Nixon’s ex-White House counsel sums up magnitude of Trump’s Georgia indictment with five words
Richard Nixon’s former White House counsel John Dean has summed up the magnitude of Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment with five words. “It’s much bigger than Watergate,” he said. The former president and 18 of his allies were hit with a total of 41-count indictment under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute on Monday, for allegedly running a widespread criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Dean, who was famously convicted over the Watergate scandal, appeared on CNN after the indictment was handed down where he said that Mr Trump’s alleged crimes go to a “whole different dimension” beyond the scandal which plagued Mr Nixon. “It’s of a whole different dimension. It goes to the very foundation of democracy,” he said of the case against Mr Trump. “Nixon abused some powers, he exceeded his authority when he shouldn’t but he wasn’t taking on the basics of the country. “Trump wanted to stay in office. He wanted to use Georgia and abuse Georgia as part of that plan so this is very different and much more serious and much more troubling.” Dean added that he thought it was “very likely” that one or more of Mr Trump’s co-defendants in the case would flip on the former president – something that he did during the Watergate scandal. The former White House counsel to Mr Nixon ended up taking a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and admitting that he supervised the hush money payments made to the Watergate burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters to plant listening devices and photograph secret documents. In the sweeping 98-page indictment against Mr Trump, returned by the state grand jury late on Monday, the former president is one of 19 defendants charged, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. The other co-defendants are: former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, “Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell, attorneys John Eastman, Kenneth Cheseboro, Jenna Ellis, Ray Smith III, and Robert Cheeley, former US Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, former state senator and the former chair of the Georgia Republican Party David Schafer, Georgia state senator Shawn Still, Lutheran pastor Stephen Lee, mixed martial artist Harrison Floyd, Kanye West’s former PR Trevian Kutti, former head of the Republican Party in Coffee County Cathleen Latham, Atlanta-area bail bondsman Scott Hall, and former election supervisor of Coffee County Misty Hampton. Mr Trump was charged with 13 criminal counts of: violating RICO’s statute, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of conspiracy to make false statements under oath, two counts of conspiracy to file false documents, two counts of solicitation of a public officer, filing false documents, conspiracy to solicit false statements, and making false statements. According to the indictment, “Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump”. DA Willis announced the charges and arrest warrants for the defendants at a late-night press conference outside the courthouse on Monday, where she ordered each of the 19 defendants to surrender to Georgia authorities by 12pm ET on Friday 25 August. “Specifically, the participants ... took various actions in Georgia and elsewhere to block the counting of the votes of the presidential electors who were certified as the winners of Georgia’s 2020 general election,” she said. “As you examine the indictment, you will see acts that are identified as overt acts and those that are identified as predicate acts, sometimes called acts of racketeering activity. overt acts are not necessarily crimes under Georgia law in isolation, but are alleged to be acts taken in furtherance of the conspiracy. “Many occurred in Georgia, and some occurred in other jurisdictions and are included, because the grand jury believes they were part of the illegal effort to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.” She added: “The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result.” All of the 19 defendants were charged with violating the state’s RICO statute – a Nixon-era federal law originally passed to prosecute organised crime groups and Mafia crime syndicates. The indictment accuses Mr Trump and his allies of orchestrating and running a criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia, and elsewhere, to “accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J. Trump to seize the presidential term of office, beginning on January 20, 2021”. Mr Trump railed against “out of control” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – and spelled “indicted” wrong – in a Truth Social rant over the indictment in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday. “So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, ‘I will get Trump’,” he fumed. “And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me! “Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!” In an appearance on Fox News Digital on Monday night, he called the indictment “politically-inspired” and said that DA Willis “should focus on the people that rigged the 2020 presidential election, not those who demand an answer as to what happened”. “Nineteen people were indicted, and the whole world is laughing at the United States as they see how corrupt and horrible a place it has turned out to be under the leadership of Crooked Joe Biden,” he claimed. Mr Trump continued: “This politically-inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign. “Just like she has allowed Atlanta to go to hell with all of its crime and violence, so too has Joe Biden allowed the United States of America to go to the same place with millions of people invading our country, inflation, bad economy, no energy, and lack of respect all over the world.” The DA has spent more than two years investigating efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the crucial swing state. The investigation came following the release of a 2 January 2021 phone call Mr Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he told him to “find” enough votes to change the outcome of the election in the state. “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Mr Trump is heard saying in the leaked phone call. “Because we won the state.” Mr Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes. The investigation then expanded from that phone call to include a scheme whereby a group of fake Republican electors planned to falsely certify the results in Mr Trump’s favour instead of Mr Biden’s. The plot failed and the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with DA Willis’ office. Ms Willis said she would like to try the defendants altogether and within the next six months. In total, the former president is now facing 91 charges from four separate criminal cases. On 1 August, he was hit with a federal indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, following an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith’s office. Mr Trump was hit with four federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. In that case, the Justice Department alleged that Mr Trump and his circle of co-conspirators – who did not face charges – knew that he had lost the election but launched a multi-prong conspiracy to do everything they could to enable him to cling to power. This included spreading “knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes for the Defendant’s opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for the Defendant”, the indictment states. Mr Trump and his allies also allegedly plotted to send slates of fake electors to seven “targeted states” of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin which President Joe Biden had won – to get them to falsely certify the election for Mr Trump. The indictment also alleges Mr Trump tried to use the DOJ to “conduct sham election crime investigations”, sending letters to the seven states claiming that “significant concerns” had been found in the elections in those states. As well as the false claims about the election being stolen from Mr Trump, the scheme also involved pushing false claims that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to alter the results – and pushing Mr Pence to “fraudulently alter the election results”. When Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a violent attack that ended with five deaths, Mr Trump and his co-conspirators “exploited” the incident by “redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those claims,” the indictment claims. This came after Mr Smith’s office charged Mr Trump for the first time over his alleged mishandling of classified documents on leaving office. Back in April, Mr Trump was charged for the first time with New York state charges following an investigation into hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election. Read More Trump indictment live: Trump reacts as he and 18 allies charged over Georgia election plot Trump lashes out on Truth Social over Georgia election plot charges – and spells ‘indicted’ wrong In full: The bombshell charges against Trump and his allies in Georgia RICO case What’s next for Donald Trump after his Georgia indictment? All of Trump’s lawsuits and criminal charges - and where they stand Can Donald Trump still run for president after charges over 2020 election?
2023-08-15 19:57
Arrest, mugshot, cameras in court? What’s next for Donald Trump after his Georgia indictment
Donald Trump will face yet another arraignment, this time in Fulton County, Georgia, after he was indicted on 13 charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. On Monday evening, Mr Trump was charged with violating the RICO Act as well as other charges alleging conspiracy, making false statements and filing false documents related to his combined efforts with 18 other named defendants in changing election results. The charges stem from an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into Mr Trump and his allies’ actions in the state in the days and weeks after the 2020 election. These actions included an infamous phone call that Mr Trump made to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, in which Mr Trump asked him to “find” 11,780 votes. It also detailed a plot to install fake state electors. Now, Mr Trump will have to add another series of court hearings for this case, including his official arraignment, to his already packed schedule. Here’s what we know about what’s next for Mr Trump in the Georgia indictment. When is the arraignment? Mr Trump’s arraignment date has not been set yet. But in a press conference on Monday evening, Ms Willis announced that arrest warrants have been issued for Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants and gave them a deadline of 25 August at noon to surrender. Will there be cameras in the courtroom? Georgia law is unique in that it requires cameras be allowed in judicial proceedings so long as the judge approves it. Mr Trump’s upcoming arraignment is likely to be televised, just as parts of Monday’s indictment were. This will mark the first publicly available viewing of the ex-president’s slew of criminal indictments. The New York indictment and both federal indictments did not have cameras in the courtroom. According to the law, Georgia believes televised proceedings promote “access to and understanding of court proceedings not only by the participants in them but also by the general public”. In order for a judge to prevent cameras in the courtroom, they would need a compelling reason like a child victim or witness. Will Trump receive a mugshot and fingerprints? Like his previous arraignments, Mr Trump will be fingerprinted, as is customary with criminal charges. In the past, the ex-president did not have a mugshot taken because he is considered a notable person therefore an identifying mugshot was unnecessary. However, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat told WSB-TV earlier this month that Mr Trump likely will pose for a mugshot because he will be treated like any other person. “Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Mr Labat said. Will he get bail? More than likely, Mr Trump will be released on bail or bond of some sort. In all his previous arraignments, the ex-president was released on a bond given his notable status. In his most recent federal arraignment related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Mr Trump was released on an appearance bond and under strict rules. During the ex-president’s first federal arraignment for his alleged retention of classified documents, Mr Trump signed a personal surety bond. In April, a New York judge allowed Mr Trump to walk without bail as well. A bond is usually set to ensure a defendant appears in court. A judge can outright deny bond which then requires the defendant to be taken into custody to await trial. Read More Live updates: Georgia grand jury in Trump 2020 election interference case returns 10 indictments How prosecutors could charge Trump with racketeering in Georgia case Georgia witness calls Trump ‘worst candidate’ and says GOP must ‘take our medicine’ and admit fair elections What’s next for Donald Trump after his Georgia indictment? All of Trump’s lawsuits and criminal charges - and where they stand Can Donald Trump still run for president after charges over 2020 election?
