Fiction / On Whetsday / Episode 2

“Donald Trump falsely claimed Thursday that he is not allowed to testify in his own defense at a criminal trial in Manhattan over his alleged falsification of business records,” CNN reports. Said Trump: “I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order. I guess, right? I’m not allowed to testify, because this judge, who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order.” He continued by complaining that he’s “not allowed to talk” even when others attack him, then said again, “So I’m not allowed to testify because of an unconstitutional gag order.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) “signed into law a repeal of the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban, rescinding one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws after weeks of hard-fought political negotiation at the state capitol,” the Arizona Republic reports.

Former Michigan House speaker Lee Chatfield (R) and his wife “pleaded not guilty Thursday to financial charges arising from an investigation of how they spent money from unregulated political funds,” the AP reports. They are accused of using money for personal travel, housing and other benefits when he was in office.

Tom Nichols: “One problem has been around as long as the republic: Americans don’t pay attention to politics, and when they do, they frequently blame the current president for whatever is going wrong in their lives. For most people, economic cause and effect is mostly notional; if gas prices are high today, or if someone is still not working despite low unemployment rates, it’s because of the guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

New York Times: “To recap, the jury just heard a very important recording, made by Michael Cohen during the 2016 campaign and extracted from his phone. On the recording, Trump discussed a hush-money payment with Cohen, asking him specifically about the financing of the deal. The payment in question went to Karen McDougal, not Stormy Daniels.

A longtime lieutenant and criminal co-defendant of far-right Chinese fugitive mogul Guo Wengui has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges ahead of their upcoming trial. This development strengthens the position of federal prosecutors in a case in which they have called Steve Bannon, a vocal Guo ally, a “co-conspirator.” Yvette Wang, Guo’s former chief of staff and alleged co-conspirator in defrauding thousands of Guo supporters of more than $1 billion, pleaded not guilty after her arrest in March 2023.