not join the Board of Peace, which requires at least a $1 billion donation for a country to have permanent membership — which can be rescinded by Donald Trump, who is the organization’s chairman.

“So at what point are we going to realize the enemy is within,” the post Trump promoted began. “China and Russia are the boogeymen when the real threat is the U.N., NATO and this ‘religion.’ I put ‘religion’ in quotes because it’s not a religion, it’s a cult!”

READ MORE: ‘Code Red’: Newsom Tells Europe They’ve Been Played by ‘T-Rex’ Trump

The religion mention appeared to be a reference to Islam.

Former Obama and Biden official Jesse Lee responded, writing: “So is Trump threatening to invade Greenland to counter Russia and China as he has ludicrously claimed, or is this just the beginning of his war against Europe as it seems on its face?”

Trump, or someone with access to his Truth Social account, posted dozens of posts in approximately 90 minutes.

His last post so far, at 11:47 AM ET, read: “No single person, or President, has done more for NATO than President Donald J. Trump. If I didn’t come along, there would be no NATO right now!!! It would have been in the ash heap of History. Sad, but TRUE!!! President DJT”

READ MORE: ‘25th Amendment Territory’: Critics Warn Trump Impeachment Is ‘Not Enough’

 

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