Trump Launches U.S.-Led Board of Peace to Oversee Gaza Ceasefire and Expand Global Role 
Russia, U.S., and Ukraine Plan Abu Dhabi Security Talks as Moscow Stresses Territorial Demands 
Russian Drone Attack Hits Kyiv and Kharkiv Amid Ongoing Peace Talks 
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok Meets U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Advance Trade and Security Talks 
California Sues Trump Administration Over Federal Authority on Sable Offshore Pipelines 
New York Judge Orders Redrawing of GOP-Held Congressional District 
Trump Withdraws Canada Invitation to Board of Peace Initiative 
U.S. Backs Iraq’s Move to Detain ISIS Fighters, Urges Global Repatriation 
NATO, Trump, and Arctic Security: Greenland Talks Highlight Rising Russia-China Concerns 
U.N. Human Rights Council Condemns Iran Over Deadly Crackdown on Protests 
Japan Snap Election Sparks Bond Yield Surge as Parties Clash Over Fiscal and Monetary Policy 
Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Stall as Energy Crisis Deepens 
Trump Administration Weighs Tougher Sanctions on Cuba Including Possible Oil Blockade 
Trump Explains Bruised Hand, Cites High Aspirin Intake During Davos Trip 
Taiwan President Offers Cooperation With Ukraine to Combat Sanctions Evasion 
United States Officially Exits World Health Organization, Raising Global Public Health Concerns 
U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Visit Azerbaijan and Armenia Following Historic Peace Deal 
Donald Trump faces a trial by the Senate next week following his impeachment by the House on his last week as president a few weeks ago. The now-former president has hired two new lawyers to represent him in his defense as his previous legal team fell through.
Trump announced over the weekend that he has brought on Bruce L. Castor and David Schoen to represent him in his upcoming Senate trial. Trump faces possible conviction or acquittal for the charge of “inciting an insurrection” following his role in the Capitol riots last January 6. The impeachment by the House was on a bipartisan vote and also makes Trump the first president to get impeached twice. His hiring of Castor and Schoen also comes a day after his previous lawyers left along with a deadline given by the Senate for his team to produce a preliminary memo of his defense.
Trump’s new legal team has also been embroiled in controversy in the past. Schoen previously represented Trump associate Roger Stone and also previously met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Castor was a former acting attorney general in Pennsylvania who faced backlash by advocates for victims of sexual crimes. Castor was also known for declining to prosecute Bill Cosby before he was ultimately convicted back in 2018. The previous legal team was reported to have made a mass resignation, citing disagreements with Trump over strategy and supposedly over the former president’s insistence that his defense would focus on his unfounded election fraud claims.
10 House Republicans joined the House Democrats in impeaching Trump, among them being top Republican Liz Cheney, who has now faced backlash from the former president’s supporters including her own colleagues. As the number three Republican in the House may face a tough primary ahead, she may find that she has the support of former President George W. Bush.
When asked if the former president plans to support Cheney in an upcoming primary in 2022, Bush’s chief of staff Freddy Ford said, “You’re a few months ahead of us -- we aren’t thinking about the next election cycle yet. But I do know that President Bush is planning to call VP Cheney tomorrow for two reasons: To wish him a happy 80th birthday, and to thank him for his daughter’s service.”
