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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 0:11:20 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 0:14:25 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 0:39:38 GMT -5
(BBC News) What we know about the criminal chargesWe'll get a clearer picture of this when Trump appears in a Miami court on Tuesday, but for now: --Trump is expected to be charged with wilful retention of national defence information, according to US media reports --He is also accused of obstructing justice, giving false statements - charges that are linked to the initial Espionage Act count --The biggest challenge facing prosecutors is whether they can prove Trump knowingly and intentionally violated the law --If convicted, Trump could go to prison --Nothing in federal law or the constitution would prevent Trump from continuing to campaign for president if he is indicted on federal charges. --This will be Trump's second indictment and also the first time a former president has faced federal charges in the US.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 0:51:25 GMT -5
(BBC News) Top Republicans assert 'weaponisation' of lawTrump's main rival for the Republican nomination, Ron DeSantis, is among those calling the indictment a "weaponisation" of the law. While he did not defend Trump outright, DeSantis said the US justice department had been "so zealous" at pursuing Trump while being "passive" towards President Joe Biden and Trump's former rival, Hillary Clinton. DeSantis referenced his campaign, promising to "bring accountability to the DOJ" and "excise political bias". Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy also used the term "weaponisation", as did Senator Ted Cruz and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. But unlike DeSantis, McCarthy offered a categorical defence of Trump. “I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice," McCarthy said.
What is an indictment in the US justice system?In the US, an indictment is a formal notice that there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime. It is not a conviction. A prosecutor brings a criminal case before a citizen's panel of 16 to 23 members, known as a grand jury. After studying evidence and witness testimonies, the grand jury votes on whether there is enough evidence to merit a trial. Only a simple majority is required to secure an indictment. After a person is indicted, they must appear in court for an arraignment, during which the indictment papers will be unsealed and the judge will ask for a plea. According to CBS, the BBC's US broadcast partner, Trump is facing a multi-count indictment related to retaining national defence information, and obstruction of justice. It is his second indictment in the last four months. His first indictment stemmed from alleged hush money payments to an adult film star.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:26:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump's federal indictment sends shockwaves through 2024 race as Republicans rush to his defenseDonald Trump is making history again, and not in a good way. Yesterday evening, he announced that he would soon be indicted on federal charges related to the classified documents discovered at his Mar-a-Lago resort last year, the first time in US history a former president has faced such allegations. While the justice department has yet to confirm the charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed late last year to investigate the secret materials matter along with Trump’s involvement in the January 6 insurrection and the overall effort to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, the news has become yet another rallying cry for Republicans – even Trump’s opponents for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. Florida governor Ron DeSantis vowed to “bring accountability” to the justice department, while senator Tim Scott lamented “a justice system where the scales are weighted”. GOP politicians have generally flocked to defend Trump whenever he faces legal trouble, such as when the Manhattan district attorney separately indicted him in March, and today is no different.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:27:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump bragged on tape about keeping 'secret' information - reportFresh off the news that Donald Trump is being indicted on several felonies related to possessing classified government documents, CNN reports this morning that an audio recording has emerged of him bragging about keeping a “secret” military document that had not been declassified. “As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump says, according to a transcript of the recording that CNN obtained. The network reports that the audio recording captures the sound of paper rustling, indicating that Trump may have actually been waving the document around as he was talking about it. “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump says in the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.” Prosecutors have this recording, CNN says. Here’s more from their story: Former President Donald Trump acknowledged on tape in a 2021 meeting that he had retained “secret” military information that he had not declassified, according to a transcript of the audio recording obtained by CNN. “As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump says, according to the transcript.
CNN obtained the transcript of a portion of the meeting where Trump is discussing a classified Pentagon document about attacking Iran. In the audio recording, which CNN previously reported was obtained by prosecutors, Trump says that he did not declassify the document he’s referencing, according to the transcript.
Trump was indicted Thursday on seven counts in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. Details from the indictment have not been made public, so it unknown whether any of the seven counts refer to the recorded 2021 meeting. Still, the tape is significant because it shows that Trump had an understanding the records he had with him at Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House remained classified.
Publicly, Trump has claimed that all the documents he brought with him to his Florida residence are declassified, while he’s railed against the special counsel’s investigation as a political witch hunt attempting to interfere with his 2024 presidential campaign.
CNN first reported last week that prosecutors had obtained the audio recording of Trump’s 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort, with two people working on the autobiography of Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows as well as aides employed by the former president, including communications specialist Margo Martin.
The transcript of the audio recording suggests that Trump is showing the document he’s discussing to those in the room. Several sources have told CNN the recording captures the sound of paper rustling, as if Trump was waving the document around, though is not clear if it was the actual Iran document. “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump says at one point, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.”
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:30:01 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump arraignment set for Tuesday in MiamiNow that Donald Trump has been indicted, what happens next? The Guardian’s Joan E Greve has the answer: Donald Trump is preparing for his second arraignment in two months after learning that he would face seven federal charges in connection to his mishandling of classified documents.
Trump is expected to surrender himself to authorities in Miami on Tuesday at 3pm, although the exact charges he will face are still unclear as the seven-count indictment remains under seal. On Fox News Digital on Thursday night he said he would plead not guilty.
After news of the indictment broke, Trump’s allies rallied to his defense as the US braced for the unprecedented spectacle of a former president forced to defend himself against federal criminal charges.
