What A Day

The defense and prosecution delivered their closing arguments Tuesday in former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial. New York Justice Juan Merchan said jury instructions will begin early today, after which the jurors will begin deliberating Trump’s fate. He faces 34 charges of falsifying business documents in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Harry Litman, senior legal affairs columnist for The Los Angeles Times and a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, takes us inside the courtroom. And in headlines: The Democratic National Committee announced plans to nominate President Joe Biden through a “virtual roll call” to ensure he qualifies for Ohio’s general election ballot, at least two dozen people died, and more than a million were without power after severe storms battered the eastern half of the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend, and the Pentagon said it will take more than a week to rebuild and repair portions of a temporary pier built off the coast of Gaza for humanitarian aid deliveries. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has called a rare special legislative session starting today to ensure President Joe Biden’s name appears on the state’s November ballot. But Ohio Democrats say Republicans are using it as a pretext to pass legislation that would make it harder for people to fund local ballot initiatives, like the one that enshrined abortion protections in the state’s constitution last year. Ohio House Democratic Minority Leader Allison Russo explains what’s at stake. House and Senate Democrats are amping up the pressure on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from two current cases involving former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Their calls come after The New York Times reported two right-wing flags flying outside homes owned by Alito in the last few years. Jay Willis, the editor-in-chief of the website Balls and Strikes, says it’s more evidence the court needs more than an ethics code to fix its reputation problems. And in headlines: Closing arguments in Trump’s criminal hush money trial are scheduled to start today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a missile attack that killed dozens of Palestinians at a tent camp in Rafah was a “tragic mistake,” and the Libertarian Party selected Chase Oliver as its presidential nominee during its convention Sunday. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The International Criminal Court is formally seeking warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. But what power does the ICC actually have? Does anything they do matter? This week on How We Got Here, Max and Erin take a look at the short history of the world’s paramount arbiter of war crimes and human rights—an impressive title for a court that seldom convicts. The hosts pick apart cases against the leaders of Kenya, Yugoslavia and Russia to determine why the ICC matters, and to whom.

The United States Supreme Court sided with Republicans in a decision over South Carolina’s disputed congressional map. Last year, a lower court ruled that the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander because it “exiled” thousands of Black voters from a district that was becoming increasingly competitive to make it safer for the Republican incumbent. On Thursday, The Supreme Court’s conservative majority reversed that decision in a ruling that will likely make it harder for Black voters to bring racial gerrymandering cases in the future. Marc Elias, longtime attorney for the Democratic Party and founder of the voting rights website Democracy Docket, breaks down some other big, ongoing fights over voting rights heading into the election. And in headlines: The Department of Justice announced it’s suing Live Nation over an alleged monopoly of the entertainment industry, Senate Democrats launched an investigation into a meeting last month between oil companies and former president Donald Trump, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a massive hurricane season this year. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans on Wednesday to fast-track a vote on a bill to protect access to birth control and other contraceptives. It comes the day after former President Donald Trump suggested he would be open to new restrictions, only to backtrack hours later. Longtime Capitol Hill reporter Eugene Scott explains the strategy behind Schumer's fast vote.Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a three-day state visit. The White House will host him at an official state dinner tonight, making Ruto the first African leader to have state visit since 2008. We’ll look at what that 16-year gap says about broader U.S. relations on the African continent. And in headlines: The New York Times reports a second right-wing flag was flown at a beach house owned by Justice Samuel Alito, the families of 19 victims of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting sued the school district and nearly 100 police officers for the botched response to the attack, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a snap general election on July 4. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was one of 11 people who pleaded not guilty in an Arizona court on Tuesday to charges they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In all, a state grand jury indicted 18 people in the case last month, making Arizona the fourth state to indict fake electors, following Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada. Paul Charlton, former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, explains the state’s case and how cases in other states could build on each other. And in headlines: The United Nations halted food distribution in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah after it said it ran out of supplies, South Carolina’s Republican Governor signed a law barring medical providers from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth, and Netflix said the third season of ‘Bridgerton’ had the biggest opening weekend debut in the show’s history. Show Notes: www.aclusc.orghttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Monday announced plans to seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel — including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — over their actions during the war in Gaza. Farther east in Iran, the country’s supreme leader looked to project stability after President Ebrahim Raisi and another top official died in a helicopter accident Sunday. Vox foreign affairs reporter Ellen Ioanes explains what’s at stake for both countries amid simmering tensions in the Middle East. And in headlines: Prosectors in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial officially rested their case against the former president, voters in Georgia head to the polls to cast ballots in the state’s primary election, and organizers in Nevada say they’ve gathered more than enough signatures to qualify a ballot referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. Correction: This episode previously stated that Rudy Giuliani was set to testify in Trump’s hush money trial. He’s not set to testify — he was arraigned in Arizona Tuesday. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Joe Biden gave the commencement speech at Morehouse College’s graduation ceremony on Sunday. Some students and faculty at the historically black college in Atlanta protested his presence on campus amid the war in Gaza. Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money case may wind down this week in Manhattan. The prosecution could rest its case as soon as today. Longtime federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann says while Trump could still decide to testify, he likely knows it would be ‘suicide.’ And in headlines: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in the country's mountainous northwest, Sunday. Iran state media reported there were 'no survivors,' Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz says he'll leave the country's government in June if it doesn't come up with a plan for the war in Gaza, and rapper P. Diddy released an apology after CNN published surveillance video from 2016 of him physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/mv5mfyx5https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Birth rates are plummeting around the world and no one has cracked the code on how to get people to have babies. More money, free daycare, and medical advances don’t appear to help…and criminalizing abortion DEFINITELY doesn’t help. This week on How We Got Here, Erin and Max break down how the 20th century baby boom is misremembered, the factors responsible for declining birth rates today, and whether anything can be done about it. SOURCES: Understanding the Baby Boom - Works in Progress German birth rate drops steeply against backdrop of unease – DW – 03/20/2024 Italy's falling birth rate is a crisis that's only getting worse | Euronews South Korea’s birth rate is so low, the president wants to create a ministry to tackle it | CNN Romania's abortion ban was deadly for women and is a warning for U.S. - The Washington Post El Salvador (CIA) El Salvador: Court Hears Case on Total Abortion Ban | Human Rights Watch Alarm as South Korea sees more deaths than births Work–life balance - Government of Sweden U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record Low - WSJ A World Without Men: Inside South Korea’s 4B Movement Everything you need to know about artificial wombs Can Immigration Solve the Demographic Dilemma? – IMF F&D

