With just a week to go, Donald Trump is once again attempting to delay the start of his highly anticipated hush-money trial in New York City. His odds of success are extremely long.
The New York Times reports that Trump intends to file a lawsuit against Juan Merchan, the judge presiding over the case, whom Trump has repeatedly assailed on social media and in press conferences. The filing has not yet been made public, but CNBC reports that Trump’s legal team is seeking a delay in the trial as they submit two motions to an appeals court asking for the trial to be moved outside of Manhattan and for a stay on a gag order Merchan recently imposed on Trump. Jury selection in the trial is set to begin on Monday, April 15.
Later that day, an appeals-court judge denied Trump’s request for a trial delay, per the Associated Press. An initial ruling on submitted motions could come as early as Monday. Proceedings were already delayed from its original March 25th date to allow for both sides to review newly submitted documents.
In late March, Merchan set a gag order in the trial, barring Trump from making statements about witnesses and potential jurors as well as attorneys, prosecutors, court staff, and their families. However, the judge was forced to amend the order a week later after the former president made several direct attacks on Merchan’s daughter Loren, a Democratic strategist, on social media. Under the new order, Trump is banned from making statements about the families of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg as well as Merchan, though he is still allowed to make public comments on either man themselves.
This is just the latest attempt by Trump to delay the pending trial. Previously, the former president has called for Merchan’s recusal and asked for the trial to be pushed back until the Supreme Court has weighed in on his argument that he has presidential immunity from prosecution. Merchan denied his request to wait for SCOTUS’s ruling and has yet to weigh in on Trump’s recent call for his recusal. The judge previously declined to step down from the case back in August.
In April 2023, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors allege that, ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Trump directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to facilitate a payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged past affair. They claim that Trump then altered Trump Organization records to hide the true purpose of the money.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
