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☆ Isolated and inexperienced: A portrait of Judge Aileen Cannon from veterans of her courtroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Tierney Sneed | Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —Judge Aileen Cannon had been on the federal bench for little more than a year when a senior judge offered to preside over one of her first criminal trials in her isolated south Florida courthouse. In her seven years as a Justice Department attorney, Cannon participated on the trial teams of just four criminal cases. Still, Cannon has asked questions in the Trump case that appear out of left field. Her orientation toward such legal rabbit holes is not distinct to the Trump case, veterans of her courtroom say. Ultimately, nearly every attorney CNN spoke to said that Cannon, despite the criticism, is unwavering in her beliefs about how each case in her courtroom should proceed.

Persons: Aileen Cannon, ”, Paul C, Huck, Cannon, “, ” Huck, I’d, Donald Trump, she’s, Trump, Cannon –, who’s, Lothar Speer, Jack, Cannon chalked, Cannon's, “ She’s, Lee Adams, Sr, Lynne Sladky, Smith, Jack Smith, Cannon testily, –, they’ve, ” CNN’s Sara Murray Organizations: CNN, Southern, Southern District of, Trump White House, Justice Department, West Palm Beach, CNN Defense, Trump, Courthouse, FBI, Fort, Records, National Archives, Biden, Obama Locations: Florida, Fort Pierce, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, America, West Palm, Florida’s, Cannon, Fort Pierce , Florida

☆ Judge Cannon expands hearing on Trump’s request to declare special counsel’s appointment invalid
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Dan Berman | Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Cannon is planning on holding a sprawling hearing on Trump’s request to declare Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel invalid, signaling she could be more willing than any other trial judge to veto the special prosecutor’s authority. Wednesday, Cannon went further, adding a hearing on a gag order request from prosecutors to limit Trump’s rhetoric about law enforcement and allotting more time to hear arguments on the special counsel issue. Cannon’s signal of willingness to entertain challenges to the special counsel comes in the same week Republicans are bearing down on Attorney General Merrick Garland for his use of special counsels. A third group says the Department of Justice’s use of a special counsel should be upheld. Cannon still agreed to the hearing Trump wanted.

Persons: Aileen Cannon, Donald Trump’s, Cannon, Jack Smith’s, It’s, –, Trump, Evan Corcoran, Hunter, didn’t, Paul Manafort’s, Robert Mueller’s, Andrew Miller, Roger Stone, General Merrick Garland, David Weiss, Hunter Biden, – Cannon, ” Bradley Moss, Edwin Meese, Michael Mukasey, Meese, Mukasey, ’ Organizations: CNN, FBI, Trump, Southern District of, Justice Department, Republican Locations: Los Angeles and Delaware, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Delaware, Washington ,

☆ Takeaways from Day 2 of the Hunter Biden federal gun trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Marshall Cohen | Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is.”Melissa Cohen Biden, Hunter Biden’s wife, vigorously shook her head in disapproval when Hines argued that Biden knew he was an addict when he bought the gun. Lowell, well into his statement, had explained how despite claims from prosecutors, the evidence doesn’t show Biden was using drugs the day he bought the gun. Video Ad Feedback Ex-federal prosecutor expects Hunter Biden to be found guilty. The dealer ended the text with, “We will always be friends, bro.”A video of Hunter Biden shirtless is seen on screen during the trial on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. Bill HennessyIn other messages, Biden said he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack” at a street corner in downtown Wilmington that’s only a few blocks away from the federal courthouse where the trial is under way.

