Trump attacks special counsel Jack Smith in post-indictment speech with bizarre claim
During his first public remarks since the unsealing of the 49-page, 37-charge indictment against him, Donald Trump again lashed out at special counsel Jack Smith the lead prosecutor in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe. Speaking at the state Republican Party convention in Columbus, Georgia, the former president and current presidential candidate gave a meandering stump speech weaving in his apparent incredulity regarding the charges levied against him. As with all of his foes, political or judicial, Mr Trump has already veered into personal attacks against the individuals concerned on his social media platform Truth Social but relished his first opportunity to talk to a large, enraptured crowd of followers. After calling the indictment a “political hit job” and claiming “Republicans are treated far differently at the Justice Department than Democrats”, Mr Trump pondered whether Mr Smith had changed his name. “You know I’m talking about Jack Smith. What do you think his name used to be? I don’t know … Sounds so innocent. He’s deranged.” The former president didn’t stop there. He continued: “Deranged Jack Smith and I watched him yesterday go up and talk. He talked for about two and a half minutes. He was shaking. He was so scared. He didn’t want to be there. Because ultimately, these are cowards. They’re cowards.” He added: “And he’s a big Trump hater, openly he’s a Trump hater. And his wife is even more of a Trump hater. I wish her a lot of luck. But he’s a bad Trump hater and she’s a Trump hater.” Mr Trump returned to the topic of his indictments a couple of times during the speech which went on for much longer than expected as he revelled in the applause from the crowd, who booed and jeered at the mention of his political opponents. The federal indictment against the former president outlines 37 counts related to retaining classified information, willfully retaining national defence information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and more. The indictment was unsealed on Friday afternoon (9 June), revealing the Department of Justice’s findings after a nearly year-long investigation into Mr Trump retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Last August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized boxes of documents from Mr Trump’s home, some of which included top-secret records detailing a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities. As the former president raged against the indictment online on Friday, Mr Smith gave a televised speech from the Justice Department — as referenced by Mr Trump in Saturday’s remarks. Mr Smith stressed that laws intended to “protect national defence information are critical to the safety and security of the United States. And they must be enforced.” “Violations of those laws put our country at risk. Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice and our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world,” he added. “We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone.” Read More Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies including CIA, DoD, and NSA Trump lashes out at ‘deranged lunatic’ and ‘psycho’ Jack Smith as startling secret papers charges revealed Pence won’t say whether he’s read Trump indictment after calling for its release Trump indictment: Ex-president kept nuclear and military papers and showed some to unauthorised people A timeline of events leading to Donald Trump's indictment in the classified documents case Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-06-11 05:18
Trump Calls Indictment a Travesty in First Appearance After Charges
Former President Donald Trump called his federal indictment a “travesty of justice” in his first public appearance since
2023-06-11 04:53
Fed Is Set to Pause and Assess the Effect of Rate Hikes
Federal Reserve policymakers are about to take their first break from an interest-rate hiking campaign that started 15
2023-06-11 04:25
There’s More Trouble Coming for Regional Banks
The stock market is growing more sanguine about US regional banks, but the lenders still face serious pressure.
2023-06-11 04:23
Kari Lake issues incendiary threat to Biden admin over Trump indictment
Kari Lake, the GOP nominee and election denier who lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, has issued an incendiary warning to the Biden administration over the indictment of Donald Trump. The former president has been indicted on 37 counts in relation to his allegedly illegal retention of classified national security information that he’s reported to have taken with him to his Palm Beach, Florida club Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in January 2021. The consensus among legal experts appears to be that Mr Trump is in serious legal jeopardy that may end in a decades-long prison sentence. That hasn’t stopped many Republicans, including Ms Lake, to come to his defence as they attempt to portray the legal action taken by Special Counsel Jack Smith as politically motivated. Ms Lake said on Friday that those wishing to go after Mr Trump would have to go through her and all those who supported Mr Trump in the 2020 election – 75 million people. She then went on to falsely say that “most of us are card-carrying members” of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The organisation reportedly has around 4.3 million members. She specifically called out Mr Smith, President Joe Biden, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. “I have a message tonight for Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, and Joe Biden,” Ms Lake said as she was speaking at the Georgia Republican Party convention. “And the guys back there in the fake news media, you should listen up as well, this one’s for you.” “If you wanna get to President Trump, you’re gonna have to go through me, and you’re gonna have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” she claimed. “And I’m gonna tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA,” she added to cheers from the crowd. “That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.” Washington Post reporter Isaac Arnsdorf quoted Ms Lake on Twitter and noted that she received a standing ovation. Responding to Mr Arnsdorf, Ms Lake wrote: “I meant what I said.” Ms Lake was replacing former vice president and GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence after he dropped out of his planned speech at the Georgia convention, according to Mediaite. Ms Lake has been an aggressive supporter of Mr Trump and in January it was reported that she was one of the candidates the ex-president was considering as a possible running mate in 2024. Reed Galen of the Lincoln Project said Ms