Trump to make first court appearance after 2020 election indictment |
Former President Trump is scheduled to make his first court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya at 4 p.m. ET Thursday following his indictment on charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election. “A spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith said it was the office’s understanding that the appearance will be in person but that it was ultimately up to the court,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld reported. Trump attorney John Lauro told CNN that “we’re prepared to follow whatever the court rules are. The judge issued a summons, and he will appear either virtually or in person.”
Secret Service warns of ‘traffic implications’ from Trump’s court appearance
Trump made two other court appearances earlier this year, in New York and Miami, following separate state and federal indictments. “D.C.’s federal courthouse has conducted some initial appearances via video conference during the pandemic, however,” Schonfeld noted.
The latest indictment contains four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
While Upadhyaya will preside over Thursday’s proceeding, the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, whom former President Obama nominated (learn more about Chutkan here). |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Senate office buildings were temporarily locked down Wednesday afternoon after “a bogus call” about an active shooter. The report drew a large police response with officers clearing the buildings floor-by-floor.
An official with Fitch told Reuters the political instability reflected in the events of Jan. 6, 2021 was a factor in the ratings agency downgrading its issuer default rating for the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, announced on social media that they are separating.
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Jury recommends death sentence for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter |
A jury Wednesday recommended the death penalty for Robert Bowers, who killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history.
From The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro and Lauren Sforza: “A jury found Bowers guilty of all 63 felony charges, including federal hate crime charges. Twenty-two of the charges can carry the death penalty, including 11 counts of obstructing free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.” A judge will formally impose the sentence. Read the full report here. |
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RNC ‘stepping up the criteria’ for second GOP debate |
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has released eligibility criteria for the second GOP presidential primary debate, scheduled for Sept. 27: -
Candidates must receive at least 3 percent in two national polls or 3 percent in one national poll and 3 percent in two early voting state polls.
The debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., will also require candidates have 50,000 unique donors.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Fox News, “We should be stepping up the criteria. Once you get on the debate stage and you get in front of the American people, if you’re not having momentum, if you’re not showing growth in your campaign, then that’s a problem.”
The first debate kicks off three weeks from today, on Aug. 23, in Milwaukee. See who has qualified for that debate and the eligibility criteria here.
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Trump lawyer pushes for trial to start after 2024 election |
Former President Trump‘s attorney John Lauro suggested that the trial in the 2020 election case should happen after the 2024 election. -
Lauro told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie that the prosecutor in the case “had three-and-a-half years.”
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“Why don’t we make it equal?” he said. “The bottom line is that they have 60 federal agents working on this, 60 lawyers, all kinds of government personnel, and we get this indictment and they want to go to trial in 90 days. Does that sound like justice to you?”
Lauro added: “They want to go to trial so that instead of debating the issues against Joe Biden, that President Trump is sitting in a courtroom.”
Related news: Lawyer Harvey Silverglate, who confirmed his client John Eastman is one of the unnamed co-conspirators mentioned in Tuesday’s indictment, said Eastman would not consider a plea deal if state or federal prosecutors offered one. Read more here.
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Why the US is not calling the military takeover in Niger a ‘coup’
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The Hill’s Laura Kelly walks us through the United States’ approach to the military takeover in Niger and why officials aren’t calling it a “coup.”
From the report: “The careful word choice keeps in play an estimated $200 million of humanitarian and economic support to the country, largely food assistance for a country of 25 million people where at least 40 percent are estimated to be living on less than $2 per day.”
Read experts’ comments on and analysis of the situation in the full report. |
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Atlantic editor-in-chief will be new ‘Washington Week’ host
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Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief at The Atlantic, will host PBS’s “Washington Week” starting Aug. 11 amid the companies’ new partnership. The show will be rebranded as “Washington Week with The Atlantic.” |
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4 things to know about the incandescent bulb ban
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This week, the Biden administration began fully enforcing a ban on most incandescent light bulbs. The Hill’s Rachel Frazin breaks down four things to know — who the enforcement efforts target, expected environmental effects, impact on electric bills and the political dynamics surrounding the ban — in the report here.
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“Barbie evolved beyond Cold War logic: Oppenheimer froze it in time” — Samara H. Shaz, a program assistant in the International Peace and Security Program at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Sharon K. Weiner, a senior resident fellow at the International Peace and Security Program at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. (Read here)
“UFOs are the story of the century — wake up, America!” — Rear Admiral (ret.) Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC, a research affiliate with Harvard University’s Galileo Project and a member of the advisory board of Americans for Safe Aerospace. (Read here) |
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The Hill’s Cheyanne M. Daniels interviews Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House from Pennsylvania, in the latest episode of The Switch Up podcast. Listen here.
The podcast “explores the intersection of race and politics through intimate conversations with leading scholars, advocates and legislators from communities of color.” |
21 days until the first GOP presidential primary debate. 461 days until the presidential election. |
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Vice President Harris will be in Wisconsin to discuss the administration’s investments in accessible internet and to attend fundraisers. |
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