Persons: Hunter, Biden, Derek Hines, Joe Biden’s, “ isn’t, ” Hines, Hines, ” Melissa Cohen Biden, Hunter Biden’s, Abbe Lowell, “, ” Lowell, Lowell, Hallie Biden, ”, Hunter Biden, Jill Biden, stoically, Erika Jensen, Ashley, bro, Bill Hennessy, Biden’s, Jensen, Kathleen Buhle, Macayla Cook, Evan Perez Organizations: Delaware CNN, CNN Prosecutors, FBI, Prosecutors, Republicans Locations: Wilmington, Delaware, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, Massachusetts, Wilmington , Delaware, Russia

☆ Special counsel asks judge for gag order in Trump classified documents case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Special counsel’s office prosecutors on Friday asked a federal judge in Florida to place a gag order on Donald Trump that would limit his ability to comment about law enforcement that searched his Mar-a-Lago resort. The same standard FBI policy was used in the searches of President Joe Biden’s homes and offices in a separate classified documents investigation. The prosecutors say the gag order is needed to protect the integrity of the criminal case and law enforcement officers associated with it. Prosecutors noted that Trump has been amplifying accusations about the FBI in the search on his Truth Social account Friday. In a notably direct pushback to Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday addressed the claims that Trump has made about the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Jack Smith, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, “ Trump‘s, ”, Trump’s, “, Steven Cheung, Biden, General Merrick Garland, ” Garland, Biden’s Organizations: CNN, FBI, Prosecutors, Secret Service, Trump, Mar, Justice Department Locations: Florida, Lago, Mar, Washington, Trump, Cincinnati, New York, DC

☆ Judge holds first hearing since delaying Trump classified documents trial and criticizing special counsel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

US District Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments from defense attorneys on two separate bids to throw out charges in the case. Trump is accused by special counsel Jack Smith of taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and of resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. Trump has obtained permission from the judge to skip Wednesday’s proceedings, which will start at 10 a.m. On Tuesday, hundreds of pages of previously sealed court filings were posted publicly as part of efforts by the former president to have the charges against him thrown out. She expressed “concern” the special counsel’s office had sought redactions of information in the newly unsealed filings after previously giving its OK for that information to be published in full in earlier court filings.

Persons: Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Walt Nauta, vindictively, Trump, Jack Smith, Carlos De Oliveira, Cannon, White, Donald Trump’s Mar, –, she’s, ” Cannon, “, ” Organizations: CNN, White, Nauta, Trump, US Department of Justice Locations: Florida, Lago, Fort Pierce , Florida, Palm Beach , Florida, Washington ,

☆ Trump prosecutor Fani Willis and trial judge Scott McAfee will win their elections in Georgia, CNN projects
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Eric Bradner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who is prosecuting Trump, is projected to win her Democratic primary rematch with attorney and author Christian Wise Smith. And Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the former president’s case, is projected to win his nonpartisan election for Fulton County Superior Court. That has left the Trump case effectively at a standstill. Wise Smith, Willis’ primary opponent, finished third in the 2020 Democratic primary for Fulton County district attorney. Kemp could wind up being a witness in the Trump case.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Fani Willis, Trump, Christian Wise Smith, Scott McAfee, Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade, Wise Smith, Willis ’, CNN’s Laura Coates, ” Willis, Courtney Kramer, Kramer, Joe Biden’s, McAfee, Robert Patillo, Patillo, ”, Tiffani Johnson, Brian Kemp, “, Kemp, Roy Barnes, Barnes, CNN’s Ryan Young, Devon M, Sayers Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Fulton County Superior Court, Trump, Republican, McAfee, Republican Gov, Democrat, Devon Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton, Atlanta

Nauta testified to a grand jury two months before the August 2022 search about boxes he took from Mar-a-Lago’s storage room in January 2022. Nauta grand jury testimony could be used at trial against TrumpThe newly unredacted Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit and Nauta’s grand jury testimony were included in court filings as part of several challenges Trump and Nauta are making against Smith’s case. 03:33 - Source: CNNNauta’s grand jury testimony could become a notable part of an eventual trial against Trump. Even if Nauta refuses to testify, prosecutors could seek to use his grand jury statements about Trump in their presentation to a jury. According to the affidavit, the Justice Department sought from the Trump Organization Mar-a-Lago’s surveillance footage in the immediate days after Nauta’s grand jury testimony.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Walt Nauta, Nauta, ” Nauta, Jack Smith, Carlos De Oliveira, vindictively, Lago, FPOTUS, ”, Stanley Woodward, Aileen Cannon, pushback, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz Organizations: CNN, National Archives, Mar, FBI, Trump, Archives, Justice Department, Trump White House, NARA, Trump Organization, US Locations: Lago, Florida, Mar, Nauta, United States

