‘Co-conspirator 1’ Rudy Giuliani flips out saying Jack Smith should be indicted for indicting Trump
Rudy Giuliani has flipped out over Donald Trump’s latest indictment on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, after he was identified as an unnamed co-conspirator in the charging documents. In a bizarre rant on right-wing network Newsmax on Tuesday night, the man said to be “co-conspirator 1” in the indictment furiously claimed that special counsel Jack Smith should be indicted for indicting Mr Trump. “The people lying are the people bringing this… They should be indicted for conspiracy against rights,” he fumed. The attorney – who is facing calls from an attorney disciplinary committee to be disbarred – went on to accuse Mr Smith of being an “unethical lawyer”. “So here’s what I say to Jack Smith,” he fumed. “After the Supreme Court threw out your case, which should have been a disgrace... you should have gone and found another profession because you don’t belong in this one.” “This one will be your legacy, violating the rights of free speech of an American citizen. Nevermind whether he was president or not.” He continued: “It could be anybody. It could be a homeless person. You don’t get to violate people’s first amendment rights, Smith. No matter who the hell you are, no matter how sick you are with Trump derangement syndrome.” In a somewhat unhinged moment, the former New York City mayor then brandished a copy of Mr Trump’s indictment to the camera before slamming it back down on the table. “This isn’t the first time you’ve acted like an unethical lawyer,” he said. “It should be the last.” On Tuesday, a grand jury which has spent months hearing evidence in special counsel Mr Smith’s investigation returned a federal indictment against the former president. Mr Trump was charged with four counts of: 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 – Mr Trump’s second federal indictment and third overall – allegedly conspired with his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election in an attempt to sabotage the vote of the American people. While the former president is the only person charged, the indictment refers to six co-conspirators who worked with him to try to overturn the election. The six individuals – four attorneys, one Justice Department official and one political consultant – have not been named in the charging documents because they have not yet been charged with any crimes. But based on the details in the indictment and records already known about the events leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, the identities of five of the six co-conspirators are clear. The individual known as co-conspirator number one appears to be former New York City mayor and Mr Trump’s former attorney Mr Giuliani. The indictment refers to co-conspirator 1 as an “attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not”. Multiple quotes attributed to co-conspirator 1 match those previously attributed to the former New York City mayor. On 6 January 2021, co-conspirator 1 left a voicemail for a US senator, according to the indictment. “We need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” he said. “I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow – ideally until the end of tomorrow.” The quotes match a previously-obtained transcript of a call made by Mr Guiliani to Senator Tommy Tuberville that day. Mr Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costelllo acknowledged to The New York Times that it “appears that Mayor Giuliani is alleged to be co-conspirator No. 1”. He went on to denounce the indictment as “election interference” and a violation of the first amendment. Mr Giuliani is widely-known to have been a key player in Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and last week admitted in a lawsuit settlement that he had made false statements about two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of rigging votes. Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case? Jack Smith held nothing back. Here’s what the Trump indictment really means Republicans rage against Jack Smith after latest indictment of Donald Trump Trump called Pence ‘too honest’ after vice president refused to join 2020 scheme Jesse Watters calls latest Trump indictment ‘political war crime’ on Fox News
2023-08-02 21:16
Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case?
Donald Trump has been hit with his third indictment – this time for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election in an attempt to thwart the vote of the American people. A grand jury, which has spent months hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, returned a federal indictment on Tuesday. The former president was charged with four counts of: 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. While the former president is the only person charged, the indictment refers to six co-conspirators who worked with him to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The six individuals – four attorneys, one Justice Department official and one political consultant – have not been named in the charging documents because they have not yet been charged with any crimes. However, based on the details in the indictment and records already known about the events leading up to the Capitol riot, the identities of five of the six co-conspirators are clear. Co-conspirator 1: Former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani The individual known as co-conspirator number one appears to be former New York City Mayor and Mr Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani – who is widely-known to be a key player in Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment refers to co-conspirator 1 as an “attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not”. Multiple quotes attributed to co-conspirator 1 match those previously attributed to the former New York City mayor. On 6 January 2021, co-conspirator 1 left a voicemail for a US senator, according to the indictment. “We need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” he