Rape Jim Jordan: Voters Don’t Know ‘Just Wrong’ About Hunter Biden’s Investigation Before Election
The media and the American people should have known about the federal investigation into the presidential election Joe Bidenthe son is Hunter Rep. Jim........»»
Trump indicted for election fraud, obstruction
Former United States president Donald Trump was indicted for the third time Tuesday allegedly for falsely claiming that he won the November 2020 presidential election and trying to prevent the proclamation of its winner, Democrat President Joe Biden. The criminal indictment of the 77-year-old frontrunning Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election was handed down by a grand jury in Washington Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -— the 6 January 2021 joint session of Congress held to certify Biden’s election victory. Smith also accused Trump in the 45-page indictment of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims that he won the November 2020 presidential election. Trump is to be arraigned on Thursday before US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan. The indictment is the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. He will go on trial in Florida in May of next year for allegedly mishandling top secret government documents. Trump also faces a criminal trial in New York for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star. Trump lashed out at the special counsel, calling him “deranged” and accusing him of issuing “yet another Fake Indictment” to “interfere with the presidential election.” “Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago?” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Why did they wait so long?" “Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign,” he said. “Prosecutorial misconduct!” Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a political “witch hunt” by the Department of Justice. The White House on Tuesday maintained silence on Trump’s historic indictment. Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, continued his beach vacation in Delaware, dining out with First Lady Jill Biden before seeing the film “Oppenheimer.” WITH AFP The post Trump indicted for election fraud, obstruction appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election
Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday over his efforts to upend the results of the 2020 US election -- the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. It is the third criminal indictment of the 77-year-old Trump since March and charges him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is already scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May of next year for allegedly mishandling top-secret government documents. The new charges, two of which carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, raise the prospect of Trump being embroiled in more legal proceedings at the height of what is expected to be a bitter and divisive presidential campaign. The indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the 6 January 2021, joint session of Congress held to certify Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Trump is also accused in the 45-page indictment of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims that he won the November 2020 presidential election. "Shortly after election day -- which fell on 2 November 2020 -- the Defendant launched his criminal scheme," the indictment, handed down by a grand jury in Washington, said. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud," it said. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor at the Hague, said the January 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters was "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy." "It was fueled by lies," Smith told reporters in brief remarks. "Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government -- the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election." Part of that plan, the indictment alleges, was to have then-vice president Mike Pence use his role as presiding officer over the January 6 joint session to throw out several states' votes. Pence ultimately refused, issuing a public statement saying that he did not believe the Constitution allowed him that power. As Trump's supporters later stormed the US Capitol, where Pence was in hiding, Trump tweeted that his vice president "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done." White House silence The White House on Tuesday maintained silence on Trump's historic indictment. Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, continued his beach vacation in Delaware, dining out with First Lady Jill Biden before seeing the film "Oppenheimer." Trump's campaign, meanwhile, issued a blistering statement, comparing his prosecution to "Nazi Germany in the 1930s" and stating that he had followed "advice from many highly accomplished attorneys" -- a likely line of defense at trial. The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified and Trump, who is to be arraigned on Thursday, is the only named defendant. The case is expected to be heard by US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama. Smith said he is seeking a "speedy trial." Trump furious Trump lashed out at the special counsel, calling him "deranged" and accusing him of issuing "yet another Fake Indictment" to "interfere with the presidential election." "Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago?" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Why did they wait so long? "Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign," he said. "Prosecutorial misconduct!" Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a political "witch hunt" by the Department of Justice. Besides the classified documents charges, the former president also faces a criminal trial in New York for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star. Georgia prosecutors are also looking into whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election outcome in the southern state. As president, Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine and over the events of January 6 but he was acquitted by the Senate both times. Pence, who is competing against Trump in the Republican primary, said on Twitter -- now rebranded as X -- that Tuesday's indictment "serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States." The post Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Garland denies Hunter Biden probe being interfered with