Asked for proof of his claim that Mr. Biden was personally directing the local cases against him, Mr. Trump pointed to purported ties between prosecutors and “Washington,” but provided no evidence that Mr. Biden had been involved in any of the hiring decisions, conversations or meetings that Mr. Trump cited. The writer E. Jean Carroll filed her first lawsuit against Mr. Trump in November 2019, accusing him of defamation. Faulty and irrelevant comparisonsWhat Mr. Trump Said“I got indicted more than Al Capone.”— in a rally in Ohio in MarchFalse. Mr. Hur described Mr. Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who had “diminished faculties and faulty memory.” He did not declare Mr. Biden mentally incompetent to stand trial. Inaccurate attacks on judgesWhat Mr. Trump Said“Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, President Biden, Trump’s, ”, Trump Said “ Biden, General Merrick B, Garland, Trump “, Biden, Mr, Doug Mills, Trump Said, Jack Smith, Merrick Garland’s, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Alvin L, Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, —, James’s, Colangelo’s, Bragg ramped, Willis, Willis — Nathan J, Wade, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kamala Harris, Harris, Crooked Joe Biden, James, Jean Carroll, Smith, Brittainy Newman, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Letitia James ’, Hunt, PolitiFact, Trump Said “, Al Capone, Capone, Brad Schwartz, Hillary, Bill, Bush, Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, Bill Clinton’s, Taylor Branch, Branch, “, Barack Obama, George W, Bill Clinton, George H.W, Ronald Reagan, Robert K, Hur, Biden’s, Juan Merchan, Loren, Loren Merchan, Merchan, Merchan’s, Justice Merchan, Ahmed Gaber, Arthur F, Justice Engoron, Engoron Organizations: New York, Democratic Party, Trump, Justice Department, The New York Times, The, White House, Trump . Credit, New York Times, American People, Biden Administration, Prosecutors, Mr, Manhattan, Washington, Fox News, New, Times, White, Counsel’s Office, Supreme, Black, Trump Organization, Democrat, Companies, Exxon Mobil, Trump Foundation, Trump University, Associated, National Archives, Records Administration, TRUMP, Twitter, Credit Locations: Manhattan, Georgia, Trump ., Washington, New York, “ Washington, Fulton County ,, Russian, New, Ohio, Fla, South Carolina, Trump’s Florida, Beach

☆ House sends Mayorkas impeachment articles to the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Annie Grayer | Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —House Republicans have sent to the Senate two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a step that launches a trial in the Senate as GOP lawmakers seek to highlight President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration policy. House Republicans do not have the votes or concrete evidence to impeach Biden given their razor-thin majority, leaving that separate impeachment inquiry stalled. GOP arguments for impeachment and pushback from constitutional expertsWhen Johnson originally informed Schumer he would be sending the impeachment articles over to the Senate, he laid out why he believed a Mayorkas impeachment was justified. “These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment,” Green said in a statement provided to CNN. “I think that what the House Republicans are asserting is that Secretary Mayorkas is guilty of maladministration,” Garber said.

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden’s, Mayorkas, Biden, —, impeaching Biden, ”, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, Trump, Ian Sams, Johnson, Schumer, Mark Green of, Alejandro Mayorkas ’, ” Green, systemically, Samuel Alito, Ross Garber, ” Garber, “, Michael Chertoff, George W, Bush, Jonathan Turley, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, “ I’m, CNN’s Manu Raju, I’ve, –, John Thune, ” Johnson, Pro Tempore Patty Murray, Michael McCaul of, Andy Biggs of, Clay Higgins, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Guest of, Andrew Garbarino, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Pfluger, Harriet Hageman of, Laurel Lee, CNN’s Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, Homeland, Senate, Democratic, Republicans, Homeland Security, Biden, House Republicans, DHS, ’, Louisiana Republican, Truth, White, CNN, Congress, Tulane University, Republican, Senate Democratic, Mayorkas, Pro Tempore Locations: Louisiana, Mark Green of Tennessee, Washington, Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Michael Guest of Mississippi, New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Laurel Lee of Florida

