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31 minutes ago
Michael Cohen’s ex-counsel Bob Costello to testify before grand jury in light of Trump lawsuit
Former President Donald Trump’s adviser Steve Bannon (C) appears with members of his legal team outside the E. Barrett Prettyman US Courthouse in Washington, DC, June 15, 2022. Bannon appeared before a federal judge on Jan. 6 after being charged with contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee. The photo also shows Bannon’s attorney David Shane (his second from left) and attorney Robert J. Costello (second from left). ).
Winn McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Robert “Bob” Costello, a former legal counsel to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, said the former president paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. He plans to testify before a grand jury, NBC News reported.
Trump’s legal team has asked the Manhattan district attorney to allow Costello to testify, suggesting that Costello may refute Cohen’s testimony. Cohen, who said Trump directed him to pay Daniels $130,000 to quell allegations that she and Trump slept together before Daniels became president, was a key witness at the hearing. It is regarded as
Costello said Cohen waived his attorney-client privileges in 2019, and on Sunday said he never signed a retention agreement. He said he never worked.
— Chelsea Cox
50 minutes ago
Mike Pence says Trump indictment will be a ‘politically charged prosecution’
Former US Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Young America Foundation Student Conference on July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Pence outlined a conservative agenda and asked about Taiwan’s relationship with former President Donald Trump.
Nathan Howard | Getty Images
Former Vice President Mike Pence said the expected arrest of his former boss, former President Trump, by Manhattan prosecutors amounted to a “politically charged prosecution.”
In an interview aired on ABC News on Sunday, Pence said, “I’m stunned by the idea of indicting a former president of the United States.
“The fact that the Manhattan Attorney’s Office sees prosecuting President Trump as his number one priority at a time when a wave of crime is sweeping through New York City says everything there is to know about the Radical Left. I think they are,” he said.
“I feel politically charged,” Pence said, adding, “For me, I feel like that’s not what Americans want to see.
These remarks came at a time when Pence was openly considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination and was competing with Trump, who has already been campaigning for months.
Pence’s relationship with Trump imploded after the then-Vice President refused to participate in efforts to reverse Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Trump pressured Pence to refuse to vote for Biden’s key electoral college when he presided over a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. A violent mob of supporters forced the Capitol, Pence and members of Congress to flee the floor.
In an interview with ABC, Pence was asked about Trump’s call for protests in response to the expected indictment, saying, “If people speak up for this, if this takes place on Tuesday, it will be done peacefully and peacefully.” I think they understand what needs to be done,” he said. legitimate way. “
Pence declined to comment on the merits of a possible Manhattan attorney’s office suing Trump.
— Kevin Breinger
2 hours ago
Florida Governor DeSantis attacks Manhattan DA over possible indictment of Trump
US President Donald Trump listens to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking about the coronavirus response during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, USA, April 28, 2020.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to be considering a Republican presidential run, has set his sights on the Manhattan District Attorney over a possible Trump indictment.
The governor accused DA Alvin Bragg of being a “Soros-funded prosecutor,” but offered little in defense of Trump, now the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary.
DeSantis said at a press conference, “I don’t know what it takes to pay a porn star hush money to keep quiet about some sort of incident.
“But what I can tell you is that there’s a prosecutor who ignores the crimes that happen every day in your jurisdiction and he went back years and did something about hush money for porn stars.” That’s an example of that if you choose to try to use it to pursue a political agenda,” he added.
The remarks come as some of Trump’s supporters and campaign representatives have noted the silence about the possibility of criminal charges against Mr. DeSantis against the former president.
DeSantis is expected to announce his presidential plans some time after the current Florida legislature ends on May 5. Though he has yet to formally announce his campaign, polls for the potential primary show him to be Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican nomination.
— Kevin Breinger
2 hours ago
In another legal battle in Georgia, Trump tries to block grand jury reporting and possible indictment
Fulton County Courthouse, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Monday, February 13, 2023.
Dustin Chambers | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Trump is trying to block the release of a special purpose grand jury report in Fulton County, Georgia, and could face a separate criminal case looking into whether he illegally interfered in the state’s election process in 2020. there is.
In a 52-page court document filed in Fulton County Superior Court Monday morning, Trump’s lawyers called for the report to be destroyed and the use of evidence collected by the panel to be barred.
The filing, which also contained more than 400 pages of documentary evidence, also sought to disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, which had been conducting the criminal investigation, from involvement in the case.
The Atlanta-area investigation has spent the past two years investigating Trump and his supporters’ efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in the 2020 election.
The Georgia probe has been seen as a major threat ending in criminal charges against Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He faces three other major criminal investigations pending, including the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigating whether Trump illegally hid payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. doing.
— Kevin Breinger
3 hours ago
House Speaker McCarthy criticizes possible criminal liability, opposes protest
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listens to questions during a press conference in the Statuary Hall of the Washington State Capitol, USA, February 2, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy criticized the idea of filing criminal charges against his fellow Republican Donald Trump, but opposed calls by the former president to protest in New York over his expected charges.
“One lawyer after another will tell you this is the weakest case of trying to make a misdemeanor a felony,” McCarthy said at a House Republican exit rally in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.
But the California lawmaker also said, “I don’t think people should protest this. No, I don’t think President Trump believes it either, if you talk to him.”
In a social media post, Trump wrote, “You will be arrested on Tuesday,” and called on his supporters to “protest and take back our country.”
McCarthy was one of hundreds of lawmakers who fled after a mob of Trump supporters broke into Congress on January 6, 2021. The riots began after weeks of false claims that Trump had indeed won his 2020 presidential election, and were disrupted for hours. A joint session of Congress that was in the process of confirming the victory of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College.
— and manganese
4 hours ago
Manhattan’s DA Bragg says staff safety is ‘top priority’ after Trump protests prompted
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after former President Donald Trump’s White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon arrives to surrender in New York, USA, September 8, 2022.
Caitlin Ox | Reuters
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said after Trump called on his supporters to protest the expected indictment, he said, “There is no attempt to blackmail our office or threaten the rule of law in New York. will not be tolerated,” he told officials in an email.
Bragg also said in an email to staff obtained by NBC News that their safety was “a top priority” and that the office’s law enforcement department “is working on appropriate safeguards… All 1,600 of us are working in a safe environment.”
“The remote Republican frontrunner and former president of the United States will be arrested next Tuesday,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“Protest and take back our country!” Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, wrote.
Trump also called on his supporters to protest after losing the 2020 election, leading to riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, resulting in at least 1,000 arrests and more than 500 convictions. has been pleaded or convicted of
— and manganese
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