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Alex Murdaugh’s accomplice and friend Corey Fleming is now cooperating with the FBI over the convicted killer’s scheme to steal millions of dollars from his dead housekeeper’s family. Fleming, a longtime friend and law school classmate of the disgraced legal scion, accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors this week over his involvement in Murdaugh’s financial fraud schemes. He appeared in federal court in South Carolina on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. At the court hearing, Fleming confessed that he had taken part in one of Murdaugh’s financial schemes – and admitted that he knew what he was doing when he did so. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh orchestrated a financial fraud scheme which included stealing almost $4.3m from the estate of Gloria Satterfield and its insurance carriers. Satterfield was the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious “trip and fall” accident at the prominent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate in South Carolina in 2018 – the same property where Murdaugh shot dead his wife Maggie and adult son Paul three years later. Following her death, Murdaugh recommended that Satterfield’s sons hire his friend and fellow attorney Fleming to represent them in bringing a wrongful death claim against him, so that they could collect from his homeowner’s insurance policies. The insurance companies ultimately settled the estate’s claim for more than $4m – two payments of $505,000 and $3.8m. Murdaugh and Fleming then stole the settlement money for themselves and the housekeeper’s sons didn’t get a dime. Much of the stolen money was funneled through a fake “Forge” bank account which sought to imitate the legitimate and totally unrelated business Forge Consulting. In accepting the plea deal, Fleming admitted that he helped Murdaugh steal the insurance money meant for Satterfield’s sons and has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and US Attorney’s office in the case. He has also agreed to submit to polygraph tests and to turn over his law licences in South Carolina and Georgia. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced at a later date. He was released Thursday on a $25,000 unsecured bond. He is also facing separate state charges over the Satterfield case. Ronnie Richter, an attorney representing the Satterfield family, welcomed Fleming’s guilty plea. “This was a good day for justice because this is the first time anyone associated with the Satterfield case has pleaded guilty to anything,” he said. Fleming’s plea deal comes the same week that Murdaugh was indicted on a slew of new charges over their scheme. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury had returned a 22-count indictment against the 54-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The convicted killer was already awaiting trial on more than 100 financial crimes charges over a decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme where Murdaugh stole millions from his law firm and legal clients – a scheme he confessed to orchestrating when he took the stand at his murder trial. But, now he has been hit with a further 22 charges for what prosecutors describe as three separate schemes to steal money from personal injury clients he represented through his law firm. As well as the scheme with Fleming, prosecutors allege that Murdaugh ran a second scheme from at least September 2005 to September 2021, where he allegedly routed and redirected clients’ settlement funds into his own pocket including by directing his law firm colleagues to pay the funds directly into his personal account. In the third scheme, Murdaugh and his banker Russell Laffitte allegedly conspired from July 2011 to October 2021 to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Laffitte, who was CEO of Palmetto State Bank at the time, acted as Murdaugh’s personal banker and as a custodian or conservator for some of his law firm clients. Laffitte then conspired to defraud those clients, with the two men diverting the money to themselves. Laffitte was convicted in November of financial fraud charges in connection to Murdaugh’s alleged white collar fraud schemes. Murdaugh faces up to 30 years in prison on the highest charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the new indictment. His other financial charges already amount to more than 700 years in prison if convicted. Even without the financial charges, Murdaugh will already spend the remainder of his life in prison after he was found guilty on 2 March of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul on the family’s Moselle property back on 7 June 2021. Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison the day after the verdict. Satterfield, who worked for the family for more than 20 years, was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the family’s home. She never resumed consciousness and died from her injuries three weeks later on 26 February. At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall. However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out. Questions have been swirling around Satterfield’s death for the past few years as the string of deaths, stolen money and corruption surrounding Murdaugh came to light. In September 2021, an investigation was reopened into her death and investigators said they planned to exhume her body. Satterfield’s death isn’t the only mystery death tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. A homicide investigation has also been opened into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in the middle of a road in Hampton County. The openly gay 19-year-old had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But Smith’s family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours. At the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Alex Murdaugh indicted on 22 new financial fraud charges for stealing money from dead housekeeper’s family Audio reveals Alex Murdaugh blaming dogs for housekeeper’s death – after he walked back claim five years later Stephen Smith’s body is exhumed after murder near Murdaugh home – as family offers $35k reward to catch killer

The horrifying case of four University of Idaho students butchered in an off-campus home has taken another dramatic twist after it emerged that the parents of their accused killer are testifying in a separate case thousands of miles away in Pennsylvania. In a bombshell development this week, it emerged that Bryan Kohberger’s parents have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigating the disappearance and death of mother-of-three Dana Smithers. Smithers, 45, was last seen alive in May 2022. Her remains were finally discovered last month, with her cause of death still a mystery. It remains unclear what connection – if any – her disappearance and death may have to Mr Kohberger, who was living close to Smithers at the time she vanished. But multiple reports have revealed that Mr Kohberger’s parents Michael and Maryann Kohberger have been ordered to testify in the case. A source told CNN that the accused killer’s mother has already given evidence to the grand jury while his father is expected to testify on Thursday. Any information in the case can then be turned over to prosecutors in Idaho who have charged Mr Kohberger with the quadruple murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. While many questions remain unanswered, here’s what we know about Dana Smithers and what happened to the mother-of-three. Mysterious disappearance In May 2022, Smithers vanished without a trace from Monroe County – the same county in Pennsylvania where Mr Kohberger was living at the time before moving cross-country to Washington state in the summer to pursue a graduate degree program in criminal justice. A ring video camera captured Smithers leaving a neighbour’s house at around 11.05pm on 28 May, holding her cellphone in her hand. She was never seen alive again. What was especially odd was that Smithers’ cellphone, wallet and daily medication were all found at her home. Earlier that day, Smithers and her youngest daughter, 7, had gone to a local festival at the Happy Hour Bar and Grille in Stroudsburg with her daughter’s father. Smithers’ sister Stacey told NBC’s Dateline in December that the couple were no longer together but were still on good terms. At the festival, Smithers appeared to be having a good time, dancing and saying hello to people. The three later returned to the home that Smithers, her daugher and Smithers’ mother shared. Later that night, best friend Tara Cioni said that Smithers called into her home to hang out. The two women lived just a couple of doors down from each other and would often just stop by to see each other on an evening. “We’re best friends. She’s been my neighbor for 16 years. We’ve raised our children together,” Ms Cioni told Dateline. “It was an open door policy, like, with her. So she came in and she was here for a little bit.” Ms Cioni said that, in hindsight, she wonders if something was troubling her friend that night. Smithers – who had a history of substance abuse – was smoking, something she only did if she was “nervous” or on edge. Ms Cioni said that Smithers later asked her if she wanted to come back to her house to hang out but she was tired so said she was going to bed. That was the last time anyone saw her. “If I would have known that was the last time I would have seen her, I would have definitely asked more questions but I was sort of like, ‘I’m going to bed,’” she said. Looking back, she said that she doesn’t think Smithers was using drugs again. “I really don’t think it was that,” she said. Her sister added that Smithers had recently had her medication adjusted and appeared to be “getting much better” at the time. It was the following morning when Smithers’ mother realised her daughter had not come home that night. Initially, the family wasn’t too concerned as Stacey said the 45-year-old had stayed out all night in the past. But, when she didn’t show up for Memorial Day celebrations with the family on 30 May, they knew something must be wrong. Smithers and her children, aged 25, 23 and 7, had a family tradition to go to Knoebels Park in Pennsylvania ever Memorial Day. “She would not have missed Memorial Day,” said Stacey, adding that she would also never have left her youngest child for that long. “She didn’t do anything that didn’t involve her kids,” she said. “That was her thing. I mean she was always there with the kids.” Smithers was finally reported missing days later after Stacey said law enforcement initially didn’t take her disappearance seriously. In June, the Pennsylvania State Police and local police carried out searches with