Georgia’s Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an attempt from Donald Trump to shut down key parts of a probe from state officials investigating him for potential interference in the 2020 election. The high court found in a unanimous ruling that the former president hadn’t shown the kind of “extraordinary circumstances” that would require the Georgia Supreme Court to intervene in the case and toss out key portions of evidence. “(Trump) has not shown that this case presents one of those extremely rare circumstances in which this Court’s original jurisdiction should be invoked, and therefore, the petition is dismissed,” the ruling states. The judges also were not persuaded by Mr Trump’s arguments that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case. On 11 July, a new set of grand jurors were sworn in for the long-running investigation who could potentially be the ones to approve an indictment against the former president. Since February 2021, officials in Fulton County have been investigating the conduct of Mr Trump and his allies in the state during the hotly contested 2020 election, where Joe Biden narrowly carried the state. The investigation has focused on an infamous 2 January, 2021, call Mr Trump placed to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging the top official to “find” enough votes for him to overturn his defeat in the state, but has expanded to cover a wide-ranging influence campaign Mr Trump and his allies exerted in Georgia. Another key area of focus is a December 2020 plot, allegedly directed by Trump campaign officials and potentially the former president himself, to organize a slate of unauthorised Republican electors to cast the state’s Electoral College votes, rather than the Democratic slate Georgia voters had selected. The group of false electors included the chair of the Georgia GOP and Republican members of the state legislature. They’ve defended their efforts as a back-up in case the original election results were tossed out in court. Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing. Ms Willis has suggested a decision on charges against Mr Trump could come as soon as August. Charges in Georgia would join the other unprecedented sanctions against the former president, including felony charges in New York for a hush money scheme involving a porn star and federal charges against Mr Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Read More Trump news – live: Manchin run could help Trump as ex-president eyes two of his GOP 2024 rivals for VP Citing Trump case, Pentagon leak suspect Teixeira urges judge to release him while he awaits trial Senior ex-intelligence official warns second Trump term could fatally destabilise US, new book says Georgia's top court rejects Trump attempt to thwart prosecutor in 2020 election investigation 9th Circuit denies bid by environmentalists and tribes to block Nevada lithium mine Trump praises judge overseeing classified documents case: ‘She loves our country’

A former MI6 spy chief has said “all indications” suggest Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was “taken out” by Vladimir Putin, two months after staging a mutiny that dented the Russian president’s authority. Russia's civil aviation agency said that Mr Prigozhin, leader of the private mercenary group, and six top lieutenants were among 10 killed when a jet crashed soon after taking off from Moscow on Wednesday. Mr Prigozhin’s supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging channels that the plane was deliberately downed. Numerous opponents and critics of Mr Putin have been killed or gravely sickened in apparent assassination attempts. The Wagner group chief had mounted a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June and marched on Moscow with his mercenary fighters, with Mr Putin denouncing the rebellion as “treason” and vowing to punish those behind it. Sir John Sawers, head of the MI6 between 2009 and 2014, said on Thursday that all signs suggest the Russian president had “taken him out”, making it clear to Russians he was not going to “brook any challenge”. Former intelligence officer Christopher Steele also claimed it was an “inside job” and suggested a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sir John said: “All the indications point to the fact Putin has taken him out. He has reasserted his control. “He’s making clear to everyone inside and outside of Russia that he’s not going to brook any challenge. If there’s a slim chance that he’s not dead and he wasn’t on that plane, he will be soon.” The plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers was travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg, according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass. Footage shows the flaming wreckage after a private jet came down. Sir John explained the MI6 “wouldn’t have any extra information’ on Prigozhin’s death yet, but said it was likely there would have been “some device” on board that took the jet down. He said: “If there had been some air defence missile that took him out then there would be traces of that which would be detectable through satellite means. But I would have thought there would have been some device on board that brought the plane down suddenly and killed all those on board. “Of course, those on board were not only Prigozhin but those around him like his military commander Dmitry Utkin, some other long-standing aides, so it’s a way of taking out the entire Wagner leadership all in one go.” Meanwhile, Mr Steele, who was with the Secret Intelligence Service and ran the MI6 Russia desk, claimed a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. He added that the crash looked like part of a “pattern of state-backed activity” by FSB or GRU forces. He told Sky News: “I think it is unlikely that Wagner commanders were actually behind this ultimately. I would suspect very much that it was an FSB or GRU operation. “Certainly it’s an inside job, the suggestion is that it’s a bomb in a wine crate. That’s a kind of ironic end for Putin’s former caterer.” He added: “[The crash] followed the day after General (Sergei) Surovikin, who you will remember was the commander first of all in Syria and later in Ukraine, was sacked from his job which was to be in charge of the security over the Russian homeland. “He was seen as somebody that was one of the generals who was supporting Prigozhin and was an ally of his. For him to have been removed a day before does rather suggest a pattern of state-backed activity here.” So far, the Kremlin has not commented on the crash. Mr Putin did not mention the incident during a speech in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk during the Second World War. Read More Ukraine war - live: Wagner chief Prigozhin and co-founder ‘killed’ in Russia plane crash as Putin at concert Minister warns against jumping to conclusions over Wagner chief’s reported death Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin's revenge The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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The mayor and law enforcement officials in Lansing, Michigan are apologising to the family of a 12-year-old Black boy who was wrongfully arrested as a suspected car thief. Viral footage of the boy’s arrest on 10 August while he was taking out the trash from his home shows a white officer leading the boy through a parking lot with his hands cuffed behind his back. A lawyer representing the family told the Associated Press that the boy was initially approached by an officer with an unholstered gun “and was holding it in front of him”. The footage shows a man identified as the boy’s father, Michael Bernard, approaching the officer as the boy is brought to a patrol car and placed in the rear seat. Roughly three minutes into the video, officers remove the cuffs and walk him towards his father. “They trauamtised my son,” Mr Bernard can be heard saying in the video. The first of a series of statements issued by the Lansing Police Department called the incident an “unfortunate misunderstanding”. A second statement said the boy was released to his father “when eliminated as the accused.” Officials said that the boy was wearing the same clothes as a suspect in a vehicle theft investigation. “It’s unfortunate that incidents like this occur but through communication and sharing of information, we can help people understand the whole story. We understand that something like this has an impact on all parties involved,” Lansing police chief Ellery Sosobee said in the statement. “As the Chief of Police, I want to apologize that this incident had such an effect on this young man and his family,” he added. “I’m asking for the community to consider all the facts of the situation before making a judgment.” A statement from Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said police “made a mistake in detaining the wrong person during a vehicle theft investigation.” “I join Chief Sosebee in offering my apologies to the young man and to his family,” he added. Police remain “in contact” with the boy’s family and are “providing resources and support for any trauma” as a result of the incident, according to the mayor’s office. “Our officers do their absolute best to protect Lansing, but in this case a mistake was made and we own it and apologise to those affected,” he said. “As mayor, I once again offer my sincere apology to this young man.” Lawyers for the boy’s family are “exploring all legal options” including a potential lawsuit, attorneys Ayanna and Rico Neal said during a virtual press conference. The incident comes as the Detroit Police Department faces heightened scrutiny after a series of wrongful arrests of Black residents who were incorrectly targeted by facial recognition technology. Read More A Black woman says she was wrongly arrested at eight months pregnant. She’s suing over ‘mistaken’ face ID tech

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