Cross-Examination

• Trump’s two New York cases collide: In Manhattan today, Donald Trump headed to court for an appearance concerning one of two legal cases against him — one that threatens his freedom, and the other that threatens his family business. His appearance regards the start date of the former, a trumped-up criminal case that includes 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his private hush-money payments to an ex-porn star. The eight-year-old case was dug up by Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in an attempt to incarcerate Trump and thereby take him off the presidential playing field. It’s unlikely to work, even in the rigged town of Manhattan, which went 9-to-1 for Joe Biden in 2020. “There’s no way there should be a prison sentence in this case,” said former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy on Fox News this morning. “This is a non-violent business-records crime at best, in which there are no victims, and no one was hurt.” McCarthy noted that courts usually see through an overzealous prosecutor’s stacking of charges in order to make them look more serious, adding, “It would be a travesty if [Trump] did an hour in prison.” The other case is a non-jury civil trial in which hard-left judge Arthur Engoron has assessed a ridiculous $454 million bond, due today, and for which Trump-deranged New York Attorney General Letitia James has threatened to begin confiscating Trump’s properties if he doesn’t come up with the money. As McCarthy notes, “It’s a lot easier to win a money judgment than to enforce it, especially when you have such complicated finances as Trump does.” The next move likely belongs to AG James. Trump, who has vowed to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, was unusually terse as he walked into the courtroom at 10 this morning, stopping only long enough to say: “Thank you very much, everybody. This is a witch hunt. It’s a hoax. Thank you.”

UPDATE: Just before noon today, a New York appellate court slashed the $454 million bond to $175 million, payable within 10 days. The amount still seems too high, but it’s much more manageable, and most important: It prevents NY AG James from confiscating Trump’s properties.

• Moscow terror attack: On Sunday, Russia mourned the deaths of at least 133 people killed in a terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow on Friday night. During a music event, a number of men in camouflage entered and fired on the crowd of patrons and set the venue on fire. Within hours of the attack, Russian authorities announced that they had arrested 11 individuals, including four suspected attackers. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was recently reelected, blasted the attack as an act of terror and promised to punish the perpetrators. ISIS was quick to claim responsibility for the attack. Even so, Putin took the opportunity to tie Ukraine to the attack, alleging that Kyiv helped by keeping a “window” open for the perpetrators to escape. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vehemently denied the charge, saying that Ukraine had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. The U.S. backs up Zelensky’s denial, with National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson stating: “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever.” Furthermore, two weeks ago the U.S. embassy in Moscow warned of a potential terror attack, issuing the following statement on March 7: “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.”

• The Left hits a new low with Princess Kate’s cancer announcement: We hope the Leftmedia and the late-night also-rans are happy now. Looking at you, Stephen Colbert, and you, John Oliver. On Friday, the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, released a video in which she revealed her cancer diagnosis. From afar, this seems somewhat different than the typical “royal” story. We’ve long found Princess Kate to be the most endearing Royal, just a classy, beautiful young woman and a great wife and mom. This is reinforced by her video message. Since the announcement, there’s been an outpouring of support, and the prince and princess have now shared a new statement from their home at Kensington Palace: “The Prince and Princess are both enormously touched by the kind messages from people here in the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world in response to Her Royal Highness’ message. They are extremely moved by the public’s warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time.” Contrast the class with which the princess and prince are conducting their affairs with that of codependent narcissists Megan and Harry, who, from the comfort of their California mansion, chimed in with a request for “peace and privacy” for Kate and William. This seems odd, ironic, and tone-deaf, given how they’ve trashed William and Kate in recent years and how they’ve taken a blowtorch to the royal family and its very public struggles. Better to have just shut their lousy soup coolers on this one.