US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday denied allegations that the Justice Department interfered with an investigation of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Prosecutors announced earlier this week that Hunter Biden had reached a plea deal on minor tax and gun charges with the US Attorney in his home state of Delaware. Hunter Biden is due to appear in court on 26 July after agreeing to plead guilty to two federal tax charges and admitting to illegally possessing a gun despite having a history of drug use. A whistleblower from the Internal Revenue Service alleged in testimony before the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee released this week that the Justice Department headed by Garland had slowed the probe into Hunter Biden. Garland, in remarks to reporters on Friday, noted that the US Attorney in Delaware, David Weiss, had been appointed by former President Donald Trump, a Republican. Garland said he personally had given Weiss the authority to continue his investigation into Hunter Biden and “prosecute any way in which he wanted to.” Joe Biden’s son is also facing one count of illegal possession of a firearm. “I don’t know how it would be possible for anybody to block him from bringing a prosecution given that he has this authority,” the attorney general said. “He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own.” Hunter Biden, 53, is the only surviving child of Joe Biden’s first marriage, which tragically ended in 1972 when his wife and baby daughter were killed in a car accident. Hunter Biden’s business dealings, especially during the time his father was vice president, have been a major target of Joe Biden’s political opponents, and continue to be probed by congressional Republicans. Hunter Biden became a regular focus of Trump’s attacks ahead of the November 2020 presidential election for his work in Ukraine and China. In his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” Hunter Biden insisted he has never done anything unethical and dismissed allegations that he displayed a lack of judgment by accepting a lucrative position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was Barack Obama’s vice president. Under the plea agreement, Hunter Biden is unlikely to face prison time but will be sentenced to probation. According to the charges, Hunter Biden, a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist, failed to file his tax returns on time on earnings of more than $1.5 million for 2017 and 2018. In both years, he owed more than $100,000 in taxes on those earnings. Hunter Biden is also facing one count of “possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.” Hunter Biden has admitted having drug problems in the past and detailed his struggles with crack cocaine in his 2021 memoir, released months after his father took office. Hunter Biden and his wife attended a state dinner at the White House on Thursday for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Asked about his attendance at the event, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “it is not uncommon for family members to attend events at the White House.” The post Garland denies Hunter Biden probe being interfered with appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Prosecutors tell Trump lawyers he is target of classified docs probe: reports
US prosecutors have told Donald Trump's lawyers that he is the target of a probe into his handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency, in a sign he might be indicted, US media reported Wednesday night. The notice came from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, The New York Times, CNN and other news outlets said, and gives the clearest sign yet that prosecutors are moving closer to charging the former president, who is seeking a return to the White House in 2024. The Times, citing "two people familiar with the matter", said it was not clear when Trump's team had been told he was the subject of the investigation. Special counsel Smith, named by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House. The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and Trump could face obstruction-of-justice charges after spending months resisting efforts to recover the trove. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. "No one has told me I'm being indicted, and I shouldn't be because I've done NOTHING wrong," Trump posted on his Truth Social network Wednesday. "I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI," said Trump, who has already been indicted in a separate case. Investigators have been scrutinizing several suspected attempts to obstruct them from getting access to documents and footage from a security camera near the storeroom at Mar-a-Lago where documents were kept. Trump has openly acknowledged taking and storing the documents, undermining his lawyers' suggestion that he took the stash inadvertently in the confusion of a chaotic departure. Meanwhile, investigators have obtained an audio recording of Trump in which he acknowledged he held onto a classified Pentagon document after he left the White House, according to US media. On Monday, US media also reported that Trump's lawyers met with Justice Department attorneys. John Rowley, James Trusty and Lindsey Halligan were seen by reporters arriving at the DoJ building in Washington but did not make any comment. The Washington Post reported at the time that Trump's lawyers had come to make their case that their client should not face any charges. One expert told MSNBC that Wednesday's news would suggest an indictment is in the offing. "If a prosecutor tells you that you are the target of their investigation, it means they expect to indict you," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said. "When I was on the other side of the aisle, when I was a federal prosecutor, when I told someone they were a target, that's what I meant." 