Trump’s verdict is just the start of his troubles

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BREAKING NEWS — A federal jury today found that former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused Trump of assaulting her in a dressing room in the 1990s. The jury found that Carroll did not prove that Trump raped her, but did find that she proved that the former president sexually assaulted her. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages in the civil trial.

Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”

Trump has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women. But today’s verdict represents the first time he’s been held legally responsible for the act. And it’s far from the end of his legal troubles. In addition to a criminal investigation in New York for allegedly sending hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, Trump faces a criminal investigation in Georgia that could result in charges for violating election laws and a special counsel is looking into the role he played in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

None of these cases — civil or criminal — appear to have hurt Trump in Republican primary polls. But they will serve as a backdrop as he pursues a third straight GOP nomination for president, and Republican voters will have to factor in whether a candidate with that amount of baggage can win a general election. Trump’s first big national test comes Wednesday night in a town hall moderated by CNN’s Kaitlin Collins, who is almost sure to press him on the outcome of the recent trial. His post-trial public statements suggest he’ll wave it off and incorporate the verdict into his grievance-based politics. The question is whether his protestations will be as convincing now that he’s been found guilty of what he’s denied for years.

WINLESS VICTORY DAY — A single Soviet-era tank trundled across Red Square today as Russia marked the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. In a normal year, the streets of Moscow are packed as a procession of modern weaponry, heavy artillery and low-flying fighter jets circle around the city as part of the ‘Victory Day’ celebrations.

This, however, isn’t a normal year. Instead, only a few dozen armored personnel carriers and some long-range anti-aircraft launchers went past as an increasingly isolated Vladimir Putin addressed the nation.

Over the last several weeks, Putin has tried to flex his might in Ukraine with a troop surge that has made little progress. And at home, Russia has increasingly isolated itself, poking the U.S. even further with provocations like the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Now, some who lived through the Soviet days say the situation is “worse” today.

With little celebrating to be done, security was tight and crowds were subdued, with the Russian president giving a speech that lasted barely 10 minutes — in stark contrast to his usual lengthy rants.

“A war has once again been unleashed against our homeland,” he insisted. “Their goal is to achieve the disintegration and destruction of our country.”

Sitting behind him in their medals and dress uniforms, Russia’s top brass was stony faced. For the past year, they’ve watched on as their most advanced hardware and best-trained troops perish in Putin’s ill-fated invasion of Ukraine.

Many hoped they’d have more to celebrate. For weeks, the Kremlin has been funneling thousands of troops into the brutal fighting around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, unable to capture it but seemingly unable to cut their losses and pull back.

Now, a series of high-profile spats between the commanders overseeing the offensive have revealed just how fractured Russia’s war effort is. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former catering boss who heads the notorious Wagner Group mercenary outfit, has accused Moscow of failing to supply his troops with the ammunition and weaponry they need to win and warning that top officers are trying to “deceive” Putin.

With more and more of the actual fighting being done by Wagner’s band of former prison inmates and regular citizens lured in by the promise of danger pay, the smartly dressed generals seem increasingly irrelevant.

So, too, does Putin himself. The 70-year-old strongman is caught between two opposing camps among the Russian elites. On one side are the liberals and wealthy oligarchs who have watched in horror as his war dismantles their vast empires and alienates them further from the West.

On the other are the ultranationalist hardliners who truly believe Putin’s claims Russia is fighting an existential war, but can’t understand why the Kremlin isn’t drafting every man it can to the front lines and switching over to a wartime economy. The danger, however, is that beginning another round of mobilization could turn the public once and for all against an already unpopular conflict.

“Putin’s Victory Day shows just how desperate his situation is,” says Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British military intelligence officer and NATO planner. “The pretense that everything is normal utterly failed. It might take a while to see the back of him, but it’s clear his days are numbered.”

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or on Twitter at @GabrielCSGavin.

What'd I Miss?

— Santos set to face federal criminal charges: Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican who’s faced numerous allegations of lying about his background,is facing federal criminal charges, according to three people familiar with the situation. Santos, who gave up his House committee assignments just weeks after he took office in January, is expected to appear in court as soon as tomorrow. In addition to misstatements about his past, he’s also contended with allegations of fraud in his business dealings.

