the *DON* JONES INDEX…
		GAINS POSTED in GREEN LOSSES POSTED in RED 3/27/23… 14,973.21 3/20/23… 14,979.08
	6/27/13… 15,000.00
(*THE DOW* JONES INDEX: 3/27/23... 32,237.53; 3/20/23...31,861.98; 6/27/13… 15,000.00)**

LESSON for March 27, 2023 – “STORMY of the CENTURY (Monday and Tuesday)”

On Tuesday last, last week... that very day self-selected by the putative Defendant as the Good Friday of MAGAdom... one of his enraptured acolytes tweeted “Stormy” Daniels, the porn star princess of womanly virtue wronged, according to New York special prosecutors with a crown of thorns with which she/he/it yearned to crown the accuser.

“A disgusting degenerate prostitute accepts money to Frame an innocent man!,” wrote Twitter user Intergalactic Gurl. “Good luck walking down the streets after this! @realDonaldTrump is our #POTUS and will be selected by a landslide in 2024!”

Daniels shot back: “I won’t walk, I’ll dance down the street when he is ‘selected’ to go to jail.”

She did not specify in what, if anything, she’d be dancing. Now, after the week is done and the deed not done, the question and the promise of Stormy’s street sarabande remains unfulfilled.

As are the hopes and fears of all the leering Joneses cheering or jeering the stalled jury as it launches into another week of deliberation and witness witnessing while real (meteorological) storms surge and shake, wars rage and the American fiscal order trembles on the brink of catastrophe.

And, withal, does the Defendant want to be put back in charge of all this?

Damn right, he does.

Donald Trump – real estate tycoon, TV entertainer and forty-fifth President of the United States – is facing a panoply and diversity of criminal actions that would topple a lesser dozen men of confidence. At the forefront... for the time being... is the accusation that he fraudulently ordered attorney Michael Cohen to pay off Daniels, the aforesaid porn star he now admits he had “relations” with; in the process violating a slew of Federal and New York State laws against tax evasion, fraud, campaign funding regulations, public decency and plain old common sense.

This will be the focus of our Lesson for the week. But also on the table are...

The matter of purloined letters, documents and state secrets that Trump took home with him to Mar-a-Lago when his Presidency expired, repeatedly lying to the government now commanded by his enemy, President Joseph Biden over the extent and location of the classified thingies until the FBI raided his mansion, sifted through Melania’s closets and cabinets of undergarments and commandeered even more illicit literature – eventually numbering more than 150 classified documents, and counting...

His appeal to Georgia officials... notably Brad Raffensperger, SecState, to “find” him just enough votes to win the state in November, 2020. (It still wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the “stolen” election, but might have given Team Trump momentum to challenge the polling date in a few other states with close 2020 contests (Arizona, @, @ and @) enabling a triumphant return to the White House and four more years.

And, when hiding documents and badgeting election officials failed, inciding a mob of supporters and crazy people... some in body armour, some in strange headgear... to storm the Capitol where Vice President Mike Pence was about to certify the election results and holding it for a few hours; battling police and killing five and also resulting in the arrest of more than a thousand “patriots” now while, allegedly at the urging of the Secret Service, sneaking away to return to the White House and watch the insurrection on television.

Yet another sex charge – this an accusation of rape alleged by one E. Jean Carroll, a journalist (of all things!) and all the way back in 2006!

And, besides the criminal cases, civil litigation too voluminous to account for here and now.

Despite the bomb cyclone of accusations and pending indictments, the Exile, Trump, continues on his merry way back to Washington in 2024, having already announced his candidacy and preparing his campaign – sending a message, of sorts, by the choice of his first rally, as took place on Saturday.

His restoration has, admittedly, been a little slow in getting off the ground – but things are looking up. His banishment from social media is lifting, his own Truth Social twitnest is gaining followers, the money is coming in... not a gusher, as yet, but not a trickle either... merch (if not minds) are being moved and he faces newly flawed Republican primary challengers and, if he prevails, an incumbent who will be 81 in November, 2024. (Trump himself being 78, the United States is exuding the reek of the old Soviet Union in its last days under the parade of geriatric dotards weakly coping in the weeks and months before collapse.)

Fortunately for Djonald UnDeterred, his most viable primary challenger, Florida Governor Ron deSantis, recently cratered among the general public (if not the same base bastards as comprise MAGA) by issuing a me-too” denunciation of America’s military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and a de facto endorsement of Putin’s War, recently promoted from a War Crime to a War Against Humanity by the international community (with the exception of Belarus, North Korea and, albeit nuanced, China). Failing and fading challengers like former Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Pence have failed to gain traction, and desperate prognosticators have resorted to promoting Vivekananda Something... currently ranked 15^th of 15 potential candidates in recent polls, as the Cinderella of the G.O.P.

So Djonald UnChained endures UnChained.

When Manhattan prosecutors working under the direction of Alvin Bragg (a... go figure?... African-American roundly ridiculed as a political pawn of the Democrats intent on “weaponizing justice”), investigating former President Donald Trump's alleged "hush money" payment of $130,000 to Stormy in 2016 invited the former president to testify in the probe... a step that commonly comes before an indictment in New York, among other burgs... CBS prepared a timeline, dating all the way back to 2006, when Daniels... gasp!... had sex with The Donald who dangled the prosect of an appearance on Celebrity Apprentice which... surprise!... never materialized. The alleged scheme first came to light a decade later, when Trump was chasing the Oval Office and quietly buried after payment of the settlement, but the investigation has gained new momentum in recent months, with the Manhattan district attorney's office convening a grand jury to examine the matter.

The developments in the Manhattan case have once again drawn attention to Trump and his allies' well-documented efforts to suppress damaging stories ahead of the 2016 election and the sprawling investigations that ensued. Michael Cohen, his former attorney and "fixer," eventually pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges stemming from his involvement with the payments and served three years in prison.

A timeline of those efforts and the district attorney's evolving investigation... based on court records, public filings and comments made by the key players involved... derives from an interview Daniels gave to "60 Minutes" in 2018 Trump has denied many of the details below, and sworn he never had affairs with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford (or Peggy Peterson, or Georgianna Santos, something), nor E. Jean Carrol (whom he allegedly raped on the premises of a big money department store) nor Karen McDougal, yet another woman who alleged a relationship and was paid for her silence.

Stormy’s salacious story begins in July, 2006 when, according to said interview (Attachment One), Daniels met Trump, then the star of NBC's hit show "The Apprentice," at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. She said he invited her to dinner, and then took her up to his hotel suite, where they did the nasty. He later invited her to a Trump Vodka launch party in California, as well as to his office in Trump Tower in New York.

“Daniels was 27 at the time. Trump was 60, and his wife Melania had recently given birth to their son,” the interview disclosed.

The following year, The Donald stiffed Stormy... telling her that he would not put her on “Apprentice”.

Nearly five years after that “first interaction”, Daniels gave an interview to the magazine In Touch describing her encounters with Trump in exchange for $15,000. Two employees later told CBS News that the interview never ran because Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney, threatened to sue when the publication asked Trump for comment. Daniels says she was never paid.

A few weeks later, Daniels said she was threatened by a man who approached her in Las Vegas and told her to "leave Trump alone" and "forget the story."

Five more years passed. In July, 2016, after Trump had secured the Republican nomination for President, McDougal, an actress and former Playboy model, began trying to sell her story of alleged affairs she had with Trump in 2006 and 2007. She retained attorney Keith Davidson, who approached the National Enquirer, which secured the rights to McDougal's account for $150,000 but never published her story, a tactic known as "catch and kill."

In October, Daniels... now also represented by Davidson... told Dylan Howard, the editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, that she is willing to go on the record about her alleged affair. Howard and David Pecker (Chairman and CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media, Inc. – AMI – presumed inspiration for a John Waters movie and promised headliner when and if the Grand Jury reconvenes today), informed Cohen about the conversation and put him in touch with Davidson.

Cohen negotiated a deal to pay Daniels $130,000 in exchange for the rights to her story and a non-disclosure agreement. In November, Trump was elected. Shortly before he was sworn in as the 45^th President of the United States, Cohen sought reimbursement from the Trump Organization for $180,035 — $130,000 for the payment to Daniels, plus a wiring fee and an extra $50,000. Trump Organization executives doubled the reimbursement to $360,000 and add another $60,000, for a total of $420,000 to be paid in monthly installments for 12 months.

Cohen sent invoices for $35,000 per month and received $420,000 from the company over the course of the following year.

A month later, Trump was elected and began a four year journey through garbage and glory to exercise his dominion on that slice of the planet that many call “the free world”, only to be deposed by the elderly Vice President to the predecessor whose questionable nativity had been questioned by Ol’ 45, setting the stage for his election, regime and the attempted legal depositions as followed his electoral deposition.

Scientists once experimented upon spiders... plying them with psychedelics and other pharmaceuticals and then watching, taking photographs of and forwarding to the media the tangled webs they wove as a presumptive message to the youth of America to just say no to drugs.

They didn’t, haven’t and now... apparently... somewhere between thirty and forty percent of the electorate is lining up for another needleful of Trump, assuming that he overcomes this latest effort by the evil liberals to derail his toxic train, as well as all of those others, as listed above.

And Ron deSantis. And, then, Joe Biden.

Now if he is indicted in the Stormy tempest in a pisspot... be it today, this week, by Easter, Christmas, whenever (so long as the deed is done before one of the other criminal probes beats Bragg and Stormy to the punch)... what would happen next? Well, anybody who sincerely professes to know is either a liar or a prestidigitator, but Time, a week ago Saturday, gave it a shot. (March 18^th, Attachment Two) as the Grand Jury, having heard testimony from the principles (save Trump) began its deliberations.

What are the risks, the consequences, the downsides... and the Up... for The Donald?

As part of Manhattan District Attorney Bragg’s investigation, Trump could face charges for falsifying business records when he allegedly reimbursed his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen for paying off Daniels. The hush-money deal, allegedly crafted weeks before his presidential win, could also put Trump in jeopardy of violating campaign finance laws.

The prospect of Trump’s arrest—the first in history for a former president—raises questions about the process Trump would be subject to during his arrest and trial—including whether any extraordinary measures would be taken given his unique status... as well as, if re-elected, he could serve out his terms of office and incarceration simultaneously, whether in the White House (presumably with a designer ankle bracelet) or the Big House.

The charges Trump would likely face are for white-collar crimes regarding financial dealings, and given their non-violent nature, defendants in such cases typically “self-surrender,” skipping public perp walks.

Shanlon Wu, a white-collar defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, tells TIME that defense councils typically receive notice when their white-collar clients are being indicted. “You would make an appointment basically, to bring your client in to be booked and fingerprinted,” Wu says.

Wu adds that Trump’s lawyers may even seek some special arrangements, given he’s a former president, to avoid walking through the front entrance of the courthouse or police station in an attempt to be more discreet. On Friday, Trump’s latest attorney said that if indicted, Trump would not resist arrest and that they would follow normal procedures. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina assured the New York Daily News.

If indicted, Trump would have to go through the same process, where he would be booked into jail, finger-printed, and a “mug shot” taken. However, given Trump’s substantial ties to the community, especially his ongoing 2024 presidential campaign, the judge likely wouldn’t deem him a flight risk and “would probably immediately release him on bond,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti told TIME.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning, Trump claimed his arrest was imminent and called for his supporters to protest, citing “illegal leaks” from a “corrupt” and “highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office.”

If Trump is indicted and charged, the case would eventually move on to jury selection, which could be a lengthy and exhausting process.

“The majority of people in the jury pool would have some opinions about Donald Trump,” Mariotti also told TIME.

“If this case is still ongoing, during his run for president, you could face a very unprecedented and challenging situation,” Mariotti said. “[Trump] would be subject to a criminal enforcement action by a state, which would pose a lot of serious constitutional quandaries.”

The quandaries are quandifying in New York, where Bragg has been vilified as “an animal” by the defendant, andm by the alt-Right, as a cog on the chessboard of the Biden Machine and its overseers... Hillary, George Soros and, for all we know, reptiles, the Chinese and the Jews.

Here, then is a portion of the drama and the mysteries of the strange and sordid Stormy incident as they mounted day by day... long past the Tuesday indictment day, throughout the week and into the weekend with sudden cancellations, rumours of surprise witnesses and counter-rumours that the case was so weak, or tainted or dangerous to National Security that it would have to be dropped.

We were intending to move on to other new issues... the polls, the war, the weather... or perhaps revisit old tropes with new hopes... the banks, the budget, the price of butter; but, instead, we’ll soldier on into the next week of deliberations, hoping for some resolution while acknowledging the silken, silver cord that Trump has slipped around the throat of the Republic in his quest and campaign to “hijack the news cycle” (as Vanity Fair put it today, more in next week’s Lesson).

So we have, for your edification, prepared a timeline of the mores and the machinations of The Donald, Stormy, Bragg and a revolving door of lawyers as have amused and confused America since the coming of spring – which season has already brought killer blizzards to the West, record heat and stormy weather... including deadly tornadoes – as the witnesses witnessed and the lawyers lawyered as the once and (perhaps) future President kicks off his 2024 campaign with a somewhat unusual tribute rally. The spring storms will continue at least through the end of the month (as will subsequent Lessons, should the Grand Jury return to work and not flee in panic) as the rest of his legal troubles close in on Ol’ 45.

TIMELINE

MONDAY LAST

“Whether it comes Tuesday or any other day, an indictment of former president Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney would be historic,” the Washington Post validated the obvious. “Never before has a current or former president of the United States been indicted. Such an event would recast not just Trump’s personal biography, but also the 2024 campaign and even the state of the republic.”

Reporting on not only the inquisitorial leanings of D.A. Bragg, but the views of experts and posers that “(e)ven some Trump critics have wondered about the wisdom of bringing this particular prosecution,” while, on the other hand, “even some Trump supporters have acknowledged that his cavalier approach helped lead to his legal jeopardy.”

Laying out the practical and the political groundwork, as well as the legal arguments for and against The Donald, the WashPosties decided to reach back into history... not the obvious Monica/Slick Willie contratemps, but an even early sex and payoff scandal... the failed prosecution of John Edwards (also a Presidential candidate) in which the prosecutors “had a difficult time proving the offense was campaign-related, including because payment continued after the campaign ended.”

They could have also reached even further back to the trainwreck that was the Presidential campaign of Sen. Gary Hart (D-Co), sunk on the shoals of what would be called the @.

More than five years after the Wall Street Journal broke the story in early 2018 Stormygate (and why the hell not, everything of this ilk eventually gets a “gate” wrapped arounds its throat) could lead to the first indictment of a former president — and, the Post warned, “a series of reverberations.”

Also on Monday, New York police... anticipating revelry, riots and, perhaps, Revolution if the GJ did indict Trump on the morrow, “erected barricades around (the) Manhattan courthouse,” as Mayor Eric Adams told reporters police were monitoring social media and keeping an eye out for "inappropriate actions" in the city (Reuters, Attachment Four) after Robert Costello, an Abbott-less attorney who has previously represented Trump allies like Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani testified that Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen had handled the hush-money payments without Trump's involvement.

"Michael Cohen decided on his own - that's what he told us - on his own, to see if he could take care of this," Costello told reporters after testifying to the grand jury at Trump's lawyers' request.

Cohen would serve time and now says publicly that The Donald “directed him to make the payments on Trump's behalf.” The Reuters article also touched on some of the candidates civil and criminal litigations – including the Fulton County (Ga) charges that he begged elections officials to “find” him enough votes to win the state, a civil fraud trial brought by the New York attorney general alleging a decade-long scheme “to manipulate the value of his assets to win better terms from bankers and insurers” and the impending civil trial filed by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, “who claims that Trump defamed her by denying he raped her.”

