|
 Comedy CentralOn Tuesday, former National Enquirer chief David Pecker testified for the second day in a row as the first witness in Donald Trump's hush-money trial. While the headlines practically write themselves, it turns out that having a Pecker on the stand wasn't even the wildest part of this week so far.
As The Daily Show correspondents and this week's co-hosts Jordan Klepper and Ronnie Chieng made clear, the most ridiculously entertaining part of the trial's proceedings so far was Jesse Watters' inane claims on Monday that Trump is being subjected to "cruel and unusual" punishment by having to be present at his own trial.
"Clearly Trump thinks he's being treated unfairly in this trial," explained Chieng on Tuesday, "and he's not the only one."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
RELATED ARTICLES | | | | |
|
 Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesDonald Trump's hush-money trial in New York City is sure to draw out a cast of characters from Trumpland, from allies to ex-associates who've gone rogue on the former president.
Jury selection wrapped last week, with prosecutors and defense attorneys combining to weed out potentially-biased jurors. In doing so, they put together a list of 41 potential witnesses who may be called on to testify.
Below is a list of the most interesting names from that list—and how they may factor into the highly-anticipated trial.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
|
 Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyThe first person to testify in the first-ever criminal trial of an American president is the former publisher of the National Enquirer. But the supermarket tabloid might not have been around to "catch and kill" stories about Trump's sexual liaisons if it were not for the early financial support of another notorious New York celebrity, the gangster Frank Costello.
And while Trump is not known for his grasp of history, he'd do well to view Costello's relationship with the Enquirer's first publisher as a cautionary tale.
In the 1940s, Frank Costello was known as the Prime Minister of the Underworld owing to his gentlemanly public manner, political connections, and patina of respectability. Costello used the mob's Prohibition-era millions—and the money from its vast illegal gambling empire—to take control of Tammany Hall. This meant that while Costello was the head of what came to be known as the Genovese crime family, he also pretty much ran the Democratic party in New York.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
|
 AFP via Getty A Russian lawmaker took to the stage of a forum on internet safety Tuesday and briefly lost it, complaining that the younger generation should be ashamed for valuing their lives too much.
Alexei Zhuravlev, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee, seemed disappointed that more young Russians weren't eager to be used as cannon fodder.
"What if there's a big war tomorrow? What if we go into battle tomorrow? Who will fight? Our generation has been raised for 30 years [like] ‘What is our main value? Life is the main value!' From childhood I was taught: first I have a country, then my family and friends, then some of my values, and only then my own life," he said, according to video of his remarks circulated in Russian media.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
|
