Bryan Kohberger, accused of murder, arrives for a hearing on cameras in the courtroom in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — In a capital murder case that has been marked by secrecy and media restrictions, a lawyer for accused Idaho college killer Bryan Kohberger is now asking the judge to make public their arguments that he should rethink his decision to deny their ask to toss out the charges.
“Mr. Kohberger acknowledges the right of the public to be fully informed of the issues,” his lawyer wrote in a new filing posted to the docket Tuesday and filed on Friday.
Kohberger’s defense had previously made two different attempts to get the indictment against him dismissed. In one, they argued that the grand jury was given inaccurate instructions — that they used the wrong standard of proof. In the other, they argued that prosecutors withheld evidence that might aid Kohberger in defending himself, and biased the grand jury.
The judge denied both in mid-December. Just before Christmas, Kohberger’s team asked the judge to reconsider that decision — filing a request under seal.
Kohberger’s high-profile case has largely been veiled in secrecy due to a strict non-dissemination or so-called “gag” order in place. The defense has repeatedly criticized some media portrayals of their client, and the judge himself has chastised the media for what he called “disappointing” behavior filming proceedings by some members of the press. Both Kohberger’s defense and prosecutors leading the case against him have supported limiting cameras in the courtroom — or even banning them entirely.
Now, Kohberger’s lawyer wants the public to know where they stand, at least on this particular matter of asking the judge to rethink his decision to dismiss the charges.
“Capital case litigation is largely a matter of creating or avoiding as many appellate issues as possible. The prosecution wants to avoid them, the defense wants to create them,” said Matt Murphy, a former prosecutor in Orange County, California and ABC News legal contributor.
“The defense has already made their position clear on the trial record. That properly preserved the issue for appeal review,” Murphy added. “‘Unsealing’ it now just opens it up for the public. This has the twin dangers of poisoning prospective jurors, or running afoul of the Court’s desire not to try the case in the media.”
In their new filing, Kohberger’s lawyer says they only asked for those particular filings to be sealed in the first place “solely” because prosecutors wanted it — and they were on deadline to file the motion, so they acquiesced.
They say their client “has a right” for the relevant criminal rule “to apply as it is written rather than disadvantage him with items remaining sealed that are not within the scope” of that rule.
Arguments on Kohberger’s requests for the judge to reconsider his decision not to toss out the charges are set to be heard in pretrial hearings on Jan. 26.
Prosecutors allege that in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, broke into an off-campus home and stabbed four University of Idaho students to death: Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
After a six-week hunt, police zeroed in on Kohberger as the suspect, arresting him in December 2022 at his family’s home in Pennsylvania. He was indicted in May and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. At his arraignment, he declined to offer a plea, so the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Kohberger could face the death penalty, if convicted.
His lawyers have said their client wasn’t in the home where the homicides occurred and was driving around alone that night.
In August, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, indefinitely delaying what was supposed to be an Oct. 2 start date.
(NEW YORK) — Four college students camping in Red River Gorge in Kentucky were rescued by helicopter Tuesday morning after getting stranded on Courthouse Rock, Powell County Search and Rescue said.
The four students from Asbury University were camping overnight and “underestimated the weather conditions,” Powell County officials said. After waking up to snow on Tuesday, the four realized it was unsafe to climb down from the Rock and called for help.
Members of Powell County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to assess the trail conditions for the rescue. After starting to trek to the top of Courthouse Rock, the rescue team realized the safest way to rescue the group was by helicopter.
The helicopter, flown by Kentucky State Police, was able to rescue the four students at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday.
Fortunately, none of the students were injured.
“Other than being cold, all four students seemed to be in good spirits,” Powell County officials said.
“This call was one of the most dangerous rescues ever attempted in the Gorge,” Powell County Fire and Rescue said. “Climbing Courthouse Rock is extremely treacherous even when conditions are favorable.”
Kentucky State Police, REDSTAR Wilderness EMS, MiddleFork Fire and Rescue, Powell County Search and Rescue and Wolfe County Search and Rescue assisted in the rescue efforts.
Hunter Biden attends the House Oversight and Accountability Committee markup titled “Resolution Recommending That The House Of Representatives Find Robert Hunter Biden In Contempt Of Congress,” Jan. 10, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is moving to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, against the Internal Revenue Service over its alleged failure to protect his tax information from disclosure by two whistleblowers.
