Pence calls on DoJ not to indict Trump but stops short of saying he’d pardon him if elected in 2024
Mike Pence has called on the Justice Department to not prosecute Donald Trump for his handling of classified documents but refused to say he would pardon the former president if he won the White House. The former vice president told a CNN town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, that he viewed the handling of classified material as “a very serious matter” but told host Dana Bash that federal prosecutors should leave Mr Trump alone. “I would hope not, I really would,” he said when asked if the DoJ special counsel Jack Smith should indict Mr Trump over the documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “I think it would be terribly divisive to the country at a time when the American people are hurting. This kind of action by the DoJ would only fuel further division in the country and send a terrible message to the wider world…I hope the DoJ thinks better of it and resolves this in a better way than an indictment,” he continued. Mr Pence told the audience that “no one is above the law” and admitted that he himself had no business having some classified documents at his home in Indiana. “I took full responsibility for it. I would hope there would be a way to move forward without the dramatic, drastic steps of indicting a former president of the United States.” Bash then directly asked Mr Pence, who earlier in the day officially launched his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, if as president he would pardon Mr Trump if he was convicted. “I don’t want to speak about hypotheticals. I am not sure I am going to be elected president of the United States but I believe we have a fighting chance,” he said. Mr Pence was also asked to respond to Mr Trump’s claim he would pardon anyone convicted of taking part in the violent January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. “You know on January 6 I issued a tweet demanding that people leave the Capitol and end the violence and said those who didn’t should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and I believe that today,” he said. “We cannot ever allow what happened on January 6 to ever happen again. I have no interest or intention of pardoning those who assaulted police officers or vandalized the capitol.” Read More Mike Pence news – live: At CNN town hall Pence says he won’t pardon Jan 6 protesters who called for his death Mike Pence isn’t even a contender for 2024. Why are we pretending? Pence accuses Trump of treating abortion issue as an ‘inconvenience’
2023-06-08 09:58
Tensions erupt in House GOP as party leaders squabble over hardliners' demands
A conservative revolt paralyzing the House has set off a bitter blame game among the upper ranks of GOP leadership, with top Republicans scrambling to defuse internal tensions that have spilled out into public view -- and take some of the heat off themselves.
2023-06-08 08:55
Japan Economy Grows at Faster Pace as Businesses Spend More
Japan’s economy expanded at a faster pace than initially estimated as businesses ramped up spending, a positive development
2023-06-08 08:21
Biden vetoes bill blocking student loan forgiveness program
President Joe Biden officially vetoed legislation Wednesday that would block his student loan forgiveness program, blasting lawmakers who supported the bill for what he called an "unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents."
2023-06-08 07:54
Justice Department informs Trump he is target in classified documents probe, sources say
The Justice Department recently informed Donald Trump's legal team that he is a target in a federal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, a sign that prosecutors may be moving closer to indicting the former president.
2023-06-08 07:29
Steve Bannon subpoenaed in January 6 probe
Steve Bannon, a right-wing podcast host and former White House adviser to Donald Trump, was subpoenaed to provide documents and testimony to a federal grand jury investigating January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter.
2023-06-08 07:24
What to know about the Florida grand jury in the Trump documents probe
We learned this week that special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating former President Donald Trump for potentially mishandling classified documents, is using a second grand jury in Miami to gather new evidence.
2023-06-08 06:17
Get ready for more of this smoke
Millions of people from the Midwest to the Northeast and down to the mid-Atlantic are looking at an unhealthy smoky haze slowly drifting down from Canada. Schools and activities are being canceled in an effort to protect those most at risk. And there's not much anyone can do about it.
2023-06-08 05:58
Christie on Trump: 'Turns out I was wrong'
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday he was "wrong" about former President Donald Trump, whom he twice supported and advised ahead of the 2020 election.
2023-06-08 04:57
Massive fire as Sudanese factions battle for control of arms factory
KHARTOUM (Reuters) -A massive fire broke out on Wednesday near a military complex containing an arms factory in southern Khartoum
2023-06-08 04:55
DeSantis news – latest: Conservative and independent millionaires back Florida governor over Trump, says poll
Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, is recommending criminal charges against those involved with flights that sent 49 mostly Venezuelan migrants from El Paso to Martha’s Vineyard last year, what was widely derided as a political stunt orchestrated by Florida governor Ron DeSantis. A statement from the sheriff’s office says it has completed an investigation launched last September and recommended several counts of unlawful restraint, both misdemeanours and felonies, to the office of the Bexar County district attorney. Meanwhile, Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady and the wife of the aspiring Republican presidential candidate, has been branded a “Walmart Melania” after she wore a leather jacket emblazoned with a map of the Sunshine State, an alligator and the legend “Where woke goes to die” during a campaign stop in Iowa to promote her husband. Elsewhere, a Vice documentary about the candidate’s earlier career as a US Navy lawyer serving at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba has been mysteriously dropped from Showtime’s schedules, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with no explanation given. Read More Federal judge blocks DeSantis ban on gender-affirming care for Florida trans youth: ‘Gender identity is real’ Chris Christie gave Trump legitimacy. Now he can’t stop Trump in 2024 Mike Pence suffered the wrath of Trump. Now the ex-vice president wants his old boss’s job in 2024
2023-06-08 04:20
Missouri governor signs gender-affirming care ban for minors and anti-trans sports bill
Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed into law two bills targeting the rights of transgender people in the state, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and a prohibition on trans women and girls from playing on sports teams that align with their gender.
2023-06-08 04:00