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      US historians file brief with supreme court rejecting Trump’s immunity claim

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      Fifteen prominent historians filed an amicus brief with the US supreme court, rejecting Donald Trump’s claim in his federal election subversion case that he is immune to criminal prosecution for acts committed as president.Authorities cited in the document include the founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Adams, in addition to the historians’ own work.Trump, the historians said, “asserts that a doctrine of permanent immunity from criminal liability for a president’s official acts, while not expressly provided by the constitution, must be inferred. To justify this radical assertion, he contends that the original meaning of the constitution demands it. But no plausible historical case supports his claim.”Trump faces four federal election subversion charges, arising from his attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020, fueled by his lie about electoral fraud and culminating in the deadly attack on Congress of 6 January 2021.He also faces 10 election subversion charges in Georgia, 34 charges over hush-money payments in New York, 40 federal charges for retaining classified information, and multimillion-dollar penalties in civil cases over tax fraud and defamation, the latter arising from a rape allegation a judge called “substantially true”.Despite such unprecedented legal jeopardy, Trump strolled to the Republican nomination to face Biden in November and is seeking to delay all cases until after that election, so that he might dismiss them if he returns to power. His first criminal trial, in the New York hush-money case, is scheduled to begin next Monday.Despite widespread legal and historical opinion that Trump’s immunity claim is groundless, the US supreme court, to which Trump appointed three justices, will consider the claim.Oral arguments are scheduled for 25 April. The court recently dismissed attempts, supported by leading historians, to remove Trump from ballots under the 14th amendment, passed after the civil war to bar insurrectionists from office.In a filing on Monday, the special counsel Jack Smith urged the justices to reject Trump’s immunity claim as “an unprecedented assault on the structure of our government”.Seven of the 15 historians who filed the amicus brief are members of the Historians Council on the Constitution at the Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive policy institute at New York University law school.Holly Brewer, a professor of American cultural and intellectual history at the University of Maryland, said: “When designing the presidency, the founders wanted no part of the immunity from criminal prosecution claimed by English kings.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“That immunity was at the heart of what they saw as a flawed system. On both the state and national level, they wrote constitutions that held all leaders, including presidents, accountable to the laws of the country. St George Tucker, one of the most prominent judges in the new nation, laid out the principle clearly: everyone is equally bound by the law, from ‘beggars in the streets’ to presidents.”Other signatories to the brief included Jill Lepore of Harvard, author of These Truths, a history of the US; Alan Taylor of the University of Virginia, author of books including American Revolutions, about the years of independence; and Joanne Freeman of Yale, author of The Field of Blood, an influential study of political violence before the civil war.Thomas Wolf, co-counsel on the brief and director of democracy initiatives at the Brennan Center, called Trump’s immunity claim “deeply un-American”, adding: “From the birth of the country through President Clinton’s acceptance of a plea bargain in 2001 [avoiding indictment over the Monica Lewinsky affair], it has been understood that presidents can be prosecuted.“The supreme court must not delay in passing down a ruling in this case.” More

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      New York appeals judge rejects Trump’s request to delay hush-money trial

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      A New York appeals court judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his 15 April hush-money criminal trial while he fights to move the case out of Manhattan.The decision came Monday, a week before jury selection was set to start.Trump’s lawyers had argued at an emergency hearing that the trial should be postponed while they seek a change of venue to move it out of heavily Democratic Manhattan.Trump was ready on Monday to sue the judge in his New York hush-money case a week before the start of the much-anticipated trial, the New York Times reported, detailing yet another attempt by the former president to delay legal proceedings against him.Citing court records indicating the filing of sealed documents and two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, the paper said the aim was to delay trial and challenge a gag order imposed by the judge.“Mr Trump’s unorthodox move – essentially an appeal in the form of a lawsuit – is unlikely to succeed, particularly so close to trial,” the paper said.Facing 34 criminal charges related to hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star who claimed an affair with him, Trump has pleaded not guilty.He has repeatedly attacked the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, and members of his family, alleging political bias.The trial is set for Manhattan next Monday and will be the first criminal trial involving a former US president.Trump, the Times said, was also expected to ask an appeals court to move the trial out of Manhattan, his home borough before his post-presidency move to Florida but a heavily Democratic area.That gambit was also deemed unlikely to succeed.Harry Litman, a US attorney turned law professor and commentator, said: “Trump’s latest desperate move of personally suing Merchan in the appellate division is reminiscent of his initial gambit in Palm Beach [Florida], where judge [Aileen] Cannon permitted him to take the whole action off track [in his classified information case].“But won’t happen here. Imagine if a criminal defendant could do this … ”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe Times said the suit would be an Article 78 action, under New York laws that can be used to challenge state agencies and judges.Trump faces 54 other criminal charges: 40 in Florida, over his retention of classified information after leaving office, and 14 over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election – 10 in Georgia and four in Washington DC.Trump also faces multimillion-dollar penalties in two civil cases, both in New York, one concerning tax fraud and the other for defamation arising from a rape allegation a judge called “substantially true”.Denying all wrongdoing and claiming political persecution, Trump is attempting to delay all cases against him until after the presidential election in November.If he were to defeat Joe Biden and return to the White House, he could ensure the dismissal of federal charges in the classified information case and in four charges of election subversion. State charges would be tougher to deal with.In the New York hush-money case, Merchan last week denied an attempt to delay trial until the US supreme court rules on Trump’s claim of immunity regarding any act committed in office, lodged in his federal election subversion case.Merchan has also rejected one call to recuse himself and is thought overwhelmingly likely to reject another. More