Trump-appointed judge may oversee Mar-a-Lago caseA federal judge appointed by Donald Trump who last year drew scrutiny for a ruling that was seen as deferential to the former president may oversee proceedings in the case over his possession of classified documents, a source familiar with the summons told the Guardian. US district judge Aileen Cannon has been listed on the summons sent to Trump’s lawyers, the source said. You may remember the judge’s name from last year, when she granted a request from Trump’s attorneys to appoint a special master to review the records federal agents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August. The special master review delayed the justice department’s investigation into the materials and how they ended up at Trump’s south Florida property, but in December, Cannon’s decision was overturned by the unanimous decision of a federal appeals court.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:34:48 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:36:01 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Mitt Romney is one of Donald Trump’s few Republican detractors in the Senate, or anywhere in Congress, for that matter. Here’s what Romney – who was the GOP’s unsuccessful nominee for president in the 2012 election – has to say about Trump’s federal indictment: Like all Americans, Mr Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt and securing a unanimous verdict by a South Florida jury.
By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others.
Mr Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so. These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.
Will the federal criminal indictment prevent Trump from election campaigning or, if he wins the 2024 race, taking office? Reuters has the answer – no and no. This becomes surreal when you project the scenario forward, but here goes some of the Reuters explainer: The indictment is under seal, but Trump’s lawyer said he is charged with seven criminal counts including violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. None of those would bar Trump from office if he is convicted.
A trial would take place many months from now, and Trump can freely campaign during this time. The U.S. Constitution only requires that presidential candidates be natural-born U.S. citizens who are at least 35 years old and have lived in the country for 14 years.
Trump said on Thursday on his Truth Social platform that he is innocent. He would be free to campaign even if he is convicted and sent to prison, and legal experts say there would be no basis to block his swearing-in as president even if he is incarcerated, though this would pose extraordinary logistical and security questions.
It is unlikely that the prosecution would proceed if Trump won the November 2024 election.
The U.S. Department of Justice is part of the executive branch, and presidents are the top federal law enforcement officers in the country. Federal prosecutors generally serve at their pleasure.
The U.S. Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. The department can deviate from policy in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ with the approval of the U.S. attorney general.”
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:36:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Mike Pence has called on the attorney general, Merrick Garland, to address the nation and for the federal indictment against Trump to be unsealed. Speaking in an interview with the conservative radio host, Hugh Hewitt, this morning, the former vice-president said it was “totally unacceptable” that the justice department had not yet released the indictment to the public. Pence said: I think before the sun sets today, the attorney general of the United States should be standing in front of the American people, should unseal this indictment, should provide the American people with all the facts and information here. And the American people be able to judge for themselves whether this is just the latest incident of weaponization and politicization at the justice department or it’s something different.
The US senate judiciary committee chairman, Dick Durbin, has said the investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith should be allowed to continue “without interference”. In a statement on Friday, Durbin added that Donald Trump “should be afforded the due process protections that he is guaranteed by our constitution, just like any other American”.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:40:51 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:41:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here’s the full statement by Donald Trump announcing a shake-up of his legal team. Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote: For purposes of fighting the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time, now moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later. I want to thank Jim Trusty and John Rowley for their work, but they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and “sick” group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before. We will be announcing additional lawyers in the coming days. When will Joe Biden be Indicted for his many crimes against our Nation? MAGA!
President Joe Biden had no advance knowledge of the indictment against Trump and found out about it like everyone else, according to the White House’s spokesperson, Olivia Dalton.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:42:22 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Two of Trump's lawyers say they quitJim Trusty and John Rowley, two lawyers representing Donald Trump, have issued a statement to say they have quit working for him. The joint statement reads that the pair “tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation”. It goes on: It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated in his battle against the Biden Administration’s partisan weaponization of the American justice system. Now that the case has been filed in Miami, this is a logical moment for us to step aside and let others carry the cases through to completion.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:43:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump associate Walt Nauta indicted, reports sayAn aide to Donald Trump, Walt Nauta, has been indicted alongside the former president in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents, according to several reports. Trump has also posted about the news on Truth Social. He said: I have just learned that the “Thugs” from the Department of Injustice will be Indicting a wonderful man, Walt Nauta, a member of the U.S. Navy, who served proudly with me in the White House, retired as Senior Chief, and then transitioned into private life as a personal aide. He has done a fantastic job! They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about “Trump.” He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!
Trump's valet charged as part of Mar-a-Lago documents investigationFederal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump’s valet in addition to the former president as part of the criminal investigation examining retention of national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and obstruction of justice, according to two people familiar with the matter. The exact charges against the valet, Walt Nauta, were unclear because the indictment remains under seal. One lawyer for Nauta could not confirm the indictment and another lawyer for Nauta who is off on vacation could not immediately be reached for comment. Nauta has been under scrutiny for potential obstruction charges after he told prosecutors that Trump had instructed him to move boxes of potentially classified documents out of the Mar-a-Lago storage room after the Justice department had issued a subpoena for the return of any such papers. The lawyers for Nauta were also told last year by prosecutors that he had given them potentially conflicting testimony that could give rise to false statements charges, the people said. Prosecutors recommended that Nauta cooperate against Trump but were rebuffed.
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Post by Webster on Jun 9, 2023 14:46:47 GMT -5
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