2023-08-15 19:54
Afghanistan media guide
Notes on the media in Afghanistan and links to Afghan broadcasters and newspapers.
2023-08-15 19:46
Suspected Russian spies held in major UK security investigation
Three Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying in the UK for Russia face trial for "fake passports".
2023-08-15 17:45
Finland's former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb will run for president in 2024
Finland’s former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said Tuesday he will run as a candidate in the presidential election early next year, in a race that also includes a popular former Finnish foreign minister who was a key negotiator of the Nordic country’s recent membership in NATO. Stubb, 55, who headed the Finnish government in 2014-2015 and later served as foreign minister, said he was “both honored and thankful for the trust bestowed upon me.” Prime Minister Petteri Opo and Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party had asked him to run. The Finnish head of state is elected by a popular vote every six years. Finland’s president has substantial powers, particularly in matters related to foreign and security policy, which the president decides together with the government. The president also signs bills into law, can veto legislative proposals and acts as Finland’s supreme military commander. The two-leg Finnish presidential elections will be held in January and February 2024. Stubb's candidacy is important for Finland's center-right parties, Finnish broadcaster YLE said, noting that Stubb has a “phenomenal ability to collect votes” and that there is widespread respect for his language skills, international contacts and ability to make quick decisions. Stubb, who is known for being very active on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will face the popular former Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto among others. Haavisto, the former leader of the Greens party, will run as an independent candidate. He stepped down as foreign minister following April’s general election, which the center-side won, ousting a center-left government. Haavisto is one of Finland’s most popular politicians and topped recent presidential polls by several media outlets. He was the runner-up in the 2012 and 2018 presidential elections but was beaten on both occasions by current President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term ends in March 2024. He is not eligible for reelection. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-08-15 16:55
Meadows, Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell: The 18 defendants charged with Trump in Georgia RICO case
A sprawling indictment targeting Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn election results in the state of Georgia includes 18 co-defendants, including his former White House chief of staff, several Trump-allied attorneys, and the so-called “fake” electors who joined a scheme to subvert the outcome. All are charged under the state’s anti-racketeering statute, marking one of the largest criminal cases against the former president and his allies for alleged crimes committed while he was in office in an attempt to remain in power at whatever cost. Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Cheseboro and Jenna Ellis are among the 19 defendants, along with former US Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, several Trump aides, and those falsely appointed as “alternate” Georgia electors. The indictment alleges 40 separate crimes. “Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump,” according to the indictment. “That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.” Mr Trump and the 18 others named in the indictment are accused of making false statements in an effort to fraudulently persuade state officials, the US Department of Justice and Vice President Mike Pence to reject lawful votes and select a slate of electors loyal to the former president despite Joe Biden’s victory in the state. They also are accused of traveling to the state to harass an election worker, “intimidate her, and solicit her to falsely confess to election crimes that she did not commit.” Mr Trump and others also “corruptly conspired” to illegally access voting machines in the state, some of which was removed – “including ballot images, voting equipment software, and personal voter information” – and then “distributed to other members of the enterprise, including members in other states.” This is a developing story Read More Trump indictment live: Trump and allies indicted by Georgia grand jury in 2020 election investigation Read Fani Willis’ explosive Georgia indictment against Trump and his inner circle
2023-08-15 11:51
Trump Georgia indictment televised after judges ruling
