The defense and prosecution delivered their closing arguments Tuesday in former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial. New York Justice Juan Merchan said jury instructions will begin early today, after which the jurors will begin deliberating Trump’s fate. He faces 34 charges of falsifying business documents in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Harry Litman, senior legal affairs columnist for The Los Angeles Times and a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, takes us inside the courtroom.

And in headlines: The Democratic National Committee announced plans to nominate President Joe Biden through a “virtual roll call” to ensure he qualifies for Ohio’s general election ballot, at least two dozen people died, and more than a million were without power after severe storms battered the eastern half of the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend, and the Pentagon said it will take more than a week to rebuild and repair portions of a temporary pier built off the coast of Gaza for humanitarian aid deliveries.

Show Notes:

• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has called a rare special legislative session starting today to ensure President Joe Biden’s name appears on the state’s November ballot. But Ohio Democrats say Republicans are using it as a pretext to pass legislation that would make it harder for people to fund local ballot initiatives, like the one that enshrined abortion protections in the state’s constitution last year. Ohio House Democratic Minority Leader Allison Russo explains what’s at stake.

House and Senate Democrats are amping up the pressure on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from two current cases involving former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Their calls come after The New York Times reported two right-wing flags flying outside homes owned by Alito in the last few years. Jay Willis, the editor-in-chief of the website Balls and Strikes, says it’s more evidence the court needs more than an ethics code to fix its reputation problems.

And in headlines: Closing arguments in Trump’s criminal hush money trial are scheduled to start today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a missile attack that killed dozens of Palestinians at a tent camp in Rafah was a “tragic mistake,” and the Libertarian Party selected Chase Oliver as its presidential nominee during its convention Sunday.

Show Notes:

• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The International Criminal Court is formally seeking warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. But what power does the ICC actually have? Does anything they do matter? This week on How We Got Here, Max and Erin take a look at the short history of the world’s paramount arbiter of war crimes and human rights—an impressive title for a court that seldom convicts. The hosts pick apart cases against the leaders of Kenya, Yugoslavia and Russia to determine why the ICC matters, and to whom.