'Dramatic and divisive' Trump has already been charged with dozens of financial crimes as part of an alleged hush-money scheme to silence a porn star claiming she had sex with him, and is due to go on trial next March, in the middle of primary election season. The former president is facing a growing list of Republican primary opponents, including his former vice president Mike Pence, who avoided taking an absolute position when asked about the probe during a CNN town hall interview Wednesday night. "Let me be clear that no one's above the law," Pence said. "I would just hope there would be a way for them to move forward without the dramatic and drastic and divisive step of indicting a former president of the United States," he added. Fellow 2024 candidate and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson took a stronger tack, urging Trump to drop out of the presidential race. "Donald Trump is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation and he should step aside & put the good of the country above his candidacy," he tweeted Wednesday night. In addition to the hush-money and documents probes, Trump is being investigated over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia and his involvement in the January 2021 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. Other politicians have been found to have kept government documents at their private homes in recent months. In January, Garland named a separate special counsel to examine whether President Joe Biden violated any law after the discovery of some classified documents at his former office and in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Pence was recently cleared of any wrongdoing over materials he uncovered at his home in Indiana. The post Prosecutors tell Trump lawyers he is target of classified docs probe: reports appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump lawyers meet with Justice Dept over documents probe
Donald Trump's lawyers met with Justice Department attorneys on Monday as an investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents appears to be nearing an end, US media reported. John Rowley, James Trusty, and Lindsey Halligan were seen by reporters arriving at the Justice Department building in Washington but did not make any comment. The Washington Post, citing an unidentified "person familiar with the situation," said Trump's lawyers had come to make their case that the former president should not face any charges. A special counsel named by Attorney General Merrick Garland has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House. The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and Trump could face obstruction of justice charges after spending months resisting efforts to recover the trove. Several sources with knowledge of the investigation told the CBS News network that they believe that a charging decision in the case of the documents is imminent. Trump, meanwhile, posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he was the victim of the "greatest witch hunt of all time!" "How can DoJ possibly charge me, who did nothing wrong, when no other presidents were charged when Joe Biden won't be charged for anything," Trump wrote. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was apparently referring to the discovery of some classified documents at Biden's former office and in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Garland, the attorney general, named a special counsel in January to examine whether the Biden cache violated any law. The Justice Department and Trump's attorneys did not immediately respond to inquiries from AFP about the meeting. The classified documents case is one of several legal challenges that threaten to derail Trump's 2024 election bid. Trump was charged by New York prosecutors in April with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump is also being investigated over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia and his involvement in the January 2021 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. The post Trump lawyers meet with Justice Dept over documents probe appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pence to vie for Republican nomination
Donald Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, is challenging the ex-president for the Republican nomination. Pence, 63, is announcing his presidential bid on 7 June with a speech in Iowa, the midwestern state that traditionally kicks off the primary season, NBC News and other outlets said. After years of unwavering loyalty, the former vice president has been at loggerheads with Trump since refusing to go along with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in power. In remarks at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington in March, Pence, a staunch conservative from Indiana, said that history would hold Trump “accountable” for his role in the Capitol riot. “President Trump was wrong,” Pence said. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.” In April, Pence testified in the federal investigation examining Trump’s role in the assault on the Capitol, one of a number of legal cases facing the former president. Meanwhile, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, 60, is also expected to join the race next week. Christie was a former close associate of Trump but has been sharply critical of the former president over the January 2021 assault on the US Capitol and his refusal to concede the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Pence and Christie’s presidential bids crowd the field seeking the Republican presidential nomination. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 44, jumped into the contest last week. The post Pence to vie for Republican nomination appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed
US President-elect Joe Biden has expressed full confidence in his son Hunter, a frequent target of Republican attacks, after it was revealed last week that he was under a federal tax investigation. During his unsuccessful re-election campaign, President Donald Trump launched repeated accusations against Hunter and said the Bidens were a “corrupt” family and a […] The post Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
White House Hopes for Free, Safe Polls in Taiwan
white house - The Biden administration hopes that Taiwan's voters can freely choose their next leader when the island votes next week in a general election, says John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in an interview with VOA's White House Correspondent Paris Huang on Thursday.Kirby also reiterated that President Joe Biden and his administration are "all in" on cooperatio.....»»
