Trump sentencing in hush money case postponed until after US election

Published

1 month ago

September 6, 2024

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A judge has postponed the sentencing of Donald Trump in his hush money case until after the 5 November presidential election.

Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had been due to be sentenced in the criminal case on 18 September.

However, Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan has now postponed that date to 26 November, writing that he wanted to avoid the unwarranted perception of a political motive.

“The imposition of sentence will be adjourned to avoid any appearance – however unwarranted – that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the defendant is a candidate,” he wrote.

“The court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution.”

The former president was convicted in May of falsifying business records, becoming the first former US president to be criminally convicted.

He was found guilty of covering up his then lawyer’s $130,000 (£99,000) payment to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Mr Trump a decade earlier.

Trump, 77, denies the encounter and has vowed to appeal the verdict once he is sentenced.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, although punishments such as fines or probation are more common.

His lawyers had pushed for the delay arguing that sentencing him in the final weeks of his campaign to retake the White House would amount to election interference.

They also argued there would not be enough time before the planned sentencing date for the defence to potentially appeal the judge’s forthcoming ruling on their request to overturn the criminal conviction following the US Supreme Court‘s landmark presidential immunity ruling.

The Supreme Court found that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for their official acts in relation to a separate case Trump faces over his role in the 6 January riots in 2021.

Judge Merchan said he now plans to rule on that motion on 12 November – another delay from a previous 16 September date.

Responding to the judge’s ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung insisted the case should be dismissed altogether.

“There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt,” Mr Cheung said in a statement.

The decision to delay came as Trump left the campaign trail to attend a separate court hearing on Friday.

The hearing saw his lawyer urge an appeals court to throw out a $5m (£3.8m) verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing the writer E Jean Carroll in a department store in New York in the mid-1990s.

He was also found liable for defaming her after she wrote about the incident.

His lawyer John Sauer argued at the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that the original trial judge should not have taken evidence from other women who claimed the Republican presidential nominee sexually mistreated them decades ago.

Mr Sauer called it “a quintessential ‘he said, she said’ case” brought by a woman with a political motive to hurt Trump, referring to the fact that Ms Carroll is a Democrat.

At a news conference at Trump Tower after the hearing, Trump told reporters he was appealing a “ridiculous verdict”, insisting he had “never met” Ms Carroll.

In a separate judgement, which he is also appealing, Trump was ordered to pay Ms Carroll $18.3m (£14.4m) in compensation and $65m (£51m) in punitive damages.

On Thursday, Trump denied revised charges relating to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Next week Mr Trump will face Democrat nominee Kamala Harris in their first presidential TV debate in Philadelphia.

The upcoming debates are seen as potentially pivotal. The race for the White House is tight after Democrat support surged following President Joe Biden’s decision to quit the contest in favour of Ms Harris in July.

Some polls have even put the Democrat ahead. She would become the first female president as well as the first woman of black and South Asian descent to hold the Oval Office if she won.

US

Hurricane Milton: Category 3 storm makes landfall in Florida

Published

4 hours ago

October 10, 2024

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Hurricane Milton: Category 3 storm makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said.

The category 3 storm hit shores near Siesta Key in Sarasota County around 8.30pm local time on Wednesday, bringing sustained winds of 120mph, the NHC in Miami said.

More than one million homes and businesses were without power – the highest of which were in Sarasota County and neighbouring Manatee County, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

Hurricane Milton latest: Follow live updates

Milton is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.

At the time of landfall, nearly 100,000 people were in evacuation centres across Florida, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported, citing Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Speaking from the White House earlier on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said Milton is expected to be “one of the most destructive hurricanes in Florida in over a century”.

He said it carries “incredible destructiveness and can wipe out communities and cause loss of life” while urging everyone in its path to listen to the advice of local officials.

Within minutes of Milton making landfall, a gust of 100mph was recorded in the Egmont Channel, south of St Petersburg, according to the NHC.

‘Daylight will reveal the full impact’

Reporting from Tampa, as the storm made landfall 60 miles away, Sky News US correspondent James Matthews said you could feel its “devastating power”.

“You can hear it in the roar, and sense it. You can feel it in the wind,” he said.

“They have called this a historic hurricane. The strongest to hit this part of Florida for more than 100 years.

“Reduced from a category 5 to a category 3 storm by the time it hit, but that doesn’t mean that it is not extremely powerful, extremely dangerous, and will have, one imagines, a devastating impact.

“This is all happening in the hours of darkness, daylight will reveal the full impact of Hurricane Milton.”

On Wednesday, officials issued last ditch attempts urging the near two million people under evacuation orders to flee or face slim chances of survival.

Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, said: “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”

While Paul Womble, Polk County emergency management director, said: “Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this point, we suggest you just hunker down.”

A stream of vehicles was pictured headed north on Interstate 75, the main road on the west side of the peninsula, as residents followed evacuation orders.

Traffic also clogged up the southbound lanes of the road for miles as others headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the other side of the state.

Meanwhile, animals at Tampa’s zoo took shelter in hurricane-hardened buildings.

The region is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which caused heavy damage to beach communities and killed more than 200 people.

Once past Florida, Milton should weaken over the west of the Atlantic Ocean, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday night, but storm-surges will still pose a threat to the state’s Atlantic coast.