Hunter Biden sued the IRS in September over claims made by a pair of veteran tax investigators, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, whom the younger Biden accused of waging a campaign to “to embarrass and inflict harm” on him by improperly sharing his private taxpayer information in media interviews.
Justice Department argued in a 22-page filing on Tuesday that the alleged wrongdoing described by Hunter Biden pertains to disclosures made by the whistleblowers’ personal attorneys — neither of whom are government employees — and should therefore be dismissed.
Hunter Biden also failed to show that the IRS demonstrated any “intentionality or willfulness” in its alleged failure to protect his taxpayer information, government lawyers argued, quoting the standard for bringing this cause of action.
“Even accepting Plaintiff’s factual allegations as true, they do not support a plausible inference that the agency intentionally or willfully failed to establish adequate technical or procedural safeguards to prevent disclosures from taking place,” DOJ attorneys wrote.
The two whistleblowers accused government prosecutors of mishandling their investigation into the president’s son — a claim that the Justice Department has denied.
(WASHINGTON) — The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected an effort by Twitter to appeal a ruling that allowed special counsel Jack Smith to access records from former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account as part of his federal election interference probe.
As ABC News previously reported, the social media company secretly tried to fight an effort by Smith to obtain metadata and a handful of direct messages allegedly sent by Trump from his Twitter account before the account was suspended shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Tuesday, the full court did not issue an opinion accompanying its rejection of the appeal, though a minority of judges consisting of the court’s conservative jurists issued an accompanying statement that argued that the ruling ignored potentially relevant executive privilege issues.
The ruling from the court means that none of the Twitter records and data that Smith has obtained will be clawed back — though it’s unclear whether the social media company will seek to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
A district judge previously raised concerns about whether Twitter was taking action at the behest of its CEO Elon Musk, who has made statements favorable to Trump.
Police tape cordons off the scene of a mass shooting at Club Q, Nov. 20, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post via Getty Images)
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The shooter who killed five people and injured 40 at an LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes Tuesday.
Anderson Aldrich was charged with more than 50 federal hate crime violations stemming from the November 2022 shooting at Club Q.
Aldrich, who opened with an AR-15 style rifle, pleaded guilty last year to state murder charges and sentenced to over 2,000 years in state prison.
Daniel Davis Aston, Kelly Loving, Derrick Rump, Raymond Green Vance, and Ashley Paugh were killed in the incident.
As was described in detail in the aftermath of the attack, Aldrich was only stopped after two patrons forcibly removed the gun from him.
“The defendant’s attack on Club Q interfered with the club’s ability to do business and provide a safe, fun, and welcoming environment for patrons who had gathered there during and after the drag show as part of a weekend of events related to Transgender Day of Remembrance,” the court documents said.
The federal criminal complaint noted that Aldrich, who was 22 at the time, was wearing a tactical vest with ballistic plates and had “at least two additional magazines loaded with ammunition.
Though hate crimes resulting in death charge qualifies for the death penalty, court documents filed jointly by the Justice Department and Aldrich’s lawyer on Jan. 9 indicate there has been a plea agreement that removed the death penalty off the table.
“Among other provisions, the agreement provides that the defendant will plead guilty to every count of a 74-count Information charging him with federal hate crimes in violation of relevant provisions of the Shepard-Byrd Act, 18 U.S.C. § 249, and appurtenant gun crimes in violation of the relevant provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 924,” the court documents filed said.
“The United States is not seeking the death penalty in this case. The parties have agreed that multiple concurrent life sentences plus a consecutive sentence of 190 years imprisonment is sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of criminal justice,” the court documents said.
The court docket indicates a plea hearing will be scheduled in the near future.
A lawyer for Aldrich did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware released this photo of a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver that was purchased by Hunter Biden in 2018. (U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware)
(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel David Weiss’ office on Tuesday issued a biting rebuttal to Hunter Biden’s attempt to have three felony gun charges against him thrown out, calling Biden’s selective prosecution claim “a fiction designed for a Hollywood script.”
Attorneys representing Hunter Biden are seeking to have the charges dismissed in part by accusing Weiss, who was appointed U.S. Attorney by former President Donald Trump, of “[buckling] under political pressure” from congressional Republicans loyal to Trump.
“This claim borders on the absurd,” Weiss’ office wrote in a 57-page response on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said that the argument is “implausible” because Weiss was empowered to bring the charges by an attorney general who was appointed by President Joe Biden, the defendant’s father.
Hunter Biden’s “motion [to dismiss] is stunningly weak and wholly unsupported by facts and law,” Weiss’ office wrote.