White House Hopes for Free, Safe Polls in Taiwan
white house - The Biden administration hopes that Taiwan's voters can freely choose their next leader when the island votes next week in a general election, says John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in an interview with VOA's White House Correspondent Paris Huang on Thursday.Kirby also reiterated that President Joe Biden and his administration are "all in" on cooperatio.....»»
Republicans pick ‘novice’ as 4th speaker nominee
Republicans have named a fourth candidate for speaker of the United States House of Representatives and hope to end two weeks of party division and a leaderless lower chamber. Louisiana’s Mike Johnson won an internal party vote just hours after previous nominee, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, buckled under a backlash led by former President Donald Trump and announced his withdrawal. Johnson — the vice chairman of the conference but a relative novice in politics — lost out to Emmer earlier in the day but quickly threw his hat back in the ring after his leadership colleague bowed out. Only 128 of Johnson’s colleagues voted for him in the final round of balloting, according to US media — with 29 preferring his rival, Florida lawmaker Byron Donalds, and another 44 casting their votes for someone else entirely. Like Johnson, Emmer had baselessly sown doubt over the validity of Biden’s 2020 election win over Trump, but supporters of the former president were angered by the majority whip voting to certify the result. Trump took to his Truth social website to brand Emmer a “globalist RINO” — short for “Republican in name only.” If Johnson were to succeed where his colleagues have failed, he would be the least experienced speaker in more than a century, having never chaired a committee or held a top leadership role. Moving up to the House from state-level politics only in 2017, Johnson could find himself presiding over a government shutdown in three weeks unless he can cut a 2024 budget deal with much more seasoned negotiators in the White House that is acceptable to his party. He would also be expected to lead the deeply fractured conference through upcoming fights over funding for Ukraine and Israel in their conflicts with Russia and Hamas. Tuesday’s disarray marked two weeks since the party’s first nominee to replace Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, withdrew as it became clear he was nowhere near the 217 votes needed to be elected. Hard-line Trump ally Jim Jordan, the next nominee, flopped three times on the House floor as successively larger tallies of Republican opponents joined the Democrats to reject him. The post Republicans pick ‘novice’ as 4th speaker nominee appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
5 vote buying DQ cases filed by Comelec, warns LGU of prohibitions
The Commission on Elections has begun filing petitions against the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections candidates allegedly involved in vote buying on 6 October. Out of the 40 complaints being investigated, the Comelec poll board submitted five disqualification petitions, according to Comelec Deputy Executive for Operations Rafael Olano. He added that the Committee on Vote Buying has received complaints from the public on various platforms, including Facebook and messages which contained screenshots or images. "All of these complaints came from voters. We verified and evaluated them for possible filing of disqualification cases “he said. Olano confirmed that one of the five candidates under investigation for disqualification is involved in a BSK bet showing up at a local government unit aid distribution, which he claimed to be qualified as vote buying. “There were local government officials, mayors distributing relief but the BSKE candidate was present and was allowed to speak," he said. After the official filing of candidacy, it was claimed that another BSK candidate distributed financial aid out of his pocket. Prior to the election, the poll body warned candidates of its strict measures which prohibit the distribution of ballers, t-shirts, caps, and anything else of worth under the suspicion of vote buying and selling. Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. reminded LGU officials to be aware of such prohibitions during a separate briefing. "If they conduct assistance programs, they should not let BSKE candidates join them, lest they be disqualified,” he said. Maceda added that the Comelec would consider potential reinforcing techniques if similar incidents persist as the campaign period drew closer. “We will study how to reprimand them or take appropriate actions,” he said. In the end, Maceda stressed that the poll body is “dead serious” about its exclusion warning in order to assure not just the validity and honesty of the BSK polls but also to raise the bar for campaigning standards across the nation and the importance of each BSK candidate’s character. As of Friday, the Task Force Anti-Epal had filed an additional 10 disqualification petitions against candidates who were allegedly involved in premature campaigning while the Committee on Kontra Bigay had filed five disqualification cases for vote buying. Overall, there are 82 petitions for premature campaigning, 5,169 show cause orders, and 1,132 responses from the BSK bets. The post 5 vote buying DQ cases filed by Comelec, warns LGU of prohibitions appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Extremist’ Trump threatens U.S. democracy, Biden warns
