(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s attorney filed a motion Wednesday opposing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ new request to try all 19 defendants in her Georgia election interference case together.
The Trump filing urged the judge to stick with his earlier ruling that only Kenneth Chesebro — who filed a speedy trial motion asking for an expediated trial — stand trial on Oct. 23.
Trump and 18 others were charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.
Willis, in a filing Tuesday, reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants to stand trial together and not be severed from each other, telling the judge that her office “maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together.”
In Wednesday’s filing, Trump’s attorneys said the right to a fair trial and due process “necessarily includes sufficient time to prepare to defend against a RICO conspiracy charge with 161 Overt Acts.”
“Apparently, the DA’s office believes that even though its investigation of the defendants consumed over 18 months, the Court has no discretion or choice but to put all the defendants on trial in two months because one or more defendants have demanded a speedy trial,” the filing from new Trump attorney Steven Sadow stated.
Willis’ filing had said it was “unclear to the State of Georgia from the text of the Order whether the Court’s intention was to sever Defendant Chesebro’s trial from the other defendants.”
“Apparently, the DA’s office does not believe the Court understands how to properly exercise its discretion to manage this case,” the filing added.
“President Trump has already informed the Court that he will be filing a timely motion to sever his case from those who are demanding a speedy trial,” the filing said.
Sadow also alerted the judge in a footnote that he already has another trial scheduled for late September for another client.
(WASHINGTON) — The judge overseeing Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress case ruled in a pre-trial hearing Wednesday that the former Trump adviser “has not met his burden” to show a formal assertion of executive privilege by former president Donald Trump.
Navarro will stand trial on criminal contempt of Congress next week for defying subpoenas issued to him by the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In a lengthy ruling, Judge Amit Mehta said that Navarro did not provide evidence that Trump asserted executive privilege specific to the Jan 6. committee’s subpoena.
Mehta said that Navarro’s claim that he spoke to Trump on February 20, 2022, at which time “Trump clearly invoked executive privilege,” provided no specific evidence that Trump had indeed done so.
Mehta added that in the “two key pieces of evidence” Navarro presented — a letter from Trump attorney Evan Corcoran and Navarro’s own testimony — there was “again” no formal indication that Trump had invoked executive privilege.
The letter from Corcoran, which Mehta found to be “the most compelling evidence,” still did not explicitly state that Trump invoked executive privilege, the judge said.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(COVINGTON, Ky.) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday appeared to freeze again during a press conference in his home state of Kentucky.
Video showed the Republican senator speaking in Covington when he was asked by reporter about whether he will run for reelection in 2026. McConnell trailed off and was seen staring ahead for several seconds before an aide stepped in to ask if he’d heard the question.
McConnell, 81, sparked concern in late July when he was escorted away from the podium on Capitol Hill after he stopped speaking mid-sentence. After 20 seconds, he was helped away from the podium by two of his colleagues.
The senator reappeared at the microphone minutes later to continue answering questions. Asked about the episode, he told reporters he was “fine.”
ABC News has reached out to his office for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and a top associate are set to be sentenced Wednesday following their convictions last May on charges of seditious conspiracy and several other felonies stemming from their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors are seeking 33 years in prison for Tarrio and 27 years for Ethan Nordean, in what would be by far the longest sentences yet handed down for individuals charged in connection with the attack.
“The defendants understood the stakes, and they embraced their role in bringing about a ‘revolution,'” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly earlier this month. “They unleashed a force on the Capitol that was calculated to exert their political will on elected officials by force and to undo the results of a democratic election. The foot soldiers of the right aimed to keep their leader in power. They failed. They are not heroes; they are criminals.”
The recommendation underscores what prosecutors see as the Proud Boys’ singular role in igniting much of the violence at the Capitol that day, as well as Tarrio’s leadership in the conspiracy by directing his followers’ actions to disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election — despite the fact he was not present in Washington, D.C., during the attack.
The request of 33 years for Tarrio is eight years more than the 25 years prosecutors had previously sought for Oath Keepers’ leader Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced earlier this year to 18 years in prison — the longest sentence thus far handed down for any Jan. 6 defendant.
