How Much Do The Veepstakes Matter? (monday’s Trail Mix)

“As he walked into court for the first day of his first criminal prosecution, Donald Trump hoped to make clear that it was the system, not him, that was really on trial,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Said Trump: “This is an assault on America. This is political persecution, this is a persecution like never before.

Criminal defense attorney Stacey Schneider says that former President Donald Trump was "rattled" following a Sandoval hearing in the New York hush money trial where he heard a recounting of his criminal history.

Gov. Jared Polis signed “for-cause” eviction protections into law Friday, making Colorado the sixth U. S. state to enact the policy that’s aimed at blunting displacement of vulnerable tenants. The law, passed by the legislature late last month, effectively gives tenants a right of first refusal to renew their leases. That protection, supporters say, will insulate renters from discriminatory or retaliatory nonrenewals from landlords, who may want to rid themselves of a tenant who complained about an apartment’s condition. “This is the right thing to do,” said Democratic Rep.

There was a bipartisan border deal that Donald Trump instructed Republicans to reject. Still, they tell Democrats that the border is neglected, and they're using that to hold up direly needed aid to Ukraine. It seems obvious that if the border is addressed, it would leave the former President without a central campaign platform: hating immigrants, building the wall, etc.

At a time when more high earners are leaving New York state, or at least are claiming to, state officials are stepping up already intense scrutiny to make sure those residents have actually moved. Because for the ultrarich, even an extra day in the wrong place could mean millions in income-tax liability.

Omarosa Manigault Newman yesterday recalled the measures that fellow aides used to take to prevent Trump from falling asleep in meetings and ceremonies. So it turns out his constant accusations of Sleepy Joe really are projection! Via HuffPost: The onetime “Apprentice” contestant-turned-Trump critic explained that because her former boss ― who reportedly preferred intelligence briefings full of pictures ― “cannot focus, nor can he sit still for long,” they would build events “specifically to address his attention deficit.” “We would break up the events so that he be stimulated and not fall asleep,” Newman remembered to MSNBC’s Jason Johnson. “We could slide him different information or news articles that he could read while the long proceedings were going on, anything to keep him focused so that he wouldn’t just get up and walk out,” she added. Newman suggested Trump will find it difficult, therefore, to sit through his hush money trial where proceedings can be “very boring.” He’s already reportedly fallen asleep in court, she noted. It is “highly likely” Trump will “blow up” when hearing testimony he doesn’t like, she added, saying the “worst place you can allow Trump to be Trump is in a courtroom.” read more