This week, we saw some big wins in the fight to expand access to the ballot box. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court reinstated a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana. Earlier in the week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority looked poised to overturn a two-year-old decision banning nearly all absentee ballot drop boxes. Still, a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice shows voters in more than half the states will face new restrictions on voting that weren’t there four years ago. Kareem Crayton, senior director of voting rights and representation at the Brennan Center, gives us the lay of the land on ballot access heading into November. And in headlines: House Republicans moved to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt after the White House blocked the release of audio of President Joe Biden’s interviews with a special counsel over his handling of classified documents, the Supreme Court rebuffed a conservative-backed effort to challenge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and an Indiana judge says tacos and burritos are legally sandwiches. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3bp8a5b9https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed to two debates on Wednesday. In agreeing to the debates, Biden and Trump are bucking the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which had been organizing debates since the 80s.U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said this week that the Department of Justice will “aggressively” prosecute anyone who threatens election workers ahead of the 2024 election. The announcement comes as a new poll from the Brennan Center for Justice found that more than half of local election officials are scared for their safety. Alexis Johnson, a former VICE News reporter who covers race, politics, and culture, says despite good intentions, Garland and the DOJ will likely struggle to keep that promise, leaving election workers vulnerable. And in headlines: Inflation dipped slightly in April, the number of Americans who died from a drug overdose decreased for the first time in five years, and a high-level Biden appointee resigned in protest of the U.S.’s continued support for Israel and its war in Gaza. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whatadayhttps://www.nyic.org/get-involved/

Former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial hit a new level of chaos Tuesday as Michael Cohen, Trump’s former self-described ‘fixer,’ continued his testimony for a second day. Trump’s defense team also began cross-examination, trying to paint Cohen as a bitter former employee out for revenge and publicity. Outside the Manhattan courtroom, an entourage of MAGA Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, took turns railing against the trial and bashing the American justice system. And in headlines: Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will face former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in the race for Maryland’s open Senate seat after both won their party primaries Tuesday night, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv to reaffirm the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine amid recent Russian gains in the country’s east, and President Biden announced higher tariffs on Chinese imports of electric vehicles, solar panels, semiconductors, steel and aluminum. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Donald Trump leads President Biden in five of the six battleground states, according to two new polls released by the New York Times. These polls come at a time when Biden is struggling to win the support of young voters. But while polls are an essential snapshot of the country, that snapshot is fairly narrow. So to discuss what these numbers do and do not tell us, we spoke with Dan Pfeiffer, a co-host of Pod Save America and the host of Pollercoaster. And in headlines: Michael Cohen takes the stand in Trump's hush money trial, three states hold primaries, and Louisiana could be the first state in the country to categorize abortion pills as controlled, dangerous substances. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whatadayhttp://Crooked.com/Friends

