House GOP probe into Trump indictment spurs new battle

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

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A side battle over former President Trump’s indictment is emerging in Congress, where House Republicans fiercely condemning the probe have launched an investigation into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and his office.

The new investigation, added on top of a pile of aggressive House GOP probes into the Biden administration and beyond, has prompted pushback from Bragg and congressional Democrats. They warn not only that it could interfere in an ongoing legal matter, but also question whether congressional committees have jurisdiction to look into a state-level case.

Those criticisms have prompted direct pushback from House Republicans, particularly in wake of Trump’s arrest and arraignment on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to a hush money scheme. The president pleaded not guilty.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calf.), who promised a congressional probe into the D.A.’s office soon after Trump took to social media last month to announce he would soon be arrested in connection with the case, defended the House GOP actions in a tweet following Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday.

“Alvin Bragg is attempting to interfere in our democratic process by invoking federal law to bring politicized charges against President Trump, admittedly using federal funds, while at the same time arguing that the peoples’ representatives in Congress lack jurisdiction to investigate this farce,” McCarthy tweeted. “Not so. Bragg’s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress.”

The issue is likely to drag on through the rest of this year, as Trump’s next in-person court appearance is set for Dec. 4.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said on Fox News on Wednesday that he, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and McCarthy would hold a call later this week to talk about next steps in their investigation.

When asked about the possibility of subpoenaing Bragg, Jordan said in a separate Fox News interview Wednesday that “everything is on the table.”

Bragg “may contest” their request to speak to the House investigators, Jordan said. “It may have to go to court. We’ll see.”

An initial sweeping request from Jordan, Comer, and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) asked Bragg to turn over all internal communications about the case while demanding he sit for testimony before the panels.

Bragg’s office warned that their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states,” and argued that Congress’s investigative jurisdiction “is derived from and limited by its power to legislate concerning federal matters.”

Congressional Democrats took a similar stance, with House Oversight ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) charging at the time that the House GOP move “represents an astonishing and unprecedented abuse of power as they attempt to use congressional resources to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation at another level of government.”

House Judiciary ranking member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement after Trump’s arraignment yesterday that Republicans are trying to “obstruct the process,” chalking the requests for information up to “political stunts.”

But the three chairman vigorously defended their authority in a response to Bragg, saying the Trump indictment “implicates substantial federal interests” and could inform creation of federal legislation to “insulate current and former presidents from such improper state and local prosecutions.”

Like McCarthy, the three GOP committee chairs in recent days have been defending their jurisdictional basis, arguing the matter touches on how federal funds are used, coordination between state and federal authorities, and oversight of federal elections and matters related to campaign finance law.

In a second response to the House chairmen, Bragg’s office said that around $5,000 in federal funds was spent on investigations of Trump or the Trump Organization by Bragg’s predecessor, between October 2019 and August 2021, mostly on Supreme Court litigation paved the way for the conviction of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg. The office also listed hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants that it uses for other matters.

That admission energized Republicans.

“We do know that he has conceded that he used federal funds,” Jordan said on Fox News on Wednesday. “We knew that this investigation grew out of the special counsel Mueller investigation. That, [of] course, is a federal statute. And we know that this is all about, in our judgment, election interference.”

Steil said on Fox News over the weekend that they want to know more about any coordination between Bragg and the Department of Justice, which declined to pursue campaign finance charges against Trump over the hush money probe.

“Is he usurping federal power over campaign finance law?” Steil said.

Jeff Robbins, an attorney now in private practice who has served as both a federal prosecutor and investigative counsel for Senate Democrats, said GOP lawmakers have little authority to stand on in launching an investigation into Bragg.

He called the $5,000 spent by the office previously on other Trump organization cases “sub de minimis,” but said the bigger issue is that Congress is exceeding its authority.

In fact, it was a case launched by Trump that aided in limiting lawmakers’ subpoena power as he sought to block House Democrats from accessing his tax records from the firm Mazars, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

“The power of Congress to subpoena is not unlimited. It is limited, and it has gotten actually somewhat more limited over the course of the last several years,” Robbins said.

“Any congressional subpoena is limited by the requirement … to have a legitimate legislative purpose or an oversight purpose. They don’t have oversight over the Manhattan DA’s office, and there is no legitimate legislative purpose for targeting the D.A.’s office because they don’t like the fact that the D.A.’s office has indicted Donald Trump. And they won’t be able to demonstrate any such legislative purpose,” he added.

Republicans, of course, disagree, and have suggested legislation they could pursue in order to back up their requests.

“When we look at federal government taxpayer dollars going to district attorneys across the United States, in particular progressive DAs that are not enforcing the rule of law on their streets, do we need to rewrite how these grants are being written?” Steil said on Fox News.

If the committees subpoena Bragg, he could ignore the subpoena, forcing the House to hold a contempt of Congress vote, or Bragg could challenge the subpoena’s validity in court.

“Whichever way that goes, the congressional committee will lose,” Robbins said.

House Republicans’ broad request represents another legal problem for Bragg, who has an obligation to protect the right to a fair trial.

“These confidentiality provisions exist to protect the interests of the various participants in the criminal process,” Bragg wrote in his first letter to the GOP leaders, including “the defendant.” Snow on the beach: Florida deputies say $100,000 in cocaine washed ashore White House addressing antisemitism at the start of Passover; opportunity for all faiths to combat hate

Some of the information the GOP committees are seeking will be turned over to Trump’s attorneys in short order through a process known as discovery.

