Federal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election
Federal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the latest criminal case before the former president that comes just weeks after he was charged with retaining national defense information.
You can read the indictment here in full:
Continue reading...Past efforts to hold Trump accountable for the violence and his broader election subversion campaign have fallen short
Unlike Donald Trump’s first two indictments, the former president’s third set of criminal charges stands out as the first major legal effort to hold him accountable for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Pro-democracy experts welcomed the indictment, announced on Tuesday by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, as a victory for the rule of law that could help fortify America’s election systems in the face of ongoing threats from Trump and his allies.
Continue reading...New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu attacks ex-president and says his 2024 bid is a far cry from his victorious 2016 run
Donald Trump’s campaign for president is a far cry from his victorious run for the White House in 2016, his fellow Republican and New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu said on Sunday.
“This is not the Donald Trump of 2016, don’t fool yourself,” Sununu – who recently passed on an Oval Office run of his own in part to elevate his credibility in speaking out against the ex-president – said during an interview on ABC’s This Week. “He doesn’t have the energy, he doesn’t have the fastball, he basically is droning on for 90 minutes in his long-form speeches about his legal battles, as opposed to talking about the future of this country.”
Continue reading...Judge Raag Singhal ruled that CNN’s words were opinion and could not be the subject of a defamation claim
A federal judge has thrown out Donald Trump’s $475m defamation lawsuit against CNN, in which the former president claimed the network’s description of his claims of election fraud as the “big lie” associated him with Adolf Hitler.
In a ruling late on Friday night, US judge Raag Singhal, who was nominated by Trump in 2019, said CNN’s words were opinion, not fact, and therefore could not be the subject of a defamation claim.
Continue reading...Former president says he will not drop out of 2024 US election race despite new charges in classified documents case
CNN managed to track down Republican speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the Capitol to ask him if he was concerned about the new charges against Donald Trump.
The short version of the speaker’s answer, as you will see from the clip below, is that he is not:
Continue reading...Tim Scott, currently third in polling, will also be among 13 presidential hopefuls participating in Lincoln Dinner on Friday
Nearly every major Republican presidential candidate will share a stage in the early voting state of Iowa on Friday night, as Donald Trump continues to dominate in the polls despite his numerous legal liabilities.
Thirteen candidates will appear at the Iowa Republican party’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner fundraiser, giving them an opportunity to address donors and local party leaders with less than six months left before the state’s crucial caucuses.
Continue reading...Prosecutors bring additional charges against former president as Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos De Oliveira named as third defendant
Federal prosecutors on Thursday expanded the indictment against Donald Trump for retaining national security documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, unveiling new charges against him and an employee over an attempt to destroy surveillance footage.
The new charges – filed by the special counsel Jack Smith in Florida – were outlined in a superseding indictment that named Mar-a-Lago club maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira as the third co-defendant in the case. Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was previously indicted for obstruction with the former president last month.
Continue reading...The blog is now closed, but you can read more about Donald Trump’s new charges here and about Hunter Biden’s ongoing legal challenges here.
Joe Biden will soon speak on his administration’s efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, including by asking the labor department to issue a “hazard alert” as swaths of the US struggle with scorching temperatures.
“The hazard alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently taking to protect workers,” the White House announced. “Additionally, the Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.”
Continue reading...Dendy cinemas says they will screen movie promoted by American right wing ‘due to overwhelming demand’, despite questions as to actual popularity
An Australian cinema chain co-owned by actor Mel Gibson will screen the QAnon adjacent Sound of Freedom film in August, after the film became a hit among the far right and conservatives in the United States.
Sound of Freedom is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former homeland security department agent who tried to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. Ballard is played by Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus Christ in Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
Continue reading...Judge presiding over hearing involving US president’s son said she needed more time to evaluate previous deal
Ken Buck, a Republican representative of Colorado asked Mayorkas about the the China-Mexico fentanyl pipeline that has been entering the country and the rising fentanyl overdose deaths currently plaguing the US.
“The fentanyl killing thousands of Americans every year as a direct result of your dereliction when people die of fentanyl poisoning. It is your fault,” said Buck as he went on to ask Mayorkas what his response would be to the families of fentanyl victims in the US.
“We grieve the loss of any life as a result of the toxicity, the devastation… The challenge of fentanyl is not new. It has been escalating for more than five years…. This is a scourge and all of us have to work together to combat…
I stand by my statement…that China does bear responsibility because many of the precursor chemicals and the pill press equipment that is used to manufacture fentanyl does originate from there. This is a complex problem. We are taking it to the criminals…”
“I see other countries with systems that are more advanced than ours that can match the need for labor with the supply for labor… It is proven that lawful labor pathways cause a reduction in the number of irregular arrivals at our border…”
“We have used our parole authority consistent with the law and consistent with past practices of different administration.”