"Decision Day" for high school students looking to go to college was pushed back this year to May 15th, rather than the traditional May 1st deadline. The shift was made to accommodate for a host of problems students have had using the new federal financial aid application or FAFSA. We spoke with Ellie Bruecker, the director of research at the Institute for College Access and Success, to get a better sense of where the FAFSA fiasco left college applicants. And in headlines: Israeli forces continued to advance in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, students walk out of commencement speeches at VCU and Duke, and the start of the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Why are middle-aged and older Americans persistently pro-Israel? It hasn’t always been the case. This week on How We Got Here, Max and Erin discuss the profound opinion shift among younger Americans, and then take a trip off campus to understand how geopolitics and propaganda in the 21st century have entrenched pro-Israel sentiments in Gen Xers, Boomers and beyond. SOURCES: The U.S. Public’s Pro-Israel History | Pew Research Center Majority in US Say Israel's Reasons for Fighting Hamas Are Valid | Pew Research Center Daniel Hopkins and Gall Sigler | On-campus protests reflect stark generational divide on Israel-Palestine | The Daily Pennsylvanian Americans' Reaction to Middle East Situation Similar to Past Americans' Views of Both Israel, Palestinian Authority Down Majority in U.S. Now Disapprove of Israeli Action in Gaza Despite concerns about war, many voters would ban pro-Palestinian campus protests Half of US adults say Israel has gone too far in war in Gaza, AP-NORC poll shows Americans' views divided on US policy toward Israel-Hamas war: POLL - ABC News The history of US support for Israel runs deep, but with a growing chorus of critics - ABC News The generation gap in opinions toward Israel | Brookings Public Attitudes toward Israel: A Study of the Attentive and Issue Publics American Public Opinion Polls: Attitudes Toward Israel Prior to 1967 Foreign Policy Interest Groups, Mass Public Opinion and the Arab-Israeli Dispute CBS News poll: Rising numbers of Americans say Biden should encourage Israel to stop Gaza actions The American Public and Israel The 1987 AIPAC Conference Trump’s Hard-Line Israel Position Exports U.S. Culture War Abroad - The New York Times How Republicans fell in love with Israel - Vox What unites the global protests for Palestinian rights - Vox Israel vs. the Palestinians: TV Coverage of the Second Intifada Pentagon deleted part of official's apology - Oct. 20, 2003 Franklin Graham conducts services at Pentagon - Apr. 18, 2003 Religious Beliefs, Elite Polarization, and Public Opinion on Foreign Policy: The Partisan Gap in American Public Opinion Toward Israel | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | Oxford Academic

Adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand this week in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump. And let's just say she didn't hold back from describing what went down between them. We spoke with attorney Norm Eisen, author of "Trying Trump: A Guide to His First Election Interference Criminal Trial," to get his impressions of Trump's outlook in the New York criminal case and review the other cases the former President faces. And in headlines: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to Biden's threat to cut off some military aid to Israel, universities shun U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Barron Trump is selected as a delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the U.S. would not supply Israel with some weapons if it moved forward with a ground invasion of Rafah. The announcement came hours after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the government had already paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over fears of an imminent offensive in the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. Israel has been ramping up its attacks on Rafah over the last few days, all while negotiators frantically try to reach a ceasefire deal in Cairo. Ben Rhodes, former Deputy U.S. national security advisor to President Obama and co-host of Pod Save The World, talks about how much leverage Biden really has over Israel's military operations. And in headlines: A Georgia court agreed to hear an appeal over whether the Fulton County District Attorney can continue to lead former President Donald Trump's state election interference case, Republican and Democratic House Lawmakers blocked Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, and third-party presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says a parasite ate part of his brain. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The Justice Department is set to take a significant step this week, initiating a lawsuit against Iowa over its new immigration law. This law, which criminalizes the entry of individuals previously deported or barred from the country, mirrors the controversial Texas law. The latter is currently under legal scrutiny. Notably, other Republican-led states are also contemplating similar legislation. Spencer Amdur, a senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, sheds light on the rationale behind these stringent state immigration laws and why federal courts have invalidated similar state laws. And in headlines: Adult film star Stormy Daniels described in explicit detail a sexual encounter she had with Donald Trump during testimony in the former president’s criminal hush-money trial, TikTok sued the federal government over a new law that could ban the app in the U.S., and Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Hamas on Monday announced it had agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire deal, renewing hopes a truce with Israel could be reached. Israeli officials said while the proposal didn’t meet all of its demands, it would send a delegation to Cairo to continue talks in hopes of reaching a deal. The movement on a possible ceasefire came as Israeli officials also ordered more than 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate parts of eastern Rafah. In this city, more than a million people are sheltering. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of the humanitarian group Refugees International, explains how an Israeli invasion of Rafah could further destabilize Gaza. And in headlines: The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial fined the former president another $1,000 for violating a gag order, Indiana holds its primary election today, and Conde Nast reached a tentative labor agreement with its unionized workers. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Former President Donald Trump held an audition of sorts on Saturday for his top vice presidential picks. At least seven known Veep wannabes attended the Republican National Committee’s spring retreat at Mar-a-Lago, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. The attention-seeking behavior continued into the Sunday talk shows when Scott refused to say whether or not he would accept the 2024 election results during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” And in headlines: Israel and Hamas traded blame over an impasse in the latest round of cease-fire negotiations, the Israeli government shuttered Al Jazeera’s news operation in the country and raided one of its offices, and the first civil trial over the lethal crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld music festival has been delayed over a free speech claim by Apple. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday