Georgia elections official rails against Trump making himself a ‘martyr’ amid indictments
A Republican official charged with overseeing elections in the state of Georgia, where Donald Trump tried and failed to change the results of his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, lamented on Sunday that the ex-president was able to make himself out as a “martyr” to his supporters as he continues to face deepening legal problems. Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer to Georgia’s secretary of state, watched his boss Brad Raffensperger survive a Trump-backed primary challenge in 2022 after Mr Raffensperger refused to go along with Mr Trump’s attempts to change the lawful election results. He has long said that the former president’s efforts after the 2020 election were inappropriate, including an early January 2021 phone call between Mr Raffensperger and the president during which Mr Trump asked the Georgia elections chief to “find” him 11,000 votes. That phone call and the effort by Mr Trump to change the results in Georgia are expected to result in a criminal indictment filed by Fulton County prosecutors within the next week or so; Fani Willis’s office is currently presenting evidence against the ex-president and his legal team to a grand jury. A “special purpose” grand jury – unique under Georgia law – had previously been called in the matter, but that body did not have the final authority to approve or reject criminal indictments. On Sunday, Mr Sterling spoke to ABC’s This Week about what he said was a troubling sign; that Republicans were flocking to Mr Trump as further consequences for his long-alleged criminal behaviour unfold. "This has been giving oxygen to his campaign," Mr Sterling said. "This is raising tons of money, and a lot of that money ... is being used to pay for his lawyers.” "He's making himself a martyr, and a lot of the American people are going behind him because they feel like some of these things are a little bit of a stretch," he said. Complicating the narrative regarding Mr Trump’s criminal indictments is the very first of the actions taken against him by prosecutors: The charging of Mr Trump more than 30 times by officials in Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office over the Stormy Daniels affair which is alleged to have played out as far back as 2016. Mr Trump is charged with falsifying business documents to hide hush payments to Ms Daniels, an issue which some have said is being prosecuted far too late and as a result detracting from the credibility of the unrelated investigations into both Mr Trump’s efforts to change the 2020 election results and the discovery of classified defence materials at his properties. Mr Trump remains the far-and-away leader of the 2024 GOP primary field, and has actively campaigned on the issue of his criminal charges, which he has portrayed as a weaponisation of the US justice system by Democrats. He continues to deny wrongdoing in all matters, including his embrace of conspiracies that led to thousands of his supporters attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Read More Trump steps up attacks on Fani Willis as Georgia probe links Trump team to voting system breach - latest Georgia prosecutors have text messages linking Trump team to voting system breach, report says Georgia grand jury to hear Trump election subversion case next week Ron DeSantis faces ‘pudding fingers’ chant and other protests during Iowa campaign stop
1970-01-01 08:00
Jurgen Klopp on Mohamed Salah's reaction to substitution
Jurgen Klopp has downplayed Mohamed Salah's furious reaction to being subbed off during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
1970-01-01 08:00
'Barbie' on track to become highest grossing domestic film of the year
"Barbie" has broken numerous records since its July 21 opening and the summer blockbuster is close to breaking another one.
1970-01-01 08:00
Zuckerberg Says ‘Time to Move On’ From Musk Cage Fight Challenge
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., said it’s “time to move on” from speculation that there will
1970-01-01 08:00
Dirk Nowitzki completely roasted Mark Cuban in HOF speech
Dirk Nowitzki was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 12. He gave a stirring speech about his career, but made sure to roast Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the process.Dirk Nowitzki was the NBA's original Unicorn. The 7-footer from Wurzburg, Germany played 21 y...
1970-01-01 08:00
Cleveland-Cliffs Offers to Buy US Steel in Cash, Stock Deal
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said it made a bid to purchase United States Steel Corp. in a cash and stock
1970-01-01 08:00
3 players who could break into Mavs starting lineup
The Dallas Mavericks are looking to rebound from last season's dreadful finish. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as headliners, it's not hard to imagine the Mavs winning a bunch of games. The question is, how will the rotation be built around them?The Dallas Mavericks finished last se...
