President Donald Trump offered a faulty take on the Constitution's grounds for impeachment Wednesday as he wrapped up a NATO summit marked by his misstatements on several fronts.
Among them, he claimed that he pays no attention to the stock market despite plentiful evidence that he treats that indicator as the pulse of his presidency. Or at least he did, until stocks took a thrashing.
A look at some of his comments from London:
President Donald Trump shakes hands as he meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at Winfield House, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in London. (AP Photo Evan Vucci))
TRUMP, on French President Emmanuel Macron's assertion that NATO is suffering “brain death”: “He’s taken back his comments very much so on NATO." — remarks Wednesday with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
THE FACTS: No, Macron did not back off what Trump had called a “very, very nasty” statement about NATO. He conspicuously stood by it, before the summit, after it and when face to face with Trump in a tense joint news conference. If anything, Macron appeared to relish the provocation he had brought on.
“I do stand by it,” he said Tuesday as Trump looked on. “I assume full responsibility for it,” he said Wednesday. And he tweeted: “The comments I made about NATO prompted a debate among members of the alliance. This dialogue is a very good thing.” He likened himself to an ice-breaker smashing through ice.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Caif., listens as constitutional scholars testify before the House Judiciary Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 4, 2019 in Washington. (Drew AngererPool via AP)
Macron characterized NATO as brain dead last month, citing a lack of U.S. leadership and confusion in the alliance about what its fundamental missions should be. He said the U.S. was turning its back on NATO and — in light of Trump's unexpected announcement in October that he would withdraw troops from Syria — doing no coordination with allies on strategic decision-making.
On Wednesday, Macron mildly praised the summit as “constructive” while emphasizing that the fundamentals that sparked his complaint had not been resolved.
TRUMP: “If the stock market goes up or down — I don’t watch the stock market. I watch jobs." — remarks during NATO summit after stocks fell sharply Tuesday before rallying Wednesday.
THE FACTS: This is not true. Trump watches the stock market. He uses the stock market as a leading barometer of his presidency, giving the subject a rest only when the market's performance is down.
On a good day, he will tweet about it. Otherwise, his rally speeches and White House remarks are laced with references to the market's growth since he became president. He takes credit for gains and blames losses on other things, like Democrats.
Trump tweeted about the stock market more than a dozen times in November as it repeatedly edged into record highs.
“Enjoy!" he tweeted several times. “Spend your money well!”
On one occasion, his boastfulness became too much even for him. He tweeted: “Stock Markets (all three) hit another ALL TIME & HISTORIC HIGH yesterday! You are sooo lucky to have me as your President." Then he added: "(just kidding!).”
TRUMP: “The word ‘impeachment’ is a dirty word, and it's a word that was only supposed to be used in special occasions: high crimes and misdemeanors. In this case, there was no crime whatsoever. Not even a little tiny crime. There was no crime whatsoever, and they know it. ” — remarks with Conte on Wednesday.
THE FACTS: That's a misrepresentation of the conditions for impeaching a president. The constitutional grounds for impeachment do not require any crime to have been committed. In setting the conditions — treason, bribery or high crimes and misdemeanors — the founders said explicitly that a consequential abuse of office — crime or not — was subject to the impeachment process they laid out.
Months after the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Alexander Hamilton explained in the Federalist Papers that a commonly understood crime need not be the basis of impeachment. Offenses qualifying for that step “are of a nature ... POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself," he wrote.
As they move toward drafting articles of impeachment, though, Democrats are alleging crimes involving obstruction of justice as part of their case that Trump abused his office.
TRUMP, on his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: “All you have to do is listen to the call or read the call. We had it transcribed perfectly. But he was — he said, no pressure, no nothing. There was no nothing.” — remarks Wednesday with Conte.
THE FACTS: Trump misleads in suggesting that Zelenskiy didn’t have any concerns about the call. Nor was the call “transcribed perfectly;" only a rough transcript was released by the White House.
While Zelenskiy initially said there was no discussion of a quid pro quo, he said in an interview Monday with Time that Trump should not have blocked military aid to Ukraine. Zelenskiy also criticized Trump for casting the country as corrupt, saying it sends a concerning message to international allies.
On that call discussing military aid, Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate Trump’s political rivals in the U.S.
“Look I never talked to the president from the position of a quid pro quo,” Zelenskiy said. “But you have to understand. We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness."
On corruption, Zelenskiy said it unfairly undermines support for the country.
“Everyone hears that signal,” he said. “Investments, banks, stakeholders, companies, American, European, companies that have international capital in Ukraine, it’s a signal to them that says, ‘Be careful, don’t invest.’ Or, ‘Get out of there.’”
It’s true that in early October, Zelenskiy had told reporters “there was no pressure or blackmail from the U.S.” But he did not state Trump had done “nothing” wrong, even as he let his criticisms simmer before surfacing them.
In any event, Zelenskiy knew months before the call that much-needed U.S. military support might depend on whether he was willing to help Trump by investigating Democrats.