☆ Witnesses in Trump classified documents case will remain secret, federal judge orders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Katelyn Polantz | Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A federal judge decided Tuesday that the names of potential witnesses in the classified documents case against Donald Trump will remain secret – resolving one of the issues that has created a logjam in the criminal case. But, Cannon said, witness statements can be used in the public filings — unless those statements would be identifying. Smith had strongly pushed back on a previous order from Cannon for transparency surrounding the identification of witnesses, pointing to fears of witness harassment. CNN previously reported that the potential witness list includes a number of low-level workers from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump’s lawyers had argued they should be able to name potential witnesses, as is typical in criminal cases.

Persons: Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith’s, Cannon, redactions, Smith, ”, Trump’s, Trump Organizations: CNN, Trump’s Mar Locations: Trump’s, Lago, Florida, Fort Pierce , Florida

Washington CNN —CNN has sued for access to recordings of federal investigators’ interview with President Joe Biden in the now-closed probe over his handling of classified documents. “Without access to any of the interview records, the press and public initially could not form their own conclusions about Hur’s characterization of Biden. Jason Leopold, a reporter for Bloomberg News who frequently brings FOIA lawsuits, also has filed two lawsuits for access to records Hur created. The Judicial Watch complaint, filed in March, specifically seeks access to the Biden interview recordings. In the interview, Hur said Biden couldn’t remember the years he was vice president or when his son died.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Joe Biden, Robert Hur’s, Biden, Hur, …, Donald Trump, Jason Leopold, Beau’s, “, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Washington CNN — CNN, Justice, DOJ, CNN, DC, Justice Department, Bloomberg News, Heritage Foundation, Judicial Watch, ” Locations: Washington ,

☆ Judge in classified documents case grapples with how Trump’s personal records claim could be explained to a jury
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

I don’t understand where she is going with this order,” Brad Moss, a national security lawyer, told CNN on Monday. Part of the law under which Trump is charged criminalizes a person having unauthorized possession of records related to national defense. Still, the judge asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to write versions of their proposed jury instructions that consider the PRA by April 2. “Engage with the following competing scenarios and offer alternative draft text that assumes each scenario to be a correct formulation of the law to be issued to a jury,” Cannon wrote on Monday. The second scenario would assume that as president, Trump had complete authority to take records he wanted from the White House under the PRA.

Persons: Aileen Cannon, Donald Trump’s, Trump, – Cannon, Cannon, wouldn’t, Brad Moss, “, ” Moss, she’s, ” Cannon, Moss Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Department, “, White House, National Archives Locations: Trump’s

Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, has set apart an entire day to hear arguments on whether the prosecution should be thrown out on the basis of Trump’s claims about his presidential classification powers. Trump is facing dozens of charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, and for obstructing the Justice Department’s investigation. As president, defense attorneys argue, Trump was the chief classification officer and could mark any documents as “personal” and legally take those documents with him when he left office. Their arguments cite the Presidential Records Act, the federal law that governs how documents from an outgoing presidential administration are handled. The PRA says the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets custody and control of all presidential records from their administration.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Trump, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, –, Joe Biden’s, Department’s, I’m, “ Organizations: CNN, FBI, Records, National Archives, Records Administration, Presidential Records, Trump

I ended up loading all the luggage I had – and he had a bunch of boxes,” Butler said of Nauta. But I also have a bad feeling that what I’m saying is getting him into trouble,” Butler told CNN. Given his long history at Trump’s club, Butler shed light on potentially critical instances related to the disclosure of classified information. De Oliveira hung up the phone, happily, and told Butler that Trump would provide him an attorney, Butler says. I think we went to sit down,” Butler told CNN.

