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A jury of my peers agrees that the pizza served in our 1980s grade school was better than any other. When I made my case Exhibit A was a shared photo of those cheesy, rectangular pieces fresh from an industrial oven my hometown classmates lit up at the memory. Pizza Day fueled an underground economy. Lunchroom hustlers charged sugar cookies, ice cream or chocolate milk in exchange for their slices. Or they might cut a deal for the candy and gum that other child entrepreneurs sold between classes. In this heyday, the schools halls featured a bustling economy and the worlds best pizza.

New York wouldve been proud. The Big Apple was an inspiration for our schools hustling brokers. For Gen X kids in the American South, the citys flashy lifestyle embodied success, from its playboy millionaires in Trump Tower to the hip-hop stars of the outer boroughs turning their music into a multibillion-dollar industry. Its icons swaggered like invincibles, seeming to get away with it all, which made an impression on the schoolyard moguls whose business was literally under the table.

Donald Trumps best-selling book of the day, The Art of the Deal, put a finger on this bad-boy glamour. Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all, the ghostwritten maxim went. Controversy, in short, sells. Thats certainly how things worked at school. Whenever a student was reprimanded for trading pizza, everyone knew whom to ask next time. I learned my preferred candy guy trafficked in Atomic FireBalls only when he got busted at school for selling them. I was soon in trouble for buying them, caught red-handed my fingertips and tongue stained scarlet by the food coloring.

It appears to work in politics, too, at least for Trump. He won the 2016 presidential election after saying and doing things that are usually fatal to ones political career, such as disparaging prisoners of war and boasting on tape about groping women. Even after minor things he once ate chain-restaurant pizza with a knife and fork in Times Square and on camera, an unpardonable offense in New York he was the talk of the town. Controversy not only sold; it elected.

But there should be a line. Chaos results when norms and rules no longer matter. Kids carrying backpacks full of candy and pockets full of money invite mischief. Shady business practices lead to conflicts and corruption. Some things should be disqualifying, if not in the eyes of the law, then in the choices of consumers. And voters.

For a jury of Trumps peers last week, he crossed that line. But will getting caught and punished simply improve his political fortunes? Or will he get away with it, becoming president again? Trump paid no political penalty for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, despite being impeached (for a second time). A third of Republicans in one survey said the felony convictions make them more likely to vote for him; guilt made no difference to an additional 56 percent. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July, and days later he is expected to be nominated for a third time at the top of the GOP ticket. Not only has bad publicity proved beneficial for him; Trump has made a political market in the art of getting caught.

Voters will soon have their say. Toxic partisan politics is making a nation complicit in the illicit, willing to excuse all kinds of bad behavior just so ones preferred candidate wins the election. Trumps easy victories in the primaries and his lead in some respected polls together suggest that many voters (and thus potentially our system of government) are okay with a twice-impeached former president, freshly convicted of felonies, returning to the White House.

My classmates and I enjoyed recalling the lunchtime trades that landed us more of the worlds best pizza. And how friendships with the cafeteria staff sometimes earned an extra helping on the house. We admired those among us with good business sense and extra money for candy. But the consensus held that bragging about ones success was bad form. And gloating about being untouchable was a bad omen. It was one thing to be a good dealmaker. It was quite another to make a sucker of someone. Penny-pinching adolescents recognize such distinctions, and a jury of New Yorkers did, too.

In 2016, Trump famously said, I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldnt lose any voters. He has proved that he could exploit the birtherism conspiracy that the first Black president was born in Kenya to become commander in chief. That he could suggest disinfectant and ultraviolet light might stanch a pandemic and pay no penalty. That he could get caught red-handed, evidence of shady business dealings on his fingertips, and still become the Republican Partys nearly decade-long standard-bearer.

Trump and the big city remain a world away from my school in the South. To us as kids, the rich and famous who seemed to have it all and got away with it were appealing characters. But now were grown up, with a deeper appreciation for the role that juries play in society. In this way, New York still inspires, even if its pizza is second-best.

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Opinion | Trump must face the consequences of outlaw behavior - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

Gianni Matteo was born and raised in a family of Democrats in South Philadelphia, but the 20-year-old is a big Trump fan.

