Nigerian Bonds Surge After Central Bank Chief’s Weekend Ouster
Nigeria’s international debt surged after the weekend ouster of the central bank governor, which will allow the nation’s
2023-06-12 15:59
Wales adoptees hope to break taboo of identity struggle
A podcast featuring Welsh adoptees aims to tackle myths about adoption.
2023-06-12 13:55
Biparjoy: India state on alert over 'extremely severe' cyclone
Cyclone Biparjoy is likely to hit parts of India's Gujarat state on 15 June, the weather office has said.
2023-06-12 13:24
Shooting leaves 1 dead and 6 others hurt after uninvited guests showed up to a 19-year-old's birthday party in northern California, police say
An 18-year-old woman was killed and six others were wounded in a shooting at a birthday party in Antioch, California, early Sunday morning, police said.
2023-06-12 12:51
US House Speaker McCarthy hopes to 'get back on right track' after Conservative revolt
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday he hoped to get back on the right track after
2023-06-12 09:24
UK immigration: No clear case for routinely accepting Albania asylum claims - MPs
But more needs to be done to support the Albanian victims of people smuggling, a report finds.
2023-06-12 09:23
Arikomban: How two states are struggling to contain a rice-loving elephant
Authorities attempt to find a permanent habitat for it as activists criticise its "brutal" treatment.
2023-06-12 08:56
Belgium's Africa Museum rethinks its relationship with Congo
The 125-year-old institution is teaching a new generation of Belgians a different history.
2023-06-12 08:46
4 people shot during a funeral procession near Chicago, police say
A spray of bullets aimed at a funeral procession in a Chicago suburb left four men injured, one critically, according to police.
2023-06-12 06:52
Senator Ron Johnson falsely claims that Trump declined to prosecute Hillary Clinton
A GOP senator used a bit of alternative history to paint the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute Donald Trump as improper and politically motivated on Sunday. Ron Johnson was speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with host Maria Bartiromo when he made the claim that the twice-impeached former Republican president had, in fact, decided against directing the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton, the opponent he famously vowed to “lock up” countless times on the campaign trail. "[President Gerald] Ford decided it was best for America to not pursue prosecution against [President Richard] Nixon. President Trump pretty much made the same decision, decided not to pursue any kind of prosecution of Hillary Clinton,” said Mr Johnson. “Joe Biden could have made the same decision. He didn't,” added the senator. There were a couple of important issues with Mr Johnson’s assertion, however. Number one, Mr Ford did not direct the Justice Department to end a criminal investigation into his predecessor; instead, he pardoned Mr Nixon for any crimes he committed while in office, making a prosecution moot. Mr Trump hardly extended that same gesture to Ms Clinton. In fact, the Department of Justice closed the investigation into the Democratic secretary of State on two separate occasions, both before Mr Trump ever took office. The final end to that probe occurred two days before Mr Trump’s 2016 election victory, after the FBI had made the controversial decision to reopen the investigation with just days to go in the race. Mr Johnson’s apparent assertion that Mr Biden should consider pardoning Mr Trump for crimes he may have committed is the latest in an emerging line of half-hearted defences of the former president by Republicans aligned with the party’s establishment. Others, like Ohio’s new senator, JD Vance, have rejected the idea that any crimes could have been committed at all. Those more forceful arguments align more closely with the former president’s own; Mr Trump has loudly insisted that he is not guilty of the numerous allegations levied against him in the DoJ’s indictment, including witness tampering and violations of the Espionage Act. He also faces a separate set of criminal charges in New York stemming from a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Lindsey Graham ties himself in knots trying to defend Trump over classified documents indictment ‘It’s making them angrier’: North Carolina Republicans rally around Trump after indictment Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences
2023-06-12 06:16
Trump savages Bill Barr three times in sprawling interview with Roger Stone
After attacking his former attorney general on Truth Social earlier in the day for his assessment that he is “toast” following his federal indictment, Donald Trump lashed out at Bill Barr three times during a sprawling interview on Roger Stone’s first radio show. Having called him a “gutless pig” online and told his followers to switch off Fox News anytime Mr Barr is a guest, the former president kept the attacks going during his chat with Mr Stone on WABC. Mr Barr gave a devastating assessment of the indictment of the president in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case during an appearance on Fox News earlier on Sunday 11 June. Speaking about the indictment, the former president took his first shot at Mr Barr: “This thing is a disgrace and virtually everybody other than a lowlife like Bill Barr, who, as you know, I terminated because he was gutless. He wouldn’t do what you’re supposed to do. But everybody says this is a disgraceful indictment.” Mr Stone asked a little later in the interview: “Do you