October 2, 2023 - Your Daily Digest

Trump trial begins, McCarthy motion to vacate filed, and more

Today is October 2, 2023 and here are three main stories from the day that you missed. If you enjoy these short digests and want to see more, then consider becoming a monthly subscriber at the link below.

1) Trump’s Civil Fraud Trial Begins

Today marked the beginning of Donald Trump’s 250 million dollar civil fraud trial in New York City. Prior to today's trial, the Judge presiding over the case found that Trump committed Persistent Fraud under NY Executive Law 63-12 in all of his business dealings by inflating his balance sheet to obtain loans, and deflating asset value to get tax breaks. As a result, the Judge already ordered, consistent with his powers, to address Persistent Fraud under 63-12, that all of Trump’s companies need to be cancelled, dissolved, and an independent receiver appointed over the sale of his key real estate assets.

Surprising many in attendance, Trump himself decided to show up for the first day of trial, even though he was not required to by the court or by New York State law. However, after attacking both the New York Attorney General and the Judge outside of the courtroom, Trump had a rude awakening in the courtroom. Within minutes of taking the bench, the Judge notified Trump that his attorneys failed to timely request a jury trial, and therefore, it would be a bench trial.

A jury trial demand is standard in most cases, and in New York, must be submitted either with your note of issue or within 15 days of receiving such a note. However, neither Trump’s attorneys nor the Attorney General’s Office requested a jury trial, and therefore, the request was waived. After this snafu by Trump’s attorneys both sides gave their opening statements, and later, Trump’s prior accountant took the witness stand as the first witness. This trial is expected to last several weeks even though the court has already found that Trump was liable for several of the allegations contained in the lawsuit.

2) Trouble In Paradise for Kevin McCarthy

Is there trouble in paradise for Kevin McCarthy? After a late night deal with House Democrats to avert a government shutdown, McCarthy looks to be on the chopping block as House Freedom Caucus members, led by Congressman Matt Gaetz, has filed a motion to vacate seeking to remove McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Back in January when McCarthy was first elected Speaker (after 15 votes), one of the major rule changes that he made to appease Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus was to allow any member to seek a motion to vacate without any other support. Gaetz took the House floor today, on the same day his father announced a run for the Florida Senate, to announce that he has filed Motion to Vacate, and will continue to file the motion as many times as it takes for him to remove McCarthy from the Speaker’s seat. The vote on the motion must now take place within two days.

Meanwhile, there are rumblings on Capitol Hill that House Republicans are so fed up with Gaetz that they may seek to expel him from Congress if a House Ethics Committee finds culpability on Gaetz’s part for sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, or the litany of other allegations currently pending. Such a vote would require support from 2/3rds of the House of Representatives and members from both parties have already signaled that without the Ethics Committee finding any culpability, such a vote would likely fail on the House floor. Either way, there is trouble in Washington for both McCarthy and Gaetz as another government shutdown looms in just over one months time.

3) Ukraine Update

After a government shutdown was averted earlier this weekend, many in the United States and abroad are concerned about the possibility of no longer supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom. House Republicans in the United States were successful in removing any additional Ukraine aid from the resolution that was meant to keep the government open. Since then, Russia has championed this decision, while the White House is putting significant pressure on Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans to pass more aid as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has stated publicly that the battle for Crimea is beginning and we must support Ukraine’s fight as much as possible.

In addition, there appears to be some tension growing between Poland and Ukraine as Poland did not accept invitation to come to Kyiv for military industry forum according to Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland. However, at the same time, Poland did ship two refurbished tanks to Ukraine today, both of which will immediately be sent to the front line to support Ukraine’s troops. Finally, according to new reporting from the New York Times, Russia is planning on testing a nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile in the coming weeks. This comes from images taken of the Arctic. Stay tuned for more on this.