— Tucker Carlson to relaunch show on Twitter: Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is relaunching his show on Twitter after the primetime host abruptly exited Fox News last month. “Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,” Carlson said in a Twitter post today. “We’ll bring some other things too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now, we’re just grateful to be here.”

— Harlan Crow refuses to hand over gift records to Senate Finance: Billionaire Harlan Crow has refused to comply with a request by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for a complete accounting of Crow’s gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. According to Ryan Carey, a spokesperson for Wyden, the Senate tax chief received an “obstructive letter” from a lawyer for Crow late Monday night declining to answer a series of questions about the billionaire’s financial arrangements with Thomas that Wyden posed to Crow in an April 24 letter.

— DOJ dismantles premier Russian spy tool: U.S. and international authorities have disabled a piece of advanced malware that Russian intelligence services used to steal secrets from U.S. and NATO countries for more than 20 years, Justice Department officials announced today. Russia’s modern day equivalent of the KGB, the FSB, deployed the Snake malware to purloin sensitive information from U.S. and NATO government agencies, defense companies, foreign ministries, media organizations and high-tech research facilities, a senior FBI official told reporters.

Nightly Road to 2024

READY TO RUMBLE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis severed his connection to his long-standing state political committee and the tens of millions of dollars that it now controls, a step he needs to take ahead of a presidential campaign, report POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Sally Goldenberg.

The Republican governor is expected to jump into the race for president soon and the move to rebrand his Florida political committee — called Friends of Ron DeSantis — is the most concrete sign so far that his candidacy is imminent.

The website for the committee was changed this morning to say that its mission is “committed to advancing the Freedom Agenda and keeping Florida free.” But more importantly, the website says that the committee is associated with state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and not DeSantis.

The Associated Press’ Thomas Beaumont also reports that a Super PAC backing DeSantis — Never Back Down PAC — is staffing up across 18 states early on the presidential calendar.

STANDING BY — Melania Trump told Fox News that she supports her husband’s re-election campaign in an interview today, and “restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength.” Trump has still yet to appear at campaign events along with her husband since his announcement in November 2022.

THE CONTENDER — Vivek Ramaswamy will return your call. He’ll say “yes” to almost any interview request — no matter the outlet — and will linger long after scheduled events die down, autographing a piece of fruit or letting prospective supporters lay hands on his chest to cancel Satan’s plans. It’s the most always-on, always-available strategy of the 2024 presidential race. And it appears to be working, write POLITICO’s Natalie Allison and Lisa Kashinsky. Ten weeks after Ramaswamy launched his presidential run, the wealthy 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur has suddenly moved from suspected vanity campaigner to a contender polling in one recent measure on par with established Republicans like former Vice President Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott.

AROUND THE WORLD

GREASING THE WHEELS — In a sign President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan realizes he needs to pull out all the stops before Turkey’s too-close-to-call election in five days, he announced a 45 percent pay hike for public workers today, reports Elçin Poyrazlar.

The decision affects more than 700,000 public workers, who will now be paid a minimum monthly wage of 15,000 Turkish lira ($768 USD).

The announcement is seen as a move to attract voters in a tight election race dominated by the economy. Erdoğan’s economic policies, once one of his main selling points, are unpopular, largely due to high inflation and a tumbling lira.

The move is unlikely to assuage doubts about whether Erdoğan will ever get serious about tackling runaway inflation. Erdoğan’s unorthodox monetary policies — slashing interest rates in the face of surging prices — have led to double-digit inflation, currency crises and spiraling living costs that have infuriated Turkish voters. Annual inflation hit a record high of 85.5 percent last October and was just under 44 percent for April.

Nightly Number

RADAR SWEEP

SINKING SHIP — In 2012, a cruise ship only eight years old named the Costa Concordia deviated from its planned route and sank in Tuscany, killing 33 in the process. In an excerpt from his book “Romanzo di un Naufragio: Costa Concordia: una storia vera,” in the online global outlet The Dial, Pablo Trincia takes readers aboard the ship during its final voyage, chronicling what led to its demise.

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