It's finally Friday. The Washington, DC area could see another inch or two of snow tonight. ❄️☃️ Ah, this reminds me of when I lived in New England. Here's what happened today:
Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
The judge did not penalize Trump for the hush money conviction.
What's going on with the next president's legal battles?
The Supreme Court is considering TikTok's fate.
Trump team is looking for health threats to justify border closures.
I katemartell A quick summary of this morning and what's to come. Send your tips to cmartel@thehill.com.Can someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
⚖️President Trump's ruling
There is no jail time or fine, but you will be sentenced as a felony.
president-elect trump This morning, no fine was imposed in the hush money case in New York, but the felony conviction was confirmed. judge Juan Marchan The decision was made to unconditionally dismiss President Trump.
There are two ways to rotate this.
Trump is the first president to be sentenced as a convicted felon.
Mr. Trump is free to act as he pleases. In hush money cases, there are no prison terms, fines, or suspended sentences.
Did Trump attend the sentencing?: He appeared virtually with his attorney for a roughly 40-minute hearing. Todd Blanche.
please remember: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's last attempt to delay the ruling. It was a divided decision — Supreme Court Justices John Robertsand justiceamy coney barrett He joined with three liberals on the court to deny President Trump's request. Four other conservative justices sided with Trump.
Is this the end?: Probably not. Trump's sentencing meant he could appeal, and he had vowed to do so.
What is happening now?: “Mr. Trump plans to appeal.” [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Mr. Bragg's entire theory of the case, along with his pending presidential immunity appeal. However, even if the appeal is successful, the court process will take months, if not years, to progress through the courts. And with President Trump scheduled to take office in less than two weeks, legal experts widely agree that criminal charges cannot proceed against a sitting president. ” (the hill)
President Trump told a judge this morning that he is “totally innocent” and that his experience in Manhattan's criminal court system was “very bad.”
🗨️ Follow our live blog for today's court updates
💲 Immediately after the verdict 💲:
Trump sent out the release via email to raise money for the verdict. “They are trying to disrupt the presidential transition process. They are trying to end my presidency as we know it right before I take office,” Trump wrote.
🏛️ What happened today
The audience for Supreme Court livestreams may now be “much” younger.
The Supreme Court is hearing a case today that will decide the fate of the popular social media app TikTok.
The company's lawyers and the Justice Department have argued for and against the app's ban, which is scheduled to go into effect on January 19th.
Main question: Which will win: national security concerns or free speech?
👍 national security debate: Proponents of the ban are concerned about TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance. They are concerned that sensitive data of U.S. users could be shared with the Chinese government. Critics also worry that TikTok could be used as a weapon by the Chinese Communist Party to spread misinformation.
👎 free speech debate:This is a very popular app for Americans, and the ban would deplatform more than 170 million US users. Critics of the law say it violates Americans' First Amendment rights. They also claim that National security threats are just hypotheticals.
If nothing changes: TikTok will be banned on January 19th unless ByteDance divests the company.
it's just around the corner:The Supreme Court expected to govern More on this by the end of next week.
Where does President Trump stand on the ban?: president-elect trump identified with the platform and met with CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago last month.
scenario:
The Supreme Court could rule the ban unconstitutional.
Judges could delay the ban until after Trump takes office.
The high court could uphold the ban. In this scenario, your app could disappear from the app store on January 19th.
read more: “TikTok's future hangs in the balance after Friday's Supreme Court argument”
Oral argument highlights:
TikTok claims it will be very difficult to sell: TikTok's lawyer Noel Francisco He argued that it would be “very difficult” for ByteDance to realistically withdraw from TikTok.
TikTok used Jeff Bezos as an argument: TikTok's lawyer points out Amazon founder jeff bezos Own the Washington Post as an example of why this law violates TikTok's First Amendment rights.
“Let's assume that China uses its influence over Jeff Bezos, whose international empire includes business in China, to force the Washington Post to write whatever it wants on the paper.” Francisco said. “The government is not going to step in and say, 'Jeff Bezos, you need to either sell the Washington Post or shut it down.'”
Judge Brett Kavanaugh presses TikTok over national security concerns: “I think Congress and the president were concerned that China had access to information about millions of Americans…They could use that information to train spies, to change people, to blackmail people.'' “The FBI, the CIA, the State Department,” Kavanaugh said.
💉Trump administration transition
President Trump is looking for immigration loopholes:
president-elect trumpThe New York Times said his advisers have been working for months to find any health threats that could justify his push to close the U.S.-Mexico border. Zoran Kanno Youngs and Hamed Areaziz Report.
Trump was able to use that reasoning during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.: “As Mr. Trump prepares to take office again, he has no need to point out such public health issues. Still, his advisers have said in recent months that he has In the meantime, they say they have been trying to find the right disease to frame their case. They are considering tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases as options, and among immigrants to allies within the Border Patrol. We are asking for examples of diseases that have been detected.”
Rules that apply: Title 42, which can block people from entering the country based on health threats.
please remember: Trump's next White House Deputy Chief of Staff stephen miller “He has long considered Title 42 to be an important tool in achieving his goal of closing the border to immigration. It has been a years-long quest to find examples of the disease in immigrants.
check out New Yorker magazine's latest cover. depicts a high-tech billionaire Elon Musk Taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day with President Trump in the background.
President Trump wants old finds back:
wall street journal craig carmin President Trump's “real estate company is in talks to take back a former Washington, D.C., hotel, a move that could be an early test of how the next president will handle potential conflicts of interest.” It is reported that.
washington post: DOGE sends employees throughout the U.S. government.
wall street journal: Rival factions of the Republican Party vie for President Trump's confirmation
the hill: Senate Republicans fear land mines in the House could derail President Trump's tax policy
new york times: Trump's rebuke reveals divisions in the Supreme Court
🐝internet topics
🍫 celebrate:Today is National Bittersweet Chocolate Day!
🏈☘️ That was a wild ending.: The University of Notre Dame's football team advanced to the national title game last night. in the wild game. 📹 watch this clip
🪧 Macy's and Kohl's close some stores: Retailer Macy's will close more than 60 stores this year, and retailer Kohl's plans to close nearly 30 stores by April. 📝 List of affected stores
📆About the topic
The House and Senate are absent. president biden and vice president harris I'm in Washington DC (always eastern)
1:30pm: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell Short reporters. 💻 live stream
