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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 17:24:00 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump has boarded his private plane in Miami, and is heading to his luxury golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He is expected to make a statement on today’s criminal proceedings at a fundraising event later today.
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 17:32:11 GMT -5
A courtroom sketch of Donald Trump alongside his attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche as he appeared on classified document charges after a federal indictment at Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse in Miami. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 18:29:08 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 19:38:38 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 19:39:07 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 19:39:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) With a presidential-style plane and motorcade, a bunch of flag-waving fans and a lawyer shouting alternative facts, the latest season of The Trump Show – let’s call this one The Defendant – again filled every TV screen on Tuesday. But the most important scene of all was missing. And no one was happier about that than Donald Trump himself. Americans were denied the chance to see and hear the former US president, the first to face federal criminal charges in America’s 247-year history, sitting in court and taking his medicine. It was like To Kill a Mockingbird without Atticus Finch’s closing argument or A Few Good Men without Colonel Jessup erupting: “You can’t handle the truth!” Instead of Twelve Angry Men, it was Twelve Angry Maga Men waving flags outside court. It mattered because the inside of the courtroom is the one place where Trump was no longer the all-powerful emperor of his dreams but a humbled, vulnerable figure who, on the eve of his 77th birthday, was contemplating the prospect of prison. It mattered even more because, in the age of disinformation, where lies saturate social media and Trump’s supporters’ alternative reality, a court of law is the last redoubt where evidence, facts and truth are still the bottom line.
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 19:46:13 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 13, 2023 21:51:05 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 10:05pm Summary--Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents as he was formally arraigned on Tuesday. Trump was charged with 37 federal counts, including 31 violations of the Espionage Act, becoming the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. --Trump made his initial court appearance with his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta, who faces six federal charges for his alleged role in a scheme to keep the classified documents concealed from authorities. --Trump was released on bond on the condition that he would not discuss the case with a list of witnesses to be provided by the office of the special counsel Jack Smith. Nauta was not arraigned on Tuesday, as his lawyer was not admitted to practice in the southern district of Florida. Nauta is now scheduled to be arraigned on 27 June. --Trump made a brief stop at a Miami restaurant after entering his plea and departing the courthouse. Supporters happily greeted the twice-arrested former president. He then made his way to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he delivered remarks on Tuesday evening to respond to the indictment. --Addressing supporters at the Bedminster golf club, Trump railed against Joe Biden, the Department of Justice, and past presidents who he said exhibited similar behavior. He described the indictment “a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation”.
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Post by Webster on Jun 14, 2023 11:43:43 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Anti-Trump Republicans rally as Pence says ‘can’t defend’ former boss over chargesWhat a day yesterday was. After becoming the first former president ever to be federally indicted, Donald Trump appeared in court in Miami and pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal charges related to the classified government documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The hearing was merely the start of what is expected to be a long legal road for Trump, which could lead to him doing jail time, or simply being pardoned if he or a fellow Republican wins the White House in 2024. Polls continue to show a solid majority of GOP voters back him and view the charges as politically motivated, but anti-Trump Republicans pointed to the unprecedented indictment as evidence that the former president cannot be allowed his job back. The latest counterargument came from Mike Pence, who reversed his earlier wariness towards the prosecution by telling the Wall Street Journal “I can’t defend what is alleged”. We’ll keep an eye out today if the political calculus changes further. Pence worries Trump charges politicized, but calls indictment 'very serious'Former vice-president Mike Pence was Donald Trump’s deputy for four years, and fell out with him only when the then president pushed him to stop Joe Biden from taking office. When Pence announced his presidential campaign last week, he drew a stark contrast between himself and Trump, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely on board with the federal charges against the former president. “Having read the indictment, these are very serious allegations. And I can’t defend what is alleged. But the President is entitled to his day in court, he’s entitled to bring a defense, and I want to reserve judgment until he has the opportunity to respond,” Pence told the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal in an interview yesterday. But he also was wary of the fact that the indictment was brought under the Biden administration. “After years of politicization, it’s hard for me to believe that politics didn’t play some role in this decision,” Pence said. He called on attorney general Merrick Garland to explain “what if any role he played, or his judgment played, in the decision to move forward with an unprecedented indictment of a former President of the United States”.
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Post by Webster on Jun 14, 2023 11:53:37 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 14, 2023 11:59:44 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jun 15, 2023 13:36:20 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump refused to negotiate with prosecutors after classified documents found - reportEarlier this week, Americans watched as Donald Trump appeared in federal court to answer the first-ever indictment brought against a former president. But it all might have been avoided if he had taken the advice of one of the attorneys he hired after the FBI retrieved boxes of classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago property last August, the Washington Post reports. According to their story, Christopher Kise, a former Florida solicitor general Trump retained after the search of his resort last year, suggested that he approve opening under-the-radar negotiations with the justice department to resolve potential charges related to his possession of government secrets, but the former president refused. Here’s more from the story: One of Donald Trump’s new attorneys proposed an idea in the fall of 2022: The former president’s team could try to arrange a settlement with the Justice Department.
