Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey dies at 65
Rep. Donald Payne Jr., a six-term Democrat from New Jersey, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack earlier in the month. Published April 24, 2024
Trump wants congressional Republicans to ‘take action,’ stop criminal cases
Former President Donald Trump pleaded with congressional Republicans Wednesday to thwart the criminal trials he is facing while he campaigns against President Biden. Published April 24, 2024
Former Enquirer chief: Trump and I had secret deal to protect 2016 campaign
Former tabloid executive David Pecker testified Tuesday that he struck a 2015 agreement with his longtime friend Donald Trump to publish positive National Enquirer stories about the mogul's 2016 presidential run, as prosecutors set the foundation of their case over alleged hush money payments. Published April 23, 2024
Judge loses patience with Trump lawyer during gag-order hearing
A New York judge on Tuesday told former President Donald Trump's attorney that he is "losing all credibility" with the court after the defense tried to argue the ex-president did not violate a gag order in a series of Truth Social posts. Published April 23, 2024
Trump blasts Biden as inept on Israel-Gaza war, protests
Former President Donald Trump accused President Biden Tuesday of being incompetent on Israel-Arab relations as university protests spiral out of control. Published April 23, 2024
Prosecutors open Trump trial with tales of political dirt, money, collusion with National Enquirer
New York prosecutors began building their case Monday against former President Donald Trump in the first criminal trial against an ex-president, telling jurors he committed tax and election crimes to hush up bad press ahead of the 2016 election. Published April 22, 2024
Former National Enquirer exec David Pecker is first to take the stand in Trump trial
Former tabloid executive David Pecker said Monday he had "final say" over stories that ran in his marquee National Enquirer magazine and other publications, as prosecutors laid the groundwork to claim former President Donald Trump engaged in payoff tactics before the 2016 election and concealed them in ways that broke the law. Published April 22, 2024
Trump is ‘not on the hook’ for alleged hush money misdeeds, defense says
Manhattan prosecutors are concocting a crime out of "34 pieces of paper" that former President Donald Trump signed to pay his personal lawyer many years ago, a defense attorney told jurors Monday. Published April 22, 2024
Prosecutors’ pitch to jury: Trump ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme led to fraudulent docs, misleading banks
Former President Donald Trump and tabloid allies used "catch-and-kill" tactics to stiff-arm bad press before the 2016 election and then lied about it on business records "over and over and over again," New York prosecutors told jurors Monday. Published April 22, 2024
Trump arrives for the start of his criminal trial, an American first
Former President Donald Trump entered a drab Manhattan courtroom Monday for the start of a historic criminal trial that will keep him off the campaign trail and could impact his standing with undecided voters ahead of his rematch with President Biden in November. Published April 22, 2024
Manhattan jury seated for Trump trial’s opening arguments to start Monday
Former President Donald Trump's hush money trial will begin in earnest Monday after successfully assembling a jury of Manhattanites who will convict or acquit the GOP presidential nominee in the heat of the campaign. Published April 19, 2024
Judge hails crying woman as ‘brave’ during Trump jury selection
A New York judge hailed a woman with a criminal record for working through her emotions and telling her personal story in open court Friday during jury selection for the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump. Published April 19, 2024
Trump arrives in court, says ‘gag order has to come off’
Former President Donald Trump opened the fourth day of jury selection in his hush-money trial Friday by calling on the New York court to lift the gag order on speaking about witnesses. Published April 19, 2024
N.Y. court selects full jury of 12 for Trump trial, alternates to come
A full jury of 12 people and one alternate was empaneled Thursday in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial, putting the New York court on track to begin hearing testimony next week. Published April 18, 2024
Trump jury shrinking as trial hits snags
A New York judge on Thursday dismissed two jurors who'd been sworn to sit on former President Donald Trump's hush money trial, underscoring the difficulty of selecting a panel for one of the most high-profile trials in American history. Published April 18, 2024
Trump case loses juror after fears she’d been ID’d
A New York judge on Thursday excused a woman who'd been sworn in as a juror for ex-President Donald Trump's trial but expressed unease about her impartiality and the amount of identifying information about her in public. Published April 18, 2024
Trump lashes out at New York courts during one-day break in jury selection
Former President Donald Trump used a Wednesday break in his New York trial to gripe about the court system that is trying him on charges he criminally concealed hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign. Published April 17, 2024
Larry Hogan seeks ‘common ground’ in his first TV ad of Senate race
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan launched a television ad Wednesday that says his Senate bid is about rising above the "partisan B.S." and finding common ground in Washington. Published April 17, 2024
N.Y. court swears in seven jurors for Trump hush money trial
The first seven jurors were chosen Tuesday in a New York trial to decide whether former President Donald Trump criminally concealed hush money payments to a porn star around the 2016 election. Published April 16, 2024
Day 2 of Trump jury selection features dismissals, admissions of bias and ‘The Art of the Deal’
Former President Donald Trump sat quietly through a second day of New York jury selection Tuesday but perked up when one juror said he'd read a couple of the ex-president's books. Published April 16, 2024