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☆ Burkina Faso army executed over 220 villagers in February, HRW says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters —Burkina Faso’s military in February summarily executed about 223 villagers, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. The spokesperson for the Burkina Faso government did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the HRW report. Retaliatory attacksRights groups have previously accused the military in junta-ruled Burkina Faso of attacking and killing civilians suspected of collaborating with militants in retaliatory operations. Burkina Faso is one of several Sahel nations that have been struggling to contain Islamist insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have spread from neighboring Mali since 2012, killing thousands and displacing millions. Frustrations over authorities’ failure to protect civilians have contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger since 2020.

Persons: Witnesses, HRW, Tirana Hassan, Mali’s Organizations: Reuters, Burkina, jihadist, Human Rights Watch, Ouahigouya, HRW, Facebook, Burkina Faso, Authorities, Rights Watch, Burkinabe, African Union, United Nations, Islamic Locations: Burkina Faso’s, Yatenga, Burkina Faso, Komsilga, Burkina, Nodin, Soro, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Mali, Niger

CNN —Jurors will now have a three-day weekend to think about what they heard during the first full week of testimony in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial. In one instance, Bove pointed to FBI notes from a 2018 interview, where agents had written that Pecker testified Trump did not thank him or AMI during a January 6, 2017, meeting at Trump Tower. In that interview, Pecker testified that Trump had in fact thanked him during that 2017 Trump Tower meeting. Trump cracks a smile for his longtime assistantTrump’s longtime assistant Rhona Graff testified for less than an hour. He replied, “Of course I do.”Graff no longer works for Trump, but she spoke positively about her experience at the Trump Organization and having Trump as a boss.

Persons: Donald Trump, David Pecker, pummel, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Trump’s, Rhona Graff, Cohen, Trump, Karen McDougal’s, Banker Gary Farro, Daniels, Farro, He’s, Emil Bove, Pecker, Bove, McDougal, Prosecutors, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Karen McDougal, ”, Graff, Susan Necheles, ” Graff, “, humanize Trump, ” Trump, Hope Hicks Organizations: CNN, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, Trump Organization, Trump, First Republic Bank, AMI, Trump Tower, Trump Org, ” Defense Locations: Delaware

☆ John Roberts isn’t happy with previous ruling against Trump – what happens now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But the cagey chief justice made some points abundantly clear. And whatever the staggering facts of the election subversion allegations against Trump, they are not his concern here. Further, when he is in the majority, Roberts has the power, as chief justice, to determine who writes the opinion. In past high-profile disputes involving Trump, Roberts has kept the pen for himself. Whenever Dreeben tried to return to allegations of fraud, obstruction and other crimes against Trump, conservative justices swept them away.

Persons: John Roberts, Donald Trump, Roberts, who’d, Trump, he’s, ” Roberts, Michael Dreeben, Jack Smith, Ronald Reagan, Jane Sullivan Roberts, Patrick Jackson, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, John Sauer, Sauer, Dreeben, Samuel Alito, Alito, “, It’s, ” Dreeben, ”, I’m Organizations: CNN, Trump, Court, DC Circuit US, Appeals, United Locations: United States

☆ WADA to launch independent review into its handling of doping case involving Chinese swimming
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has commissioned an independent review into its handling of a doping case involving 23 Chinese swimmers after the organization said that it had been the subject of “damaging and baseless allegations.”The development comes after WADA was criticized by members of the anti-doping community, sparking a dispute which looks set to overshadow events in the pool at this year’s Olympics in Paris. “We have no evidence of any sort of skullduggery or planting of trimetazidine,” Wenzel told reporters on Monday. “In the past few days, WADA has been unfairly accused of bias in favor of China by not appealing the CHINADA [China Anti-Doping Agency] case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” added Bańka. Trimetazidine has the potential to boost endurance and has been banned by WADA since 2014. WADA said that Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier, attorney general of Vaud in Switzerland for 17 years until his retirement in 2022, will lead the review into the handling of the case.