US

Google faces threat of being broken up after US Justice Department warns of need to end ‘illegal monopoly’

Published

13 hours ago

October 9, 2024

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Google faces threat of being broken up after US Justice Department warns of need to end 'illegal monopoly'

US officials have confirmed they are considering breaking up Google’s “illegal monopoly” of internet searches.

The tech giant could face restrictions on its own products – including its Chrome browser, Play Store and Android operating system, the US Justice Department said.

It comes after a judge found in August the company had broken anti-trust laws to ensure its dominance of online searches.

Officials have now outlined a series of proposals to dismantle the company’s monopoly in a court filing.

The plans include blocking Google from paying other tech firms to have its search engine pre-installed or set as the default option on new devices.

The firm paid out more than $26bn (£20bn) in 2021 to companies such as iPhone maker Apple as part of the practice.

A Justice Department spokesperson said: “Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google’s control of distribution today, but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow.”

Google said the court filing was part of a “long process” and confirmed it would appeal against the ruling.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said the “radical changes” proposed went too far and accused the US government of having a “sweeping agenda that will impact numerous industries and products”.

She added the move would risk the privacy and security of users, hamper the development of its artificial intelligence products and “break” software such as Android.

The government’s announcement comes following earlier reports that officials were considering moves to tackle Google’s monopoly.

Meanwhile, in a separate case on Monday, a judge ordered Google must open up its app store to greater competition, including making Android apps available from rival sources.

Judge James Donato said the firm should stop requiring its own payment system to be used for apps on the Play Store.

The ruling follows a court battle between Google and Epic Games, which makes the popular video game Fortnite, over in-app purchases.

US

Hurricane Milton: Florida braces for 160mph winds as approaching storm forces mass evacuation

Published

15 hours ago

October 9, 2024

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Hurricane Milton: Florida braces for 160mph winds as approaching storm forces mass evacuation

Florida is bracing for winds of up to 160mph as people continue to evacuate ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

The storm has the “potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes” the area has seen when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early on Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Some residents have insisted they will stay after millions were ordered to evacuate, while officials warned anyone staying behind will face grim odds of surviving.

Milton has been a Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach and despite the recent downgrading to a category 4, it remains “major and strong”, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said.

It is expected to bring widespread destruction to the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people.

President Joe Biden postponed an upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for the storm – in addition to the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene.

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century, and God-willing it won’t be, but it’s looking like that right now,” Mr Biden said.

Follow live: Tourists stranded in Disney resort as deadly hurricane nears

Heavy rain is already spreading across many communities with conditions expected to rapidly deteriorate throughout Wednesday and into Thursday.

Experts warned of the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding, while several tornadoes were also likely across parts of central and southern Florida.

Such is the power of Hurricane Milton, it could land a once-in-a-century hit on the cities of Tampa and St Petersburg, engulfing the regions with possibly deadly storm surges.

Forecasters warned the storm could bring eight to 12ft (2.44-3.66m) storm surges, leading to further possible evacuation orders being issued along the Gulf Coast.

Eleven states in Florida have issued mandatory evacuation orders with up to nearly six million people said to be in the potential path of the storm.

‘We haven’t seen a storm like this’

Pasco County is located on Florida’s west coast and its director of emergency management Andrew Fossa echoed the warnings from other officials.

“I hate to say it like this – Pasco County’s going to get a black eye from this one,” he said.

“We haven’t seen a storm like this in a lifetime.”

Tampa mayor Jane Castor said up to 15ft (4.6m) of storm surge being forecast for her city would be deep enough to swallow an entire house.

“So if you’re in it, basically that’s the coffin that you’re in,” she warned.

A lengthy line of vehicles has been heading north as residents moved to safer areas, while hundreds of flights have been cancelled with many more expected to be grounded.

In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long line for fuel said they had no plans to evacuate.

“I think we’ll just hang, you know – tough it out,” said Martin Oakes, of nearby Apollo Beach.

“We got shutters up. The house is all ready. So this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle.”

Forecasters predicted the storm will retain hurricane strength as it crosses central Florida on Thursday on a path east toward the Atlantic Ocean.

‘Hurricane fatigue’ has become a thing, over time. Just not this time

As if it didn’t feel ‘ghost town’ enough, our drive through the abandoned streets around the Tampa Bay took us past a skeleton strapped to a balcony railing.

It was a nod to Halloween, of course, but was entirely in keeping with the eerie nothingness of deserted streets.

Floridians know a thing or two about hurricanes, to the extent that ‘hurricane fatigue’ has become a thing, over time. Just not this time.

They read and heed the warnings of a hurricane far stronger than they’re used to and have followed the official advice to evacuate.

Everywhere you see evidence of a state that knows the drill. Windows are boarded up, cars are propped up on driveways to raise them above flood water level.

For the same reason, cars are left parked on raised bridges and I counted a golf cart among them – it wouldn’t be Florida without one.

What traffic there was consisted of truck drivers offered a couple of hundred dollars, and a police escort, to transport debris lying on the ground in the wake of Hurricane Helene. It is debris that could become projectiles as the wind picks up.

Adding to the spooky air, a police car tours empty streets with a loud hailer message warning of looming danger. It is a warning that’s been heard by people here – evident in the amount of property lying empty.

Absenteeism is to be encouraged in the panhandle state over the next 24 hours.