The working class doesnt really care about which foreign enemy we should be fighting in countries most Americans cant even name, Matteo said outside of a newly opened office for former President Donald Trump in Holmesburg on Tuesday. They care about why I have to work two jobs this summer, why I have no money in my pocket to take my girlfriend on dates.

As the presidential campaign barrels toward November, several polls have shown the gap in support among young voters for Biden and Trump shrinking. President Joe Biden won 60% of voters aged 18-29 in 2020. Some national surveys now show an almost even split between Trump and Biden in that age group. That would be a historic realignment, which analysts who study the youth vote closely have cautioned could be the product of polling errors.

The biggest thing is, Trump is a rebel. Trump is almost punk in a way. Hes a rebel against the establishment an establishment that doesnt care about us.

But as both campaigns seek to attract young voters, young Trump supporters like Matteo, a rising college junior who is working at a wedding venue this summer, cite concerns about their economic future, specifically the housing market. And some see the former presidents brash, often incendiary personality as a positive.

The biggest thing is, Trump is a rebel, Matteo said. Trump is almost punk in a way. Hes a rebel against the establishment an establishment that doesnt care about us.

As Biden has lost some ground with progressive young voters frustrated with his policies on the war in Gaza, Trump has gained some support, particularly with non-college-educated men. His appeal is apparent even in some pockets of deeply Democratic Philadelphia, where being a young Trump supporter has historically been a lonely identity.

I think with young people theres a political realignment going on, said Joe Picozzi, 29, a Republican running for state senator in the Northeast. Ive talked to people who are like, I never really cared about politics and now Im getting fired up. I dont know anyone whos like, This is working. This is going great.

At a recent happy hour for the Philadelphia Young Republicans, about a dozen college-educated young professionals gathered at a beer garden near Rittenhouse Square. Most work as lawyers, bankers, or in other jobs that allow them to live in or around Center City. But the main topic was still the economy and how hard it feels even for relatively successful people to buy houses.

Theres sort of a lost generation here, said Matt Lamorgese, 31. We were promised all kinds of things by President Biden when he was running for election and what have we gotten? People are struggling to buy houses, get a mortgage for the amount they need, theyre not starting families, not saving for retirement and if they compare themselves to their parents, theyre behind.

Lamorgese, who chairs the group, said its been tough to grow ranks in a city where most young people are Democrats. But momentum has picked up ahead of November. Still, a series of GOP events over the last month, including the Trump campaign office opening, had mostly familiar faces and not many of them young.

Both campaigns are trying to make inroads with young Pennsylvania voters. About 50% of the countrys eligible 18-29-year-old voters cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, which is a lower turnout than older voters but an 11-point increase from 2016.

Trump has made a splash at one-off events appearing at a sneaker convention in Philadelphia and an Ultimate Fighting Championship match. He also recently joined TikTok. Biden has deployed a host of resources to reach young voters and tried to emphasize work on student loan debt forgiveness and junk fees.

Sipping on IPAs at the happy hour, the group cited inflation, immigration, Bidens age, and the Democrats becoming so cringe, as reasons for sticking with Trump.

I think you just have to be non-apologetic, said Evan Bochetto, 35, who owns a media production company, and whose father, George, is a prominent GOP attorney in the city. If someone says, Oh, you must be a horrible person, youre voting for him. You say, No, Im not a horrible person. Thats my sacred right as a citizen. Now, lets discuss some issues. Do you feel safe walking down the street at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night? And a lot of the ladies say, no.

If someone says, Oh, you must be a horrible person, youre voting for him. You say, No, Im not a horrible person. Thats my sacred right as a citizen. Now, lets discuss some issues. Do you feel safe walking down the street at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night? And a lot of the ladies say, no.

Only two women were at the event theres a gender imbalance in big city young Republican clubs across the country, Lamorgese said. The group was also white though Trumps campaign is working to improve its support among Black voters.

Claire Goldstein, 35 who works with small businesses and lives in Washington Square, said shes voting for Trump because of all the nonsense surrounding the protests with Israel.

