Takeaways from Donald Trump’s wild day of legal developments
CNN
Donald Trump received both a lifeline from the courts Monday and a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history, a pair of rulings that hit home the legal whiplash constantly surrounding him.
Donald Trump received both a lifeline from the courts Monday and a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history, a pair of rulings that hit home the legal whiplash constantly surrounding him. The twin rulings Monday, which came roughly within an hour of each other, hit the intersection of challenges to Trump’s image and his famed business empire as he seeks a second term in the White House. Trump’s historic criminal trial in the New York hush money case against him will begin with jury selection on April 15, Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, after a dispute over the late production of documents caused the judge initially to push back the start date. For Trump, however, the more significant ruling Monday may have been a New York appeals court allowing him to post a reduced $175 million bond to appeal the $464 million New York civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons and his company. Trump told reporters he will cover the bond using cash as a collateral. Here are the takeaways from another historic day for Trump: Barring another unforeseen hiccup, never something to rule out when Trump is involved, the former president will face a jury on criminal charges for at least one of his trials before the November election

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