With House Republicans launching an impeachment inquiry against him, United States President Joe Biden went into offensive on Thursday with a chilling warning to Americans planning to elect Donald Trump in next year’s presidential election. In a speech in the battleground state of Arizona Thursday, the 80-year-old Biden accused the Republican primary frontrunner and his followers of attacking the free press and the rule of law, and planning to gut US institutions if he wins a second term. “Trump says the constitution gave him ‘the right to do what he wants’,” Biden said, referring to statements by Trump about how he saw his powers in office. “I’ve never even heard a president say that in jest — not guided by the constitution or by common service and decency towards our fellow Americans, but by vengeance and vindictiveness.” The reelectionist president rallied Americans who are silent to stand up for democracy before it was too late. Biden also turned the table on Trump for the former president’s remark that US soldiers captured or killed in action as “suckers and losers.” “Was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country?” Biden asked, referring to his son Beau, who served in Iraq and died of brain cancer in 2015 aged 46, and the late Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero John McCain. Biden and Trump were in early campaign mode this week with both men visiting the swing state of Michigan to speak to auto workers. Conservatives have accused Biden of trading on the power of his office when he was vice president under Barack Obama to help his younger son Hunter secure lucrative foreign business deals, and of benefiting personally from alleged corruption. Democrats have dismissed the hearings as a stunt but they will add to the pressure on Biden as he battles poor approval ratings and polls showing him neck-and-neck with Trump. WITH AFP The post ‘Extremist’ Trump threatens U.S. democracy, Biden warns appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Socorro town under close Comelec monitoring ahead of barangay, SK elections
The Commission on Elections said it is closely monitoring developments in Socorro municipality, Surigao del Norte ahead of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on 30 October. Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the poll body wants to ensure there will be no failure of election in the area. “Dapat maayos at makakaboto sila nang walang pressure, walang dikta ng kahit na sino, at the same time, base sa kung ano ang kalooban nila (They should be able to vote without pressure, no influence from others, but according to their will),” he said in a media interview on Thursday. The security situation in Socorro municipality is currently being assessed amid the ongoing investigation by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, which began on Thursday. on the alleged presence of a shabu laboratory and a heavily armed private army within the town’s Sitio Kapihan, Barangay Sering, The senate joint panel is also investigating the alleged systematic rape, sexual abuse, trafficking, forced labor and child marriage in the area perpetrated by a local cult. “‘Yun ang issue sa Socorro and that’s the reason why the Comelec is monitoring closely the development in Socorro and likewise ‘yung hearing d’yan sa Senado (That’s the issue in Socorro and that’s the reason why Comelec is monitoring closely the development in Socorro and likewise the Senate hearing),” Garcia said. Garcia urged the town’s residents not to worry about a "possible postponement of the elections” in the area, as he noted that the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have not yet recommended deferring the election. “There should be no failure of election in any part of the country and we can hold the elections at all costs,” he added. The post Socorro town under close Comelec monitoring ahead of barangay, SK elections appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden says ‘I get it’ on age issue
Joe Biden, America's oldest-ever president, said Monday he understood a focus on his age but that he was running for re-election because Donald Trump wanted to "destroy" US democracy. The 80-year-old usually avoids the age issue but addressed it during a fundraiser at a Broadway theatre in New York, saying his experience helped him deal with crises like Ukraine and Covid. "A lot of people seem focused on my age," Biden said. "I get it believe me, I know it more than anyone." He added: "I'm running because democracy is at stake because in 2024 democracy is on the ballot once again. And let there be no question: Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy." The Democrat added that he would not "bow down" to "dictators" and accused Trump -- whose slogan is Make America Great Again (MAGA) -- of doing so to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Opinion polls show American voters have concerns about Biden's age ahead of a likely rematch next year against Trump, whom he beat in 2020. An influential US columnist, David Ignatius of the Washington Post, caused a stir when he called on Biden last week not to run, saying Biden risked undermining his "greatest achievement" in beating Trump. Biden, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York this week, would be 86 at the end of a second term and his Republican opponents relentlessly target the issue. Trump -- who is 77 and would be the oldest president ever elected if he wins next year -- said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Biden was "not too old" but was "incompetent". The post Biden says ‘I get it’ on age issue appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden’s son Hunter indicted on gun charges