Persons: WADA, –, ”, Witold Bańka, “, Ross Wenzel, trimetazidine, ” Wenzel, Bańka, ” Bańka, Trimetazidine, CHINADA, Eric Cottier, USADA, WADA’s, ” WADA, Cottier Organizations: CNN, Doping Agency, New York Times, ARD, Tokyo Olympics, Sport, Xinhua Locations: Paris, China, trimetazidine, Swiss, Vaud, Switzerland

☆ WADA Appoints Special Prosecutor in Chinese Doping Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The World Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday appointed a special prosecutor to review how 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned drug were allowed to avoid public scrutiny and compete at the 2021 Olympics, where they won gold medals and set records. The decision to appoint the special prosecutor, Eric Cottier of Switzerland, came amid an outcry from top government officials, antidoping experts and authorities, and athletes over the way Chinese antidoping officials and the global regulator, known as WADA, handled the positives. “WADA’s integrity and reputation is under attack,” the WADA president, Witold Banka, said in a statement. “In the past few days, WADA has been unfairly accused of bias in favor of China by not appealing the Chinada case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We continue to reject the false accusations and we are pleased to be able to put these questions into the hands of an experienced, respected and independent prosecutor.”

Persons: Eric Cottier of, WADA, Witold Banka, “, ” Organizations: Doping Agency, New York Times, Sport Locations: Eric Cottier of Switzerland, China

☆ Harvey Weinstein’s Conviction Was Fragile From the Start
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jodi Kantor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s New York sex crimes conviction on Thursday morning may feel like a shocking reversal, but the criminal case against him has been fragile since the day it was filed. New York’s top judges, many of them female, have held rounds of pained debates over whether his conviction was clean. The issue of whether Mr. Weinstein’s trial was fair “is a really close question that could have gone either way.”Outside the justice system, evidence of Mr. Weinstein’s sexual misconduct is overwhelming. But while Mr. Weinstein’s alleged victims could fill an entire courtroom, few of them could stand at the center of a New York criminal trial. One of the original accusers was dropped from the trial because of allegations of police misconduct.

Persons: Harvey Weinstein’s, I’m, ”, Deborah Tuerkheimer, Weinstein’s, Weinstein Organizations: Prosecutors, Northwestern, New York Times, New Locations: York, Manhattan, New York

☆ Supreme Court might not give Trump sweeping immunity — but it's likely to give him the one victory he wants
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But a majority of Supreme Court justices appear ready to hand the former president an immediate victory. Still, the Supreme Court justices do not appear likely to dismiss the former president's claims quickly, raising the likelihood that Trump may not face trial for trying to overturn the 2020 election before November. He drew his arguments from an earlier Supreme Court case that mapped the line for presidential immunity in civil matters. The Supreme Court weighs Trump's immunity claim. It is possible that the Supreme Court could rule that a more detailed review of Trump's conduct is best left to a lower court.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, Jack Smith, Trump's, you've, Brett Kavanaugh, Sauer, Kavanaugh, Tanya Chutkan, Smith, Joe Biden, it's, John Sauer, Jabin, Samuel Alito, Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, John Roberts, Jackon, Justice Alito, Roe, Wade, Anthony Kennedy's, Hodges, Neil Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Trump, Washington, Getty Locations: DC, Dobbs v, Obergefell

☆ Live Updates: Supreme Court Hears Trump’s Claim to ‘Absolute Immunity’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Political appointees in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel have declared that the Constitution implicitly establishes immunity for sitting presidents. But political appointees in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, whose interpretations are binding on the executive branch, have declared that the Constitution implicitly establishes such immunity. (That same month, Mr. Nixon had Mr. Cox fired in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre. Amid a political backlash, Mr. Nixon was forced to allow a new special counsel, Leon Jaworski, to resume the investigation.) Mr. Starr later said that he had concluded that he could indict Mr. Clinton.

Persons: Donald J, Robert G, Dixon Jr, Dixon, Richard M, Nixon, Archibald Cox, Nixon’s, Robert H, Bork, Cox, Leon Jaworski, Bill Clinton, Kenneth Starr, Monica Lewinsky, Randolph D, Moss, Department’s, Jaworski, Mr, Ronald Rotunda, Starr, Clinton, ”, Rotunda, ” Mr, Starr —, — Organizations: Justice Department’s, White, Justice Department, Justice Locations: Whitewater, “

☆ Two Trump courtroom dramas could help shape the tone of a future presidency
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Prosecutors have framed the trial as more than a simple case of falsifying business records — the offense with which Trump has been charged. But the results of Trump’s pending cases — and whether they even come to trial — could help decide the tone of a future presidency. But at the same time, Trump is using the privileges of appeals available to any defendant to their full extent. “We’re writing a rule for the ages.”It’s always hazardous to speculate how Supreme Court justices will rule based on their questioning in oral arguments. This could mean the case returns to lower courts for more litigation — a move that could delay the federal election trial for months, far beyond the November election.

