Two jurors who had been sworn in Tuesday were dismissed from Trump’s hush money trial Thursday. One of the jurors expressed concerns that her identity had been revealed by the media.

Prosecutors had questioned whether a second juror had been truthful about prior arrests in a jury questionnaire. Judge Juan Merchan dismissed the juror as a result.

Prosecutors also asked the judge to hold the former president in contempt over a series of social media posts. And Trump was seen briefly using his cellphone on Thursday, flouting courtroom rules.

Shortly after jury selection resumed Thursday morning, Merchan informed lawyers for both sides that a juror who had been sworn in on Tuesday was dismissed.

The juror, an oncology nurse, told the judge that aspects of her identity had been publicly revealed, and that she felt intimidated by the press.

Merchan told the media to refrain from publishing information that could reveal the identities of jurors, especially given the historic nature of the case. “There’s a reason this is an anonymous jury,” he said.Prosecutors raised an issue about a second juror, saying that he may not have answered the jury questionnaire accurately regarding prior arrests.

Prosecutors raised an issue about a second juror, saying that he may not have answered the jury questionnaire accurately regarding prior arrests.

In the 1990s, they noted, a person with the same name had been arrested for tearing down right-wing posters. The man is also married to a woman who was prosecuted on corruption charges, a fact that wasn’t reflected in the jury questionnaire.

With the dismissal of the two jurors, only five remained seated so far. Seven more are needed to fill out the 12-member panel, with another six to be chosen as alternates.

Prosecutors again asked for Trump to held in contempt and fined over a series of social media posts that they say violate the gag order imposed on him.

The posts include one linking to a New York Post article calling Michael Cohen a “serial perjurer” and another quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters claiming that some prospective jurors are “undercover liberal activists lying to the judge” in order to get on the jury.

“It’s ridiculous and has to stop,” Christopher Conroy, one of the prosecutors, told Merchan Thursday.

The judge had already scheduled a hearing for next week on the prosecution’s request for contempt sanctions over Trump’s social posts.

Trump — who is required by law to attend the trial — was also seen using his cellphone at the defense table, openly flouting the rules of the courtroom.

The former president’s lawyer Todd Blanche told him to stop, and Trump put his phone away.

Source: yahoo.com, Author: Dylan Stableford

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“So honored by Archbishop Viganò’s incredible letter to me,” wrote the President in a Tweet. “I hope everyone, religious or not, reads it!” he added.

In his powerful letter, Archbishop Viganò, who rose to international prominence in 2018 as a Vatican whistleblower, warned the President that the current crises over the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd riots are a part of the eternal spiritual struggle between the forces of good and evil.

The Archbishop encouraged the president to continue the fight on behalf of the “children of light.”

The letter has been viewed nearly 2.5 million times on LifeSiteNews. 

Within a half-hour, the president’s Tweet had already been liked nearly 30,000 times. 

Viganò, who served as Papal Nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016, made headlines around the world when he published an explosive testimony in LifeSiteNews in August 2018 implicating Pope Francis and several senior prelates in covering up Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s alleged sexual abuse of seminarians and priests. Although the Archbishop found it necessary for his own safety to go into hiding, he has continued to be an important voice in the church, offering insights into the inner workings of the Catholic hierarchy — including the Vatican — that only a man who has reached such a high stature in the Church could offer.

In his letter to the president, Archbishop Viganò interpreted recent events facing the nation, the Church, and the Presidency in spiritual terms, calling attention to the ancient biblical battle between “children of light” and the “children of darkness.”

He explained to the President that forces of darkness are now clearly revealing themselves: 

In society, Mr. President, these two opposing realities co-exist as eternal enemies, just as God and Satan are eternal enemies. And it appears that the children of darkness – whom we may easily identify with the deep state which you wisely oppose and which is fiercely waging war against you in these days – have decided to show their cards, so to speak, by now revealing their plans. They seem to be so certain of already having everything under control that they have laid aside that circumspection that until now had at least partially concealed their true intentions. The investigations already under way will reveal the true responsibility of those who managed the Covid emergency not only in the area of health care but also in politics, the economy, and the media. We will probably find that in this colossal operation of social engineering there are people who have decided the fate of humanity, arrogating to themselves the right to act against the will of citizens and their representatives in the governments of nations.

