Today in one sentence: Trump refused to unconditionally accept the results of the 2024 presidential election if he doesn’t win; on day 10 of Trump’s election interference trial involving falsified business records, the lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels finished his testimony and Judge Juan Merchan held another hearing on whether Trump is continuing to violate his gag order; Biden defended "the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos," demanding that “order must prevail”; and the U.S. accused Russia of using chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers.

1/ Trump refused to unconditionally accept the results of the 2024 presidential election if he doesn’t win. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Trump said he was prepared “to fight for the right of the country” – an echo to his speech on the Ellipse on Jan. 6, where he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol. “If everything’s honest,” Trump added, “I’ll gladly accept the results.” In 2020, Wisconsin was one of several states where Trump and his allies attempted to undermine election results through baseless accusations of widespread fraud. Nevertheless, Trump repeated his lie that he beat Biden in Wisconsin, saying: “If you go back and look at all of the things that had been found out, it showed that I won the election in Wisconsin. It also showed I won the election in other locations.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Reuters / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Rolling Stone)

  • Emails Reveal Top Trump Accountant Had Secret Campaign Role. “Not only was Allen Weisselberg handling the Trump Org’s books, he was also advising the former president’s campaign 2016 campaign.” (Daily Beast)

2/ On day 10 of Trump’s election interference trial involving falsified business records, the lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels finished his testimony and Judge Juan Merchan held another hearing on whether Trump is continuing to violate his gag order. Two days after Merchan held Trump in contempt of court for violating his gag order nine times, the judge held a second hearing on four additional claims made by the prosecution. “His statements are corrosive to this proceeding and the fair administration of justice,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said, adding that Trump’s public comments “are deliberate shots across the bow to everyone who may come to this courtroom […] to talk about the defendant and what he did.” Merchan didn’t immediately rule, but advised Trump’s lawyer about social media posts: “I think the best advice to give your client is when in doubt, steer clear.” Meanwhile, Davidson testified that “there was an understanding” that his efforts to strike deals to bury the stories of Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels “may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.” On election night 2016, Davidson texted Dylan Howard, the National Enquirer editor who helped broker the deals, “What have we done.” Howard responded: “Oh my god.” The next witness called to testify was Douglas Daus, who works for the Manhattan district attorney’s office as a technology expert. (CNN / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press)

3/ Biden defended “the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos,” demanding that “order must prevail.” In his first comments since protests against the Israel-Hamas war have escalated on college campuses in the past two weeks, Biden reiterated his support for Israel and rejected calls for the National Guard to intervene. He added that “vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest.” (NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg / NPR / Axios / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Associated Press)

4/ The U.S. accused Russia of using chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers. The State Department said Russia’s use of chloropicrin “is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield.” Chloropicrin is listed as a banned choking agent by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Separately, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on more than 280 individuals and entities connected to Russia’s military-industrial base and financial system. (NBC News / Axios)