
Jack Smith says Jan 6 was ‘unprecedented assault’ on democracy as grand jury indicts Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a statement that the insurrection on January 6 was an “unprecedented assault” on democracy. The prosecutor spoke following the indictment of former President Donald Trump in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Mr Smith said the indictment “sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full”. “The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” he added. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government – the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.” “The men and women of law enforcement who defended the US Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they're the very best of us,” the special counsel said. “They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it, they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people.” Mr Smith added: “They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States.” A grand jury in Washington, DC voted to indict Mr Trump on four counts on Tuesday, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The indictment states that Mr Trump took part in a “conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government”. It states that he conspired to “corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified” and orchestrated a “conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted”. On Tuesday evening, Mr Smith said, “Since the attack on our capital, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day”. “This case is brought consistent with that commitment and our investigation of other individuals continues,” he added. “In this case, my office will seek a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens. In the meantime, I must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” Prosecutors claim that Mr Trump had six co-conspirators, five of which were attorneys. Mr Trump and the “co-conspirators used knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes for the Defendant’s opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for the Defendant,” the indictment states. They also argue that Mr Trump “pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote; disenfranchise millions of voters; dismiss legitimate electors; and ultimately, cause the ascertainment of and voting by illegitimate electors”. Mr Smith ended his statement by thanking “the members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who are working on this investigation with my office, as well as the many career prosecutors and law enforcement agents from around the country who have worked on previous January 6 investigations. “These women and men are public servants of the very highest order and it is a privilege to work alongside them.” Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump faces four criminal charges in indictment over 2020 election interference Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for Jack Smith’s office to be defunded amid Trump indictment DeSantis calls new Trump indictment ‘unfair’ - while pushing his own campaign
2023-08-02 06:48

North Korea criticises US human rights envoy as 'wicked, mudslinging'
By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL North Korea denounced the new U.S. special envoy on the country's human rights issues,
2023-08-02 06:47

RNC to impose stricter criteria for candidates to make the second debate stage in September
Republican presidential candidates seeking to make the second debate stage in September will face tougher criteria for doing so, according to a person familiar with the new rules.
2023-08-02 06:28

Environmentalists sue to stop Utah potash mine that produces sought-after crop fertilizer
Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of a new potash mine they say would devastate a lake ecosystem in the drought-stricken western Utah desert
2023-08-02 06:27

BNSF train engineers offered paid sick time and better schedules in new deal
Roughly 7,500 BNSF train engineers may get up to eight days of paid sick time and more predictable schedules if they approve a deal with the railroad announced Tuesday
2023-08-02 06:26

Video footage, teamwork with police helped find man accused of firing at Jewish school in Memphis
A Jewish security organization says information from video surveillance cameras, a close relationship with police and years of work to bolster safety measures kept a man with a gun out of a Jewish school
2023-08-02 06:25

US pistol brace rule likely illegal, federal appeals court rules
(In paragraph 2, please read "A 2-1 panel" instead of "In a unanimous decision." Corrects vote. In paragraph 10, please
2023-08-02 06:24

Explainer-What is the 'fake electors' scheme Trump supporters tried after his 2020 loss?
By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON A federal indictment of Donald Trump issued on Tuesday included a charge that the
2023-08-02 06:19

Body of Goldman Sachs banker pulled from NYC creek after he vanished from concert
The body of a Goldman Sachs staffer has been pulled from a New York City waterway nearly three days after he vanished from a concert venue. Twenty-seven-year-old John Castic was last seen at a concert at The Brooklyn Mirage in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of East Williamsburg. The NYPD said earlier this week that Castic, originally from Illinois, left the venue around 3am on Saturday. His father, Jeffrey Castic, told Fox News Digital that his body was found floating in a section of Newtown Creek on Tuesday afternoon less than two miles from where he vanished. “They have found his body and confirmed it’s him,” Mr Castic told the outlet. “It appears to have been death by misadventure. His wallet and phone were found on him.” Castic’s body was first noticed by a passerby who alerted law enforcement. NYPD Harbor units then responded to the scene and recovered his remains. Castic graduated DuPaul University in 2020 and went on to work at different firms before joining Goldman Sachs as a senior analyst in August 2022. “He was so smart but, in the end, he did something dumb, and it cost him,” Mr Castic told Fox. “We think he might have been impaired, we do not know, and it was just a lapse of judgment.” Law enforcement does not suspect foul play at this time, according to The New York Post. Castic’s friend Sara Kostecka told the outlet that the young man was an “amazing friend.” “He is very charismatic, high-energy with a good sense of humor,” Ms Kostecka told the Post. “Whatever happened, he did not deserve this.” Read More Ira Sachs wanted to make 'a film of intimacy.' It got him an NC-17 rating Rex Heuermann’s defence buried in mountain of evidence as he faces court in Gilgo Beach murders case Lori Vallow - update: ‘Cult mom’ smirks in new mug shot after denying murders in bizarre sentencing statement
2023-08-02 05:58

Trump campaign calls latest indictment part of political 'witch hunt.' Follow live updates
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement calling the third indictment of the former president “nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter” in what the campaign characterized as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
2023-08-02 05:58

Donald Trump indictment: Ex-president charged for efforts to overturn 2020 election
A special prosecutor accuses the former US president of "prolific lies about election fraud".
2023-08-02 05:57

Factbox-What Trump allies faced criminal charges?
WASHINGTON Even as former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted for a third time on Tuesday, numerous people
2023-08-02 05:56