List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that former president Donald Trump exuded no bravado or confidence as he appeared in Washington DC for his arraignment on federal charges this week. Ms Pelosi led the House of Representatives during both of Mr Trump’s impeachments, first for his attempt to condition aid to Ukraine on newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky investigating Joe Biden’s son Hunter, and then in 2021 for his actions during the January 6 insurrection. Mr Trump appeared at the E Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to four charges stemming from his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. During his arraignment, Mr Trump appeared to stumble over his words when asked to state his full name and appeared rather sombre compared to his other arraignments in New York and Miami. Ms Pelosi, who stepped aside from Democratic House leadership earlier this year after Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives, told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC that Mr Trump lacked the confidence and bravado usually associated with the ex-president. “I wasn’t in the courtroom, of course, but when I saw Trump coming out of his car and this or that, I saw a scared puppy,” Ms Pelosi said on Friday. “He looked very, very, very concerned about the fate. I didn't see any bravado or confidence or anything like that. He knows the truth, that he lost the election and now he has to face the music.” Ms Pelosi has largely avoided discussing the former president since he left office. During her farewell address as House speaker, she mentioned her work with former presidents George W Bush, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat, as well as President Joe Biden. But she did not mention Mr Trump. When the indictment was unsealed on Tuesday, Ms Pelosi credited the work of the January 6 select committee that commenced under her speakership for leading to the indictment. “Now, following the Justice Department’s further investigation, a federal grand jury has indicted the former President,” she said. “As this case proceeds through the courts, justice must be done according to the facts and the law.” Read More Trump pleads not guilty to federal conspiracy charges in plot to overturn 2020 election Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment

The Biden administration is debating whether to designate Travis King, the US Army soldier who crossed into North Korea last month, as a prisoner of war, defense officials told CNN.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign is seeking to raise money off criticism by the NBA players' union of an Orlando Magic donation to a super PAC that supports his presidential bid.

President Joe Biden is strongly considering declaring a vast area around the Grand Canyon as the nation's newest national monument, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

The players union for NBA criticised the owners of the Orlando Magic for giving money to a super PAC that supports Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid. A Federal Election Commission filing showed that Orlando Magic LTD donated $50,000 to Never Back Down, a super PAC that supports Mr DeSantis’s presidential bid. Campaigns cannot officially coordinate with campaigns, but Mr DeSantis has frequently blurred the lines with Never Back Down, frequently appearing as a special guest. A statement from the National Basketball Players Association said the contribution does not reflect player support for Mr DeSantis. “A political contribution from the Orlando Magic is alarming given recent comments and policies of its beneficiary,” a statement said. “NBA governors, players and personnel have the right to express their personal political views, including through donations and statements. However, if contributions are made on behalf of an entire team, using money earned through the labor of its employees, it is incumbent upon the team governors to consider the diverse values and perspectives of staff and players.” The DeVos family owns the Orlando Magic, NBC News reported. Richard DeVos, the former chairman, died in 2018 and his daughter-in-law Betsy DeVos led the Department of Education during the Trump administration. Mr DeSantis has frequently criticised politics he considers “woke,” a term previously used among Black Americans to tell one another to be aware of racism. But a vast majority of NBA players are Black, despite the fact many owners are white, and support efforts like Black Lives Matter. Last year, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the NBA and WNBA said in a joint statement that they “believe that women should be able to make their own decisions concerning their health and future. Commissioner Adam Silver said that he would ensure women “have access to reproductive health care, regardless of their location.” Read More Ron DeSantis says Trump’s claims of stolen 2020 election weren’t ‘true’ It has been a good week for democracy - in more ways than one Chris Christie tells Volodymyr Zelensky he wants to be America’s ‘eyes’ in surprise Kyiv visit

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday after being arrested and arraigned for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the latest in his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted Monday on four charges as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy and the 6 January Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, though observers have credibly guessed most of their identities. The former president has railed against the indictment, calling for the “fake” case to be moved out of Washington DC where he claims it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial”. The case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 August. Read Trump’s full indictment from the January 6 grand jury Read More Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment Will Donald Trump go to prison? Trump was told not to talk to witnesses in 2020 election conspiracy case. That could be a challenge. What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect following Trump’s indictment