Lake’s kind of rhetoric had sparked violence in the past, listing a number of mass shootings. “This will escalate. We’ve seen the results of these words: El Paso, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Allen, N. Charleston, Christchurch,” he tweeted. “How does this not warrant at least a visit by Secret Service?” Nicky Frank asked. “Congrats to all the wise consultants out there who decided that Trumpism would fade away. Take a f***ing bow folks, you negotiated with the terrorists and it worked out great,” one Twitter user added. “This is shocking. Kari Lake should issue a retraction and apology. This is not even a veiled threat of a violent war in America. It is a call to arms,” Jon Hinck said. Read More Some in Georgia GOP seek purity test as Trump appears at convention in aftermath of indictment Republican Karrin Taylor Robson says she won't run for Sinema's Senate seat in Arizona Kari Lake suffers final defeat in bid to overturn Arizona governor’s race that she lost Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-06-11 04:18
Trump magnifies attacks on Justice Department in post-charges speech
By Nathan Layne Former president Donald Trump used the first public appearance since his federal indictment to ratchet
2023-06-11 04:15
Pence won’t say whether he’s read Trump indictment after calling for its release
Former vice president Mike Pence refused to answer a question from The Independent about whether he had read the indictment against former president Donald Trump as he left the North Carolina Republican Party’s convention on Saturday. Mr Pence was exiting the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro after he spoke to the convention for its First in Freedom Lunch and was taking a selfie with a supporter. His staff said “no gaggle” when asked whether the former vice president had read the indictment. This came despite the fact that during his speech, he criticised Mr Trump’s indictment by a grand jury as politicised, calling it a “sad day for America.” “I had hoped the Department of Justice would see its way clear to resolve the issues involving the former president without an indictment and I'm deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward,” he said. Mr Pence said he had been one of the first people to call on US Attorney General Merrick Garland to unseal the indictment. “Today, I'm calling on the Attorney General to stand before the American people and explain why this was necessary in his words,” Mr Pence said. “Attorney General Merrick Garland, stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward.” A grand jury under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith chose to indict Mr Trump. The unsealed 49-page indictment showed that Mr Trump faced 37 counts. Mr Trump was charged with “with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice” by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida. The indictment accuses Mr Trump of showing classified documents to unauthorised people at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club on two occasions, once with a writer and a publisher working on a book by his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and another time when he showed a classified map of an unnamed country that involved staff working for Mr Trump’s political action committee. Still, the former vice president sought to draw a distinction between himself and the former president on issues ranging from abortion to January 6. “It gives me no pleasure to say, but on that fateful day, the American people deserve to know that President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution,” he told attendees in the reception room. “Under the Constitution, states conduct our elections, certify those elections, court challenges can be had, objections can be heard in the Congress,” he said. Mr Pence warned that if Republicans went the path that Mr Trump prescribed, then Democrats would nationalise elections. “I'm glad he said it just to stand his ground and to completely distance himself,” Burt Johnson, who attended the dinner, said. “I don't think it was needed. But he drew a clear line. He was unequivocal. And I think that's important.” But not everyone was pleased with Mr Pence and many still resent the fact that he refused to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, which led to the mob yelling “hang Mike Pence.” Patricia Koluch of Pender County had a simple reason for why she did not attend Mr Pence’s speech. “Well, January 6,” she told The Independent. “And a lot of behind-the-scenes information about who he really is and what he stands for.” Mr Pence announced his candidacy this week. He also criticised Mr Trump for his admonishing states for passing legislation restricting abortion and for not supporting reforming entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. Read More Trump indictment: Ex-president kept nuclear and military papers and showed some to unauthorised people Mitt Romney’s blistering response to Trump’s damning indictment Trump news – latest: Trump rages ‘Democrat Communists want to jail their opponents’ after indictment unsealed Trump's GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation Fox host Mark Levin screams at camera in rant over Trump’s indictment Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next
2023-06-11 03:50
Man arrested after breaking into Florida theme park, hopping into alligator enclosure and filming video for social media, authorities say
A man is accused of breaking into a Florida theme park, jumping into an alligator enclosure and filming a video for social media -- a dangerous stunt that authorities say led to his arrest.
2023-06-11 03:23
Juilliard fires professor after independent investigation finds credible evidence of misconduct
Robert Beaser, the former chair of The Juilliard School's composition department, was fired after an independent investigation found credible evidence the professor engaged in sexual misconduct with students, the prestigious performing arts school in New York announced Thursday in a memo sent to students, staff, and faculty.
2023-06-11 03:17
Dragos Tigau: Romania recalls Kenya ambassador over racist monkey slur
Dragos Tigau made a racist comment at a meeting in April but has only now been disciplined.
2023-06-11 02:59
Ted Kaczynski, known as the 'Unabomber,' dies
Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski, the man known as the "Unabomber," has died, according to a law enforcement official.
2023-06-11 02:22
Extremely rare orange lobster caught in Maine's Casco Bay has new home
An extremely rare, bright orange American lobster caught earlier this month in Maine's Casco Bay by a lobstering crew has found a home at the University of New England's marine science center.
2023-06-11 02:17