“A young man set himself on fire after dousing himself with a flammable liquid in Collect Pond Park, across from the courthouse. As onlookers screamed, bright orange flames engulfed the man,” the New York Times reports. “He was in the area of the park cordoned-off for Trump supporters, around two dozen of whom fled screaming ..read more

“Twelve jurors and six alternates have been chosen in the Manhattan trial of Donald J. Trump, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 campaign,” the New York Times reports. “Opening statements, where prosecutors and defense lawyers will introduce their dueling cases to the newly empaneled jury, are expected to begin as early as Monday ..read more

“Apparently Donald Trump needs to catch up on some sleep, as the former president appeared to doze off in a New York City courtroom yet again on Friday,” the Daily Beast reports. “This time around, reporters noted that Trump’s head repeatedly dropped, and he closed his eyes for quite some time.” “It’s at least the third time Trump has been spotted catching some ZZZs during the first week of his high-stakes hush-money trial ..read more

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the former chair of the January 6 select committee, has filed legislation that would strip Secret Service protection for anyone sentenced to jail for a felony ..read more

New York Times: “Interviews in Mr. McCormick’s hometown, as well as a review of public records, news coverage from his childhood and his own words, suggest that he has given a misleading impression about key aspects of his background.” “He has explicitly said and strongly implied that he grew up on a farm, claimed in 2022 that he had ‘started with nothing’ and that he ‘didn’t have anything,’ and he and his campaign have recently described his parents as schoolteachers.” “In fact, Mr. McCormick is the son of a well-regarded college president who later became chancellor of higher education syste ..read more

“So they have to do everything they can to keep him out of that White House ’cause they know Donald Trump gets in for four more years, the jig is up for them. The gloves are off. There are no holds barred here. He is going full-throttle. He’s not worried about winning another election. It’s four years of scorched earth when Donald Trump retakes the White House.” — RNC co-chair Lara Trump, speaking at a fundraiser ..read more

“The hush money trial was never going to be good for Trump, but the first week in court proved just how disruptive and damaging it will be for his 2024 bid,” the Daily Beast reports. Said GOP strategist Alex Conant: “I had sort of underestimated just the giant time-suck this is going to be for him as a candidate.” He added: “He could be raising six, seven figures pretty regularly at major-dollar events around the country at this point. That’s literally what Biden is doing. So Trump’s fundraisers are probably frustrated that because he’s in New York, they can’t schedule that stuff ..read more

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Republican operative Jesse Benton for orchestrating an illegal payment from a Russian national to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee ..read more

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) announced Friday that he will co-sponsor Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) resolution to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from the top job, becoming the third House Republican to back his ouster, The Hill reports ..read more

Russell Berman: “Democrats are betting that they can reverse long-held conventional wisdom on voting behavior. Support is generally thought to flow from the top of the ticket down: State and local candidates ‘ride the coattails‘ of the presidential nominee, and parties sink or swim on the strength of their standard-bearers. Not this year… A large part of the theory of victory is the reverse coattails.” “The strategy is a gamble. Although Democrats have had plenty of down-ballot success in recent years, particularly since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down Roe v. Wade, previous ele ..read more