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Your questions about the Trump indictment, answered

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

The unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump plunges the legal system into murky waters.The Manhattan grand jury’s decision to charge Trump for his alleged involvement in a hush money scheme raises a bevy of questions about the soundness of the case, the logistics involved in forcing a former president into criminal court and the ramifications for other ongoing state and federal investigations of Trump.Here’s POLITICO’s look at some of the key questions posed by the indictment.What is Trump accused of?While the precise charges are secret for now, prosecutors have concluded they can prove a criminal case against Trump because of the apparent subterfuge surrounding a $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her from publicizing her claim about a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen funded that payment through a home equity line of credit.Trump insisted in April 2018 he did not know about the hush money, but Cohen provided Cong...

Reaction pours in following Donald Trump indictment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

Reaction poured in Thursday following a Manhattan grand jury’s vote to indict former president Donald Trump. Democrats have said this should not be a partisan issue, saying that no one is above the law. Some Republicans, though, have said the indictment is proof that Democrats are weaponizing the law. “It is sad that this is the first time in our country’s history that we’ve got a former president that’s going to be charged criminally and it will be surreal, I think, in some aspects,” Congressman Stephen Lynch said in an interview. Lynch said while he was suprised by the timing of the indictment, he was not surprised by the outcome. “I thought it more likely than not there would be some charges,” Lynch said. Another member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Congressman Seth Moulton, called Thursday “a sad and frankly embarrassing day for America” while live on 7NEWS. He also said, however, that the indictment sends a clear ...

Malaysia’s top court refuses ex-PM Najib’s bid for review

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s top court refused Friday to review its 2022 decision to uphold former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conviction for graft and 12-year jail sentence, saying he was “the author of his own misfortune.” A five-member Federal Court bench unanimously rejected his final appeal in August in a case linked to the looting of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, sending Najib straight to prison to start serving his sentence. But Najib has sought a review to overturn the decision, saying he has been denied a fair trial. A new Federal Court panel rejected Najib’s assertion in a majority judgement. This effectively shut the lid on the case, which means that Najib will have to serve out the duration of his sentence. If he had won a review, he could have been freed on bail pending a new appeal hearing. Najib was stone-faced when the judgement was read out.Four of five judges said they found “no failure of justice.” They dismissed d...

Conservative media figures leap to Donald Trump’s defense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Conservative media figures leaped to Donald Trump’s defense with apocalyptic language Thursday, claiming the former president was being unfairly persecuted by a Manhattan grand jury’s indictment and predicting his 2024 bid for the White House would get a boost from his perceived martyrdom.“This is totally unacceptable and a disgrace to this country,” said Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters.“This is repulsive,” said Fox’s Sean Hannity, three days after he interviewed Trump on his show. “This is a disgusting political hit job the likes of which we have never seen in this country anymore.”“It’s insane,” said Newsmax’s Eric Bolling.The actual charges in the grand jury indictment against Trump have not been made public. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has investigated payments made during the 2016 presidential election to silence claims of an extramarital affair.For conservative-oriented media, Thursday’s fury represented a ra...

Climate, coups risk African goal of silencing guns by 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The goal of silencing the guns in Africa this decade is being challenged by climate change, terrorism, coups and the continent’s history, the head of the African Union initiative told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.Attaining the goal is at risk even after the date was pushed back once to 2030, Mohamed Ibn Chambas said. He pointed to constitutional, institutional and cultural challenges as well as “Africa’s vulnerability to global economic shocks” — and weak implementation of international, national and regional decisions on peace, security and development.Silencing the guns was a key initiative in the vision for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” adopted by AU leaders in May 2013. Called Agenda 2063, it originally stated that all guns would be silenced in 2023, but in December 2020 the AU decided to extend the date to 2030. That’s the same year the United Nations set to achieve its 17 major development goals that are also lagging, including ...

Trump’s indictment, long expected, still stuns at NYC court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you might’ve missed it. Even then, it was hard to know at the moment that history was unfolding before your eyes.Donald Trump’s indictment, the first of a former U.S. president, was quietly brought to the clerk’s office at the Manhattan criminal courthouse just before closing time Thursday.A woman and two men in suits walked in past reporters who’ve been staking out the office for weeks, turned a corner and disappeared through a door to a non-public area known as the indictment room.The vibe in the room shifted, and then around the courthouse, too.The clerk’s office, normally a bustle of lawyers and paralegals seeking case files and submitting papers, people posting bail and court employees cracking jokes, grew quiet and tense.Moments later, just before 5 p.m., when a reporter asked if there were any filings involving “People v. Donald Trump” — her customary end-of-day question in recent days — a usually cheerful clerk st...

2 police officers and a suspect wounded in Memphis shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two officers and a man with a gun were wounded in a shooting in Memphis on Thursday night, police said. Officers responded to a call about a man with a gun at about 7:30 p.m. when all three were shot, the Memphis Police Department said on Twitter. The officers and the suspect were taken to a hospital in critical condition following the shooting in the city’s Whitehaven neighborhood, police said.No further details were immediately released. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe into the shooting. The bureau typically investigates shootings involving police officers in Tennessee.The Associated Press

Cardinals Opening Day came with some big surprises

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It was perfect weather for Cardinals Opening Day on Thursday, and it has been one to remember. There were big crowds and big surprises at the Ballpark.Fans have been through a lot since the Phillies knocked the Cardinals out of the playoffs in October, but on the second to last day of March, the sun rose on a new day in St. Louis."It's magic, and the announcers are going wild, and you get goose bumps all the way up your body," said Emily Stover, a Cardinals fan.The Budweiser Clydesdales came out, and St. Louis becomes one of the best places you could possibly be at. Top Stories: Man accused of plowing into officers should not have been driving "It's like, oh my God, this is amazing and fantastic. It's just magic. It's in our blood," Stover said."It just kind of brings everybody including non-cardinals fans, together in a way that kind of nothing else does. It just really does," said Ann Bingham, a Cardinals fan."A new start…new start. We can work out the kinks from las...

Video: Truck crashes trailer into cars in south St. Louis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A driver crashed his truck, with an attached trailer, into several parked cars in Tower Grove South, damaging them. The hit-and-run was caught on camera.After 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, what appeared to be a tow truck or large pickup carrying a work trailer lost that trailer, and it slammed hard into several parked cars."We have a speed bump, so I'm used to hearing sounds of cars going too fast and scraping that thing, but this sounded like a train wreck,” said Terrence Strong, a Tower Grove South resident.The impact was so severe, the trailer detached from the truck and lodged itself into the back of Strong’s car. Top Stories: Man accused of plowing into officers should not have been driving "I came out and saw a 20-foot trailer almost jackknifed and lodged underneath this car here, which is our car," Strong said. "It slammed into the back of this car and rammed it into our van."The driver took off.This is the third time his car has been the victim of a hit-and-run. He sai...

405 Freeway in Hawthorne shut down to investigate possible shooting involving officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:58 GMT

All northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne have been closed due to a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on Thursday night.A SigAlert has been issued for lanes at Inglewood Avenue a little before 8 p.m., according to CHP.Authorities responded to a possible homeless encampment around 7:14 p.m. where shots were possibly fired.Sky5 images show traffic was heavily backed up as officers shut down highway lanes to investigate.405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (K...