Trump Attorneys Question Cohen About Lying Under Oath; Biden Blocks Release of Hur Interview Tapes

In former President Donald Trump’s New York trial, Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand for a second day of cross-examination as prosecutors said they have no plans to call further witnesses. Trump attorney Todd Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about his lying under oath and pleading guilty to tax evasion. Speaking outside the courtroom, the former president said the trial is “finishing up,” and reiterated that “there’s no crime.”

President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over the tapes of his two-day interview with special counsel Robert Hur recorded during the latter's probe into the president’s alleged mishandling of classified information. The tapes are at the center of a dispute between House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who today faces contempt proceedings for defying a subpoena for them.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a serious but stable condition and is able to speak a little, the country’s president-elect said, a day after an assassination attempt that sent shock waves across Europe. The shooting was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years, and has drawn international condemnation. Slovak news media have claimed the shooter is a 71-year-old former shopping mall security guard and the author of three collections of poetry. There has been no official confirmation of his identity.