Former prosecutor says ex-Trump aide will be top witness in classified documents case
Former Donald Trump aide Molly Michael will be one of the most important witnesses in the classified documents case, a former prosecutor has said. Ex-Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons appeared on CNN on Tuesday night, saying that Ms Michael has got “damning information” since Mr Trump allegedly told her to lie to the authorities. “This is a smoking gun,” Mr Timmons said. Ms Michael worked with Mr Trump both in the White House and then at his Florida private club Mar-a-Lago. It was reported on Tuesday that Mr Trump gave instructions when he came to understand that the authorities were going to interview Ms Michael about the boxes containing classified documents that he kept at his Sunshine State residence after leaving office. “You don’t know anything about the boxes,” Mr Trump told Ms Michael, according to reporting from ABC News and The New York Times. Mr Timmons told CNN that there is a point in every case and trial when it’s won or lost. If Mr Trump chooses to take the stand, that will probably be the pivotal point, he said. But if Mr Trump is not a witness in the trial, Ms Michael will be the “key witness,” Mr Timmons said, adding that her testimony will likely decide “whether the former president is convicted”. Mr Timmons was asked if Mr Trump’s direction that “you don’t know anything about the boxes” would affect the case. “Absolutely,” he said. “I think it’s got three possibilities of coming in. One, the least likely is a re-indictment including these additional predicate acts and further into the conspiracy. I don’t think it fits quite that neatly.” “Second, it could be brought in and there’d have to be a motion filed under what’s referred to as similar acts, that it’s close to or even brought in as maybe kind of a distant part of the RICO scheme,” he added. “The third one – I think the former president is going to take the opportunity to testify in the Georgia case. I really do. A number of people think that he’s not going to. I think he’s not going to miss that opportunity to be on every television in the entire world,” Mr Timmons said. “And if he does testify, then at that point it comes as impeachment evidence and it shows that he lacks credibility and is dishonest.” In the Florida case, Mr Trump faces 32 counts of willful retention of national secrets, six counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements. In Georgia, he faces one count of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), three counts of soliciting violation of oath by a public officer, and a litany of further charges. Read More Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani sexually assaulted her on Jan 6 in new book Ray Epps pleads guilty to Jan 6 charge as GOP lawmakers revive debunked conspiracy theories Trump speaks at Iowa rally as Giuliani accused of sex assault on Jan 6 - latest news
2023-09-21 05:27
Amazon drops planned merchant fee as FTC lawsuit looms - Bloomberg News
Amazon.com is scrapping a plan to charge merchants who do not use the company's shipping services an additional
2023-09-21 04:57
Entertainment strikes pushing toward $6 billion in losses: 'It just gets worse each day'
As studios and writers return to the bargaining table Wednesday, the economic impact of the months-long writers' and actors' strikes has surpassed a staggering $5 billion, and the pain is increasingly being felt across multiple industries, according to economists.
2023-09-21 04:54
Suspect in murder of family of four outside Chicago found dead states away in Oklahoma
Two suspects sought by police in the murders of a family of four outside of Chicago were found shot inside a burning car states away in Oklahoma, authorities said Wednesday. Nathaniel Huey Jr., 31, of Streamwood, Illinois, and an unnamed woman were identified as persons of interest in the slayings after the two adults, two children and three dogs were found inside a home in the small Illinois town of Romeoville over the weekend. Romeoville Deputy Chief Chris Burne told local news outlets that a car linked to the man was spotted by a license plate reader in Catoosa, Oklahoma, sparking a traffic stop. But when officers tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away, crashed and caught on fire. Officers on the scene reportedly “heard two noises believed to be gunshots,” Chief Burne said. Officers found the man fatally shot in the driver’s seat and a critically wounded woman in the passenger seat. “This is still an active and evolving investigation and this portion of the incident is still unfolding,” Chief Burne said. He did not say what the relationship was between Huey and the family who was killed over the weekend, but said evidence “has shown us a nexus between our suspect and the victims, as well as a possible motive.” It comes just days after a family of four was gunned down in a Chicago suburb. Police were called in for a welfare check at the home in Romeoville, Illinois, on Sunday morning. Officers arrived to find the bodies of Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their dogs. “I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband and WHY?” Bartolomei’s sister Bryana wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. The loss of the Rolon-Bartolomei family has shocked many friends and family members – with Bartolomei’s sister Bryana stepping forward and sharing her heartache with the community. In the description of a GoFundMe, Bryana wrote: “This fundraiser has been created with the aim of helping the Rolon-Bartolomei family with funeral expenses, as well as to create awareness of this ongoing case. Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their kids Adriel & Diego (ages 10 & 7) were involved in a horrific crime that took their lives and shattered countless others.” Bryana said her sister and brother-in-law had just brought their first home together and described the children as “the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away.” “The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them,” she added. Read More A family of four and their three dogs were shot dead in a quiet Illinois town. Their killer is still at large Illinois police say family of four shot dead in Illinois home were ‘targeted’ – as killer remains at large
2023-09-21 04:53
11 Surprising Facts About Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’
Here are the nuts and bolts about Mary Shelley's 200-year-old tale about what can go wrong when people play God.