cadaver dogs at Glen Park in Stroudsburg – a heavily wooded area close to her home. The search did not turn up anything and the case went cold for months. A missing persons report described Smithers as a 45-year-old white female, 5 foot 5 inches, approximately 165 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and last seen wearing black jeans with a burgundy shirt. For almost a year, the mother-of-three’s family desperately searched for answers and Smither’s case featured in an episode of NBC’s Dateline in December 2022 – one month after the four students were murdered in Idaho. Stacey feared the worst, saying: “I think something happened. I don’t think she’s here anymore.” Remains found Almost one year later – on 27 April – Smithers’ remains were found in a wooded area in Stroudsburg. Stroud Area Regional Police said that a Borough employee had discovered decomposing human remains in a wooded area close to Park Avenue in the Borough of Stroudsburg. Due to extensive decomposition, the gender and identity of the individual was unclear at the time. Using dental records, the remains were later identified as belonging to Smithers. Her cause and manner of death is not yet known. What is Bryan Kohberger’s connection to the case? There are many unanswered questions around what happened to Smithers – and what it may have to do with Mr Kohberger. It is currently unclear why Mr Kohberger’s parents Michael and Maryann Kohberger have been called to testify in the case. A lawyer for Mr Kohberger’s parents tried to have the subpoenas cancelled but was unsuccessful, the source told CNN. Pennsylvania judges will be permitted to share transcripts of the grand jury witness testimony with law enforcement agencies across the country in Idaho. At the time of Smithers’ disappearance in May 2022, Mr Kohberger was also living in Monroe County with his family. That summer, he then moved cross-country to Pullman for a graduate program in criminal justice at Washington State University (WSU). A few months later on 13 November, he allegedly broke into an off-campus student home just over the border in Moscow, Idaho, and murdered the four college students. He was back at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains for the holidays when police swooped and arrested him for the quadruple murders on 30 December. In that case, it remains unclear what motive and what connection Mr Kohberger may have had to the victims. And now, in Smithers’ case, a possible link also remains unclear. Mr Kohberger is said to have a solid alibi for Smithers’ disappearance and is likely not connected to her death, a source told Eyewitness News. But the grand jury investigation is still ongoing and no findings have been revealed. Back in January, Stacey posted an update on the Facebook page “Finding Dana” saying that many people had contacted her about a possible link between her sister’s disappearance and the Idaho murders. “Thank you to everyone who has been reaching out recently regarding the possibility of the suspect in the horrific murders in Idaho having been in our area around the time of my sister, Dana’s disappearance,” she wrote. “I have forwarded all of your suggestions on to local law enforcement. Please pray for everyone involved.” However, it comes following a report that one of the accused killer’s older sisters grew increasingly suspicious that her brother could have been involved in the Idaho murders prior to his arrest. Her suspicions were so great that – at one point – several family members searched Mr Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra for possible evidence of the crime when the family gathered to spend the holidays together, sources told NBC’s Dateline. They found nothing but investigators had already allegedly seen Mr Kohberger scrubbing his car with bleach. Read More Bryan Kohberger – live: Idaho murders suspect’s parents secretly testify over woman found dead in Pennsylvania Idaho murders suspect’s parents ordered to testify in case of missing woman found dead last month Families of slain University of Idaho students prepare to sue college over murders

The parents of Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have been subpoenaed to testify before an investigative grand jury in the family’s home state of Pennsylvania, says a report. Mr Kohberger’s father is expected to testify before the grand jury in a sealed proceeding in Monroe County on Thursday, a source told CNN. It was not immediately clear in what potential crime they were being investigated. His mother has already given evidence to the grand jury, the source told the news outlet and added that their testimony, which will be given under oath, may be shared with Idaho prosecutors. Meanwhile, the families of two of the slain University of Idaho students are preparing to sue the university, Washington State University and the city of Moscow over their murders, it has been revealed. It comes after their accused killer Mr Kohberger appeared in court for his arraignment in Latah County Court in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday. Mr Kohberger is accused of killing Goncalves, Mogen, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November in a horror attack that rocked the college town of Moscow and sent shockwaves across America. Read More Bryan Kohberger’s sister searched his car for evidence before police swooped in There was a glaring mistake at the Idaho murders hearing Bryan Kohberger allegedly broke into female student’s home and spied on her months before Idaho murders Who is Bryan Kohberger? The criminology graduate being arraigned over the Idaho college murders