Similar to their approach to the Oath Keepers previously convicted of seditious conspiracy, the government is asking Judge Kelly to apply a so-called “terrorism enhancement” at sentencing to lengthen the prison terms each defendant will ultimately face — and to effectively label their actions as domestic terrorism.
In their 80-page sentencing memo, prosecutors argued that for years the far-right group “intentionally positioned themselves at the vanguard of political violence in this country” by bringing an “army of violence” to communities such as Portland, Oregon; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Washington, D.C., where they often engaged in violent clashes with leftist protesters.
“They brought that violence to the Capitol on January 6 in an effort to change the course of American history, and the sentences imposed by this Court should reflect the seriousness of their offenses,” prosecutors said.
As they did through much of the more than four-month-long trial, prosecutors point out how the group became emboldened and saw a swelling of its ranks after former President Donald Trump mentioned them during a September 2020 presidential debate, in which he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” after being asked if he would condemn the group’s actions.
Prosecutors say Tarrio previously had gathered members of the group to protests in D.C. in November and December of 2020 and even posted a photo of himself visiting the White House.
He was arrested in D.C. two days before Jan. 6 on charges that he burned a Black Lives Matter flag during one of the prior protests that had erupted into violence, as well as possession of two high-capacity firearms magazines. While he was ordered to stay out of the city as result of those charges, messages displayed by prosecutors during the trial showed him in close contact with associates as they carried out the attack on the building.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors extensively cite the group’s calls for using force to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win, their communications over encrypted messaging apps to organize and recruit others, and actions during key moments throughout the riot to help fuel the violence on the ground.
“Such conduct in leading and instigating an attack like January 6 demands deterrence,” prosecutors said. “It is critical that this Court impose significant sentences of incarceration on all the defendants in this case to convey to those who would mobilize such political violence in the future that their actions will have consequences.”
Three other Proud Boys — Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola will be sentenced separately on Thursday and Friday. The government is seeking 33 years for Biggs, the Florida Proud Boys leader; 30 years for Rehl, the head of the group’s Philadelphia chapter; and 20 years for Pezzola.
Pezzola was the sole defendant found not guilty of seditious conspiracy following the more than four-month trial, though he was found guilty of other felonies including for his actions such as smashing through a Capitol window with a stolen police riot shield, one of the first physical breaches of the building that day.
Attorneys for the Proud Boys have urged Kelly to impose much more lenient sentences — essentially encompassing the time they have already spent in pre-trial detention — by arguing the case against them was overstated and that much of their communications were First Amendment-protected political speech.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign now says it has raised a total of $9.4 million since the release of his mug shot.
The figure has been revised since the campaign first said this past Saturday that it raised a total of $7.1 million in less than three days, according to campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung. That includes $4.18 million raised on Friday alone, the biggest fundraising day for the campaign so far, Cheung said.
According to Cheung, the campaign’s “organic” fundraising has skyrocketed recently, including from people who purchase campaign merchandise or donate without being prompted. He attributed part of the fundraising success to Trump tweeting out the mug shot and posting the picture on the campaign website.
Trump is one of 19 defendants charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a sweeping racketeering indictment for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump has denied any illegal wrongdoing.
Trump was processed and had a mug shot taken last week before he was released.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released Trump’s mug shot which was taken shortly after he turned himself in to authorities. Trump is the first former U.S. president to have his mug shot taken.
Thus far in August, the campaign has raised more than $20 million in total, according to Cheung.
According to Cheung, the latest fundraising figure includes $1.7 million the campaign brought in from selling 36,000 mug shot t-shirts; $864,000 brought in from selling 24,00 mug shot coffee mugs; and $352,000 brought in from selling 8,600 mug shot posters.
Cheung said funds included in the latest figures are “earmarked” for political and campaign activities and will not be used for legal expenses.
The Trump campaign, since last week, has been using the mug shot from his election interference indictment to fundraise after the campaign quickly posted the image on his campaign website with a call to donate after his mug shot was released.
“Today, at the notoriously violent jail in Fulton County, Georgia, I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME,” the campaign wrote in the fundraising message, claiming that his legal battles are “election interference.”