Democrats privately are worried, contended Time opinionator Phillip Elliott that the Stormy case might be “the weakest of all of the investigations into Trump and his orbit,” while Republican NeverTrumpers, eager to crown a new leader of their party, “fear that a case seen as less-than-rock-solid could undermine future, potentially more damning ones.” (Attachment Five)

“As TIME’s Brian Bennett reports, Trump’s legal team actually thinks an indictment could prove helpful for Trump’s return to power,” Elliott contended, “or at least his chase of the GOP nomination for a third time. And here’s the harsh truth: they aren’t entirely irrational.”

Trump’s “perpetual grievance machine” could even help his standing with the base (although the outlook gets cloudier when it comes to a general election between him and the likely Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden).

TUESDAY

CNBC, reporting on Stormy’s pledge (Attachment Six and above) to ‘dance down the street’ if Trump goes to jail highlighted developments on the day upon which the former President predicted he would be taken away by police.

Stormy’s paymaster, Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen has already gone to federal prison for crimes that included a campaign finance violation related to his $130,000 payment to her shortly before Election Day 2016 and is now co-operating with Bragg.

While awaiting the Stormy jury verdict, CNBC also reported, the accused got some good news... the defamation cases brought by Carroll (above) would not be consolidated, resulting in a postponement of trial (previously scheduled to start April 10^th) and a contention by Judge Lewis Kaplan that the case, filed in 2019, “could prove unnecessary” if the federal appeals court that is currently reviewing the case rules that the suit is barred by law.

CNN political analyst Stephen Collinson, Tuesday morning (Attachment Seven) expressed a belief that Trump’s allies in Congress were “...doing what the former president taught them to do – use government power to try to keep his legal threats at bay.”

Citing the “growing circus atmosphere around this drama,” fueled by Trump’s weekend prediction that he’d be arrested on Tuesday, Collinson reported that Trump’s calls for protests, meanwhile, have authorities on edge in New York, where security cameras and barricades have been erected, and in Washington “amid painful flashbacks to his incitement of violence to further his personal and political ends on January 6, 2021.”

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan warned of the Manhattan investigation: “It’s obvious that this is a sham, and something that we want to know – were federal funds involved?” The Ohio Republican also told CNN’s Manu Raju: “We don’t think President Trump broke the law at all.”

Jordan and two other House chairmen demanded testimony from Bragg and accused him of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

The idea that a case would be made solely on Cohen’s word, without considerable corroborating evidence, seems unlikely. But there is much about this grave matter that the rest of the country doesn’t yet understand.

“That is not, however, quelling the storm (nor the “Stormy”) that has accompanied Trump’s return to political center stage, which could reach hurricane strength in the days ahead,”.

Then again, there’s the chance that Trump could still seize defeat (or martyrdom) from the jaws of a sort of bland victory that might impact his merch sales.

The former president’s attorney Joe Tacopina has been all over the airwaves declaring that Trump’s actions were “not a crime.”

However, back in 2018, when Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen was staring down charges for arranging the $130,000 payment to keep Daniels quiet about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election, according to the Daily Beast (Attachment Eight), Tacopina claimed the arrangement was “illegal” and a possible “campaign finance issue” for the ex-president.

In a separate CNN appearance that month, Tacopina twice said the hush-payment arrangement to Daniels was “illegal.”

Withal, there was a bubble of speculation Tuesday that, while Trump’s own prediction would fail, he might be indicted on Wednesday, a discrepancy that would be easy to explain away. (New York Times, Attachment Nine)

Noting that the special grand jury that has been hearing testimony meets three afternoons a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the Times predicted that “at least one more witness could be called before jurors are asked to vote, according to people familiar with the matter.”

Other “people with knowledge of the matter” have suggested any charges would stem from the falsification of business records that recorded reimbursements to Michael Cohen — Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer and the prosecution’s star witness — as legal fees. “Such a charge, combined with a second crime involving illegal campaign contributions, could rise to a low-level felony.”

News Nation (Attachment Ten) also predicted that Trump would be indicted Wednesday,

“The next steps in a grand jury process shrouded in secrecy remained unclear, and it was uncertain if additional witnesses might be summoned. The 23 members of the grand jury will vote on whether to indict Trump, but only 12 have to believe it’s likely a crime was committed to indict the former president.”

Conviction might be easier to attain than indictment... but there might be a jurisdictional wrinkle.

Mark Smith, a former Trump transition team member and a constitutional attorney, told NewsNation that it might be “difficult” for Trump to get a fair trial in Manhattan.

“I do think it might be very difficult for Donald Trump to get a fair hearing in the county of Manhattan given it’s so overwhelming blue and anti-Trump. I think it would be very difficult, I’m not saying it’s impossible,” Smith said.

If indicted, there are several scenarios for the former President’s arrest and transport from Mar-a-Lago to Manhattan.

More of those “sources” say that Trump has given up on a dramatic shootout with authorities, and would peacefully return to face Bragg’s justice... but the MAGAmob as does not believe him has been gathering at Mar-a-Lago, perhaps hoping for a television-style storming of the premises... with the former President hauled off in chains, or wrapped in a body bag.

“Crowds of some of Trump's most ardent supporters wore cowboy hats, American flag suits and pro-Trump gear while gathering along the Palm Beach, Fla., road leading to Mar-a-Lago Tuesday,” Fox News reported (Attachment Eleven). Many held signs with messages, including, "I Stand With Pres. Donald J. Trump," "Drain the Swamp Vote Trump 2024" and "Trump Won. Democrats Cheat."

The MAGAcats have sniffed a rat... and the rodent is the Biden/Soros/Hillery conspiracy to “trap” decent Americans into acts of violence.

In an online video presentation Monday night, no less personage than Roger Stone, now of Fort Lauderdale, told pro-Trump crowds, "It is vitally important that you keep it peaceful, you keep it civil, you keep it orderly and you keep it legal. The left would like to trick us into overreaction and violence and lawlessness, so they can blame President Trump, and so they can scoop up America First leaders.”

Politico, after reminding Joneses that they’d predicted a one-six recurrence nearly a year ago, prepared yet another of those Q&A seminars on Tuesday afternoon, as it was starting to seem that... while the indictitators might miss Djonald’s self-selected deadline for martyrdom... they would surely come to the conclusion of their labors by Wednesday, at least. (Attachment Twelve)

Some of their answers (shortened for time and space) were...

Is Trump definitely going to be indicted?

No, but it appears very likely.

What does the grand jury vote entail?

After prosecutors finish presenting witnesses, the 23-person grand jury will then discuss the case and vote on it. An indictment requires 12 or more jurors to vote yes.

Will he be arrested? Will his mug shot be taken? When will he appear in court?

Because the case is white-collar, the district attorney’s office will ask Trump’s attorney when he plans to come to New York to be arraigned. Whenever he comes to New York, he will be arrested, booked, finger-printed and have his mug shot taken; then be taken to a judge. It is possible that he’ll be handcuffed when he is transported from the district attorney’s office to court — a short walk away within the same building, presumably under the eyes and the flashbulbs of roving reporters.

The judge will set a date for his next court appearance, then Trump will most likely be able to return to his Florida home, or wherever he chooses.

Bragg, the Hill reported, signaled earlier this month that Trump may face criminal charges as part of his probe when the office offered the former president the chance to testify before a grand jury, to which offer Ol’ 45 replied “Nuts!”.

Republicans like Speaker Kevin McCarthy have criticized the probe as not only political but as being in violation of the Statute of Limitations. The Hill, (Attachment Thirteen) has disputed, or at least qualified this provision, stating that New York’s statute of limitations is five years for most felonies or two years for misdemeanors, “but that timeline can be extended if the defendant has lived out of state — as Trump did when he was in the White House.”

GOP lawmakers “have largely defended Trump while zeroing in on Bragg.”

When the Grand Jury concluded its work on Tuesday, NBC (3/21, 5:24 PM) offered up thirteen takeaways (see Attachment Fourteen) which we have ascribed letters to, designating their submission... in the reverse order, as is common to takeaway enclosures... from 14A through 14M. Some of those most germane to the process were...

14A Further deliving into the subtext of subcategories, Peacock Girl Laura Jarrett ticked off “five things to look for in a possible Trump indictment. 14A-3, asking whether a “conspiracy” occurred targets Michael Cohen’s still mysterious dealings with the former President – his believability (given his own conviction and sentencing) may loom large.

Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, reportedly told his client to stop going on television. (14B)

Rose Horowitch (14-F) challenged the assumption that Trump might become the first ex-president ever to be arrested by disclosing that 18^th President Ulysses S. Grant had been arrested for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage in 1872. He allegedly paid a $20 fine.

NBC’s Jason Abbruzzese reported (14-G) that fake pictures of Trump being arrested are now being posted on the internet – courtesy of AI apps that have “opened the door for plenty of misleading images to circulate online.”

Dareh Gregorian (14-J), noting far-right social media appeals to Gov. DeSantis to “block Trump from getting extradited to New York if he decides not to surrender,” and thus provoking a shootout between New York and Federal agents v. Florida police, the Secret Service and the MAGAmob. But anonymous “legal experts” said there’s “little to nothing that the Florida governor could do in that unlikely event — even if he wanted to.” Which he does not.

The Independent UK also brought up threats of violence against officials involved in any arrest, as well as Bragg and the usual suspects, threatened in more Truth Social posts by the former President as called the four ongoing criminal investigations into his actions the “most disgusting witchhunt in the history of our country,” and telling his followers that he will “stand in their way” of their political “enemies”. In yet another timeline (Attachment Fifteen), the Brits cited another post, where Donald DeRanged accused Cohen of extortion, and Bragg of suffering from the ubiquitous “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

The IUK also reported that former Djonald’s lawyer Rudy G, was heard and spotted hawking “personal messages” for $325 on the video greeting site Cameo, reciting the nursery rhyme I’m A Little Teapot, Short and Stout..

“Tip me over and pour me out!”

Vanity Fair took a (tea)potshot at Trump’s current attorney, Joe Tacopina, dredging up a 2018 appearance on CNN when the Taco was (briefly) representing Stormy and stated that “the story that Michael Cohen acted in his own capacity when he paid Daniels $130,000 was total BS.” (Attachment Sixteen)

WEDNESDAY

Midnight tolled and Wednesday rolled round – finding The Donald still at liberty in Mar-a-Lago. As the dawn broke, President Joe was dispatching regulators to Brokebank Mountain to deal with the SVB and Signature crises, nasty storms were pummeling the homeland, the French and Israeli democracies were crumbling and Number Two Elephane Ron DeSantis (R-Fl) was stumbling to walk back his support for Putin’s War.

The MAGAmob, smaller than hoped for by their champion but boisterous and, the government assumed, heavily armed, rose early... girding their loins, loincloths and headdresses for the afternoon’s resumption of hearings and, perhaps, Revolution.

They would not be the only ones disappointed.

March 20^th– 26^th, 2023

Monday, March 20, 2023

Dow: 32,244.58

Spring sprung with a coast to coast freeze featuring 80 mph winds, floods, blizzards, landslides, mountain snow and an “atmospheric river” in Los Angeles, aka “the new Seattle.” The U.N. cites a “closing window”on climate change requires “warp speed” action. And the “roller-coster” temperatures in the East bring out the “critters” say exterminators, as rats, roaches, ants and flies celebrate and proliferate while dead dolphins are washing up on Jersey beache.

And spring brings spring breakers... and their guns, too. So much firing in Miami that a curfew is imposed, liquor sales restricted and arrests soar. “Bummer,” say the kids as a gang of Ohio breakers beat up the drummer for Def Leppard, cancelling concerts.

March Madness bracket breakers mount an ever-climbing series of upsets, leaving behind busted dreams. Buster Murdaugh of... yes... that family investigated for murdering a classmate. Like father, like son?

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Dow: 32,560.69

It’s National Strawberry Day.

Death drops in on Denver as a dirty dentist is accused of poisoning his wife. Dumb fellow left behind Google searches and mail order orders for cyanide. Then, a school shooter repeatedly kicked out of schools for armed mischief finally shoots two Denver deans, drives off, then kills himself. A ways north in Idaho, legislators legislate a new-old remedy for killers... executions by firing squad.

Schools in L.A. close too – but not because of violent students or weather; the janitors go on strike for higher wages... soon joined by teachers and other staff. “We can’t make enough to pay the rents here,” a striker says. At least there’s some (sort of) good news... average U.S. housing prices fall for the first time in ten years, all of 0.2 percent. And much higher in places like California, where the strikers are making $25,000/yr. Interest rates are expected to rise, despite the battle between busted banks and inflation.

At least the school strikers probably have jobs to go back to. Amazon will fire 9,000 workers, allowing them to use urinals and toilets again. Foot Locker will close 400 stores. And Starbucks workers, once again, are protesting their lack of Earthbucks.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Dow: 32,030.11

The West Coast atmospheric river gives way to “bomb cyclones” that strike here and there between L.A. and S.F. “Hurricane force” winds and rain down trees, killing drivers, and derailing (another) train. The storms will move east, bringing tornadoes to anywhere between Texas and Mississippi.

Some good news on the fiscal front as SecTreas JanYell declares that the banks are “stabilizing” and depositors are staying home instead of lining up to withdraw their savings.

All-but-declared 2024 candidate Gov. Ron deSantis (R-Fl) passes more anti-gay laws, but realizes he may have talked himself out of the Presidency and pivots, calling Bad Vlad a war criminal as Putin and Chinese President Xi drink toasts and proclaim friendship. But there’s still no word on whether the ChiComs will provide Russia with more weapons. In return, Japan sends a delegation to Ukraine as its baseball team defeats America 3-2 in the global world series.

In legal news, SCOTUS... in a rare, unanimous vote... rules that deaf students have the legal right to aid in education. And out in Utah, Gwyneth Paltrow and a retired optometrist sue each other over a ski accident. Goop!

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Dow: 32,106.29

It’s National Puppy Day. Awww...

Dog days of summer come early to the East, where all the flowers that started blooming during the heat wave at the beginning of March, then died as winter returned, are blooming again. The rain is finally moving out of California and into the deserts of Arizona, where five inches drench Phoenix.

Rapes, robberies and murders continue escalating... Denver closes its school in the wake of the latest mass shooting as police sort out another one in Texas. Parents of Michigan school shooter Crumbley arrested for giving him the gun with which to do his deeds. Home invaders disguised as delivery drivers terrify California, Virginia prison escapees caught after celebrating their freedom with breakfasts at IHOP.

Another near-disaster in the air as pilot of Southwest flight from Vegas to Ohio suffers medical emergency but the passengers are saved because another pilot from a competing airline is on board and takes control of the plane. Rising incidents of “turbulence” sput a policy to prohibit babies from flying on their mother’s laps (and it results in more ticket sales, too!),

Friday, March 24, 2023

Dow: 32,237.53

It’s National Cocktail Day. Pour a stiff one for the Stormy grand jury, sent home for a long three day weekend or longer. Trump calls Manhattan D.A. Bragg an “animal” and turns to other pending indictments in the capitol riots, Georgia election and rape of author E. Jean Carroll at the Bergdorf-Goodman in NY.

President Joe and Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, are busy cutting a deal to prevent illegal alients from going to and fro between U.S. and Canada.

Iranian-backed Syrian terrorists exchange drone strikes with America... one contractor is killed versus somewhere around sixteen bad guys. Congress grills TikTok CEO Shou Chen, who denies that Chinese spies are collecting data to be used on American teens... some day.

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Dow: (Closed)

The Madness escalates at March Madness as the last two top seeds are eliminated – as are all of the popular Cinderella teams. Left behind are a bunch of middlin’-good ballers.

Rolling thunder and tornadoes strike Rolling Forks, MS, death toll rising from 19 to 23. The wicked weather finally moves out of California, producing drenching rains in the deserts outside Phoenix. At least it’s the end of the drought.