A Family Feud participant is facing trial in Illinois for allegedly breaking into his estranged wife’s home and fatally shooting her in a vicious attack. Tim Bliefnick, 39, is charged with first-degree murder and home invasion in connection with the violent death of his 41-year-old wife Becky Bliefnick. Investigators say the couple was going through a contentious divorce that was in its final stages at the time of Bliefnick’s fatal shooting on 23 February. During the ongoing murder trial at the Adam’s County Courthouse in Quincy, prosecutors have presented evidence and witness testimony that they said prove Mr Bleifnick pried open his wife’s second-storey window with a crowbar before shooting her 14 times, KHQA reports. The tragedy comes nearly three years after Mr Bliefnick made an ominous joke during his appearance at ABC’s Family Feud. Answering a question by host Steve Harvey on what his worst mistake had been on his wedding night, Mr Bliefnick said that it was saying “I do” — the answer was second on the board. Now, the alleged murderer is facing between 45 years to life in prison if convicted for the shooting of his wife and the mother of his three children. In an obituary for Bliefnick, she is described as a compassionate and generous mother who had found her true calling in nursing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Bliefnick was a travel nurse at the Northeast Regional Medical Center and Hannibal Regional Hospital in Missouri. Loved ones first became concerned when Bliefnick failed to pick up her sons from school. Her body was then found on the floor in the bathroom of her home, with a towel underneath. Bliefnick was left “terrified, bleeding, and alone” after the fatal attack, prosecutors said on the first day of the trial on Monday. In March, the Quincy Police Department served a search warrant at Mr Bleifnick’s home. At the time, he denied any involvement with the crime and said through an attorney that he was surprised authorities didn’t show up at his door sooner. “Given the circumstances, it is not surprising that the search warrant was issued and executed,” the attorney told local news outlet Muddy River News. “My only surprise is that it took this long to do. It is just as important that QPD conduct such as investigation to rule Tim OUT as a suspect so that investigative efforts can be spent elsewhere.” Mr Bliefnick has since entered a not-guilty plea. Prosecutors have revealed during the first week of trial that they found chilling searches for “how to wash off gunpowder,” “average police response time,” and “how to open a door with a crowbar.” DNA from the crime scene also links Mr Bliefnick to the crime scene, according to prosecutors. Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones told a jury of six women and six men that shell casings found in Mr Bliefnick’s basement matched the casings that were found near his wife’s body. Crime scene investigators also reportedly found Bleifnick’s DNA in an Aldi bag found at her husband’s home. The couple had filed for divorce in early 2021, court filings show. Mr Jones said during opening arguments that Mr Bliefnick had reportedly told his slain wife that “she would not get his money.” The prosecutor also told jurors that Bliefnick had texted a friend before her death that if anything happened to her, her husband was behind it. Bliefnic’s body was found by her father William Postle. Before discovering the gruesome scene, Mr Postle said that his son-in-law texted asking him to check if Bleifnick was going to pick up the children. Bliefnick’s boyfriend Ted Johnson also took the stand on Tuesday. Testifying for the prosecution, Mr Johnson said that Bliefnick was looking forward to having her difficult divorce finalised. Sarah Rilley, Bleifnick’s sister, claimed that Bleifnick had first wanted to remain married to Mr Bliefnick for their three children but in the months leading up to her death had become afraid for his life. “If something ever happens to me, make sure the number one person of interest is Tim. I am putting this in writing that I’m fearful he will somehow harm me,” Bliefnick reportedly texted her sister in 2021. Read More Police: Student fatally shot by another student outside Pittsburgh school Will releasing the Nashville school shooter’s manifesto inspire a new massacre — or prevent it? Prosecutors in Guyana mull charges for teen suspect in deadly blaze at girl's dorm

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has been indicted on a slew of new charges for stealing money from the family of his dead housekeeper. A federal grand jury returned a 22-count indictment against the 54-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh orchestrated a financial fraud scheme which stealing almost $3.5m from the estate of Gloria Satterfield and insurance carriers. Satterfield, who worked for the family for more than 20 years, died on 26 February 2018 – three weeks after she was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the Murdaugh family’s home. At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall. However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out.

