Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author:

Michael Cohen to testify in Trump trial on Monday

Michael Cohen to testify in Trump trial on Monday

Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, is expected to testify on Monday, Fox News has learned.  Cohen is expected to be the star witness for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team for his role in arranging a $130,000 payment in 2016 to adult actress Stormy Daniels to reportedly keep her story that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in the early 2000s.  Trump, later, made several payments of $35,000 to Cohen, who was his personal attorney at the time. Trump has denied the encounter happened. Those payments served as the basis for Bragg’s indictment of Trump on charges of falsifying business records. Bragg is trying to prove those payments were reimbursements for the payment to Daniels. HOUSE GOP GOES AFTER ‘CONVICTED LIAR’ MICHAEL COHEN, URGES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE RECENT LIES But Trump defense attorneys say that the $35,000 payments were “not a payback,” but instead, legal payments. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.  MICHAEL COHEN TIKTOK VIDEOS, FUNDRAISING STUN LEGAL OBSERVERS: MAY HAVE ‘TORPEDOED CASE AGAINST TRUMP’ Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison. The former president has previously called Cohen a “proven liar.”  HOPE HICKS: COHEN CALLED HIMSELF ‘MR. FIX IT’ ONLY BECAUSE HE ‘BROKE IT’ Earlier this week, press secretary for the 2016 Trump campaign and White House communications director, Hope Hicks, testified that Cohen would call himself “Mr. Fix It,” but only because “he first broke it.”  She testified that he would often frustrate campaign staff and do things that were not helpful.  The unprecedented trail of the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 election resumed Friday for day 15 of witness testimony.  Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

Blue state Dems turn on governor as homeless council can’t account for $20B in spending

Blue state Dems turn on governor as homeless council can’t account for B in spending

Some California Democrats are turning on their Golden State leader after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s homelessness council failed to track whether billions of dollars spent on curbing the homelessness crisis were successful in the last five years.  “You come to a budget committee, and there’s no numbers,” Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting said to Newsom’s housing and homelessness officials during Monday’s budget committee hearing. “How many people have we helped? How many people are off the street?” “Because that’s what people want to know,” he added.  A California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CICH) executive responded that they’re dealing with “data quality issues,” so metrics are not yet available for how more than $20 billion was spent since the council’s inception. “We’re working expeditiously,” executive officer Meghan Marshall said.  NEWSOM IGNORING CALIFORNIA CRISES TO PROMOTE HIMSELF IN PRO-ABORTION CAMPAIGN, GOP LAWMAKERS SAY “What does that mean though? We spent billions of dollars, and you can’t tell us at all how many people we’ve helped,” Tang said. Megan Kirkeby, deputy director for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, told lawmakers in the committee that the state didn’t previously require them to track its progress on spending or the viability of its programs, adding it’s not “something to be proud of.” CICH, the blue state’s hub for coordinating the state’s homeless programs, shifted blame to local cities last month in an emailed response to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about the failure to track the money. A senior spokesperson said municipalities “are primarily responsible for implementing these programs and collecting data on outcomes that the state can use to evaluate program effectiveness.” As the state faces a significant budget deficit that must be worked out by a July deadline, both Republicans and Democrats in the legislature fear the audit’s findings could interfere with multiple city requests for more funding to address the homeless crisis. California is ground zero for the most homeless people in the nation, with more than 181,000 people living on the streets.  LOS ANGELES IN HOT WATER FOR SPENDING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS ON WORSENING HOMELESS CRISIS In a bombshell report last month, the state auditor found that nine state agencies have collectively spent $24 billion in state funding over the past five years in administering at least 30 programs dedicated to tackling the homelessness crisis, and the auditor said Newsom’s homelessness council “is responsible for coordinating, developing, and evaluating the efforts of these nine agencies.” The state’s independent audit noted CICH is required by law to report its finances related to all state‑funded homelessness programs but that it stopped doing so in 2021.   Over the past five years, the CICH didn’t consistently track whether the money actually improved the situation, the audit concluded. It also failed to collect and evaluate outcome data for these programs due to the lack of a consistent method. In a letter to the governor, the state auditor wrote that “the state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs.” GOV GAVIN NEWSOM FACES RECKONING WITH $73B BUDGET DEFICIT LAWMAKERS SAY HE HELPED CREATE Despite billions spent on homelessness and housing programs during the 2018-2023 fiscal years, the problem didn’t improve in many cities, according to the state auditor’s report. Since 2013, homelessness has jumped more than 53%. Newsom consequently called for cities to take more rigorous steps to enforce the state’s progressive housing laws. In a press conference, Newsom announced the state would expand a Department of Housing and Community Development agency to enforce compliance with laws that require cities to meet a threshold of new homes, leading to legal action against rebellious cities like Huntington Beach that have refused to increase building. “I’m not interested in failure any longer,” the governor said. Newsom’s office nor CICH responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by time of publication.

