Special counsel shows signs of ramping up Trump investigation

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2 years ago

February 19, 2023

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The Justice Department probes into Donald Trump’s conduct appear to be ramping up, as special counsel Jack Smith approaches key allies of the former president with knowledge of his activities surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

In recent weeks, Smith has subpoenaed both former Vice President Mike Pence and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, two figures with strong visibility into Trump’s actions leading up to and on the day of the deadly riot.

The Justice Department has also sought to pierce the attorney-client privilege connected to Trump’s lawyer in the Mar-a-Lago probe, Evan Corcoran, alleging he may have given legal advice in furtherance of a crime.

Approaching high-level targets is often a late-stage move for prosecutors, a sign the investigative stage of Smith’s Jan. 6 work could be winding down.

Meanwhile, the approach with Corcoran relays that the team will take an aggressive posture with anyone involved in the probe they believe may have committed criminal activity.

“We can draw a few conclusions from it that are fairly apparent. One is that Jack Smith is conducting a very aggressive investigation. Issuing a subpoena to an attorney is itself an aggressive step that requires high levels of supervisory approval of the United States Department of Justice,” said Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor.

“I don’t think a prosecutor subpoenas Mike Pence unless they are far along in speaking to a number of other witnesses.”

The tactics are not without their challenges.

Pence has said he will challenge the subpoena, and it’s up to a federal judge to compel testimony from Corcoran.

Still, it’s a sign of progress in the dual probes, including with the Jan. 6 investigation, which has been perceived as presenting a much more complex case for any possible prosecution of Trump.

The documents case largely relies on showing willful retention of national defense information, something observers see as more straightforward given the lengthy battle to secure the return of classified records from Mar-a-Lago. The warrant to search the property also cited potential obstruction of justice.

Trump’s culpability for Jan. 6, however, is more complex, with possible statutes for prosecution requiring the demonstration of Trump’s intent.

“A lot of people believed that because the Mar-a-Lago case would be an easier case to prove that [Smith would] focus attention there and put the January 6 investigation on the back burner or put that second in line, and that has not been the case,” Mariotti said.

“I think it’s evidence that his investigation — at least to this Jan. 6 piece — is fairly far along.”

Danya Perry, a former federal prosecutor, said the moves also show the Mar-a-Lago probe into Trump has not been sidelined by the discovery of classified documents among the belongings of other former presidents.

“Obviously the special counsel has not decided to hang it up, which I think some people thought [he might] when news came out about a number of other former White House officials having classified documents,” Perry said.

“That side of the ledger, the classified documents side, it does seem to be focused on the potential obstruction issues given that he’s been trying to get testimony out of Corcoran.”

For his part, Pence is planning to roll out a novel legal strategy to sidestep the subpoena, one that hinges on his role on Jan. 6 as the presiding officer of the Senate.

His team is expected to argue that under his former position as president of the Senate, his work technically falls under the legislative branch, and he is therefore protected under the “speech and debate” clause of the Constitution, according to a source familiar with the former vice president’s plans.

Investigators likely want to speak to Pence about a number of meetings and conversations related to whether the then-vice president had the authority to buck his ceremonial duty to certify the election.

Mariotti says asking about more widely attended meetings they may have discussed with prior witnesses allows them to “test the veracity of what he says” before asking about conversations that were exclusive to the vice president and Trump.

“The ordinary course would be to interview all those other people, and then try to pursue Mike Pence with the knowledge that you already have from others,” he said.

But Perry warned that the Pence subpoena is no guarantee that Smith has completed his work talking to other witnesses.

“Jack Smith was probably aware that they’re going to invoke executive privilege. And so realized it would be a slog and so maybe wanted to get the ball rolling,” she said.

“Smith has certainly spoken with other witnesses,” she said, but could have initiated a subpoena sooner rather than later with the understanding that “it would be efficient for him to start a court battle now.”

Trump and his side have in some ways been just as aggressive in trying to push back against Smith’s investigations or shape the public narrative around them. The former president has routinely complained about Smith’s wife’s donations to Democratic candidates.

Trump’s team has said it will assert executive privilege over any potential testimony by Pence in the case, and it may seek to do the same should Meadows testify.

One former Trump White House official told The Hill that the former president’s team is confident that revelations that President Biden had classified documents at his home and office from his time as vice president will help shield Trump from possible charges in that matter, despite key differences in the Trump and Biden cases.

The former Trump official acknowledged Smith’s probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election will likely hover over the former president until it concludes, and Democrats and even some Republicans backing other candidates are likely to wield it against Trump on the campaign trail.

But, the official argued, any suggestions that the investigation will end Trump’s candidacy or put him out of politics is just “wishcasting.”

