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Text messages reveal previously unknown details in Trump trial: report
Details never before made public are expected to be admissible in Donald Trump's latest New York trial — and onlookers are expecting them to be revealing.
New York Times investigative reporter Sue Craig said she was "struck" by the "new information" revealed in Monday's opening statements, which includes a series of text messages from National Enquirer reporters involved in investigating the stories of adult movie actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.
One of the text messages, Craig said, read: "What have we done?"
Trump's latest trial kicked off in earnest Monday as each side delivered their opening speeches over Trump's 34-count felony indictment over the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
"We've heard about text messages that went back and forth with the National Enquirer when they went out to see Karen McDougal, one of the women who had a relationship with Donald Trump," Craig said.
"They were trying to confirm if the story was true."
Craig noted that one of the lawyers representing McDougal was involved in election night texting with somebody at the tabloid, which was previously unknown.
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"We'll see a lot of that come through. And David Pecker was not on the stand for very long, but just hearing the details that we got, the idea that ... reporters were given about $10,000 to get that story," recalled Craig.
"And I wasn't clear if that included payment to somebody or expenses and payment, but anything above that, he would have to sign off on it. What that told me was the payments that went to Karen McDougal, that went to Stormy Daniels, were unusual. They were high."
She referenced a Trump doorman who was paid $30,000 to stay quiet about a possible Trump love child. McDougal was given $150,000, while Daniels was given $130,000.
During the second half of the show, Lawfare's Anna Bower agreed with the assessment that there was new information that dropped and there will likely be even more. There is some conversation about what will ultimately be admissible out of that information that is new.
"We heard a lot about phone records the prosecution intends to introduce," Bower said. "So, I think that we certainly will see new evidence. But the question is — there were these questions about whether it would be admissible for hearsay reasons."
See the video below or at the link here.
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Kremlin-linked Truth Social investor linked to dangerous ‘sex pills’ operation: report
A Russian entrepreneur who loaned millions to Donald Trump's social media platform was behind a series of websites that pushed potentially dangerous "sex pills" that sparked warnings from health regulators about dangerous ingredients, according to a report.
The product, called VMax, promised improved sexual function for those who take it and sparked warnings from the FDA that its ingredients could cause serious health defects.
The sites where the product was sold have been traced to 40-year-old Anton Postolnikov, who reportedly has family links to the Kremlin, according to The Daily Beast which reported he has a history of "success in niche online businesses such as providing financial services to porn stars and camgirls."
Postolnikov, who has donated to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is suspected by the U.S. government of making nearly $23 million in 2021 from alleged insider trading on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump. Although he hasn't been charged in the case, the FBI's investigation found he participated in the scheme, according to the Beast's report.
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"Before his alleged foray into Florida high finance, Postolnikov was involved in the selling of Vimax, which was sold via offshore companies in the U.S., Cyprus, and Mauritius, according to the products’ websites," the Beast reported.
"New Century Beauty LLC, the company which was described as owner and operator of vimaxtrialoffer.com on the site, is registered at the California address of Postolnikov’s mother, Lyudmila Postolnikova, aged 73. Izef LLC which listed Postolnikov as an administrator, handled sales of Vimax for a period, according to archived snapshots of the sales websites," The Beast's report stated.
The sex pills were marketed as being a "100% natural product," but the FDA says they contain the Ingredient tadalafil, which could lower blood pressure and negatively interact with other drugs. But according to Andrei Octav Moise, whose company trademarked the product, the FDA only examined counterfeit versions of the product.
“The FDA did indeed find knockoffs of Vimax sold by a Chinese company without any authorization from nor relationship to the Vimax brand. Essentially the knockoff products did contain illegal substances and were investigated by the FDA who ultimately held that they were not authentic Vimax products and had nothing to do with Vimax per se,” he said according to The Beast.
U.S. prosecutors are looking at Postolnikov over the way he structured the loan to Truth Social through an obscure entity called “ES Family Trust.”
"Wire transfer documents show that Trump Media received $2 million from Paxum Bank and another $6 million from ES Family Trust. Documents obtained by the authors show that the trustee for ES Family Trust is Angel Pacheco, who reportedly listed himself as an employee of Paxum Bank on LinkedIn."
Read the full report over at The Daily Beast.