Fulton County DA wants Trump co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation: Live

Oliver O'Connell and Alex Woodward

November 16, 2023 at 4:51 AM·34 min read

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked Judge Scott McAfee to jail Donald Trump’s Georgia election subversion co-defendant Harrison Floyd because of his efforts to “intimidate co-defendants and witnesses”.

This is the first time the DA’s office has asked to revoke someone’s bond in the sprawling racketeering case concerning attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.

Meanwhile, the former president’s attorneys have filed a mistrial motion in the New York civil fraud case brought against the former president, his sons, and his company the Trump Organization as well as key executives, by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The former president’s defence team claims there is bias in the proceedings, saying that Judge Arthur Engoron’s conduct and his law clerk’s role in the trial would cause observers to “question the court’s partiality”.

On Truth Social on Tuesday, Mr Trump shared a post from a supporter whose “fantasy” is seeing Ms James and Judge Engoron “placed under citizens arrest” for “blatant election interference and harassment”. This comes just days after the former president was compared to Hitler for describing adversaries as “vermin”.

Key Points

Fulton County DA wants to jail Trump co-defendant over witness intimidation
Trump lawyers file mistrial motion in New York fraud case
Trump shares call for ‘citizens arrest’ of Letitia James and his fraud trial judge
Trump official said ‘the boss is not going to leave’ despite 2020 defeat, Georgia prosecutors told
Jack Smith: Trump wants to turn Jan 6 case into media ‘carnival'
Trump co-defendant’s lawyer admits to proffer video leak as Fulton County trial protective order agreed

Marjorie Taylor Greene grilled about ‘Jewish space lasers’

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has refused to explain her infamous remarks about so-called “Jewish space lasers” during a chaotic interview with Piers Morgan.

Confronted on British TV on Tuesday night about her past statements on Facebook, Ms Greene claimed that her words had been “twisted” and insisted that she was “not antisemitic at all”.

But she declined to clarify exactly what she meant when she suggested back in 2018 that wildfires in California had been deliberately started using orbital light beams as part of a complex scheme involving the state utility company PG&E, then state governor Jerry Brown, and the Jewish Rothschild family.

Io Dodds has the story.

Piers Morgan grills Marjorie Taylor Greene about ‘Jewish space lasers’

Fani Willis: Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until 2025

09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The racketeering case against Donald Trump and his allies for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia may not conclude until the beginning of 2025, according to Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis.

That means the trial could last through the key final stages of the 2024 election.

“I believe in that case there will be a trial. I believe the trial will take many months. And I don’t expect that we will conclude until the winter or the very early part of 2025,” she said at a Washington Post summit on Tuesday.

Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until 2025, Fani Willis says

Haley partially backtracks on push to verify social media users

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has partially backtracked on her pledge to force social media users to publicly show their real names if she is elected following outrage from her GOP competitors.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, the former South Carolina governor claimed that online anonymity is a “national security threat” and that her policy would “get rid of” foreign bot armies.

Ms Haley’s Republican rivals immediately pushed back. Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy called her idea “disgusting,” adding: “Alexander Hamilton, John Jay & James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers under pseudonym. Here’s what they would say to Nikki Haley if they were alive: get your heels off my neck & go back to England.”

Read the full article

Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’, rants Trump

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump took a break from bashing public officials in his New York civil fraud case and his 2024 rivals to take on Kim Kardashian.

In a rambling Truth Social rant, the former president called the reality TV star-turned-social justice campaigner the “World’s most overrated celebrity.”

His criticism comes as Jonathan Karl writes in his new book, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, how the reality star leveraged her celebrity to urge the then-president to commute certain prison sentences.

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Trump rants that Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’

One day after announcing retirement, Texas lawmaker announces election bid...

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas Congressman Pat Fallon had a change of heart; just one day after announcing his retirement from the House of Representatives, he said he was running for re-election.

On Monday, Rep Fallon filed for Texas state senate District 30. He said that he was stepping down from his role as a member of Congress and would instead run for the Texas state senate, the Texas Tribune reported.