Weiss’ office filed the gun-related charges in September, on the heels of his appointment as special counsel and nearly five years after investigators began probing Hunter Biden.
The conduct described in charging documents dates to October of 2018, when Hunter Biden procured a gun despite later acknowledging in his memoir, Beautiful Things, that he was addicted to drugs around that time. According to prosecutors, Biden obtained a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver and lied on a federal form about his drug use. Biden owned the firearm for 11 days and never fired it, his attorneys have said.
Prosecutors on Tuesday reiterated several core tenets of their indictment, which they said amounted to “overwhelming” evidence against Biden. They added that the FBI found trace amounts of cocaine on a brown leather pouch that held the firearm after it was recovered by police.
In his filing seeking to have the charges against Hunter Biden dismissed, his attorney Abbe Lowell offered a series of arguments, claiming that the special counsel was “unlawfully appointed” and therefore lacks the authority to bring charges; that the immunity stipulation in a section of the parties’ ill-fated plea deal remains in effect; and that the gun crimes in question may not be constitutional.
Hunter Biden’s legal team will have an opportunity to reply to the government’s brief by the end of the month.
The gun charges in Delaware reflect only a fraction of Hunter Biden’s growing legal liabilities. Last week, he pleaded not guilty to nine additional tax-related charges brought by Weiss’ office in California. Congressional Republicans have also threatened to issue a criminal referral to the Justice Department for his failure to comply with a subpoena for closed-door testimony.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at his caucus night event at the Iowa Events Center, Jan. 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial this week in New York City to determine whether he will have to pay former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll additional damages for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual assault.
Last year, in a separate trial, a jury determined that Trump was liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, and that he defamed her in a 2022 social media post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!”
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said he doesn’t know who Carroll is.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 16, 8:30 PM
Trump expected to attend trial Wednesday, sources say
Former President Trump, who was campaigning in New Hampshire Tuesday evening, is expected to return to New York to attend the second day of his defamation trial on Wednesday, sources tell ABC News.
Trump is then scheduled to return to New Hampshire later Wednesday.
Jan 16, 6:02 PM
Trial is ‘straight out of banana republic,’ says Trump attorney
Donald Trump’s legal counsel Boris Epshteyn briefly spoke to reporters outside court at the conclusion of Tuesday’s proceedings, calling the trial “straight out of [a] banana republic.”
“Manhattan is 90-95% Democrat,” Epshteyn said, despite voter registration records showing the borough is about 70% Democratic. “Does anybody think the President will get a fair trial here? Absolutely not,” he said.
Despite a jury last year finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, Epshteyn alleged that Carroll is making “false accusations.”
“President Trump has consistently stated that he did not commit the allegation and did not commit the acts that the plaintiff alleges. He has been steadfast in that. And it is right to defend himself from false accusations,” Epshteyn said.
Epshteyn declined to comment on whether Trump plans to attend court tomorrow.
Carroll did not speak to reporters when she left court.
Jan 16, 4:52 PM
Carroll seeking a ‘windfall’ over ‘mean Tweets,’ Trump attorney says
E. Jean Carroll is looking for a “windfall” over a series of “mean Tweets from Twitter trolls,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said during the defense’s opening statement, in which Habba sought to cast doubt on the severity of the alleged harm Carroll said she endured.
Habba told the jury they do not have to believe Carroll’s account of how she has suffered as a result of Trump’s defamatory statements.
“Her career has prospered and she has been thrust back into the limelight like she has always wanted,” Habba said, accusing Carroll of using her story “to obtain as much fame and notoriety as possible.”
The defense framed Carroll’s lawsuit as nothing more than an attempt to shake down Trump for money over scores of critical Tweets that have nothing to do with the defamatory statements by Trump that are at issue in the trial.
“She expects you as the jury to give her an award for every negative comment that was thrown her way,” Habba said. “She is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her.”
Habba showed a photo of Carroll in the company of Trump critic Kathy Griffin and said Carroll is close with another critic of the former president, his niece Mary Trump.
“This is someone who craves fame and seeks fame wherever she can get it,” Habba said. “She got what she wanted.”
The proceedings were dismissed for the day after both sides concluded their opening statements. The trial will resume Wednesday with the first witness in the case.
