Judge delays Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing date in his hush money case
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
(NEW YORK) — New York Judge Juan Merchan has delayed President-elect Donald Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing date in his criminal hush money case, according to a brief order issued Friday.
The judge is allowing the defense to file a motion to dismiss the case, which he said is due by Dec. 2.
The judge provided no new sentencing date after adjourning the original Nov. 26 date.
Trump was scheduled to be sentenced next week after he was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Judge Merchan’s order also puts off any decision about whether the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity decision applies to the case.
While the $130,000 payment to Daniels preceded Trump’s ascension to the presidency, Trump has claimed that prosecutors filled “glaring holes in their case” with evidence that related to official acts he subsequently performed in office — which the Supreme Court ruled are off limits in its July ruling on presidential immunity.
Prosecutors have argued that the case centers on “entirely personal” conduct with “no relationship whatsoever to any official duty of the presidency.”
Trump has asked that the verdict be overturned or the case be thrown out entirely. If Judge Merchan tosses the conviction, he could order a new trial — which would be delayed for at least four years until Trump leaves office — or dismiss the indictment altogether.
Trump’s conviction carries a penalty of up to four years in prison, though first-time offenders normally receive lesser sentences.
(LOS ANGELES) — Less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden and criticized his prosecution as a “miscarriage of justice,” prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office defended the integrity of their work in a court filing and fiercely rebutted the president’s allegation that their charges were motivated by politics.
“In total, eleven different [federal] judges appointed by six different presidents, including his father, considered and rejected the defendant’s claims, including his claims for selective and vindictive prosecution,” wrote prosecutor Leo Wise in a ten-page filing Monday.
President Biden on Sunday issued a blanket pardoned to his son, who earlier this year was convicted earlier on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax-related charges, and was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month.
In Monday’s filing, prosecutors urged the federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s tax case in California not to dismiss his indictment, and instead close the docket — which would allow the record to continue to exist.
“The government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy. But that does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away as if it never occurred,” Wise wrote. “It also does not mean that his charges should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive.”
Mark Osler, an expert in presidential pardons at the University of St. Thomas, said Weiss’ overture raises “a technical issue — either way, the case goes away — but an important one.”
“[Prosecutors] want the indictment to remain on the record,” he told ABC News.
Without directly addressing President Biden’s criticism of the case as selective and unfair, the filing highlighted how Hunter Biden’s lawyers made “every conceivable argument” to dismiss the case and failed to provide evidence that prosecution was vindictive.
“The court similarly found his vindictive prosecution claims unmoored from any evidence or even a coherent theory as to vindictiveness,” the filing said. “And there was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case. The defendant made similar baseless accusations in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Those claims were also rejected.”
(TALLAHASSEE, FL) — Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 4 storm Monday morning as it takes aim at Florida’s west coast.
Landfall is expected as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
Milton is closing in as Floridians are still recovering from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene.
Milton expected to strengthen to Category 5 hurricane
Milton — currently a high-end Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds — is forecast to strengthen in a few hours to a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds.
The storm will then weaken slightly as it approaches Florida on Wednesday night.
Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night into Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds.
Counties issue evacuation orders
Evacuation orders have been issued in counties along Florida’s west coast, including Charlotte, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota.
DeSantis: ‘Time is going to start running out very, very soon’
Fifty-one out of Florida’s 67 counties are under a state of emergency as the state braces for Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
The governor urged residents to pay attention to evacuation orders.
“Time is going to start running out very, very soon,” he warned.
“Please, if you’re in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate,” Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida Emergency Management, urged at a news conference.
“Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave.”
Waste removal trucks are urgently trying to get debris from Hurricane Helene off the streets of coastal communities before Milton hits.
DeSantis said debris will continue to be cleared until it’s no longer safe to do so.
Nearly 500 truckloads of debris from the barrier islands and Pinellas County have been moved to debris landfills in the last 24 hours, he said.
St. Pete-Clearwater, Tampa airports to close
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, just outside of Tampa, Florida, will close at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and stay shut on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The airport is in a mandatory evacuation zone and is not a public shelter,” airport officials tweeted. “Prepare and stay safe.”
Tampa International Airport will suspend operations beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday and stay closed “until it can assess any damage after the storm,” airport officials said.
Milton strengthens to Category 4
Milton rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds Monday morning.
Within hours, Milton strengthened to a Category 2, then a Category 3 and then a Category 4.
Latest forecast: Landfall expected Wednesday night
Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. Landfall is expected anywhere between just north of Tampa to south of Sarasota.
A record-breaking storm surge of 8 to 12 feet is forecast for the storm surge-prone city of Tampa. This comes just after Hurricane Helene brought a record storm surge of 6 to 8 feet to Tampa Bay.
A hurricane watch was issued for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, while a tropical storm watch is in effect from Apalachicola to Key West.
Water inundation from Fort Myers to Tampa could be higher than the record-breaking 7 feet recorded during Helene.
Flooding is also a threat since a separate storm has dumped rain on Florida for the last several days.
Milton strengthens to Category 3
Hurricane Milton early on Monday strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane, with wind speeds of about 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Milton strengthens to Category 2 hurricane
Hurricane Milton strengthened rapidly early Monday, with wind speeds climbing to 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
A hurricane watch was issued for the area around Tampa Bay, along Florida’s western coast.
The storm, which is in the Gulf of Mexico, is forecast to become a major hurricane on Monday, meaning its winds are expected to reach or exceed 111 mph.
Landfall is expected on Wednesday night, with the storm expected to be a Category 3 storm with winds of about 125 mph.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Milton forecast to be major hurricane
Hurricane Milton, which strengthened on Sunday into a Category 1 storm, is forecast to make landfall as a “major” hurricane on Florida’s west coast this week, the National Hurricane Center said.
“While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning early Wednesday,” the center said in a late Sunday advisory.
The entrance doors of the River Glen of St. Charles, in St. Charles, Illinois, are seen in a screengrab of a video shot Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (WLS)
(ST. CHARLES, IL) — A man wielding a chainsaw inside a senior-living facility in St. Charles, Illinois, was shot and killed by police early Sunday, state and local law enforcement said.
The man, whom police have not publicly identified, was allegedly attempting to cut down a tree on the facility’s property at about 8:45 a.m. on Sunday. He was “shirtless” when police arrived at the facility, on the 900 block of North 5th Avenue, the St. Charles Police Department said in a press statement.
“Just before police arrival, witnesses advised the subject had now gained entry to the lobby of the building and began confronting residents with the chainsaw,” the department said.
Officers sought to deescalate the situation, but “the suspect continued his attempts to use the chainsaw against residents of the building,” as well as against responding officers, the department said.
Officers used a taser on the man, “but his attack continued,” the press statement said. An officer then fired his gun, striking the alleged attacker, police said.
“The male suspect was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased,” the Illinois State Police said in a press release.
Officers and residents of the assisted-living facility were treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.
“We are deeply grateful for the swift action of our team and law enforcement,” a spokesperson for the facility, the River Glen of St. Charles, said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that our community is secure, and all residents and staff members are safe.”
The Illinois State Police said it would investigate the shooting.