Chocolate factory explodes in Pennsylvania, two are dead and nine missing. Police are investigating reports of disgruntled Oompa Loompas and hunting for Charlie, an apparent fugitive. Also on the hunt are coyotes, proling for children in Hollywood.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Dow: (Closed)

The Insurrection, Extortection and Priapic principles scatter and gather across the Sunday talkshow desert as Aygee Bragg boldly boasts that the Grand Jurors will return to work, will come to a verdict (which need only a majority to convict, not unanimity) and, God willing, will stoke up the boiler and set the Midnight Special rumbling towards the prison gates.

Predictable liberal Donna Brazile predictably calls Trump “despicable” and predictably predicts he’ll continue to play the victim card, should the Stormy Grand Jury return on ABC’s This Week; a normally and nominally liberal, Dan Abrams, dissents (sort of) – questioning the validity of the “zombie prosecution” after so many years and so many prosecutors passed it by, adding that “jacking up” a misdemeanor sex charge to a felony “may be difficult” unless traditional legal protections like attorney-client confidentiality or executive privilege can be “pierced.” Over on CBS, current DT lawyer Tacopina tries to spin the defendant’s wielding a baseball bat on the NY Post cover as not advocating violence against Bragg while even Republican stalward Peggy Noonan asks whether this is strategy or evidence of a nervous breakdown. But the Waco rally goes on without notable acts of insurrectional violence... that’s going on in France and, now, in Israel after Bad Benny Netanyahu eviscerates the courts and dissenting ministers so as to rule by decree. Like Putin.

In non-Stormy stormy news, rescues, relief and recovery begin after the tornadoes stretch across five states. Tales are told of lost homes and children, miracle survival tactics like hiding in bathtubs and a restaurant freezer, a bouncy castle full of children bouncing along and President Joe and FEMA promising aid.

And, for Americans seeking inspiration, two Cubans escape their island hell on a hang glider, landing in Key West, ninety miles away.

Slowly stabilizing banks... bargains were to be found scavenging the roadkill of SVB and Signature... meant a slow return to the old normal for the Don. That was sagging numbers, disgruntled Americans and violent foreigners. Will France go Communist and Israel embrace the entreaties of Naziism? Even the Stormy grand jury seemed paralyzed – bummed out or maybe just tired of the weather, tired of the daily grind and tired of The Donald. But polls still call him the favorite to win the 2024 nomination and then be smooshed under the sensible shoes of President Joe. RINOs weep. Don Jones worries. But at least he won’t have to stand in long lines trying to save a few dollars of his IRA.

THE DON JONES INDEX

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

See a further explanation of categories here…

ECONOMIC INDICES (60%)

CATEGORY

VALUE

BASE

RESULTS

SCORE

OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS

INCOME

(24%)

6/17/13 & 1/1/22

LAST

CHANGE

NEXT

SOURCE

Wages (hrly. per cap)

1350 points

3/6/23

+1.24%

3/23

1,434.03

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages 28.61

Median Inc. (yearly)

600

3/17/23

+0.28%

4/10/23

602.71

602.88

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 35,761 771

Unempl. (BLS – in mi)

600

3/6/23

+5.56%

4/23

633.65

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000/ 3.6

Official (DC – in mi)

300

3/17/23

-0.20%

4/10/23

278.10

278.66

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 5,522 511

Unofficl. (DC – in mi)

300

3/17/23

-0.18%

4/10/23

267.87

268.36

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 11,930 908

Workforce Particip.

Number

Percent

300

3/17/23

+0.037% +0.028%

4/10/23

301.24

301.32

In 161,036 094 Out 100,297 308 Total: 261,333 402

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 61.61

WP % (ycharts)*

150

2/27/23

+0.16%

3/23

150.95

https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate 62.50

OUTGO

15%

Total Inflation

1050

3/17/23

+0.4%

4/23

996.88

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.4

Food

300

3/17/23

+0.4%

4/23

278.78

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.4

Gasoline

300

3/17/23

+1.0%

4/23

243.21

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +1.0

Medical Costs

300

3/17/23

-0.7%

4/23

294.90

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm -0.7

Shelter

300

3/17/23

+0.7%

4/23

281.06

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.8

WEALTH

Dow Jones Index

300

3/17/23

+1.18%

4/10/23

258.06

261.11

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/ 32,237.53

Home (Sales)

(Valuation)

150

3/6/23

-0.50% -2.15%

4/23

125.77

267.55

125.77

267.55

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics

Sales (M): 4.00 Valuations (K): 359.0

Debt (Personal)

300

3/17/23

+0.085%

4/10/23

278.93

278.69

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 72,972 73,034

NATIONAL

(10%)

Revenue (trilns.)

300

3/17/23

+0.008%

4/10/23

384.42

384.45

debtclock.org/ 4,610.6 0.918 611.3 611.68

Expenditures (tr.)

300

3/17/23

+0.033%

4/10/23

341.06

340.95

debtclock.org/ 6,019 021 023 025

National Debt tr.)

450

3/17/23

+0.048%

4/10/23

426.77

426.57

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 31,596 609 624 639

(The debt ceiling was 31.4)

Aggregate Debt (tr.)

450

3/17/23

+0.11%

4/10/23

422.25

421.79

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 94,466 556 660 764

GLOBAL

(5%)

Foreign Debt (tr.)

300

3/24/23

+0.11%

4/10/23

347.05

347.43

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 7,224 216

Exports (in billions)

150

3/17/23

+2.92%

4/23

163.94

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 257.5

Imports (bl.)

150

3/17/23

+2.52%

4/23

165.54

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 325.8

Trade Deficit (bl.)

150

3/17/23

+1.32%

4/23

300.76

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 68.3

SOCIAL INDICES (40%)

ACTS of MAN

12%

World Affairs

450

3/17/23

-0.2%

4/10/23

448.58

447.68

Macron survives no confidence vote but French retirement age strikes continue, causing King Charles to postpone his visit. More political violence greets Israeli PM Netanyah’s dictatorial power grab. Honduras switches allegiance from Taiwan to ChiComs. President Joe and Justin Trudeau cut deal to prevent illegal border crossings... from Canada!

Terrorism

300

3/17/23

-0.3%

4/10/23

289.81

288.44

Putin, facing arrest by world bureaucrats, meets Xi to plot the conquest or destruction of the world and parks “tactical” nukes in adjacent Belatus. US trades air strikes with Iranian-backed terrorists in Syria. NoKo tests underwater nuke aimed at producing a radioactive tsunami.

Politics

450

3/17/23

-0.1%

4/10/23

471.60

471.14

Mitchy Mac out of the hospital. Stormy’s story fails to provoke Trump indictment, Saint Ron pivots on Ukraine. Congress holds hearing on TikTok - CEO Shou Chen denies Chinese spying and is not believed.

Economics

450

3/17/23

+0.1%

4/10/23

430.48

430.91

Jan Yell says President Joe saved the economy. FDIC selling off busted banks = cheap! Foot Locker closing stores as is Disney; Amazon fires 9,000. L.A. settles school strikes.

Crime

150

3/17/23

-0.5%

4/10/23

268.12

266.78

Spring breakers celebrate with shootings in Miami. Texas achool shooter kills student, Denver teen shoots two Deans – then kills himself while a dentist there (his?) poisons his wife and a car in Maryland runs down and kills six construction workers. Florida bomber found dead near Legoland. Seven cops, three healthcare workers suffocate prisoner in @ while suburban DC cops gun down a sunglasse thief. And scammers are using sex offender registries to blackmail perverts (and Don Jones is OK with that).

ACTS of GOD

(6%)

Environment/Weather

450

3/17/23

-0.3%

4/10/23

423.42

421.93

“Atmospheric river” alternates with “bomb cyclone” on Pac Coast as roller-coaster temperatures are destroying the wine grapes and bringing out the “critters” say the exterminators. US cites “closing window” on climate change and advises “warp speed” solutions.

Disasters

450

3/17/23

-0.2%

4/10/23

439.60

438.72

Tornadoes strike Mississippi (26+ dead) and downtown L.A. (many actors frightened) while Pennsylvania faces the chocolate factory explosion and dumping of 8,000 gallons of paint into Philly’s drinking water. The better news is that a crash is averted when passenger steps in to take control of plane. And conjoined twins are separated in Dallas.

LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX

(15%)

Science, Tech, Educ.

600

3/17/23

+0.2%

4/10/23

625.99

624.74

Conress calls Tik Tok “the spy in American pockets.” Twitter will start charging users $8/month, businesses $1,000. Google Bard will compete with ChatBot in the new AI generated cheating on term papers industry. Scientists create mice that are born to two male parents (and Ron deSantis cries out: “Release the cats!”)

Equality (econ/social)

600

3/17/23

-0.3%

4/10/23

611.18

609.35

Neo-Nazis vandalized homes in Nashville because the only country they recognize is Germany. IOC bans transgender Olympians as Uganda sees and raises, exceuting gays, Banned books rise from 700 in 2021 to 1,200 in 2022: most deal with gays or blacks.

Health

600

3/17/23

-0.3%

4/10/23

473.94

472.52

“Ted Lasso” visits White House to talk about mental health. The fear keeps spreading: killer eye drops, flesh eating bacteria proliferate and flesh-eating humans get urinary tract infections from tainted meat. Hyundai and Kia recall 600,000 vehicles that catch fire in your garage.

Freedom and Justice

450

3/17/23

+0.1%

4/10/23

461.77

462.23

Cumberland U. settles lawsuit after insane coach forces wrestling team to run Punishment Drills and refuses to provide them with water until one collapses with brain damage. Idaho greenlights firing squads. SCOTUS rules (unanimously!) that deaf students have the right to education. Actor Jonathan (“Creed”) Majors arrested for sex assaults; parents of school shooter Crumbley arrested for bad parenting and a 16 year old gets life for stabbing a 13 year old 114 times. Hero of “Hotel Rwanda” released from Rwanda prison after terrorism charges dismissed.

MISCELLANEOUS and TRANSIENT INDEX

(7%)

Cultural incidents

450

3/17/23

-0.2%

4/10/23

486.04

485.07

Brackets busted, broken and buried as top seeds and Cinderellas fail to make Final Four. Japan beats US 3-2, wins global World Series, Celebrity traumas include Bruce Willis (dementia), Aaron Sorkin (heart troubles) and Dick van Dyke (car crash while driving at 97 – years, not mph.

RIP: Knicks’ legend Willis Reed, Parliaments’ Fuzzy Naskins, Nicholas (son of Andrew Lloyd Webber and compoer in his own right), “Wire” actor Lance Reddick and the Camaro.

Misc. incidents

450

3/17/23

+0.2%

4/10/23

474.98

475.93

Virginia prisoners escape, but are caught when they stop to eat at IHOP. Happy birthday to “General Hospital” (60), “Young and the Restless” (50), Mister Pickles the turtle, a first time dad at 90, Zebra escapes from zoo and roams the streets of Seoul..

The Don Jones Index for the week of March 20^th through March 26^th, 2023 was DOWN 5.82 points

The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator. The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.

Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.

ATTACHMENT ONE – From

ATTACHMENT ONE – From CBS News (see site for graphs, charts and reproductions of a killer document)

Timeline: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels and the $130,000 payment to buy her silence

By STEFAN BECKET UPDATED ON: MARCH 20, 2023 / 7:01 PM / CBS NEWS

Washington — Manhattan prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump's alleged "hush money" payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 recently invited the former president to testify in the probe, a step that commonly comes before an indictment in New York.

The alleged scheme first came to light years ago, when Trump was still in office, but the investigation has gained new momentum in recent months, with the Manhattan district attorney's office convening a grand jury to examine the matter.

An indictment of a former president would be a first in American history and a politically explosive step with Trump seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2024. His attorney has said he has no plans to participate in the probe, and the former president has denounced the investigation as a witch hunt.

On Saturday, Trump said he expects to be arrested in New York on Tuesday, and called for his supporters to protest.

The following timeline of those efforts and the district attorney's evolving investigation is based on court records, public filings and comments made by the key players involved. Trump has denied many of the details below, and said he never had affairs with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, nor Karen McDougal, another woman who alleged a relationship and was paid for her silence.

2006

July: According to an interview Daniels would give to "60 Minutes" in 2018, Daniels meets Trump, the star of NBC's hit show "The Apprentice," at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. She says he invited her to dinner, and she met him at his hotel suite, where they had sex. He later invites her to a Trump Vodka launch party in California, as well as to his office in Trump Tower in New York.

Daniels is 27 at the time. Trump is 60, and his wife Melania had recently given birth to their son.

2007

July: A year after their first interaction, Trump asks Daniels to meet at his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles to discuss a possible appearance on the spin-off "Celebrity Apprentice." The two spend four hours together but don't have sex, Daniels says later, and she leaves after Trump says he is still working on securing her a spot on the show.

August: Trump calls Daniels and tells her he couldn't get her on "Celebrity Apprentice."

2011

May: Daniels gives an interview to the magazine In Touch describing her encounters with Trump in exchange for $15,000. Two employees later tell CBS News that the interview never ran because Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney, threatened to sue when the publication asked Trump for comment. Daniels says she was never paid.

A few weeks later, Daniels says she is threatened by a man who approaches her in Las Vegas and tells her to "leave Trump alone" and "forget the story."

2016

June: Karen McDougal, an actress and former Playboy model, begins trying to sell her story of an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006 and 2007. She retains attorney Keith Davidson, who approaches the National Enquirer about a possible deal.

July 19: Trump secures the Republican Party's nomination for president.

Aug. 5: The National Enquirer secures the rights to McDougal's account for $150,000 but never publishes her story, a tactic known as "catch and kill." Federal prosecutors later say the agreement was meant "to suppress [her] story so as to prevent it from influencing the election."

August and September: Cohen reaches an agreement with David Pecker, the chairman and CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media, Inc. (AMI), to secure the non-disclosure portion of the company's deal with McDougal for $125,000. The deal between Cohen and AMI is never finalized, but Cohen retains a copy of the draft agreement.

Oct. 8: Daniels is now also represented by Davidson, who tells Dylan Howard, the editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, that she is willing to go on the record about her alleged affair. Howard and Pecker inform Cohen about the conversation and put Cohen in touch with Davidson.

Cohen negotiates a deal to pay Daniels $130,000 in exchange for the rights to her story and a non-disclosure agreement.

Oct. 17: Cohen files paperwork to incorporate a firm known as Essential Consultants LLC in Delaware.

Oct. 25: No deal with Daniels has been finalized, and Davidson tells Cohen, Howard and Pecker that his client is close to reaching an agreement with another outlet to tell her story. Cohen agrees to finalize the deal.

Oct. 26: Cohen opens a bank account for Essential Consultants and transfers $131,000 he obtained by taking out a home equity line of credit into the new account.

Oct. 27: Cohen wires $130,000 to Davidson, Daniels' attorney.

Nov. 1: Cohen receives signed copies of the agreement between "Peggy Peterson" and "David Dennison." It is dated Oct. 28.

In an accompanying letter, "Peterson" is identified as a pseudonym for Daniels. The identity of Dennison is redacted in later court filings, but Daniels' attorney later says it was the name used by Trump. The agreement bears the signatures of Daniels, Davidson and Cohen, but the signature for Dennison is blank.

A screengrab of a page from the agreement between Stormy Daniels and then-candidate Donald Trump. A screengrab of a page from the agreement between Stormy Daniels and then-candidate Donald Trump.COURT FILING

Nov. 4: The Wall Street Journal publishes a report detailing the $150,000 deal between McDougal and AMI. A Trump campaign spokeswoman calls McDougal's claims of an affair "totally untrue," and AMI says it "has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr. Trump."

The Journal story mentions that Daniels "was in discussions with ABC's 'Good Morning America' in recent months to publicly disclose what she said was a past relationship with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the talks."

Nov. 8: Election Day. Trump is elected president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.

2017

January: Cohen seeks reimbursement from the Trump Organization for $180,035 — $130,000 for the payment to Daniels, plus a wiring fee and an extra $50,000. Trump Organization executives double the reimbursement to $360,000 and add another $60,000, for a total of $420,000 to be paid in monthly installments for 12 months.