Spokespeople for Trump’s 2024 White House campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Perry said the process is likely to stretch into the campaign season.

“We’re just at the beginning, I think, of a bunch of fights that are going to play out in front of different courts and probably then travel up and down the court system,” she said, noting the potential for challenges from Pence, Trump and Meadows.

“They are going to play out over many, many months, if not longer,” she said.

“It’s not going to be lightning fast. It’s going to be more glacial.”

And the special counsel’s probes are not the only legal headache for Trump.

This week a judge allowed the partial release of a report compiled by a Georgia grand jury tasked with reviewing Trump’s interference in the state following the 2020 election. Top China diplomat mocks US response to China balloon as ‘hysterical’ Four rail-borne risks moving through American communities

Though the jurors determined the report should be released, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis warned that doing so could compromise the proceedings for “multiple” future defendants in a case where charging decisions are “imminent.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney largely sided with Willis, determining that only the introduction and conclusion of the report should be released, along with one section discussing potential perjury that did not name any witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.

While the report’s three pages were slim on substantive details, they made two conclusions clear: There was no widespread fraud in the state that could have altered Trump’s loss there, and that at least one witness may have lied to the grand jury.

Entertainment

BAFTA nominations 2025: Conclave, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist lead the race as shortlists revealed

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55 mins ago

January 15, 2025

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BAFTA nominations 2025: Conclave, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist lead the race as shortlists revealed

This year’s BAFTA nominations have been revealed, with papal thriller Conclave leading the race.

Starring Ralph Fiennes as a clergyman responsible for the selection of the next Pope, the film is up for 12 awards – including best film, best director, best actor, and best supporting actress for Isabella Rossellini.

Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, which tells the story of a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender affirmation surgery, is another best film nominee and has 11 BAFTA nods in total – with star Karla Sofía Gascón up for best actress and co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez both in the running in the supporting actress category.

The Brutalist, an epic drama starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect attempting to build a life in the US after the Second World War, has nine nominations – including best film and best actor, and supporting nods for co-stars Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones.

Elsewhere there are seven nominations each for Wicked, Anora, and Dune: Part Two, six for A Complete Unknown and Kneecap, and five for Nosferatu and The Substance.

In the performance categories, Gascon is up against Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Mikey Madison (Anora), Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun) and Demi Moore, whose performance in body horror The Substance won her a Golden Globe earlier this month.

Fiennes and Brody’s best actor competitors are Timothee Chalamet, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, along with Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Hugh Grant (Heretic) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).

Kieran Culkin, another recent Golden Globe winner, makes the best supporting actor shortlist once again for his performance in A Real Pain, alongside Pearce and Yura Borisov (Anora), Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) and Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice).

Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda opposite Erivo’s Elphaba in Wicked, and Jamie Lee Curtis, for her performance in The Last Showgirl, make up the best supporting actress shortlist.

For 14 of the 24 acting nominees – including Culkin, Grande, Gascon, Gomez and Moore – it is their first BAFTA film nomination.

Erivo and Chalamet are both previous recipients of the rising star award, which is voted for by the public.

In the best director category, Conclave’s Edward Berger is in the running alongside Brady Corbet, for The Brutalist, Denis Villeneuve, for Dune: Part Two, Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, and Sean Baker for Anora.

Baker also has nominations for best original screenplay, casting and editing, making him the most nominated individual this year.

The BAFTAs also includes a category for outstanding British film, with Conclave also shortlisted here alongside films including Steve McQueen’s Blitz, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, and Irish-language film Kneecap – which stars the rap trio of the same name in a semi-autobiographical account of their rise to fame.

In total, there are 42 films up for awards, spanning a range of genres.

“The film industry has delivered in spades once again,” said BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip.

“The skills on display from creative and technical practitioners across the board are phenomenal,” added BAFTA chair Sara Putt.

Could this be the most competitive BAFTAs for years?

Katie Spencer

Arts and entertainment correspondent

What do you get if you bring several priests, a Mexican cartel leader and an architect together under one roof?

Not the world’s most niche fancy dress party, but 2025’s BAFTA film awards shortlist.

Jazz hands and jump scares are the order of the day. Horror is unusually well represented this year, with The Substance, Heretic and Nosferatu all receiving nods, while musicals are also dominating thanks to Emilia Perez, Wicked and, arguably, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

Speaking of music, it’s very good news for Irish language rappers Kneecap, whose self-titled semi-true biopic is up for best British film and five other awards. It’s somewhat ironic given that while they rap about wanting Irish independence, the film qualifies as being British as they’re from Northern Ireland.