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      Suspect arrested in arson attack on Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office

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      Authorities say they have arrested an alleged arsonist accused of setting the US senator Bernie Sanders’ Burlington, Vermont, office on fire while staff worked inside – but investigators have yet to release details about a possible a motive.A justice department notification published on Sunday said Shant Soghomonian, 35, had been charged with using fire to damage the building but did not include any reason for his alleged actions.Soghomonian, who has also gone by the first name Michael, was listed as being from Northridge, California. He allegedly entered the building on Friday morning, went to the third floor where Sanders’ offices are situated, and sprayed the entry door with an accelerant.He then set fire to the door with a handheld lighter – all in view of a security camera that was recording video, the justice department said.Soghomonian then left through a staircase as the fire spread, damaging the door and triggering the sprinkler system. Several employees were in the progressive senator’s office at the time, though no injuries were reported.The Burlington police department said the fire engulfing the door and part of the vestibule had impeded “staff members who were working in the office” from exiting, which endangered their lives.In a statement to CNN, Sanders said: “I am deeply grateful to the swift, professional, coordinated efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement in response to the fire at my Vermont office.” The independent senator who votes in line with Democrats added that he was grateful none of his staff had been injured while describing his office’s commitment to serve those in his home state of Vermont “during these challenging times”.If convicted, Soghomonian could face between five and 20 years in prison as well as up to a $250,000 fine, according to the justice department.While no motive has been advanced for Soghomonian’s alleged actions, the arson attack comes as implied threats of political violence are becoming a feature of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.Politicians on both sides of the aisle have in recent months been subjected to anonymous calls to law enforcement that invite an armed, potentially forceful emergency response.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIn early January, it was reported that at least three members of Congress had reported “swatting” incidents over the previous week, including Representative Brandon Williams of New York, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, all Republicans.Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, who ruled that Donald Trump should be ineligible to appear on the state’s 2024 primary ballot after the former president’s supporters attacked Congress on 6 January 2021, was also the target of a swatting call.The US supreme court later forced Bellows to reverse her decision. More

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      in US Politics

      Murder victim’s sister says Trump didn’t speak to family despite his claim he did

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      Donald Trump used a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to describe meeting the family of a woman killed by an immigrant in order to spin a narrative about what he calls “Biden’s border bloodbath” – except Ruby Garcia’s family now say he never did.Garcia, 25, was found shot to death on highway US-131 on 22 March of this year. Court records later showed that her boyfriend confessed to killing her and dumping her body.The man, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, had come to the US as a child and was allowed to stay as a so-called “Dreamer”. He was deported in 2020 before re-entering again without documents.Many have read Garcia’s murder not as an illegal immigration issue but one of domestic violence, given authorities said Garcia and Ortiz-Vite were dating.Trump tells the story differently. “She lit up that room, and I’ve heard that from so many people,” Trump said about Garcia. “I spoke to some of her family.”But according to her sister, Mavi Garcia, who is acting as a family spokesperson, neither Trump nor his campaign had reached out to her or her relatives.She said Trump’s comments were intended merely to blame immigrants for crime in order to justify a border crackdown.“It’s always been about illegal immigrants,” Garcia told the local news station Target 8. “Nobody really speaks about when Americans do heinous crimes, and it’s kind of shocking why he would just bring up illegals. What about Americans who do heinous crimes like that?”The Trump campaign has yet to comment on the former president’s claim, but the Washington Post reported he did not mention Garcia again at a stop in Wisconsin later on Tuesday.On Monday Trump had called into a Michigan radio show before heading to Michigan and Wisconsin, two crucial battleground states, to highlight the immigration theme, which he has called the top issue in the 2024 election.“This is a horrible incident with Ruby,” Trump told the conservative host Justin Barclay. “Let Ruby’s relatives and everybody know that we’d love to say hello to them.”Last month, Trump did meet with family and friends of Laken Riley, a nursing student who became a potent symbol for the border issue after an undocumented person from Venezuela was charged with her murder.But Mavi Garcia told Target 8 that Trump was misleading people.“He did not speak with any of us, so it was kind of shocking seeing that he had said that he had spoke with us, and misinforming people on live TV,” Mavi Garcia said. More

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      Father of Laken Riley decries politicization of daughter’s murder

