At least one of Donald Trump’s former lawyers appears to have a pretty low opinion of the newest defence that the ex-president’s legal team is trying out for size. Ty Cobb, former White House counsel, was speaking on CNN when he was asked about a whirlwind Sunday morning media tour embarked upon by John Lauro, one of Mr Trump’s currently defence attorneys. On several shows across the major TV networks, Mr Lauro displayed the Trump camp’s newest excuse for the former president’s efforts to pressure various Republican officials to interfere with state or federal election processes on his behalf, including his vice president, Mike Pence. In multiple interviews, Mr Lauro used the same word — “aspirational” — to describe Mr Trump’s urgings for Mr Pence to attempt to halt the Senate’s process certifying the 2020 election that he did to describe a phone call in which the former president was heard urging Georgia officials to “find” thousands of votes for him that did not exist. Mr Cobb was asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett whether there was any First Amendment defence that would come into play when a politician or elected official requests that a subordinate violate the law. “Not at all. I’m not aware of the ‘aspirational’ defence or the free speech defence to a gang leader saying to two of his subordinates, ‘I need you two to please rob a bank for me,’ and they do it. That’s aspirational but it leads to a crime and that’s exactly what Trump did with Pence,” Mr Cobb responded. His analysis appeared to poke a hole cleanly through the argument that the Trump team has made all weekend — that merely encouraging a crime to be committed is not an offence. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the 78 criminal charges that the former president is accused of, including the four related to the 2020 election. But the “aspirational” defence appears to be the closest the Trump team has come to acknowledging that the actions the president requested, if carried out, would have been blatantly illegal. DoJ special counsel Jack Smith has argued that Mr Trump conspired to violate the constitutional rights of millions of Americans when he worked to change the results of the 2020 election even after losing all of his court challenges and being told, repeatedly, by his own expert authorities that his claims of election fraud were false. The ex-president is separately charged in two other cases involving classified documents retained from the White House as well as his own hush payments to a porn star in 2016. Despite his professed innocence, his lawyers have said that they expect more charges related to the 2020 election to be handed down in Georgia. His latest criminal indictment has been understood by numerous experts to have been engineered by the Justice Department for speed in the hopes that it will play out, one way or another, before the 2024 presidential election concludes. Mr Trump remains the dominant candidate in the Republican presidential primary. Read More Trump lawyer calls Trump request to Pence for Jan 6 ‘aspirational’ Chris Christie thinks this ex-Trump aide has already flipped Pence says he's now met polling, donor qualifications for first Republican debate Ron DeSantis replaces campaign manager as 2024 bid falters Gavin Newsom rips DeSantis terms for debate: ‘What a joke’ Trump-appointed judge orders Southwest attorneys to take ‘religious liberty training’ from right-wing group

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It will be No 5 vs No 9 in the UFC featherweight division this weekend, as Josh Emmett faces Ilia Topuria in a Fight Night main event. Emmett, 38, is looking to bounce back from a tough loss, having been submitted by Yair Rodriguez in February as the pair fought for the interim title. Prior to that defeat, however, Emmett was on a fine win streak, and the American might even re-enter the title picture with an impressive win on Saturday. He faces a tough test in Topuria, though, with the 26-year-old entering Las Vegas this weekend with a 13-0 professional record, including 12 stoppage wins. Most recently, the Georgian overcame Bryce Mitchell in December, stunning the submission specialist by forcing him to tap out. With that win, Topuria entered the top 10 at featherweight, and he can take another step forwards this weekend. An undisputed champion will be crowned in July, when Rodriguez challenges official champion Alexander Volkanovski, and the winner of Saturday’s main event may even mark themselves out as the next contender for the gold. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The event will take place on Saturday 24 June. The prelims are set to begin at 4.30pm BST (8.30am PT, 10.30am CT, 11.30am ET). The main card is then due to follow at 8pm BST (12pm PT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Topuria – 5/2 Emmett – 30/100 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria (featherweight) Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber (women’s flyweight) Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa (heavyweight) David Onama vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight) Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva (middleweight) Prelims Neil Magny vs Phil Rowe (welterweight) Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman (welterweight) Mateusz Rebecki vs Loik Radzhabov (lightweight) Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson (women’s strawweight) Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van (flyweight) Trevor Peek vs Victor Martinez (lightweight) Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins (featherweight) Tatsuro Taira vs Kleydson Rodrigues (flyweight) Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas (middleweight) Read More Fury vs Usyk: Behind the scenes, laughter is turning to anger Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK How Ciryl Gane’s Jon Jones dream turned into a nightmare Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend

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