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5:10 AM ET, May 31, 2024

Top Items:

Live Updates: Trump Guilty on All Counts in Hush-Money Case — Donald J. Trump, the former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case stemming from a payment that silenced a porn star.

Kaia Hubbard / CBS News:

Is Trump going to prison? What to know about the possible sentence after his conviction — Washington — Former President Donald Trump has now been convicted in the New York “hush money” criminal trial, immediately raising a lot of questions and launching the case into uncharted territory …

Discussion: Politico, New Republic, HuffPost, USA Today, NBC News, NPR, KUSA-TV, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Plain Dealer, Newsbusters, New York Post, The Root, Reuters, Semafor, SCOTUSblog and WFLA-TV

Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:

Donald Trump Should Drop Out — Convicted felon Donald Trump's first words after the historic jury verdict were predictably defiant: “The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people.” — The Biden-Harris campaign's communication director issued a statement (perhaps written …

Discussion: Good Politics/Bad Politics, New York Times, Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Axios, Rolling Stone and AllSides Balanced

Stephen Neukam / Axios:

Trump aide declares Larry Hogan's campaign dead … - Hogan's call to respect the rule of law seems to have incensed at least one top Trump advisor. — “You just ended your campaign,” said Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump advisor, on X in response to Hogan's comments.

Discussion: RTÉ, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, New York Times, Mediaite, Roll Call, The Daily Beast and Washington Examiner

Renato Mariotti / New York Times:

How Trump's Team Blew It — The criminal trial of Donald Trump didn't have to end this way. — The prosecution's case had flaws that couldn't be wallpapered over even with weeks of testimony, over 200 exhibits and a polished and persuasive presentation by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, and his team.

Discussion: HuffPost, Reuters, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Politico and Breitbart

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Wrong Case, Right Verdict — The wrong case for the wrong offense just reached the right verdict. — Donald Trump will not be held accountable before the 2024 presidential election for his violent attempt to overturn the previous election. He will not be held accountable before the election …

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel and KOIN-TV

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Trump Loses a Big Battle in His Lifelong War Against Accountability — His 34 guilty convictions turn this escape artist into a felon. — Donald Trump has been in a war with accountability his entire adult life, and accountability has usually lost. In a New York City courtroom on Thursday …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times and Business Insider

CNN:

Donald Trump found guilty of all 34 charges in hush money trial — What we covered here … Here's what happens now that Trump has been convicted in his hush money criminal case — From CNN's Devan Cole — A New York jury convicting Donald Trump on 34 felony counts …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, USA Today, New York Times, RTÉ, Vox, The Sun, CoinDesk, The American Conservative, Forbes, PolitiFact, The Times of Israel, Law Dork, The Kyiv Independent, CBS News, Politico, Metro.co.uk, Axios and WKBN-TV

emptywheel:

Trump Convicted of Fraud to Cover-up Fucking a Sex Worker — The first five verdicts were guilty. Updates as they come. — Update: All 34 counts came back guilty. — Update: Sentencing will be July 11, the week before the GOP Convention. — Update: The Biden campaign has issued this statement.

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, WTTG-TV, Fox News, USA Today, Florida Politics and AllSides Balanced

David Axelrod / CNN:

How Robert De Niro's advocacy for Biden backfired — Editor's Note: David Axelrod, a CNN senior political commentator and host of “The Axe Files,” was a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama and chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Variety, Politico, Semafor and Raw Story

Associated Press:

Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes — He is the first former American president to be found guilty of felony crimes — Jurors in Trump hush money trial end 1st day of deliberations without a verdict, AP Explains — Donald Trump became …

Politico:

Trump tries to spin guilty into gold — The former president has proven adept at fundraising off his legal troubles. — Donald Trump is already trying to turn his historic criminal conviction into a campaign cash windfall. — Moments after a jury handed down a guilty verdict on 34 counts …

Discussion: Axios, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, ABC News, NBC News, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, NewsNation and Washington Post

Erin Doherty / Axios:
TRUMP FOUND GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump guilty on all counts in New York criminal trial

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Get Ready for Trump to Use Guilty Verdict to Win Votes

