South Dakota
Prosecution rests in Trump hush money trial, after former fixer Cohen is grilled • South Dakota Searchlight
NEW YORK — New York state prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump Monday after four days of testimony from their key witness, Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who says the former president was well aware of a hush money cover-up. The defense paints Cohen as a liar.
The Manhattan criminal trial, the first ever for a former president, now in its sixth week, was poised to reach closing arguments as early as Tuesday. But New York Justice Juan Merchan indicated Monday that proceedings would stretch beyond Memorial Day.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche, in a lengthy, and at times slow and disjointed cross- examination Monday, continued wringing Cohen for proof that would convince jurors the former fixer cannot be trusted.
GOP politicians rush to Manhattan to line up behind Trump as hush money trial continues
Cohen’s earlier testimony that Trump reimbursed him for paying a porn star to stay quiet before the 2016 presidential election is at the crux of the prosecution’s case.
Trump is charged with falsifying 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 ledger entries as routine legal expenses rather than reimbursement of the hush money, amounting to 34 felony counts.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and maintains he never had a sexual relationship with adult film actress and director Stormy Daniels. She testified otherwise in excruciating and awkward detail in early May.
Monday’s proceedings were beset with objections and technology issues, and wrapped with tense testimony from the defense’s second witness, Robert Costello, Cohen’s legal counsel, who promised backdoor communication to Trump after Cohen was under the FBI’s thumb in 2018.
The day ended with a long shot, but expected, request from the defense to throw the case out. Merchan dismissed the court, saying he’d issue his ruling Tuesday. The defense is likely to rest its case then as well.
Closing arguments are expected after the holiday.
On a ‘journey’
Blanche began the day grilling Cohen on his previous business dealings, income and the money he’s made since breaking ties with the former president.
Cohen testified that he’s made millions of dollars on his books “Disloyal” and “Revenge,” and his podcast “Mea Culpa,” all of which sharply criticize the man from whom he used to seek praise, as he testified days earlier.
Prompted by Blanche, Cohen confirmed he’s mulling over a third book, has a television show in the works titled “The Fixer” and is considering a run for Congress because he has “the best name recognition” out there.
Star witness in Trump trial tells of plot to conceal porn star hush money payments
When Blanche suggested Cohen’s name recognition hinges on Trump, Cohen disagreed.
“I wouldn’t characterize it that way. My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on,” Cohen said.
“Well the journey you’ve been on … has included daily attacks on Trump,” Blanche responded.
Through the course of Blanche’s questioning, Cohen again acknowledged his previous crimes and also fessed up to stealing $30,000 from the Trump Organization when Trump lagged on paying a tech company to rig a CNBC poll of famous businessmen.
Minutes later, Blanche asked, “Do you have a financial interest in this case?”
“Yes, sir,” Cohen responded.
When Blanche pressed about whether a guilty verdict is Cohen’s preferred outcome, Cohen responded, “The answer is no. It’s better if he’s not (guilty) for me because it gives me more to talk about in the future.”
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger conducted her redirect at a tidy and speedy clip, leading Cohen through each of Blanche’s doubting lines of questioning to reaffirm for the jury Cohen’s testimony that Trump’s hand was behind the hush money reimbursements.
“They’ve asked you a lot of questions about how you’ve made money and (your) podcast… Putting aside financial matters, how has telling the truth affected your life?” Hoffinger asked.
“My entire life has been turned upside down as a direct result,” Cohen responded.
Before the prosecution rested its case, the defense lobbed a lengthy objection to a still frame of a C-SPAN video depicting Trump with his bodyguard Keith Schiller just before 8 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2016. The parties eventually agreed to admit it.
Evidence that Trump and Schiller were together that night looms large for Cohen’s claim that he spoke to both of them on the phone about paying off Daniels.
Trump’s support inside the courtroom
A steady flow of high-profile Republican supporters has shown up for the GOP’s presumed 2024 presidential nominee.
Monday’s supporters included Trump ally and attorney Alan Dershowitz; legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, who himself is indicted in Arizona for trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election results; and Chuck Zito, an actor and one of the founders of New York City’s Hells Angels chapter in the 1980s.
Porn star Stormy Daniels in NYC hush money trial alleges sexual encounter with Trump
Several Republican lawmakers, including vice presidential hopefuls, have flocked to Manhattan for the trial.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and former GOP primary hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy attended May 13. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also made appearances last week, alongside Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered remarks outside the courthouse May 14, slamming the “sham trial” and accusing New York prosecutors of only wanting to keep the former president off the campaign trail.
The Louisiana Republican cast Trump as a victim of a “travesty of justice.”
Nearly a dozen far-right Republican House members showed up Thursday, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. Accompanying Gaetz were other right-wing House Freedom Caucus members: fellow Floridian Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Waltz; Eli Crane and Andy Biggs of Arizona; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Diana Harshbarger and Andy Ogles of Tennessee; Mike Cloud of Texas; and caucus Chair Bob Good of Virginia.
