List of All Articles with Tag 'politics'

Mike Pence’s ex-national security adviser praised the former vice president’s actions on January 6 despite the fact he has now criticised Mr Pence and endorsed Donald Trump, CNN reported. Retired Gen Keith Kellogg blasted Mr Pence in his endorsement of Mr Trump on Tuesday and said the former VP had displayed a “laissez-faire style unworthy of the presidency.” He specifically expressed his “his dissatisfaction with Mr Pence’s actions towards the former president.” But Marc Short, a former top aide to Mr Pence, read an email from Gen Kellogg on CNN during the assault on the Capitol telling Mr Pence that he needed to certify the 2020 presidential election results that evening. Mr Short read the email from Gen Kellogg saying he would “recommend you stay on Hill and finish the Electoral College issue TONIGHT.” When Mr Short said that was their plan, Gen Kellogg said it was “not a good… but a GREAT plan” and encouraged the former vice president to “close this thing out.” Gen Kellogg specifically criticised Mr Short in his endorsement of Mr Pence. But Mr Short said Gen Kellogg supported their actions during the assault on the Capitol. “On January 6th, Keith was clearly supporting the vice president’s actions,” Mr Short told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I know that he’s still on Donald Trump’s payroll and perhaps that’s why he’s saying something different today.” Gen Kellogg now works for the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump outlet that has many former Trump administration officials. But Gen Kellogg’s attorney John Coale told CNN that Mr Short’s comments were “BS” and wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Mr Short “failed” the then-vice president on January 6. Gen Kellogg endorsed Mr Trump in a statement on Tuesday that criticised Mr Pence. “While President Trump has consistently put America first, prioritizing its citizens, our economy, and global standing, Pence’s actions have often seemed more focused on political maneuvering and maintaining his image,” he said. Read More Former Trump lawyer slams ex-president’s latest legal strategy Ex-Pence adviser hammers his old boss as ‘unworthy of the presidency’ and endorses Trump

Dianne Feinstein of California was hospitalized for a short time Tuesday after a fall, according to a spokesperson, the latest in a string of health issues for the US Senate's oldest member.

President Joe Biden incorrectly claimed in an interview with The Weather Channel that he has already declared a national emergency on the climate crisis.

Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended another elected Democratic prosecutor from office on accusations that she failed to impose mandatory sentences for certain crimes and let juvenile offenders avoid incarceration. Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell, who was elected in 2020 and took office in 2021, has been “clearly and fundamentally derelict” in her duties, Mr DeSantis alleged in a press conference on 9 August. Ms Worrell – the only Black women serving as a state prosecutor in Florida – had recently announced her intention to run again in 2024. An executive order signed by the governor and Republican Secretary of State Cord Byrd accuses the Democratic state attorney of “systematically” allowing people to avoid jail time, either by dropping charges or declining to allege provable facts. He acknowledged that prosecutors like Ms Worrell “do have a certain amount of discretion about which cases to bring and which not” but he claimed that she has “abused” that discretion and “effectively nullified certain laws in the state of Florida”. Last year, Mr DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren after he criticised the governor’s positions on abortion care and gender-affirming care for transgender people. A federal judge affirmed the suspension but admonished the governor for falsely accusing Mr Warren of relying on a blanket policy to avoid prosecuting certain cases with which he disagreed. “The allegation was false,” US District Judge Robert Hinkle said in a ruling issued on 20 January. “Mr Warren’s well-established policy, followed in every case by every prosecutor in the office, was to exercise prosecutorial discretion at every stage of every case. Any reasonable investigation would have confirmed this.” Mr DeSantis has appointed Orlando-area judge Andrew Bain to replace Ms Worrell. She had recently come under fire from Republican officials following a shooting that left three dead in February, with a suspect with an alleged history of criminal offenses on the streets at the time of the shooting; 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Democratic officials in Florida have accused the governor of using politically motivated removals of elected prosecutors to elevate his national profile as he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. “This is absolutely disgusting,” Orlando-area state Rep Anna Eskamani said in a statement. “Her removal is a complete slap in the face to Orange and Osceola County residents and another example of Governor DeSantis eroding our local control and democracy,” she added. “This politically motivated action by the governor in a predominantly Democratic part of the state should alarm everyone. DeSantis is extreme, unfit to serve, and must be held accountable.” Read More Ron DeSantis replaces campaign manager as 2024 bid falters The presidential candidates who have so far met criteria to join first RNC debate DeSantis once again defends slavery curriculum: Enslaved people ‘showing resourcefulness’ developed ‘skills’ DeSantis won’t rule out national abortion ban but suggests there’s no ‘mileage’ left in Congress

President Joe Biden's administration plans to detail new rules Wednesday limiting US investments in advanced technology industries in China, according to people familiar with the plans, in an effort to protect national security at a moment of heightened tension with Beijing.

As President Joe Biden touts his climate record this week, the US Department of Justice is in the middle of a legal fight over whether a landmark federal youth climate case should even be allowed to go to trial.

President Joe Biden is traveling west this week on a mission to ramp up excitement for an agenda that -- so far -- is yielding little political upside.