believe that former Attorney General Bill Barr is in fact part of the Deep State?” Mr Trump demurred from calling his former attorney general that, but said: “I think he’s a coward who didn’t do his job.” He added: “We had unbelievable people, as you know, in the administration. But we also had some that we got wrong. And Bill Barr was a mistake.” As usual, Mr Trump got personal with his criticism of one of his chief detractors who made a point of noting in his interview on Fox News Sunday that he had defended the former president on numerous occasions. Said Mr Trump: “And now he goes and he sits down — if they can find a chair for him, because it’s not that easy — and he sits down and he just bloviates and it’s disgraceful.” “It’s actually unpatriotic. It’s so bad for our country, just so bad. But, you know, he’s got a lot of hatred,” he added. Before the end of the 45-minute interview, which covered a wide range of topics from UFOs to Melania Trump to Ron DeSantis, in addition to the indictment, the former president got one more shot in. He said: “When I talk about a slob like Bill Barr, just a stupid person in a lot of ways, this is really not the standard. We’ve had tremendously successful people. But some we haven’t and you know, we cannot afford to have cowards. We need strong people, because our country is going to hell.” Mr Stone and Mr Trump both made a point of telling the former president’s supporters to protest peacefully if they come to the courthouse on Tuesday for his first hearing. Read More ‘If even half of it is true, he is toast’: Bill Barr gives devastating view of Trump indictment on Fox News Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences Jim Jordan rejects Trump’s statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-06-12 05:45
Lindsey Graham ties himself in knots trying to defend Trump over classified documents indictment
Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again ally in the Senate issued a half-hearted defence of the former president on Sunday as Republicans across Washington issued varied responses to the federal indictment against the former president. Sen Lindsey Graham was on ABC’s This Week, where he received a grilling by host George Stephanopoulos about the allegations in the Justice Department’s 37-count indictment, unsealed last week. In one exchange, the South Carolina senator blew up and demanded that he be allowed to finish his remark after Stephanopoulos, attempting to get him back on track, interrupted his spiel about Hillary Clinton and a private email server she used to store data during her time as secretary of State, in violation of federal rules. “You didn't answer the question," Stephanopoulos shot back. "Well, yeah, I'm trying to answer the question from a Republican point of view. That may not be acceptable on this show,” Mr Graham complained in response. He would go on to argue that many Republicans, including apparently Mr Graham himself, see the Justice Department as applying two different standards to Donald Trump and his Democratic rivals like Joe Biden, who was found to have a small trove of classified documents dating back to his time as vice president at his home and office, as well as Ms Clinton, who was investigated by the FBI for her use of the private server. "Most Republicans believe we live in a country where Hillary Clinton did very similar things, and nothing happened to her,” he argued. "Whether you like Trump or not, he did not commit espionage," Mr Graham continued. "He is not a spy. He's overcharged. Did he do things wrong? Yes, he may have. He will be tried about that. But Hillary Clinton wasn't." There are a few facts that undermine the assertion that Mr Trump and his Democratic allies are (or should be) on the same playing field. For one, all indications point to the idea that Mr Trump and his team delayed and fought federal authorities for months after the trove of documents was discovered, only yielding the bulk of them during an FBI raid. Secondly, as secretary of state, Ms Clinton’s records would not fall under the authority of the Presidential Records Act. And thirdly, the FBI investigated Ms Clinton for months in a politically damaging probe that is widely thought to have contributed to her defeat to Donald Trump in 2016, even if it did not eventually end in criminal charges. There are also the other serious allegations that Mr Graham did not discuss, including witness tampering, which only tangentially relate to the ex-president’s choice to retain records and documents from his administration. Mr Graham went on in the interview to reassert that he was still supporting Mr Trump’s third bid for the presidency, even though he would not defend the specific behaviour alleged in the Justice Department’s indictment which he appeared to dismiss entirely as a hit job. His comments are just the latest in a long line of defences for Mr Trump, whose political future he has also vocally opposed on at least two separate occasions, including in the runup to the 2016 Republican nominating convention as well as the immediate aftermath of January 6. The South Carolina senator is considered a case study of the Republican Party’s evolution under Mr Trump, which continues to force many of the ex-president’s former detractors to return to his embrace in order to protect their political futures. Read More What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing ‘If even half of it is true, he is toast’: Bill Barr gives devastating view of Trump indictment on Fox News Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences
2023-06-12 03:57