I think that there should be a much harder line with encampments, with people calling for the destruction of a country, people calling for the death of Jews, she said. So listen, Trump has a lot of flaws, but he is the counter to this absolute nonsense that is raging around our city.

The campaign launched Students for Biden-Harris earlier this year, a program focused on building a large volunteer base. The campaign has touted Bidens work protecting abortion access, something that has been particularly resonant with young women who helped him win in 2020. The administration has also committed unprecedented spending to address climate change and student loan forgiveness.

Trump has done little dedicated outreach to young voters specifically.

Young voters want a president who is fighting for them, not one who shows up to UFC fights while working to kick young people off their parents insurance, bragging about siding with the NRA to do nothing to reduce gun violence, and selling out our planet to oil and gas billionaires, said Sarafina Chitika, a Biden senior spokesperson.

Researchers who study the youth vote downplay some of the recent surveys showing the split among young voters. Voters under 30 are less aligned with either party but remain more progressive than voters overall, and polls show they tend to align more with Biden than Trump on issues.

A poll by the Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP) this spring found Biden up 8 points on Trump with young voters and 19 points among likely young voters.

I dont see strong evidence that Trump is making significant inroads with the youth vote based upon this data, said John Della Volpe, the pollster at Harvard.

Polling has also shown more movement toward Biden among young undecided voters. That presents an opportunity for Bidens campaign to remind young voters, many of whom were in elementary school when Trump was president, about Trumps first term.

For an 18 or 19-year-old introduced to Trump when they were 8, 9 or 10, their reflection upon Charlottesville or the Muslim ban is gonna be much different, Della Volpe said. Its not necessarily that theyre agreeing with these values, they just have a different relationship and view him more as an antihero.

Young Republicans in Philadelphia say they feel some momentum among peers. On a recent weeknight, about a dozen volunteers in their 20s and early 30s came out to canvass for Picozzi, the young candidate in the Northeast.

The son of a firefighter and an occupational therapist, Picozzi is trying to win a longtime Democratic seat currently held by State Sen. Jimmy Dillon. Hes framed his campaign around a Northeast Philly version of the American dream, specifically appealing to young people starting families.

The Northeast Philly dream is to be able to own a house where kids can play outside, where you can afford to go to a few trips down the Shore, go to a few Eagles games a year, Picozzi said.

Picozzi supports Trump but doesnt lean too far into talking about his partys presidential nominee, who was convicted last month on 34 felony counts.

Several young supporters shrugged off Trumps conviction, dismissing it as politically motivated or acknowledging theyre used to the former president being a shocking political figure.

I dont think the felon thing will change much, said Shayne Gitteo, a 20-year-old college student who volunteered for Picozzi last week. His rhetoric already kind of pushes societal boundaries. He says what people dont want to hear. His expressions and reactions are so brutally honest. And I do think that attracts young people to him.

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Donald Trump is energizing some young Philly voters - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Stop me if youve heard this before: Donald Trump is unhappy about the outcome of a proceeding. So despite a complete lack of evidence, he spends months claiming a concerted conspiracy against him, masterminded by his nefarious political opponents. He says this many dozens of times, despite firm denials from key figures and even some Trump allies. And by the end of it, 4 in 10 Americans come to believe in the vast left-wing conspiracy.

It happened with the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. Its now apparently happened with the idea that President Biden was behind Trumps recent conviction in Manhattan.

A new CBS News/YouGov poll gets at a question Ive been hoping someone would ask for a while. It gauged just how many Americans buy into the still-baseless idea that Biden had something to do with the successful charges against Trump in Manhattan.

Turns out, its 43 percent and 80 percent of Republicans. Those are the percentages who agree that the charges were brought because of directions that came from the Biden administration, rather than merely by prosecutors in New York.

A clear majority of Americans, 57 percent, dont believe this. But the idea has taken hold in Trumps base.

To be clear, there is no real reason to believe this. The theory largely rests on the fact that former top Justice Department official Matthew Colangelo joined the investigation in 2022. But Colangelo had previously worked alongside Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) in the New York attorney generals office, where he had worked on Trump-related investigations before. Its about as circumstantial and speculative as you can get.

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week firmly denied, under oath, that he had sent Colangelo to Manhattan. He denied any contact with Colangelo since he joined the D.As office.

