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In Thursday night’s episode of “The Late Show,” host Stephen Colbert unleashed a fiery monologue that took aim at the myriad of legal troubles facing former President Donald Trump, marking what Colbert described as “an insane day for America.”
The “comedian” lambasted Trump’s unprecedented situation of facing multiple criminal trials simultaneously. “In light of all that, I’d like to make a brief public service announcement. This is f***** up.”
Colbert’s monologue also touched on the more bizarre aspects of the legal circus surrounding Trump, including a segment on the prosecutor’s romantic entanglement in the Georgia case, which Colbert likened to a soap opera plot.
WATCH:
“I know how numb we’ve become, but it’s not normal. No other candidate for the presidency has ever had to pause his campaign to defend himself in multiple courts,” Colbert ranted.
“I would like to point out that in all seven of his cases, no one, no one doubts that he did these things. We’re just sitting around patiently waiting to find out if the wheels of justice will And the media is covering it like it’s any other political story, like it’s all horse race. But in this horse race, one of the horses is old.”
WATCH FULL MONOLOGUE:
Despite the attacks, Trump still remains the front runner to be the president come November. A new national survey conducted by Emerson College Polling has Trump receiving 45% of voter support, Biden garnering 44%, and 11% of voters remaining undecided.
In hypothetical matchups, Trump is ahead with 46% against Vice President Kamala Harris’s 43% and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s 36%. When compared to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Trump holds a lead with 45% of the vote to Whitmer’s 33%, with 22% of voters undecided.
NATIONAL POLL
2024 Hypothetical Presidential Matchups
Trump 45%
Biden 44%
11% undecidedTrump 46%
Harris 43%
11% undecidedTrump 46%
Newsom 36%
18% undecidedTrump 45%
Whitmer 33%
22% undecidedhttps://t.co/C3L12vMLMT pic.twitter.com/TYJNABER7B— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) February 16, 2024
One of the legal troubles facing Trump came to fruition on Friday. In a major legal defeat, Judge Arthur Engoron has ruled that Trump must pay over $350 million and is barred from conducting any business in New York State for three years.
The landmark ruling on Friday not only threatens to drain Trump’s available cash reserves but also marks a critical juncture in his business career, potentially altering his future endeavors in the state’s commercial landscape.
The New York Times reported:
Not only did Justice Engoron impose a three-year ban preventing Mr. Trump from serving in top roles at any New York company, including his own, but the judge also applied that punishment to the former president’s adult sons for two years. One of the sons, Eric Trump, is the Trump Organization’s de facto chief executive, and the ruling throws into doubt whether any member of the family can run the business in the near term.
Mr. Trump will appeal the financial penalty — which could climb to $400 million or more once interest is added — but will have to either come up with the money or secure a bond within 30 days. The ruling will not render him bankrupt, because most of his wealth is tied up in real estate.
Mr. Trump will also most likely ask an appeals court to halt the restrictions on him and his sons from running the company while it considers the case.
But there might be little Mr. Trump can do to thwart one of the judge’s most consequential punishments: extending for three years the appointment of an independent monitor who will be the court’s eyes and ears at the Trump Organization, watching for fraud and second-guessing transactions that look suspicious.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have railed against the monitor, Barbara Jones, saying that her work has already cost the business more than $2.5 million; the decision to extend her oversight of the privately held family company could enrage the Trumps, who see her presence as an irritant and an insult.
Judge Engoron played a critical role in this legal saga, overseeing the proceedings and making several key rulings. Notably, he ordered Trump to comply with subpoenas for documents and testimony related to the investigation, and at times, he has ruled against Trump’s legal arguments aiming to limit the scope of the investigation or dismiss the case outright.