EDITOR'S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case.
The completion of jury selection sets the stage for opening statements in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president to begin Monday, as well as weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life emerging in the final days of the 2016 election.
The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
The process initially progressed very quickly, with seven jurors seated by the end of Tuesday. But two jurors were later dismissed on Thursday, one after expressing concerns about her ability to be impartial and the other amid questions about whether he had provided accurate answers about his past during the selection process.
Shortly after the jury was seated Friday, emergency crews responded to a park across the street from the courthouse, where a person was on fire. The individual was taken away on a stretcher and police were expected to hold a news conference later in the afternoon.
The hush money case is the first of Trump’s four indictments to reach trial.
At the heart of the allegations is a $130,000 payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.
Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of such payments in internal business documents. Trump has said none of the alleged sexual encounters occurred. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Currently:
— The hush money case is just one of Trump's legal cases. See the others here
— Judge in Trump case orders media not to report where potential jurors work
— Social media searches play central role in jury selection for Trump’s trial
— Only 1 in 3 US adults think Trump acted illegally in New York hush money case, AP-NORC poll shows
Here's the latest:
Donald Trump's legal team has asked the New York state appellate court to intervene in his hush money trial, filing another application with a midlevel appeals court on Friday.
A hearing was scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
The documents weren’t immediately publicly available, but Trump’s lawyers have gone to the appeals court before trying to get the trial delayed or moved out of Manhattan. They have argued that Trump can’t get a fair trial there because of intense publicity.
The trial judge had rejected that request.
New York police are expected to hold a news conference at 2:45 p.m. Friday after a man set himself on fire in the park across the street from the courthouse where Donald Trump's hush money trial is taking place.
Passersby rushed to douse the flames and the man was rushed away on a stretcher by emergency crews.
Judge Juan M. Merchan, seemingly unaware of what was unfolding outside the courthouse on Friday afternoon, told newly selected jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial that opening statements are set for Monday at 9:30 a.m.
Merchan is expected to hold a hearing Friday at 3:15 p.m. on the prosecution’s desire to question the former president, should he testify, regarding his recent civil court losses.
Emergency crews rushed away a person on a stretcher after fire was extinguished outside the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection was taking place Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case.
No other details were immediately available from police.
A full jury of 12 people and six alternates had been seated in Trump’s hush money case just minutes earlier, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.
A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial.
The completion of the jury selection process tees up the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president for opening statements and weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life emerging in the final days of the 2016 election.
The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Two more alternates in Donald Trump's hush money case have been selected, leaving just two more alternate juror slots to be filled.
A second alternate juror has been selected in Donald Trump's hush money case. The individual joins the other 12 jurors and the first alternate who were sworn in during jury selection proceedings on Thursday. Four more alternates are still needed.
An alternate juror listens to the testimony, just like all the other jurors, but doesn’t join in the deliberations unless one of the main jurors needs to drop out or is removed.
Another individual was dismissed from jury selection in Donald Trump's criminal trial Friday after blurting out that she felt anxious during a separate panelist’s questioning.
“With this line of questioning, I’m getting the same anxiety and self-doubt” that other excused jurors were raising, the woman said.
Her comment came as Trump lawyer Susan Necheles asked a different jury candidate several questions about her ability to fairly evaluate the credibility of a witness like ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who went to prison for lying to Congress and other crimes.
At least a half-dozen potential jurors have been excused from consideration during the fourth day of jury selection, with several citing anxiety and nervousness brought on by potentially being connected to the high-profile trial.
Over the past few days, more than a couple of prospective jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial have highlighted the stress and anxiety they have felt during the selection process.
One woman was being questioned Friday by a prosecutor about her ability to decide the case based only on courtroom evidence when she began to cry.
“I feel so nervous and anxious right now,” the woman said through tears. “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t want someone who feels like this to judge my case either. I don’t want to waste the court’s time. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
After conferring briefly with the prosecution and defense, Judge Juan M. Merchan dismissed the woman from consideration.
The outsized media attention and public interest in the case isn't the only thing driving some would-be jurors to their breaking points, though. Those called into the courtroom are also answering a lengthy list of personal questions, revealing details about their family life and brushes with the law that have stirred other emotional responses.
A section of the questionnaire asking would-be jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial what they like to do in their spare time has revealed an eclectic array of hobbies and passions.
During the week, the court has been introduced to Manhattanites who enjoy metalworking, scuba diving and seeing the New York Philharmonic. There were also several yogis, hikers and one man who said he cleans his local dog park as “meditation.”
One woman said she takes her kids to Rubik’s Cube competitions and another said she used to be an amateur boxer, though noted that “black eyes were frowned upon” in her profession. Earlier in the week, a different prospective juror joked that he had no spare time, adding later, “I guess my hobby is my family.”
New York is the most populous city in the U.S., but Donald Trump's hush money trial has shown that it can also feel a lot like a small town.