Cohen sends invoices for $35,000 per month and receives $420,000 from the company over the course of the year.

Jan. 20: Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

2018

Jan. 12: The Wall Street Journal publishes an article detailing the $130,000 payment to Daniels, the first public acknowledgment of the scheme. Cohen says Trump "vehemently denies" having an affair but does not address the payment.

Cohen also sends a statement he claims is from "Stormy Daniels," saying the stories of an affair are false.

Feb. 13: Cohen acknowledges making the payment to Daniels for the first time, but denies being reimbursed and says it was not connected to the Trump campaign, both assertions that he will later recant.

"Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly," Cohen said in a statement. "The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone."

March 6: Daniels, who is now represented by attorney Michael Avenatti, sues Trump and Essential Consultants LLC in California, an attempt to nullify the nondisclosure agreement, arguing that the deal is invalid since Trump never signed it.

The suit alleges she began an "intimate relationship" with Trump in 2006 that ended the following year. She says she accepted $130,000 from Cohen in exchange for her silence about the alleged relationship. The agreement and an accompanying letter are included in the filing.

Daniels also alleges Cohen used "intimidation and coercive tactics" to get her to sign on to the statement denying the affair.

March 9: Avenatti releases emails showing Cohen used his Trump Organization email address to arrange a wire transfer connected to the agreement.

April 5: In his first public comment on the matter, Trump says he was unaware of the $130,000 payment.

April 9: FBI agents execute a search warrant at Cohen's home and office. The search is the first indication of a federal probe into Cohen's actions. Trump later calls the search "a disgrace."

April 30: Daniels sues Trump for defamation over a tweet in which he wrote that her claims that she was threatened in 2011 were a "total con job."

May 2: Rudy Giuliani, newly hired as Trump's personal attorney, makes the startling admission that the president reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment.

May 3: Trump tweets that Cohen "received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA."

He adds that "[m]oney from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll [sic] in this transaction."

July 20: With pressure on Cohen mounting, CNN publishes a recording of a phone call between Cohen and Trump in which they discussed the payment to McDougal before it was made.

Aug. 21: Cohen pleads guilty to eight federal charges of tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Daniels and McDougal. He tells a federal court in Manhattan that Trump directed him to make the payments.

Aug. 28: CBS News reports that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has opened an investigation and is considering pursuing criminal charges against the Trump Organization, one week after Cohen's guilty plea. Investigators are said to be looking into whether the Trump Organization falsified business records of reimbursements payments to Cohen.

Oct. 15: A federal judge dismisses Daniels' defamation lawsuit, saying the president's comments were "hyperbolic" but protected under the First Amendment.

Dec. 11: The judge who threw out Daniels' defamation case orders her to pay $293,052 to cover Trump's legal fees. Daniels would fight the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, which declines to hear the case three years later.

Dec. 12: Cohen is sentenced to three years in federal prison. After the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York agrees not to prosecute AMI, the company admits to burying McDougal's story to help Trump's campaign.

2019

May 6: Cohen reports to federal prison in upstate New York.

July 18: Documents from the now-concluded federal probe into the payments suggest Trump was aware of efforts to buy the silence of both women in the days leading up to the election.

The documents showed repeated communication between Cohen and Trump, as well as one phone call that included Daniels' lawyer and the AMI executives.

"Based on the timing of these calls, and the content of the text messages and emails, I believe that at least some of these communications concerned the need to prevent Clifford from going public," one FBI agent wrote.

August: The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. subpoenas the Trump Organization for records related to the payments. The New York Times reports that investigators are "examining whether any senior executives at the company filed false business records about the hush money, which would be a state crime."

Sept. 17: Vance's office issues a subpoena for Trump's tax returns dating back to 2011, an indication that its investigation is expanding beyond the "hush money" payments. Trump sues to block the subpoena two days later, with his attorneys arguing that "a sitting President of the United States is not 'subject to the criminal process' while he is in office."

Oct. 7: U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero turns down Trump's bid to keep his tax records out of the hands of Vance's investigators, determining the president is making a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity." Trump's attorneys immediately appeal the decision.

Nov. 4: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that Trump's claims of immunity "do not bar the enforcement of a state grand jury subpoena directing a third party to produce non-privileged material, even when the subject matter under investigation pertains to the president." Trump appeals to the Supreme Court.

2020

May 12: The Supreme Court hears arguments in two cases involving Trump's tax records. Conservative and liberal justices alike question the president's claim of "absolute immunity" from state investigations, seemingly skeptical of a blanket ruling shielding the president in non-federal cases. "You're asking for broader immunity than anyone else gets," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said.

July 9: The Supreme Court sides with Vance in a 7-2 ruling, finding that Trump is not immune from the district attorney's subpoena.

"Two hundred years ago, a great jurist of our Court established that no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. "We reaffirm that principle today and hold that the President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need."

2021

Feb. 3: Vance's office brings in Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor with deep experience in complex financial and organized crime cases, as a special assistant district attorney. Pomerantz is working solely on the Trump case.

Feb. 25: Vance's office obtains Trump's tax returns, three days after the Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt by Trump to keep them under wraps.

March 12: Vance announces he will not seek reelection that November, kicking off a high-stakes race for his replacement.

July 1: A Manhattan grand jury returns a 15-count indictment against two Trump Organization companies and Allen Weisselberg, its chief financial officer. Both plead not guilty. Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office detail the alleged crimes in court and a 25-page indictment filed in state court.

The indictment alleges the company and Weisselberg orchestrated a scheme to funnel more than $1.7 million in untaxed "indirect employee compensation" to the longtime executive beginning in 2005. Prosecutors said the Trump Organization failed to report the payments to tax authorities properly.

Nov. 2: Alvin Bragg is elected as the next Manhattan district attorney.

Nov. 22: Cohen is released from federal custody after serving most of the last 18 months of his sentence under house arrest.

2022

March 23: The New York Times reveals that Pomerantz, who stepped down the month before, wrote in his resignation letter to Bragg that he believes Trump is "guilty of numerous felony violations."

Pomerantz expressed frustration with the new district attorney's handling of the case, writing: "I believe that your decision not to prosecute Donald Trump now, and on the existing record, is misguided and completely contrary to the public interest. I therefore cannot continue in my current position."

Pomerantz wrote that "the team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did."

"I and others have advised you that we have evidence sufficient to establish Mr. Trump's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and we believe that the prosecution would prevail if charges were brought and the matter were tried to an impartial jury," he said.

April 7: Bragg reiterates that the criminal investigation into Trump and his company remains active. He says investigators and prosecutors are "exploring evidence not previously explored."

Aug. 17: Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO, pleads guilty. He admits to receiving more than $1.7 million in untaxed compensation and agrees to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal case against two Trump Organization entities.

Nov. 17: At the Trump Organization's trial, Weisselberg testifies that Trump and two of his children allegedly participated in a scheme to defraud tax authorities.

Dec. 6: A New York jury finds the two Trump Organization companies guilty on all 17 charges of tax fraud and other crimes.

Defense attorneys said Trump, who was not charged in the case, was unaware of the schemes playing out beneath him, while prosecutors said he signed off on them. Trump's children also deny wrongdoing.

2023

Jan. 17: Cohen meets with investigators from the district attorney's office, a new sign that the years-old investigation into Trump may be picking up steam.

"They're calling me in for the 14th time, so we'll see what happens," Cohen says outside a government office building in downtown Manhattan, adding that he hasn't met with investigators since Bragg took office. "This is my first time meeting with Alvin Bragg." hen arriving at a New

Jan. 30: The New York Times reports that Bragg has recently convened a grand jury to examine the evidence in the "hush money" probe. The report says Pecker, the AMI CEO, was spotted entering the building where the grand jury is meeting.

March 8: Kellyanne Conway, who was Trump's senior counselor in the White House, meets for at least the second time with Manhattan prosecutors investigating the Daniels payment.

Cohen wrote in his 2020 memoir, "Disloyal," that on Oct. 27, 2016, he unsuccessfully attempted to call Trump to confirm that he had made the payment to Daniels. Conway, he said, called back and "said she'd pass along the good news."

March 9: The district attorney's office invites Trump to testify before the grand jury investigating the payment to Daniels, a move that suggests Trump could face an indictment in the case, according to a source familiar with the matter.

A Trump spokesperson says in a statement that the "Manhattan District Attorney's threat to indict President Trump is simply insane. For the past five years, the DA's office has been on a Witch Hunt, investigating every aspect of President Trump's life, and they've come up empty at every turn — and now this."

The spokesperson characterized the possibility of Trump's indictment as "a new political attack" and "a clear exoneration of President Trump in all areas."

March 13: Trump's lawyer says he will not be testifying before the grand jury.

"He won't be participating in that proceeding — a proceeding that we and most election law experts believe is with absolutely no legal merit," said Joseph Tacopina, who represents Trump.

Cohen also testifies before the grand jury for the first time.

March 15: Cohen testifies again for three hours.

"We'll see what happens, what questions they ask, and then at the end the grand jurors have the opportunity to ask me questions and I'm looking forward to that," Cohen said.

Clark Brewster, an attorney for Daniels, also says his client met with investigators from the district attorney's office.

"Stormy responded to questions and has agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed," Brewster tweeted.

March 18: Trump takes to social media to warn of his possible arrest and call for protests.

The former president posted on his Truth Social network that "illegal leaks" from the Manhattan district attorney's office indicate that "THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK."

Trump attorney Susan Necheles explained to CBS News that the post was speculation.

"As President Trump states, his post is based on the media reports. Since this is a political prosecution, the District Attorney's office has engaged in a practice of leaking everything to the press, rather than communicating with President Trump's attorneys as would be done in a normal case," Necheles said.

In his posts, Trump repeated allegations that the 2020 presidential election he lost was stolen and urged his followers to "PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!"

Following Trump's call for protests, Bragg sends an email to his staff assuring them that "your safety is our top priority," and says he is committed to "maintaining a safe work environment where everyone is able to continue to serve the public with the same diligence and professionalism that make this institution so renowned."

"We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York," Bragg writes. "Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment."

Bragg also tells his staff in the district attorney's office that as with all of its investigations, his team "will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate."

March 19: Two sources confirm to CBS News that attorney Robert Costello, who was a legal adviser to Cohen, may appear before the grand jury Monday to discredit Cohen.

Trump's attorneys asked Costello to appear, sources tell CBS News, though it's unclear whether he will be called.

Cohen, too, has been asked to be in close proximity to the grand jury, which meets in Lower Manhattan, in case he is needed to "rebut" the witness.

ATTACHMENT TWO – From Time

IF DONALD TRUMP IS INDICTED, HERE'S WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT IN THE PROCESS

BY ANISHA KOHLI MARCH 18, 2023 3:32 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump says his indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney for alleged hush money payments is imminent, claiming on Saturday that it could come as early as Tuesday.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not commented on Trump’s claims, and a spokesperson for Trump later clarified that Trump had received no notification an indictment was imminent.

However, Trump’s comments highlight the possibility that he could face arrest for the first time. Trump was invited to testify before a grand jury in early March. The offer to testify, which Trump declined, is required before any indictment.

The investigation centers around cash paid to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 before Trump’s election win. Daniels says she had an affair with Trump; Trump denies this.

As part of Bragg’s investigation, Trump could face charges for falsifying business records when he allegedly reimbursed his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen for paying off Daniels. The hush-money deal, allegedly crafted weeks before his presidential win, could also put Trump in jeopardy of violating campaign finance laws.

TIME spoke with legal experts about each step of the process, and how Trump’s indictment might proceed differently from run-of-the-mill white-collar crime cases.

The arrest

Wu adds that Trump’s lawyers may even seek some special arrangements, given he’s a former president, to avoid walking through the front entrance of the courthouse or police station in an attempt to be more discreet. On Friday, Trump’s attorney said that if indicted, Trump would not resist arrest and that they would follow normal procedures. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina told the New York Daily News.

If indicted, Trump would have to go through the same process, where he would be booked into jail, finger-printed, and a “mug shot” taken. However, given Trump’s substantial ties to the community, especially his ongoing 2024 presidential campaign, the judge likely wouldn’t deem him a flight risk and would probably immediately release him on bond, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti tells TIME.

Security measures

Law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level have been working to prepare the Manhattan Criminal Court for the possibility that Trump is indicted, NBC News reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. The New York Police Department, New York State Court Officers, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Secret Service, and the FBI are all involved, according to NBC.

Wu doesn’t anticipate many unusual logistics in the procedures if Trump is indicted, but believes that security would be heightened—similar to measures for other high-profile political figures or celebrities. “Sometimes we see a huge flood of cameras and reporters at the front of the courthouse,” he says. “With a former president, the Secret Service would probably have some screening mechanism for that, because otherwise, you don’t know who’s in the crowd.”

“Court security may also set up a sort of a barrier zone, meaning there’s going to be ‘X’ amount of feet, where people can walk through and there won’t be any reporters sticking microphones in their faces,” Wu adds that there would probably be limits to how many people are allowed in the courtroom.

Complications

If Trump is indicted and charged, the case would eventually move on to jury selection, which could be a lengthy and exhausting process.

“The majority of people in the jury pool would have some opinions about Donald Trump,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti tells TIME. “Most defendants, even if they’re famous, are often not known by prospective jurors or they don’t have a certain opinion about that person. I think it’s safe to say that Donald Trump is different.”

During jury selection the prosecution and the defense use voir dire questioning, meaning they can ask each prospective juror questions about their qualifications and knowledge of the case, in an attempt to ensure fair and impartial jurors.

Wu thinks a judge could opt to issue a so-called “gag order,” restricting all parties from talking to the press. “This is gonna get so much publicity anyway if he’s charged,” Wu says. “It’d be very hard to find jurors who haven’t been exposed to the news.” Although rarely used, one method to combat this is for a judge to sequester jurors, limiting their exposure to outside influence or information.

“If this case is still ongoing, during his run for president, you could face a very unprecedented and challenging situation,” Mariotti says. “[Trump] would be subject to a criminal enforcement action by a state, which would pose a lot of serious constitutional quandaries.”

MONDAY LAST

ATTACHMENT THREE - From WashPost 3/20 x37

Whether it comes Tuesday or any other day, an indictment of former president Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney would be historic. Never before has a current or former president of the United States been indicted. Such an event would recast not just Trump’s personal biography, but also the 2024 campaign and even the state of the republic.

While the moment of accountability has been speculated about and even anticipated, it would truly be crossing the Rubicon.

The question is, crossing into what.

Even some Trump critics have wondered about the wisdom of bringing this particular prosecution, which would apparently involve Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign to cover up an alleged extramarital affair that Trump denies; conversely, even some Trump supporters have acknowledged that his cavalier approach helped lead to his legal jeopardy.

We don’t know for sure that an indictment is coming. But with a decision around the corner, it’s worth running through the arguments for and against — both legal and practical.

The practical

The arguments against

Perhaps the most common pushback even from some Trump critics is that the first prosecution of a former president would involve a relatively small-bore charge.

Trump faces a number of potential prosecutions, including for his retention of sensitive government documents at Mar-a-Lago and for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results based on false claims of voter fraud. The idea that the first charge would amount to a campaign finance violation is almost anticlimactic.

Another argument, which unites Trump partisans and some critics, is the precedent that this would set. It’s true that nobody is supposed to be above the law, but there are real-world implications in prosecuting a former president: The law of unintended consequences applies.

It’s valid to fear that this case would open the door to more investigations involving presidents and other political leaders — though that’s been on the rise already, and the rhetoric of “lock them up” has quickly become ingrained in our politics. It’s also difficult to avoid the fact that this prosecution would be brought by an elected Democrat, Alvin Bragg, just like potential election-interference charges in Fulton County, Ga., and just like the fraud lawsuit in New York state. There’s no getting around the fact that some prosecutors who have to make such decisions are elected officials, but that will always give some people pause. And some of these prosecutors have not done themselves favors when it comes to appearing to be above politics.

