District attorney must step aside or remove prosecutor for Trump Georgia case to continue
A court case against Donald Trump in Georgia cannot go ahead unless the district attorney steps aside or removes a special prosecutor she had a relationship with, the judge has ruled.
Trump is accused, along with 18 others, of attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election in Georgia.
District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the case, was in a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which she argued began in early 2022 – months after she appointed Mr Wade to the prosecution in November 2021.
On Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found the “appearance of impropriety” brought about by Ms Willis’s romantic relationship with Mr Wade must result in either Ms Willis and her office leaving the case – or just Mr Wade.
NBC News said if Ms Willis were to remove herself, the case would come to a halt, but having Mr Wade leave the case will ensure it continues without further delay.
Fani Willis. File pic: Reuters
Nathan Wade testifying in court. Pic: AP
The pair both previously testified that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, which is said to have come to an end last summer, but rejected the idea that Ms Willis improperly benefited from it.
Mr Wade said the pair went on trips to California, Belize and Aruba together, which he booked while being paid a $650,000 (£510,000) salary, and was later reimbursed by the district attorney.
The defence had argued that these financial arrangements “created an incentive” for the prosecution to prolong the court case.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee. Pic: Reuters
‘Less drastic’ options available
Giving his ruling, Mr McAfee said an outsider to the case could “reasonably think” that Ms Willis is “not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences”, which he said will always be the case as long as Mr Wade remains on her team.
But more crucially, he said he did not find any evidence that the rights of defendants had been violated, or that the issues involved prejudiced them in any way.
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He said the disqualification of a constitutional officer, like a district attorney, is not necessary “when a less drastic and sufficiently remedial option is available”.
Responding to the ruling on Friday, Trump’s lead lawyer in the case, Steve Sadow, said the defence still believes there is a conflict of interest and that his team will use “all legal options available”.
Donald Trump during a campaign rally earlier this month. Pic: Reuters/Alyssa Pointer
The Georgia case is one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing as he secured the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election.
The former president has long presented the Georgia prosecution, and others he faces, as politically motivated attempts to prevent him from returning to power.
He has highlighted the claims against Ms Willis as evidence of perceived misconduct by those pursuing him.
Trump also faces federal charges for his efforts to undo his election defeat and is due to stand trial in New York later this month on charges related to hush money paid to a porn star.
A US Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint during President Joe Biden’s visit to Los Angeles over the weekend.
Officials said the agent was returning from work on Saturday night when he was confronted in the city of Tustin – located around 35 miles southeast of downtown LA and part of the wider Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Police, who were called to the area shortly after 9.30pm, said the agent had his bag stolen and fired his gun during the confrontation.
The agent was not hurt during the incident, but the Secret Service said it did not know if anyone else was shot.
President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event with former president Barack Obama in Los Angeles. Pic: AP
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service – the force responsible for protecting political leaders in the US – said an investigation was underway.
“The employee discharged their service weapon during the incident but [it is] unknown if the assailants were struck,” he added, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.
“We are thankful that the employee did not sustain any injuries.”
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Tustin Police said on Monday they had not found a suspect, but that some of the stolen belongings had been found in the area.
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A silver Infiniti FX35 or similar car was spotted leaving the scene, according to police, who released a CCTV image of the vehicle.
Mr Biden had been in LA to attend a fundraising event alongside former president Barack Obama, actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, which raked in $30m (£23.6m) for his election campaign.
A baby, so recently born it was “still with umbilical cord attached” has been saved by a couple out walking with their own child, after it was abandoned by a man on a bridge in Texas.
According to Sergeant Juan Garcia of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, the premature girl “still had fresh placenta … so it was freshly born”, and was found at Bear Creek, in the city of Katy, just west of Houston on Saturday.
CCTV footage shows the suspect – described as having a slim build – slowly walk to a bridge with the child.
After placing down the baby, the man then walks away slowly before sprinting out of sight.
Temperatures in the area over the weekend reached as high as 95F (35C), according to the National Weather Agency so the little girl would have had little chance of survival.
Fortunately a young couple walking their own child and dogs then spotted the newborn and called the police.
Daniela Fedele told NBC News affiliate KPRC 2: “We were coming back from our walk this morning, heading home because it was hot.
“When I went ahead and looked closer, that’s when I noticed a little baby with like her two feet moving.
“I think it was like, am I seeing this, right? Like, are my eyes really seeing a baby here?”
Daniela Fedele and Luis Marin. Pic: KPRC 2
Her husband, Luis Marin, added: ” I hold it. The baby opens their eyes to me, looked at me.
“We make eye contact. And I’m like, how can somebody just do this?”
Sergeant Garcia described the couple as a “blessing” and said they noticed the suspect walking away before rescuing the child.
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Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez added that the as yet unnamed baby was in good condition and that officers were hunting the man who had abandoned her.
Neither he, or the child’s mother have yet been identified.
The body of a missing American man has been found on the small Greek island of Mathraki.
He was discovered on a rocky and remote beach on Sunday – three days after being reported missing by the friend he was staying with.
The tourist had last been seen on Tuesday at a cafe with two women who have since left the island.
Mathraki has a population of just 100 people, and is a heavily wooded island to the west of Corfu.
There have been several recent cases where tourists have died or gone missing on Greek islands, with many setting out on hikes in high temperatures.
On Saturday, the body of a 74-year-old man from The Netherlands was discovered by a fire service drone, lying face down in a ravine.
He was found just 300m (984ft) from where he had last been seen six days earlier – walking with difficulty in blistering heat.
Greek officials are continuing to search for three missing tourists in The Cyclades group of islands.
Two French women aged 64 and 73 were reported missing on Sikinos on Friday – and had left their hotels to meet up.
Meanwhile, a search is continuing for a 59-year-old American tourist who went for a solo hike in hot conditions on Amorgos and hasn’t been seen since Tuesday.
Michael Mosley. Pic:bl/Shutterstock
The body of British TV doctor Michael Mosley was discovered on the Greek island of Symi on 9 June – four days after he went missing.
He had gone for a walk on his own from Saint Nikolas Beach, and CCTV footage appeared to show him falling over close to where his body was found.
The 67-year-old’s wife Clare described him as a “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband” – and said her family had been comforted by the many tributes paid to him.
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Michael Mosley’s body removed from Symi
She added: “We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it.
“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team.
“Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special. We are so grateful to the extraordinary people on Symi who have worked tirelessly to help find him.”
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Greece has experienced two consecutive heatwaves in recent weeks, with temperatures reaching 45C (113F) in some parts of the country.
Some local media outlets have urged officials to tell tourists about the dangers of setting off on hikes in intense heat.
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