The Archbishop also praised the President for standing up for the unborn and religious liberty: 

For the first time, the United States has in you a President who courageously defends the right to life, who is not ashamed to denounce the persecution of Christians throughout the world, who speaks of Jesus Christ and the right of citizens to freedom of worship. Your participation in the March for Life, and more recently your proclamation of the month of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, are actions that confirm which side you wish to fight on. And I dare to believe that both of us are on the same side in this battle, albeit with different weapons.

Archbishop Viganò also drew attention to the presence of a deep church working hand in hand with the deep state to create a new world order.  He wrote:  “There are Bishops … who, by their words, prove that they are aligned on the opposing side. They are subservient to the deep state, to globalism, to aligned thought, to the New World Order which they invoke ever more frequently in the name of a universal brotherhood which has nothing Christian about it, but which evokes the Masonic ideals of those who want to dominate the world by driving God out of the courts, out of schools, out of families, and perhaps even out of churches.”

The former nuncio to the United States concluded:

Mr. President, my prayer is constantly turned to the beloved American nation, where I had the privilege and honor of being sent by Pope Benedict XVI as Apostolic Nuncio. In this dramatic and decisive hour for all of humanity, I am praying for you and also for all those who are at your side in the government of the United States. I trust that the American people are united with me and you in prayer to Almighty God.

United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity, I bless you and the First Lady, the beloved American nation, and all men and women of good will.

Source: lifesitenews.com/ Author: Doug Mainwaring

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Iowa senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley recently sent him a letter, asking the president to consider deploying a special envoy to help end the Christian genocide in Nigeria.

In their letter, the senators point to 40,000 Nigerian deaths tied to the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. 

Along with other Islamic militants known as the Fulani herdsmen, the Boko Haram has long threatened the lives of Christians in the West African country. 

Two years ago during a meeting, President Trump asked Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to protect “innocent civilians of all faiths.”

But Ernst and Grassley want more done to protect the lives of Christians. 

As CBN News reported earlier this month, a report released by a Nigerian organization estimates around 620 Christians were killed in the African country by Islamic militants during the first five months of 2020 alone. 

The International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (ISCLRL), an organization not aligned with the Nigerian government, released the report which also warned militant Fulani herdsmen and the Boko Haram have intensified their anti-Christian violence in the old Middle Belt and Northeast regions of the country with the burning or destroying of Christian centers of worship and learning. In addition, hundreds of homes have been destroyed. 

The ISCLRL headed by Christian Emeka Umeagbalasi noted in its report no fewer than 620 defenseless Christians have been killed since the year began with no reprisal action taken by the government or the Nigerian military forces against the Fulani or the Boko Haram. 

“The atrocities against Christians have gone unchecked and risen to alarming apogee with the country’s security forces and concerned political actors looking the other way or colluding with the Jihadists,” the report said. 

The organization also estimated that more than 32,000 Christians have been killed there by Islamic militants since 2009. 

The mainstream media in the US has remained largely silent as the Muslim terrorists’ merciless killing of Nigerian Christians rages on. 

Nigeria is ranked 12th on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

Source: cbn.com, Author: Steve Warren

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President Donald Trump praised the miracle-working power of prayer during his National Day of Prayer address in the White House Rose Garden.

“Prayer works miracles, and prayer saves lives,” Trump told the crowd

Trump opened his remarks with a prayer for Venezuela and invited the victims of the recent terrorist attack in San Diego to speak, as well as a woman who found Christ through a faith-based opioid addiction recovery center.

The guests all shared how prayer made an impact in their lives.

Trump thanked charismatic leaders including Paula White Cain as he praised the value of religious liberty.

“These United States will forever be strengthened by the goodness and the grace and the eternal glory of God,” Trump said.

Watch the video to see the full ceremony, including worship led by Jonathan Cain, remarks by Vice President Mike Pence, First Lady Melania Trump, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of the Chabad of Poway, among others.

Source: charismamag.com

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