The families of two of the four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in an off-campus home are now preparing to sue the college over their brutal murders, it has been revealed. An attorney representing the families of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, filed tort notices this month leaving them open to filing lawsuits within the next two years. The notices, obtained by ABC News, protect their rights to sue the University of Idaho, Washington State University – the university where accused killer Bryan Kohberger was a student – the city of Moscow and Idaho State Police. No lawsuit has been filed at this stage and the notices do not reveal what claim the families may make or how much damages they may seek. The families’ attorney Shanon Gray said that the legal move isn’t mean to do anything “other than protect the interests of the families and the victims moving forward”. “Filing a tort claims notice is really just a safeguard,” he told ABC News. “It’s a safeguard to protect the interests of the families, the victims and really the whole community around, because if something goes wrong, or was done improperly, then someone is held accountable for that.” The notices, filed in early May, come as the man accused of killing Goncalves, Mogen, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Etham Chapin, 20, appeared in court for his arraignment. Mr Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student, appeared in Latah County Court on Monday morning where he refused to enter a plea on four charges of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary. Shackled and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, the accused killer showed no emotion as the judge read out the charges and the names of the four victims who he is accused of violently killing. Mr Kohberger spoke only to answer defiantly and loudly “yes” and “yes I do” when asked if he understood the charges, maximum penalties and his rights in the court. His attorney Anne Taylor told the court that he was “standing silent” on the charges, leaving the judge to enter not guilty pleas on his behalf. Judge John Judge set Mr Kohberger’s trial date for 2 October 2023 and the prosecution now has 60 days to confirm whether or not they are seeking the death penalty. Mr Kohberger had been due to appear in court for a week-long preliminary hearing on 26 June, where the prosecution would lay out the case and evidence against the suspect. However, last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Kohberger on the charges, paving the way for the case to proceed to trial without that hearing. Mr Kohberger is accused of breaking into an off-campus student home on King Road in the early hours of 13 November and stabbing the four students to death with a large, military-style knife. Two other female roommates lived with the three women at the property and were home at the time of the massacre but survived. One of the survivors – Dylan Mortensen – came face to face with the masked killer, dressed in head to toe black and with bushy eyebrows, as he left the home in the aftermath of the murders, according to the criminal affidavit. For more than six weeks, the college town of Moscow was plunged into fear as the accused killer remained at large with no arrests made and no suspects named. Then, on 30 December, law enforcement suddenly swooped on Mr Kohberger’s family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania and arrested him for the quadruple murders. The motive remains unknown and it is still unclear what connection the WSU PhD student had to the University of Idaho students – if any – prior to the murders. However, the affidavit, released in January, revealed that Mr Kohberger’s DNA was found on a knife sheath left behind at the scene of the murders. It also revealed that his white Hyundai Elantra was caught on surveillance footage close to the crime scene. New details have emerged since about what was found during an initial search of his apartment in Pullman and a rental storage unit. The court documents show that two items found in his apartment – a mattress cover on the bed and an uncased pillow – tested positive for blood. The documents do not reveal who the blood belongs to. Investigators also seized a string of other items from his home including possible human and animal hair strands, a disposable glove and a computer. Meanwhile, the murder weapon – a fixed-blade knife – has still never been found. As a criminal justice PhD student at WSU, Mr Kohberger lived just 15 minutes from the victims over the Idaho-Washington border in Pullman. He had moved there from Pennsylvania and began his studies there that summer, having just completed his first semester before his arrest. Before this, he studied criminology at DeSales University – first as an undergraduate and then finishing his graduate studies in June 2022. Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, took this photo together hours before they died While there, he studied under renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and co-wrote the book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer with him. He also carried out a research project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime”. He is facing life in prison or the death penalty for the murders that have rocked the small college town of Moscow and hit headlines around the globe. Read More Bryan Kohberger – live: Idaho murders suspect refuses to enter plea at arraignment over student stabbings Bryan Kohberger allegedly broke into female student’s home and spied on her months before Idaho murders Four students stabbed to death, a weeks-long manhunt and still no motive: What we know about the Idaho murders