Jan 16, 4:00 PM
Trump ‘unleashed his followers,’ Carroll’s attorney says
Donald Trump’s lies about E. Jean Carroll “unleashed his followers to go after her,” and as Trump campaigns for president he “continues to lie about Ms. Carroll,” Carroll’s attorney said in her opening statement.
“How much money will it take to make him stop?” Carroll’s attorney, Shawn Crowley, said. “He kept up those very same lies even after a federal jury sat in this courtroom and unanimously found that he sexually assaulted her and defamed her.”
Crowley reminded the jury that Trump “was president when he made those statements and he used the world’s biggest microphone to humiliate her” — the result of which was that he “wrecked” Carroll’s reputation in a matter of days, Crowley said.
“Donald Trump’s response was swift and brutal,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump did not just deny the assault. He went much, much further.”
She quoted Trump’s statements from June 22, 2019: “‘People should pay dearly for making up accusations” about him.
Crowley also quoted Trump saying “she’s not my type” on that day in 2019. “In other words, she was too ugly to assault. She must have been lying because she was too unattractive for Mr. Trump to sexually assault,” Crowley said.
Carroll, who is now 80, sat at the plaintiff’s table as her attorney showed the jury messages Trump’s followers posted calling her ugly and urging her to kill herself.
“When Donald Trump called Ms. Carroll a fraud and a liar, they listened and they believed and they decided to go after her,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump knew exactly what he was unleashing.”
Jan 16, 3:40 PM
‘This is not a do-over,’ judge instructs jury
Judge Lewis Kaplan told the nine jurors that they must accept as true that Trump forcibly sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll and defamed her when he denied it.
“Ms. Carroll did not make up her claim of forcible sexual abuse,” Judge Kaplan told the panel. “His false statements tended to disparage Ms. Carroll or tended to expose her to hatred or to induce an unsavory opinion of her.”
The judge made it clear the jury was only determining damages related to two defamatory statements Trump made in June 2019 when he denied Carroll’s rape allegation. He said the trial was not an opportunity to re-litigate the prior trial, in which a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual assault.
“This trial is not a do-over of the previous trial which determined those facts,” Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 3:18 PM
Trump departs before opening statements
Former President Trump has departed Manhattan federal court prior to the delivery of opening statements in his defamation damages trial.
Trump voluntarily showed up to court for jury selection this morning, and did not return after the lunch break. He has a campaign event scheduled later today in New Hampshire.
His attorney suggested Trump would return to court for at least part of tomorrow’s proceedings, when E. Jean Carroll is expected to be the first witness.
The jury has been sworn in, with opening statements to begin following instructions from the judge.
Jan 16, 2:08 PM
2 election deniers don’t make cut as jury is seated
A jury of nine has been selected to hear the evidence in the case.
One juror is a married father of two grown children who works in the subway system. and said he is an avid local news viewer. Another juror is a German native who emigrated to the United States and said she does not watch the news.
The jury also includes a newlywed who works in property management and gets his news from social media, a woman with a master’s degree who works as a publicist for a tech firm, and a single man who works in television.
Two people who said they believed that the election was stolen from Donald Trump by President Joe Biden did not make the jury. Nor did a man who said he believed Trump was being treated unfairly by the United States court system.
Opening arguments will begin follow the lunch break. As they exited the courtroom, Trump and Carroll came within feet of each other but appeared to ignore one another.
Jan 16, 12:11 PM
Prospective jurors questioned about political leanings
Former President Trump has been twisting and turning in his seat at the defense table as prospective jurors answer the judge’s questions about their political affiliations, voting habits, campaign donations, and any experience with sexual assault — and whether they ever watched The Apprentice or read E. Jean Carroll’s advice column in Elle magazine.
As another columnist was known to say, “Only in New York, kids.”
One prospective juror, number 68, affirmed that he donated to Trump’s campaign, followed him on social media, and believed that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump by President Joe Biden.
Prospective juror 63 was excused after he said that his knowledge of Trump’s criminal indictments — of which there are four that the former president is currently facing — would impact his ability to be fair and impartial.
The majority of prospective jurors signaled they were registered to vote, prompting the judge to ask if they had voted in 2016 and 2020. Trump turned to look at those who answered in the affirmative.
Three prospective jurors said they had donated to Trump’s campaign. Eleven said they donated to either the Obama, Clinton or Biden campaigns. At least ten watched The Apprentice.
Jan 16, 11:32 AM
Judge explains case to prospective jurors
Judge Kaplan explained the case to prospective jurors, saying, “Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump for defamation for certain statements he made” shortly after she publicly accused him of raping her.