Persons: Kaitlan Collins, CNN —, Donald Trump’s, Brian Butler, “, Jack Smith, Butler, Trump, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, Lago, Donald Trump, CNN Butler, Nauta, De Oliveira, didn’t, ‘, ” Butler, Department’s, he’s, John Irving, Florida Butler, MAGA, Trump’s, ’, I’m, De Oliveria, Brian Butler's, Jeffrey Sloman, De Oliveira nudging, Anthony Pratt, Pratt, there’s, There’s De Oliveira, Melania Trump, putts De Oliveira, Taylor Swift, De, “ Carlos, pats, Butler “, Carlos, ‘ He’s, ’ ” Butler Organizations: CNN, “ Trump, Trump, Mar, Justice Department, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, CNN The Florida, FBI, Southern, Southern District of, Smith’s, Prosecutors Locations: Mar, Palm Beach , Florida, Trump, New Jersey, Nauta, Palm Beach, Lago, West Palm, Florida, Palm, South Florida, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Russian, Butler

In Florida, meanwhile, a federal judge could push back Trump’s trial date in the classified documents case. Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump proposed moving the trial later into the summer in court filings Thursday. For Friday’s hearing in the documents case, scheduled for 10 a.m. Smith has highlighted a myriad of threats made against individuals connected to the documents case, including witnesses, government employees, an FBI agent involved in the initial Mar-a-Lago search and two federal judges, including Cannon herself. Attorneys for Trump and his allies are expected to argue that Wade and Willis lied under oath about when their relationship started.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Fani Willis, Aileen Cannon, Joe Biden’s, Jack Smith, Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliviera, De Oliviera’s, Cannon, —, Biden, – Nauta, De Oliveira, –, Willis, Scott McAfee, Nathan Wade, Wade, McAfee, Charles Mittelstadt, Terrence Bradley, Bradley, Ashleigh Merchant, Merchant Organizations: CNN, Trump —, White, National Security Council, Prosecutors, Trump Locations: Georgia, Florida, Fulton County, California, Belize, Caribbean

☆ Supreme Court to decide Trump immunity claim, further delaying election subversion trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether Donald Trump may claim immunity in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case, adding another explosive appeal from the former president to its docket and further delaying his federal trial. The high court on Wednesday ordered that a lower court ruling against Trump remain on hold until it decides the issue. As is common when granting a case, the court released only a short order and did not indicate how the justices voted. Trump had filed an emergency request at the Supreme Court on February 12 asking the justices to block a lower court ruling that he was not immune from Smith’s election subversion charges. Trump and Smith filed dueling briefs at the Supreme Court over whether the decision should be put on hold.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith’s, Trump, It’s, Smith, SCOTUS, Steve Vladeck, “, ” Vladeck, ”, Vladeck, Tanya Chutkan, Trump’s, Karen LeCraft Henderson, Florence Pan, Michelle Childs, eviscerated, Gore, George W, Bush, Al Gore, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Devan Cole Organizations: CNN, Supreme, Republican, Trump, DC Circuit, University of Texas School of Law Locations: New York, Bush

☆ Judge denies efforts by Trump co-defendants to see classified material they allegedly helped conceal at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The judge presiding over the Mar-a-Lago documents case on Tuesday denied efforts by Donald Trump’s co-defendants to view the classified records they allegedly moved around the former president’s Florida residence for him. The men, political aide Walt Nauta and property staffer Carlos De Oliveira, wanted to view the classified records to prepare their trial defenses against obstruction of justice charges. They are accused of helping Trump conceal documents he unlawfully kept in Florida after he left the presidency. Cannon has yet to rule on efforts by Trump’s attorneys for him to access a smaller collection of classified documents, which the Justice Department wants to protect because of their national security sensitivity. The judge noted that “Nauta and De Oliveira remain able to review unclassified documents found in ‘Trump’s boxes’” that are part of the charges against them.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, Trump, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, De Oliveira, Nauta, ” Cannon, “, Defendant Trump, ’ ”, Defendant Nauta Organizations: CNN, Mar, Southern, Southern District of, Nauta, Justice Department Locations: Florida, Southern District, Southern District of Florida