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger refused to enter a plea at his arraignment on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. The 28-year-old criminology PhD student’s arraignment was scheduled for 9am PT in Latah County Court in Moscow, Idaho. Mr Kohberger was expected to enter a plea but instead his attorney Anne Taylor said that he was “standing silent” on the charges, leaving the judge to enter not guilty pleas on his behalf. Mr Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November in a horror attack that rocked the college town of Moscow and sent shockwaves across America. The four victims were stabbed to death in an off-campus home that the three women shared with two surviving roommates. Six weeks later, Mr Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on 30 December. Investigators say that Mr Kohberger’s DNA was found on a knife sheath left behind at the crime scene. A white Hyundai Elantra – matching his – was also captured on surveillance footage driving away from the area at the time of the murders. Read More Bryan Kohberger’s sister searched his car for evidence before police swooped in There was a glaring mistake at the Idaho murders hearing Bryan Kohberger allegedly broke into female student’s home and spied on her months before Idaho murders Who is Bryan Kohberger? The criminology graduate being arraigned over the Idaho college murders

Donald Trump appeared virtually in Manhattan criminal court on 23 May for the first time since he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan disclosed the terms of a protective order that prohibits the former president from publicly discussing evidence in the case after prosecutors with the New York District Attorney’s office share information with Mr Trump’s legal team in a case stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. A trial is set to begin on 25 March 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty. Mr Trump grew agitated with the announcement of the trial date, waved his hands and shook his head in disapproval, then folded his arms in frustration as he begins to stare down what could be a weeks-long trial in a critical period in the middle of his 2024 campaign. Prosecutors have argued that a protective order was necessary to keep Mr Trump – who already has repeatedly lashed out against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan – from broadcasting information about the case before a jury has been selected and a trial begins. Mr Trump will be allowed to publicly discuss the case and defend himself in the public sphere, as he continues to adamantly reject the charges as a “witch hunt” against him, but he risks being held in contempt of court if he uses any evidence handed to his team in an attempt to target witnesses, court staff or others involved with the case. On Tuesday, the former president appeared on a video screen in front of two American flags with golden fringes, seated next to his attorney Todd Blanche. A six-page order on 8 May prohibits the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, who has used his online bully pulpit with an audience of obedient followers to broadcast veiled threats and insults at his perceived enemies, from disseminating “covered materials” on social media platforms “including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the court.” Mr Trump also cannot disclose the names and identifying information of any personnel from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, “other than sworn members of law enforcement, assistant district attorneys, and expert or fact witnesses (other than summary witnesses)” until a jury has been selected, according to the order. Mr Bagg’s office can also redact identifying information from discovery materials, the judge has said. The former president is “very concerned that his First Amendment rights are being violated by this protective order,” Mr Blanche told the judge on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not a gag order,” Judge Merchan said. “It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr Trump’s ability to campaign ... He’s certainly free to deny the charges,” he added. “He’s free to do just about anything that doesn’t violate the specific terms of this protective order.” Mr Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former owner of the National Enquirer David Pecker allegedly worked in concert to“identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects” leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors. The alleged payments were used to cover up sex scandals as part of a “conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election,” according to prosecutors. Hours after he first appeared in criminal court on 4 April, after the judge warned him against making any incendiary remarks or personal attacks, Mr Trump immediately flew back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he went on to do just that. “I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family,” he said that night. He called Mr Bragg “a local failed district attorney” and a “criminal” who should resign. The former president is at the centre of several other civil and criminal investigations, including a $250m lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, special counsel probes from the US Department of Justice into January 6 and mishandling of classified White House documents at Mar-a-Lago, and a criminal case in Georgia stemming from his attempts to pressure officials to overturn that state’s election results in 2020. Earlier this month, a federal jury found Mr Trump liable for for battery and defamation in a lawsuit from the writer E Jean Carroll, who said the former president raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Jurors agreed that Mr Trump “sexually abused” her and then defamed her when he denied her allegations. She was awarded $5m in damages for both claims. Read More Trump news - live: Trump jealously complains about Dominion payout ahead of hush money court appearance