Discussion: NPR, Steady, The American Conservative, New York Times, Breitbart, WXIA-TV, The Bulwark, Vox, Los Angeles Times and NewsNation

Rebecca Picciotto / CNBC:
Biden, Democrats react to Trump's guilty verdict: ‘No one is above the law’

Discussion: Politico, Off Message, LGBTQ Nation, Israpundit, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, CBS News, KING-TV and NewsNation

Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Biden campaign on Trump verdict: ‘No one is above the law’

Discussion: New York Post, Politico, PoliticusUSA, New Jersey Online, RedState, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, NewsNation, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Forbes, WFLA-TV, KUSA-TV, Florida Politics and Axios

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS Announce Direct File as Permanent Free Tax Filing Option, All 50 States and D.C. Invited to Join in Filing Season 2025 — New Free Tool Made Possible by Resources from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act — WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department …

Discussion: Florida Politics, Los Angeles Times, UPI, Marketplace, GovExec.com, Washington Post, Wisconsin Examiner, WXIA-TV and Business Insider

Axios:
Free IRS online tax filing program coming soon to all states

Discussion: Internal Revenue Service, Washington Times and HuffPost

Politico:

Biden secretly gave Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with US weapons — It's a major reversal that will help Ukraine to better defend its second-largest city. — The Biden administration has quietly given Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia — solely near the area of Kharkiv …

Discussion: CNN, The Kyiv Independent, Al Jazeera, RedState, New York Times, The Sun, Caitlin Johnstone, New York Post, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Metro.co.uk, ABC News, The i Paper, Reuters, The Hill and CBS News

New York Times:
Under Pressure, Biden Allows Ukraine to Use U.S. Weapons to Strike Inside Russia

Discussion: Atlantic Council, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, NPR and CBS News

Washington Post:
Ukraine can use U.S. weapons for limited strikes in Russia, Biden says

Discussion: Breitbart, WSVN-TV, New York Times and United States Department …

Isaac Schorr / Mediaite:

The Federalist CEO Calls For Republicans to Draw Up Lists of Democrats to ‘Put in Prison’ After Trump Verdict — Sean Davis, the CEO and co-founder of the the right-wing website The Federalist, called on Republicans to draw up lists of Democrats to “put in prison” in a social media post reacting …

Françoise Mouly / New Yorker:

John Cuneo's “A Man of Conviction” — The former President is found guilty on all thirty-four counts. — It's not the first time that news of a verdict against Donald J. Trump has been eagerly awaited by cartoonists, commentators, and the general public.

Bill Pruitt / Slate:

For 20 Years, I Couldn't Say What Donald Trump Did on the Set of The Apprentice. Now I Can. — For 20 years, I couldn't say what I watched the former president do on the set of the show that changed everything. Now I can. — On Jan. 8, 2004, just more than 20 years ago, the first episode of The Apprentice aired.

Discussion: HuffPost, Vox, The Federalist, USA Today, Forbes, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, CNN, The Dispatch, Mediaite, Breitbart, Civil Discourse … and TVLine

Amanda Yen / The Daily Beast:
Trump Called ‘Apprentice’ Contestant Kwame Jackson N-Word, Producer Says

Discussion: Washington Times, Mediaite and Raw Story

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Bystander Shouts ‘You F*cking Suck!’ at Fox News Host Outside Trump Trial — DRIVE BY — Also calling Gowdy a “c*cksucker,” the unidentified New Yorker sped by on a bicycle during a live TV segment about the Trump trial. — A New York bicyclist verbally assailed Fox News host Trey Gowdy …

John Fritze / CNN:

Chief Justice John Roberts declines to meet with Democratic lawmakers about ethics flap and Alito's flags — Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rejected a meeting request from Democratic lawmakers who wanted to discuss two provocative flags hoisted at Justice Samuel Alito's properties.

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

False right-wing reports about Trump trial jury instructions fuel threats against judge — False reporting and social media commentary about the jury instructions in Trump's hush money trial has spurred calls for the assassination of the judge overseeing the case.

Discussion: New York Times, PJ Media, Associated Press and Media Matters for America