Special counsel Jack Smith appears to be growing frustrated by the handling of the classified documents case against former President Trump and let loose on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon about jury instructions and the pace heading toward the trial.
In a filing this week, Smith accused Cannon of giving credence to a “fundamentally flawed legal premise” that documents recovered from Trump’s Florida home were his personal property.
Cannon has asked both sides to propose jury instructions that would take into account Trump’s view of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which dictates how records from a president’s term must be handled and later archived.
Authorities discovered boxes of documents stored in unsecured areas in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Smith’s team argued that accepting Trump’s theory “would distort the trial.”
“The PRA’s distinction between personal and presidential records has no bearing on whether a former President’s possession of documents containing national defense information is authorized under the Espionage Act, and the PRA should play no role in the jury instructions,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “Indeed, based on the current record, the PRA should not play any role at trial at all.”
The Espionage Act prohibits the willful retention of national defense information. Trump faces an obstruction of justice charge after he allegedly tried to conceal the records from authorities after they demanded their return.
Numerous motions have created a backlog of issues in the case.
At one point in the filing, Smith called it “vitally important” that Cannon “promptly decide” the matter, noting their ability to pursue a future appeal of erroneous jury instructions. More from Trump’s legal woes:
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office is pushing back on former President Trump’s demand that his fast-approaching hush money trial be delayed because of prejudicial publicity. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection April 15. -
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote that the national attention surrounding the case isn’t likely to subside, and Trump “deliberately generates press attention himself.”
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“Defendant simply cannot have it both ways: complaining about the prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity, while seeking to pollute the jury pool himself by making baseless and inflammatory accusations about this trial, specific witnesses, individual prosecutors, and the Court itself,” Colangelo wrote in the new filing Wednesday.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said this week that he thinks Trump could face jail time if he is convicted of falsifying business records in the hush money case, which is related to an alleged payout to adult film star Stormy Daniels. -
“If you have someone who’s contrite, if you have someone who shares that he’s respectful of the rule of law, that this was an aberration, that is something that the court can take into account,” he said during a CNN interview.
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“But if you think that the defendant actually is running basically as an outlaw and is basically thumbing his nose at the judicial process and shows no sign of remorse and essentially is a recidivist, those are factors that a judge can consider.”
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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1 in 5 believe violence may be necessary to win 2024: poll
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More than 20 percent of Americans believe violence may be necessary to secure political objectives in 2024, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Wednesday.
Roughly the same portions of Democratic and independent respondents said they see violence as an option, while 28 percent of Republicans agreed violence may be a political strategy.
Experts have said they believe political violence or the threat of it is harming American democracy, and especially the health of elections, while voter confidence is on the decline.
The issues could grow heading toward the November election, as campaigns get into full gear.
“Regular Americans hold pretty mixed views and are not nearly as polarized even on things like abortion, gun control, immigration,” Rachel Kleinfeld, a democracy expert and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for World Peace, previously told The Hill.
“Where we’re really failing is on emotional polarization. We just hate each other in part because we believe the other side has much different views, and because we believe the other side looks very different, are made up of very different types of people. Both the beliefs are untrue,” she said. (The Hill) |
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Insurance trends are deciding where Americans will live as planet heats |
Insuring homes is getting a lot riskier due to climate change, writes The Hill’s Saul Elbein.
Insurance companies across the industry are pulling out of regions that face heightened threats and occurrences of extreme weather events like hurricanes and wildfires, specifically along the Gulf Coast and California.
“[S]tate, federal and local governments have for decades incentivized both large-scale suppression of low-intensity fires and booming high-dollar coastal real estate, often on barrier islands. Those trends have left more people — and more insured home value — in the way of worsening fires, floods and storms,” Elbein writes. Over each of the last five years, the home insurance industry has lost money, according to insurance rating site AM Best, and in terms of personal insurance, the industry faced three consecutive years where its losses surpassed $20 billion. “That’s why you see companies pulling back and retrenching — because they’re suffering enormous losses,” Robert Gordon, a senior vice president at the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association, told The Hill.
In 2023, the U.S. saw a record number of multibillion-dollar weather disasters, with 28 incidents collectively amounting to $100 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This outpaces the previous record from 2020, which saw 22 incidents with multibillion-dollar tabs.
Read more here. |
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Biden’s workout routine under wraps |
Following an annual physical in February, President Biden was declared “fit for duty” by a physician, whose report claimed Biden exercised five days a week. But very little is known about the president’s actual workout regimen. Biden has been photographed biking on many occasions, has been known to take occasional golf trips, and engaged in Pilates and spin classes with family. But what he does day-to-day remains a mystery. With his age, 81, a talking point in the 2024 presidential election, many voters and lawmakers across both parties have expressed concerns about Biden’s fitness for a second term. The president has a “stiff” gait and has suffered a few falls and stumbles during his presidency. And the fact that little is known about his exercise routine only adds to the concerns. “Basically, the narrative in this race is focused on Trump’s crazy versus Biden’s age,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said. “His health and age are of serious concerns to voters, and they should be doing everything they can to push back on those concerns.” The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Hanna Trudo have more here. |
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White House standing by to provide aid after Taiwan earthquake
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The White House is readying to help Taiwan after a powerful earthquake injured hundreds on the East Asian island during Wednesday’s morning rush hour.
“The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance. All those affected are in our prayers,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake was the strongest to rock Taiwan since 1990. Nine people have reportedly been killed and almost 1,000 injured. (The Hill) |
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Democrats are worried: Will Gaza war cost them in November?
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Democrats are growing increasingly concerned that Israel’s continued war in Gaza could ultimately became a political liability for President Biden and other candidates on the ballot in November.
Democratic lawmakers are sounding alarms about the worsening conditions in Gaza, as more Americans are beginning to disapprove of Israel’s actions that have left Palestinian civilians and aid workers in perilous conditions. Seven aid workers from chef Jose Andrés’s World Central Kitchen were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes Tuesday.
The war broke out after Hamas’s deadly surprise attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. Dozens of hostages remain in captivity in Gaza. |
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“How the Supreme Court uses ‘tradition’ to take away the rights of Americans,” writes Andrew Koppelman, author and law professor at Northwestern University. “Democrats can’t stop handing electoral gifts to Trump,” writes Bernard Goldberg, award-winning writer and journalist. |
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103 days until the Republican National Convention.
138 days until the Democratic National Convention.
215 days until the 2024 general election. |
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Thursday: President Biden will host a reception to celebrate Greek Independence Day 🇬🇷 |
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