☆ How Trump will seek to pit federal judges against each other to avoid trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. That would create a hole in Trump’s court schedule after the New York trial that no other case is positioned to fill. The special counsel’s office has repeatedly argued that the public, too, deserves to have Trump’s federal election case before a jury quickly, potentially even before the next presidential election. While Trump couldn’t be on trial simultaneously in two different courts, judges could have overlapping schedules initially because trial dates can often move. He’s not going to be in more than one criminal trial at the same time.”CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Tanya Chutkan, ”, Aileen Cannon, Trump’s, Cannon, Aileen Canon, Obama, Chutkan, Trump, Stormy Daniels, “, ” Trump, Todd Blanche, –, it’s, applicant’s, Juan Merchan, ” Merchan, Blanche, ” Blanche, Merchan, Mr, He’s, ” CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, Trump, Quinnipiac University, New, Justice Department, Supreme Locations: Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Manhattan, York, Fort Pierce , Florida, New York

☆ Biden lawyers wrote to AG Garland objecting to aspects of Hur’s report
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Kevin Liptak | Mj Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The White House wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland the day before special counsel Robert Hur’s report was released, vehemently objecting to aspects of the report – including its “multiple denigrating statements” about the president’s memory. Ultimately, Hur did not appear to heed calls by Biden’s lawyers to produce a narrow and concise report limited to the facts of the charging decision. The lawyers wrote Hur’s report “mirrors one of the most widely-recognized examples in recent history of inappropriate prosecutor criticism of uncharged conduct.”“The FBI and DOJ personnel’s criticism of uncharged conduct during investigations in connection with the 2016 election was found to violate ‘long-standing Department practice and protocol,’” the lawyers wrote. The letter underscores the deep anger generated by Hur’s report inside the White House and lays bare tensions between Biden’s team and Garland. CNN has previously reported that frustrations have run high inside the White House regarding some of Garland’s decisions related to the classified documents matter.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Robert Hur’s, Joe Biden’s, Hur, —, ”, Bob Bauer, Edward Siskel, Garland, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Biden, General Bradley Weinsheimer, Bauer, Richard Sauber, Weinsheimer –, Eric Holder Organizations: Washington CNN, DOJ, FBI, Politico, The New York Times, CNN, White, Department

☆ Frustrated White House sends letter to press corps, skewering coverage of Biden’s handling of classified files
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The White House is making its frustration over recent press coverage known. In a letter Tuesday to the White House Correspondents’ Association, Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, expressed concern over how the news media has covered Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified material. Sams’ letter is yet another step White House officials have taken to push back against press narratives about the report. It’s not just the White House making such arguments though. The White House, of course, knows that it will not be successful in getting news organizations to walk back previous coverage.

Persons: Ian Sams, Robert Hur’s, Joe Biden’s, Sams, ” Sams, Biden “, ”, Hur, Biden, It’s, Andrew Weissmann, Robert Mueller’s, Donald Trump, Ryan Goodman, Robert Hur, ” Weissmann, Goodman, “ Organizations: CNN, White, ’ Association, Just, New York University Locations: Afghanistan

☆ The White House Went Into Damage-Control Mode
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

White House officials and prominent Democrats today attacked the special counsel’s report into President Biden’s handling of classified material by labeling it politically motivated. The comments were part of an effort to discredit a document that characterized the president as elderly and forgetful. Vice President Kamala Harris and multiple House Democrats depicted the report, which legally exonerated Biden, as more of a political attack than an unbiased legal document. A spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office suggested that the special counsel, Robert Hur, violated Justice Department policy. The report cast Biden, 81, as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” with “diminished faculties in advancing age.” It placed his age — an uncomfortable subject looming over his re-election bid — back at the center of America’s political conversation.

