Fact checking viral claims about Donald Trump's hush money trial

April 17, 2024

Tracking potentially misleading narratives surrounding Trump criminal trial
Senate dismisses both impeachment articles against Mayorkas
Democrats who investigated Trump expect to face retaliation and arrest if he wins

And in Washington, some Democrats who investigated Trump expect retaliation, even arrest, if Donald Trump wins the presidency. In a series of interviews with CBS News, House Democrats who helped lead the House Jan. 6 select committee and some of the police witnesses who testified before it predicted they'll be targeted for retribution by a future Trump administration.

Within hours after the Senate impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas began, the Senate voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment against him. Democrats wanted a swift conclusion to the Republican-spearheaded impeachment saga.

CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa anchors "America Decides" at 5 p.m. He'll check in with congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane on Mayorkas' Senate trial and Ukraine aid and will be talking about the latest White House and Biden campaign news with CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang.

Viral claims about Donald Trump's hush money trial fact checked

Former President Trump Visits A Local Business In Manhattan After Day 2 Of Jury Selection In His Hush Money Trial

As former President Donald Trump's historic criminal trial gets underway in New York this week, the CBS News Confirmed team has been tracking potentially misleading narratives that have gained some traction on social media. Here are three of the viral claims that have emerged during the trial so far and what to know about them. The claims are that Judge Juan Merchan won't let Trump go to his son Barron's graduation, that Stormy Daniels denies having an affair with Trump, and that Trump's gag order is constitutional. Laura Doan and Rhona Tarrant investigated the facts here.

Both Mayorkas impeachment articles dismissed by Senate

House Presents Articles Of Impeachment For Secretary Mayorkas To Senate

The Senate convened Wednesday for the impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and dispensed with both of the charges leveled by the House in their articles of impeachment. Senators were sworn in as jurors in the afternoon, and tasked with determining whether Mayorkas should be removed from office on charges the House passed in February. Heading into the trial, Mayorkas was all but certain to be acquitted, given the Democratic majority in the chamber. The House voted to impeach Mayorkas in February, accusing him of refusing to enforce immigration laws and a "breach of public trust." Read more from Kaia Hubbard.

Democrats who investigated Trump expect to face retaliation and arrest if he wins

House Lawmakers Work Towards Electing New Speaker On Capitol Hill

Some members of Congress who led the investigation into former President Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot acknowledge they've talked to their families about their safety -- and the risk of their arrest -- if Trump wins a second term in November. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane has the exclusive story.

On and Off the Trail:

What to know about the jurors in Trump's "hush money" trial in New York: Two days into Donald Trump's New York criminal trial, the first seven jurors have been selected, and they are now tasked with deciding the outcome of the first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history.
The anonymous jurors will hear evidence related to allegations that Trump participated in a scheme with his former attorney Michael Cohen to falsify records in order to cover up reimbursements he paid to Cohen. The reimbursements were allegedly for a "hush money" payment Cohen made just before the 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump years earlier. Read more here from Graham Kates.
Biden aims to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports : Speaking at the U.S. Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, President Biden called for the possible tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, as well as further protections for the U.S. steel and aluminum industry. The Pennsylvania-born president, aware of the importance of the swing state in the upcoming November election, said on Wednesday it was Pittsburgh and union workers who elected him before, and he'll return the favor. Mr. Biden said he'll urge the U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, to triple Chinese steel and aluminum tariffs from their current rate of 7.5% if the USTR finds during an ongoing investigation that the Chinese are exercising anti-competitive trade practices in the steel and aluminum industry. Kathryn Watson has the story.
Trump allies encourage Mar-a-Lago visits with foreign leaders months before election : Former President Donald Trump's allies have been encouraging foreign countries to send diplomats and official emissaries to Mar-a-Lago to reconnect ahead of another potential Trump stint in the White House, sources with direct knowledge of the meetings confirmed to CBS News. It is rare for foreign ambassadors and ministers to meet with the presumptive GOP presidential nominee half a year before the presidential election and suggests that they're laying the groundwork for another Trump administration. Trump advisers and allies believe he'll be able to capitalize on the decline in Americans' approval of President Joe Biden's foreign policy decisions. Read more from CBS News political director Fin Gómez and Zak Hudak here.

More Politics Stories

House Republicans unveil aid bills for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan: House Republican leadership on Wednesday unveiled the legislative text for three bills that are part of a complicated plan by Speaker Mike Johnson to get aid to U.S. allies while addressing concerns from conservatives. The three bills would provide $26 billion to support Israel, $61 billion to bolster Ukraine and $8 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, including billions for Taiwan . The fourth bill, which is set to be released later in the day, is geared toward addressing other GOP foreign policy priorities. That measure would allow the sale of frozen assets of Russian oligarchs, potentially force the sale of TikTok and authorize stricter sanctions on Russia, China and Iran. House Republicans are also expected to release a border security bill that would be considered separately. Johnson said he would give lawmakers 72 hours to review the legislation, teeing up a vote as soon as Saturday. Read more from Caitlin Yilek and Kaia Hubbard.
Sen. Bob Menendez could blame wife in bribery trial, unsealed court documents say : Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, could incriminate his wife when he heads to trial next month to fight charges that he traded his political influence for cash, gold bars and a luxury Mercedes, according to newly unsealed court documents. A legal brief from Menendez's lawyers said the senator might testify about communications with his wife that will demonstrate "the ways in which she withheld information" from her husband "or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place." Menendez was indicted in September on charges alleging he and his wife, Nadine, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes while using his power and influence to enrich and protect three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the government of Egypt. Read the story from Caitlin Yilek.
DHS announces new campaign to combat "unimaginable horror" of child exploitation and abuse online: Mayorkas announced a public awareness campaign to address online child exploitation and abuse that he called an "unimaginable horror." "We just have to raise awareness and teach children, and everyone around them, how to recognize the predators, when they are about to be victimized, how to protect themselves and what to do," Mayorkas said on "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday.
The new campaign, Know2Protect, works with partners from the public and private sector to educate parents and their children on how to combat and report exploitation, along with how to support victims amid rising rates of abuse in recent years. Read about the campaign here.