Trump is set to return to the witness stand in his civil fraud trial
NEW YORK — After a pugnacious first turn on the witness stand, former president Trump plans to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial, his lawyers said Monday.
He is to return Dec. 11, defense attorney Christopher Kise said.
The case has targeted his net worth, accused him of misleading banks and insurers, and threatened his future in business in New York.
The Republican 2024 presidential front-runner denies all the allegations, and he used his first stint on the witness stand on Nov. 6 to lambaste the case, the judge, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit.
The second round of Trump’s testimony could be more expansive. James’s office led the questioning the first time; next month, that role goes to Trump’s own lawyers, and they can ask about a wider range of subjects than they could during cross-examination before.
When Trump’s son, company executive vice president Donald Trump Jr., testified for the defense this month, for instance, he lauded his father, traced the family’s history in business back to the late 1800s and talked the court through a glossy slideshow replete with sumptuous photos of skyscraper views, golf fairways, ballrooms, roof terraces, and estates.
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Biden warns companies against price gouging
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Monday opened the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council by warning companies against price gouging and saying that his administration was working to lower costs for US families.
“We know that prices are still too high for too many things, that times are still too tough for too many families,” Biden said. “But we’ve made progress.”
The president has blamed inflation on issues such as supply chains and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while Republican lawmakers say the run-up in prices was triggered by the $1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief that Democrat Biden signed into law in 2021.
Biden used the council meeting to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data as well as other programs tied to the production and shipment of goods.
He said he was tackling “junk fees,” hidden charges that companies sneak into bills just because they can and customers have no alternative.
The council follows an earlier task force that was meant to address the supply chain problems that partially fueled higher inflation in 2021 as the United States recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the 30 new actions, Biden will use the Defense Production Act to have the Health and Human Services Department invest in the domestic manufacturing of needed medicines that are deemed crucial for national security. The Cabinet agency has identified $35 million to invest in the production of materials for injectable medicines.
White House to show ‘Magic, Wonder and Joy’ of holidays
WASHINGTON — Step inside the White House during the holidays by walking beneath the branches of a Christmas tree. Stroll along a hallway decorated with oversize holiday candy and other sweets. See Santa’s sleigh and his eight reindeer suspended above the grand foyer in dramatic fashion.
Jill Biden wants everyone who visits the White House during the holidays to feel like a kid again.
“Each room is designed to capture this pure, unfiltered delight and imagination” so visitors “see this time of year through the wondrous, sparkling eyes of children,” the first lady said Monday at the first of a month’s worth of holiday receptions. About 100,000 visitors are expected for the holidays.
“Magic, Wonder and Joy” is the theme this year.