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Mr. Trump needled Ms. Haley for her performance on social media, calling the result a “bad night” for her. In a Trump campaign email, Steven Cheung, a spokesman, called it “brutal” and contended that the Haley campaign acknowledged it had “intentionally disrespected the people of Nevada” by refusing to campaign there. Ms. Haley cast her party as mired in the same disorder that surrounds the man who has remade it in his image. It does not help that Mr. Trump’s allies have worked behind the scenes to skew primary and delegate rules to his advantage. Nevertheless, onstage in Los Angeles, Ms. Haley told the audience she wasn’t going anywhere.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald J, Trump, “, — he’s, ” Ms, Haley, ”, Ms, —, you’re, “ we’ve, Haley’s, Steven Cheung, Ronna McDaniel, Mr, Trump’s, “ Donald Trump Organizations: United Nations, Republican, Hollywood Post, American Legion, ”, Trump, Republican National Committee, Mr Locations: Los Angeles, Nevada’s, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, California

☆ China Is Targeting U.S. Infrastructure and Could ‘Wreak Chaos,’ F.B.I. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christopher A. Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned on Wednesday that China was ramping up an extensive hacking operation geared at taking down the United States’ power grid, oil pipelines and water systems in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Mr. Wray, appearing before a House subcommittee on China, offered an alarming assessment of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts. Its intent is to sow confusion, sap the United States’ will to fight and hamper the American military from deploying resources if the dispute over Taiwan, a major flashpoint between the two superpowers, escalates into a war, he added. Before his testimony, F.B.I. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” said Mr. Wray, who pressed the committee to increase funding for the bureau.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, ” Organizations: Federal Bureau of, Communist, Justice, Volt Typhoon Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, States, Beijing

☆ Appeals Court Revives Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gunmakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal appeals panel in Boston ruled on Monday that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico against U.S. gun manufacturers whose weapons are used by drug cartels can proceed, reversing a lower court that had dismissed the case. The decision, which is likely to be appealed, is one of the most significant setbacks for gunmakers since passage of a federal law nearly two decades ago that has provided immunity from lawsuits brought by the families of people killed and injured by their weapons. Mexico, in an attempt to challenge the reach of that law, sued six manufacturers in 2021, including Smith & Wesson, Glock and Ruger. It contended that the companies should be held liable for the trafficking of a half-million guns across the border a year, some of which were used in murders. In September 2022, a Federal District Court judge threw out the suit, ruling that the law prohibits legal action brought by foreign governments.

Persons: Glock Organizations: U.S, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Federal Locations: Boston, Mexico

A near-total breakdown in policing protocols hindered the response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 people dead — and the refusal to rapidly confront the killer needlessly cost lives, the Justice Department concluded on Thursday after a nearly two-year investigation. The department blamed “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy and training” for the delayed and passive law enforcement response that allowed an 18-year-old gunman with a semiautomatic rifle to remain inside a pair of connected fourth grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School for 77 minutes before he was confronted and killed. The “most significant failure,” investigators concluded, was the decision by local police officials to classify the incident as a barricaded standoff rather than an “active-shooter” scenario, which would have demanded instant and aggressive action. Almost all of the officials in charge that day have already been fired or have retired. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, speaking to reporters in Uvalde, said that the officers who converged on the school within minutes of the attack intended to storm the classrooms, but were told to stand down.