There’s also the prospect of a failed prosecution — the come-at-the-king issue. Imagine a Democrat bringing a case against a Republican former president for what might be considered the least of his crimes, and there’s no conviction. Trump’s claims to political targeting would suddenly be injected with new venom and potentially seem more plausible even to the Republicans who have strayed from him.

The arguments for

While such a prosecution would indeed be unprecedented in American history, just because something hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it’s not just. We’re a young country with relatively few presidents — 45 — and the conduct of the others, as far as we know, hasn’t involved things like paying hush money to a porn star during a campaign.

Former presidents have faced legal problems, and one, Richard M. Nixon, even had an indictment drafted against him but was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. It’s also true that most former presidents fade from the political scene, with only a handful, like Trump, running for office again. And while Trump allies have claimed that the pursuit of accountability is “third world” stuff, plenty of modern, developed democracies have prosecuted heads of state.

What’s more, the facts in the hush-money case are relatively simple, established and easy for people to understand. We also know that, among Trump’s many controversies, it ranked up there in terms of what people thought was problematic.

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans and a majority of Republicans said they thought Trump at least acted unethically when this was all over the news in 2018. In a poll last week, a whopping 73 percent of Republicans surveyed agreed that it was a crime to pay hush money to someone “to remain silent about an issue that may affect the outcome of an election.”

Most of all, it’s a cornerstone of our justice system that nobody is above the law — something Attorney General Merrick Garland often says. To the extent that the evidence against Trump is compelling, it shouldn’t matter that half the country could be outraged or even that some people might rise up. There are also precedents involved in letting someone with such power escape accountability. And bowing to those potential consequences could serve to reward Trump’s efforts to rile up his supporters and lodge his “deep state” conspiracy theories.

Trump skirted any real sanction during his time in office because of existing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. But among other potential evidence of wrongdoing, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III found compelling evidence that Trump might have obstructed justice in several instances.

And you could certainly argue that lack of consequences had an impact, as evidenced by Trump keeping those sensitive government documents after leaving office and repeatedly failing to return them. Were he to get a pass on buying the silence of someone who posed a political liability — in a case in which the underlying crime has been proved in a court of law and Trump has been directly implicated — that would send a message as well.

The legal

The arguments against

Put plainly, this prosecution is no slam dunk. And it would apparently rest on a somewhat untested legal theory.

While we don’t know what the charges might be, it appears they would involve the alleged falsification of business records, which stems from Trump’s listing his reimbursements of Cohen as “legal expenses.” But that would be a misdemeanor, and it seems unlikely only misdemeanor charges would be brought. For this to be a felony, New York law requires the falsification to be related to some other crime or intended crime.

What precisely would that “predicate crime” be? We don’t yet know. But Just Security ran through a few options.

They include Cohen’s established federal campaign finance violation in which the Justice Department implicated Trump. Basically, this was failing to report spending $130,000 on something that aided Trump’s campaign. But it’s not clear that New York law allows for the related crime to be a federal one or whether it has to violate a state law. And Trump’s legal team has argued that, despite Cohen’s guilty plea, this doesn’t qualify as a campaign expenditure because Trump as a public figure would have paid Daniels the hush money regardless.

There are also a couple of state laws involving campaign finance and conspiring “to promote or prevent the election” of someone “by unlawful means.” But unlike in Cohen’s case, those don’t involve proven crimes. And there are some questions even then about the interplay between state law and a federal campaign.

No prosecutor wants to bring a case unless they are reasonably confident they will win. This is hardly a surefire prosecution. It’s also worth emphasizing that the Justice Department, which seemed to take care to implicate Trump in Cohen’s criminal act, never brought charges, even once Trump was out of office.

The arguments for

About the best argument for bringing these charges before — or even in lieu of — others is that the case involves a relatively simple set of facts and a proven crime. Withholding classified documents and trying to overturn an election involve weightier issues, but they also involve more subjectivity.

In Fulton County, Ga., and in the federal Jan. 6 probe, the courts would be asked to decide where to draw the line between questioning election results and breaking the law to overturn them — and likely to decide whether Trump truly knew better.

And while Trump’s retention of classified documents is pretty evidently more problematic than either President Biden’s or former vice president Mike Pence’s — and there is precedent for prosecuting such cases — it involves proving Trump deliberately flouted the law. A case involving a former president is also more complicated and fraught than previous prosecutions for a host of reasons.

In the hush-money case, we know several things:

· that Cohen paid off Daniels

· that Trump reimbursed Cohen while knowing what it was for

· that Trump lied about this and his aides offered denials that soon fell apart

· that there is evidence this was done with the campaign in mind

· that Cohen pleaded guilty to the campaign finance violation and that the Justice Department directly implicated Trump in it

· that there is a paper trail and audio to back much of this up.

It bears emphasizing that the Justice Department did not designate Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator, which would have been even more significant. (Some erroneously concluded that Trump was a co-conspirator after the Justice Department referred to him as “Individual-1,” but such a move would have involved more directly tying the unnamed individual to illegal activity.) And connecting the dots to prove a crime even with Cohen’s guilty plea is no cinch. But at least the baseline conduct is detailed and a matter of public record. It’s also possible that Bragg knows things the rest of us don’t that could be brought to bear at trial.

Also, while some skeptics have compared this situation to the failed prosecution of John Edwards — for obvious reasons given it involves a presidential candidate, an alleged affair, payments to a woman, and even the National Enquirer — there are significant differences. The Edwards prosecutors had a difficult time proving the offense was campaign-related, including because payment continued after the campaign ended. The Trump case could also include more authoritative witnesses.

And finally, there’s the fact that, however small-bore a campaign finance violation might seem, there’s a credible argument to be made that it could have mattered greatly. The 2016 election was so close that any number of factors might have laid claim to being decisive. Imagine a world in which we knew about this allegation shortly after the news of the “Access Hollywood” tape broke.

There’s no way of knowing whether things would have turned out differently, but this allowed Trump to obscure an ugly allegation for more than a year, before the Wall Street Journal broke the story in early 2018.

More than five years later, it could lead to the first indictment of a former president — and a series of reverberations.

ATTACHMENT FOUR - From

From Reuters x36

New York City braces for Trump indictment after ex-president urges protests

By Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - Workers erected barricades around a Manhattan courthouse on Monday as New York City braced for a possible indictment of Donald Trump over an alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

It would be the first-ever criminal case against any U.S. president. On Saturday, Trump urged followers on social media to protest what he said was his looming arrest.

In his call for protests, Trump raised concerns for law enforcement that supporters might engage in violence similar to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Fearing a trap, however, several far-right grassroots groups have opted not to heed his call, security analysts said.

A grand jury, which heard further testimony on Monday, could bring charges as soon as this week. Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the White House again in 2024, had predicted he would be arrested on Tuesday.

On Monday the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen had handled the hush-money payments without Trump's involvement.

"Michael Cohen decided on his own - that's what he told us - on his own, to see if he could take care of this," Costello told reporters after testifying to the grand jury at Trump's lawyers' request.

Cohen, who testified twice before the grand jury, has said publicly Trump directed him to make the payments on Trump's behalf.

An indictment could hurt Trump's comeback attempt. Some 44% of Republicans say he should drop out of the presidential race if he is indicted, according to a seven-day Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.

The investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is one of several legal challenges facing Trump. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal campaign finance violations tied to his arranging payments to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, and another woman in exchange for their silence about affairs they claimed with Trump.

Trump has denied that any such affairs took place

The Manhattan District Attorney's office had asked that Cohen be available as a rebuttal witness, but he was told on Monday afternoon that his testimony was not needed, according to his lawyer Lanny Davis. Cohen told MSNBC he had not been asked to return on Wednesday.

NO SIGN OF UNREST

New York Mayor Eric Adams told reporters police were monitoring social media and keeping an eye out for "inappropriate actions" in the city. The New York Police Department said there were no known credible threats.

If charged, Trump would likely have to travel from his Florida home for fingerprinting and other processing. Law enforcement officials met on Monday to discuss the logistics, several media outlets reported.

Sources have said Bragg's office was presenting evidence to a grand jury about a $130,000 payment made to Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.

Trump's fellow Republicans have widely criticized the probe as politically motivated.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump's rival for the Republican presidential nomination, said on Monday Bragg was imposing a "political agenda" that compromised the rule of law, but he also took a veiled swipe at Trump.

"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," he told reporters.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launched an investigation of Bragg's office with a letter seeking communications, documents and testimony related to the probe.

Trump and other Republicans have also said the Manhattan District Attorney's office should focus more on tackling crime.

Asked to comment on the letter, a spokesperson for the DA's office, citing statistics that homicides and shootings were down this year, said:

"We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law."

Trump was impeached twice by the House during his presidency, once in 2019 over his conduct regarding Ukraine and again in 2021 over the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. He was acquitted by the Senate both times.

SEVERAL MORE LEGAL CHALLENGES REMAIN

Bragg won a conviction last December against Trump's business on tax fraud charges.

But legal analysts say the hush-money case may be more difficult. Bragg's office will have to prove that Trump intended to commit a crime, and his lawyers will likely employ a range of counterattacks to try to get the case dismissed, experts say.

Trump, meanwhile, has to contend with other legal challenges, raising the possibility he will have to shuttle between campaign stops and courtrooms before the November 2024 election.

Trump's lawyers on Monday asked a Georgia court to quash a special grand jury report detailing its investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 statewide election defeat.

The filing in Fulton County Superior Court also seeks to have the county district attorney, Fani Willis, recused from the case, arguing her media appearances and social media posts demonstrated bias against Trump.

Trump is also seeking to delay a civil fraud trial, scheduled for Oct. 2, brought by the New York attorney general that alleges a decade-long scheme to manipulate the value of his assets to win better terms from bankers and insurers.

Trump faces two civil trials involving former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who claims that Trump defamed her by denying he raped her. A federal judge on Monday denied a request from both sides to combine the two cases into one.

ATTACHMENT FIVE – From Time

WHY EVEN SOME OF TRUMP’S CRITICS THINK THE STORMY DANIELS CASE IS WEAK

By Phillip Elliott

Donald Trump may be days, or even hours, away from becoming the first former President to be criminally indicted. It’s what Trump critics have been waiting years for. But this was not the case they were envisioning as the one leading to that coveted Trump mugshot.

Democrats privately are worried that the case before a Manhattan grand jury—based on Trump’s alleged role in hush-money payments made to an adult film star to cover up an affair—might be the weakest of all of the investigations into Trump and his orbit. It’s also not connected to the aspects of the former President’s behavior that his detractors find most galling, such as his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Even Republican NeverTrumpers who are eager to crown a new leader of their party fear that a case seen as less-than-rock-solid could undermine future, potentially more damning ones.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is widely expected to be preparing an indictment of Trump on a felony for bookkeeping fraud, a charge based on his companies’ ledgers listing legal retainers which were actually hush money about an affair with Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors would have to prove that Trump ordered his lieutenants to make the false entries with the express purpose to defraud. To reach the felony threshold, those prosecutors would also have to prove that Trump made those false entries to sanction another crime—a potentially easy spot for Trump’s defense to discredit.

For most presidential candidates, even the whiff of legal or ethical trouble would amount to a starting pistol for their opponents. In 2008, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, critics of Hillary Clinton made sure every reporter’s inbox had links to the local reporting on the arrest of an unpaid adviser for drunken driving in Nashua. Four years later, Mitt Romney never could shake the notion that he was a heartless and ruthless corporate raider, no matter how hard he tried to combat the notion.

As TIME’s Brian Bennett reports, Trump’s legal team actually thinks an indictment could prove helpful for Trump’s return to power, or at least his chase of the GOP nomination for a third time. And here’s the harsh truth: they aren’t entirely irrational. Trump and his allies would not have much difficulty painting an indictment tied to his efforts to cover up a decade-old affair as a “political witch hunt.” Such a framing fits nicely with the perpetual grievance machine that Trump has created, so much so that it could even help his standing with the base (although the outlook gets cloudier when it comes to a general election between him and the likely Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden).

To whip up his supporters, Trump on Saturday asserted—without evidence—that he would be arrested this Tuesday: “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!" he posted on his social media platform in an echo of his promotion of the Jan. 6, 2021, rally that turned into a deadly riot.

Trump saw his enviably steady poll standing bump up after raids of his private home in Florida. If Trump’s first indictment comes out of New York—a venue seen as a reliably favorable to Democrats—and is received cautiously even by some liberals, what are the odds of anyone paying attention to ones based on his attempt to keep the presidency through cajoling Georgia election officials, or what the Department of Justice here in D.C. might do with a House committee’s recommendations for his role around the Jan. 6 mob? Plenty of risk lies in wait.

All of which lays out how, once again, the laws of political gravity seldom apply to Trump, a man who has consistently survived scandals that would have crippled other figures. Even after two impeachments, a national electoral loss, a failed attempt to undo that loss on Jan. 6, and a pile of stories about missing classified documents, Trump has the backing of two-thirds of Republicans and independent voters who lean that way, according to recent polls.

Those facts alone help explain why many of his would-be rivals quickly stepped up to defend the ex-President.

There will have to be a moment to directly challenge Trump if any of his roughly two dozen aspirational challengers have a chance to deny him the nomination. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was blunt when asked about the threat: “Look at the end, being indicted never helps anybody.”

While Republicans are weary of his style, they are telling pollsters they want someone who shares their worldview more than someone who can beat Biden. And given that 84% of them are saying Biden wasn’t legitimately elected in 2020 and 56% saying there is solid evidence of this, Trumpism clearly has taken hold. (Neither statement is true.) Seeing Trump in handcuffs would only boost that sense of being wronged. And it may compel Trump’s most viable challengers to treat him with empathy and solidarity if they ever hope to someday entice voters to plant non-Trump yard signs and buy non-MAGA swag down the line.

The only question their strategists have to mull at the moment is what—if anything—can break the Trump fever inside the current GOP? Maybe not even a mugshot can do it right now.

TUESDAY

ATTACHMENT SIX – From CNBC

PORN STAR STORMY DANIELS SAYS SHE’LL ‘DANCE DOWN THE STREET’ IF TRUMP GOES TO JAIL

By Dan Mangan PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 21 202311:40 AM EDTUPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Porn star Stormy Daniels said that she will “dance down the street” if former President Donald Trump goes to jail over a hush money payment to her from his personal lawyer.

Daniels made that vow on Twitter after a Trump fan tweeted an abusive message.

Trump has said he expects to be charged with a crime by a New York City grand jury related to the payment to Daniels by Michael Cohen before the 2016 presidential election.

Investigators from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg spoke to Daniels via Zoom last week.

Porn star Stormy Daniels said Tuesday that she will “dance down the street” if former President Donald Trump goes to jail over a 2016 hush money payment that his ex-personal lawyer made to her.

Daniels, who has a history of sharp Twitter posts about Trump, made that promise in response to a fan of the real-estate mogul who tweeted an abusive message at her. The exchange came on the same day that Trump has predicted he will be criminally charged in the case by a New York City grand jury.

Daniels shot back: “Sooo ... tiny paid me to frame himself?”

“You sound even dumber than he does during his illiterate ramblings,” Daniels added.

“And I won’t walk, I’ll dance down the street when he is ‘selected’ to go to jail,” she wrote.

Daniels has already seen Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen go to federal prison for crimes that included a campaign finance violation related to his $130,000 payment to her shortly before Election Day 2016.

