Friday, August 18, 2023

8/18 WAKE-UP CALL: Trump Wants Election Trial In 3 Years


Donald Trump’s lawyers on Thursday proposed a 2026 start to his federal trial on charges he tried to steal the last election, part of a strategy to combat a "blank check" of investigations spending and postpone his four pending criminal cases until after his presidential bid. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith proposed to start the trial Jan. 2, which his team said would allow five months for Trump to review the evidence and debate pretrial motions. The trial is projected to last four to six weeks, which would carry it through the early presidential caucuses and primaries. But Trump’s lawyers argued the government has had years and tens of millions of dollars to build a case with 11.5 million pages of documents and interviews with hundreds of witnesses.

It's not the first time the former president will answer to criminal charges in a courtroom.
➤TRUMP GRAND JURORS OUTED ONLINE: The names, addresses, phone numbers and images of people supposed to be members of the Atlanta grand jury that indicted Donald Trump and 18 of his associates this week have been posted on a number of websites, including at least one extremist site that often displays violent rhetoric. In a statement, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware of the posts and is ready to respond to credible threats. In Georgia, the names of grand jury members are revealed. Meanwhile, lawyers for Trump asked a federal judge to delay until April 2026 his trial over federal charges related to his efforts to delay certification of the election on January 6th, 2020. Federal prosecutors want the trial to begin in January 2024.
  • Trump has canceled a press conference he had announced for Monday, at which he promised to present a “CONCLUSIVE report” on election fraud in Georgia that would completely exonerate him. He cited advice from his lawyers for the cancelation.

➤TEXAS WOMAN CHARGED WITH THREATENING TRUMP JUDGE: A Texas woman was charged with threatening the federal judge assigned to Donald Trump’s election subversion case. Abigail Jo Shry made death threats against U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan and anyone who went after the former president, according to a federal agent’s affidavit, which also said she admitted calling the judge’s Washington, D.C., chambers. Judges assigned to Trump’s four criminal cases have faced national scrutiny that most jurists aren’t used to. Court records show Shry was appointed a public defender. The federal public defender’s office in Houston didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

➤POLL..TRUMP CHARGES 'SERIOUS': A majority of Americans say the charges handed up by a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury this week - alleging a 'criminal enterprise' to overturn the 2020 election - are serious, according to a new poll, as former President Donald Trump ramps up his legal and political battle in advance of his latest arrest. The poll, taken by ABC News / Ipsos, reflects national sentiments on Trump's fourth indictment, as his lawyers consider whether to try to move the case to federal court. It found a near majority, 47 per cent, called the case 'serious,' while another 16 per cent called it 'somewhat serious.' That left 10 per cent who called the case 'not too serious' and 15 per cent who called it 'not serious at all.'


➤TRUMP ACCUSES FOX NEWS: Donald Trump, 77, has also accused Fox News of not showing polling data where he is 'beating Biden' by 'a lot'. The former US president used to love the news channel and is known to be a regular viewer of their morning show, 'Fox and Friends'. Although the channel largely supported him in the US media during his presidency, Trump's views on the network have plunged after it was first in calling the crucial state of Arizona for Joe Biden in 2020's presidential election. Trump said on his Truth Social platform: 'Why doesn't Fox and Friends show all of the polls where I am beating Biden, by a lot. They just won't do it!

➤TRUMP CANCELS PRESSER: Former President Donald Trump canceled a news conference he planned to hold on Monday in response to his latest indictment, because, he said, of advice from his lawyers.  Earlier this week, Trump on his Truth Social platform said he would release a report bolstering his persistent and unfounded claims of a stolen election in 2020. In Georgia on Monday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis handed up Trump’s fourth indictment this year. That case involves efforts by Trump and his allies to reverse his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

➤DeSANTIS STRATEGY: An unusual window into Gov. Ron DeSantis' potential strategy at next week's Republican presidential primary debate surfaced Thursday in the form of a memo – which was posted online by the GOP consulting firm behind a pro-DeSantis super PAC – that urges Florida's governor to "defend Donald Trump," among other advice. Such detailed campaign strategy often is closely guarded, but DeSantis has been relying heavily on the Never Back Down super PAC for support, and the committee can't coordinate privately with the campaign. Instead, these committees sometimes post information publicly to communicate with campaigns without breaking federal election rules. 

➤MAUI OFFICIAL RESIGNS: A Maui County official criticized for his handling of the wildfire disaster that tore through historic Lahaina resigned Thursday, citing health reasons.  Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator Herman Andaya tendered his resignation effective immediately.  Andaya said at a news briefing Wednesday that he hadn’t activated Maui County’s roughly 80 emergency sirens during the fires that raged across the region and decimated Lahaina, killing at least 111 people.  He defended the decision, saying the sirens have been traditionally activated to warn residents of a tsunami or a hurricane. The sirens might have sent people into the path of the Aug. 8 wildfires, he said. 