Donald Trump appeared virtually in Manhattan criminal court on 23 May for the first time since he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan is disclosing the terms of a protective order that prohibits the former president from publicly discussing evidence in the case after prosecutors with the New York District Attorney’s office share information with Mr Trump’s legal team in a case stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. A trial is set to begin on 25 March, 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have argued that the order was necessary to keep Mr Trump – who already has repeatedly lashed out against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan – from broadcasting information about the case before a jury has been selected and a trial begins. Mr Trump will be allowed to publicly discuss the case and defend himself in the public sphere, as he continues to adamantly reject the charges as a “witch hunt” against him, but he risks being held in contempt of court if he uses any evidence handed to his team in an attempt to target witnesses, court staff or others involved with the case. On Tuesday, the former president appeared on a video screen in front of two American flags with golden fringes, seated next to his attorney Todd Blanche. A six-page order prohibits the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, who has used his online bully pulpit with an audience of obedient followers to broadcast veiled threats and insults at his perceived enemies, from disseminating “covered materials” on social media platforms “including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the court.” Mr Trump also cannot disclose the names and identifying information of any personnel from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, “other than sworn members of law enforcement, assistant district attorneys, and expert or fact witnesses (other than summary witnesses)” until a jury has been selected, according to the order. Mr Bagg’s office can also redact identifying information from discovery materials, the judge has said. The former president is “very concerned that his First Amendment rights are being violated by this protective order,” Mr Blanche told the judge on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not a gag order,” Judge Merchan said. “It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr Trump’s ability to campain ... He’s certainly free to deny the charges,” he added. “He’s free to do just about anything that doesn’t violate the specific terms of this protective order.” Mr Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former owner of the National Enquirer David Pecker allegedly worked in concert to“identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects” leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors. This is a developing story Read More Trump news - live: Trump jealously complains about Dominion payout ahead of hush money court appearance

A 19-year-old man has been charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president or their family members after allegedly ramming a truck into bollards outside a park near the White House. Sai Varshith Kandula was arrested after “intentionally” crashing a U-Haul box truck into barriers outside Lafayette Park in Washington DC at roughly 9.40pm on 22 May, according to US Park Police and US Secret Service. He has also been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. News agencies photographed police officers removing a Nazi flag from the truck and examining the flag on the ground. A black backpack and a roll of duct tape also appear to have been removed from the truck. The truck’s cargo area appeared to be empty. Mr Kandula, from the St Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, graduated from Marquette Senior High School in 2022, according to the Rockwood School District. A LinkedIn profile that appears to match that description shows an interest in a career in data analytics with experience and certification in programming and coding languages. He reportedly traveled from Missouri to Dulles International Airport, then rented the truck and drove towards the White House, law enforcement sources told ABC News. He allegedly waved the flag and shouted as he exited truck before officers arrived to detain him. Mr Kandula reportedly told law enforcement officers that he wanted seize power, take over the government and kill the president, law enforcement sources told ABC. Police have declined to publicly provide further details about the nature of the alleged attack or information about the suspect. Law enforcement officials also indicated the suspect made threatening statements during his arrest. “There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and manner of the crash remain under investigation,” Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service chief of communications, said in a statement on Monday night. The nearby Hay Adams hotel evacuated guests from the building shortly after the crash but allowed them back into the building by 1am ET. Following the crash and the release of the suspect’s name, a wave of accounts on Elon Musk’s Twitter sought to portray the incident as a “false flag” or a “hoax”, echoing similar baseless statements in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Texas mall earlier this month after the gunman was revealed as an alleged neo-Nazi with SS and swastika tattoos. Right-wing pundits including Donald Jump Jr and other personalities and account on the social media network continue to falsely suggest that news organisations are labelling the crash suspect as a “white supremacist” in an attempt to undermine both the attack and threats of white supremacist violence. This is a developing story Read More A U-haul truck, a Nazi flag and threats to kill the president: What we know about the White House crash