“But today, I walked into the lion’s den with one simple message on behalf of our entire movement: I WILL NEVER SURRENDER OUR MISSION TO SAVE AMERICA,” the fundraising message continued.
The message ended with a plea for a contribution.
So far this year, Trump’s presidential campaign committee has focused mostly on political and campaign activities, while his Save America PAC has covered much of the legal expenses associated with his investigations and indictments.
Fox News first reported on the latest fundraising details on Tuesday since the mug shot release.
Kenneth Chesebro is seen in a mugshot provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, Aug. 23, 2023. — Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
(ATLANTA) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a filing Tuesday reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants charged in her Georgia election interference case to stand trial together, telling the judge that her office “maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together.”
The development came on the same day that the judge overseeing the hearing over former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ request to move his case from state court into federal court requested “limited additional briefing” before he renders a decision on the matter.
Willis’ filing came after Judge Scott McAfee ordered defendant Kenneth Chesebro to stand trial on Oct. 23, following Chesebro’s request for a speedy trial — and after former President Donald Trump’s attorneys alerted the court that they would move to sever the case.
The DA is seeking clarification on the recent order from Judge McAfee, which stated that trial deadlines he set for Chesebro “do not apply to any codefendants.”
“It is unclear to the State of Georgia from the text of the Order whether the Court’s intention was to sever Defendant Chesebro’s trial from the other defendants,” the DA’s filing states.
In pushing to keep the defendants together, Willis argues in the filing that there is “insufficient information before the Court for it to determine whether a motion to sever could be obtained by any of the Defendants.”
The filing requests that “at a minimum,” the judge orders former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell, who has also filed a speedy trial motion, to stand trial at the same time as Chesebro.
The DA’s office has also also asked the judge to set a deadline for any defendant who wants to sever the case.
Trump, Chesebro, Meadows, Powell and 15 others were charged by Willis earlier this month in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.
Meadow’s charges relate in part to his role in the infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — actions that Meadows argues he took as a federal official acting “under color” of his position as Trump’s chief of staff.
Meadows testified at his hearing Monday that his case should be moved into federal court because he didn’t do “anything that was outside of my role as chief of staff,” while prosecutors argued that his actions were purely political and unrelated to his official duties — and therefor do not qualify for removal.
In the judge’s order, filed Tuesday, he essentially asks both sides: What if some of Meadows’ actions were performed in his official role, and some weren’t — would that qualify for removal?
“Would a finding that at least one (but not all) of the over acts charged occurred under the color of Meadows’s office, be sufficient for federal removal of a criminal prosecution?” the Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee asked.
Both sides were ordered to submit their responses by Thursday afternoon.
The judge’s order came as several defendants in the case waived their formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.
Powell and publicist Trevian Kutti both entered not guilty pleas Tuesday, following a not guilty plea entered Monday by Georgia attorney Ray Smith III.
Both Powell and Smith’s filings said it’s their attorneys’ understanding that by filing a waiver, they “are excused from appearing” at the upcoming arraignment, which McAfee has set for Sept. 6 for all 19 defendants to enter their pleas in the case.
(WASHINGTON) — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy lambasted each other at last week’s GOP presidential primary debate, and the feud is only getting fiercer.
The two have tangled over their names, foreign policy and more, with no end in sight.
Meanwhile, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez suspended his own presidential campaign Tuesday, making him the first presidential candidate of note to pull out of the race.
Here’s what you need to know from the campaign trail.
What’s in a name?
Haley and Ramaswamy made headlines at last week’s debate after they sparred over foreign policy — with Haley criticizing Ramaswamy for his lack of experience, and Ramaswamy returning fire by suggesting Haley is running to earn a seat on the board of a defense contractor.
The attacks have gotten more personal in the days since.
Ramaswamy launched the first volley of round two of the fight by addressing her by her government name on his newly launched “TRUTH. Over Myth” page.
“Keep lying, Nimarata Randhawa,” he said of Nikki Haley for criticizing his stance on Israel. She was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa; Haley is her married name.
It’s unclear why Ramaswamy, who, like Haley, is Indian American, would use her legal name, though it could be part of an effort to cast her as inauthentic.
Haley Monday swatted away the remark, telling Fox News. “I’m not going to get into the childish name-calling or whatever, making fun of my name that he’s doing.”