Florida governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said on Friday that Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged are not true. “All those theories that were put out did not prove to be true,” Mr DeSantis told The New York Times during a campaign stop in Iowa. “It was not an election that was conducted the way I think that we want to, but that’s different than saying Maduro stole votes or something like that,” he added. “Those theories, you know, proved to be unsubstantiated.” Mr DeSantis, seen as the former president’s chief rival in the Republican primary, has in the past largely avoided direct criticisms of Mr Trump’s repeatedly disproven election claims. “We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over,” Mr DeSantis said in a speech earlier this yer, before he formally announced his presidential campaign. “If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.” The former president’s repeated falsehoods are back in the spotlight, after Mr Trump was indicted this week for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the presidential election results. “The attack on our nation’s capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” special counsel Jack Smith said on Tuesday, announcing the charges. “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.” This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information. Read More College Board shelves AP psychology class in Florida over guidance on gender content Chris Christie meets Volodymyr Zelensky in surprise Ukraine visit NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has issued guidance to the military workforce for the first time about how Pentagon leadership roles will likely need to be reshuffled as a result of Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military confirmations.

Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning of North Carolina and a member of her staff were involved a "serious car accident" Thursday morning in Greensboro on their way to a district event, according to a statement issued by the congresswoman's office.

A lawyer for Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI's New York field office who has been charged with concealing $225,000 he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence employee, said he expects the case against his client in Washington, DC, to be resolved without going to trial.

Donald Trump couldn’t seem to decide whether he had a “good day” or a “sad day” as he was arrested and arraigned on four criminal charges over his attempts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election. The former president appeared in court in Washington DC on Thursday afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges in what now marks his third criminal case. Following the arraignment, he returned to his Bedminster estate and took to Truth Social where, he claimed – in a full-caps late-night rant – that he had a “very good day”. “CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT I HAD TO FLY TO A FILTHY, DIRTY, FALLING APART, & VERY UNSAFE WASHINGTON, D.C., TODAY, & THAT I WAS THEN ARRESTED BY MY POLITICAL OPPONENT, WHO IS LOSING BADLY TO ME IN THE POLLS, CROOKED JOE BIDEN, IT WAS A VERY GOOD DAY!” he wrote on Truth Social. However, this positive outlook appears to jar with the mood he displayed on the tarmac as he jetted out of DC on his private plane – not to mention the mood sources said he displayed behind the scenes. “This is a very sad day for America,” Mr Trump told reporters as he embarked Trump Force One to head back to his Bedminster club. “It was also very sad driving through Washington DC and seeing the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. “This is not the place that I left. It’s a very sad thing to see it.” His comments on Washington DC’s apparent deterioration came after Mr Trump left the capital in January 2021 as it was reeling from the January 6 Capitol riots – an attack which came out of the false claims he spread of 2020 election fraud. Meanwhile, sources behind the scenes of Thursday’s hearing revealed a somewhat “dejected” mood. The former president was said to be “irked” that US District Judge Moxila Upadhyaya had referred to him as “Mr Trump” and not “Mr President” during his court appearance. “I’m learning tonight that Trump left here in a sour and dejected mood,” said CNN host Kaitlan Collins. “He was, quote, ‘pissed off,’ according to someone who spoke to him.” She added: “I am told that the former president, one thing that irked him particularly, was during that hearing today that lasted about 27 minutes, was when the magistrate judge referred to him as simply ‘Mr Trump.’” Mr Trump’s alleged annoyance comes as the staff at his Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster estates typically still refer to him as “President Trump” – despite leaving the White House over two years ago. “That may not sound odd to anyone else, but he is still referred to by his former title ‘President Trump’ when he’s at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, as he is tonight, or at Mar-a-Lago,” revealed Ms Collins. Instead of being waited on by his staff and called “Mr President”, Mr Trump was forced to endure a court appearance similar to that of many criminal defendants. He had to wait around 15 minutes for the judge to arrive and came face to face with prosecutors pursuing charges against him – at one point having something of a stare off with special counsel Jack Smith in the courtroom. However, in other ways his treatment was different – as he did not have his mugshot taken and was not placed in handcuffs. Mr Trump surrendered to authorities and was arrested 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 then appeared for his arraignment at the E Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse where he stared down special counsel Jack Smith before pleading 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 Tuesday 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 potentially 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 Live updates: Trump pleads not guilty at arraignment in 2020 election case Meet Jack Smith: The special prosecutor who could take down Trump Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment Watch: Donald Trump’s motorcade blocked by herd of goats Chairman of UK Republican group wishes Donald Trump would not run for president Will Trump’s alleged co-conspirators in the Jan 6 indictment turn on him?

Top US and European officials are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is factoring the 2024 US presidential election into his Ukraine war planning in hopes that a loss by President Joe Biden next year will lead the US to curtail its support for Ukraine and improve Russia's negotiating position, four US officials told CNN.