US President Joe Biden's son Hunter was indicted Thursday for illegally buying a gun when he was using drugs, casting a new shadow over his father's campaign for reelection next year. Hunter Biden, 53, was charged with two counts of making false statements when claiming on forms required for the 2018 gun purchase that he was not using drugs illegally at the time. A third charge said that, based on the false statements, he illegally possessed the gun during an 11-day period in October that year. If convicted on all three felony charges, Biden could in theory face 25 years in prison, though in practice they are seldom punished by any jail time. In attesting that he was not an unlawful user of drugs when he bought the Colt Cobra revolver, Biden "knew that statement was false," the Justice Department said. The indictment came two days after Republicans in Congress opened an impeachment probe against Democrat Joe Biden, alleging that when he was vice president he benefitted financially from his son's foreign business dealings. The legal troubles of Hunter Biden present a target for political rivals of his father, who is bidding for a second term in the White House. Hunter is a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist-turned-artist, but his life has been marred by alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction. Without offering any evidence, Republicans have accused Biden's Justice Department of protecting his son and have accused Weiss, a Republican appointee, of going easy on Hunter. Representative James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky who will be leading the impeachment inquiry, welcomed the filing of the gun charges, calling it a "very small start." "Mountains of evidence reveals that Hunter Biden likely committed several felonies and Americans expect the Justice Department to apply the law equally," Comer said. Twice-impeached former president Donald Trump reacted on his Truth Social platform. "This, the gun charge, is the only crime that Hunter Biden committed that does not implicate Crooked Joe Biden," he said. - Plea deal collapsed - But a leading Democrat, Keisha Lance Bottoms, ex-mayor of Atlanta and a former senior adviser to Joe Biden, questioned why Hunter had been charged. "Can anyone tell me how many people have been federally indicted for purchasing a gun while dealing with substance abuse issues?" Bottoms said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I don't know the answer, but in my over 29 years as an attorney, I have never heard of it." The gun charges were filed by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018 over various allegations, mostly related to his overseas business deals. Two months ago a plea deal between Biden and Weiss, covering the gun charge as well as alleged tax violations, went sour. Biden agreed to plead guilty in federal court in Delaware to two minor tax charges. In exchange he was offered probation, as he had already paid what he owed the government along with penalties. Weiss agreed to suspend the felony gun charge if Biden completed "pretrial diversion," which often involves counseling or rehabilitation. But in a dramatic July 26 hearing, the deal collapsed over whether Biden would have been immune from any other charges also investigated by Weiss, including possible crimes related to his business dealings in Ukraine, China and elsewhere. The judge mentioned the possibility that Biden could be charged as having acted as a lobbyist for foreign governments without registering with the Justice Department. Three weeks later, after the deal collapsed, Weiss dropped the tax charges and said an indictment on the gun charge would come by the end of September. As the 2024 election race swings into gear, Republicans in the House of Representatives on Tuesday formally opened an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. They alleged, without offering hard evidence, that while vice president in 2015-2016, Biden intervened to protect an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, where Hunter Biden sat on the board. Republicans allege Joe Biden and his family reaped large sums for helping Burisma. The post Biden’s son Hunter indicted on gun charges appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden urges ‘national unity’ 22 years after 9/11
President Joe Biden called Monday for Americans to unite despite bitter political differences as the United States marked the 22nd anniversary of Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks. Bells were rung and the names of nearly 3,000 people were read out in somber ceremonies in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania where the hijacked planes struck. "Let's honor September 11 by renewing our faith in one another," said Biden, speaking at a US military base in Anchorage, Alaska as he traveled back from a trip to India and Vietnam. "We must never lose our sense of national unity, so let that be the common cause of our time." Speaking in front of a huge flag, Biden added that "terrorism, including political and ideological violence, is the opposite of all we stand for as a nation." His speech comes as the United States is increasingly polarized, with tensions likely to increase as Biden, a Democrat, heads into a likely election rematch next year with Republican former president Donald Trump. Trump has been indicted four times since April, including for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, with the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack by his supporters still fresh in the public's memory. 