“How is he making fun of her name? His name is Vivek Ramaswamy,” Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told ABC News.
Haley returned fire again Tuesday, knocking him on his remarks and his foreign policy on Israel after he said he would usher in further peace deals with other historically hostile nations while pulling back on U.S. support for Jerusalem by 2028.
“@VivekGRamaswamy’s attacks & desperate attempts at damage control don’t change how he treats our friend Israel & how his dangerous policies make America less safe. Israel faces genocidal threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, & Syria. Our next president must understand that,” Haley wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Vivek said we should abandon Israel after 2028. Those are HIS words.”
Ramaswamy previously told actor and activist Russell Brand that he wants “to get Israel to the place where it is negotiated back into the infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East” and that “there’s no North Star of commitment to any one country other than the United States of America.”
His website now reads, “By the end of Vivek’s first term, the US-Israel relationship will be deeper and stronger than ever because it won’t be a client relationship, it will be a true friendship,” and that he wouldn’t cut aid to Israel “until Israel tells the U.S. that it no longer needs the aid” because “that’s what true friends do.”
Miami mayor takes the heat
Suarez announced Tuesday he’s suspending his campaign, ending a bid that never fully got off the ground and did not get enough polling support to qualify for the first debate last week.
“While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains,” Suarez wrote on X.
“I look forward to keeping in touch with the other Republican presidential candidates and doing what I can to make sure our party puts forward a strong nominee who can inspire and unify the country, renew Americans’ trust in our institutions and in each other, and win.”
Suarez had previously said that he had qualified for the first debate last week and that anyone who didn’t qualify should drop out of the race. However, the Republican National Committee ended up saying that Suarez did not meet its polling threshold, keeping him off the debate stage.
Suarez, whose job as Miami mayor is largely symbolic and powerless, consistently polled in the low single digits, if he registered at all.
X marks the spot (for political ads)
X announced Tuesday that it will allow political ads back on the platform for the first time since 2019.
X said it was allowing the ads back to support “people’s right to accurate and safe political discourse,” but insisted guardrails would remain on what could be posted on the platform.
“This will include prohibiting the promotion of false or misleading content, including false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election, while seeking to preserve free and open political discourse,” the company said in a blog post.
X said it will also beef up its safety and elections teams to curtail the reach of manipulated media and fake accounts. It didn’t offer details on what the teams’ expansion would look like.
X head Elon Musk has faced backlash for removing some moderation procedures, which critics have said has allowed more hate speech on the platform, and allowing previously banned figures such as former President Donald Trump back on the platform.
The age-old question
Democrats have publicly and privately fretted that voters think President Joe Biden is too old for a second term — and a new poll confirms they have something to worry about.
Seventy-seven percent of Democrats under age 45 and 62% of Democrats over 45 said they believe Biden is too old to serve a second term, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. And in a sign of waning enthusiasm by younger voters, only 34% of Democrats under the age of 45 want Biden to run at all.
And when all adults surveyed were asked for the first word they think of when they think of Biden, 26% cited his age, and another 15% mentioned words associated with being slow and confused.
Biden, 80, is only three years older than Trump, his likeliest general election opponent, yet voters don’t view Trump’s age as big of an issue.
But the poll isn’t all roses for Trump.
When asked for the first word that came to voters’ minds when thinking about Trump, 23% mentioned words associated with corruption, crime, lying or untrustworthiness.
(MIAMI) — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Tuesday that he is suspending his campaign for president after failing to qualify for the first Republican primary debate last week in Milwaukee.
“Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Suarez said. “This country has given so much to my family and me. The prospect of giving back at the highest levels of public service is a motivator if not a calling. Throughout this process, I have met so many freedom-loving Americans who care deeply about our nation, her people, and its future. It was a privilege to come so close to appearing on stage with the other candidates at last week’s first debate.”
“While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains,” Suarez added.
The decision marks days of disputed back and forth by his team over whether he would make it on the stage.
Ultimately, the Republican National Committee said he hadn’t met all of their polling and donor benchmarks — despite claiming otherwise.
He had released a social media video saying he had qualified and urging supporters to tune in.