He said that he wanted to spend more time with his family, explaining his reason for stepping down. Mr Fallon has served in Congress since 2021, and before that, he served in the state senate for two years.

Kelly Rissman reports.

Texas lawmaker announces election run one day after announcing retirement

ICYMI: You’re watching ‘UFC-SPAN'

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel renamed the Capitol Hill livestream C-SPAN “UFC-SPAN” after a series of fights between members of the Republican party this week.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night, Mr Kimmel poked fun at a fight that broke out between Senator Markwayne Mullin and Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, during a Senate Committee hearing earlier in the day.

In the dramatic moment, Mr Mullin – a former cage fighter – took to his feet to challenge Mr O’Brien to a physical fight.

Read more...

Trump and DOJ officials on Hunter Biden subpoena list

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys for Hunter Biden have asked a judge to subpoena Donald Trump and several former US Department of Justice officials in a case surrounding his felony gun charges.

A filing from the legal team for President Joe Biden’s son lists Mr Trump’s “incessant, improper, and partisan pressure” campaign to investigate Hunter, his “incendiary” rhetoric, and a “sustained, almost-nonstop public pressure campaign” from Mr Trump and his allies in Congress who have criticised the Justice Department’s handling of the case.

The proposed subpoenas also seek testimony from former US Attorney General Bill Barr, former deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and former US Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Alex Woodward reports.

Hunter Biden’s team wants to subpoena Trump and DOJ officials

Back to school for Marjorie Taylor Greene...

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Far-right Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene was schooled on congressional procedure by Democratic Rep Rosa DeLauro, 80, after the Republican mocked her age and suggested that she was forgetting things.

“My Democrat colleague across the aisle, who’s 80 years old and has been here over 30 years, just said we’re on the verge of a shutdown,” Ms Greene said on the House floor on Tuesday night. “She probably just forgot that a few hours ago, she voted for the continuing resolution that will extend the budget, and we are not on the verge of a shutdown. So I just wanted to note that for the record.”

Ms DeLauro, who has represented Connecticut’s 3rd District since 1991, told Ms Greene, who joined the House three decades later in 2021, that “it may be that the gentlelady doesn’t know that there’s another body attached to the US Congress called the United States Senate. And they have to vote on the continuing resolution”.

It’s details like that that matter in government.

Marjorie Taylor Greene schooled by 80-year-old Democrat on shutdown

Trump branded ‘loser’ by Biden for Nazi rhetoric

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric, including the use of the word “vermin” to describe opponents, which has been compared to that of fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

In a speech on Veterans Day, Mr Trump argued that his domestic opponents are more of a threat to the US than the likes of China, Russia and North Korea.

Mr Trump, 77, spoke in Claremont, New Hampshire, telling the crowd in his usual grievance-laden parlance: “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections.”

Gustaf Kilander has the story

Trump drops bid to move Stormy Daniels case to federal court

Wednesday 15 November 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump dropped his effort to move his hush money case from New York state court to federal court.

On Tuesday, his attorneys asked the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals “to “dismiss his appeal in this case,” after a previous ruling that had declined the relocation, court documents reveal.

The filing came one day before the deadline for Mr Trump’s legal team to submit its brief for why the case should be moved from state to federal court.

The reason for the move is not immediately clear. A lawyer for Mr Trump declined to comment.

Kelly Rissman reports.

Trump abandons bid to move Stormy Daniels case to federal court

Earlier: Lawyer admits to Fulton County proffer video leak as defendants agree protective order

Wednesday 15 November 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The defendants in the sprawling Georgia election interference RICO case, and the Fulton County DA’s office, have agreed on a more limited protective order proposed by defendant David Shafer.

Judge McAfee asked whether adopting the order would pave the way for hearings whenever there are disagreements over what constitutes ‘sensitive’ material.

Will Wooten of the DA’s office says they would consider witness proffers, personal identifying information and some business records would be considered sensitive.

Among other things, the order would require the DA’s office to designate certain evidence as “sensitive materials” and give defendants time to contest the designation.

