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12:30 REPORT
Happy Monday. My latest social media feeds have been taken over by Swedish candy — and it’s all I can think about. Has anyone else been seeing the viral videos of Americans sampling it? And can anyone tell me if Bubs are actually that good? OK, back to why you came here. Here’s what’s happening in politics:
- An appeals court just ruled that former President Trump can pay a $175 million bond instead of the $464 million bond that was due today.
- Trump’s hush money trial was supposed to start today, but isn’t because of 100,000+ pages of new evidence. The judge is a holding a hearing to sort out who is to blame.
- The CEO of Boeing is stepping down.
- NBC News hired former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel — and has faced a lot of criticism from on-air talent.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
💵 Breaking
How about you just pay $175 million and we’ll call it good?:
An appeals court just paused enforcement of former President Trump’s $464 million judgment that was due today — and adjusted the payment to a $175 million bond.
The full ruling: “In a terse order, a five-judge state appeals court panel said it would pause the enforcement of the $464 million judgment against Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives, plus interest, if within 10 days they post a $175 million bond.”
Keep in mind: The Hill’s Ella Lee and Brett Samuels report that Trump had been spiraling ahead of the deadline. Trump has been sending out furious posts on Truth Social, accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of “interfering in the election” and “[stealing] my money.” Read Trump’s full post
Tidbit about timing: The Washington Post pointed out that “the appeals court generally issues rulings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so there [had been a] very little chance it [would] act by Monday on Trump’s request to waive the bond requirement.”
⚖️Happening Today
Tune in to see a whole lot of professional finger-pointing:
Former President Trump’s hush money trial was expected to begin today, which would have marked the beginning of Trump’s first criminal trial.
Until: More than 100,000 new pages of records were turned over a few weeks ago as potential evidence, throwing a curveball in the case. The judge then delayed the trial’s start date until at least mid-April.
What’s happening today: The judge overseeing the trial is holding a pre-trial hearing to sort out why these documents weren’t found earlier. FWIW: Both parties blame each other for this debacle, and it’s become quite heated. The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld reports that both sides are accusing the other of simply making up facts.
Keep in mind: Trump has repeatedly tried to delay all four criminal trials while he runs for a second term as president. This case is the most likely to go to trial before November.
Read more: ‘Trump’s hush money case set for critical hearing over document dump’
💬 Live blog of hearing updates
➤ TIDBITS:
‘Law & Order’ is filming nearby: The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld noticed that “’Law & Order’ is apparently filming in NYC close by to Trump’s hush money case hearing today.” 📸 The ‘no parking, film shoot’ sign
💻 Watch Trump’s comments walking into court — he called it a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
The judge got heated with a Trump attorney: “You’re literally accusing the Manhattan DA’s office and the people assigned to this case of prosecutorial misconduct and trying to make me complicit in it,” Judge Juan Merchan told Trump attorney Todd Blanche. “And you don’t have a single cite to support that position?”
How many new documents have been handed over?: More than 119,000 pages. 73,000 pages on March 4, 31,000 pages on March 13 and 15,000 pages on March 15. FWIW: “The District Attorney’s Office said many of the newly turned over documents are irrelevant to Trump’s case or were previously provided to him.”
⚖️News This Morning
I’ve never known any airplane name, but the Boeing 737 Max 9 now lives rent-free in my brain:
Dave Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing, announced this morning that he will step down from his role at the end of the year following several high-profile accidents.
🔎 Read Calhoun’s letter
Keep in mind: “The letter opened with a nod to the Alaska Airlines midair blowout in January, when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew off and left a gaping hole while the aircraft was 16,000 feet above Oregon. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing, and though no serious injuries were reported, the incident prompted a series of investigations into Boeing’s production and safety compliance measures.” (The Hill)
📰 Talk of the Media World
NBC News hired former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor. The network has faced significant backlash for that decision, including vocal criticism from its own employees.
NBC’s Chuck Todd laid into his network for hiring her: McDaniel appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, just days after stepping down from the RNC. Right after McDaniel’s interview, Todd, who hosted “Meet the Press” for nine years, criticized the network’s decision.
Todd said in a panel: “Let me deal with the elephant in the room … I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” Todd said to anchor Kristen Welker. “Because I don’t know what to believe. She is now a paid contributor by NBC News, so I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract.”
Why were some at NBC upset?: “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination,” Todd said.
Interesting read:
Axios’s Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen wrote an interesting piece on how Americans are splintering off into receiving news and information from hyper-localized sources that match their “age, habits, politics and passions.”
Why that even matters: VandeHei and Allen argue that “you can't understand November's election — or America itself — without reckoning with how our media attention has shattered into a bunch of misshapen pieces.”
Examples of the media bubbles: “The Musk-eteers,” “Instagrammers,” “TikTok kids,” “new-age grandmas,” “right-wing grandpas,” “MAGA mind melders,” “liberal warriors” and “elite power-consumers.” More categories and explainers for each
🐝 Internet Buzz
🦞 Celebrate: Today is National Lobster Newburg Day.
💿 Ariana Grande’s at the top: “Ariana Grande holds the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s album chart this week with ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ beating out new releases by Kacey Musgraves and Justin Timberlake.” (The New York Times) 🎧 Listen to ‘ We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ — this is No. 1 on the “Billboard Hot 100.”
🗓️ On the Agenda
The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.
- 12:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris have lunch together.
- 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
- 2:05 p.m.: Harris meets with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo. 💻 Livestream
- 3:45 p.m.: Harris hosts a roundtable as part of Central America Forward.
- April 8: The Senate returns.
- April 9: The House returns.
👋 And Finally…
Because you made it this far, here’s a dog who would like to have a word with its family.
Stay Engaged
Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.
View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!
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