When President Trump first launched his campaign in 2015, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker reportedly offered Trump a unique gift: He'd pay off women who alleged they'd had affairs with Trump. And contrary to what he's claimed before, Trump personally orchestrated and took advantage of that promise, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In a massive investigation published Friday, the Journal reports Trump either personally directed, or told his former attorney Michael Cohen to make, payments to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump previously claimed he had no knowledge of the payments before they happened, but federal prosecutors have reportedly heard otherwise — from Cohen himself.
News that Pecker, a former longtime friend of Trump, and Cohen paid to bury McDougal's and Daniels' allegations of affairs with Trump has already been reported. But the Journal's interviews with "three dozen people who have direct knowledge of the events" reveal the payments all stemmed from a 2015 Trump Tower meeting in which Trump personally asked Pecker to keep his campaign safe from damaging stories. And when a payment to Daniels stalled, Trump reportedly urged Cohen to "get it done," forcing the lawyer to pay off Daniels himself.
Cohen has allegedly told federal prosecutors all of this in an attempt to soften his sentence for federal crimes he pleaded guilty to in August, implicating Trump along the way. Prosecutors also have secret recordings and even a "reimbursement agreement" that prove Trump funded the hush money payments and "was involved in or briefed on [them] nearly every step" of the way, the Journal writes.
Trump's alleged ties to the payments aren't inherently federal crimes, an election law specialist said. The White House referred the Journal's request for comment to the president's lawyer, who declined to comment. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Kathryn Krawczyk
Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue and the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand are all "part of a club that nobody wants to be a part of."
That's how Tree of Life President Sam Schachner described his congregation's relationship to the two mosques that lost 50 worshippers to a mass shooting on Friday. And that's why the congregation has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser hoping to raise $100,000 for Christchurch's Muslim community, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details.
In October, a gunman killed 11 members at the Pittsburgh synagogue, prompting "overwhelming support ... from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh," the GoFundMe details. Tree of Life is still continuing to recover, the GoFundMe says, but it still wants to recognize that the New Zealand worshippers are "going through the most difficult moments in your lives." So the synagogue is asking its supporters to show victims in Christchurch that "the entire world is with them," it wrote on the GoFundMe.
The GoFundMe started Saturday and had raised $2,736 a bit less than 24 hours later, the Post-Gazette notes. As of 5 p.m. EST on Monday, it had skyrocketed to $17,305 with donations coming in constantly. Read more about the campaign at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or find the GoFundMe here. Kathryn Krawczyk
The chaos that is Brexit continued in classic form on Monday, despite a reprieve from the voting carousel that took place last week, as the March 29 departure deadline rapidly approaches.
The speaker of Britain's House of Commons, John Bercow, said on Monday that he plans to block a third vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's European Union withdrawal agreement — which faced two resounding defeats in Parliament already — unless May could present a "substantially" different deal this time around.
Adding to the drama is the fact that Bercow did not notify May's office of his decision ahead of time, which subsequently, The Washington Post reports, created "further uncertainty" about Brexit's future.
"We are in a major constitutional crisis here," Robert Buckland, the government's solicitor general, told BBC in a television interview, per The New York Times.
Parliament is still waiting to hear whether Brussels will agree to an extension of Article 50 that would delay Brexit beyond March 29, but, as May has noted, an extension could only prolong the problem. Still, the prime minister will travel to EU headquarters on Thursday to attempt to broker an agreement. Tim O'Donnell
New legislation banning "fake news" and making it illegal to "disrespect" the government online has just been signed into law in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that says fines of up to 1.5 million rubles, or about $23,000, can be imposed for spreading "unreliable socially significant information," Bloomberg reports. It also bans exhibiting "blatant disrespect" online for Russia or its "authorities, the public, the Russian flag or the constitution," per Reuters. Showing this "blatant disrespect" can result in fines or jail time.
Under the bill, a state media watchdog can block websites that will not remove material that is determined to be in violation of the law, per The Washington Post. Critics fear, The Straits Times reports, that the legislation "is vaguely worded and would have large scope for abuse," allowing Russian officials to easily silence critics.
One expert told the Post that this new law "gives the prosecutor's office an extremely high authority and almost completely eliminates the Russian (albeit completely non-free) courts from the game," while another warned it gives the prosecutor general "essentially unconstrained authority to determine that any speech is unacceptable under the new law." Brendan Morrow
Most eyes will be on the likely future no. 1 NBA draft pick, Zion Williamson, and his Duke teammates throughout this year's NCAA tournament. But the first round remains the best opportunity to catch a glimpse of some under-the-radar teams, players, and storylines. Here are the most intriguing, non-Duke-related match-ups in each region.
West Region — No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 12 Murray State: The most exciting match-up of the first round will pit two of the country's most gifted players against each other. Murray State is led by guard Ja Morant, who could go as high as no. 2 overall in the NBA draft. Markus Howard, a diminutive guard who averages a prolific 25 points per game, headlines Marquette.
Midwest Region — No. 7 Wofford vs. No. 10 Seton Hall: These teams don't jump off the page in a region that features blue bloods like North Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas, but Wofford and Seton Hall have been playing high quality basketball lately. Wofford went undefeated in the Southern Conference and hasn't lost a game since December. Seton Hall's 20-13 record might seem suspect, but the Pirates have victories over Kentucky, Maryland, Marquette, and Villanova.
East Region — No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Minnesota: This contest between two mid-tier power conference schools gets a nod thanks to some off-court drama: Minnesota's coach Richard Pitino is the son of Hall-of-Fame coach Rick Pitino, who once led Louisville to three Final Fours and a national title. The Pitino family's relationship with Louisville didn't end well, though, when the elder Pitino was fired after multiple scandals and Louisville's 2013 title run was vacated.
South Region — No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 St. Mary's: The defending champion Wildcats aren't as talented as last season's team, but head coach Jay Wright and seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall will make this squad a tough out. Awaiting them, though, is St. Mary's, fresh off an upset over no. 1 seed Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament championship. The two sides have some history, as well — during the 2010 NCAA tournament, the Gaels, then a 10-seed, defeated the no. 2-seeded Villanova to advance to the Sweet 16. Tim O'Donnell