The attorney, Christopher Kise, wanted to quietly approach Justice to see if he could negotiate a settlement that would preclude charges, hoping Attorney General Merrick Garland and the department would want an exit ramp to avoid prosecuting a former president. Kise would hopefully “take the temperature down,” he told others, by promising a professional approach and the return of all documents.
But Trump was not interested after listening to other lawyers who urged a more pugilistic approach, so Kise never approached prosecutors, three people briefed on the matter said. A special counsel was appointed months later.
Kise, a former solicitor general of Florida who was paid $3 million upfront to join Trump’s team last year, declined to comment.
That quiet entreaty last fall was one of many occasions when lawyers and advisers sought to get Trump to take a more cooperative stance in a bid to avoid what happened Friday. The Justice Department unsealed an indictment including more than three dozen criminal counts against Trump for allegedly keeping and hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
Trump, 77, now faces the most legally perilous moment of his life playing out in a federal court — charges that could bring decades in prison. He pleaded not guilty in Miami on Tuesday and vowed to fight the charges.
“President Trump has consistently been in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to Presidents and their records,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “In the course of negotiations over the return of the documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know.’ Sadly, the weaponized DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the President’s home in order to inflict maximum political damage on the leading presidential candidate.”
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Post by Webster on Jun 15, 2023 16:03:18 GMT -5
[urlhttps://www.theguardian.com/law/live/2023/jun/15/supreme-court-decisions-student-loans-trump-news-politics-live-updates?page=with:block-648b74708f08c1a38208911a#block-648b74708f08c1a38208911a](The Guardian)[/url] US district judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over Donald Trump’s latest criminal case, has issued her first order since the former president’s arraignment earlier this week.
Cannon ordered defense attorneys to contact the Justice department to expedite the process of obtaining security clearances. The order reads: On or before June 16, 2023, all attorneys of record and forthcoming attorneys of record shall contact the Litigation Security Group of the U.S. Department of Justice, if they have not done so already, to expedite the necessary clearance process for all team members anticipated to participate in this matter. This first order by Aileen Cannon, the Florida district judge assigned to oversee Donald Trump’s classified documents case, suggests she may be interested in moving the proceedings along without delay.
Cannon was appointed to the federal bench by the former president three years ago, and gave him a favorable ruling at an earlier hearing last year. But she was later rebuked by an appeals court panel for granting Trump’s request for an independent special master to review the documents. That action slowed the justice department’s investigation and prompted questions over her impartiality.
There is no certainty she will remain on the case. But while she is the assigned jurist, Cannon will have broad authority to control almost every aspect, including which evidence is admissible, the ability to slow down or speed up proceedings, and even the legal viability of the justice department’s case.
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Post by Webster on Jun 20, 2023 15:21:50 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here’s more information on a court date on Donald Trump’s federal charges for retaining classified documents and obstruction of justice, from Reuters. -- US district judge Aileen Cannon has set an initial trial date of 14 August in Florida on former US president Donald Trump’s federal charges of willful retention of classified government records and obstruction of justice, according to a court order on Tuesday.
The justice department’s special counsel in the case, Jack Smith, promised a speedy trial after a 37-count indictment charging Trump with willfully retaining classified government records and obstructing justice.
But the complexities of handling highly classified evidence, the degree to which Trump’s legal team challenges the government’s pre-trial motions, and the way the judge manages the schedule could all lead to a trial that is anything but swift, legal experts say, and a lengthy delay is widely expected.
Trump’s lawyers and a US justice department spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment.
The latest order came after a US judge on Monday ordered Trump’s defense lawyers not to release evidence in the classified documents case to the media or the public, according to a court filing.
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Post by Webster on Jun 20, 2023 15:26:41 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here’s an explainer from the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe on Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge who will oversee Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case and set the 14 August trial date. -- Aileen Cannon, the Florida district judge assigned to oversee Donald Trump’s classified documents case, initially at least, was appointed to the federal bench by the former president three years ago, and gave him a favorable ruling at an earlier hearing last year. But Cannon was later rebuked by an appeals court panel for granting Trump’s request for an independent special master to review the documents. That action slowed the justice department’s investigation and prompted questions over her impartiality.
On Thursday, Cannon’s name was listed on the summons sent to Trump’s lawyers announcing his indictment, indicating she will be in charge of the timing and progression of hearings.
There is no certainty she will remain on the case. And next Tuesday’s first hearing in Miami is expected to be held in front of magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the original warrant authorizing an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home. But while she is the assigned jurist, Cannon, 42, will have broad authority to control almost every aspect, including which evidence is admissible, the ability to slow down or speed up proceedings, and even the legal viability of the justice department’s case.
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