ISLAMABAD A Pakistani high court will take up jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's appeal on Wednesday against

Donald Trump may be eventually forced to return millions of dollars of campaign funds he raised after the 2020 elections on fraudulent claims, a retired FBI official said on Tuesday. Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director, said it “isn’t over” for Mr Trump after he was indicted over alleged efforts to overturn 2020 election results in charges led by special counsel Jack Smith in federal district court in Washington DC. “When you raise millions based on a fraudulent claim, you’ve committed a crime. And, you just might have to give those millions back... Special counsel still scrutinizing finances of Trump’s PAC,” Mr Figliuzzi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. His comments came on the heels of a Politico report which said investigators held a closed-door interview on Monday with Bernard Kerik, the disgraced ex-NYPD Commissioner who was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2020. His lawyer Tim Parlatore told the outlet that Mr Kerik was quizzed with multiple questions on the enormous fundraising haul by Save America’s PAC in the weeks between Election Day and Jan 6 riots at the Capitol. The special counsel has been long thought to have been focusing the investigation on whether Mr Trump or his PAC broke federal laws by soliciting funds based on false voter fraud allegations. However, the recent indictment of Mr Trump does not contain any accusations of financial wrongdoing. The report said the interview was the clearest indication yet of Mr Smith’s focus on fundraising and spending by Mr Trump’s political action committee. “It’s a laser focus from Election Day to Jan. 6,” Mr Parlatore reportedly said. Kerik, a longtime ally of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was pardoned by the ex-president in 2020. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to eight felony charges involving tax fraud and making false statements to the federal government. Read More Trump makes shocking claims about DA’s sex life days before she’s due to indict him – latest Trump vows to keep campaigning on his criminal cases despite prosecutors seeking order to stop Who are the 2024 presidential election candidates? Meet the Republicans and Democrats campaigning

Abortion rights advocates on Tuesday won a critical victory in Ohio, beating back a measure that would have made their push to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution more difficult.

One of Ukraine's greatest tragedies as it pursues a critical offensive that has, so far, failed to meet its own and Western expectations is that it cannot, by itself, decide its destiny.

Despite Donald Trump’s penchant for attacking his political rivals on social media, the former president has taken issue with a tweet where Joe Biden is seen sipping coffee from a “Dark Brandon” themed mug. In a court document filed in Washington DC on Monday, Mr Trump’s attorneys complained that Mr Biden is capitalising on the former president’s legal troubles with the meme post. “President Biden has likewise capitalized on the indictment, posting a thinly veiled reference to his administration’s prosecution of President Trump just hours before arraignment,” his attorneys wrote in the filing. The court document then included a photo of the offending image, showing Mr Biden’s video post on his personal account on X – formerly known as Twitter. In the video, the president is seen drinking a cup of coffee from a mug featuring an image of Mr Biden with lasers coming out of his eyes – also known as “Dark Brandon”. In the clip, captioned “A cup of Joe never tasted better,” Mr Biden says: “I like my coffee dark.” The social media post includes a link to buy the mug, which is part of the merchandise being promoted by Mr Biden’s campaign as he seeks to capitalise on a trend that was first adopted by his critics. The “Dark Brandon” moniker was born out of the right-wing chant “Let’s Go Brandon” – a thinly-veiled chant meaning “f*** Joe Biden” – before it was adopted and turned into a merchandise opportunity by the president himself. Mr Biden’s tweet was posted on Thursday morning, hours before Mr Trump was arrested and arraigned on charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the lead-up to the January 6 Capitol riot. Mr Trump’s complaint about the “Dark Brandon” meme post came in a court document filed by his defence attorneys on Monday arguing against a protective order in the case. Last week, special counsel Jack Smith’s office had requested a protective order in the federal criminal case limiting what Mr Trump can publicise about the case. Such an order would not stop Mr Trump from commenting on the case altogether, but would simply prevent him from disclosing evidence such as secret grand jury materials. The request specifically referred to a seemingly threatening Truth Social post from the former president where he wrote: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” On Monday, Mr Trump’s defence team filed a motion pushing back against the protective order, claiming that his political rivals are campaigning off the back of his legal troubles. They also claim a protective order would violate Mr Trump’s right to free speech in what they say is “a trial about First Amendment rights”. Instead, Mr Trump’s defence is asking the judge to narrow limits of a protective order so that his right to free speech is protected. Mr Smith’s office quickly filed a motion in response, accusing the former president of trying to “litigate this case in the media”. Now, Judge Tanya Chutkan has ordered that a court hearing will take place this week over the issue of a protective order in the case. The judge told both parties to give her two proposed dates and times by 3pm ET on Tuesday for when a hearing can be held over the matter. The hearing must take place by Friday, she said, and Mr Trump is not required to attend. The irony of Mr Trump’s issue with the president’s post comes as the former president has repeatedly railed against Mr Biden, the DOJ, Mr Smith and the judges overseeing his criminal cases in angry tirades on his Truth Social page. Meanwhile, Mr Biden has made no public comments on Mr Trump’s indictment on criminal charges. The former president was arrested last Thursday on 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. He appeared in court in Washington DC for his arraigment that afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. The former president is accused of conspiring with his allies to overturn the 2020 election, in a bid to sabotage the vote of the American people. A grand jury, which has spent months hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, returned a federal indictment on 1 August hitting him with four federal charges. The Justice Department alleges that Mr Trump and his circle of co-conspirators 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. At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Smith placed the blame for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol firmly on Mr Trump’s shoulders. “The attack on our nation’s capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” he said. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government – the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.” The indictment marks Mr Trump’s second federal indictment, his third criminal indictment overall – and arguably his most serious. While the former president is the only person charged in the case, the indictment also refers to six co-conspirators who worked with him to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The six individuals – four attorneys, one Justice Department official and one political consultant – have not been named in the charging documents because they have not yet been charged with any crimes. However, based on the details in the indictment and records already known about the events leading up to the Capitol riot, the identities are apparent as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Kenneth Chesebro and Boris Epshteyn. This marks Mr Trump’s third indictment after he was hit with New York state charges following an investigation into hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election and then separate federal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents on leaving office. He has pleaded not guilty in both of those charges as well. Read More Trump judge demands court hearing as Jack Smith and ex-president spar over protective order – latest Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon sides with Trump again in classified documents case Special counsel accuses Trump of wanting to try Jan 6 case in media after bid to use evidence during 2024 run