Trump hush money judge warns lawyers of ‘guilty’ post by social media troll: Live updates

Right-wing media host Sean Hannity is running with an obvious troll post highlighted by Judge Juan Merchan, who adjudicated Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, claiming, erroneously, it was evidence of a fixed trial.

“This is, by far, a very alarming development,” Hannity said. “Was the fixing from the beginning? Is this cause for a mistrial?”

It is not cause for a mistrial, as the trial is already over.

The post in question was made on social media by someone describing themselves as a “professional s***poster.”

“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted. Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!” the post said.

Judge Merchan mentioned the post in a letter he sent to attorneys involved in the trial, noting that the post was “labeled as one week old,” meaning it was made after the verdict had already been announced.

Social media users were quick to point out to Hannity that the social media post had been debunked.

Even still it didn’t stop the usual rogues gallery of MAGA coathangers from running with it as though it was irrefutable evidence of the former president’s innocence.

Right-wing provacatuer Laura Loomer also incorrectly claimed that the former president could be granted a mistrial, and Representaitve Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed the “fix was in from the beginning.”

In May, Giuliani launched Rudy Coffee, a signature coffee line with politically-themed flavors like “Fighting for Justice” and “America’s Mayor.”

His partner in the venture is Burke Brands, the South Florida-based maker and distributor of Don Pablo coffee, The Daily Beast reported.

Former House Democrat Tulsi Gabbard appears to have thrown herself into consideration for secretary of state or defense secretary in a potential Donald Trump administration.

Gabbard, who has reportedly met with the Trump campaign in recent months, was asked on the Wisconsin-based radio show The Regular Joe Show on Thursday whether there was “one thing” she could do that “would be serving the country in the best way possible” if Trump is elected president.

A cringeworthy new single proclaims Donald Trump the “chosen one” picked by God to lead the US – and its music video has racked up 85,000 views on YouTube in just three days.

Katie Hawkinson has the story:

He cannot legally bartend in Florida, but he can be president of the United States. He can be legally denied certain public housing, but he could soon live at the White House. And he cannot legally possess a firearm in any state, but he could soon command the country’s nuclear arsenal.

But unlike the millions of Americans re-entering society after conviction and incarcerations, who face countless barriers to decent jobs, housing, healthcare, childcare, and the ability to vote, among other hurdles, Trump can rely on his immense wealth, influence and potential path to the presidency to avoid them.

Donald Trump raised $12 million in a single night on Thursday as he attended an event held for him by tech venture capitalists in San Francisco intended to attract Silicon Valley’s wealthy conservative-leaning investors.

Joe Sommerlad has the details:

Dr Phil was repeatedly educated on the law and common trial practices in a disastrous CNN interview after he aired his sit-down with Donald Trump, where the TV personality spewed several wrong assumptions on the fairness of the hush money trial.

Katie Hawkinson has the story:

In fairness, most Republican actions — particularly in the House of Representatives and on the state level — could be interpreted as an act of revenge these days. That’s because most of them feel Trump was wronged by the “Deep State” and Democrats, and that the multiple investigations and two impeachments are somehow proof of that.

But Trump has not been shy about his very personal desire for revenge.

A brief letter from New York Justice Juan Merchan on Friday tells the parties that the court “became aware of a comment” from a user named “Michael Anderson” that states: “My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted … Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!”

Read Alex Woodward’s full report:

President Joe Biden on Friday urged the current generation of Americans to heed the example of the Greatest Generation by defending democracy at home and abroad in a speech rife with allusions to his 2024 election opponent.

Speaking from the same location where then-president Ronald Reagan honored the “boys of Pointe du Hoc” four decades earlier, Biden channeled the memory of the US Army Rangers who’d fought their way up the sandy heights to open a hole in Nazi Germany’s so-called Atlantic Wall and cast the contemporary tensions between democracy and modern authoritarian movements as a similar battle.

His remarks, while official in nature, came at a time when he is seeking to cast Trump as a grave threat to democracy allied with the same authoritarian forces that Americans have fought in generations past.