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

· @Trump is ‘sad’ not ‘scared,’ his lawyer says of looming indictment threat

· Junk fees cost consumers tens of billions annually, according to the White House

· Porn star Stormy Daniels says she’ll ‘dance down the street’ if Trump goes to jail

· @Trump grand jury live updates: Waiting game on looming indictment in porn star Stormy Daniels payoff

· Op-ed: ESG investing and 2018 change in bank laws didn’t cause Silicon Valley Bank to collapse, says former Sen. Heitkamp

· Biden signs legislation to declassify certain intelligence on Covid pandemic origins

· Republicans request Fed and FDIC oversight records for failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank

· Biden issues his first veto, nixing measure blocking new investment rule

· @Trump rape defamation trial postponed, judge rejects E. Jean Carroll cases consolidation

· JPMorgan Chase can be sued by Virgin Islands over Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking claims

· @Trump seeks to block Georgia election interference criminal charges

· Florida Gov. DeSantis attacks Manhattan DA over possible Trump charges

· @Trump grand jury live updates: Expected indictment in payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels

· Abortion pill fight: Read the transcript of Texas court hearing on fate of mifepristone

· Fed loans, account guarantees helped stabilize ‘deposit flows’ at regional banks, Treasury official says

Cohen has said he gave that money to Daniels to buy the actress’s silence about her account that she had sex with Trump one day in 2006, months after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son Barron.

That payment, and a second one made to another alleged Trump paramour by the publisher of The National Enquirer, were made to prevent the claims from harming Trump’s chances of defeating Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Cohen has admitted.

Cohen met 20 times with investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office over the years, including several sessions when he was locked up in prison. Last week, he testified over two days before the grand jury.

Former Enquirer Publisher David Pecker was spotted going into the building where the grand jury was meeting weeks ago.

Daniels spoke to prosecutors via Zoom last week.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels or with his alleged former mistress, Playboy model Karen McDougal. She received $150,000 from Pecker’s former company.

But the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for paying Daniels and logged the payment in business records as legal expenses.

Misclassification of business expenses is a misdemeanor under New York law. But it can be charged as a felony if the misstatement was done to cover up another crime.

In this case, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is believed to be on the verge of prosecuting Trump for a felony, with the claim that the underlying crime was covering up a campaign finance violation.

ATTACHMENT SEVEN – From CNN

HOUSE GOP USES ITS NEW POWER IN EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT TO SHIELD TRUMP FROM INDICTMENT

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN Updated 10:47 AM EDT, Tue March 21, 2023

Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the House are doing what the former president taught them to do – use government power to try to keep his legal threats at bay.

After Trump warned he could be arrested, his allies have been using their new House majority to demand Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s testimony and seek to thwart his investigation relating to an alleged hush money payment to an adult film star before the 2016 election. It looks like an extraordinary attempt to influence an open grand jury investigation.

In fact, the House GOP appears to be using the exact same tactic they accuse the Biden administration, Bragg and any other investigators on Trump’s trail of employing – weaponizing the powers of government to advance a partisan political end.

Yet there are also sufficient doubts about a possible prosecution assembled by Bragg – and the unusual nature of potential charges relating to business and electoral law violations – to fuel questions from nonpartisan legal experts about the case perhaps not living up to its billing. This is an especially fateful issue given the gravity of any potential case against a former president.

Trump’s calls for protests, meanwhile, have authorities on edge in New York, where security cameras and barricades have been erected, and in Washington amid painful flashbacks to his incitement of violence to further his personal and political ends on January 6, 2021.

Then there is the growing circus atmosphere around this drama, which was fueled by Trump’s weekend prediction that he’d be arrested on Tuesday. A source close to Trump’s legal team told CNN on Monday that they do not have any guidance on the timing of a potential indictment beyond that they been told by the DA that nothing is expected Tuesday. While an indictment could happen as soon as this week, it is more likely that any potential court appearance by the former president would not occur before next week, a senior law enforcement official familiar with the ongoing discussions about security told CNN. Such a scenario would only allow tensions to reach a boiling point at a moment when the impression has returned that politics revolves around Trump in a wild vortex.

On Monday, for instance, there was intense scrutiny around a courthouse in New York where one witness delivered testimony that might have been potentially helpful to Trump. And an ugly spat broke out between Trump and his potential top rival in the GOP nominating race, Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor took a jab at his one-time mentor by suggesting he didn’t know anything about “paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” while also condemning what he said were political prosecutions. Trump responded with a vicious counter-attack full of unsubstantiated innuendo about his rival’s private life, which previewed a potentially nasty GOP primary campaign and hinted at the ex-president’s fury over what he sees as disloyalty from DeSantis.

Hanging over everything is the mind-bending possibility that, for the first time ever, a former president could be indicted. And because he’s running for the White House again, any indictment almost certainly means yet another US election will be tarnished by his claims of plots against him and his followers.

House Republicans advance Trump’s playbook

The strategy of House Republicans is familiar. Trump has long launched fierce and preemptive attacks on institutions, in government or the law, that seek to hold him to account as he’s tried to blur clarity about his conduct or culpability and ignite a political storm that taints their conclusions in advance.

But with their campaign against Bragg, House Republicans are taking Trump’s method a step further.

“It’s a political play,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose job may depend on Trump’s continued political patronage, said on Monday, insisting that it was perfectly acceptable for the ex-president’s allies to publicly lambast a prosecutor as he conducts his work. Or as the California Republican put it, House committees have the right to ask questions.

One of the key principles that could be at play in any indictment is the idea that everyone, even a former president, is equal under the law. But any prosecution would also have to rebut arguments that Trump was being targeted simply because of who he is and was therefore not getting fair treatment. McCarthy tried to move the debate over the case onto this ground in an exchange with CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday.

“I do get concerned when I look out there, and I see justice not being equal to others, especially in the history of where we are,” he said. “And the tough part is with a local DA playing in presidential politics, if that starts right there, don’t you think it’ll happen across the country?”

Bottom of Form

But the use of government power to advance political ends appears to mirror exactly the behavior Republicans, in their new subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, are accusing the FBI, the Justice Department and other government agencies of.

Jordan and two other House chairmen demanded testimony from Bragg and accused him of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

But Bragg’s spokesperson insisted: “We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law.” The spokeperson’s statement also rebutted Republican claims that Bragg has ignored violent crime in New York in his zeal to find a pretext to prosecute Trump in order to fulfill a political vendetta.

Republicans, along with every other American, do not know exactly what the evidence against Trump might be other than hints contained in media accounts and a previous case involving his ex-lawyer – Michael Cohen, a pivotal witness in the current matter – who was previously sent to jail for for tax fraud, making false statements to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.

In an ideal world, someone who is indicted, as Trump could be in the coming days, has the opportunity to disprove a case they say is unfair and not supported by the evidence. But Trump and his allies are not waiting for that moment, and in the process, are offering a preview of the months of deepening political turmoil that a prosecution could entail – not just in Manhattan but in multiple other investigations against him. Those probes into his role in the run up to the Capitol insurrection, his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election in Georgia and his handling of classified documents could have far greater constitutional implications than the Bragg case.

CNN reported on Monday, for instance, that Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Trump’s election stealing effort in the Peach State, citing a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Their work, the source said, underscores the belief that the push to help Trump was not just a grassroots effort that originated inside the state.

Concerns about a potential case

The Republican assault on efforts to hold Trump accountable is a throwback to the constantly shattered norms and conventions that were a daily drumbeat when the twice-impeached Trump was in office.

Yet a feeling of uncertainty is also being exacerbated by a potential case against him that some legal experts warn is far from a sure-fire winner in court. The consequences of a failed prosecution against a former president would be profound and may deepen the country’s political polarization. Such a miss would also certainly be used by Trump and his allies to further the conceit that every attempt to hold him responsible for his outlandish behavior is nakedly partisan and unjustified.

Some legal experts have raised concerns about why a previous prosecutor did not choose to pursue the case against Trump over an alleged $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and have pointed to the fact that the matter stems from an election that is now more than six years past.

“My big question in the New York case is what has changed?” CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero told Wolf Blitzer on the “Situation Room” on Monday. “The facts of this case, going on almost seven years now, are really stale. And so the big question that I have with respect to New York is what has changed more recently in the past year or so that has gotten it to this point?”

The possible theory of a case against Trump is also causing some concerns to onlookers outside the bubble of the grand jury and DA’s office. The ex-president could be charged with a misdemeanor over allegedly improper classification in business records of a payment to Daniels, although hush money payments themselves aren’t illegal. The charges could rise to a felony if it could be proven that Trump tried to cover up the payment in order to commit another crime, which in this case could be a violation of campaign finance laws. Trump has previously denied knowledge of the payment.

This is a complicated legal narrative that might convince a jury but could also be a tricky sell in the wider fight for public opinion in such a highly political case.

Another potential question about the credibility of a possible prosecution is the extent to which it would rely on Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who was a central player in the Daniels matter but has a long record of falsehoods.

In a new wrinkle in the grand jury’s apparent endgame on Monday, Robert Costello, an attorney who has previously represented Trump allies like Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, testified before for nearly three hours after appearing at the request of Trump’s legal team.

Costello was expected to offer evidence that contradicts testimony provided by Cohen, who admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels to stop her from going public about an alleged affair with the former president. Trump has denied the affair.

“I’ve listened to Michael Cohen stand in front of the courthouse and say things that are directly contrary to what he said to us,” Costello said after an appearance that led some experts to question whether his testimony could influence any grand jury vote on a possible indictment.

That is not, however, quelling the storm that has accompanied Trump’s return to political center stage, which could reach hurricane strength in the days ahead.

ATTACHMENT EIGHT – From the Daily Beast

TRUMP LAWYER PREVIOUSLY CALLED STORMY DANIELS HUSH-MONEY SCHEME ‘ILLEGAL’

‘IT’S FRAUD’

Tacopina, who now claims Trump didn’t commit a crime, also once claimed the arrangement was a “potential campaign finance issue.”

Published Mar. 21, 2023 12:20PM ET

Ahead of Donald Trump’s potential indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, the former president’s attorney Joe Tacopina has been all over the airwaves declaring that Trump’s actions were “not a crime.”

However, back in 2018, when Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen was staring down charges for arranging the $130,000 payment to keep Daniels quiet about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election, Tacopina claimed the arrangement was “illegal” and a possible “campaign finance issue” for the ex-president.

“For any prosecutor to say that doesn’t make sense, that a lawyer took out a home equity loan with his own money, paid somebody that he didn’t even know on behalf of a client who, by the way, had the wherewithal and the money to afford $130,000,” Tacopina said during a March 2018 appearance on CNN. “And, by the way, didn’t tell the client about the settlement agreement. It’s an illegal agreement. It’s a fraud, if that’s, in fact, the case.”

Acting as a legal expert on a CNN panel, Tacopina added that Team Trump’s claims at the time that Cohen arranged for this payment on his own “doesn’t pass the straight-face test” and that it represented a “potential campaign finance issue.” (A month later, Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law, saying he did so “at the direction” of Trump.)

In a separate CNN appearance that month, Tacopina twice said the hush-payment arrangement to Daniels was “illegal.”

Beyond that, Tacopina may have an ethics issue on his hands by representing Trump in this specific case. Prior to Daniels hiring Michael Avenatti as her attorney, the adult film star approached Tacopina to represent her—establishing an attorney-client relationship at the time, even though she ultimately didn’t hire him.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Tacopina for comment and will update if he responds.

ATTACHMENT NINE – From the New York Times

HOW AN INDICTMENT AND ARREST OF DONALD TRUMP COULD UNFOLD

An indictment could be handed up as soon as Wednesday, but much about how the process might play out remains unknown.

By William K. Rashbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich March 21, 2023, 1:12 p.m. ET

A Manhattan grand jury could decide whether to indict Donald J. Trump as early as Wednesday, potentially touching off a sequence of events that could include the unprecedented sight of a former president in handcuffs.

But much about what comes next remains unclear. Prosecutors have signaled that an indictment is likely, but it is not a certainty. Before Mr. Trump can be charged, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, must ask the grand jury that has been hearing evidence about the former president to vote on whether to charge him. A majority of jurors must agree to do so.

The timing of any potential indictment, arrest and arraignment is unknown, and likely to remain so after a vote is conducted.

The investigation, conducted by Mr. Bragg’s office, has been focused on Mr. Trump’s involvement in the payment of hush money to a porn star during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Here’s what we know and don’t know about the course of the investigation and what might happen in the days ahead.

The Looming Indictment of Donald Trump

· An Unprecedented Event: If Donald Trump is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, this week will be unlike any other in American political history. Here’s what to know.

· Preparing for an Arrest: Ahead of the likely indictment, New York officials are making security plans as some of Trump’s supporters signal that they intend to protest.

· G.O.P. Braces: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida broke his silence about Trump’s expected indictment, as Republicans weighed whether to heed the former president’s call to protest and Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill rallied around him.

· 2024 Campaign: Trump strengthened his political position in recent weeks, but an impetuous response to his potential indictment could alienate voters he will need to win back the White House.

When might Mr. Trump be indicted?

The special grand jury that has been hearing testimony meets three afternoons a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. At least one more witness could be called before jurors are asked to vote, according to people familiar with the matter.

Once all the witnesses have testified, prosecutors must explain the criminal charges they are seeking to the jury of 23 Manhattan residents before asking them to vote. The earliest that could happen is Wednesday afternoon. A simple majority is all that is required to hand up an indictment.

How soon could Mr. Trump be arrested?

If Mr. Trump is indicted, prosecutors would most likely work with his legal team to arrange his surrender in Manhattan. Within several days of his indictment, Mr. Trump, who lives at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, would travel to the city and turn himself in at the district attorney’s office in Lower Manhattan. Hours later, he would be arraigned in a courtroom in the same building.

Any indictment of Mr. Trump would almost certainly be sealed, and the charges would be kept secret from the public after the grand jurors vote. The unsealing of the indictment — and a public announcement of the charges against him — would coincide with his surrender and arraignment.

However, there is some chance that Mr. Trump does not surrender — there have been differing reports on that possibility — which could kick off a more complex scenario.

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Might Mr. Trump avoid indictment entirely?

Mr. Trump’s lawyers have met with prosecutors in hopes of warding off criminal charges, and while it is unlikely, there is a faint possibility that Mr. Bragg will opt not to seek an indictment (or that he will seek one and grand jurors will vote to reject it).

But prosecutors have broad discretion during grand jury proceedings and the defense has almost no role. Every available signal has suggested that an indictment is imminent.

What might the charges be?

While it is clear that Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating the role Mr. Trump played in a hush-money payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, the specific criminal charges prosecutors could seek are unknown — and will probably remain so even after he is indicted.

People with knowledge of the matter have suggested the charges would stem from the falsification of business records that recorded reimbursements to Michael Cohen — Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer and the prosecution’s star witness — as legal fees. Such a charge, combined with a second crime involving illegal campaign contributions, could rise to a low-level felony.

How do you arrest a former president?

Some of the routine steps that follow any felony arrest in New York would apply to the former president as they would to anyone else: He would be photographed and fingerprinted, and read a standard Miranda warning offering him the right to remain silent.

But because of Mr. Trump’s status as a former president — and his ’round-the-clock Secret Service detail — prosecutors are likely to make some accommodations. He could be held in an interview room instead of a cell; the investigators who process his arrest may forego handcuffs.

Law enforcement agencies around New York have also had discussions about how to prepare for the prospect of protests, which Mr. Trump called for explicitly on his social media site, Truth Social, over the weekend. A protest in Manhattan on Monday evening was sparsely attended.

Will Mr. Trump be held in jail?

Because of the nature of the potential charges against Mr. Trump, the law does not allow prosecutors to seek to have him held on bail. And as a leading presidential candidate, he is far from a flight risk.

Mr. Trump will almost certainly be released shortly after he is arraigned.

What happens after that?

Once Mr. Trump has been charged, the case against him will probably be mired in protracted litigation. Should the matter eventually make it to trial, it could conceivably play out in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election — with Mr. Trump, the defendant, in the thick of his campaign.