Persons: Donald Trump, George Washington, David Pecker, Trump’s, Trump, —, Trump —, Republican nominee’s, Jack Smith’s, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Pecker, didn’t, Matthew Colangelo, he’s, Joe Biden, Biden, “, Benjamin Franklin, inoculate Trump, CNN’s Zachary B, Wolf, Marquis de Lafayette, demagogue, George Conway, ” Conway, CNN’s Wolf, ”, Neil Gorsuch, “ I’m, Amy Coney Barrett, David Sauer, Sauer, Elena Kagan, Kagan, ” Kagan Organizations: CNN, National Enquirer, Republican, Trump, GOP, Prosecutors, Supreme, White House Locations: New York, Georgia, Florida, — Washington, Washington, Philadelphia , Washington

“As we walked out, President Trump asked me, ‘How’s Karen doing, how’s Karen doing?’ So, I said, ‘She’s doing well, she’s quiet, everything’s going good.’” Pecker said. I thought you had this under control.”Pecker also received a call from Trump after McDougal was interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in March 2018. Pecker told Trump on the call that he had amended McDougal’s agreement on speaking to other media. “But the US Supreme Court had a monumental hearing on immunity and the immunity having to do with presidential immunity. “So, you ran articles about President Trump because it was good for business?” Bove asked.

Persons: David Pecker, Donald Trump’s, Karen McDougal’s, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Pecker, Cohen, Daniels, McDougal, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Trump’s, ‘ How’s Karen, how’s Karen, ‘ She’s, ” Pecker, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “, Chris Conroy, ” Conroy, CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Jackson, CNN Trump, ” Trump, Emil Bove, Quizzing, Bove, Dino Sajudin, ” Bove, Stelter, Bove’s, –, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Schwarzenegger, Ari Emanuel, Mark Wahlberg, Rahm Emanuel, Tiger Woods, Woods, ”, Wahlberg Organizations: CNN, Former American Media Inc, Trump, AMI, White House, Wall, Office, National Enquirer, National, Pecker, California, Chicago, ” CNN Locations: Manhattan, Washington, New York, New York City, Bedminster, CNN’s, Japan

Mr. Trump’s top lawyer said in response that Mr. Trump was simply defending himself from political attacks. The tabloid discovered that the story was apparently false, but paid $30,000 anyway, “because of the potential embarrassment” it could have caused Mr. Trump, Mr. Pecker said. When he proposed the magazine, Mr. Pecker said, Mr. Trump’s biggest question was, “Who’s going to pay for it?”Trump’s short leash could get shorter. For their part, prosecutors said they were not seeking to jail Mr. Trump, but wanted him to be fined. When Mr. Blanche finished his argument, Mr. Trump immediately beckoned him over before he snatched a piece of paper off the defense table.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan, Trump’s, ”, Justice Merchan, Todd Blanche, “ you’re, David Pecker, Mr, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, —, Pecker, Michael D, Cohen, Marion Curtis, Pecker’s, Trump “ Donald, “ Who’s, Christopher Conroy, Michael Cohen, “, ” Mr, Conroy, Blanche, Mark Peterson Organizations: National Enquirer, ” Prosecutors, Republican, Trump, Credit, Associated, Trump Mr Locations: Manhattan, York, Washington, New York

☆ Prosecutors Say Trump Keeps Breaking Gag Order, With Four New Violations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Prosecutors on Thursday accused former President Donald J. Trump of violating a gag order four additional times, saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions not to attack witnesses, prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial. “He’s doing what the order tells him not to do,” said Christopher Conroy, a prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney. As Mr. Conroy laid out what he said were violations, Mr. Trump whispered to his lawyer Todd Blanche and frowned. After they spoke, Mr. Blanche rubbed his face several times. With the latest allegations, prosecutors now say that Mr. Trump has violated the gag order 15 times in less than two weeks.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, ”, Christopher Conroy, Conroy, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Juan M Locations: Manhattan