'Never forget' In New York, Vice President Kamala Harris and current and former mayors joined victims' families at the 9/11 memorial on the site of the World Trade Center twin towers brought down by two aircraft flown by hijackers. The names of the more than 2,600 who died in New York were read out by family members and young relatives not alive at the time of the attack. "I wish I had a chance to really know you. Everyone in the family misses you. We will never forget," said the grandson of firefighter Allan Tarasiewicz, who was killed at age 45 during rescue operations at the World Trade Center. At the Pentagon in Washington, where the attackers plunged a third aircraft into the headquarters of the US military, a sailor rang a ship's bell for each of the 184 killed there. And in western Pennsylvania, where a fourth hijacked plane apparently heading toward Washington was forced to crash, bells were rung for each of the 40 passengers and crew who died. "September 11 made America a nation at war, and hundreds of thousands stepped up to serve our country in uniform," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon ceremony. "I know that it aches to remember this milestone year after year... The men and women of the Department of Defense will always remember." Across New York City, in Congress and elsewhere, a moment of silence was held to mark the attack, plotted by Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was found and killed nearly a decade later by US Navy Seals in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan. Biden noted in his speech that he himself had given the order for bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri to be sent to the "gates of hell" last year in an airstrike in Afghanistan. "The soul of America is the fortitude we found in the fear of that terrible September day," he added. "The terrorists believed they could bring us to our knees, bend our will, break our resolve. But they were wrong, they were dead wrong." The post Biden urges ‘national unity’ 22 years after 9/11 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
91 BSKE candidates facing disqualification
The Commission on Elections on Sunday reported that 91 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections candidates on 30 October are facing disqualifications. COMELEC Chairman George Garcia, in a radio interview at dzBB, said the COMELEC has already issued the candidates show cause orders over their alleged election offenses such as premature campaigning. "There were no formal complaints. These were only the results of what we have seen or reported to us. What the COMELEC did is motu proprio investigation. This is the COMELEC’s own initiative," Garcia said. He added that the COMELEC has the power to investigate and file its own complaints against candidates who commit election offenses. COMELEC spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco also last Friday said they have over a hundred petitions for disqualification due to various election offenses, as of Thursday. At least 43 of the petitions are to declare certain candidates as nuisance bets, cancel certain certificates of candidacy (COCs), and disqualify over some issues. The rest have yet to be formally filed. The 91 candidates, on the other hand, were given three days from the receipt of the show cause orders to explain their sides regarding the accusations. For formal complaints, Garcia said, the COMELEC would issue subpoenas. The poll body has repeatedly warned against premature campaigning as the campaign period will run only from 19 to 28 October. Garcia said putting up posters and promoting themselves on social media before the campaign period starts may be considered premature campaigning. "The filing of show cause orders against 91 BSKE bets was just the beginning. There will be many more. We will do that daily," Garcia said. The COMELEC chair earlier encouraged voters to file complaints against BSKE candidates who will campaign even before the official campaign period starts. Around 1,414,487 COCs were filed across the country for the coming BSKE. The post 91 BSKE candidates facing disqualification appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political ads put in place at Twitter to thwart misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform now called X. Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite bullhorn during his years in the White House. It was his first post since several days after the insurrection at the US Capitol that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden's certification as president. The then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the 6 January riot, ruling he had violated the platform's policy on glorifying violence as he pressed his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away, choosing to reach his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience. X said in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, was "building on our commitment to free expression." X policies prohibit the promotion of false or misleading information, including bogus claims intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog contended. Trump's recent mug shot post came with a caption reading "Election interference." A judge on Monday set March 4, 2024, for Trump's election subversion conspiracy trial -- placing one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at the height of the next White House race. X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation of the platform and will provide an online center where political ads can be reviewed. Musk slashed staffing after buying Twitter, raising concerns about its ability to moderate content and reliably function. X said it is updating its Civic Integrity Policy for safeguarding elections to tackle content meant to intimidate or deceive voters while aligning with Musk's philosophy of letting people say what they want. "X shouldn't determine the truthfulness of disputed information," the platform said in the blog post. "Rather, we should empower our users to express their opinions and openly debate during elections, in line with our commitment to protecting freedom of expression." The post Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political ads put in place at Twitter to thwart misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform now called X. Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite bullhorn during his years in the White House. It was his first post since several days after the insurrection at the US Capitol that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden's certification as president. The then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the 6 January riot, ruling he had violated the platform's policy on glorifying violence as he pressed his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away, choosing to reach his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience. X said in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, was "building on our commitment to free expression." X policies prohibit the promotion of false or misleading information, including bogus claims intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog contended. Trump's recent mug shot post came with a caption reading "Election interference." A judge on Monday set 4 March 2024 for Trump's election subversion conspiracy trial -- placing one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at the height of the next White House race. X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation of the platform and will provide an online center where political ads can be reviewed. Musk slashed staffing after buying Twitter, raising concerns about its ability to moderate content and reliably function. X said it is updating its Civic Integrity Policy for safeguarding elections to tackle content meant to intimidate or deceive voters while aligning with Musk's philosophy of letting people say what they want. "X shouldn't determine the truthfulness of disputed information," the platform said in the blog post. "Rather, we should empower our users to express their opinions and openly debate during elections, in line with our commitment to protecting freedom of expression." The post Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case
Former US president Donald Trump was arrested at a Georgia jail on Thursday on racketeering and conspiracy charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state. During a brief session lasting less than 30 minutes, the 77-year-old Trump was booked on 13 charges at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail, according to records published by the sheriff's office. Trump's height was listed by the jail as six foot three inches (1.9 meters), his weight as 215 pounds (97 kilograms) and his hair color as "Blond or Strawberry." Other defendants in the racketeering case who have surrendered to the Georgia authorities in recent days have had a mugshot taken. The billionaire has been criminally indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year of unprecedented drama as he tries to juggle multiple court appearances and another White House campaign. In posts on his Truth Social platform shortly before leaving his New Jersey golf club for the flight to Atlanta, Trump said he was being arrested for "having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLLEN (sic) ELECTION." "This is yet another SAD DAY IN AMERICA!" he added. Trump was able to dodge having a mugshot taken during his previous arrests this year: in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said standard procedure in Georgia is to take a defendant's photograph before they are released on bond -- set at $200,000 in Trump's case. The arrest comes one day after Trump spurned a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination -- all of whom lag well behind him in the polls. He still stole the spotlight, though, with all but two of the candidates saying they would support him as the party's nominee even if he were a convicted felon. During a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson -- which aired on social media at the same time as the debate -- Trump dismissed the criminal cases filed against him as "nonsense." Trump said the Justice Department had been "weaponized" under Biden to hamstring his White House bid. Court dates in election race A tight security perimeter was set up for Trump's booking at the Fulton County Jail, which is under investigation for a slew of inmate deaths and deplorable conditions. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who filed the sweeping racketeering case, had set a deadline of noon (1600 GMT) on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender. Trump and 11 others have turned themselves in so far. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bond. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's personal lawyer when he was in the White House and vigorously pushed the false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election, was booked and released on Wednesday. John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden ones, has also been booked and released. A few dozen supporters of the former Republican president gathered outside the jail, including Sharon Anderson who spent the night in her car. "I think this is a political persecution and now that's turned into a political prosecution," Anderson told AFP. Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges. His various trials, if they take place next year, may coincide with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election. Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a January 2024 start date for Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the last election with a lie-fueled campaign that culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump's attorneys have countered with a suggested start date well after the election -- April 2026. Willis, the Georgia district attorney, initially proposed that the racketeering case begin in March next year, the same month Trump is scheduled to go on trial in New York on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Thursday, after one of the defendants asked for a speedy trial, she proposed that it begin for all 19 in October of this year, a move met with an immediate objection from Trump's lawyers. The Florida case, in which Trump is accused of taking secret government documents as he left the White House and refusing to return them, is scheduled to begin in May. The post Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»