2023-09-21 04:29
Gold Pares Gains After Fed Signals Higher Rates for Longer
Gold pared gains after the Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged while signaling borrowing costs will
2023-09-21 04:27
Amazon Scraps Planned Merchant Fee With Antitrust Suit Looming
Amazon.com Inc. is scrapping a planned fee on merchants that don’t use its shipping services, according to documents
2023-09-21 03:27
MLB Rumors: The only thing holding back Mets-Pete Alonso extension
There is one thing holding back Pete Alonso and the New York Mets from agreeing on a long-term contract extension.
2023-09-21 03:17
Mayor candidate says she didn’t know she worked for an escort service in college after arrest revealed
A woman running what has been described as a “morality campaign” for mayor in Franklin, Tennessee has confirmed that she was arrested for promoting prostitution three decades ago. Gabrielle Hanson, a MAGA Republican and Franklin alderman, claims she believed that she was working for a modelling agency when she worked answering phones for what turned out to be an escort service while she was a college student. Seven hours after Nashville’s NewsChannel5 reached out to Ms Hanson about her criminal past, she shared a video in which she said: “One day the police came knocking at my door.” She was detained in Dallas, Texas in the mid-1990s. “I was shocked, I was devastated. Everything I worked for for 13 years was about to come true. It should have been the happiest, most exciting time of my life, and it ended up being the absolute lowest,” Ms Hanson said. “That was definitely not who I was, but I was definitely in the middle of all of it.” The Tennessee TV station notes that Ms Hanson has been running a “morality campaign” opposing LGBT+ rights and events like Pride Fest. In the video posted to her campaign’s Instagram account, Ms Hanson said that she was trying to finish college as a student at Southern Methodist University when she took a job answering the phone for what she believed to be a modelling and casting agency. “I answered the phone, I took a name, I took a number and a date,” she says in the footage. “At the end of my work session, I would call the owners and give them that information.” She insists that she didn’t know it was an escort service until the police appeared. She agreed to a plea deal for a single charge under a process allowing offenders without criminal records to avoid convictions known as “deferred adjudication”. “My punishment for the deferred adjudication was ‘do not live in Dallas for two years,’ because they knew I was leaving. I said, ‘No problem, because I don’t ever want to live in Dallas again after this experience’,” Ms Hanson says, adding that it was at this time that she moved to Chicago. NewsChannel5 has also reported that Ms Hanson posted a photo of a number of women who she said backed her campaign, but the women later told the station that they didn’t know Ms Hanson. She claimed they denied knowing her to protect her. The TV station noted that there are also questions surrounding where she and her husband live. Ms Hanson compared pleading no contest to one count of promoting prostitution to getting a speeding ticket. “I moved to Chicago, where I rekindled my love for Christ,” she says in the video. Ms Hanson has also been slammed for downplaying lynching and opposing “racial terror” markers, according to The Tennessee Holler and The Daily Beast. She also faces allegations that she shared false information about a mass shooting at a Nashville school and that she threatened to take action against the local airport for backing a Juneteenth festival, the national holiday marking the end of slavery in the US. Read More Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani sexually assaulted her on Jan 6 in new book Don Jr’s hacked account posts Trump ‘passed away’ as bombshell book claims Murdoch wishes it true - latest John Fetterman says he’ll wear a suit if GOP ‘jagoffs’ stop government shutdown threats
2023-09-21 03:16
Senior Spanish soccer officials to go in wake of Soccer World Cup kiss row-source
MADRID (Reuters) -Between six and nine senior officials of Spain's football federation (RFEF) will be invited to leave their jobs
2023-09-21 02:55
Mexico inflation likely eased in first half of September - Reuters poll
MEXICO CITY Mexico's headline inflation likely eased in the first half of September while remaining above the official
2023-09-21 02:51
Amazon Gives Fire TV Sticks a Small Boost, Teases AI-Enhanced Voice Search
Looking to upgrade your TV setup for Thursday Night Football or your next binge watch?
2023-09-21 02:49