Part of Donald Trump’s indictment in Georgia was televised after a judge decided in the media’s favour. The Fulton County superior court judge presiding over the grand jury in the case, Robert McBurney, told reporters that “if a grand jury presents an indictment, that’s usually in the afternoon, and you can film and photograph that,” The Messenger reported. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis presented her case to the jury on Monday, which voted to indict Mr Trump for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. There are 13 felony charges against Trump, including RICO, conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer and more. In addition, 18 Trump associates have also been indicted, including former White House chief of staff mark Meadows and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. When Mr Trump was indicted on the federal level, cameras weren’t allowed in court. Ms Willis has been investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state and was expected to seek an indictment from a grand jury this week. It would be Mr Trump’s fourth indictment within the span of five months. There was plenty of confusion regarding possible charges against Mr Trump in the Georgia election interference case. Reuters reported on Monday that a document outlining the charges against Mr Trump had been posted and then removed from the Fulton County website. Mr Trump then used the document to ask for donations from his supporters, arguing that he was being denied due process. The Office of the Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts then issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying that a “fictitious” document had been shared online. “While there have been no documents filed today regarding such, all members of the media should be reminded that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such,” the court said. They added that “Media members can expect to be notified of any/all filings in real-time and will be provided access to filings via equitable communication”. Read More Trump’s Georgia case hit by chaos as court accused of posting and deleting charge sheet - latest How prosecutors could charge Trump with racketeering in Georgia case Can Donald Trump pardon himself?
2023-08-15 11:20
Trump and 18 allies indicted on RICO charges in Georgia election case
A Georgia grand jury has returned indictments against former president Donald Trump and a wide swath of his confidantes and allies who prosecutors allege to have participated in a criminal enterprise with the goal of overturning the disgraced ex-president’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Grand jurors returned indictments against against Mr Trump and 18 other defendants late Monday after hearing from a number of key witnesses in the long-running Georgia election probe, including Gabe Sterling, who served as a top manager in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office in late 2020, and Geoff Duncan, the state’s former Republican lieutenant governor. Although the courthouse closes normally around 5.00 pm ET, authorities reportedly asked grand jurors to stay until approximately 9.00 pm to finish voting on what a cover sheet delivered to Judge Robert McBurney indicated to be 10 separate indictments. But the 98-page document unsealed later Monday evening was the only set of charges pertaining to Mr Trump and his co-defendants, a group which includes his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, ex-New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, attorneys Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, ex-law professor John Eastman, Trump campaign lawyer Ken Cheseboro, and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had been understood to be considering seeking charges against the ex-president under the state’s wide-ranging Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations statute, which is itself patterned after a Nixon-era federal law passed to combat the Italian-American Mafia crime syndicates. The former president is charged with violating Georgia’s Rico law, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings, Filing False Documents and other charges stemming from his efforts to pressure Georgia officials into fraudulently reversing his loss and his role in a scheme which purported to submit what were forged electoral college certificates to the National Archives. Other charges referenced in the charging document include Impersonating a Public Officer and Criminal Attempt to Commit Influencing Witnesses. The grand jury which returned the indictments against Mr Trump and his co-defendants was the second to hear evidence against the ex-president as part of a long-running probe which Ms Willis first announced in early 2021, not long after a recording emerged of Mr Trump pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough non-existent votes in his favour to justify decertifying the state’s presidential election results. She subsequently asked the Fulton County District Court to empanel a special grand jury to investigate Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. That investigation, which wrapped up late last year, saw witnesses from all over the country summoned to give evidence behind closed doors in the Fulton County courthouse. Because special grand juries are not permitted to issue indictments under Georgia law, Ms Willis had to present that grand jury’s findings to a second, regular grand jury which began to meet in July. Mr Trump, who is also facing criminal charges from a local district attorney in his former home state of New York and set to be tried on Espionage Act and obstruction of justice charges in a Florida federal court next May, had unsuccessfully sought to have Ms Willis blocked from prosecuting him and has asked two Georgia courts to throw out the entire special grand jury proceeding, citing alleged deficiencies in the law providing for special grand juries and Ms