“I am so excited to be able to deliver my message of prosperity to the entire nation, to introduce myself to the nation,” he said. “This is the beginning of an incredible moment for our country and for our city. I want you all to watch and be a part of it.”
The 45-year-old Suarez, who announced his candidacy in June with an ad showing him running through Miami, pitched himself as an effective leader with the youthful presence needed in the White House.
And in an effort to meet the debate criteria of 40,000 individual donors, Suarez had offered unusual rewards for people who gave his campaign a single dollar, including entrance into a raffle for tickets to Lionel Messi’s first game in Major League Soccer.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced Tuesday he has been diagnosed with a “very treatable blood cancer” and has started treatment.
“After a few days of not feeling like myself this past week, I had some blood work done,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement. “The results uncovered some irregularities and after undergoing additional tests, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very treatable blood cancer.”
Scalise said the treatment will continue for the next several months, and he expects to return to Washington and continue working as the No. 2 Republican in the House.
“I am incredibly grateful we were able to detect this early and that this cancer is treatable,” Scalise said. “I am thankful for my excellent medical team, and with the help of God, support of my family, friends, colleagues, and constituents, I will tackle this with the same strength and energy as I have tackled past challenges.”
Congress is currently in August recess. House members are due to return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 12.
Colleagues on both sides of the aisle offered well wishes for Scalise after the announcement.
“Steve is as tough and kind as they come, and he has beaten so many unbeatable odds,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik wrote on social media. “The Legend from Louisiana is beloved by his colleagues and America and we know he will fight this next battle with that same resolve.”
Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, in response to Scalise, said, “I know your courage and resilience will lead you through this battle with strength, and I will be here to support you throughout your recovery.”
Multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of plasma cells, is the second most common type of blood cancer in high-income countries, according to research published in the medical journal, The Lancet. Approximately 35,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease this year in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. It is usually seen in older age groups, or those above 45, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scalise has served Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District since 2008 and was elected majority leader after Republicans regained majority control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections.
The congressman previously recovered from life-threatening injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Congressional Baseball Game practice in 2017.
Scalise was struck in the hip and went through a series of surgeries to recover.
“I think about just how lucky we all are, lucky to be alive,” Scalise told Fox News during this year’s Congressional Baseball Game.
-ABC News’ Ankita Aggarwal contributed to this report.
Kenneth Chesebro is seen in a mugshot provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, Aug. 23, 2023. — Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
(ATLANTA) — Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the 19 defendants in the Fulton County election interference case, filed a motion Monday asking a judge to unseal a host of underlying records in the case — including the special grand jury report that recommended charges, the transcripts of testimony heard by the panel, and any recordings of the proceedings.
The filing came on same day that another defendant, attorney Ray Smith III, waived his formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty “to each and every charge of the Indictment,” according to that filing.
According to Smith’s filing, Smith’s team believes that by filing the waiver they “are excused from appearing” at the arraignment, which Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has set for Sept. 6 for all 19 defendants to enter their pleas in the case.
Chesebro is set to stand trial in the case on Oct. 23, after a judge granted his request for a speedy trial. He, Smith and former President Donald Trump were charged along with 16 others earlier this month in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former president says his actions were not illegal and that the investigation is politically motivated.
In his motion on Monday, Chesebro’s attorneys said the materials he’s requesting “are critical for Chesebro to obtain in order to properly prepare for trial.”
The motion said that numerous witnesses “including co-Defendants, unindicted co-conspirators, and traditional witnesses” testified before the grand jury, and that Chesebro “anticipates that many of these same people will testify at his trial.”
“Finally, there is also an overarching due process concern that Mr. Chesebro have access to all prior testimony of witnesses who are expected to testify at trial (and made statements before the special purpose grand jury) in order to properly defend himself,” the filing said.
The special purpose grand jury — which did not have indictment power but recommended that charges be brought — was seated for nearly eight months and heard testimony from over 75 witnesses, including some of Trump’s closest allies.
In a separate motion on Monday, Chesebro moved to conduct “voluntary interviews” of members of the separate grand jury that ultimately returned the indictment, in order to ask them if they “actually read the entire indictment or, alternatively, whether it was merely summarized for them,” the filing said.