1970-01-01 08:00
Apple's Impressive Emulation Tech Brings Popular Windows Games to Mac
Gamers typically don't turn to Apple hardware for their video game fix, but macOS 14
1970-01-01 08:00
Democratic congressman continues to be a thorn in Biden’s side over 2024 primary
Joe Biden continues to face prominent calls to step aside from voices in his own party, as the 80-year-old president vows that he will win reelection in 2024. In a normal election year, any incumbent president would coast to victory in their party’s nominating contests, and next year is likely to be no exception. But Mr Biden is facing more criticism than most as many Democrats openly fret whether the oldest-ever president to be sworn into office will be able to be an effective standard-bearer for his party next year. One of those Democrats sounding the alarm bells is Rep Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota who has been the only elected member of his party in the House or Senate to openly call for Mr Biden to face a serious primary challenge. As of now, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is not planning to host debates for the 2024 primary season, meaning that the president will never face any of his challengers onstage. Mr Phillips pointed out, in a Sunday interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press, that while Mr Biden is generally leading nationally against opponents like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, he trails those same candidates or ties them statistically in some polling of key swing states, such as Arizona and Michigan. The “majority” of Americans, he said, want Mr Biden to “pass the torch” and let other Democrats have a real competition for the 2024 primary — even as he attempted to back away from the idea that he himself would mount a bid. The congressman suggested that the candidate to take on Republicans next year should be a governor from the midwest or the Rust Belt, nodding as Mr Todd named Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and his own home state’s Tim Walz. He also named JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois. “Some people have asked me that I not use their names, because of this institutional fear that it might impact you down the road,” he noted. “[But] this is the time to meet the moment.” The mention of Mr Pritzker as a potential candidate by Mr Phillips is significant, given that the governor has been spotted in early primary states and is viewed by many Democrats and political analysts alike as a politician with both national aspirations and the credibility to mount a real bid. The billionaire governor has won many fans in the party with his record in the state and has the financial means to bankroll a national bid, which would put him at an immediate advantage over possible rivals. One figure that Mr Phillips is notably not putting his support behind is Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who is rumoured to be considering exiting the Democratic Party entirely, following the footsteps (or coattails) of Sen Kyrsten Sinema. Mr Manchin is also known to be considering launching an independent bid for the presidency should he make the jump to leave the party, and would likely do so with the backing of No Labels, a group of rabblerousing centrists that have been threatening to support a third-party challenger for months. Mr Biden’s polling woes in key swing states have worried some Democrats who see a repeat of 2016 on the horizon; for months, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump in national polling only to be undone in key swing states where her campaign had spent little to no effort to be competitive. Numerous surveys of the 2024 field have indicated that a slight majority of Democrats want Mr Biden to step aside and open up the field for younger competitors. But those same polls also indicate that he holds a massive lead over the only Democrats who have announced bids so far, author Marianne Williamson and Robert F Kennedy, known for his activism against medical authorities. Read More Ted Cruz rails against Hunter Biden special counsel appointment that he requested Biden and House Democrats hope to make curbing 'junk fees' a winning issue in 2024 ‘You know the answer’: Trump mocked for sarcastic response to 2020 election interference question
1970-01-01 08:00
Florida football: Billy Napier picks his QB1, now holds his breath
Florida football head coach Billy Napier made the final decision on his starting quarterback.Speculation no more. Florida football head coach Billy Napier has finally announced his starting quarterback, three weeks before the season is set to begin. And the award goes to...After much thought...
1970-01-01 08:00
U.S. Steel Explores Strategic Alternatives After Getting Unsolicited Bids
United States Steel Corp. says it is initiating a formal review of strategic alternatives after it received “multiple
1970-01-01 08:00
James Harden rumors: Power ranking 3 possible outcomes for 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are once again at an impasse with their star point guard. With training camp on the horizon and James Harden trade talks at a standstill, let's power rank the potential outcomes for Philly from "let's just skip the season" to "not complete agony."...
1970-01-01 08:00