Speaking on the sidewalk outside the courthouse, Gaetz described the charges as the “Mr. Potatohead doll of crimes,” accusing the prosecution of combining things “that did not belong together.”
Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills of Florida attended earlier in the week.
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The South Dakota Department of Health has released new income guidelines for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program effective July 1, 2024.
WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided at no cost to eligible moms, infants, and children. It aims to empower families through support with healthy eating, nutrition, and breastfeeding, as well as offering referrals to other essential services. WIC strives to help improve the overall health and well-being of families.
“WIC makes a profound difference in the lives of families, offering essential nutrition, heartfelt discussions, and unwavering support,” said Department of Health Secretary, Melissa Magstadt. “The mission is to empower moms, infants, and children with the knowledge and resources they need to thrive and live healthier, happier lives.”
If your family’s annual income does not exceed the following amounts for the size of your family, you could qualify for WIC:
Family Size |
185% of Federal Poverty Level | Family Size |
185% of Federal Poverty Level |
| 1 | $27,861 | 6 | $77,626 |
| 2 | $37,814 | 7 | $87,579 |
| 3 | $47,767 | 8 | $97,532 |
| 4 | $57,720 | 9 | $107,485 |
| 5 | $67,673 | 10 | $117,438 |
To find out if you or children in your household are eligible for the WIC Program and to apply online go to https://www.sd.gov/wic. Or you can call for an appointment at your local WIC office. Offices can be found under the county listings in your phone book or on the web at https://www.sd.gov/wic.
WIC is an equal opportunity provider. More information about the program is available at https://www.sd.gov/wic.
REE HEIGHTS, S.D. — Agriculture has been a way of life for Payton Beare. She was raised on a farm near Ree Heights, started showing livestock at age 4, started 4-H when she was 8, started livestock judging when she was 10 and started FFA when she was in seventh grade.
It was her interest in animals that ultimately got her interested in livestock judging. Through that, she has gained a community.
“The whole FFA and 4-H community, whether it’s cattle, or goats, or sheep or pigs, we are all kind of a family,” she said. “It’s kind of a whole group thing that just kind of gets you involved in everything.”
Ariana Schumacher / Agweek
Beare has been very successful in her ag activities, especially livestock judging. During her sophomore year of high school, she won the state FFA livestock judging contest. Her success in judging has earned her a full ride scholarship to Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas.
“It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” she said. “The scholarship will cover classes and books and everything else, and other scholarships will cover the food and the room and that kind of stuff. Then I got an additional scholarship that is for traveling and that additional stuff. So, it’s honestly amazing.”
Women in agriculture
Women always have played significant roles in agriculture. While the stereotypical farmer or rancher in recent centuries became male, women have continued to raise livestock, plant crops, feed crews, perform financial and bookkeeping tasks and more. The 2022 Census of Agriculture says 36% of producers are women, which may be an underrepresentation of women’s contributions to farms and ranches. In this series, we introduce some of the women in agriculture in our region.
Through livestock judging, she will be traveling a lot. Beare said the judging team last year traveled over 46,000 miles.
“I am most excited to travel,” she said. “We will come back to South Dakota, and we will judge at a few contests here. We will go all the way to Texas. We will go to all the big shows, Louisville, Kansas City, Denver, all the big ones. It’s honestly somebody’s dream to get to go to all of those and judge.”
Through livestock judging, Beare has been able to learn things that she can bring back and apply to her own operation.
“You kind of just learn to find functional animals,” she said. “If you are judging livestock, you are not going to look for animals that can’t walk or aren’t structurally sound or able to function, so when you are picking animals for your herd, you are going to look for the animals that are able to meet your standards like you would be when you are judging.”
One skill she has gained through judging is public speaking.
“I think it is really important so we have more people to stand up and speak out about the beef industry or even the livestock industry itself, so that we have leaders and we have people that will stand out for our problems and make a difference,” Beare said.
Ariana Schumacher / Agweek
She will be doing this all while working towards a degree in bovine embryology. Livestock genetics is something that has always interested her.
“We’ve been putting embryos in here for five to 10 years, and I always looked forward to staying home from school, helping with it,” Beare said of their cattle breeding procedure. “Last year, I was loading AI guns for the guy that AIs our cattle and I actually learned how to AI this year, so I will be AIing a bunch of our cattle and that stuff this year.”
She will also be working while in school, both for Reprologix and Competitive Edge Genetics. After her time at Fort Scott, she hopes to transfer to either Oklahoma State University or Kansas State University.
“I hope to then take that experience and hopefully someday own or operate my own genetic company,” she said.
Ariana Schumacher / Agweek
Beare encourages other young people who want to someday judge livestock in college to start learning now.
“The best thing I think that I have done is start going to livestock judging camps,” she said. “Livestock judging is a lot of confidence because you have to give reasons, which is everybody’s enemy. You have to be able to get out of your comfort zone … You have to be able to listen to everybody else’s opinion because not everybody else is going to think the same.”
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