Willis’ attendance at Democratic political fundraisers. Judge McBurney, the Fulton County Superior Court jurist who has been overseeing the proceedings for the last two years, wrote in a ruling issued last month that Mr Trump and a co-plaintiff who was one of the fake electors under investigation had lacked any standing to challenge the investigation in a pre-indictment phase. “The movants’ asserted ‘injuries’ that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized,” he said. “They are insufficient because, while being subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.” Judge McBurney also called Mr Trump and his co-plantiff’s “professed injuries” from being targets of the investigation “speculative and unrealized” because neither has been indicted as of yet, and the mere possibility of an indictment “not enough to create a controversy, cause an injury, or confer standing”. Now, with charges against him having been officially approved by a grand jury, Mr Trump could seek to renew the litigation. But unlike in the two federal cases pending against him, the former president cannot count on regaining the power of the presidency or help from a Republican ally in the Georgia governor’s mansion to protect him. Unlike many US states, the Peach State does not grand its’ chief executive the authority to issue pardons for crimes committed against the state. Instead, pardon power is delegated to a nonpartisan board, and it can only be invoked to grant a pardon after a criminal has completed his or her sentence. Read More Trump campaign launches sprawling attack as Georgia grand jury hands down indictments Republicans decry Trump’s Georgia indictment before details are released Hillary Clinton reveals one ‘satisfaction’ she gets from Trump’s indictment All the lawsuits and criminal charges involving Trump and where they stand Trump legal team tries again to block Georgia election interference grand jury probe Trump probe ‘subpoenaed CCTV from Georgia 2020 ballot counting centre’ Georgia Supreme Court tosses Trump attempt to challenge 2020 election investigation over vote call
2023-08-15 11:19
Trump campaign launches sprawling attack as Georgia grand jury hands down indictments
Donald Trump’s campaign launched a sprawling attack against the various legal authorities prosecuting his wide range of alleged criminal activity Monday evening after it was reported that a grand jury had voted to hand down multiple indictments. A lengthy statement from the Trump campaign underscored the anger the former president has shown for weeks as he continues to see the myriad legal problems surrounding him as nothing more than political attacks launched by his enemies. Reporters in the courtroom in Fulton County, Georgia indicated Monday evening that the grand jury hearing evidence in Mr Trump’s latest case had voted to hand down 10 indictments; however, it was unclear how many (if any at all) related to the ex-president. “Combined with the intentionally slow-walked investigations by the Biden-Smith goon squads and the false charges in New York, the timing of this latest coordinated strike by a biased prosecutor in an overwhelmingly Democrat jurisdiction not only betrays the trust of the American people, but also exposes true motivation driving their fabricated accusations,” the Trump campaign’s statement complained. “These activities by Democrat leaders constitute a grave threat to American democracy and are direct attempts to deprive the American people of their rightful choice to cast their vote for President. Call it election interference or election manipulation—it is a dangerous effort by the ruling class to suppress the choice of the people. It is un-American and wrong.” More follows... Read More Republicans decry Trump’s Georgia indictment before details are released Hillary Clinton reveals one ‘satisfaction’ she gets from Trump’s indictment Giuliani says he feels ‘sorry for me’ if he’s included in latest Trump indictment
2023-08-15 10:59
Republicans decry Trump’s Georgia indictment before details are released
Republicans blasted former president Donald Trump’s supposed indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, despite the fact details of the indictment haven’t been released. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), who led efforts to try and challenge the 2020 presidential election results, appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News programme decrying the indictment, before the release of any details. “I’m pissed at these over and over and over again, if they’re indictments, it’ll be the fourth indictment of Donald Trump” Mr Cruz, who lost the Republican nomination for president to Mr Trump in 2016, said. “This is disgraceful. Our country’s over 200 years old. We’ve never once indicted a former president, or a candidate or a leading candidate for president and this is Joe Biden and this is the Democrats weaponizing the justice system because they're afraid of the voters.” Similarly, Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News how Mr Trump spent more on legal fees than he did on campaigning for president. “The American people can decide whether they want him to be president or not,” he said. “This should be decided at the ballot box and not in a bunch of liberal jurisdictions trying to put the man in jail. They’re weaponizing the law in this country. They’re trying to take Donald Trump down.” Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of Mr Trump’s biggest defenders in Congress, tweeted that voters did not care about the indictment and just wanted lower gas prices. “The media and elite Democrats need to stop pearl clutching in their Trump Derangement support groups and go out in the real world where seniors and working folks can’t afford food, bills, and gas,” she tweeted. “How to lose an election 101 is on display by the Get Trump Democrat Party.” Read More Trump campaign launches sprawling attack as Georgia grand jury hands down indictments Hillary Clinton reveals one ‘satisfaction’ she gets from Trump’s indictment Giuliani says he feels ‘sorry for me’ if he’s included in latest Trump indictment