ATTACHMENT TEN – From News Nation

TRUMP INDICTMENT: GRAND JURY VOTE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY

· Trump is facing possible criminal charges related to "hush money" payments

· The former president has called for protests if he is indicted

· Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen has been a key witness in the case

By Taylor Delandro Updated: MAR 21, 2023 / 02:14 PM CDT

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The Manhattan grand jury will not vote Tuesday on whether to indict former President Donald Trump over hush-money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, sources told NewsNation.

The jury expects to vote Wednesday, sources said.

Over the weekend, Trump claimed, without any evidence, on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, and exhorted followers to protest. His representatives later said he was citing media reports and leaks.

Who is Alvin Bragg, DA leading Trump hush money investigation

Previously, there was no indication that prediction would come true, though the grand jury appeared to take an important step forward by hearing Monday from a witness favorable to Trump, presumably so prosecutors could ensure the panel had a chance to consider any testimony that could be remotely seen as exculpatory.

The next steps in a grand jury process shrouded in secrecy remained unclear, and it was uncertain if additional witnesses might be summoned. The 23 members of the grand jury will vote on whether to indict Trump, but only 12 have to believe it’s likely a crime was committed to indict the former president.

For prosecutors, the bar for deciding to move forward may be set even higher, given the high-profile nature of the case.

“They have to have enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, because the last thing you want to do, especially in a high profile case like this, is to indict and not have enough evidence going forward,” former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told NewsNation’s Marni Hughes.

The testimony from Robert Costello, a lawyer with close ties to numerous key Trump aides, appeared to be a final opportunity for allies of the former president to steer the grand jury away from an indictment. He was invited by prosecutors to appear after saying that he had information to undercut the credibility of Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Trump who later turned against him and then became a key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation.

Costello had provided Cohen legal services several years ago after Cohen himself became entangled in the federal investigation into the hush money payments. In a news conference after his grand jury appearance, Costello told reporters that he had come forward because he did not believe Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and served time in prison, could be trusted.

The grand jury has been probing Trump’s involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with him years earlier. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, through a shell company before being reimbursed by Trump, whose company, the Trump Organization, logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team appears to be looking at whether Trump or anyone committed crimes in New York state in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization.

Trump denies any wrongdoing and has slammed the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office probe as politically motivated.

Trump indictment? Voters divided ahead of 2024 bid

Republicans have also blasted the indictment as “politically motivated” and an “abuse of power.” Democrats have also slightly pushed back on this issue.

“There is no possible way to have united the Republican Party and even united a lot of Democrats in the way that Alvin Bragg has, not necessarily in support of Donald Trump, but in anger over how the justice system is being used, in what certainly appears to be a very politically motivated prosecution,” said NewsNation’s Leland Vittert.

He continued, “It’s gonna be very difficult for Alvin Bragg to say something other than a politically motivated prosecution when he used to brag about going after Donald Trump so often. So how is this not going after Donald Trump, specifically.”

Mark Smith, a former Trump transition team member and a constitutional attorney, told NewsNation that it might be “difficult” for Trump to get a fair trial in Manhattan.

An indictment of Trump, who is seeking the White House again in 2024, would be an unprecedented moment in American history, the first criminal case against a former U.S. president.

Law enforcement officials are bracing for protests and the possibility of violence after Trump called on his supporters to protest ahead of a possible indictment. Some small demonstrations have taken place in New York, but the New York Police Department said there were no credible threats to the city at this time.

This is a breaking news story; refresh for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ATTACHMENT ELEVEN – From Fox News

TRUMP SUPPORTERS FLOCK TO MAR-A-LAGO AHEAD OF POSSIBLE INDICTMENT

Crowds of Trump supporters rally outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida

Published March 21, 2023 3:01pm EDT

Supporters of former President Donald Trump began flocking to his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday ahead of his possible indictment.

Crowds of some of Trump's most ardent supporters wore cowboy hats, American flag suits and pro-Trump gear while gathering along the Palm Beach, Fla., road leading to Mar-a-Lago Tuesday. Many held signs with messages, including, "I Stand With Pres. Donald J. Trump," "Drain the Swamp Vote Trump 2024" and "Trump Won. Democrats Cheat."

The Town of Palm Beach issued notices warning of expected increased congestion around the traffic circle at the Bath & Tennis Court from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The Orlando Sun-Sentinel reported that Trump's plane with his name on the side was at Palm Beach International Airport at noon Tuesday, indicating he may remain in South Florida.

In New York, a Manhattan grand jury is weighing whether to indict Trump over hush-money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump sounded the alarm in a Truth Social post Saturday that he could be arrested as soon as Tuesday as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe.

But a law enforcement source told Fox News an indictment is not expected until next week to allow time to bring in more police, put up barriers and put lights up with generators.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and the other top Republicans on the Administration and Oversight committees on Monday sent a letter to Bragg demanding that he turn over documents related to his Trump investigation and testify before Congress after reports said Trump could face an indictment this week.

In response Tuesday, Bragg's office said it would "not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law."

"In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth. Our skilled, honest and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

In an online video presentation Monday night, Roger Stone, of Fort Lauderdale, told pro-Trump crowds, "It is vitally important that you keep it peaceful, you keep it civil, you keep it orderly and you keep it legal. The left would like to trick us into overreaction and violence and lawlessness, so they can blame President Trump, and so they can scoop up America First leaders.

"They would love to entrap or entice or goad American patriots into violence or some other inappropriate act so that they can blame President Trump," Stone, who was pardoned by Trump after being convicted of lying to Congress, added, according to the Sentinel. "Do not take the bait folks."

CBS News reported, citing sources, that Trump remains huddled at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday with senior advisers awaiting possible news from New York City.

ATTACHMENT TWELVE – From Politico

EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE POTENTIAL TRUMP INDICTMENT

Is Trump definitely going to be indicted? What does the grand jury vote entail? Will his mug shot be taken?

By ERICA ORDEN 03/21/2023 03:44 PM EDT

NEW YORK — With Donald Trump expected to be indicted in the coming days, his supporters, critics, New York law enforcement officials and a variety of other constituencies await the history-making spectacle of seeing criminal charges brought against a former president for the first time.

In many ways, the mechanics of indicting Trump are likely to be the same as they would be for any other defendant charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In other ways, they may be quite different largely due to the fact that Trump enjoys the protection of the U.S. Secret Service and draws supporters who’ve resorted to violence in the past.

Here is how the expected indictment of Trump is likely to unfold — although, as with most things related to the former president, expect the unexpected.

Is Trump definitely going to be indicted?

No, but it appears very likely. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has brought numerous witnesses before the grand jury and offered Trump a chance to go before the grand jury, an indication that the office will seek to indict him. Though it is possible for the grand jury to vote against charging him, grand juries rarely decline to indict. And if the district attorney’s office thought they were in danger of the grand jury voting “no,” prosecutors likely would have paused the proceedings.

What does the grand jury vote entail?

After prosecutors finish presenting witnesses, an assistant district attorney will tell the 23-person grand jury which charges they will be considering and will read them the text of the law. The grand jury will then leave to discuss the case and vote on it. An indictment requires 12 or more jurors to vote yes. If that happens, the vote will be recorded on a form and signed, then taken by someone from the district attorney’s office to either the clerk’s office or to the office of the judge who is overseeing the grand jury. It will be placed into an envelope, sealed and stamped by a clerk.

How will we know if and when Trump is indicted?

Once the indictment is stamped, the district attorney’s office will notify an attorney for Trump that he has been indicted. At this point, Trump is free to make this information public.

Will he be arrested? Will his mug shot be taken? When will he appear in court?

Because the case is white-collar, the district attorney’s office will ask Trump’s attorney when he plans to come to New York to be arraigned. The law doesn’t require a defendant to turn himself in within a specific timeframe, so the timing here is flexible. Whenever he comes to New York, he and his attorney will report to the district attorney’s office where Trump will be arrested and booked, which means he’ll be finger-printed and have his mug shot taken. He may also get a DNA swab. It is unclear how his Secret Service protection may affect this process.

He’ll then be taken to a judge, where the district attorney’s office will ask for the indictment to be unsealed. It is possible that he’ll be handcuffed when he is transported from the district attorney’s office to court — a short walk away within the same building.

At this point, he’ll be arraigned, which means he’ll have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. And then he’ll be released, because the charges he is likely to face are non-bailable.

What happens next?

The judge will set a date for his next court appearance, usually for the defense and prosecution to discuss additional steps as well as a potential discussion about the discovery process.

After his initial court appearance, Trump will most likely be able to return to his Florida home, or wherever he chooses.

And how far will House Republicans take their Bragg investigation?

House Republicans followed through with a pledge to investigate Bragg over claims of a politicized judicial process — but the probe is still in its infancy. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (R-Ky.) and Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) — the chairs of the Judiciary, Oversight and Administration committees — fired off a letter to Bragg accusing him of “actions [that] will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election” if Trump is indicted. (A DA spokesperson responded saying they wouldn’t be “intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process.”)

Republicans are giving Bragg until 10:00 a.m. Thursday to set up an interview with committee staff. They also want a tranche of documents and records, including any related to federal funding or communications with the Justice Department and other federal law enforcement agencies.

Those requests are, for now, voluntary, and the letter doesn’t include a mention of a “compulsory” process if Bragg doesn’t comply. In other words, no subpoenas.

ATTACHMENT THIRTEEN – From The Hill

MCCARTHY BRUSHES OFF TRUMP’S PAYMENT TO STORMY DANIELS AS ‘PERSONAL MONEY’

BY MYCHAEL SCHNELL - 03/21/23 3:46 PM ET

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said former President Trump’s payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 involved “personal money,” an apparent attempt to minimize the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into the matter after Trump said he expects to be arrested this week.

McCarthy’s comments came during a press conference on legislative priorities at the House GOP’s annual issues retreat in Orlando. The New York prosecutor is looking into Trump’s role in directing hush money payments in the lead up to the 2016 election.

“This was personal money,” McCarthy told reporters when he was asked if he has concerns with the allegations Trump is facing in Manhattan.

“This was seven years ago, statute of limitation. And I think in your heart of hearts you know too, that you think this is just political. And I think that’s what the rest of the country thinks. And we’re kind of tired of that,” he added.

Trump set off a political firestorm over the weekend when he suggested, in a Truth Social post, that he would be arrested on Tuesday in connection to the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation. Trump also called on his followers to “PROTEST” and “TAKE OUR NATION BACK.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) signaled earlier this month that Trump may face criminal charges as part of his probe when the office offered the former president the chance to testify before a grand jury.

Bragg has not yet made an official decision when it comes to charging Trump in the case. New York’s statute of limitations is five years for most felonies or two years for misdemeanors, but that timeline can be extended if the defendant has lived out of state — as Trump did when he was in the White House.

McCarthy on Tuesday sought to draw a similarity between Trump’s case and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigation into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In March 2022, the Clinton campaign and DNC agreed to pay thousands of dollars in fines after they did not properly report the funds used on research for the Steele Dossier.

Clinton’s campaign reported $175,000 it spent on research for the dossier as “legal services.” The campaign hired law firm Perkins Coie, which then recruited research group Fusion GPS, which brought on retired British spy Christopher Steele.

“They went through and they got investigated,” McCarthy said of Clinton’s campaign and the DNC, adding “and you know what, at the end of the day, they didn’t get prosecuted, they got fined.”

“They knowingly hid the fact of what they were doing to try to hide. They got investigated. So I look [at] it from this perspective: we live in America and it should be equal justice,” he added.

At another point of the press conference McCarthy told reporters “I do get concerned when I look out there and I see justice not being equal to others, especially in the history of where we are.”

“A local DA playing in presidential politics. If that starts right there don’t you think it’ll happen across the country?” he added.

House Republicans are gathering this week in Orlando for their annual issues retreat, which was meant to be an event focused on the conference’s recent successes but has instead been overshadowed by Trump’s potential indictment in Manhattan. The GOP lawmakers have largely defended Trump while zeroing in on Bragg.

McCarthy on Tuesday, however, rejected the notion that Trump has drowned out the conference, telling reporters “it’s not here that we’re coming to defend President Trump; what we’re coming to defend is equal justice in America and I think every American believes in that.”

“What we see before us is not equal justice,” he later added. “What we see before us is a political game being played.”

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN – From NBC

Trump news live updates: N.Y. grand jury could render an indictment in hush money case

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump in connection with a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

By NBC News Correspondents A – M Updated March 21, 2023, 5:24 PM EDT

What to know about a possible Trump indictment

· Former President Donald Trump is facing possible criminal charges in New York relating to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

· The possible crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating is whether Trump falsified business records. The key witness before the grand jury has been Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer, who made the payments to Daniels.

· Trump maintains he has committed no crime and his attorneys argue he was the victim of extortion.

· The indictment of a former president would be a remarkable moment in the country’s history in a proceeding with legal underpinnings that appears far from an open-and-shut case. Read more on that here.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (A)

18m ago / 5:24 PM EDT

5 things to look for in a possible Trump indictment

Laura Jarrett

If — and this is still an if right now — there’s an indictment of former President Donald Trump related to the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, here are five legal questions to look out for in the court papers:

14A-1: What’s the legal hook? If Manhattan prosecutors file charges against Trump for false record keeping — which he denies — what is their hook to elevate what is normally a misdemeanor crime to felony? New York law makes it a crime to falsify business records in order to conceal or commit “another crime” — so what’s that second crime in this case?

14A-2: Are there crimes unknown to the public? The false business records issue has now been widely reported, but are there other charges the district attorney has up his sleeve? The New York law on point also requires an “intent to defraud,” but who was defrauded in this case? New York prosecutors have brought a number of past cases involving phony business records, but those cases mostly involved an individual submitting the fake records to a third party, like an insurer or tax agency. Did Trump’s business records, listing the checks paid to Cohen as “legal expenses,” ever see the light of day? If not, what’s the prosecution’s theory about who was harmed?

15A-3: Was there a conspiracy? Do prosecutors believe Trump illegally acted in concert with others? Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, was involved in making the $130,000 payment to Daniels’ lawyer on the eve of the 2016 election, but do prosecutors believe others broke the law?

14A-4: Is Cohen vindicated? It will be important to see how any indictment describes the additional evidence that bolsters Cohen’s side of the story. At times, Trump’s attorneys have suggested Cohen acted without Trump’s knowledge or blessing, or that Trump was simply following his then-lawyer’s advice — but federal prosecutors said Cohen “acted in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump. What do the contemporaneous documents say?

14A-5 Is it a “speaking” indictment? Sometimes prosecutors file a bare bones charging document that doesn’t reveal much. In other cases, prosecutors paint a far more vivid picture of their allegations (with detail that isn’t required to meet the elements of the crime), known as a speaking indictment. What route do they take here?

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (B)

49m ago / 4:53 PM EDT

Michael Cohen's lawyer asks him to stop going on TV

By Adam Reiss

Michael Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis has asked him to stop going on television as the nation waits for a possible indictment based, at least in part, on his testimony.

"Given the sensitivity of the time period I have advised Michael to not do any more TV appearances until further notice," Davis said.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (C)

1h ago / 4:12 PM EDT

What happens if Trump is indicted?

Laura Jarrett

In the usual case, the prosecution’s office would instruct the grand jury on the charges and the law, and then the jurors would vote. The grand jury is usually made up of 23 people, and at least 16 who have heard the evidence need to be present to vote, but the decision does not have to be unanimous.

If 12 members of the grand jury vote to indict, then the prosecution would draft up an indictment and the jury foreperson would sign it. The indictment gets filed under seal with the court, so initially the public would not see it. Once the indictment is filed, the prosecution team would typically reach out to the defense attorneys to coordinate a time for the defendant to voluntarily surrender.

Despite Trump’s post on social media Saturday suggesting that he would be arrested imminently, a Trump spokesperson said that his attorneys have not been informed of any charges so far.

If the case proceeds as other high-profile cases have in the past, and if Trump turns himself in, he could be processed someplace within the district attorney’s office, according to sources familiar with the office.