Persons: General Merrick B, Garland Organizations: Justice, Robb Elementary School Locations: Uvalde , Texas, Uvalde

☆ Hunter Biden Charged With Evading Taxes on Millions From Foreign Firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-07 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal grand jury charged Hunter Biden on Thursday with a scheme to evade federal taxes on millions in income from foreign businesses, the second indictment against him this year and a major new development in a case Republicans have made the cornerstone of a possible impeachment of President Biden. Mr. Biden, the president’s son, faces three counts each of evasion of a tax assessment, failure to file and pay taxes, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return, according to the 56-page indictment — a withering play-by-play of personal indulgence with potentially enormous political costs for his father. But the agreement collapsed, and in September, he was indicted in Delaware on three charges stemming from his illegal purchase of a handgun in 2018, a period when he used drugs heavily and was prohibited from owning a firearm. The tax charges have always been the more serious element of the inquiry by the special counsel, David C. Weiss, who began investigating the president’s son five years ago as the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware. Mr. Weiss was retained when President Biden took office in 2021.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden, Mr, David C, Weiss Organizations: Trump Locations: California, Delaware

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, and told an undercover F.B.I. agent that the United States was “the enemy.”In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since 1981 as he rose undetected through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and the National Security Council. Mr. Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s premier spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that his 40 years of spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana had “strengthened the revolution immensely.”For more than two decades, Mr. Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. More recently, Mr. Rocha, a native of Colombia who grew up in New York, served as an adviser to the U.S. military command responsible for Cuba.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Cuba’s, . Rocha, “, Rocha, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush Organizations: State Department, United, National Security Locations: Cuba, United States, Miami, Havana, America, Bolivia, Colombia, New York

On a rainy night in June, President Biden toasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a state dinner at the White House, celebrating “two great friends, and two great powers” — a gesture of flattery for a leader he has enlisted to help the United States check China’s ambition and counter Russia’s aggression. According to the White House, the president had no idea that a significant test to that relationship was unfolding, even during the state visit. On June 22, as Mr. Biden pulled out all of the diplomatic stops to bring Mr. Modi closer, a senior official in the Indian government was offering the “go ahead” approving the murder-for-hire plot surrounding a Sikh American on U.S. soil, according to a Justice Department indictment filed in a federal court in New York Wednesday. There was one flaw: The hit man turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer, prosecutors said, and the plot was foiled. The suspect, an Indian national accused of trying to arrange the killing, was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, eight days after the state dinner.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi, ”, Modi Organizations: India, White Locations: United States, American, New York, Czech Republic

The stabbing on Friday of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020, at a special unit inside a Tucson, Ariz., prison is the latest in a series of attacks against high-profile inmates in the troubled, short-staffed federal Bureau of Prisons. The assault comes less than five months after Larry Nassar, the doctor convicted of sexually abusing young female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times at the federal prison in Florida. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate at the Tucson prison was stabbed around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, though the bureau did not identify Mr. Chauvin, 47, by name. The agency said in a statement that the inmate required “life-saving measures” before being rushed to a hospital emergency room nearby. The office of Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general who prosecuted the former police officer, identified the inmate as Mr. Chauvin.

Persons: Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, Larry Nassar, James Bulger, Whitey, Jeffrey Epstein, Chauvin, Keith Ellison Organizations: of Prisons, Department, Federal Bureau of Prisons Locations: Minneapolis, Tucson, Ariz, Florida, Boston, Minnesota

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd during a 2020 arrest that set off a wave of protests, was stabbed at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate at the Tucson prison was stabbed at 12:30 p.m., though the agency’s statement did not identify Mr. Chauvin, 47, by name. No other inmates or prison staff were injured, and the situation was quickly contained, according to the people familiar with the situation. No details were immediately available on his condition, but one of the people with knowledge of the incident said that Mr. Chauvin survived the attack. Mr. Chauvin was serving a sentence of just over two decades in federal prison after he was convicted of state murder charges and a federal charge of violating the constitutional rights of Mr. Floyd.