said. “I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow – ideally until the end of tomorrow.” The quotes match a previously-obtained transcript of a call made by Mr Guiliani to Senator Tommy Tuberville that day. Mr Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costelllo acknowledged to The New York Times that it “appears that Mayor Giuliani is alleged to be co-conspirator No. 1”. He went on to denounce the indictment as “election interference” and a violation of the first amendment. Mr Giuliani railed against the historic indictment in an appearance on Newsmax on Tuesday night. “The people lying are the people bringing this… They should be indicted for conspiracy against rights,” he fumed. Co-conspirator 2: Former Trump lawyer John Eastman Co-conspirator 2 – described in the indictment as an “attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election” – appears to be Mr Trump’s former lawyer John Eastman. Mr Eastman can be identified through the mention of co-conspirator 2 writing a “two-page memorandum” falsely outlining how then-vice president Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 presidential election on January 6. This memo was first reported in Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book “Peril” before Mr Eastman himself released a longer six-page memo to the media laying out his claims. Beyond the memo, quotes cited to co-conspirator 2 match quotes of Mr Eastman previously revealed in court in Georgia, including an email which read:“Although the President signed a verification for... back on Dec. 1, he has since been made aware that some of the allegations... has been inaccurate,” the email read. “For him to sign a new verification with that knowledge... would not be accurate.” Mr Eastman’s lawyer released a statement on Tuesday night where he slammed the indictment and ruled out any possibility that he could take a plea deal. The indictment is “a misleading presentation of the record to contrive criminal charges against Presidential candidate Trump and to cast ominous aspersions on his close advisors,” attorney Charles Burnham said in a statement. “If Dr. Eastman is indicted, he will go to trial. If convicted, he will appeal.” Co-conspirator 3: Former Trump “Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell Co-conspirator 3 is described in the indictment as “an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded ‘crazy’” – a description that appears to match Sidney Powell. Former Mr Trump lawyer Ms Powell mounted what she claimed to be a “Kraken” case against the election results – a case which would blow up the case that President Joe Biden won. However, her case did no such thing and was actually filled with conspiracy theories. The indictment alleges that co-conspirator 3 filed a lawsuit against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on 25 November 2020 alleging that there was “massive election fraud”. The lawsuit was then dismissed on 7 December 2021. The dates and details of this lawsuit matches the federal lawsuit Ms Powell filed against Mr Kemp. Co-conspirator 4: Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark Jeffrey Clark, a former top Justice Department official under Donald Trump, appears to be the individual named only as co-conspirator 4. The indictment describes co-conspirator 4 as “a Justice Department official who worked on civil matters and who, with the Defendant, attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud”. In the charging document, prosecutors describe several encounters and documents involving Mr Clark which were previously detailed in the final report released by the House Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. One of these was a meeting between Mr Trump and co-conspirator 4 at the White House on 22 December 2020. This meeting – which was allegedly a violation of DOJ policy “restricting contacts with the White House to guard against improper political influence”. The charging document and the Jan 6 report also refer to the same letter sent by co-conspirator 4 claiming that the DOJ had identified “significant concerns” that may have impacted the outcome of the election. Co-conspirator 5: Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro Co-conspirator 5 is described in the indictment as “an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding”. That attorney appears to be attorney and Mr Trump ally Kenneth Chesebro. Mr Chesebro’s actions as well as specific quotes from documents from the January 6 committee report match up precisely with that of co-conspirator 5. On 13 December 2020, Mr Chesebro sent an email to Mr Giuliani outlining the fake electors plot. That same email was detailed in the January 6 report and cited as being sent by Mr Chesebro. Co-conspirator 6: Mystery political consultant Co-conspirator 6 is the only individual whose identity remains a mystery. The indictment describes them as a “political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding”. It states that back on 7 December 2020, the political consultant spoke with co-conspirator 1 – identified as Rudy Giuliani – and handed him a list of attorneys in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who he believed could help with the fake elector scheme in their respective states. Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ ‘Our country is more important than one man’, says Mike Pence as Trump indicted Criminal conspiracies and civil rights abuses: Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained Republicans rage against Jack Smith after latest indictment of Donald Trump Trump called Pence ‘too honest’ after vice president refused to join 2020 scheme Jesse Watters calls latest Trump indictment ‘political war crime’ on Fox News
2023-08-02 19:54
Supreme Court approval ratings at record lows, new Gallup poll shows
Approval ratings of the US Supreme Court remain at record low levels and Americans are closely divided on Justice Clarence Thomas, as the court continues to issue controversial opinions and is hit with criticism about ethics standards.