“This trial is limited to the issue of the money damages, if any, that Ms. Carroll should receive for those publications. The reason that’s so is that the court determined in a previous decision that Mr. Trump is liable,” Kaplan said. “It has been determined already that Mr. Trump did sexually assault Ms. Carroll.”
To whittle down the jury pool, Kaplan began with this question: “Having heard what you have heard about this case so far, would you be unable to give both sides a fair trial and to decide this case solely on the basis of the evidence you hear during this trial and the instructions I give you?”
Three prospective jurors were immediately excused for signaling they could not be fair.
One woman said she worked for Ivanka Trump’s company from 2017 to 2018. “Would that experience have any effect on your ability to be fair and impartial to both sides in this case?” Judge Kaplan asked regarding her connection to Trump’s eldest daughter. “No,” the woman replied.
After the judge asked if anyone else had worked for Trump or his family, a man indicated he was an officer in the U.S. Navy while Trump was commander in chief. The man said it would have no impact on his ability to be fair.
Jan 16, 11:23 AM
Prospective jurors enter courtroom to begin selection process
As prospective jurors filed into the courtroom for jury selection, Donald Trump surveyed the group. One woman appeared to smile upon recognizing Trump. A man leaned forward and appeared to stare for several seconds.
“You’ve been summoned for possible service in a civil case,” Judge Kaplan said before introducing the plaintiff and defendant. “This case is between a writer, advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, and former President Donald Trump,” he said.
Jurors were told the case is expected to last three to five days and that they would sit through Thursday and, if necessary, return on Monday. They were also told they will be anonymous.
“That means neither your names nor the names of the jurors who are ultimately selected will be made public,” Judge Kaplan said. He had earlier cited Trump’s rhetoric as among the reasons for the anonymous jury.
Jurors will assemble daily at an off-site location and be driven to court under guard, the judge said.
“This is for your own protection. As you may understand, this case has attracted media attention and that’s likely to continue,” Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 10:40 AM
Layout of courtroom has Trump sitting 2 tables behind Carroll
Unlike courtrooms where the counsel tables are arranged side by side, the counsel tables in the courtroom this morning are arranged behind one another, with Trump and his attorneys seated two tables behind Carroll and her counsel.
Trump appeared to take note of that arrangement when he entered the courtroom.
He appeared to point at Carroll, then he and his team asked a man seated at the table between them to slide over — possibly to block Trump’s view of Carroll, or to provide a better view of the proceedings.
Jan 16, 10:27 AM
Judge again declines to delay trial
On Friday, Judge Kaplan denied a request from Trump’s attorneys to postpone the trial for a week so Trump could attend Thursday’s funeral of Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady Melania Trump, who died last Tuesday after a long health battle.
In court this morning, Trump attorney Alina Habba repeated her request for an adjournment so Trump can attend Knavs’ funeral.
“You asked me for a week’s adjournment and I denied it,” Judge Kaplan said. “The repetition is not accomplishing anything.”
The judge said Friday that he would grant a continuance so the trial, which was initially scheduled to conclude this week, would be extended so Trump could testify on Monday, Jan. 22.
Jan 16, 10:12 AM
Defense lodges several objections as court gets underway
“The court has made a number of rulings precluding evidence and argument,” said Judge Lewis Kaplan as court got underway, asking each side’s lead attorney to affirm that the parties understood the rules.
The defense objected, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction. Kaplan quickly dispensed with the objection, saying, “Overruled.” Kaplan, who has a reputation as a no-nonsense judge, also overruled several other defense objections.
“I do think these are issues that will become an issue on appeal. We still don’t know what witnesses are coming in and which aren’t,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said, before Kaplan interrupted, saying, “Ms. Habba you have had a witness list for months.”
Habba pressed on, with Kaplan noting her objections.
“I have heard you, I have considered what you have to say and I have ruled,” Judge Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 9:56 AM
Trump seated in courtroom
Donald Trump has taken a seat in court, where jury selection in his defamation trial is scheduled to get underway this morning.
His decision to attend this trial is a clear shift for the former president, whose lawyers portrayed his absence from last year’s defamation and battery trial as a service to New York City, saying the city would not have to suffer the “logistical and financial burdens” of Trump’s attendance.
Carroll’s attorneys, however, pounced on Trump’s absence.
“He didn’t even bother to show up here in person,” attorney Roberta Kaplan told the jury.