One prospective juror said she had connections to not one but two people who’ve been in Trump’s orbit: the former president’s ex-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who backed Trump in 2020 but later ran against him.
The woman disclosed that she works at the same company as a Cohen relative — though they’ve never crossed paths — and that someone in her family is friends with Christie. Despite that, she assured the court that she could be fair and impartial.
The latest questionnaire round in jury selection in Donald Trump's hush money trial began Friday with a prospective juror saying she has anxiety and isn’t sure she can serve. She said that she takes medication for the condition and that as more days pass, “I don’t think I will be able to be completely fair” and focused on the trial.
Judge Juan M. Merchan excused her.
Because 22 prospective jurors are being questioned, Merchan granted a prosecutor’s request for five extra minutes of questioning. Instead of 20 minutes, prosecutors will have 25 questions to inquire of the group.
Another potential juror, a woman with adult children, said she doesn't believe in watching the news. She added that her husband sends her news that seems important and that she has no strong opinions on Trump.
As potential jurors ran through the questionnaire, Trump appeared to lean over at the defense table, scribbling on some papers and occasionally exchanging notes with his lawyers.
But when another potential juror mentioned that he follows the White House Instagram account, including when Trump was in office, the former president looked up and toward the jury box.
Donald Trump shuffled through papers at the defense table Friday morning after walking into Manhattan court for the fourth day of jury selection in his hush money trial.
He turned stoic and stern as news photographers came in to snap pictures of him, as is the daily custom before court resumes.
Twenty-two possible jurors are being brought in as jury selection is set to resume. As many as five alternate jurors must be selected before jury selection is over. One alternate was already sworn in at the end of the day Thursday.
Donald Trump lost a bid Thursday to pause a string of lawsuits accusing him of inciting the U.S. Capitol attack, while the former president fights his 2020 election interference criminal case in Washington.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington denied defense lawyers’ request to put the civil cases seeking to hold Trump responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on hold while a separate criminal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his election defeat to President Joe Biden plays out.
The lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 seek civil damages for harm they say they suffered during the attack, which aimed to stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory.
Speaking to reporters inside the lower Manhattan courthouse, former President Donald Trump once again railed against his hush money trial, demanding Judge Juan M. Merchan lift a gag order limiting what he can say publicly about witnesses.
“The gag order has to come off. People are allowed to speak about me and I have a gag order,” he said.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office are currently looking to fine Trump over violating his gag order after disparaging witnesses in the case on social media. A hearing is set for next week.
Donald Trump raised his right fist as he headed to his motorcade while leaving Trump Tower on Friday.
Soon afterward, the former president arrived at the court in Manhattan where more potential jurors will be questioned in his hush money case.
A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, drawing jury selection a step closer to completion.
After a jury of 12 New Yorkers was seated Thursday, lawyers were expected to turn their attention to picking remaining alternates who can vow to set aside their personal views and impartially judge the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Judge Juan M. Merchan has suggested that opening statements in the criminal trial could begin as early as Monday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden.
Jury selection in Donald Trump's hush money case proceeded at a plodding pace Thursday when two of the initial seven seated jurors were dismissed.
But late in the day, lawyers settled on the remaining seven in quick succession, along with one alternate. Judge Juan M. Merchan has said his goal is to have five additional alternates.
Even with the roster of 12 jurors set, it’s still possible that the lineup may change as proceedings continue Friday.
Judge Juan M. Merchan was expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Donald Trump’s prior legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case.
Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.
Trump says he did nothing wrong and has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system bent on keeping him out of the White House. He has lashed out on social media about the judge, prosecutors and potential witnesses, prompting the district attorneys to seek sanctions for possible violations of a gag order in the criminal case.
After Thursday’s court proceedings, Trump complained to reporters that he should have been out campaigning but was in court instead for what he said was a “very unfair trial.”
“Everybody’s outraged by it,” he said. “You know the whole world’s watching this New York scam.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits beside his lawyer Emil Bove during jury selection of his criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, Friday, April 19, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg via AP, Pool)
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger stands at the podium during jury selection of former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, Friday, April 19, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg via AP, Pool)
Judge Juan Merchan presides as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger stands at the podium as former U.S. President Donald Trump sits beside his lawyer Emil Bove during jury selection of his criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, Friday, April 19, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump and his lawyer Todd Blanche appear at Manhattan criminal in New York, Friday, April 19, 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal in New York, Friday, April 19, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal in New York, Friday, April 19, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he enters Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, April 19, 2024 in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, April 19, 2024 in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump waves as he enters Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, April 19, 2024 in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)
Former president Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 19, 2024, in New York. Jury selection in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is set to resume after a frenetic day that eventually saw all 12 jurors sworn in along with one alternate juror. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former president Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 19, 2024, in New York. Jury selection in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is set to resume after a frenetic day that eventually saw all 12 jurors sworn in along with one alternate juror. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom for his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump points towards his attorney Todd Blanche as he speaks following his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump holds up news clippings as he speaks following his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