• Kamala’s red line and AOC’s lies: Vice President Kamala Harris was pulling double duty this weekend, trying to establish her nonexistent foreign-policy chops while at the same time trying to appease the pro-Hamas wing of her Democrat Party’s base. As the New York Post reports, Harris “kept open the possibility of US consequences if Israel ignores the Biden administration’s ‘red line’ and barrels into the southern Gazan city of Rafah.” As Harris warned on ABC’s “This Week”: “We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake. I have studied the maps. There’s nowhere for those folks to go,” she said, referring to Palestinian civilians taking refuge in Rafah. History, of course, shows that recent Democrat presidents don’t have a particularly good history of drawing red lines in the Middle East. Just ask Barack Obama, who beclowned himself and our nation back in 2012 when he talked tough to Syria’s Bashir al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, warning that Assad’s use of chemical weapons would cross “a red line,” but then slunk away when the Syrian regime flouted that warning all too convincingly. It would be perfectly fitting, though, for a Democrat president to finally enforce a red line — against our strongest ally in the region. In other Middle East lowlights from dim bulbs, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was spewing lies, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and arguing that Hamas couldn’t spare the Palestinian people any additional hardship and end the war right this minute by surrendering and releasing the hostages it has held since October 7. “The actions of Hamas do not justify forcing thousands, hundreds of thousands of people to eat grass as their bodies consume themselves,” she said. “We and the Israeli government has [sic] a right to go after Hamas, but we are talking about a population of millions of innocent Palestinians. We are talking about collective punishment, which is injustifiable [sic].”

• Leftmedia pundits lose it over Ronna McDaniel hiring: Former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has been hired as a political analyst by NBC News. In announcing her hiring, Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” noted that McDaniel “will support our leading coverage by providing an insider’s perspective on national politics and on the future of the Republican Party.” However, having an insider’s perspective is a bridge too far for several Leftmedia pundits who slammed NBC for the hire. As a litany of criticism poured out, none was more unhinged than that of former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. In talking to the program’s current host, Kristen Welker, Todd accused McDaniel of engaging in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” of the media. He then said, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.” To be fair, Todd does know a lot about gaslighting since he regularly practiced it when he was the host of “Meet the Press.”

• WY bans medical mutilation of kids: On Friday, Wyoming Republican Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 99, legislation that bans gender-mutilation surgeries on children. The law prohibits “physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment.” While Gordon signed the bill, he expressed hesitation over the potential for government infringement of rights. “I signed SF99 because I support the protections this bill includes for children,” he explained. “However, it is my belief that the government is straying into the personal affairs of families. Our legislature needs to sort out its intentions with regard to parental rights. While it inserts governmental prerogative in some places, it affirms parental rights in others.” The bill does contain exemptions that allow for parental or guardian consent “for a child who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development.” Wyoming now joins 23 other states in passing legislation protecting children from gender mutilation.

• Greatest ethical scandal: Medically transing the kids is “one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine,” says a report commissioned by French senators. The report comes on the heels of the WPATH Files revelation and serves to corroborate the investigation’s findings, as it documents how healthcare professionals are being indoctrinated by a “trans-affirmative” ideology. French Senator Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio notes that the report found that “fashion plays a big role” in the growth of gender-bending surgeries. Furthermore, the risks associated with these gender-bending medical procedures are so downplayed that Eustache-Brinio argues, “The sexual transition of young people will be considered as one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine.” With the United Kingdom having already banned gender-bending medical procedures on minors, it looks like France may soon do the same. And with a growing number of U.S. states doing likewise, hopefully this medical scandal will be ended.

Headlines

• President Biden signs $1.2 trillion U.S. spending bill (Reuters)

• Marjorie Taylor Greene files motion to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (Axios)

• Mike Gallagher announces early exit, leaving Republicans with temporary one-seat majority (Fox News)

• White House vows to work to repeal pride flag ban passed with spending bill (Washington Examiner)

• “Unconstitutional”: Trump’s legal team goes full force against Letitia James’s attempt to seize Mar-a-Lago (Townhall)

• DOJ launches national “resource center” to aid authorities in taking firearms from people deemed “threat to themselves or others” (Daily Wire)

• Anti-gun Everytown employs propaganda, fake numbers in juvenile shooting report (TTAG)

• AMLO threatens to worsen illegal immigration crisis if U.S. does not cave to his demands (Daily Wire)

• Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to resign at end of the year following Alaska Air door blowout (New York Post)

• New York’s $4.4 billion shoplifting shadow economy revealed — fueled by eBay and Facebook Marketplace (New York Post)

• Seven countries met the WHO’s air quality guidelines — and the U.S. and Canada aren’t among them (NBC News)

• Israel offers to release 800 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 murderers, in hostage deal (New York Post)

• Satire: Meghan Markle announces Netflix show about how hard it’s been dealing with Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.