Persons: Biden’s, Kamala Harris, Biden, Robert Hur, — Organizations: White, Democrats, Counsel’s, Department

☆ Biden erupts over special counsel’s report as aides look to short-circuit campaign risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Biden’s aides know there is no topic more likely to draw their boss’ fury than a slight against his family. Only about 45 minutes before Hur’s report was released publicly, the White House was working to downplay the verbal slip-ups, saying it’s common for people to misspeak. “Many people, elected officials … they can misspeak sometimes,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, citing recent examples from House Speaker Mike Johnson and TV host Sean Hannity. The report was released anyway, with the objections of Biden’s lawyers included – but only toward the end of the nearly 400-page report. “I was in the middle of handling an international crisis,” Biden said Thursday about an hour after the report was released.

Persons: Robert Hur’s, Joe Biden, Biden’s, Biden, ” Biden seethed, Hur, fumed, hasn’t, Daniel Goldman, ” Goldman, “, ” Biden, ”, Hur –, Donald Trump’s, forgetful, I’ve, –, CNN’s MJ Lee, Bidenworld, Helmut Kohl, Francois Mitterrand, …, Karine Jean, Pierre, Mike Johnson, Sean Hannity, she’s, Beau Biden’s, Hurt, Biden “, Beau, Israel – Organizations: Washington CNN, House, Democratic, Trump Justice Department, White, CNN, Biden, Republicans, Trump Locations: New York, Gaza, Mexico, Egypt, Israel

☆ Fact check: Biden makes three false claims about his handling of classified information
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Where the classified material was storedBiden sought to contrast his handling of classified material with that of former President Donald Trump, who faces felony charges for willfully retaining classified documents. According to the special counsel, even classified documents Biden was storing elsewhere in his home were insufficiently secure. Hur wrote that Biden notebooks containing classified information from his vice presidency were found by investigators in “unlocked drawers in the office and basement den” of the home. The classification level of the documents Biden had in his possessionBiden claimed of the documents he possessed: “None of it was high classified. Biden shared information, including some classified information, from those notebooks with his ghostwriter.” He elaborated that Biden shared classified information with his ghostwriter by reading “nearly verbatim” from his notebooks “on at least three occasions,” including his “notes from meetings in the Situation Room.”Hur did find, however, that Biden “at times” tried to avoid sharing classified information, by stopping at or skipping over certain material from the notebooks.

Persons: Joe Biden, Robert Hur, Biden, Hur’s, Donald Trump, Hur, Trump, “, Ian Sams, ” Sams, CNN’s MJ Lee, ”, Sams, weren’t, Barack Obama, ” Hur, Obama, Mr, Mark Zwonitzer, Afghanistan –, CNN’s Nikki Carvajal Organizations: CNN, ”, White, National Security, SCI, Mr, FISA, Virginia, National Security Council Locations: Lago, Biden’s Delaware, Afghanistan, Virginia, United States, “, Iraq, Delaware

CNN —In a fight over keeping the identity of witnesses protected in the criminal document mishandling case against Donald Trump, special counsel Jack Smith this week detailed myriad threats against prosecutors, judges and other witnesses. One threat against a witness has prompted a federal investigation, the special counsel’s office wrote in court filings. Possible witnesses against Trump are “routinely” being threatened in a way that could intimidate them from participating in the case, they added. Trump’s lawyers have sought to make public the witness names and related information in the case, since they have included them in court filings. “Their objective is plain—to delay trial as long as possible,” prosecutors wrote in a filing Thursday in the case.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Witnesses, ”, “, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, Trump, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, ‘, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, FBI, Department, ”, National Archives, Records Administration, Department of Energy, ‘ Trump Locations: Florida, Mar

☆ Harris Calls Special Counsel Report on Biden ‘Clearly Politically Motivated’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | More About Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back forcefully on Friday against a special counsel report that questioned President Biden’s memory, describing it as “politically motivated.”“The way the president’s demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated,” Ms. Harris said in response to questions from reporters at the White House. She also said Mr. Biden had sat down for in-person interviews with the special counsel’s office just a day after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. “It was an intense moment for the commander in chief of the United States of America,” Ms. Harris said. “He was in front of it all, coordinating and directing leaders who are in charge of America’s national security.”

Persons: Kamala Harris, ”, Ms, Harris, Biden, “ Organizations: White Locations: Israel, United States of America

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