But prosecutors during Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday noted concerns about how such information might be used by the former president, noting they are working on an agreement with Trump’s attorney’s that would block Trump from releasing any of it publicly.

“The people believe, especially in light of the defendant’s public comments, that a protective order is vital to insure the sanctity of the proceedings as well as the sanctity of the discovery materials,” Catherine McCaw, a prosecutor on the case said, adding that the agreement would only allow Trump to review materials in his attorney’s office and would bar him from sharing any evidence with reporters or on social media.

UK

Harshita Brella: International under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot

Published

31 mins ago

November 17, 2024

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Harshita Brella: International under way for husband after woman's body found in car boot

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.

On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.

Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”

“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.

Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.

“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.

“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Force referred to police watchdog

On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.

East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.

Politics

What can Rio 2024 really achieve in Biden’s final act, before the new show rolls into town?

Published

52 mins ago

November 17, 2024

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What can Rio 2024 really achieve in Biden's final act, before the new show rolls into town?

Climate change, the crisis in the Middle East, the continuing war in Ukraine, combating global poverty.

All of these are critical issues for Britain and beyond; all of them up for discussions at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this week, and all of them very much in limbo as the world awaits the arrival of president-elect Donald Trump to the White House.

Because while US President Joe Biden used Nato, the G7 and the G20, as forums to try to find consensus on some of the most pressing issues facing the West, his successor is likely to take a rather different approach. And that begs the question going into Rio 2024 about what can really be achieved in Mr Biden’s final act before the new show rolls into town.

On the flight over to Rio de Janeiro, our prime minister acted as a leader all too aware of it as he implored fellow leaders to “shore up support for Ukraine” even as the consensus around standing united against Vladimir Putin appears to be fracturing and the Russian president looks emboldened.

“We need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20,” he told us in the huddle on the plane. “There’s got to be full support for as long as it takes.”

But the election of Mr Trump to the White House is already shifting that narrative, with the incoming president clear he’s going to end the war. His new secretary of state previously voted against pouring more military aid into the embattled country.

Mr Trump has yet to say how he intends to end this war, but allies are already blinking. In recent days, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken with Mr Putin for the first time in two years to the dismay of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the call as “opening Pandora’s Box”.

Sir Keir for his part says he has “no plans’ to speak to Putin as the 1,000th day of this conflict comes into view. But as unity amongst allies in isolating Mr Putin appears to be fracturing, the Russian leader is emboldened: on Saturday night Moscow launched one of the largest air attacks on Ukraine yet.

All of this is a reminder of the massive implications, be it on trade or global conflicts, that a Trump White House will have, and the world will be watching to see how much ‘Trump proofing’ allies look to embark upon in the coming days in Rio, be that trying to strike up economic ties with countries such as China or offering more practical help for Ukraine.

Both Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron want to use this summit to persuade Mr Biden to allow Mr Zelenskyy to fire Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russian territory, having failed to win this argument with the president during their meeting at the White House in mid-September. Starmer has previously said it should be up to Ukraine how it uses weapons supplied by allies, as long as it remains within international law and for the purposes of defence.

“I am going to make shoring up support for Ukraine top of my agenda as we go into the G20,” said Sir Keir when asked about pressing for the use of such weaponry.

“I think it’s important we double down and give Ukraine the support that it needs for as long as it needs it. Obviously, I’m not going to get into discussing capabilities. You wouldn’t expect me to do that.”

Ukraine war latest: Russia sending ‘clear message to Washington’

But even as allies try to persuade the outgoing president on one issue where consensus is breaking down, the prospect of the newcomer is creating other waves on climate change and taxation too. Argentine President Javier Milei, a close ally of Trump, is threatening to block a joint communique set to be endorsed by G20 leaders over opposition to the taxation of the super-rich, while consensus on climate finance is also struggling to find common ground, according to the Financial Times.

Where the prime minister has found common ground with Mr Trump is on their respective domestic priorities: economic growth and border control.

So you will be hearing a lot from the prime minister over the next couple of days about tie-ups and talks with big economic partners – be that China, Brazil or Indonesia – as Starmer pursues his growth agenda, and tackling small boats, with the government drawing up plans for a series of “Italian-style” deals with several countries in an attempt to stop 1000s of illegal migrants from making the journey to the UK.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has struck financial deals with Tunisia and Libya to get them to do more to stop small-boat crossings, with some success and now the UK is in talks with Kurdistan, semi-autonomous region in Iraq, Turkey and Vietnam over “cooperation and security deals” which No 10 hope to sign next year.

The prime minister refused on Sunday to comment on specific deals as he stressed that tackling the small boats crisis would come from a combination of going after the smuggling gangs, trying to “stop people leaving in the first place” and returning illegal migrants where possible.

“I don’t think this is an area where we should just do one thing. We have got to do everything that we can,” he said, stressing that the government had returned 9,400 people since coming into office.

But with the British economy’s rebound from recession slowing down sharply in the third quarter of the year, and small boat crossings already at a record 32,947, the Prime Minister has a hugely difficult task.

Team Trump: Who is in, and who is out?

Add the incoming Trump presidency into the mix and his challenges are likely to be greater still when it comes to crucial issues from Ukraine to climate change, and global trade. But what Trump has given him at least is greater clarity on what he needs to do to try to buck the political headwinds from the US to the continent, and win another term as a centre left incumbent.

UK

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

Published

2 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.

A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.

Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.

His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.

Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.

A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.

His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.

The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.

Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a a good physical match.

Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.

The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.

The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.

History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”

Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life