☆ Far-Right Greek Party Is Banned From E.U. Parliament Elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A small far-right party that unexpectedly entered the Greek Parliament last year will not be allowed to field candidates for the European Parliament this summer after Greece’s Supreme Court found that it was essentially a reincarnation of the banned neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. In its decision about which parties can run in the European Parliament elections, issued on Wednesday, the court found that the party, Spartans, “offered their party as a cloak for the new political party of Ilias Kasidiaris,” the former spokesman of Golden Dawn who is currently in prison. Mr. Kasidiaris, the court said, is the true leader of Spartans, which “substitutes” for Golden Dawn, serving as a front that allowed him to circumvent eligibility restrictions. The decision was announced a few weeks after a prosecutor for the Greek Supreme Court indicted several Spartans lawmakers on charges of electoral fraud, and before an anticipated ruling from another court that could lead to the party losing its seats in the Greek Parliament.

Persons: “, Ilias Kasidiaris, Golden, Kasidiaris, Golden Dawn Organizations: Greece’s, Nazi, Spartans, Golden, Greek Supreme

Trump himself has continued to lobby for absolute immunity, including before his appearance at a New York court where he’s on trial for business fraud. Dreeben told Barrett that the indictment against Trump is substantially about private conduct, meaning that a trial could proceed even if the Supreme Court finds some immunity for Trump’s official actions. Liberal justices weren’t impressed with Trump’s absolute immunity claimsIt was pretty clear where the court’s three liberals will be when the opinion lands. With arguments over, focus shifts to timing for decisionThe arguments about Trump’s immunity claim are over. In the immunity case, the court already helped Trump by denying the special counsel request last December to leapfrog the appeals court and resolve the question quickly.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Jack Smith carte, Trump, John Roberts, Roberts, didn’t, he’s, ” Roberts, skeptically, ” Trump, John Sauer, Sauer, Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Elena Kagan, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, ”, Justice Barrett, Barrett –, Barrett, Smith, ” Barrett, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben, weren’t, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kagan, “, that’s, ” Kagan, Jackson, ” Jackson, “ I’m, Alito, they’d, ” Alito, ’, Ty Cobb, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Richard Nixon, Gore, Katelyn Polantz, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, Trump, Appeals, DC Circuit, Georgia, Republican National Committee, Arizona, Justice Department, Trump isn’t Locations: New York, Arizona, Michigan , Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Washington

☆ Trump feared for campaign, not family, as sex scandals were caught and killed, ex-Enquirer CEO tells hush-money jury
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When a porn star and Playboy Bunny both came forward, Trump feared for voters, not family, Pecker told jurors. Then, in swift succession and with the 2016 election just months away, a Playboy Bunny and a porn star appeared with more sex scandals. But in the months before the 2016 election, all Trump worried about was his voters, Pecker testified on his third day on the stand. "I thought his concern was with the campaign," Pecker added. Pecker told jurors he had been investigated by California officials for just this sort of thing more than a decade before Trump's 2016 campaign.

Persons: David Pecker, Playboy Bunny, Trump, Pecker, —, Donald Trump, Dino Sajudin, Bunny Karen McDougal, Stormy Daniels, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Daniels, Michael Cohen, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Dylan Howard, Trump's, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold, Howard, Howard texted, Cohen, Karen, McDougal, Michael, Jeff Sessions Organizations: National Enquirer, Service, Trump, Enquirer, Trump Organization, Attorney, American Media International, AMI, Prosecutors, McDougal's, Federal, Commission Locations: Manhattan, California, Australia

☆ Prosecutor Says Sept. 11 Suspects Can Be Held Past War Crimes Sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Regardless of the outcome of their someday trial, the men accused of plotting the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, can be held forever as prisoners in the war against terrorism in a form of preventive detention, a military prosecutor told the presiding judge on Wednesday. He has been held since 2003. The argument, in a pretrial hearing in the decade-old Sept. 11 case, was the latest installment over a long-running, unresolved question of whether a prisoner, once he completes a war crimes sentence, is entitled to release from military detention. Col. Joshua S. Bearden, an Army prosecutor, said the answer was no. He urged the judge to reject the request as both premature, because the government is seeking the death penalty in the case, and beyond the scope of his authority.

Persons: Mustafa al, Joshua S, Bearden Organizations: Defense Locations: United States

☆ Donald Trump has shared tales of courtroom spectacles. The reality is much more subdued
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Steve Contorno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An email Monday night from Donald Trump – subject line: “My farewell message” – carried a fateful warning to his backers. Throughout the first six days of his trial, Trump’s dramatized retellings of his legal peril have veered considerably from the events actually unfolding in and around Manhattan’s criminal courthouse. In one fundraising email on the first day of his trial, Trump claimed he “stormed out” of the proceedings. With the courtroom quiet Tuesday, Trump flipped through a pile of papers loud enough to hear the pages turning. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” Merchan said.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Trump, Rather, untethered, “, he’s, unremarkably Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, Stormy Daniels, E, Jean Carroll, Merchan, ” Merchan, hasn’t, “ You’re, ”, Todd Blanche, Christopher Conroy, Blanche, ‘, CNN’s Kate Sullivan, Kristen Holmes, Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle, Kara Scannell Organizations: CNN, Trump, Columbia University, Truth, Protesters Locations: Manhattan, Fiji, Lower Manhattan

☆ A woman is trying to free her fiancé from prison after 49 years behind bars
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Thomas Lake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

According to a trial transcript, two friends of Durrett also testified they’d heard Ezra make similar statements. Durrett didn’t implicate Ezra until months after the crime — and after he, Durrett, had been charged with the murder. And although she has been “madly in love” before, Christine said she’d never felt such pure love as she does with Ezra. But the older man said the younger man couldn’t love her because he didn’t even love himself. A few days later he told Christine about another man who needed her help.

Persons: Alexa, ”, “, Christine, Christine Roess, Smokey Robinson, Van Morrison, he’d, Ezra, Morris Weitz, Thomas Durrett, Durrett, they’d, didn’t, ” Durrett, Ezra Bozeman’s, ” Christine Roess, she’d, ” Christine, Ezra Bozeman, Christine Roess Ezra, Dana Kelly, Kelly, Teddy Pendergrass, Edwin Hawkins, Christine Roess “ Alexa, I’ve, Team Free Ezra —, —, Josh Shapiro, I’ll, Yusef Organizations: CNN, Fortune, Laurel Highlands, Team Free, Department of Corrections, Savage Locations: Philadelphia, Bozeman, Pittsburgh, Laurel Highlands, Laurel, couldn’t

☆ The Supreme Court is about to decide if a president can get away with committing crimes while in office
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to recognize that he had total legal immunity as president. Trump is asking the Supreme Court to grant him a sweeping immunity mandate as he runs to recapture the presidency. "This may indeed be the most important US Supreme Court case in the history of our country," he told journalists at a panel organized by the Defend Democracy Project. The Supreme Court will likely issue a decision in late April. "The Supreme Court need not stray into other questions just because Trump has made it easy for them.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith's, —, Trump, Jack Smith, Richard Nixon, David Frost, Smith, He's, Stormy Daniels, Todd Blanche, David Pecker, Tanya Chutkan, Barack Obama, Dana Verkouteren, doesn't, MANDEL NGAN, Nixon, Gerald Ford's, Ford, Leon Jaworski, indicting Nixon, Robert Ray, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Donald Ayer, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, it's, Justice Department's, Chutkan, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, framers, Mark Meadows, Norm Eisen, Obama's Organizations: Service, Justice Department, Capitol, Department, Air Force, Nixon, Trump, Prosecutors, AP, Getty, Independent, Department of Justice, Defend, Justice, White House Locations: Washington , DC, Georgia, Florida, New York, Manhattan, United States, AFP, Fulton County

☆ A billionaire drug kingpin escaped justice by paying a bond set at just $53K and then running away
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA billionaire drug baron was arrested in Spain on money laundering charges but was released after paying a $53,000 bond, according to reports. AdvertisementThis followed a five-year investigation that police say showed the suspects had established a criminal organization involved in large-scale drug trafficking, including the smuggling of significant amounts of cocaine. Related storiesPolitico referred to Bouyakhrichan as a billionaire who possesses bank accounts and properties around the world. AdvertisementThe judge then imposed a €50,000 bond, roughly $53,000, took away Bouyakhrichan's passport, and ordered him to report to the authorities every fifteen days.

