Friday, Apr 19th
Last update07:17:01 AM GMT
Political Glance
A former employee of Donald Trump has alleged that “anybody” could access the rooms where the former president stored government secrets at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In an interview on Monday with CNN, Brian Butler also described unwittingly helping Trump’s aide Walt Nauta load boxes of confidential materials that were flown away on the ex-president’s plane as federal officials met with him and his attorneys in June 2022 about his retention and handling of classified records.
A federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid by Donald Trump to throw out out his classified documents criminal case, and appeared skeptical during hours of arguments of a separate effort to scuttle the prosecution ahead of trial.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a two-page order saying that though the Trump team had raised “various arguments warranting serious consideration,” a dismissal of charges was not merited.
The order from Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six counts related to a specific charge: Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer.
Of the 13 counts Trump faced, three of them were tossed by the judge's order. Trump now faces 10 counts in the case.
With a win in Georgia's presidential primary Tuesday night, President Biden has enough delegates to formally claim the Democratic nomination for president in the 2024 general election, according to the AP.
While securing the nomination is a formality for an incumbent president, this also staves off any challengers to Biden and allows the campaign to show widespread unity among the Democratic primary electorate.
Biden did not face major opposition; a push to vote "uncommitted" or to submit a blank ballot, or take similar action, garnered support in several states including battlegrounds like Michigan and North Carolina. It does not present a challenge to Biden's nomination but it does show a not-insignificant number of voters have major concerns about a second Biden term.
The head of Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail informed an agitated president on Jan. 6, 2021, that large groups of people had been denied entry to his rally that day because they were carrying prohibited items, the driver of his presidential SUV told congressional investigators, according to a transcript reviewed by POLITICO.
The testimony is further evidence that Trump was aware of potential security risks in the crowd, even before the mob had breached the Capitol.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro must report to prison on 19 March to begin a four-month sentence for defying the House January 6 committee, his lawyers said.
Navarro, 74, is an economist turned trade adviser who became closely involved in attempts to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, attempts that culminated in the deadly attack on Congress of 6 January 2021.
Navarro openly boasted of his role in an election subversion plot he called the “Green Bay Sweep”. The House committee subpoenaed him. He refused to co-operate, claiming executive privilege covered interactions with Trump as president.
Held in contempt by the House, Navarro was charged by the Department of Justice and found guilty last September. He was sentenced in January this year.
Donald Trump’s new leadership team at the Republican National Committee started the process of ousting scores of staffers on Monday night, clearing out its ranks as they prepare to bring the committee under the wing of the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the matter said.
The RNC is expected to cull about 60 people across the political, data and communications departments. At least five members of the senior staff will be let go and some third-party contracts may also be cancelled. One source familiar with the situation described it as an “absolute bloodbath”.
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