Beyond that, this theory was also firmly rejected in recent weeks by no less than former Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina, who worked on Trumps defense early in the Manhattan prosecution. He called the idea silly and ridiculous.

Joe Biden or anyone from his Justice Department has absolutely zero to do with the Manhattan district attorneys office, Tacopina said in an MSNBC interview, adding: We know thats not the case, and even Trumps lawyers know thats not the case.

People who say that, Tacopina told MSNBC, its scary that they really dont know the law or what theyre talking about.

By Tacopinas formulation, 4 in 10 Americans have no idea what theyre talking about.

Of course, it wouldnt be the first time Trumps base has come to believe something like this, despite the lack of evidence:

Voters often come to believe wacky things that excuse their allies and implicate their foes. But the degree to which these things have become articles of faith on the right literally bears no modern precedent.

And the similarities between the Biden-Manhattan theory and the stolen election fever go well beyond the surface level. As then, Republican lawmakers dont go as far as Trump in alleging an established conspiracy, but they do make a point to seed suspicion. Trump will say there are millions of fraudulent votes; they merely raise concerns about mail ballots and election procedures. He will say Biden was behind the Manhattan prosecution; they will merely raise questions about Colangelo.

Even at last weeks hearing with Garland, though, Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) briefly conceded that this was a mere theory.

You might not have had anything to do with that, Fry told Garland, but the perception is and the American people perceive that the Department of Justice is intimately engaged with this.

We now have a number we can attach to that perception: 43 percent. Its just that, as with so many of the above numbers, its largely based on one piece of highly circumstantial and dubious evidence: Trump said so.

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80 percent of GOP believes Trump's Biden-Manhattan conspiracy theory - The Washington Post

LAS VEGAS A woman who identified herself as a naturalized citizen who immigrated from Nicaragua endorsed Donald Trump at his rally Sunday, telling the crowd she no longer believed in Democrats promises for the Latino community and comparing the United States to a house taking in rule-breaking strangers.

An hour later, Trump took the stage and railed against what he called an invasion at the southern border, declaring that undocumented immigrants are changing the fabric of our country, turning it into a dumping ground and fighting our families.

Were not going to let them destroy our country, Trump said.

Trump often uses dehumanizing language and hyperbolic claims to bash undocumented immigrants. He claims, without evidence, that foreign countries all over the world are emptying their prisons and mental institutions in a deliberate effort to offload people into the United States. He details gruesome crimes for which police have arrested undocumented suspects and, while discussing accusations of violence, has said some migrants are animals and not people. He says migrants are fueling a crime wave and literally hail from the dungeons of the Third World, even though the rise in illegal border crossing during Joe Bidens presidency has coincided with a decrease in violent crime.

At the same time, Trump is courting Latinos, who are less likely than voters as whole to support his calls for a border crackdown. Recent polling suggests that his strategy might work.

Immigration was arguably Trumps most effective argument in 2016 and remains central as ever to his campaign, drawing rebukes from many Democrats but few Republicans. Voters tell pollsters they trust Trump more than Biden on immigration, and Trump has gained with Hispanic voters in polling especially in Nevada.

Democrats hope that Trumps rhetoric and promises of mass deportations will help mobilize key voting groups against him. But almost a decade after he burst onto the political scene with promises to build the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump is betting that hard line anti-immigration rhetoric will help him reclaim the White House.

The Biden campaigns Hispanic media director, Maca Casado, ridiculed Trumps Sunday launch of Latino Americans for Trump and said in a statement, All we saw today was a wannabe dictator spouting his trademark hatred for our community.

In 2016, Trump campaigned on a promise to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, but never fully executed those ideas in part because of the immense cost and complexity of the plan.

The idea remains popular: 62 percent of registered voters nationwide support a program to deport all undocumented immigrants, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday. But his sweeping promises to deport millions of immigrants already in the country would still be massively disruptive and difficult to carry out.

Critics say that what has changed is the level of blowback Trump receives.

It is becoming acceptable to dehumanize immigrants on a regular basis, said Vanessa Crdenas, the executive director of Americas Voice, an immigrant rights group. Theres no real pushback.

