
Why a third indictment of Trump could be such a profound stain on his legacy
Few citizens face the kind of perfect storm of legal threats engulfing Donald Trump. And given that he is a past and possibly future president running for a new term, the entire country could share in his historic ordeal.
1970-01-01 08:00

Trump ‘faces Jan 6 charges of conspiracy, obstruction and civil rights violations’
The letter Donald Trump said he had received from special counsel Jack Smith reportedly listed three federal statutes that could constitute charges against him over the Jan 6 riots. The three federal statutes mentioned in the letter by Mr Smith, according to several reports, are conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant. Mr Trump is the sole individual mentioned in the letter and there are no other names mentioned, according to a source with knowledge of the matter cited by Rolling Stone magazine. Mr Trump had earlier on Tuesday confirmed he had received a letter from Mr Smith in a Truth Social post. “On Sunday night, while I was with my family...HORRIFYING NEWS for our country was given to me by my attorneys,” he wrote. “Deranged Jack Smith...sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.” Meanwhile, Florida representative Matt Gaetz revealed on his podcast that he planned to introduce a bill in the near future to defund Mr Smith’s investigation into the former president. Mr Gaetz’s announcement came just hours after Mr Trump gave confirmation of him receiving Mr Smith’s letter. “In the coming hours, the coming days, I will be introducing legislation under my name, in the House of Representatives, as a freestanding bill, to defund the Jack Smith investigation,” Mr Gaetz said on Tuesday. “And one reason why is the election interference feature. Another reason why: the lack of transparency.” CNN reported that the former president has reached out to House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik for political assistance with the fallout from the probe. Should Mr Trump face criminal charges related to his efforts to stop Joe Biden’s lawful assumption of power following his own failure to prove his countless conspiratorial allegations of election fraud, it would be the third criminal indictment to come down on the ex-president’s shoulders this year. A source familiar with the special counsel’s probe and Department of Justice operating procedures told The Independent that the earliest an indictment could be handed down is late Thursday or Friday, after the deadline for Mr Trump to avail himself of the invitation to testify before the grand jury has passed. Read More DeSantis fights to reset his stagnant campaign as Trump dominates the 2024 conversation Trump's target letter suggests the sprawling US probe into the 2020 election is zeroing in on him Trump fumes about ‘crooked’ DOJ after losing immunity in E Jean Carroll case Voting fraud claims spread ahead of Spanish election IRS whistleblowers to testify to Congress as they claim 'slow-walking' of Hunter Biden case A key part of Biden's strategy to control immigration at the US-Mexico border gets a court hearing
1970-01-01 08:00

Swedish Housing Starts Indicator Hits Lowest Level Since 2014
An indicator of Sweden’s residential construction activity declined to the lowest level in almost nine years, contrasting with
1970-01-01 08:00

Vietnamese EV Maker to Start US Plant Construction July 28
Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast said construction of its North Carolina factory will start July 28 as the company
1970-01-01 08:00

Biden administration suspends funding for Wuhan lab
The Biden administration has suspended funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology following a monthslong review that determined that the Chinese research institute "is not compliant with federal regulations and is not presently responsible," according to a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services.
1970-01-01 08:00

Super PAC supporting Tim Scott places $40 million ad reservation
A super PAC supporting Sen. Tim Scott's presidential run is placing a $40 million TV and digital ad reservation -- the largest amount booked for any presidential candidate so far in the 2024 race.
1970-01-01 08:00

AI Is No Easy Fix for NFT Selloff, Says Creator of Historic $69 Million Artwork
The intersection of artificial intelligence and nonfungible tokens provides no simple antidote for the slump in the market
1970-01-01 08:00

Henry Kissinger meets with sanctioned Chinese defense minister in Beijing
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met in Beijing with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
1970-01-01 08:00

Ex-FTX Chief Operating Officer Constance Wang Emerges at Sino Global
Zhe “Constance” Wang, who served in several executive-level roles at Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX before the collapse of the
1970-01-01 08:00

Paris 2024 Olympics: Concern over French plan for AI surveillance
CCTV will use algorithms to detect fights and abandoned bags - but not everyone is happy about it.
1970-01-01 08:00

Marjorie Taylor Greene accidentally refers to ‘Israel’s apartheid wall’ in speech praising barriers
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, ordinarily a strong supporter of Israeli policy, referred to the country’s “apartheid wall” during an address in the US House of Representatives. Israel has again been in the headlines in Washington this week after Rep Pramila Jayapal of Washington called Israel a “racist state” before walking her comments back over the weekend. The House overwhelmingly voted in favour on Tuesday of a resolution backing Israel that did not name Ms Jayapal but appeared to be crafted in response to her comments. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, is set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday that several progressive lawmakers have announced they will boycott. On Tuesday, Ms Greene waded into the fray. In a speech on the importance of borders, Ms Greene quoted from an article that referred to the giant wall Israel has constructed between its territory and the Palestinian West Bank as an “apartheid” wall. “Walls are very important for most countries,” Ms Greene began. “There’s many countries with walls. I have one article here that comes from earlier this month that says, talking about 65 countries that have erected fences on their borders, also talking about walls, talking about security fears, widespread refusals to help refugees have fueled a new spate of wall-building around the world. “They include Israel’s apartheid — “apartheid” — wall, India’s 2,500-mile fence around Bangladesh, and Morocco’s huge sand berm,” Ms Greene continued. “So many countries around the world agree that walls are important in protecting the people within the country.” It was not immediately clear which article Ms Greene was citing, but if the second-term lawmaker from Georgia chooses to stand by her characterisation of Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians as apartheid, she will be in good company. Two years ago, Human Rights Watch said Israel is guilty of crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza including apartheid. Public opinion in the Democratic Party, meanwhile, has shifted to the point where more Democrats now say their sympathies primarily lie with the Palestinians rather than Israel. That change in opinion has not, however, been reflected in Congress. Only nine members of the House opposed Tuesday’s resolution on support for Israel, all progressives. With just a pair of exceptions, the rest of the Democratic caucus and all voting Republicans supported the resolution. Mr Herzog, the Israeli president, serves as head of state while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serves as head of government. Mr Herzog visited President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday. Read More AOC and other progressives to boycott Israeli president’s joint address to Congress Republicans under fire for hosting Robert F Kennedy Jr on the Hill in wake of antisemitism claims
1970-01-01 08:00

Illinois Supreme Court upholds law eliminating cash bail
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's historic move to ban cash bail is constitutional, overturning a lower court decision.
1970-01-01 08:00