List of All Articles with Tag 'pol'

Donald Trump appeared to stumble over his words when he was asked to state his full name and age at his arraignment on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Mr Trump arrived at the E Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse in Washington DC on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts of an alleged election hoax conspiracy that led to the January 6 riots at the US Capitol. Mr Trump, dressed in his trademark navy blue suit and red tie, entered the courtroom at 3.51pm accompanied by John Lauro, a veteran Washington-based criminal defence attorney, and Todd Blanche, the New York-based lawyer who is leading his defence in the other criminal cases against him. He was made to wait about 25 minutes before the magistrate judge entered the room at 4.15pm, and appeared nervous and fidgety. After attorneys for the government and defence introduced themselves, Mr Trump stood to take his oath from a courtroom deputy. US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya then asked the former president to state his full name. “Donald J Trump — John — Donald John Trump,” Mr Trump replied hesitantly. He was then asked for his date of birth, and tripped over his words again. At first, he said “seven seven,” before correcting himself and saying “77”. After explaining his rights to remain silent and to legal representation, and reminding him of the lengthy prison sentence he faces if convicted, Judge Upadhyaya asked Mr Trump if he understood. He replied in the affirmative. Mr Lauro then entered a plea of not guilty on all counts on his behalf. Prosecutors did not seek to detain Mr Trump, and set a date of 28 August for a first hearing before Judge Tanya Chutkan. Mr Trump is not required to attend. In comments to reporters afterwards, Mr Trump described it as a “very sad day” before claiming Washington DC had deteriorated in the two and a half years since he left office. “This was never supposed to happen in America.... if you can’t beat ‘em, you persecute them,” he said. As his motorcade returned to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, it was met with a chorus of insults from a small group of protesters. “F** you, terrorist,” one man yelled, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Andrew Restuccia. Earlier this week, Mr Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding in relation to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, who have been identified from details contained in the document as New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Mr Trump lawyer John Eastman, “Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell, former top Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and attorney Kenneth Chesebro. Mr Trump has claimed in a series of unhinged posts to Truth Social that President Biden and the US Department of Justice had “weaponised” the federal government against him. Read More Live: Trump pleads not guilty at arraignment after arrest Trump pleads not guilty to federal conspiracy charges in plot to overturn 2020 election Who is Jack Smith? The special prosecutor who just indicted Trump again

As former President Donald Trump left Washington after answering charges of trying to subvert democracy, it felt like all the previous trauma and divisions of his eight-year journey into the nation's psyche were just the start.

Justice Elena Kagan declined Thursday to outright answer the question of whether Congress could impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court, but she did allow that it could do "various things" to regulate the high court.

President Joe Biden on Thursday called for the immediate release of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum in a written statement commemorating Niger's Independence Day, saying the US "stands with the people of Niger" as the country faces a "grave challenge to its democracy."

Two Democratic lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee legislature earlier this year after angering the Republican majority

The two young, Black Tennessee state House Democrats whose expulsion sparked a nationwide controversy in April, will win reelection on Thursday, CNN projects.

Russian state prosecutors have asked a court to sentence jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny to a further 20

The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he would turn over evidence that money from crime found

The US is considering putting troops on commercial vessels in critical Middle East waterways to prevent Iranian seizures, a US official familiar with the plans said Thursday, a decision that could bring US and Iranian forces closer to direct confrontation.

The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged Thursday that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin, according prosecutors investigating the son for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering. Nicolás Petro, who was a legislator representing a northern coastal region, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the probe after being charged Tuesday. Prosecutor Mario Andrés Burgos, who heads the investigation, said the younger Petro has revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into his own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombia's first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said. On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolás Petro, 36, pleaded innocent to the charges, but agreed to cooperate with authorities. The case has come at a time when Colombia’s president is losing popularity and has been exposed to attacks by opposition parties, which have become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with his legislative agenda. The investigation stems from a shocking declaration made by the son's former wife, Daysuris Vásquez, to local news magazine Semana in March. Vasquez said she was present at meetings where Nicolás Petro arranged a 600 million peso ($150,000) donation from a politician who was once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who wanted to contribute to Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign. She accused her ex-husband of pocketing the money and said that the father’s presidential campaign had no knowledge of the donation. On Thursday, prosecutors said the “resources” in the case were around $270,000 that was delivered by Samuel Santander Lopesierra and Gabriel Hilsaca to Nicolás Petro. Lopesierra was convicted and extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced for drug trafficking. Hilsaca is the son of Alfonso Hilsaca, who is currently being prosecuted on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy in Colombia. Burgos said the president’s son has promised to deliver audio recordings and documentary evidence that would corroborate that part of the money he received was used to finance his father’s electoral campaign without being duly reported to authorities.. Prosecutors also accused Vásquez of co-operating in the money laundering scheme and said she helped her husband hide thousands of dollars in cash in suitcases that the couple kept at their home. The couple, who no longer live together, were arrested Saturday and have been held at the headquarters of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Bogota. Thursday’s hearing was held to hear arguments on whether Nicolás Petro’s detention should be switched to house arrest. The president has said he would not interfere with the investigation, and wrote a message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he said he hoped his son would “reflect on his mistakes.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Panama Canal foresees its income falling after shipping limited due to a drought Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to temporarily stay in place as case plays out New Zealand to boost its defense capabilities as it faces increasing tensions in the Pacific

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals will allow the Biden administration to carry out a controversial asylum policy that a district court judge had blocked last week, putting that injunction -- a ruling the judge had put on hold for two weeks -- on pause for longer while the case is appealed.

Two days is all President Xi Jinping has spent outside his country this year, as mounting domestic problems