Persons: —, Felix Bolaños, Karim Bouyakhrichan, Bouyakhrichan, Vincent Veenman Organizations: Service, Business, Spain's National Police, BBC, Cadena SER Locations: Spain, Dutch, Moroccan, Netherlands, Belgium, South America, Europe, The Hague, Spanish

☆ Germany arrests EU Parliament staff member on China espionage charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Germany has arrested a national on charges of spying for the Chinese secret service and leaking information from the European Parliament, Germany's federal prosecutor's office said on Tuesday. The man was also accused of spying on members of the Chinese opposition in Germany, according to a CNBC translation. The alleged spy was named as Jian G. and identified as an employee of a German member of the European Parliament since 2019. "If it is confirmed that there was espionage for Chinese intelligence services from within the European Parliament, then that would be an attack on European democracy from within. The ministry also said it hoped that Germany would stop using the so-called spy threat to manipulate political narratives, according to Reuters.

Persons: Scholz, Jian G, Maximilian Krah, Nancy Faeser Organizations: Tongji University, CNBC, Reuters Locations: China, Germany, Brussels

☆ Trump Will Fight Attempts to Silence Him Before Key Witness Testifies
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Manhattan prosecutors are poised to push their case against Donald J. Trump into a critical new phase on Tuesday, as they prepare to question a key witness and urge the judge to hold the former president in contempt for attacking witnesses and jurors in the landmark trial. The case, the first criminal trial of an American president, debuted to a newly seated jury on Monday, as both sides delivered opening statements that offered dueling visions of Mr. Trump and the evidence against him. While a prosecutor accused the former president of orchestrating a “criminal conspiracy and a coverup,” Mr. Trump’s lawyer proclaimed that “President Trump is innocent.”The prosecution also began questioning its first witness, David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who buried damaging stories about Mr. Trump as he mounted his first campaign for president. Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star that could have derailed his campaign. The flurry of activity set the stage for a weekslong trial that will continue to captivate the political and legal worlds and test the limits of the justice system as Mr. Trump attacks judge and jury alike.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Mr, Trump’s, David Pecker Organizations: “, National Enquirer Locations: Manhattan

German national Jian G, who worked for AfD MEP Maximilian Krah, was arrested by Saxony State criminal police in Dresden and had his residences searched, the prosecutor’s office said early Tuesday. The aide was later suspended by the European Parliament, a spokesman for the body told CNN. Prosecutors said he passed on information about “negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament” to China in January. The far-right AfD party has nine seats in the European Parliament, and is competing alongside Germany’s traditional parties in the European elections in June. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said the homes and workplace of the trio were searched in Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg.

Persons: Jian G, Maximilian Krah, ”, Jens Schlueter, Jian, “, Krah, Nancy Faeser, Thomas R, – Herwig, Ina F, –, Wang Wenbin Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, International Trade, Security, Defence, Foreign Trade, Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of State Security, ” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Crown Prosecution Service Locations: China, Europe, Saxony, Dresden, Germany, United States, Bad Homburg

☆ Germany Arrests Lawmaker’s Aide on Suspicion of Spying for China
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Christopher F. Schuetze | More About Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An aide to a German lawmaker in the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday. It came just hours after the German authorities arrested three people in the west of the country on suspicion of leaking technological data used in maritime propulsion and exporting a high-powered laser to China. Prosecutors said that Jiang G., as he was identified in keeping with German privacy rules, had worked for a German member of the European Parliament since 2019. Calling him an “employee of a Chinese secret service,” prosecutors accused Mr. G. of repeatedly passing along information about parliamentary deliberations and decisions to Chinese intelligence in January. Mr. G., a German citizen, also was accused of spying on Chinese opposition groups in Germany, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

Persons: Jiang G Organizations: Prosecutors, Mr Locations: China, Dresden, German, Germany

☆ Trump may be held in contempt Tuesday after hush-money DA cites at least 10 gag-order violations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The judge will not order Trump jailed even if he does find he repeatedly violated the gag, Richman predicted. Trump's gag order bans Trump from making public statements about jurors and witnesses that could interfere with the trial. "The defendant has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order," Conroy told the judge last week. He has attacked Grand Jurors and jurors," Conroy said. The judge added, with some sarcasm, "I don't recall inserting that anywhere in either gag order."

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Prosecutors, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Murray Richman, he's, Richman, Juan Merchan, Christopher Conroy, Cohen, Conroy, Daniels, Jesse Watters, Merchan, Todd Blanche, Trump's, Blanche Organizations: Service, Business, New, Trump, Fox News, Liberal Locations: New York, Manhattan

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