Looming Trump trials are throwing judges into an election maelstrom
Judges are being forced into an unprecedented and perilous spot in the middle of an already tempestuous presidential campaign because of rising acrimony over the criminal trials of Donald Trump.
2023-08-17 12:26
Jenna Ellis forced to crowdfund Georgia lawyer fund after cutting ties with Trump
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis has been forced to crowdfund her defence fees after being indicted alongside the former president this week. Ms Ellis was among the 18 associates of Mr Trump to face charges in Georgia for alleged attempts to alter the state’s 2020 presidential election results. She posted a link to her fundraising campaign on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter on Tuesday. “We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below,” a quote from her lawyer Mike Melito read. ”America and the profession of law are worth the fight.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser on GiveSendGo had raised more than $14,000. “Jenna Ellis, former senior legal adviser and personal counsel to President Trump, is being targeted and the government is trying to criminalize the practice of law,” her account stated. “Help her fight back and stand for the truth!” She also received more than 1,600 prayers, which is an option for her supporters. Ms Ellis joins the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and John Eastman in being indicted by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis. Mr Trump has been charged with 13 counts including racketeering, filing false documents, and attempting to coerce public officers to violate their oaths, according to court documents. He claims it is part of a continuing “witch hunt” to stop him from running in the 2024 election. It marks the fourth major indictment against Mr Trump in nearly as many months, and the second related directly to his actions during the 2020 election. Mr Trump has been issued with an arrest warrant and ordered to surrender by 25 August. In March, Ms Ellis was censured by Colorado legal officials after admitting she made a string of false claims about the 2020 presidential election. She acknowledged that she had made “misrepresentations” on television and Twitter during Mr Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to reverse the results of the election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Ms Ellis is no longer supporting Mr Trump and has thrown her support behind Ron DeSantis to become the 2024 Republican nominee for president. Read More Trump claims mystery report clears him of Georgia election charges as DA seeks March trial date – live updates Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Trump claims Fox News is conspiring to stop him winning in 2024 Special prosecutor will investigate Georgia’s lieutenant governor in Trump indictment Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes Trump’s Georgia trial date the day before Super Tuesday Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Frank LaRose, GOP Senate candidate in Ohio, fires a top staffer for tweets critical of Donald Trump Election workers who face frequent harassment see accountability in the latest Georgia charges
2023-08-17 12:15
Conservative ex-federal judge: Trump's 'unprecedented' attacks on federal judiciary are 'grave disservice' to nation
A conservative retired federal judge on Wednesday condemned former President Donald Trump's criticisms of judges hearing criminal cases brought against him, calling the recent attacks "unprecedented" and "inexcusable."
2023-08-17 11:58
Texas woman charged with threatening to kill judge overseeing Trump's federal election interference case
A Texas woman has been charged with threatening in a voicemail to kill the federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's criminal case in Washington, DC, over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
2023-08-17 10:52
Prosecutors raise another possible attorney representation issue in Trump documents case
Prosecutors from the special counsel's office have raised ethical questions about the attorney representing one of Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago documents criminal case, marking the second time they've raised potential issues about lawyers representing multiple people who've worked for the former president.
2023-08-17 09:23
Rudy Giuliani made desperate appeal to Trump to pay his legal bills in Mar-a-Lago meeting
With his attorney in tow, Rudy Giuliani traveled to Mar-a-Lago in recent months on a mission to make a personal and desperate appeal to former President Donald Trump to pay his legal bills. By going in person, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, Giuliani and his lawyer Robert Costello believed they could explain face-to-face why Trump needed to assist his former attorney with his ballooning legal bills.
2023-08-17 09:22
Ohio marijuana legalization initiative qualifies for November ballot
The issue of recreational marijuana legalization will be on Ohio's general election ballot in November after the initiative gathered enough signatures, the Ohio secretary of state's office announced Wednesday.
2023-08-17 08:59
Trump plots counterprogramming for GOP primary debate, sources say
The current thinking among Donald Trump's campaign advisers and those close to the former president is that he is not planning on participating in next week's Republican presidential primary debate, three sources familiar with his plans tell CNN, and has been proposing counterprogramming to the event.
2023-08-17 08:56
Meadows trying to move Fulton County case to federal court
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is seeking to move the Fulton County, Georgia, prosecution against him to federal court so that he can try to get the case dismissed under federal law.
2023-08-17 08:17
North Carolina legislature overrides governor's veto of 3 bills targeting transgender youth
The North Carolina legislature's Republican supermajority voted to override vetoes from the state's Democratic governor on a slew of bills Wednesday evening, including a trio of measures that target transgender youth.
2023-08-17 07:58
Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump
A biographer who wrote the book on the life and career of “America’s Mayor” has a new theory for why Rudy Giuliani remains so doggedly loyal to Donald Trump even after it has been proven time and time again that the two never had any convincing proof of election fraud from the 2020 contest. Andrew Kirtzman gave his take on the topic to MSNBC’s Chris Jansing during an interview this week; Mr Kirtzman is the author of Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor. Mr Kirtzman explains that the major turning point in Mr Giuliani’s political life came in 2008, when he failed to deliver a competitive performance in that year’s presidential primary race, despite all expectations for him to do so. “[H]e entered as a front runner and ended it in humiliation with just one delegate,” Mr Kirtzman explained. “[I]t was at that moment in 2008 when things kind of crashed around him, when he lost his 9/11 halo, was left in kind of the political wilderness. There was Donald Trump. And Donald Trump literally took him in to Mar-a-Lago right after his failure in 2008 and kind of shielded Giuliani when he was, kind of fell into a depression,” he continued. According to Mr Kirtzman, that relationship blossomed into a mutually beneficial transaction in 2016 — Mr Trump gained an endorsement from a supposedly credible voice within the GOP, and Mr Giuliani regained a hint of national relevance. But their friendship truly took off in 2020, when Mr Giuliani became Mr Trump’s main stooge in his campaign to tarnish Joe Biden’s name before the onset of the general election. When that failed, Mr Giuliani was right there to pick up the pieces of Mr Trump’s defeat, spinning them instead into a victory supposedly snatched away by the Democrats. Nearly three years after the 2020 election, there’s no sign of any change in the former New York mayor’s feelings for Mr Trump, or vice versa. But it’s an objective fact that Mr Giuliani’s acceptance into the Mar-a-Lago circle has now had more negative consequences for his reputation than positive effects. His law licence is now suspended in both New York and Washington DC; a disbarrment looks likely at least in the latter jurisdiction. He also now faces several felony counts in Georgia, where prosecutors this week handed down a massive indictment charging Mr Trump and his team with crimes related to their election result manipulation efforts. Mr Giuliani has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. It’s unclear where Mr Giuliani goes from here. But it seems, at least for now, that wherever he ends up will have been thanks to a path that became inextricably linked with Mr Trump way back in 2008. Read More Trump accused of skipping debate because he’s ‘scared of Chris Christie’ Will the Georgia gang of 18 turn on Trump? Trumpworld hanging by a thread as co-accused pressured to flip on ex-president Election workers who face frequent harassment see accountability in the latest Georgia charges
2023-08-17 07:28
Trevian Kutti: Who is ex-Kanye West publicist indicted with Trump?
The celebrity publicist is accused of involvement in a plot to pressure a Georgia election worker.
2023-08-17 05:55