Biden has attacked Trump for turning the GOP against a bipartisan border bill that some Republicans feared would hand Democrats an election-year victory. Last week, he signed an executive order aimed at limiting the number of migrants who can seek asylum at the southern border, a move that more than 70 percent of registered voters approved of, according to the CBS News poll.

Trump assailed the executive order on Sunday. Its weak. Its ineffective. Its bull---t, he said. The crowd echoed his remarks by chanting the expletive.

Americans have been broadly critical of Bidens handling of the southern border and more likely to trust Trump on the issue, lending him and other Republicans a potent theme with cross-party appeal. Officials across the political spectrum have raised concerns about their communities ability to absorb undocumented immigrants, particularly as border states have bused migrants to liberal cities.

At rallies and on social media, Trump frequently makes claims about immigration that are unsubstantiated, misleading or difficult to fact-check. He says undocumented migrants are killing the Social Security system, when they actually pay into a program they cannot use. (His campaign says this could change if undocumented immigrants were given a pathway to citizenship, as Biden has proposed.)

He says that Bidens border invasion amounts to economic warfare on African American and Hispanic American families. Analysts say that undocumented immigrants can decrease wages in some sectors, but also note that they often compete for different jobs than American citizens and play an important role in the economy.

Trump has also said migrants are let in as part of a plot to import voters who will help his opponent, though noncitizen voting is illegal in almost all cases and extremely rare. He accuses them of taking the place of American kids in schools and even poisoning the blood of our country a statement that half of Americans agreed with in recent polling.

Theyre trying to change our laws, Las Vegas voter Linda Morton said of Democrats at Sundays rally. Theyre trying to change our demographics. Theyre going to make it a country that we dont even know anymore.

Morton, who is in her 70s, allowed that some migrants crossing the border are probably good people but thinks most of them dont have a love for our country and dont want to assimilate.

Trumps critics say they will be working hard to remind voters of Trumps record on immigration for instance, his administrations separation of undocumented immigrant children from their parents and raise awareness about the extent of his plans for a second term, including among Latino voters.

People become desensitized to the extremism that he is spouting, said Mara Teresa Kumar, the president of voter engagement nonprofit Voto Latino.

Immigration was top-of-mind for many voters who showed up to the rally Sunday, lining up in temperatures that climbed above 100 degrees and shading themselves with umbrellas. The county fire department told local news outlets that it responded to many heat-related calls and that six people were taken to the hospital.

Build the wall! a man yelled, unprompted, as he waited to get in. A few paces away, another man held a BUILD THE WALL DEPORT THEM ALL sign under his arm.

Campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump speaks the unadulterated truth about the evil and cruelty of Bidens open border the lives he has wrecked and destroyed, the towns he has crushed, and that he believes one American life lost at the hands of an illegal immigrant is one too many.

In Phoenix last week, Trump hugged his longtime ally Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Arizonas Maricopa County who was accused of racial profiling and convicted in 2017 of criminal contempt of court for ignoring a federal judges order to stop detaining people based only on suspicion they were undocumented. Trump pardoned Arpaio the same year.

Bidens campaign on Saturday announced a new digital ad showcasing Trump and Arpaios embrace and noting that some establishment Republicans such as former House speaker Paul D. Ryan once criticized Trumps decision to pardon the sheriff.

You are the company you keep, the Biden campaigns Casado said in a statement.

Though Democrats have long held advantages with voters of color, polling shows that Trump is making inroads with them this election cycle, particularly with Latinos. Republicans note that many Latino voters favor border restrictions and trust Trump on the economy an issue that Trump also links to immigration.

Trumps gains among Hispanic voters have been among the most notable in Nevada. In a head-to-head matchup between Biden and Trump in the recent New York Times/Siena College poll of the Silver State, 50 percent of Hispanic voters said they were backing Trump while 41 percent said they were supporting Biden.

Some of Trumps supporters wish he would tone things down a bit. If he just shut his mouth, just about 10 percent of the time, his favorability rating would go way up, said Tom Trahan, 73, from the swing state of Michigan. Just shut up! You dont say that these immigrants are trash and theyre poisoning the country. Just say you dont like them.