Persons: Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, Chauvin, Floyd, Mr Organizations: Federal Bureau of Prisons Locations: Minneapolis, Tucson, Ariz

☆ Rainbow Bridge Explosion 2 Dead in Vehicle Explosion at U.S.-Canada Bridge in Niagara Falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedThe explosion at Rainbow Bridge in the Niagara Falls region caused the closure of that bridge as well as the other three border crossings, authorities said. Two people died and a Border Patrol officer was injured when a vehicle exploded Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the United States and Canada, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter. The F.B.I.’s Buffalo field office said in a social media post that the agency was coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement. Kathy Hochul of New York said that “state agencies are on site and ready to assist.” The New York State Police are working with the F.B.I. “All measures are being taken to ensure that people will be safe.”He said that at the request of American officials, all four bridges between Canada and the United States in the Niagara area have been closed, including the Rainbow Bridge, Peace Bridge, Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and Whirlpool Bridge.

Persons: Biden, General Merrick Garland, Kathy Hochul, Hochul, Justin Trudeau, ”, Dominic LeBlanc, Paul Lane, Glenn Thrush Organizations: Border Patrol, Buffalo, Gov, New York State Police, Commons, Whirlpool Locations: Niagara Falls, United States, Canada, ’, New York, Niagara, Peace, Lewiston, Queenston, Washington

Customers from Iran, Cuba and Syria — all of which face sanctions — were able to access the Binance platform. In addition to the outlawed foreign transactions, Binance did business with firms based in the United States even though it was not supposed to have any U.S. customers on its Binance.com platform. Instead, a different platform, Binance.US, which Mr. Zhao also owned, was required to handle the business and abide by U.S. anti-money laundering laws. But Mr. Zhao and other Binance employees believed it would be better for the main cryptocurrency exchange to handle big U.S. customers, the court filings state. At times, Binance has processed two-thirds of all digital currency trades, making it a vital power broker and intermediary in the crypto world.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, —, ” Locations: Iran, Cuba, Syria, United States

☆ The F.B.I. says the Israel-Hamas war raises the potential for an attack against Americans in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Eileen Sullivan | More About Eileen Sullivan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Several foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans since Oct. 7, when Hamas gunmen carried out a gruesome attack against Israel that killed 1,400 people, Mr. Wray said. Islamic State, also known as ISIS, called for attacks on Jewish communities in the United States and Europe; the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, threatened to attack American interests in the Middle East; and Al Qaeda also issued a specific call to attack the United States, Mr. Wray said. Mr. Wray said that the man, who prosecutors identified as Sohaib Abuayyash, 20, had been studying how to build bombs and posted details online about his support for killing Jewish people. Mr. Wray’s testimony came as threats to Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities in the United States have been on the rise since the war began on Oct. 7. Between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23, there were 312 antisemitic acts in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, Mr, Al Qaeda, “, ”, Abuayyash, Wray’s, Glenn Thrush Organizations: U.S, ISIS, Prosecutors, Defamation League, Grand Central, Islamic Relations Locations: Israel, United States, Islamic State, Europe, Lebanese, Houston, Palestinian, New York

Elected officials in Maine reacting to initial reports of the shooting in Lewiston expressed concern about the violence that had visited their community and shared words of sympathy with the friends and relatives of those caught in the shooting. A spokesman for Senator Angus King said that President Biden had reached out to the senator and pledged any federal assistance needed for the state. Janet Mills of Maine said on X that she had been “briefed on the active shooter situation” and urged residents to follow the directions of law enforcement. President Biden was briefed “on what’s known so far about the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, and will continue to receive updates,” the White House said in a statement. Our leaders must act.”Reid J. Epstein , Víctor Manuel Ramos and Ben Shpigel contributed reporting.

