List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

Former president Donald Trump’s attorney Timothy Parlatore is leaving the former president’s legal team, CNN reported on Wednesday. Mr Parlatore played a key role in the investigation into Mr Trump keeping classified documents at his private Mar-a-Lago estate, and Mr Parlatore even testified before the grand jury in the case. The departure comes as Special Counsel Jack Smith reaches the end of his investigation into Mr Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents. “It’s been an incredible honor to serve and work through interesting legal issues. My departure was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case, as I believe strongly the (Justice Department) team is engaging in misconduct to pursue an investigation of conduct that is not criminal,” Mr Palatore told CNN in a statement. Mr Parlatore also organised searches for additional classified documents at Trump Tower as well as other Trump properties, including a storage unit. He also testified before a grand jury in December when the Justice Department sought to hold Mr Trump in contempt for failing to hand over classified documents after he received a subpoena. “They repeatedly tried to ask me about my conversations with President Trump, which is totally outside the scope of what I was there for,” he said in March. Mr Parlatore also recently sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner that asked the Justice Department to step aside and instead let the intelligence community determine what happened with the documents. The departure comes as Mr Trump faces multiple investigations on the federal and local levels. Last month, he was arraigned in Manhattan for charges related to alleged hush money payments. The Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney is also investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the Peach State. Similarly, along with the documents, Mr Smith is investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and his actions on January 6. Read More Trump news – live: John Durham’s report on Trump-Russia probe attacks FBI as Giuliani accused of sexual abuse DeSantis reacts to Trump implying Florida abortion ban is ‘too harsh’ as 2024 fight heats up

President Joe Biden has cut short a foreign trip as both sides race to strike a deal before 1 June.

Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, leaked sensitive Justice Department information to a journalist in an effort to influence a local election, according to a report released Wednesday by the department's inspector general.

The federal courts' policy-making body is defending its decision in 2011 to not refer Justice Clarence Thomas to the Justice Department to investigate allegations that his pattern of nondisclosure on his financial reports broke federal law.

Lawmakers in South Carolina will reconvene Wednesday morning after debating for more than 12 hours on a bill that would ban most abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

The White House says it is not currently planning to ask Congress for new Ukraine funding before the end of the fiscal year at the end of September, pitting administration officials against some lawmakers and congressional staffers who are concerned that the funds could run out by mid-summer.

Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for Donald Trump who played a key role in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation and once testified before the grand jury, is leaving the former president's legal team, two sources familiar with the exit tell CNN.

An appeals court hearing Wednesday in the blockbuster abortion pill case will set the stage for how the Supreme Court will eventually approach the legal dispute, where anti-abortion activists are asking the courts to pull the main drug used in medication abortions off the market.

Donald Trump has lashed out what he described as “cockroaches” in Washington, DC, following the release of the Durham report. The 300-page report – from an investigation led by Trump-appointed special counsel John Durham – railed against the FBI for opening a probe into alleged ties between Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government. “THEY ARE SCUM, LIKE COCKROACHES ALL OVER WASHINGTON, D.C.,” the former president frothed on Truth Social in response to the findings. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s name has cropped up in a bombshell $10m lawsuit brought against Rudy Giuliani, the ex-New York City mayor and his former personal attorney. Mr Giuliani’s former aide Noelle Dunphy is suing him over sexual harassment that she alleges took place between 2019 and 2021 while she worked for him as a business development manager and public relations consultant. Mr Giuliani has strongly denied the claims. In the lawsuit, Ms Dunphy also claims that she was told that her employer and then-president Mr Trump were offering to sell presidential pardons for $2m apiece. She further claims that she was forced to give Mr Giuliani oral sex while he was on speakerphone to Mr Trump. Read More Trump slams ‘cockroaches’ in DC following release of Durham report DeSantis criticizes Trump for implying Florida abortion ban is 'too harsh' Wounded man who invaded Senate with knife sentenced to prison for Capitol riot Yes, creeps like Trump and the allegations against Giuliani really, really matter Durham report takeaways: a 'seriously flawed' Russia investigation and its lasting impact on the FBI

President Joe Biden once hoped his trip to Asia this week would strengthen American alliances, counter China's influence and prove to Americans he's got the stamina for another term in office.

A Republican-led investigation into the origins of Covid-19 has unearthed additional, though circumstantial, evidence supporting the theory that the virus likely escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, but it did not find any "smoking gun" evidence to prove the theory, according to a new report released on Wednesday.

A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a one-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy on a conviction for corruption and influence peddling. His lawyer said he will take the case to France’s highest court and insisted that Sarkozy is innocent. The 68-year-old ex-president would not have to serve time until a final ruling, and if definitively convicted, he could ask to serve his sentence at home. Sarkozy, 68, was convicted in 2021 of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. It was the first time in modern French history that a former president had been convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and appealed the original ruling. The Paris appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and the sentence, according to a court official. His lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, called the decision “stupefying” and “unjust.” Sarkozy is entitled to ask to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet, standard practice for sentences of two years or less. He also received a two-year suspended sentence, which he will not have to serve if he commits no new offense in the next five years. It is one of multiple legal cases Sarkoky has faced. He was convicted later in 2021 of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. Last week, prosecutors asked for him to be sent to trial on charges that he took millions in illegal financing for his 2007 campaign by the regime of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide