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A year later, the sprawling Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump has stalled

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ATLANTA (AP) — A year after a Georgia grand jury indicted Donald Trump and others for illegally attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election, the case has stalled and has no likelihood of being tried before the end of the year.

When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis obtained the indictment a year ago Thursday, it was the fourth and most sweeping criminal case against the former president. Trump narrowly lost in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden, and Willis used Georgia’s anti-bribery law to allege that he and 18 others participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the will of the state’s voters.

Willis’ team has scored some early victories in the case, but controversial allegations made by one in every of Trump’s co-defendants earlier this year have delayed the proceedings and will even derail the prosecution.

Here are some facts you need to find out about this case.

A long indictment that casts a large net

The nearly 100-page indictment contained 41 criminal charges against Trump and 18 others. In addition to the former president, his White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative lawyer Sidney Powell were also charged.

All three defendants have been charged with violating state anti-corruption laws, and the indictment accommodates 161 alleged counts to back that up. The narrative presented by prosecutors is that multiple individuals committed separate crimes to attain a standard goal — difficult Trump’s election defeat.

The indictment includes charges stemming from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger through which Trump urged the state’s top elections official to assist him “find” the votes he needed to win. Other charges include inducing a slate of Republican electors to falsely state that Trump had won the state, allegations of harassing an election employee in Georgia and tampering with election equipment in a rural south Georgia county.

The judge overseeing the case in March dismissed six counts in the indictment, including three of the 13 charges against Trump. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that prosecutors didn’t provide sufficient detail about the alleged crime in those charges. Willis’ team has appealed that ruling.

First of its kind mugshot

When Trump arrived in Atlanta last August to be arrested on the charges, he was quickly released on bail. But his transient stay in Fulton County Jail marked the first time the former president needed to pose for a mugshot.

While Trump and the other defendants needed to be taken to jail, they waived their first court appearances. While his lawyers have been present and presented arguments at quite a few hearings over the past year, Trump has yet to set foot in a Georgia court.

Early victories for prosecutors

Four of the 18 people charged with Trump in Georgia pleaded guilty to lesser charges after reaching deals with prosecutors inside months of the indictment.

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Bail bondsman Scott Hall pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in September. Prosecutors accused him of participating in an election equipment breach in rural Coffee County.

The following month, Powell and attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty. Powell was also charged with violating Coffee County, while Chesebro helped organize the Republicans’ election plan. Both reached plea deals with prosecutors just before their scheduled trial, citing their rights to a speedy trial.

Days later, attorney Jenna Ellis, who actively supported Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, tearfully pleaded guilty.

Lecherous accusations turn the case the other way up

In early January, a lawyer for co-defendant Michael Roman, a Trump campaign staffer and former White House aide, alleged in court papers that Willis had engaged in a bootleg romantic relationship with attorney Nathan Wade, whom she had appointed to guide the prosecution of Trump and others.

The lawsuit alleged that Willis benefited financially from the case because Wade used his earnings to take her on trips. It said this created a conflict of interest and that Willis and her office needs to be faraway from the case. Willis and Wade admitted to the relationship but said they split travel and other expenses.

In a unprecedented hearing, intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court and broadcast continue to exist television. Judge McAfee chastised Willis for a “gross lapse in judgment” but found no conflict of interest that may justify her removal if Wade left the case. Wade resigned hours later.

Trump and other defendants have appealed McAfee’s ruling. That appeal is currently before the Georgia Court of Appeals, which plans to listen to arguments in December after which must issue a ruling by mid-March. In the meantime, the appeals court has barred McAfee from taking further motion in the case against Trump or the other defendants in the appeal while it’s pending.

What’s next?

It’s not entirely clear.

Regardless of how the Court of Appeals rules, the losing side will likely ask the Georgia Supreme Court to weigh in. That would cause further delay if the high court were to conform to hear the case.

The November general election, through which Trump is the Republican presidential candidate, brings more uncertainty. Even if appeals courts ultimately determine Willis can stay in the case, it seems unlikely she would have the opportunity to proceed prosecuting Trump while he’s president if he wins the election.

Complicating matters further, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official actions that fall inside their “exclusive sphere of constitutional authority” and are presumptively entitled to immunity for all official actions. They will not be protected for unofficial or private actions.

Trump’s lawyers in Georgia filed a motion for presidential immunity earlier this year. If Willis is allowed to proceed her criminal case sooner or later, his lawyers are certain to make use of the Supreme Court ruling to argue it needs to be dismissed.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Crime

Luigi Mangione, 26, in police custody in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO

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UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, UnitedHealthcare CEO death, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione, Luigi Mangione UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, Luigi Mangione UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, theGrio.com

New York authorities have identified 26-year-old Luigi Mangione as an individual of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

According to police, a McDonald’s worker recognized Mangione in a photograph taken by NYPD Crime Stoppers and called authorities to report that he was eating at the restaurant, which led to his arrest.

Police say Mangione was carrying an anti-corporate manifesto, false identification and a ghost gun.

Black Girl Disney co-founder Dominique Brown dies from an allergic reaction during the brand's holiday event

“It fits the description we were looking for,” Mayor Eric Adams said. An early NYPD report drew criticism online for calling the suspect a “light-skinned male” fairly than simply saying he was white.

The New York Post reports that Mangione previously attended the University of Pennsylvania, was valedictorian of the highschool in 2016 and had ties to Towson, Maryland. His social media posts indicate motivation related to dissatisfaction with the health care industry.

The shooting gained national attention because of the lukewarm response to Thompson’s death from many voters, who criticized the high insurance denial rate and greed that contributed to the American loss of life.

NYPD officers will now travel to Pennsylvania to query Mangione. Watch the entire press conference below:

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Crime

OJ Simpson’s audio testimony claims have been proven false

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OJ Simpson, O.J. Simpson

OJ Simpson, OJ Simpson

Iroc Avelli, OJ Simpson’s former bodyguard, claimed to have a recording of the late NFL player admitting to killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to .evaluation of the audio recording showed the claim to be false.

In June 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) contacted the Bloomington, Minnesota police department to realize access to thumb drives confiscated during Avelli’s 2022 arrest.

Bloomington Police Department arrested Avelli for alleged assault in 2022; upon arrest, the police seized Avelli’s backpack and obtained an order to gather relevant evidence on the scene. The backpack contained multiple flash drives that the previous security guard said contained Simpson’s confessions.

According to Peasant! News“search warrant filed in Hennepin County requested by Officer George Harms seek for image pendrives in order that “a full forensic examination could possibly be carried out on all of the pendrives to acquire the recording.”

The Bloomington Police Department didn’t return the drives, opting as an alternative to conduct an internal forensic examination. After a digital forensics specialist examined the drives, Bloomington police didn’t disclose any information of “probative value” to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The further investigation into the Simpson and Goldman murders is strange because on October 3, 1995, OJ Simpson was acquitted of all charges. The former San Francisco 49er maintained his innocence until his death from cancer on April 11, 2024.

After his acquittal, OJ Simpson continued to benefit from his fame. In 1996, the Buffalo Bills player published a book titled If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer. Many found the book’s title and content distasteful and criticized it Naked weapon the actor’s constant presence in celebrity culture.

However, many individuals imagine that Simpson’s acquittal ought to be enough to just accept his presence in all spaces. BLACK ENTERPRISES reports on rapper Cam’Ron’s response to criticism after Simpson was invited on his sports show before his death.

The It is what it’s the host and businessman believes that the accusations – proven in court – shouldn’t result in ostracization. Cam’Ron believes that Simpson’s race may have played a job in continuously questioning his innocence throughout his life.

“Look, if he was guilty, we wouldn’t have him on the show,” he said. “You wish to proceed convicting an innocent man. He is innocent. If it was another person, whiter, you’d all say, “Oh, he’s innocent.” TO BE reported.

It appears that the hearings and investigation into Orenthol James Simpson’s role, or lack thereof, in his ex-wife’s murder will proceed even after his death.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Crime

Suspect charged with fatally shooting 3-year-old on Thanksgiving Day

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Suspect Charged In Fatal Shooting Of 3-Year-Old On Thanksgiving

Suspect charged with fatally shooting 3-year-old on Thanksgiving Day

Tatisha Refuge, a 47-year-old New Orleans resident, turned herself in to authorities after the death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. Refuge is charged with “manslaughter by negligence.”

Rudy’s mother, Leshawn Ratliff, lives in Texas but visited Refuge, her foster mother, in the previous few days of Thanksgiving. Nov 8 News.

“I came here on Saturday to pick up my older son. He was here over Thanksgiving break, and I came down on Saturday to pick him up so we could go home on Sunday and they could go back to school on Monday.” Ratliff he said.

While playing UNO, Refuge’s unsecured gun fell from her belt and fired, striking Rudy. Ratliff she recounted how the scene unfolded when she discovered Rudy had been shot.

“I began seeing blood coming out of his chest. That’s once I knew he had been shot. So I called 911.

The mother didn’t wish to wait for 911. Instead, she decided to take Rudy to University Medical Center for treatment. She said that after they arrived at the ability, Rudy seemed to be alive. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later she was informed of his death.

Ratliff she nurtured her relationship with Refuge and is torn now that the accusations involve her foster mother.

“It was a random shooting. His grandfather’s gun fell. It wasn’t within the secure. It wasn’t within the gun position. I believe it went into the pocket and fell out and shot my son,” Ratliff said. “I understand it was a mistake. I imagine in my heart that it was a mistake. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.

The grieving mother began a GoFundMe and is asking the general public for help with Rudy’s burial. To support the Ratliff family of their time of need, click here.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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