Persons: Chellie Pingree, Maine, Angus King, Mr, King, Biden, Susan Collins, ”, we’ve, Collins, Janet Mills, “, Jared Golden, Gabrielle Giffords, ” Reid J, Epstein, Víctor Manuel Ramos, Ben Shpigel Organizations: Gov, Democrat Locations: Maine, Lewiston, Lewiston , Maine, Arizona

For much of this week, after a federal judge temporarily froze the gag order she imposed on him, former President Donald J. Trump has acted like a mischievous latchkey kid, making the most of his unsupervised stint. At least three times in the past three days, he has attacked Jack Smith, the special counsel leading his federal prosecutions, as “deranged.” Twice, he has weighed in about testimony attributed to his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who could be a witness in the federal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Each of Mr. Trump’s comments appeared to violate the gag order put in place less than two weeks ago to limit his ability to intimidate witnesses in the case, assail prosecutors or otherwise disrupt the proceeding. And after the former president was fined $10,000 on Wednesday for flouting a similar directive imposed on him by the judge presiding over a civil trial he is facing in New York, federal prosecutors asked that he face consequences for his remarks about the election interference case as well. On Friday, the judge who imposed the federal order, Tanya S. Chutkan, put it on hold for a week to allow the special counsel’s office and lawyers for Mr. Trump to file more papers about whether she should set it aside for an even longer period as an appeals court considers its merits.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Jack Smith, Mark Meadows, Trump’s, Tanya S Organizations: Mr Locations: New York

☆ What Guilty Pleas in Georgia Mean for the Federal Case Against Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Despite Mr. Trump’s efforts to postpone the federal election case until after the 2024 election, it is still scheduled to go to trial in March. Here is what to know about the impact of the plea deals on the federal case. Can evidence from defendants in Georgia be used against Mr. Trump in his federal trial? Any publicly released documents or statements in all of the cases — including court appearances by the Fulton County defendants — can be admissible as evidence in the federal trial. That means any public testimony against Mr. Trump would probably come after Mr. Smith had already brought his case, although the situation remains fluid.

Persons: Trump’s, Trump, Willis’s, Powell, Chesebro, Smith Organizations: Mr Locations: Georgia, Fulton, Trump’s Georgia

☆ Watchdog Says Trump Didn’t Influence Decision on F.B.I. Headquarters
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that President Donald J. Trump had improperly pressured the F.B.I. to rebuild its headquarters on its current site, the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, according to a report released on Tuesday. The investigation began four years ago after some Democrats expressed concern over the bureau’s abrupt decision in late 2017 to scrap plans to build a $3 billion suburban campus for its 10,000 employees. But investigators determined that the decision was most likely motivated by funding and logistical issues, not by an effort by Mr. Trump to personally intervene to protect his property in downtown Washington from a possible rival. witnesses, including the bureau’s director, Christopher A. Wray, told the inspector general that they had been given authority to determine the location of the new headquarters.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Edgar Hoover, Christopher A, Wray Organizations: Edgar Hoover Building, Justice Department Locations: Washington

☆ Menendez Indictment Appears to Undercut Claims of ‘Two-Tiered System’ of Justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Wednesday, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee repeatedly accused Attorney General Merrick B. Garland of singling out former President Donald J. Trump for selective prosecution, slamming him for what they call a “two-tiered system” of justice. Forty-eight hours later, the Justice Department indicted one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate — Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee — on bribery charges, making public a trove of evidence, including cash and gold bars stashed at his house. The department’s aggressive pursuit of Mr. Menendez appeared to undercut claims that Mr. Trump is the victim of pervasive political bias that targets leaders on the right while shielding transgressors on the left. The entanglement of electoral politics and law enforcement is becoming the norm, and the prosecution of a top Democrat up for re-election in 2024 has political as well as legal reverberations. And the indictment, brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with limited participation from the Justice Department’s national security division in Washington, comes at a politically opportune moment for the besieged department.