🔥WILDFIRES RAGE IN CANADA: More than 200 consecutive wildfires are blazing in a remote part of Canada’s Northwest Territories. All 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, have been ordered to evacuate. Another 360 active fires are burning in adjoining British Columbia, where conditions are expected to worsen over the next few days due to a forecast of heat and lightning. Officials in Minnesota warned that smoke from Canada is crossing the border into Minnesota and could be over the Twin Cities by noon today.

➤ MORTGAGE RATE HITS 2-YEAR HIGH: The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.09%. That’s the highest level in more than 20 years, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Potential buyers and sellers are staying put; the former can’t find homes they can afford and the latter are reluctant to give up their low-rate loans. With refinancing slowed, mortgage lenders have laid off tens of thousands of people. Mortgage rates tend to move loosely with the 10-year Treasury yield—which today hit its highest level since 2007 (more on that below)—and some analysts anticipate they’ll continue climbing. When the Fed’s interest rate hikes began, high borrowing costs to buy a home were expected to be temporary, but they have persisted.

➤THAT WAS NO ACCIDENT, THAT WAS MURDER: An Ohio teen has been convicted of murder after a judge found that she purposely slammed her car into a brick wall at 100 mph, killing her boyfriend and a friend. Mackenzie Shirilla, 19, was found guilty of four counts each of murder and felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of drug possession and one count of possessing criminal tools. The July 31, 2022, crash happened in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville and killed Shirilla's boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, the Strongsville Police Department reported. “Her actions were controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional and purposeful,” Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said Monday. “This was not reckless driving. This was murder."

➤'OUR JOURNEY' HAS ENDED: Britney Spears' estranged husband Sam Asghari has broken his silence following the news that he is filing for divorce from his estranged wife. In a statement to his Instagram account on Thursday, the actor, 29, wrote: 'After 6 years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together.' He continued: 'We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always,' adding: 'S**t happens.' 'Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.' The latest update comes amid reports the Toxic singer got physical with Asghari several times and once gave him a black eye as he slept. 


⚾MLB DODGERS 1 BREWERS 0: Austin Barnes hit a home run in the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie and the Los Angeles Dodgers posted a 1-0 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday to extend their winning streak to a season-best 11 games. Barnes had two of the Dodgers' four hits, with one of them his first home run of the season. Barnes, a steady defensive backup catcher, entered the game with a .123 batting average and a .345 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. It was also his first multi-hit game of the season. After seven scoreless innings from Lance Lynn, Dodgers left-hander Caleb Ferguson (7-3) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Evan Phillips pitched the ninth inning to earn his 18th save. Brewers starter Corbin Burnes gave up two hits over seven scoreless innings while walking two and striking out nine. As good as the outing was, it could not prevent Milwaukee from getting swept in the three-game series.

⚾MLB D'BACKS 3 PADRES 1:  Zac Gallen continued his mastery of San Diego and former Padre Tommy Pham hit a decisive two-run homer Thursday night as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks secured a 3-1 victory in the opener of a four-game series. Gallen held the Padres to one run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings to beat the Padres for the third time this season to improve to 13-5. But the Padres did snap their 18-inning scoreless streak against Gallen and hit seven balls at over 100 mph with 11 of the 19 outs recorded by Gallen coming on drives to the outfield.

⚾MLB SCORES

  • Mariners 6 Royals 4
  • Nationals 10 Red Sox 7
  • Mets 4 Cardinals 2

⚾WHITE SOX’ ANDERSON SUSPENDED FOR 5 GAMES: Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had a six-game suspension reduced to five through a settlement with the MLB announced yesterday. Anderson had appealed the suspension, which stems from an August 5th brawl on the field with Jose Ramirez. The fight ended when Ramirez flattened Anderson with a right hook to the jaw. Anderson apologized in a post yesterday. Ramirez was suspended for three games.

⚾LLWS SCORES (Williamport PA):
  • Caribbean 2 Australia 1
  • Northwest 10 New England 0
  • Asia-Pacific 6 Canada 0
  • West 4 Great Lakes 3
🏈TWO EAGLES PLAYERS INJURED: Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland landed hard on his head and neck during last night’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and was taken off the field on a cart. A spokesperson for the Eagles said Cleveland had a neck injury but has movement in all of his extremities. Later, during the fourth quarter, defensive lineman Moro Ojomo also suffered an injury and was carted off the field. Same diagnosis: neck injury but movement in all limbs. No further information was immediately available. The game ended in an 18-18 tie.

➤HURRICANE HILARY HEADS FOR THE SOUTHWEST: Hurricane Hilary was intensifying in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico, and forecasters say it could weaken but still deliver heavy rain and flooding to parts of the Southwest this weekend and early next week. The heaviest rains were expected to be seen Sunday and Monday in Southern California and parts of Arizona, northern Nevada and Central California.



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