A former sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to at least 35 years in prison for murdering of his married girlfriend after she insulted his penis size. Jason Cunningham, 48, fatally shot 37 -year-old Nicole Harrington in the back of the head in a parking garage elevator in downtown Augusta in June 2020, authorities say. Augusta District Attorney Jared Williams said in a statement that Cunningham had become incensed after Harrington insulted “the size of his manhood”. Cunningham was then involved in an eight-hour stand-off with Columbia County deputies at a boat ramp at Clarks Hill Lake before being taken into custody. On Monday, Cunningham was sentenced to 30 years after pleading guilty to murder, and a further five years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. According to an affidavit obtained by WRDW, Cunningham claimed he had gone to meet Harrington to end their affair. He told investigators the pair started to argue, and he shot her in the head as she entered an elevator. “This was an extramarital affair in which the defendant was living a double life,” District Attorney Williams said. Cunningham resigned from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in 2018 when he tested positive for an illegal substance after he was involved in an accident while on duty, WFXG reported. Harrington, from Florida, was survived by three children. Cunningham also worked as a marketing manager for Forces United, a veterans support organisation in Georgia. Read More Family of Colorado man killed by police during mental health crisis gets $19 million settlement New video from Uvalde massacre shows police officers vomiting and sobbing after discovering victims From Donald Trump to Mike Tyson: The powerful men finally being held to account by sexual assault accusers

A man whose wife disappeared in 1998 has died by suicide just as the cold case was getting renewed attention. Jim Sweeten, 79, called police in Texas to say that he was going to take his own life. Law enforcement found him dead at his home at an RV park in Welasco, about five miles from the border with Mexico on Wednesday, according to Fox 23. The authorities said he was found in a shed with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The discovery was made just two days after the disappearance of his wife, 25 years ago, was once again in the news as police found a barrel in a body of water close to the home in Oklahoma where they had lived until she disappeared. Peggy Sweeten, a special education teacher, was 52 when she vanished. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma wrote on Facebook that “Law enforcement returned to the former Sweeten home Monday this week to conduct an underwater search and retrieve a metal barrel that was discovered a few weeks ago and could possibly have been a burn barrel that was noticed to be missing around the same time as Peggy’s disappearance. No human remains were located. This is a cold case that has been under active investigation”. When she vanished, Mr Sweeten claimed that she had left with a lover, but no evidence was found to support this theory, and he shortly stopped cooperating with the investigation. He rejected efforts to conduct a property search or take part in a polygraph test. When questioned in 2011, Mr Sweeten told officials that he thought “he should consult an attorney,” according to Valley Central. A detective wrote in an application for a search warrant that Mr Sweeten “appeared to be deceptive and evasive” and he “appeared to be attempting to find out how far the investigation had progressed and what [the investigator] knows and what direction the investigation was headed”. Police assumed that Ms Sweeten was dead as the years passed following her disappearance. She was last seen on 13 January 1998. Police shared the worry with local media that, as the investigation progressed, Mr Sweeten might kill himself or flee to Mexico, according to Fox 23. Mr Sweeten was a former Kansas superintendent who had been having an affair with a teacher from another district, according to the 2011 warrant. He filed for divorce just weeks after Ms Sweeten’s disappearance. He claimed to police that when he got back from a conference, Ms Sweeten had left him a note to say that she was leaving him, but all her belongings, including her car, clothes, and personal mementos, were left behind. There was nothing indicating that she was planning to leave. Mr Sweeten told law enforcement that his wife had met a man online, but she never used email and didn’t have an email address. Read More Thirty tonnes of explosive chemicals go missing in the Mojave Desert Oklahoma lures Enel solar panel manufacturing facility with $180M incentive package More women sue Texas, asking court to put emergency block on state's abortion law