US to begin training Ukraine F-16 pilots in September: Pentagon
The Pentagon said Thursday it would begin training Ukrainian F-16 pilots in the United States...
2023-08-25 06:51
South Korean arrested for opening plane emergency exit door, faces up to 10 years in prison
Police say a man who opened an emergency exit door during a flight in South Korea was formally arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of violating the aviation security law
2023-05-28 16:51
China woos Central Asia as Ukraine war weakens Russian influence
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is rolling out the red carpet for Central Asian nations this week as Beijing attempts to expand its reach into a region that has long been regarded as Russia's sphere of influence.
2023-05-18 16:18
Airbnb posts $117 million 1Q profit as revenue grows by 20%
Airbnb has reported a $117 million profit for the first quarter, the first time that the company has made money during the seasonally slowest part of the year
2023-05-10 04:24
Disney Plus sheds subscribers for second straight quarter
Subscribers to Disney Plus fell for the second straight quarter, the company said on Wednesday, though it stemmed financial losses as it...
2023-05-11 05:47
Who is Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who could take down Trump
Her first day as the chief prosecutor for Fulton County came with news that then-President Donald Trump attempted to pressure Georgia’s top election officials to reverse his loss in the state during the 2020 presidential election. A phone call between Mr Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger was published by The Washington Post late at night on 3 January, 2021. Hours later, Fani Willis would walk into her first day on the job as Fulton County’s district attorney, an office that is now spearheading a criminal investigation into Mr Trump, with the phone call serving as a central damning piece of evidence against him. For more than two years, her office has been investigating efforts to overturn election results in the state and the baseless allegations of widespread election fraud that fuelled them, adding to a A grand jury seated on 11 July is expected to consider charges against the former president and his allies. She has previously indicated that any potential indictments could follow in August. The closely watched case against the former president could result in racketeering charges similar to those that Ms Willis has made a career out of bringing against dozens of others. An anti-racketeering RICO statute – typically used to prosecute members of the Mafia and break up organised crime – has been used by her office in indictments against more than two dozen people connected to a sprawling Atlanta hip-hop empire, 38 alleged gang members, and 25 educators accused of cheating Atlanta’s public school system. Such charges could also await Mr Trump, leaving Ms Willis in an unprecedented position of deciding whether to charge a former president – who is once again running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 – for a criminal offence. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, Black, white, Democrat or Republican,” Ms Willis told CNN last year. “If you violated the law, you’re going to be charged.” ‘Get out of my county’ Ms Willis graduated from Howard University in 1992 and Emory University School of Law in 1996. She began her career in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office in 2001, with roles in nearly every division in the agency, and serving as lead prosecutor in more than 100 jury trials. She is the first Black woman elected to lead the count’s district attorney’s office. Last year, her office charged rappers Young Thug and Gunna and 26 others in a sprawling, 65-count RICO case following an 88-page grand-jury indictment characterising their YSL group as a “criminal street gang” behind 182 instances of gang activity and criminal conspiracies. Her office also led RICO indictments against 12 alleged members of the Bloods gang, including the rapper YFN Lucci, and 26 alleged members of the Drug Rich gang, connected to a gang string of robberies and home invasions across Atlanta. “I have some legal advice: Don’t confess to crimes on rap lyrics if you do not want them used,” she told reporters at a press conference last year. “Or at least get out of my county.” In a controversial case from 2014, she served as the lead prosecutor in a RICO case involving 35 Atlanta public school educators tied to an infamous cheating scandal, ultimately resulting in racketeering convictions against 11 of 12 people accused of manipulating students’ standardised test scores. As the county’s chief prosecutor, she has expanded her office’s gang unit and lobbied for passage of a statewide measure that would impose mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders and increase the power of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in an effort to crack down on gang violence. Following RICO charges against alleged members of the Drug Rich gang, accused of a series of high-profile robberies and shootings involving Atlanta’s wealthy, Ms Willis told reporters: “If you thought Fulton was a good county to bring your crime to, to bring your violence to, you are wrong and you are going to suffer consequences.” ‘Imminent’ charges Over the last two years, the Fulton County district attorney’s office has helmed a criminal probe into whether Mr Trump and his allies illegally interfered with the 2020 election in the state, which several recounts have confirmed President Joe Biden won definitively against Mr Trump. In January 2022, Ms Willis convened a special grand jury, a 26-member panel given subpoena power and investigative authority to interview witnesses and ultimately deliver a