Judge in Trump’s election interference case grants extension sought by special counsel
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(WASHINGTON) — The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case on Friday granted an extension requested by special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Smith on Thursday requested a delay in responding to a scheduling order from U.S District Judge Tanya Chutkan, citing issues related to the Supreme Court’s recent decision granting presidents immunity from prosecution for certain acts taken while in office.
Smith’s office said Thursday it continues “to assess the new precedent set forth last month” by the Supreme Court in tandem with “other Department of Justice components.”
A status report on the case that was initially due Friday is now officially moved to Aug. 30. A status conference that had been scheduled for Aug. 16 will now be Sept. 5.
Judge Chutkan resumed control of the case last Friday following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling.
Trump last August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election by enlisting a slate of so-called “fake electors,” using the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations,” trying to enlist the vice president to “alter the election results,” and promoting false claims of a stolen election as the Jan. 6 riot raged — all in an effort to subvert democracy and remain in power.
(NEW YORK) — A change in the nation’s political landscape means the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case should be recused, defense attorneys argued in a court filing made public Thursday.
Trump is reviving a longshot effort to have Judge Juan Merchan recused from the case because of an alleged conflict between the judge’s daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“Your Honor’s daughter has a long-standing relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns. She has obtained — and stands to obtain in the future — extensive financial, professional, and personal benefits from her relationship with Harris,” defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.
Describing the vice president as Trump’s “presumptive opponent,” defense lawyers argued that Merchan’s daughter has had an “extremely beneficial working relationship” with Harris because her company was a top vendor to Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.
This is the third time Trump’s lawyers have attempted to have Judge Merchan removed from the case. Last year, New York’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics determined that Merchan’s impartiality “cannot reasonably be questioned” based on his daughter’s professional work as a political consultant.
When Trump renewed his motion earlier this year, Merchan determined that defense lawyers failed to prove a conflict, describing their motion as a “series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported speculation.”
In a separate filing made public Thursday, Trump’s lawyers reiterated their argument that the case should be dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that Trump has presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.
Last week, prosecutors pushed back against the motion by arguing that Trump’s conduct was “entirely personal” with “no relationship whatsoever to any official duty of the presidency.”
Defense lawyers responded by arguing that the introduction of evidence related to official acts at trial caused an irreparable harm that merits the case be dismissed.
“In this case, a politically motivated district attorney violated that immunity by using official-acts evidence in grand jury proceedings and at trial. Therefore, the case must be dismissed, and the jury’s verdicts must be vacated,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Judge Merchan last month postponed Trump’s July 11 sentencing to Sept. 18 so he can consider Trump’s request to toss his conviction based on the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A 28-year-old man who was wounded in a mass shooting that broke out at a West Philadelphia party early Sunday in which nine people were shot, three fatally, has been arrested and accused of being one of the gunmen involved in the violence, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore announced in a statement posted on X.
Vanore said detectives with assistance from the Philadelphia district attorney’s office “developed evidence to charge one of our shooting victims.” Vanore did not comment on the evidence that led police to the suspect.
Investigators are continuing work to identify other suspects in the shooting, officials said.
The mass shooting unfolded around 2 a.m. on the 1200 block of North Alden Street in the Carroll Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, where a party attended by more than 100 people was taking place, according to police.
When officers arrived, they found victims suffering from gunshot wounds and multiple spent shell casings scattered in the area, officials said.
“It appears that there were multiple shooters. It’s unclear at this time how many. But we have counted at least 25 to 30 spent shell casings at this time,” Pace told reporters at the scene Sunday morning.
One gun was recovered at the scene, officials said.
“Preliminary information indicates an exchange of gunfire between multiple parties resulting in a nonuple shooting and triple homicide,” police said in a statement.
The shell casings recovered from the scene indicate different caliber weapons were used in the shooting, which is “consistent with an exchange of gunfire between individuals on location,” according to the police statement.
Three men ages 23, 29 and 33 were killed in the shooting, police said. One died at the scene and two were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.
The other shooting victims were a 26-year-old woman and five men ranging in age from 26 to 30, according to police. All were listed in stable condition, police said.
Two of the victims who survived the shooting were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, police said.
The shooting occurred when a fight broke out at the party, police said.
Police say two of the fatally shot victims were brothers.
“My condolences to the family, particularly the parent who lost two sons,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference on Monday. “It was not some individual who came up and just randomly started to shoot down the block and shoot nine people. There is an absolute gun battle that goes on, for, though it seems long, it was a short period of time.”
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators captured the shootout, police said.
“This tragedy reminds us that while gun violence continues to decline in Philly and nationwide, we as elected and community leaders still have much work to do,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.
(LAS VEGAS) — A tourist from Belgium has been hospitalized in Las Vegas after suffering third-degree burns to his feet while walking on sand dunes in Death Valley, officials said.
The 42-year-old man was wearing flip flops when officials from the National Park Service said that they either broke or he lost them in the sand last Saturday at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
Air temperatures were 123 degrees at the time, but park officials say that the sand temperatures would have been much hotter.
“The man’s family called for help and recruited other park visitors who carried the man to the parking lot,” according to the NPS statement. “Park rangers determined the man needed to be transported to a hospital quickly due to his burns and pain level.”
Mercy Air’s helicopter was not able to safely land in Death Valley due to extreme temperatures which can reduce rotor lift so park rangers initially transported the victim by ambulance to a landing zone at a higher elevation, which was 109 degrees. From there, the Belgian tourist was taken by Mercy Air to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas where he is being treated for his injuries.
“Park rangers recommend that summer travelers to Death Valley National Park stay within a 10 minute walk of an air conditioned vehicle, not hike after 10 a.m., drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks and wear a hat and sunscreen,” said the National Park Service following the incident.
