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Donald Trump's lawyers submitted a filing on Wednesday demanding that the guilty verdict in the New York "hush money" trial be vacated because it would eventually be dismissed anyway.

Law 360's Frank G. Runyeon posted the argument, which claims that as a president-elect, Trump enjoys the same benefits as a sitting president. It means he is "completely immune from any criminal process," the filing says.

"Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of executive Power following President Trump's overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election."

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Legal analysts said on Tuesday they don't anticipate this argument will be effective, as the Supreme Court's "presidential immunity" decision outlined "official acts" that are protected. Trump wasn't president when he committed the acts in 2016, and his trial and verdict took place when he also wasn't president.

Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg similarly wrote that they support Trump's lawyers in making the argument, but they oppose the argument on its merits.

"No current law establishes that a president's temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a posttrial criminal proceeding and where we are now, that was initiated at a time when the defendant was not immune from criminal prosecution and based on unofficial conduct for which the defendant is also not immune," Bragg's letter said.

Trump's lawyers imply that Bragg is only continuing onward to bolster his own political campaign, which won't take place until the June primary in 2025 and ultimately in November. He's heavily favored to win, the New York Post reported over the weekend.

"As D.A. Bragg engages in his own election campaign, DANY appears to not yet be ready to dismiss this politically-motivated and fatally flawed case, which is what is mandated by the law and will happen as justice takes its course," claimed Trump's lawyers.

The case was already decided by a jury, which found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts. Trump was set to be sentenced after the election. As Bragg's letter said Tuesday, there are no rules or laws that say a state judge must ignore a verdict and cannot sentence a former president or a president-elect.

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Donald Trump managed to win a second term in large part due to the frustration of the electorate over prices — but there's a big economic crisis looming over the president-elect's head that could end up defeating him, Heather Long wrote for The Washington Post.

That crisis is the cost of a home.

"The housing crisis is real," wrote Long. "It’s one of the worst times to buy a home in 40 years. The median home price is now $420,000, nearly $100,000 more than four years ago. Mortgage rates are also up significantly from 2020. And nearly everyone agrees that the United States is short millions of homes."

Trump has boasted that under his presidency, people will be able to get 2 percent APR on a mortgage — but right now it's trending the wrong way, back up to 7 percent, driven in part by bond markets fearful Trump's tariffs will drive up the price of construction materials.

The fact is, Long continued, "High housing costs have become part of the economic 'vibes' — alongside gas and grocery prices — that people see on a regular basis. It’s easy to check housing apps for the latest prices. People who own their home and have a low mortgage rate feel stuck, and people who haven’t been able to buy yet worry they will never be able to own now."

And now their frustration over this will be directed at Trump, she wrote.

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on building five million new homes if she had been elected. Trump, for his part, proposed an idea of building new high-tech "freedom cities" from scratch on federal land back in 2023, but hasn't elaborated seriously on this idea. Meanwhile, he has also bragged about blocking higher-density construction in the suburbs and wants to conduct mass deportations, which could raise the cost of labor for home construction.

Long concluded that Trump's housing agenda could make inflation worse — and swiftly evaporate the benefit of the doubt voters gave him on the economy.

"Solving the housing crisis requires lower mortgage rates and building more homes," she wrote. "Trump can yell at the Fed for lower rates, but the bond market is what will move mortgage rates up or down. Right now, the bond market is watching every Trump move for signs of inflation and largesse. And so far, that’s what it sees."

Rep. Michael Guest (R-MI), chair of the House Ethics Committee, said there was no agreement on releasing a report about sexual misconduct allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general.

After a two-hour Ethics Committee meeting on Wednesday, Guest told reporters there "was not an agreement to release the report." The Republican chair would not say if the committee voted on the matter.

Guest previously suggested he opposed releasing the report because it had not been completed before Gaetz abruptly resigned from the House.

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Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) said that he would force the full House to vote on a resolution to have the committee release the report.

Gaetz has denied that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl, contradicting media reports about witness statements to the committee.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he was selling guitars at $1,500 a piece, sending a chorus of laughs rippling through social media.

In a Truth Social post to his followers, the incoming president said “Limited Edition American Eagle Guitar Series” would be available for purchase.

The website noted the item is “the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump,” and features a photo of Trump beaming while holding the guitar.

But not all were immediately sold on the incoming president’s latest money-making venture.

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“Trump is just going to keep selling s--- while in office,” Gizmodo tech report Matt Novak wrote on X.

“You gotta hand it to him -- Trump is unsurpassed in the grifting department,” independent journalist Aaron Rupar commented.

Others pointed out that Trump is rolling out the guitar line just as the holiday season kicks off.

“Just in time for Christmas and Hanukkah, President-elect Trump is endorsing a line of guitars,” Yashar Ali, a HuffPost reporter wrote on social media. "Trump Guitars are available for sale with the price ranging from $1,250-$1,500

“Are Donald Trump's new ‘Trump Guitars’ made in China too? Artist Art Candee asked her followers. “SMH.”