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      The father of Laken Riley, whom authorities suspect was murdered by an undocumented migrant in February, has objected to how he says his daughter’s death is “being used politically” ahead of the upcoming presidential and congressional elections.Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was beaten to death on the University of Georgia’s campus on 22 February. Republicans have claimed Riley’s death represents a failure of the Joe Biden White House’s border policies and have used the killing to push legislation which would make it easier for law enforcement to detain unauthorized migrants accused of theft.“I’d rather her not be such a political – how you say – it started a storm in our country,” Jason Riley, Laken’s father, told NBC’s Today show.He added: “It’s incited a lot of people.”Jason Riley said that since his daughter was killed, “there’s people on both sides that have lashed out at [his and Laken’s mother’s] families”.Investigators have charged José Ibarra with Riley’s murder. The 26-year-old, who is originally from Venezuela, had previously been charged with two crimes in New York before being released, ​​US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said, although officials in the state told the Associated Press they had no record of Ibarra being previously arrested.“I think it’s being used politically to get those votes,” Jason Riley said of his daughter’s death.“It makes me angry. I feel like, you know, they’re just using my daughter’s name for that. And she was much better than that, and she should be raised up for the person that she is. She was an angel.”Biden mentioned Laken Riley in his State of the Union address but was criticized in some political quarters for using the word “illegal” to describe her killer. The term has long been seen as dehumanizing and unhelpful language for describing undocumented migrants.The president later expressed regret for describing Ibarra as “an illegal”, which in turn ignited another round of criticism against him from other political quarters.Donald Trump is among the Republicans who has attempted to link Biden to Riley’s death. During a rally in March, where the former president seeking another term in the White House was joined by Riley’s parents, sister and friends, Trump said Laken “would be alive today” were it not for Democrats’ policies.
      The Associated Press contributed reporting More

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      Former Trump adviser appeals to supreme court to keep him out of prison

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      Donald Trump White House official Peter Navarro appealed to the US supreme court on Friday to allow him to stay out of prison as he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.Navarro is due to report to a federal prison on Tuesday after an appeals court ruled that his appeal wasn’t likely to overturn his conviction for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6 attack that Trump supporters aimed at the US Capitol in 2021.Navarro has maintained that he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. Federal judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed during Barack Obama’s presidency, barred Navarro from making that argument at trial, finding that he didn’t show Trump had actually invoked it.The emergency application comes as the supreme court separately prepares to hear arguments on whether Trump himself has presidential immunity from charges alleging he interfered in the 2020 election that he lost to Joe BidenNavarro was the second Trump aide convicted of misdemeanor congressional contempt charges. The former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but was allowed to stay free pending appeal by federal judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump.Navarro – an economist and Trump’s trade adviser – was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House committee that was investigating the January 6 attack. He also promoted Trump’s lies about how electoral fraudsters denied him victory against Biden and was also given a four-month prison sentence. More

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      in Elections

      Judge dismisses six charges against Trump and defendants in Georgia election case

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      The Georgia judge overseeing the election-interference case against Donald Trump and 14 defendants dismissed six of the charges in the wide-ranging indictment on Wednesday, saying they were not detailed enough.One of the many crimes Trump and some of the co-defendants in the case were charged with was soliciting officials in Georgia to violate their oath of office. Those charges were dismissed. The other charges in the case against Trump and other defendants remain.More details soon … More

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      New Jersey man pleads guilty to trying to bribe Bob Menendez with Mercedes

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      A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe the US senator Bob Menendez.Jose Uribe, who signed a deal to cooperate with prosecutors building a case against Menendez, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court in connection with seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege that he gave Menendez’s wife a Mercedes-Benz.According to Uribe’s plea agreement, he could face up to 95 years in prison, though he could win leniency by cooperating and testifying against the other defendants, which he has agreed to do.Uribe was among three businessmen charged in the corruption case against the New Jersey Democrat and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which was revealed early last fall. Authorities say Menendez and his wife accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and the luxury car in exchange for his help and influence over foreign affairs.The defendants have pleaded not guilty.Uribe had been charged with providing Menendez’s wife with the Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator called a government official about another case involving an associate of Uribe.Uribe’s attorney, Daniel Fetterman, declined to comment.Menendez, his wife and the two other New Jersey businessmen are scheduled to go on trial in May.Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez, the former chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, used his position to take actions that benefited foreign governments in exchange for bribes paid by associates in New Jersey.An indictment contends that Menendez and his wife took gold bars and cash from a real estate developer – and that the senator used his clout to get that businessman a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund.Menendez is also accused of helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt. Prosecutors allege that in exchange for bribes, Menendez did things that benefited Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300m in aid.Uribe was accused of buying the luxury car after Nadine Menendez’s previous car was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing the street. She did not face criminal charges in connection with that crash.The indictment says the senator helped Uribe by trying to persuade prosecutors to go easy on one of his business associates, who was the subject of a criminal investigation. More