Persons: Merrick B, Garland, Donald J, Trump, Bob Menendez, Menendez Organizations: Justice Department, Bob Menendez of New, Foreign Relations, Justice Department’s Locations: House, Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Manhattan, Washington

When David C. Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, asked for special counsel status, the Justice Department says Mr. Garland approved his request quickly. A widely respected federal judge before becoming attorney general, Mr. Garland has become a favorite target of House Republicans after the Justice Department launched investigations that resulted in felony charges against former President Donald J. Trump. At the heart of the issue are assurances Mr. Weiss and Mr. Garland have given to lawmakers that Mr. Weiss had ultimate authority over the Hunter Biden case and when and where to bring charges. But they have vouched generally for the statements about Mr. Weiss’ limited authority, describing a more nuanced scenario in which Mr. Weiss had sought to partner with prosecutors in Washington, D.C., and California, only to be rebuffed, causing him to try a different approach. When Mr. Weiss eventually asked for special counsel status, the Justice Department says Mr. Garland approved his request quickly.

Persons: David C, Weiss, Garland, General Merrick B, Donald J, Biden’s, Hunter, Justice Department hadn’t, Kevin McCarthy, David Weiss, Merrick Garland’s weaponization, Biden, Hunter Biden, Gary Shapley, “, Kenny Holston, Shapley’s, Shapley, Weiss ’ Organizations: Justice Department, Republicans, Trump, Twitter, “ U.S, Committee, DOJ, Veteran, New York Times, Washington , D.C, Departmental Locations: U.S, Delaware, Washington ,, California

☆ Hunter Biden to Plead Not Guilty to Gun Charges, His Lawyer Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hunter Biden plans to plead not guilty to three federal gun charges during an initial court appearance and is requesting to hold the hearing by videoconference instead of appearing in federal court in Wilmington, Del., his lawyer said in a filing on Tuesday. Mr. Biden, 53, was indicted last week by David C. Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the case, on two charges that he lied about his drug use to purchase a handgun in 2018 and on one charge of illegally possessing the weapon, which he had for less than two weeks. The not-guilty plea was expected. The decision to file criminal charges against Mr. Biden, the president’s troubled younger son, came after the collapse of a plea deal in July that would have resolved the long-running investigation without him serving prison time. Biden also will enter a plea of not guilty, and there is no reason why he cannot utter those two words by videoconference,” Abbe Lowell, Mr. Biden’s lawyer, wrote in a two-page letter to Judge Christopher J. Burke.

Persons: Hunter Biden, videoconference, Mr, Biden, David C, Weiss, ” Abbe Lowell, Biden’s, Christopher J, Burke Locations: Wilmington, Del, ”

☆ The Gun Charges Against Hunter Biden Are Unusual. Here’s Why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the face of it, Hunter Biden appears at risk of being sentenced to as long as 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if he is convicted on the three gun charges brought against him by federal prosecutors on Thursday. In reality, few people fitting Mr. Biden’s profile — a first-time, nonviolent offender accused of lying on a federal firearms application, who never used the gun (in his case, a Colt Cobra .38 that he held onto for less than two weeks five years ago) to commit a crime — get serious prison time for the offenses charged in the indictment. Just bringing the charges is out of the ordinary in some ways, former law enforcement officials say, and the legal basis of the prosecution is under constitutional challenge. Here’s a rundown of the accusations against President Biden’s son and what makes the case unusual. What are the charges?

Persons: Hunter Biden, —, Biden’s, Mr, Biden Locations: Wilmington, Del

☆ Justice Dept. Says It Will Indict Hunter Biden on Gun Charge This Month
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

David C. Weiss, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, said on Wednesday that he planned to indict the president’s son on a gun charge before the end of the month — a move prompted by the acrimonious collapse of a plea deal in July. In a three-page update filed in federal court in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Weiss laid out plans to bring charges related to Mr. Biden’s purchase of a pistol in 2018, when prosecutors say he lied on a federal form by stating that he was not using drugs at the time. Mr. Biden had previously agreed to participate in a two-year diversion program for nonviolent gun offenders as part of the plea deal, which unraveled dramatically at the last minute this summer. Mr. Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, signaled in a statement that he would challenge any effort to proceed with a trial, arguing that the original agreement reached over the summer “remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed.”The government’s filing, while expected, adds an additional and volatile element to an already packed calendar of criminal cases coinciding — and colliding — with the 2024 presidential race. It piles on a possible federal trial of President Biden’s son to former President Donald J. Trump’s two federal and two state criminal cases.