According to the website, the guitars “feature the iconic phrase ‘Make America Great Again’ inlaid in authentic pearl up the neck of the guitar and the number 45 on the headstock signifying President Donald J. Trump’s historic term as President.”

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has chosen billionaire North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a close ally of the fossil fuel industry and vocal proponent of oil drilling, to serve as head of the Interior Department in the incoming administration, a critical post tasked with overseeing hundreds of millions of acres of federal land and water.

Burgum, a friend of oil billionaire Harold Hamm, served as a kind of middleman between Trump's presidential campaign and the fossil fuel industry during the 2024 race. The Washington Post reported that Burgum's selection as interior secretary will "give Hamm expansive influence over policy related to drilling on public lands, at a time his company stands to benefit from the rule changes Trump envisions."

Burgum and Hamm have already worked to shape Trump's energy policy during the presidential transition, with Reutersreporting Thursday that the pair is leading the push for a repeal of electric vehicle tax credits—a key component of the Biden administration's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.

During a fundraiser over the summer, Burgum said Trump could "on day one" move to unleash "liquid fuels," accusing the Biden administration of waging war on "American energy."

"Whether it's baseload electricity, whether it's oil, whether it's gas, whether it's ethanol, there is an attack on liquid fuels," Burgum declared.

"We're ready to fight Burgum and Trump's extreme agenda every step of the way."

Trump campaigned on a pledge to "drill, baby, drill" in the face of a fossil fuel-driven climate emergency that is wreaking deadly havoc in the United States and around the world. While the Biden administration has presided over record oil and gas production and approved many new drilling permits to the dismay of climate advocates, Trump has made clear that he intends to take a sledgehammer to any guardrails constraining the fossil fuel industry.

In Burgum, Trump will have an enthusiastic champion of oil and gas drilling in a Cabinet that is shaping up to be a boon for the fossil fuel industry. Burgum helped organize the dinner at which Trump urged the oil and gas industry to raise $1 billion for his campaign in exchange for tax breaks and large-scale deregulation.

"We're going do things with energy and with land—Interior—that is going to be incredible," Trump said late Thursday.

Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that "Burgum is an oligarch completely out of touch with the overwhelming majority of Americans who cherish our natural heritage and don't want our parks, wildlife refuges, and other special places carved up and destroyed."

"We're ready to fight Burgum and Trump's extreme agenda every step of the way," Suckling added.

In his current capacity as North Dakota governor, Burgum is pushing a 2,000-mile carbon pipeline project set to be built by Summit Carbon Solutions with the stated goal of capturing planet-warming CO2 and storing it underground. Climate advocates have long derided carbon capture and storage—a method boosted by the fossil fuel industry—as a dangerous scam that can actually result in more emissions.

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that "the blowback in North Dakota to the Summit project has been intense with Burgum caught in the crossfire."

"There are fears a pipeline rupture would unleash a lethal cloud of CO2," the outlet noted. "Landowners worry their property values will plummet if the pipeline passes under their land."

The North Dakota Public Service Commission is planning to meet Friday to vote on the project.

President-elect Donald Trump's Election Day victory has Republican strategists issuing chilling advice to their clients about how to win upcoming elections, according to a new report.

Conservative campaign experts told NOTUS Friday that Trump's over-performance, in comparison to almost every other Republican candidate, has them re-thinking how to reach out to voters.

“Trump embodies a middle finger to the cultural establishment,” Giancarlo Sopo, a Republican strategist, told NOTUS. “You can’t authentically replicate the Trump persona. ... But what you can do is take a look at parts of his policies that do appeal to people and embrace them.”

Multiple strategists told NOTUS they'll be telling candidates to be more like Trump.

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Brad Todd, who advised Dave McCormick's successful Pennsylvania senatorial campaign, praised Trump's attacks on transgender people — and urged other Republicans to do so boldly.

“When you see the number 80/20, you have to believe it,” Todd said. “And the Trump campaign was willing to go to the 80/20 issue that wasn’t in the normal matrix of issues, and that’s a lesson.”

Alex Stroman, a Republican strategist, reportedly called Trump a "super candidate."

The National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a pre-election memo praising Trump's popularity as the top reason its members felt confident they would retain a congressional majority, according to the report.

"Trump is poised to further re-create the party in his own image," NOTUS reported, "driven by his popularity with voters beyond even the Republican base."

Republicans now have set themselves the goal of appealing to the Trump voters who did not choose to show support for other members of his party, strategists told NOTUS.

"Winning over voters who turned out for Trump but ignored other GOP candidates, should be a goal for the party in future elections, said GOP strategists," the report stated. "They could help the party win a multitude of swing states and battleground districts."