Alabama legislative session adjourned without final vote on gambling bill: ‘Frustrated’

Alabama legislative session adjourned without final vote on gambling bill: ‘Frustrated’

Some Alabama lawmakers, and even Gov. Kay Ivey, expressed disappointment and frustration on Thursday as the legislative session ended without a final vote on a gambling bill. Though the bill passed in the House earlier in the session, a scaled-back version of the measure failed by one vote in the Senate and supporters were unable to break the impasse.   Because the bill wasn’t approved during this session, voters will not have the opportunity to vote on gambling within the state later this year – continuing a 25-year stalemate on the issue. “There was a lot of effort to try to make it work. I think the people want a chance to vote. I hear that everywhere I go,” Republican House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter said, according to The Associated Press. GAMBLING BILL STALLS IN ALABAMA LEGISLATURE DURING SESSION’S FINAL HOURS The bill approved by the House would have allowed a lottery, sports betting and up to 10 casinos with slot machines and table games, but the Senate approved a stricter version that only included a lottery and allowing dog tracks and other sites to have machines where players can bet on replays of horse races. Senators were more reluctant to approve the idea of slot machines or video poker. A conference committee proposed a compromise that would have authorized a statewide lottery and slot machines at seven locations in the state, but that also did not win approval in the Senate despite approval in the House. “It was something that there weren’t votes in the Senate to approve,” Republican Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed said of the conference committee proposal. “So that’s where we are.” ALABAMA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILL TO INTRODUCE STATE LOTTERY, 10 CASINOS Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters Thursday she was disappointed in the outcome because she “wanted people to have a chance to vote on the issue.”  When asked if she would call a special session for the subject, the governor said it would be pointless without lawmakers reaching an agreement. Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear, the sponsor of the legislation, said the passing of the bill would have provided the state with more money for education, roads and other needs. “We had it as close as it’s been before. We had a chance,” Blackshear said of the chamber’s effort. Rep. Barbara Drummond, a Democrat, noted that Alabamians are traveling to neighboring states to purchase lottery tickets, which benefits residents elsewhere. “I’m frustrated today,” she said. “The House stood up like it should, but it hit a wall upstairs. It’s time we stop playing these games of special interest and look out for the people who send us here.” Alabamians have not voted on gambling since 1999, which is when a lottery proposal by then-Gov. Don Siegelman was rejected by voters. Multiple efforts have been made in the years since then to establish gambling opportunities in the state, but debate over casinos and electronic gambling machines has largely caused the bills to stall. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

IRS urged to probe tax-exempt groups supporting anti-Israel protests

IRS urged to probe tax-exempt groups supporting anti-Israel protests

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans demanded on Thursday evening an investigation into the tax-exempt status of several organizations that have supported various anti-Israel and antisemitic protests at universities across the country.  Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Danny Werfel in a letter to probe the Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation (AJP), the Tides Foundation and the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation (WESPAC) over their support for anti-Israel demonstrations at dozens of universities. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a 501(c)(3) that is fiscally sponsored by AJP, denied any “corporate relationship with any student groups. AMP does not direct the activities of any student groups. AMP is not the fiscal sponsor of any student groups.” However, a legal representative for AMP told Fox News Digital that it does “issue small dollar grants, averaging just under $500 apiece, for costs associated with already-planned events that will further AMP’s educational mission.” “AMP has been scrutinized before and has every confidence that it will once again be able to show that it operates legally, for legal and constitutionally protected purposes, within the United States,” the representative said.  “AMP also supports the rights of any Americans to exercise their First Amendment protection of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association with their peers,” they added.  Neither the Tides Foundation nor WESPAC provided comment to Fox News Digital.  ANTI-ISRAEL OCCUPIERS COULD LOSE FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS UNDER NEW GOP SENATE BILL She cited a recently filed lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against AJP and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), brought by victims of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel. They alleged that AJP is effectively a “propaganda division in the United States” for Hamas and that the group established the NSJP in order “to control hundreds” of chapters at schools all over the U.S. The letter was also signed by 15 other Republicans, including Senate Republican Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is running to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as party leader in November. Additional signers were Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, among others. ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS Ernst pointed to the plaintiffs’ claim that AJP and NSJP “were prepared and responded to Hamas’s ‘call for mass mobilization’ by disseminating a manifesto and plan of attack” on Oct. 8, the day following the attack. According to the lawsuit, the manifesto included “materials that appear to have been created before the attack.” “This basis provides ample grounds for you to initiate your own investigation of these entities’ tax-exempt status,” the letter reads.  UNIVERSITIES WOULD PAY ‘HEFTY PRICE’ FOR ALLOWING ENCAMPMENTS UNDER NEW SENATE BILL The Republicans also noted that “you would not be alone in investigating AJP,” citing the fact that Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares last year began investigating whether AJP “used funds raised for impermissible purposes under state law, including [benefiting] or providing support to terrorist organizations.” Fox News Digital reached out to the IRS and NSJP for comment. NPR CEO KATHERINE MAHER DECLINES HOUSE HEARING INVITE AMID BIAS SCANDAL The letter comes after 2,200 people have been arrested or detained during protests on at least 49 college campuses in 26 different states between April 18 and May 3. In several cases, anti-Israel protests included illegal activity, including the creation of encampments and the taking over of buildings. Some demonstrations have featured antisemitic language and intimidation as well.