Continue reading...The House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, seems ready to get on board with far-right lawmakers calling for impeachment
Donald Trump is, of course, seeking the Republican presidential nomination, and on Saturday plans to hold a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania – a city he owes money to.
As the Erie Times-News reports, Trump never repaid the city more than $35,000 for costs related to an October 2018 rally he held in the city, much of which went to pay for police and other city services necessitated by the then-president’s visit. Despite that, the city will seek reimbursement from the Trump campaign for whatever expenses result from his rally this week, mayor Joe Schember told the paper.
Continue reading...NYPD’s ex-commissioner Bernie Kerik gave about 600MB of pdfs to Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump for the Capitol attack
The former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik, a leading Trump ally who worked with Rudy Giuliani on attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has given the special counsel Jack Smith thousands of documents, Kerik’s lawyer said on Monday.
“I have shared all of these documents, approximately 600MB, mostly pdfs, with the special counsel and look forward to sitting down with them in about two weeks to discuss,” Timothy Parlatore told CNN.
Continue reading...The ‘QAnon adjacent’ film, co-opted by the right wing, has a ‘pay it forward’ scheme resulting in sold-out shows but empty theaters
Sound of Freedom, the religious, “QAnon adjacent” child-smuggling film that has enthralled conservatives across the US, passed the $100m mark in ticket sales on Thursday.
But as the movie continues to cause controversy – with its star touring conservative media to peddle conspiracy theories about unnamed persons harvesting chemicals from children’s blood and anti-trafficking experts criticizing the film’s entire premise – questions are also being asked about who is actually watching it and whether that many people are watching it at all.
Continue reading...Candidates for Republican nomination attack First Step Act enacted under Trump in attempt to look tough on crime
As a Republican congressman, Ron DeSantis was a supporter of legislation that made moderate reforms to the federal prison system intended to reduce recidivism and mass incarceration – a cause that was also championed by then president Donald Trump and his deputy, Mike Pence.
Five years later, DeSantis, now Florida’s governor, and Pence are struggling to overtake Trump’s lead among Republicans as they vie for the party’s presidential nomination, and have turned against the criminal justice measure they both supported in an effort to win over conservative voters.
Continue reading...Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse
Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.
The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.
Continue reading...Vice-president condemns ‘extremist so-called leaders’ in speech in Florida speech amid outcry over new school board guidance
For decades, US politicians have been reluctant to get involved in the topic of UFOs and aliens.
After a series of disclosures in recent months, however, Republicans and Democrats now appear to be lining up to inquire into the question of extraterrestrial life, as the world seems closer than ever to finding out whether we are alone in the universe.
Continue reading...Rules passed along party lines; conservative nonprofits reportedly orchestrated a $1.8m PR campaign to defend supreme court justice
• This blog is now closed. To read more about Donald Trump click here
Here’s a rundown of the ethical controversies supreme court justices have been involved in.
Real estate transactions
Just about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on the supreme court, the highest court in the land in the United States, and their conduct outside the courtroom.
Let me tell you, if I or any member of the Senate failed to report an all-expense paid luxury getaway or if we used our government staff to help sell books we wrote, we’d be in big trouble.
Continue reading...Ex-president holds golf club screening of child sex trafficking film, with Steve Bannon, Kari Lake and Jack Posobiec in attendance
It was an outdoor movie with a difference. Sitting in the front row: Donald Trump, the former US president. Also in attendance: extremists and election deniers. On the big screen: a box office hit promoted by followers of QAnon.
Trump, who is running for president again, hosted a private screening of Sound of Freedom, a thriller about child sex trafficking, at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Federal prosecutors say they have evidence to charge Trump with three crimes over efforts to overturn 2020 election
Federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results have evidence to charge the former president with three crimes, including section 241 of the US legal code that makes it unlawful to conspire to violate civil rights, two people familiar with the matter said.
The potential charges detailed in a target letter sent to Trump by prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who also charged Trump with retaining classified documents last month, was the clearest signal of an imminent indictment.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed. You can read the latest news on this story here.
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who Donald Trump pressured to overturn the 2020 election, has been cooperating with special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 insurrection, NBC reported.
A spokesperson for Ducey yesterday confirmed that Smith’s team had contacted the former governor. “Yes, he’s been contacted. He’s been responsive, and just as he’s done since the election, he will do the right thing,” they told CNN.
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