Persons: David C, Weiss, Hunter Biden, Biden, Biden’s, Abbe Lowell, Donald J Locations: Wilmington, Del

☆ Biden Administration Proposes Expanding Background Checks on Gun Sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed the broadest expansion of firearms background checks in decades, leveraging a provision of the bipartisan gun control law passed last year that requires thousands of unlicensed firearms brokers to register as federally licensed dealers. They are part of President Biden’s piecemeal efforts to enact a key policy goal, universal background checks, which has been repeatedly stymied by congressional Republicans. Federal law requires background checks only for purchases made through the about 80,000 firearms sellers who are “engaged in the business” of selling, shipping, importing or manufacturing weapons. The proposed rules are intended to close the gap between state and federal law by requiring anyone who earns a profit from selling firearms to obtain a federal license and conduct background checks. Dealers have previously been required to join the federal system only if they derived their chief livelihood from selling weapons.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Republicans, Federal

The two cases, stemming from the efforts of Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rely on many of the same facts, documents and witnesses. But as Monday’s court skirmishes demonstrated, the approaches of the two prosecutors in charge of the investigations — Jack Smith, the Justice Department’s special counsel, and Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County — could not be more different. Mr. Smith took over the two federal Trump investigations with a promise to move rapidly in hopes of wrapping up legal proceedings before the 2024 election, and the indictment handed down against Mr. Trump on Aug. 1 included just four counts. While it referred to six unindicted co-conspirators, only Mr. Trump was charged. By contrast, the indictment brought by Ms. Willis includes 41 counts against the former president and encompassed allegations against his long roster of co-defendants.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Jack Smith, Willis, Smith, Mark Meadows, Trump’s Organizations: Trump, Mr, White House Locations: Washington, Fulton County ,, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

☆ In Opposing Gun Program, Lawmaker Omitted His Store Was Subject to It
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Andrew Clyde has been in Congress only since 2021, but he has quickly emerged as a vocal opponent of gun control, handing out dozens of AR-15 pins to exemplify his wide-ranging push to roll back federal firearms regulation. At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in April, Mr. Clyde, Republican of Georgia, grilled the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steven M. Dettelbach, about a little-known program to monitor gun dealers found selling large numbers of weapons later traced to crimes. Mr. Clyde suggested the program, known as Demand 2, was unfair, questioned whether all crimes linked to such guns were “bona fide,” and exhibited a detailed knowledge of its inner workings — even though it applies to only a tiny percentage of gun dealers nationwide. What Mr. Clyde did not disclose was that one of two gun stores he owns in Georgia, Clyde Armory in Athens, was placed in the monitoring program in 2020 and 2021, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the gun safety group Brady. inspectors made the designation after they found that more than 25 guns sold there had been used in crimes within three years of their purchase.

Persons: Andrew Clyde, Clyde, Steven M, Brady, A.T.F Organizations: Republican, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Clyde Armory Locations: Georgia, Athens

☆ Why Are Trump’s Accused Co-Conspirators Smiling for Their Mug Shots?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The traditional mug shot is usually a grim affair: poorly lit and sullen. Mr. Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis smiles broadly, as does David Shafer, the former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Sidney Powell, accused of peddling debunked conspiracy theories about the election, reveals a twinkle in her eye. Image Sidney Powell, accused of peddling debunked conspiracies about the election, was photographed somewhere between a smile and a scowl. Credit... Fulton County Sheriff's Office, via Associated PressThe statement that all of their facial expressions convey unmistakably?

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Jenna Ellis, David Shafer, Scott Hall, Sidney Powell Organizations: Georgia Republican Party, Trump, Fulton County Sheriff's, Associated Locations: Fulton, Atlanta, Fulton County

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