But the rhetoric is not a dealbreaker for Trahan, and many other Trump backers who admire the former presidents willingness to shatter the normal bounds of political discourse.

Hes an outsider. Hes a businessman. And thats what we need, Trahan said. Like many of the people who gathered last month at a diner in Birch Run, Mich., to hear from local GOP candidates, Trahan says he plans to vote for Trump.

Maeve Reston contributed to this report.

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At scorching Vegas rally, Trump bashes migrants and courts Latinos - The Washington Post

Following his conviction in Manhattan on all 34 felony counts, Donald Trump must have an interview with his New York City probation officer. Interviews are typically scheduled for 10 days after a conviction. That would be Monday, as the 10th day was Sunday.

Trump will likely navigate between the Scylla of wanting to stay out of jail and the Charybdis of performing for his base. He knows the officers pre-sentence report to the judge will get out. So heres an imagined way the conversation might go.

Mr. Trump, my name is [redacted for safety purposes]. Im your probation officer. My job is to ask you questions so I can provide the judge with information for your pre-sentence report.

Trump: I can leak it, right? Voters love candidates like me who dont give a . . . who hate authority. Thats why I lead in every poll in the universe.

By the way, the country wont stand for it if I get jail time. Some very good people will go over the edge.

: The purpose of the pre-sentence report is to describe you and your background so Justice Merchan can make a well-informed sentencing decision. Any questions?

Trump: Who did you vote for in the last election?

: I ask the questions. They fall into two categories. First, are you likely to be amenable to a probation officers supervision and to follow the rules and restrictions?

Trump: Rules? I follow every rule that helps me. The rules that dont will be disappearing before long.

: Second, I need to describe any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that would justify leniency or the opposite. So tell me your side of the story. Like: Please understand, these bad things have happened to me. Because of them, I am not responsible for my conviction, so you should recommend leniency.

Trump: Easy. I am wronged by everybody. For example, there are two standards of justice in this country, one for Biden and one for me. The FBI raided my beautiful Mar-a-Lago. What did they do with Bidens millions of stolen classified documents in his garage? They asked for permission. Pretty please, can we search?

Believe me, I have plans for the FBI.

: What can I tell Justice Merchan about your willingness to follow the rules of probation, like living a crime-free life, coming in regularly to see me, not using drugs, and avoiding public statements that cast aspersions on the judicial process?

Trump: Ive never committed a crime in my life. This trial was rigged, or I wouldnt have been convicted. I do no drugs other than Prevagen.

And you saw that I followed that illegal gag order 100% except for 10 times. And only once did I talk loud enough for the jury to hear me, when I said Juror No. is a Trump-hater. I was a model citizen, closing my eyes only to keep from seeing all those slime-balls like Michael Cohen who testified against me.

: OK, anything more about mitigating circumstances?

Trump: I have bone spurs. I can get you that letter my dad got his doctor to write in 68. I used it five times to get out of going to Vietnam.

How about this for mitigating? The fake media is against me. The New York liberals, and all 12 of them on the jury, were against me. (That includes the guy who lied and said he followed me on Truth Social.) The judge was against me. He only kept me out of jail because he knew how much money Id raise if he put me there.

And such stupid lawyers! They screwed up, thats the only reason Im here. Can you believe how long and hard they cross-examined Stormy Daniels, that fake actress-on-the-stand? All huffy and puffy on the witness stand about how she was surprised I wanted to have sex with her? I dont even know her.

My lawyers kept me from testifying. I would have won if I did. Then, they called that goofball, Robert Costello, just because I told them to. What kind of lawyer takes a clients advice? I was just testing them. They failed.

: One more question. Do you have family members who would support you in following the rules of probation?

Trump: Theyre loyal to me. You saw my smart son, Eric, sitting there every day of the trial. You saw Don Jr. there on the last day. My dumb lawyers said Wait until after the prosecution rests so they dont call him. Hed be a disaster.

Melania didnt come because she takes good care of that son of hers. But would you like to meet her? She looks great in a bathing suit.

Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor, is of counsel toLawyers Defending American Democracy.

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Donald Trump's probation interview New York Daily News - New York Daily News