In the leading actress category, it’s all to play for as none of the nominees has ever won a BAFTA. Fans of ’90s nostalgia will be hoping the Demi-ssaince continues after Demi Moore’s Golden Globe win last month for her performance in body horror The Substance.

Hugh Grant, up for lead actor, last won that BAFTA back in 1995 for his breakthrough performance in Four Weddings And A Funeral. This time around, he’s in the running for a very different role, as a creepy killer in Heretic. He’s nominated alongside another ’90s winner – Ralph Fiennes, who last picked up a BAFTA for supporting actor in 1994.

The nominations this year really showcase a diverse range of genres – and with no clear frontrunners in some categories, could this be the most competitive BAFTAs we’ve seen in a while?

The nominees for this year’s rising star award, which is the only BAFTA prize voted for by the public, have already been announced, with Marisa Abela, Jharrel Jerome, David Jonsson, Mikey Madison and Nabhaan Rizwan in the running.

And Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has also been revealed as the recipient of this year’s BAFTA fellowship, the organisation’s highest honour, for his “trailblazing work” as an actor and for his charity supporting people with dwarfism.

The BAFTA nominations come at a difficult time for the industry, with the organisers of several US awards ceremonies, including the Oscars, pushing their own announcements back and holding more low-key events due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.

However, the Oscars ceremony is still currently scheduled to go ahead as planned on Sunday 2 March.

The BAFTA ceremony will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday 16 February.

Entertainment

BAFTA nominations 2025: The full list of films and stars up for awards

Published

55 mins ago

January 15, 2025

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BAFTA nominations 2025: The full list of films and stars up for awards

There are 42 films up for awards at this year’s BAFTA ceremony, from blockbusters to indie breakthroughs.

Organisers have now revealed the shortlists, with papal thriller Conclave leading the nominations, followed closely by Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, and post-war epic The Brutalist.

The star-studded BAFTA ceremony will take place in London on Sunday 16 February.

Here’s the full list of the stars and films up for each prize.

BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Perez

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Bird
Blitz
Conclave
Gladiator II
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Lee
Love Lies Bleeding
The Outrun
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Hoard – Luna Carmoon (director/ writer)
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt (director, writer)
Monkey Man – Dev Patel (director)
Santosh – Sandhya Suri (director, writer), James Bowsher (producer), Balthazar de Ganay (producer)
Sister Midnight – Karan Kandhari (director, writer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Perez
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig

DOCUMENTARY
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM
Flow
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

DIRECTOR
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
Conclave – Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt, Naoise O Caireallain, Liam Og O Hannaidh, JJ O Dochartaigh
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield

LEADING ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun

LEADING ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Selena Gomez – Emilia Perez
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

CASTING
Anora – Sean Baker, Samantha Quan
The Apprentice – Stephanie Gorin, Carmen Cuba
A Complete Unknown – Yesi Ramirez
Conclave – Nina Gold, Martin Ware
Kneecap – Carla Stronge

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Conclave – Stephanie Fontaine
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Emilia Perez – Paul Guilhaume
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

EDITING
Anora
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Kneecap

COSTUME DESIGN
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Nosferatu
Wicked

MAKE-UP & HAIR
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Wild Robot

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

SOUND
Blitz
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
The Substance
Wicked

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Wicked

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Adios
Mog’s Christmas
Wander To Wonder

BRITISH SHORT FILM
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Marion
Milk
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Stomach Bug

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Marisa Abela
Jharrel Jerome
David Jonsson
Mikey Madison
Nabhaan Rizwan

Entertainment

Neil Gaiman denies allegations of engaging in non-consensual sex

Published

55 mins ago

January 15, 2025

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Neil Gaiman denies allegations of engaging in non-consensual sex

Best-selling author of books for adults and children Neil Gaiman has denied allegations he engaged in non-consensual sex with several women.

A New York Magazine article detailed allegations of assault, abuse, and coercion levelled against the 64-year-old by eight women. A Tortoise Media podcast broadcast in July included allegations of four of these women.

Gaiman said in a statement that he had watched stories about him circulate online for months with “horror and dismay”.

“As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen,” Gaiman posted on the social media platform Tumblr.

“I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”

The British author said he had reviewed messages exchanged with his accusers, and they read like “two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again,” he said.

“And I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better. I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with people’s hearts and feelings, and that’s something that I really, deeply regret,” Gaiman said.

Most of the allegations relate to occasions when Gaiman was in his 40s or older and living in the UK, the US and New Zealand.

Gaiman, who wrote the novel American Gods and The Sandman comic book series as well as the children’s fantasy book Coraline, has had several works turned into movies and television programmes in recent years.

The author’s agent and recent publisher Bloomsbury, as well as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix which have Gaiman-related projects scheduled for this year, have not commented on the allegations.