Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, May 28, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and today we have a bunch of stories to get to, from former President Donald Trump’s case in New York to bad news for another presidential candidate. Also, a top assassin from Mexico was extradited to the United States, there’s a big money story about illegal immigrants, and the Mayo Clinic is going to court.
Alan Dershowitz Alleges ‘Major’ Issue in Trump Criminal Trial
Retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz believes that the prosecutor who brought the New York criminal case against the former president should be investigated. Mr. Dershowitz argues that the major issue is how prosecutors will have to prove to the jury that payments President Trump sent to a former attorney, Michael Cohen, are actually illegal.Mr. Dershowitz said recently on social media that, if President Trump made those payments to “avoid exposure” and “publicity,” then it’s “extortion, and he’s then the victim of a serious crime.”
Mr. Dershowitz describes the case as a fabrication of a crime by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who used an unreliable witness, Mr. Cohen. He said, “There are so many ethical violations” at play.
The trial has lasted over six weeks, and both the prosecution and defense have rested their cases. Judge Juan Merchan has said that the jury will return today to listen to closing arguments in the case.
President Trump’s lawyers called a witness who testified that the former president was not at all involved in the payment plan. President Trump himself did not testify because he said the judge’s rulings made it difficult to testify, and also “because they have no case.”
In a separate development, a New York appeals court rejected President Trump’s request to have Judge Merchan recused from the case because his daughter works with a consulting firm for Democratic Party candidates. The court said late last week that President Trump failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his claim of judicial overreach.
Throughout the trial, President Trump has been under a gag order, which prevents him from commenting on the case or its participants.
The judge expects closing arguments to last a full day, followed by instructions to the jury and potential deliberations as early as tomorrow.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rejected in Libertarian Party Nomination
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, has been eliminated from the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee race. Despite expectations that he would be endorsed by a major party, Mr. Kennedy received only 2 percent of the votes in the first round, with 19 delegates supporting him.Mr. Kennedy spoke at the Libertarian National Convention, highlighting his views on peace, free speech, and civil liberties. He criticized President Trump and President Joe Biden for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that their actions violated the U.S. Constitution.
Mr. Kennedy was nominated by the Reform Party, which aligns with his goal of ending the two-party system. The party believes that Mr. Kennedy has a strong chance of winning against President Trump and President Biden in head-to-head races.
However, polls show that in a three-way race, President Trump leads with 43.7 percent of the support, followed by President Biden with 38.7 percent, and Mr. Kennedy with 12 percent.
Both President Biden and President Trump have agreed on two debates, but Mr. Kennedy has criticized their decision to exclude him. He believes that adding a third candidate would bring a fresh perspective and reduce polarization. Mr. Kennedy advocates for the transcendence of divisive views and a move away from the traditional “us versus them” approach.
DOJ Announces Top Mexican Assassin Extradited to US to Face Charges
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has extradited Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, a top assassin for a drug cartel in Mexico, to the United States to face charges. Mr. Pérez Salas, commonly known as “El Nini,” is responsible for murder, torture, and kidnapping on behalf of the cartel. He is also alleged to be involved in the production and sale of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for numerous overdoses in recent years.Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed gratitude for the efforts of Mexican officials in apprehending Mr. Pérez Salas and affirmed that the DOJ will continue to target cartels involved in drug trafficking.
The DOJ previously announced charges against cartel leaders and offered a $3 million reward for the capture of Pérez Salas. President Biden thanked his Mexican counterpart, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, for extraditing the assassin and emphasized the need for joint efforts in combating the fentanyl and synthetic drug epidemic.
The United States has experienced a significant number of drug overdose fatalities, with fentanyl being a major contributor. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently reported an increase in fentanyl purity in pills smuggled by Mexican cartels, which reportedly source chemicals from China to manufacture fentanyl.
Democrat Mayors Ask Biden to Give Work Permits to Millions of Illegal Immigrants
Forty-one Democrat mayors and county officials have recently written a letter to President Biden, urging his administration to grant parole and work permits to millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States.They said in their letter that extending work authorization to these individuals would benefit both the economy and the illegal immigrants themselves. They estimated that legalizing the work of illegal immigrants could bring in $13.8 billion annually in tax contributions.
While the Democrats cite a Congressional Budget Office prediction that “new arriving immigrants” could boost the U.S. gross domestic product by $7 trillion over the next decade, it’s not clear whether the CBO refers to legal or illegal immigrants.
However, studies have opposed claims that illegal immigrants are beneficial to the economy. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found that illegal immigration costs the United States over $150 billion annually.
They wrote in their letter that roughly 11.3 million American citizens today share a home with an undocumented individual. They said that this issue is critical in certain “key electoral states” such as Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina.
The Biden administration maintains that it is focused on addressing the border crisis and has called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. However, Republican lawmakers argue that the administration’s policies have contributed to the influx of illegal immigrants and have blocked efforts to pass border security legislation.
COVID-19 Vaccine Litigation Against Mayo Clinic Revived by Federal Court
A federal court has ruled that a lawsuit against the Mayo Clinic must proceed, overturning its dismissal in 2023.The court found that the five fired workers who sued the clinic had valid arguments that their religious beliefs conflicted with the clinic’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The workers alleged that the clinic unlawfully failed to accommodate their religious beliefs, which violated the Civil Rights Act. Three workers had their religious exemption requests denied, while the other two objected to the weekly COVID-19 testing requirement.
The previous judge had dismissed the case, stating that the plaintiffs did not prove their religious beliefs conflicted with the mandate. However, the appeals court disagreed, ruling that the judge’s findings were incorrect.
Under federal employment law, it’s illegal for employers to fire or otherwise take action against employees based on their religion. The three workers whose religious exemptions were denied claimed that their Christian beliefs prevented them from accepting the vaccine due to concerns over the use of aborted fetus cells in its production or testing. The court ruled that the plaintiffs adequately connected their refusal of the vaccine with their religious beliefs.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had urged the circuit court to rule in favor of the plaintiffs.
The circuit court reversed the previous ruling and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
I can see that we’re just about out of time, so let’s make that our final story on the Tuesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. May is almost gone, June is breathing down our neck, and the big bonus this week is that it’s a four-day work week, assuming you had yesterday off for Memorial Day.
Suzanne Smith checks in with a simple: Thank you for reporting the news.
And my pal, Jack Barnett, writes in to say: Thanks for the concise recap of the important stories and it’s a great way to start the day.
Hey, the News Brief growing faster than a Chia-Pet, and because you’re a News Brief “family member,” we’d sure appreciate it if you could tell some folks you know about our program and help us share the news with as many people as possible. You can never have too many friends or family members!
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote.
This one comes to us from Johann Sebastian Bach, who said: “It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.”
And to think I wasted all that time and money on lessons. One of the greatest composers of all time.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas. We appreciate you spending a portion of your day with us, enjoy the remainder of your day, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the midweek edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. If entirely possible, have an “artsy” and productive day today!