report, as per state law, that includes charging recommendations. The grand jury does not have authority to issue an indictment. It will ultimately be up to Ms Willis to determine whether to charge Mr Trump and others connected to her case. Her office sent letters to people connected to the so-called “alternate electors” scheme, including Georgia lawmakers and the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, and more than a dozen others who signed “unofficial electoral certificates” to subvert the Electoral College process and pledge the state’s votes for Mr Trump, who lost in Georgia. Central to the investigation is Mr Trump’s call on 2 January, 2021, which he made days before a joint session of Congress convened to certify Mr Biden’s victory, while those faithful to Mr Trump made last-ditch efforts to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election’s outcome, or stormed the US Capitol in an antidemocratic show of force that has led to hundreds of federal prosecutions, including more than a dozen on treason-related charges. A list of grand jury witnesses included former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, US Senator Lindsey Graham and former Senator Kelly Loeffler, and five members of Mr Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and “fake elector” architect John Eastman, among several others. The grand jury investigation also looked into a phone call on 13 November, 2020 from Senator Graham to Mr Raffensberger, as well as Mr Trump’s own remarks to a rally crowd months after he left the White House in which he appeared to publicly brag that he had asked Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp to “help us out” and re-do the election. In all, the special grand jury heard from roughly 75 witnesses before dissolving in January. As a judge heard arguments on 24 January whether to publicly release the grand jury’s report, Ms Willis said that a decision from her office on whether to bring criminal charges was “imminent”. In a series of Truth Social posts during the hearing, Mr Trump continued to lie about the results of the 2020 election, defended his “perfect” phone call to Georgia officials, and baselessly alleged widespread vote manipulation. Judge Robert McBurney granted a partial release of the special grand jury’s report, which includes its introduction and conclusion and a section in which jury members expressed concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath. The recommendations to Ms Willis include “a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia.” A partially released report shows that the jury unanimously agreed that “no widespread fraud took place” in Georgia’s election following interviews with election officials, analysis and poll workers. It also includes a recommendation to the Ms Willis’s office to seek indictments for “one or more” witnesses who likely committed perjury, and it will ultimately be up to her office to “seek indictments where she finds sufficient cause”. The publicly released filing does not include witness names, names of people recommended for indictments, or other reccomended charges. Asked on 13 Febrary how she feels about the judge’s decision to publicly release parts of the document, Ms Willis smiled and told reporters: “I’m pleased with it.” This story was first published on 15 February and has been updated with developments Read More ‘I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break’: The Georgia phone call that could bring down Donald Trump The 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing now that he’s left office Why Donald Trump’s phone call seeking to overturn Georgia election results was so damaging
2023-07-11 21:57
Oil Dips With Differing Views From IEA, OPEC Clouding Outlook
Oil edged lower as traders digested differing views on the supply and demand outlook, while an industry report
2023-11-15 18:22
Who is Jeffrey Exon? Kansas man gets 56 years in prison after daughter, 2, starved to death while he was passed out drunk
Aurora Exon, 2, died from marasmus, a severe form of protein-energy malnutrition, which resulted from the neglectful care provided by her own father
2023-07-30 19:23
Stock market today: Global stocks and Wall Street futures rise in anticipation of US debt deal
Wall Street pointed modestly higher before the opening bell on hopes U.S. political leaders can reach an agreement to avoid a potentially disastrous default on government debt
2023-05-18 20:21
US Considers Twin Defense Treaties to Achieve Israel-Saudi Arabia Normalization
The White House is considering formal defense treaties with Saudi Arabia and Israel as part of its plan
2023-09-22 15:52
Prigozhin Turns Forces Back in Deal With Kremlin to Drop Charges
Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his advance toward Moscow and pulled his fighters back, defusing what had
2023-06-25 05:50
Top US-China exchanges since Biden took office
By Martin Quin Pollard U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began two days of talks in Beijing on
2023-06-18 16:46
You Might Like...
How tall is Pete Davidson? Comic's height raised speculations about Kim Kardashian's dating preferences
Grand jury in Trump election case hands down indictments
Tragic deaths of Kellan and Aurora Starr: Mom of twins found dead in toy box thanks supporters after GoFundMe raises $35K
Tropical Storm Bret no longer forecast to become a hurricane
LGBTQ+ Pride revelers flash feathers and flags in the streets from New York to San Francisco
UFC champ Sean Strickland reacts to Joe Rogan hailing him for ‘heroic’ action against trespasser
Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood gives up law license amid 2020-related disciplinary case
Greta Thunberg charged with public order offense following arrest at protest in London