Michael Cohen Admits Stealing From Trump Organization

A shocking day in the Trump trial carousel. “Donald Trump’s defense attorney grilled Michael Cohen on Monday during the former president’s hush money trial on how Cohen lied about a reimbursement request in 2017 so that the Trump Organization would overpay him by tens of thousands of dollars,” the Washington Examiner reports. “Attorney Todd Blanche questioned Cohen during a third day of cross-examination about the reimbursement, which was incorporated into a larger $420,000 payment plan that is at the center of the charges Trump is facing,” the paper relates.

‘So You Stole?’ “A portion of the money Cohen received from the Trump Organization was a reimbursement for money Cohen paid to a technology company called Red Finch. Cohen admitted that although he told then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg he was owed $50,000 for the Red Finch expense, he was, in fact, owed roughly $30,000 less than that. ‘So you stole from the Trump Organization, right?’ Blanche asked. ‘Yes, sir,’ Cohen said.” Related: Michael Cohen cross examination highlights his history of lies…

Liberty Nation Today: A Sneak Peek

House GOP: Senate Democrats’ Border Bill DOA

House Republicans have a brief and blunt message for Senate Democrats: no chance. “House Republican leadership said Monday that a Senate effort to revive a once-failed border security measure is ‘dead on arrival’ in the lower chamber. But the legislation may not make it out of the Senate,” CBS News reports. “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sunday in a letter to colleagues that the chamber this week would again take up the border legislation negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators earlier this year. The bill, which came as part of a broader foreign aid package, was quickly rejected by Republicans after former President Donald Trump expressed his opposition,” the network details.

Doomed Legislation: “White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Joe Biden’s record in a statement on Monday that expressed support for the Senate border bill, saying Biden since his first day in office has been calling on Congress to ‘fix our broken immigration system.’ The legislation is still expected to fall short in the Democrat-controlled Senate. With some defections expected among Democrats in addition to the continued GOP opposition, it almost certainly won’t have the necessary support for passage.”

UK Court Rules Assange Can Appeal Extradition to US

It’s not over yet. “Julian Assange has been granted leave to mount a fresh appeal against his extradition to the US on charges of leaking military secrets and will be able to challenge assurances from American officials on how a trial there would be conducted,” UK newspaper The Guardian reports. “Two judges had deferred a decision in March on whether Assange, who is trying to avoid being prosecuted in the US on espionage charges relating to the publication of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents, could take his case to another appeal hearing,” the paper writes.

Fight Goes On: “There were gasps of relief from his wife and supporters at the high court in London on Monday as judges granted him leave to challenge his extradition on the grounds of whether removal would be compatible with the right to freedom of expression under the European convention on human rights, regarded as having the functional equivalent of the US first amendment, and on the grounds that he might be prejudiced at his trial or punished by reason of his nationality.”

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to Maryland Gun Ban

Call it a victory for gun control advocates, at least for the moment. “The Supreme Court on Monday declined, for now, to hear a challenge to a Maryland law banning certain semi-automatic firearms commonly referred to as assault weapons,” The Washington Times reports. “The Court did not elaborate on the denial, as is typical. It would have been unusual for the justices to take up a case at this point, since a lower court is still weighing it. The Supreme Court is also considering an appeal over a similar law in Illinois. It did not act Monday on that case, which could be another avenue to take up the issue,” the paper notes.

Constitutional Question: “The Maryland plaintiffs, including gun rights groups, argued that semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 are among the most popular firearms in the country and banning them runs afoul of the Second Amendment, especially after a landmark Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights in 2022. That ruling changed the test for evaluating whether gun laws are constitutional and has upended gun laws around the country.” Related: Gun rights still suffering in America…

Hunter Biden Pleads For Delay on June 3 Gun Case Trial

He doesn’t want it to start. “Hunter Biden pressed for a delay in his federal gun case on Monday, asking an appeals court to pause the Delaware trial set to begin next month,” the Associated Press reports. “Defense attorneys for the president’s son argued there isn’t an urgent need to start the trial on the June 3 date set by the federal judge overseeing the case. They also cite the short time between the Delaware trial and the start of another trial on tax charges in California,” the wire service states.

Crack But No Crime: “Biden has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law. The lawyers are asking the full 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals to hear a bid to dismiss the prosecution. It was rejected by a three-judge panel that did not rule on the merits of his claims, but said the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to review the matter.” Related: The Left is paralyzed by Biden denial as Election Day draws near…