That would normally include paperwork, fingerprinting, a mug shot and a cross-check of any outstanding criminal charges, which would all happen behind closed doors. Sometime soon thereafter he would be arraigned on the charge (or charges) in court in front of a judge. That would be public.

At that point, Trump or his attorney on his behalf would enter a plea, and he would then be released with another court date. Trump would not have to post bail given the nature of the charges.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (D)

3h ago / 2:33 PM EDT

What crime is the Manhattan DA investigating?

Laura Jarrett

Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 just days before the 2016 election. In Cohen’s version of events, this was done at the direction of his boss because Daniels was on the cusp of going public about an affair she alleges she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump, while he was in the White House, reimbursed Cohen, but has consistently denied the affair.

The payment, by itself, wouldn’t be the crime, but how the payments were documented in the books of the Trump Organization is the focus.

According to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who worked closely on the case and recently published a book about his experience, Cohen submitted phony invoices throughout 2017 referencing a “retainer agreement” and requesting payment. Then, Cohen received a series of checks, hand-signed by Trump while he was in the White House. The legal problem is there was no retainer agreement — according to Pomerantz, it was all done to cover up the hush money scheme. The fake documentation of “legal expenses” on the Trump Organization’s books could trigger a charge under New York state law, which makes falsifying business records a crime.

Normally, the false business records charge would be a misdemeanor. In order to elevate it to a felony, the defendant needs to have created the fake records with an intent to commit or conceal “another crime.” Here, it’s unclear what the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office plans to argue is the second crime. Some legal commentators have suggested that perhaps the DA is only prosecuting the misdemeanor charge. Others have argued that would be a huge waste of time and resources, and give Trump the power to paint the case as weak.

If the grand jury doesn’t vote in favor of prosecuting this case as a felony, it could direct the prosecutor to file a misdemeanor case instead.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (E)

4h ago / 1:56 PM EDT

McCarthy casts N.Y. case as 'political,' says Trump used 'personal money'

Kyle Stewart

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, addressing reporters in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, continued to defend Trump ahead of a possible indictment. He rattled off a list of defenses: It was "personal money," the statute of limitations and that Trump wasn't trying to hide anything.

"And I think in your heart of hearts, you know too, that you think this is just political," he said.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (F)

4h ago / 1:22 PM EDT

Could Trump become the first ex-president to be arrested? Hold your horses ...

Rose Horowitch

Debates over whether former President Donald Trump could become the first ex-president to be arrested hinge on a 1908 report of one president getting arrested about 35 years earlier for speeding — in a horse-drawn carriage.

A 1908 article in the Washington Evening Star detailed a policeman's account of arresting Ulysses S. Grant, America's 18th president. The article says that Grant was arrested in 1872 and taken to the station house on charges of speeding in his carriage.

Grant had a penchant for galloping and was known to stir up trouble. He paid a $20 fine, but skipped out on his court appearance, the article says.

But NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss said he was skeptical of the story's sourcing, as it was based on a single account from decades after the alleged arrest took place.

"It’s always possible that some irrefutable long-lost record may turn up that proves that some earlier president was indicted or that Grant was definitely arrested in 1872," he said. "But obviously we don’t have either of those things as of this moment."

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (G)

5h ago / 1:09 PM EDT

Beware of AI-generated pictures of a fake Trump arrest

Jason Abbruzzese

If you're seeing pictures of an arrest of Trump, greet them with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Plenty of fake pictures generated by now-common artificial intelligence programs are floating around purporting to show the former president getting arrested.

The proliferation of AI technology that can generate hyperrealistic pictures based on simple text prompts has opened the door for plenty of misleading images to circulate online. It can be hard to tell the real ones from the fake ones.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (H)

5h ago / 1:02 PM EDT

Stormy Daniels says she'll 'dance down the street' if Trump were to go to jail

Rebecca Shabad

Adult film star Stormy Daniels said Tuesday she would "dance down the street" if the former president were indicted and sentenced to prison time.

Daniels, who is at the heart of the New York grand jury's investigation into Trump, was retweeting someone who claimed she accepted money to frame Trump.

"Sooo...tiny paid me to frame himself? You sound even dumber than he does during his illiterate ramblings. And I won’t walk, I’ll dance down the street when he is “selected” to go to jail," she tweeted.

While the grand jury is expected to make a decision in its probe soon, which could return an indictment for Trump, prison time for the former president is highly unlikely.

Daniels claimed she had an affair with Trump, which he has denied.

5h ago / 12:41 PM EDT

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (I)

Trump continues his criticism of Cohen

Ginger Gibson

Trump has continued to publicly criticize his former lawyer Cohen, arguing the key witness who already went before the grand jury shouldn't be believed.

"It is being said that disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen was put out to dry today after his highly respected former attorney and legal adviser, Robert Costello, made a great impression not only on the D.A.’s Office, but the grand jury itself. He is known to be a great lawyer and highly honorable man. He stated to the media that he could no longer listen to the lies that Cohen was spreading. He told the TRUTH, with papers, documents, and backup. He left ZERO doubt.THE D.A. WILL DO THE RIGHT THING!"

TRUMP ON TRUTH SOCIAL

6h ago / 12:00 PM EDT

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (J)

Experts: Don't expect DeSantis to ride to Trump's rescue

Dareh Gregorian

Some on the far right have taken to social media calling on Ron DeSantis to block Trump from getting extradited to New York if he decides not to surrender on a possible criminal charge, but legal experts tell NBC News there’s little to nothing that the Florida governor could do in that unlikely event — even if he wanted to.

While interstate extradition requests do have to go through governors’ offices, the U.S. Constitution gives them little choice but to comply: “A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.”

New York defense lawyer Ron Kuby, who was involved in a 1991 case seeking to block a person accused of murder from being extradited from New York to Florida, recounted that an appeals court quickly shut the door.

Governors can order reviews into whether the paperwork is in order, which can slow the process down for a finite period of time, but “they have absolutely no authority to stop extradition,” he said.

Attorney Daniel Horwitz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, agreed. He called the idea that DeSantis could block extradition “inane.”

The scenario is also unlikely because the relationship between DeSantis and Trump appears to be at an all-time low. Asked Monday if he’d play a role in Trump’s possible extradition, DeSantis said he is “not going to be involved in it in any way,” and Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina told NBC News last week that his client plans to surrender if indicted.

The liberal Kuby predicted Trump would want to come to court. “The show will be here. He’ll be the star,” he said.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (K)

6h ago / 11:26 AM EDT

What has Michael Cohen said under oath?

Vaughn Hillyard

Michael Cohen has testified under oath before — in 2019 at the House Oversight Committee. He discussed the payment to Daniels.

"In 2016, prior to the election, I was contacted by Keith Davidson, who is the attorney — or was the attorney for Ms. Clifford, or Stormy Daniels. And after several rounds of conversations with him about purchasing her life rights for $130,000, what I did, each and every time, is go straight into Mr. Trump’s office and discuss the issue with him, when it was ultimately determined, and this was days before the election, that Mr. Trump was going to pay the $130,000, in the office with me was Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. He acknowledged to Allen that he was going to pay the 130,000, and that Allen and I should go back to his office and figure out how to do it.

MICHAEL COHEN IN 2019 BEFORE THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (L)

6h ago / 11:26 AM EDT

Capitol Police prepare for possible protests if Trump is indicted

Frank Thorp V, Liz Brown-Kaiser and Jonathan Dienst

U.S. Capitol Police will be taking security precautions in case there are demonstrations over an indictment of former President Donald Trump, the Senate sergeant at arms said Monday in a notice to senators’ offices.

“While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,” the sergeant at arms said in an email to Senate staff members. Capitol Police are “working with law enforcement partners, so you may observe a greater law enforcement presence on Capitol Hill.”

Trump indicated Saturday that he would be arrested Tuesday, citing “illegal leaks” in the New York County district attorney’s hush money probe, and called for his supporters to protest.

Read the full story here.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN (M)

6h ago / 11:26 AM EDT

Porn stars and grooming allegations: How the Trump-DeSantis cold war turned hot

Jonathan Allen, Allan Smith and Ali Vitali

The political world waited over the weekend for Ron DeSantis to weigh in on the possible indictment of Donald Trump. And then waited. And waited some more.

In the meantime, Trump world social media influencers and acolytes raked DeSantis over virtual coals, pointing to his silence as complicity in — or at least indifference to — New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pursuit of Trump, the GOP’s top leader.

Behind the scenes, Trump aides fanned the flames, targeted the Florida governor in news releases and cheered as the Trump world influencers slammed him on Twitter and Truth Social.

When DeSantis finally spoke Monday at a news conference in Tallahassee, Florida, he took shots at Bragg — and at Trump.

ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN – From

From Independent UK x35

Violent threats surge as Trump team readies for Stormy Daniels hush money arrest

Barricades have been erected and security ramped up outside Manhattan Criminal Court after the former president claimed he will be arrested on Tuesday

Oliver O'Connell,Alex Woodward

There has been a surge in online threats directed at government targets and political officials as a possible indictment looms of former president Donald Trump. Some are compared to January 6 times ten, with guns.

While there have been lacklustre turnouts at rallies in support of the embattled former president — with one in New York so sparsely attended that it was estimated the ratio of journalists to protesters was five to one — the Trump 2024 campaign is using the moment to fundraise.

It is thought there could be a decision on an indictment on Wednesday as Manhattan prosecutors investigating hush money payments to Stormy Daniels conclude their probe.

On his own social media platform, Mr Trump posted a scathing, late-night video on Monday attacking the four ongoing criminal investigations into his actions. He took aim at what he calls the “most disgusting witchhunt in the history of our country” telling his followers that he will “stand in their way” of their political “enemies”.

His comments came hours after his ally Robert Costello testified before the grand jury in an attempt to cast doubts on the prosecution’s star witness Michael Cohen.

· @Could Ron DeSantis stop Trump’s arrest?

KEY POINTS

· Trump posts late-night Truth Social video attacking four criminal probes

· Another witness to testify in Manhattan grand jury Wednesday

· Robert Costello testifies against Michael Cohen

· Law enforcement planning security for possible Trump indictment

· Pro-Trump rally in New York ‘outnumbered five to one by journalists’

· Surge in online threats as police prepare for possible Trump indictment

6 minutes ago

‘You can call me whatever you want’: DeSantis doubles down Trump attacks before indictment

Ron DeSantis has doubled down on his attacks on Donald Trump ahead of the former president’s predicted indictment and their likely 2024 clash for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Florida governor told Piers Morgan in an interview that he was not phased by Mr Trump’s mocking and branding of him as “Ron DeSanctimonious” in recent attacks.

“I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. We’ll go with that, that’s fine,” he told Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Graeme Massie reports on this developing story.

Ron DeSantis doubles down Trump attacks ahead of indictment

Ron DeSantis has doubled down on his attacks on Donald Trump ahead of the former president’s predicted indictment and their likely 2024 clash for the Republican presidential nomination.

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 21:36

12 minutes ago

Trump rants there is ‘no nothing’ there other than Cohen’s lies

In a late afternoon Truth Social screed by the former president, Donald Trump writes:

Reports, and almost everybody, says, even after in-depth legal study and review, that there was NO CRIME, NO AFFAIR, NO BOOKKEEPING ERROR OR MISDEMEANOR, NO “NOTHING,” OTHER THAN NOW PROVEN LIES BY MICHAEL COHEN, A CONVICTED FELON AND PERJURER, AND THE STRONG LIKELIHOOD OF AN EXTORTION PLOT AGAINST ME. So, after getting CRUSHED yesterday by Cohen’s highly respected attorney, with the case against me FULLY DISPROVEN, why is the D.A. searching for yet another “witness?” TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME! Ego!

Unexpectedly, he then praises former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, with whom he has had a checkered relationship, for purportedly schooling Donna Brazile on DA Alvin Bragg’s “hypocrisy” on crime.

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 21:30

22 minutes ago

Surge in online threats as police prepare for possible Trump indictment

Violent threats and rhetoric have exploded online ahead of Donald Trump’s potential indictment in a New York hush money investigation, according to intelligence officials.

According to intelligence reports from the US Capitol Police in Washington, the federal DC Fusion Center and the Federal Highway Administration obtained by Rolling Stone, officials have been monitoring worrying online chatter, including one anonymous user who said the former president’s arrest would result in “Jan 6*10 + Guns.”

Josh Marcus has the details.

Online threats surge as law enforcement prepares for potential Trump indictment

State and federal officials monitoring for threats as charges expected

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 21:20

30 minutes ago

Swing voters won’t give Trump ‘thumbs up’ over hush money scandal, says Democrat rep

Democrat Rep Jeff Jackson of North Carolina weighed in on the political implications of a Trump indictment during an appearance on Fox News.

“I don’t think there’s any universe in which [swing voters] see this underlying behavior, with respect to the affair, and the hush money, and potentially criminal conviction, and give a thumbs up,” the red-state Democrat said.

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 21:12

37 minutes ago

As clashes with Trump get nasty, DeSantis polling drops

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ support in a potential Republican presidential primary has dropped to its lowest yet as he faces a torrent of criticism from establishment Republicans for his remarks on Ukraine and attacks from Donald Trump, according to a new poll.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

DeSantis drops to lowest support in GOP polls after mocking Trump over indictment

DeSantis’s numbers fall amid criticism from Trump and his remarks about Ukraine.

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 21:05

45 minutes ago

Democrats ‘love this dog and pony show we are putting on'

Rightwing commentator Tomi Lahren has decried Republican infighting centred around Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which this week has taken on a nastier tone.

“So the corrupt Manhattan DA goes after Donald Trump and y’all point the cannons at Ron DeSantis?!” she wrote on Twitter.

“The Democrats are cracking up. They love this dog and pony show we are putting on.”

Oliver O'Connell21 March 2023 20:57

52 minutes ago

Giuliani mocked over bizarre Cameo nursery thyme clip

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor and ex-personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump, is facing mockery after appearing in a video on the site Cameo reciting the nursery rhyme I’m A Little Teapot.

Mr Giuliani has been on the video greeting site since August 2021, where users can pay him $325 for a personal message tailored to their requests.

Gustaf Kilander reports on another bizarre moment from the man once referred to as “America’s mayor”.

ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN – From Vanity Fair

OOPS: TRUMP’S LAWYER CALLED THE STORMY DANIELS HUSH MONEY DEAL “ILLEGAL” IN 2018

This was before Joe Tacopina was hired to represent the ex-president.

BY BESS LEVIN

In his capacity as Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina has spent much of his time lately appearing on TV to defend the hush money payment Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels back in 2016. On Fox News, he claimed the ex-president was the victim of extortion. On MSNBC, he insisted Trump’s lies about the matter—like initially denying he was aware of the payment—weren’t lies because Trump wasn’t under oath when he uttered them. Speaking to Sean Hannity, he declared that the legal system is “completely weaponized.” One TV hit he probably doesn’t like mentioned? The one in which he called the hush money deal “illegal,” among other things.

Yes, back in 2018, years before he would be hired to represent Trump, Tacopina went on CNN and stated, for all the world to hear, that the payment was against the law, that it was potentially a “campaign finance issue,” and that the story that Michael Cohen acted in his own capacity when he paid Daniels $130,000 was total BS. “That doesn’t make sense, that a lawyer took out a home equity loan with his own money, paid somebody that he didn’t even know on behalf of a client who, by the way, had the wherewithal and the money to afford $130,000,” Tacopina said in March 2018. He added: “And, by the way, didn’t tell the client about the settlement agreement. It’s an illegal agreement. It’s a fraud, if that’s, in fact, the case.”

In a separate appearance, he reiterated that the hush money deal was “illegal.”

Several months later, Cohen pleaded guilty to, among other things, campaign finance violations, saying he did so “in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump.

It’s not clear if Trump was made aware of Tacopina’s comments before hiring him.

In related news, the former president on Monday used the looming potential indictment from the Manhattan district attorney’s office to raise money off of his supporters, who he hit up for as much as $3,300 a pop.