2023-08-15 10:51
Hillary Clinton reveals one ‘satisfaction’ she gets from Trump’s indictment
Hillary Clinton responded in real-time to the news of Donald Trump’s likely fourth indictment in Georgia, revealing the one “satisfaction” she feels. “I don’t know that anybody should be satisfied,” Ms Clinton told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow late Monday. “This is a terrible moment for our country, to have a former president accused of these terribly important crimes. The only satisfaction may be that the system is working. Justice is being pursued.” A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, has returned an indictment in the investigation into Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. News of the indictments broke around 9pm ET on Monday. The indictment has not yet been unsealed, meaning no defendants – including Mr Trump – have been named thus far. Mr Trump faces two federal indictments over his mishandling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He is also under indictment in New York City for his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, when Mr Trump faced Ms Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president. Ms Clinton reflected on the seriousness of the criminal cases against Mr Trump. “I feel great profound sadness that we have a former president who has been indicted for so many charges that went right to the heart of whether or not our democracy will survive,” Ms Clinton said, speaking of the former president’s various criminal charges generally as the world waits to see the details of the Georgia case. Mr Trump has railed against the criminal cases against him, voted on by a grand jury of his peers in multiple jurisdictions. The former president has baselessly complained that the cases amount to “election interference” against him and has accused President Joe Biden of prosecuting a political opponent. Despite his mounting legal trouble, Mr Trump remains the clear frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination. He leads all other candidates in the polls, and his GOP rivals have largely been unable to capitalise on the legal peril facing the former president. Read More EXPLAINER: What are special counsels and what do they do? Bill Clinton's presidential center expanding, will add Hillary Clinton's personal archives Winfrey, Maddow and Schwarzenegger among those helping NYC's 92nd Street Y mark 150th anniversary
2023-08-15 10:27
Georgia witness calls Trump ‘worst candidate’ and says GOP must ‘take our medicine’ and admit fair elections
Geoff Duncan, former lieutenant governor of Georgia, had harsh words for Donald Trump on Monday after offering his testimony in the Fulton County grand jury investigation into the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. The former official argued it was time for the Republican party to move on from Mr Trump. “Politically speaking, this is a pivot point for this country to do something more than just stew on the 2020 election cycle,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re either going to, as Republicans, take our medicine and realise the election wasn’t rigged and Donald Trump was the worst candidate ever, in the history of our party, even worse than [US Senate candidate] Herschel Walker.” “We want to win an election in 2024,” he added. “It’s going to have to be somebody other than Donald Trump.” Mr Trump railed against the Georgia official on Monday. "I am reading reports that failed former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Jeff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He shouldn’t,” the former president added. “I barely know him but he was, right from the beginning of this Witch Hunt, a nasty disaster for those looking into the Election Fraud that took place in Georgia." Mr Duncan was one of the rare Republican officials to affirm the results of the 2020 election, and he condemned Mr Trump in 2021 for a call to Georgia officials pressuring them to “find” enough votes for Mr Trump to win the state. “I am 100 per cent certified to tell you that it was inappropriate. And it certainly did not help the situation,” he told CNN. “It was based on misinformation, it was based on, you know, all types of theories that have been debunked and disproved over the course of the last 10 weeks.” Read More Live updates: Trump rails against Georgia charges ‘leak’ as court claims document is fake Was Fulton County Court hacked? How a ‘fictitious’ Trump charge sheet brought chaos to Georgia grand jury Judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money case denies bias claim, won’t step aside
2023-08-15 08:47