Writing on social media last month, Trump blamed his absence at the trial on “not good advice” from his then-lawyer Joe Tacopina.
“I was asked by my lawyer not to attend–‘It was beneath me, and they have no case.’ That was not good advice,” Trump wrote.
Trump attorney Alina Habba is serving as Trump’s lead defense attorney for this week’s trial.
Jan 16, 9:21 AM
Carroll arrives for trial
E. Jean Carroll has arrived at the courthouse for the first day of the trial.
She smiled to reporters as she entered court.
Jan 16, 9:03 AM
Trump arrives at courthouse
Following his victory in Iowa, former President Trump landed at 3:30 a.m. in New York and just arrived at his civil defamation trial in lower Manhattan.
Trump is not required to attend the trial, though his decision not to attend last year’s defamation and battery trial by the same plaintiff, writer E. Jean Carroll, was mocked by Carroll’s attorney.
Trump’s motorcade pulled up to the courthouse this morning at at 8:50 a.m. ET.
Jan 16, 8:51 AM
On heels of Iowa victory, Trump is back on trial
When Donald Trump’s federal defamation trial gets underway in lower Manhattan this morning, it will be only about 11 hours since the former president claimed victory in the Iowa caucuses.
The trial is expected to take about a week, which could take Trump right to the doorstep of the New Hampshire Primary, scheduled for next Tuesday.
Trump has said that he plans to attend the trial at some point during the week, but has not indicted when.
The former president did not attend last year’s trial, held at the same courthouse, where a New York jury found him liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll and defaming her when he denied her accusation in a 2022 social media post.
(NEW YORK) — A woman has fallen 100 feet to her death while exploring inside a cave in Virginia, according to authorities.
The fall happened on Friday at approximately 4:13 p.m. when authorities at the Giles County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center received a call that a “female individual had fell approximately 100 feet within a cave in the Staffordsville Community outside of Pearisburg,” according to a statement released by Giles County Emergency Services.
The circumstances surrounding what led up to the woman falling 100 feet to her death have not yet been released by officials, but authorities did confirm that the unnamed victim was found deceased upon their arrival at the scene of the accident.
“Giles County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, Pearisburg Fire Department, and Giles Rescue Squad were dispatched, responded, and quickly identified the need for additional specialized resources,” authorities said. “Celco Emergency Response team along with Blacksburg Rescue Squad’s Technical Rescue Cave team were both requested, responded, and assisted with the rescue efforts.”
Once the woman was located and she was pronounced dead, her body was extricated from the cave by rescue personnel working the incident.
The investigation into what led up to the accident is ongoing and remains an open investigation by the Giles County Sheriff’s office.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge has denied former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro’s request for a new trial after he was convicted of ignoring a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee.
Navarro argued that the jury that found him guilty of contempt of Congress may have been influenced by protesters outside the courthouse when the jurors exited the building for a break before returning a verdict.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said that while there were demonstrators outside the courthouse, they did not have direct contact with the jurors.
“The evidence establishes that the jurors only interacted with each other and [Court Security Officer] Torres in John Marshall Park,” Mehta wrote in his ruling. “No one directed any words or displayed any signs at them.”
“Defendant not only fails to demonstrate prejudice, he has not shown that any juror was actually exposed to any improper external influence,” Mehta ruled.
Navarro was found guilty of contempt of Congress last September, for defying a subpoena issued in February 2022 by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
The former Trump adviser was convicted on one count over his refusal to appear for a deposition in front of the committee, and on a second count for refusing to produce documents.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department will issue a report on Thursday on its review of the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting, a DOJ spokesperson confirmed.
The “Critical Incident Review” is not a criminal investigation into the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, the DOJ said. It is intended to provide the most independent and comprehensive account of how law enforcement responded to the shooting — examining things like officer training, command and control response, deployment of resources and the support provided to victims and their families.
The review was conducted by the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a team made up of federal staff and subject matter experts including former local, state and federal law enforcement officials.
Uvalde families and state officials have spoken out against the law enforcement response during the massacre, the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. It took 77 minutes for any of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers assembled that day to confront the killer, ABC News previously reported.
The siege ended with a counterassault led by a SWAT team from the U.S. Border Patrol. In the process, lone gunman Salvador Ramos was shot and killed.
A criminal investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety into whether the public safety failures led to the deaths of the victims has yet to be released. In the months after the shooting, school district police chief Pete Arredondo was fired, the entire district police force was disbanded and several state troopers were dismissed.