2023-08-02 17:20
Trump indictment – live: Trump’s team compares charges on 2020 election interference probe to ‘Nazi persecution’
Donald Trump was indicted on 1 August on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators. The former president was informed shortly beforehand and posted the news on Truth Social that he would soon be indicted. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment, and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president. He has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Barack Obama. In a brief statement, Mr Smith placed the blame for the violence squarely on Mr Trump’s shoulders, saying the 6 January 2021 riot “was fueled by lies”. The Trump campaign said he had always followed the law and characterized the indictment as a “persecution” reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!” it added. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More Donald Trump’s third indictment explained Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit' Criminal conspiracies and civil rights abuses: Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained
2023-08-02 13:54
Fox Business hides Trump indictment under ‘Biden’s scandal distractions’ graphic
Fox Business reportedly buried their coverage of Donald Trump's indictment under a graphic accusing president Joe Biden of creating distractions following scandals in his family. In the graphic blasted on TV screens, "Biden's Scandal Distractions" can be seen written in red next to Mr Trump's image followed by a timeline of the former president's past indictments overlapping row surrounding Mr Biden and his family. Mr Trump was indicted on Tuesday for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the third time in four months that the former president has been criminally charged. The four-count, 45-page indictment charges Mr Trump with conspiring to defraud the US by preventing Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory and depriving voters of their right to a fair election. Mr Trump was ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday. Minutes after the former president announced on Truth Social that he was to be indicted, Fox News host Jesse Watters compared the criminal charges against Mr Trump to "15 dozen" atomic bombs. "This is legal warfare, if it was political, it would have been political war crime. This is overkill. It is an atrocity. It is like not just dropping one atomic bomb, you drop 15 dozen," he said. "This is the establishment terrified at Donald Trump's re-election." Fox News last month expressed regret for showing an onscreen message that called President Biden a “wannabe dictator” who had his political rival arrested. The chyron appeared beneath split-screen video boxes that showed Mr Trump addressing supporters live in New Jersey, and Mr Biden speaking at the White House earlier in the day. The message read, “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.” Fox in a statement said the “chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.” Mediaite reported that the message was onscreen for 27 seconds and was not removed when the telecast was rerun late at night. Read More Trump indictment – live: Grand jury charges Trump on four counts in 2020 election interference probe How the Trump fake electors scheme became a 'corrupt plan,' according to the indictment Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror Trump team compares charges on 2020 election interference probe to ‘Nazi persecution’ CNN host rails against Donald Trump comparing prosecutors to Nazis Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit'
2023-08-02 13:49
CNN host rails against Donald Trump comparing prosecutors to Nazis
The Donald Trump campaign’s comparison of the latest criminal charges against him to Nazi Germany is “beyond the pale, in terms of offensiveness and ignorance”, CNN’s Jake Tapper has said. The former president was indicted on Tuesday on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president. In response to the indictment, the Trump campaign issued a statement that the charges against him amounted to election interference along with the comparison to Nazi Germany. “The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes,” a part of the lengthy statement said. “These un-American witch hunts will fail.” Tapper denounced Mr Trump for the ignorant comparison while his colleague Kaitlan Collins, who read his full statement said it was a glimpse of the Trump team’s argument to challenge the charges. “They’re saying it’s persecution and that it is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and the former Soviet Union. Just giving you a kind of window into the argument they’re going to be making tying this all back to the campaign,” Collins said. The remarks also drew criticism from activists and civil rights organisations. “Comparing this indictment to Nazi Germany in the 1930s is factually incorrect, completely inappropriate and flat out offensive,” said Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “As we have said time and again, such comparisons have no place in politics and are shameful.” The reaction by CNN’s Tapper was followed by Fox News host Jesse Watters’ outburst of comparing the indictment to a war crime on the order of the atomic bombing or germ warfare. “This is overkill,” Watters said in a segment on Tuesday. “This is political germ warfare. These are political war crimes. It’s an atrocity. It’s like not just dropping one atomic bomb, you drop 15 dozen.” Later in his show, Watters shopped short of refuting the various charges against Mr Trump, but rather said they shouldn’t be considered significant crimes. The latest legal woe comes for Mr Trump as he faces the prospect of yet another potential indictment in Georgia where the former president was recorded on a phone call pressuring top officials to “find” him enough votes to reverse his loss in the state to Joe Biden during the 2020 election. Read More Trump indictment live updates: Grand jury charges Trump on four counts in 2020 election interference probe Revealed: ‘Monster’ care worker raped elderly dementia patients - but authorities don’t know how many How prosecutors could charge Trump with racketeering in Georgia case Trump indicted on four counts in 2020 election interference probe – live Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit' The judge assigned to Trump's Jan. 6 case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters
2023-08-02 12:50
Why Trump's latest indictment will reverberate for years to come
"The United States of America v. Donald J. Trump" instantly became one of the most consequential documents in American history.
2023-08-02 12:29
Judge assigned to Trump case previously said 'the country is watching to see what the consequences are' for January 6
District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has been assigned to preside over former President Donald Trump's criminal case in Washington, DC, has repeatedly spoken out in very strong terms against the efforts to overturn the election and disrupt the transfer of power.
2023-08-02 12:17
Takeaways from the indictment of Donald Trump for efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat
Special counsel Jack Smith unveiled his case alleging that former President Donald Trump broke several laws in his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, with a grand jury indictment returned Tuesday that illustrated the depth and breadth of the federal criminal investigation.
2023-08-02 10:56
Could Donald Trump serve as president if convicted?
Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges related to 2020 election subversion, a stunning third time this year that the former president has faced criminal charges.
2023-08-02 10:56
Who are the Trump co-conspirators in the 2020 election interference indictment?
The historic indictment against Donald Trump in the special counsel's probe into January 6, 2021, and efforts to overturn the 2020 election says that he "enlisted co-conspirators to assist him in his criminal efforts."
2023-08-02 07:55
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