During a roll call to ensure that everyone was in agreement, Jonathan Miller, an attorney for defendant Misty Hampton, says he shared the proffers with a media outlet.

He told Judge McAfee he shared the proffers with the media because the four defendants who had struck plea deals did so in public and to hide the proffers in his mind misleads the public as to what went into those deals and what is going on.

“I don’t believe that two of those defendants were directly related to my client, and I don’t believe that either one of those hurt my client. If anything, I believe they help my client, and the public needs to know that,” Mr Miller argued

There were reports yesterday based on an alleged typo that it was attorneys for defendant Harrison Floyd who had leaked the information, which they vehemently denied.

Before the end of the hearing, Tom Clyde, representing a group of media outlets, objected to the imposition of a protective order saying the standard for one has not been met and that recent events have not given weight to the need for one — there is no physical or economic threat to witnesses.

Mr Clyde notes this is a very different situation to that of grand jurors and jury selection for the upcoming trial.

Speaking for the state, Mr Wooten argued that the media has no standing in this order and that those parties who do have all agreed with only a few specific objections.

Judge McAfee says he will put together a protective order in the same vein as that pitched by David Shafer as everyone is on board including those who do not believe it is needed.

As the hearing wrapped up Harrison Floyd’s lawyers changed their mind and joined media outlets in opposition.

Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’, rants Trump

Wednesday 15 November 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump took a break from bashing public officials in his New York civil fraud case and his 2024 rivals to take on Kim Kardashian.

In a rambling Truth Social rant, the former president called the reality TV star-turned-social justice campaigner the “World’s most overrated celebrity.”

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Trump rants that Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’

White House warns US nearing end of road on Ukraine support without more funding

Wednesday 15 November 2023 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House is warning that America could soon lose the ability to provide Ukraine’s defence forces with needed weapons and munitions if Congress doesn’t act to pass the supplemental funding bill proposed by President Joe Biden last month.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday told reporters that Mr Biden still wants Congress to move funding for Ukraine, Israel, defence needs in the Indo-Pacific and US border security in the single package which the president submitted on 20 October, the day after he delivered an Oval Office address in which he urged the US legislature to maintain “American leadership” in the world by supporting Ukraine and Israel in their defensive struggles against Russia and Hamas.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

US near ‘end of the road’ on Ukraine support without more funding, White House warns

Breaking: Fulton County DA wants to jail Trump co-defendant over witness intimidation

Wednesday 15 November 2023 22:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked Judge Scott McAfee to jail Donald Trump’s Georgia subversion co-defendant Harrison Floyd because of his efforts to “intimidate co-defendants and witnesses”.

In a court filing, the DA’s office writes:

“As set forth above, since his release from custody, the Defendant has engaged in a pattern of intimidation toward known codefendants and witnesses, direct and indirect communication about the facts of this case to known codefendants and witnesses, and obstruction of the administration of justice in direct violation of this Court’s order. … Moreover, the Defendant’s actions demonstrate that he poses a significant threat of intimidating witnesses and otherwise obstructing the administration of justice in the future, making him ineligible for bond.”

This is the first time the DA’s office has asked to revoke someone’s bond in the sprawling racketeering case concerning attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Fulton prosecutors are asking a judge to revoke bond for defendant Harrison Floyd.

Floyd is facing charges for trying to pressure election worker Ruby Freeman to falsely admit she committed election fraud.

Prosecutors cite Floyd's tweets about Freeman and others in recent days. pic.twitter.com/V5XZM24rXR
— Sam Gringlas (@gringsam) November 15, 2023

Full story to follow...

Does Nancy Mace have dirt on Kevin McCarthy after elbow saga? One GOP rep hints she does...

Wednesday 15 November 2023 22:12 , Oliver O'Connell

The saga between Tim Burchett and Kevin McCarthy has rumbled on into its second day, with the Tennessee Republican now suggesting that South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace has dirt on the former House Speaker.

Speaking on Newsmax on Wednesday, Mr Burchett said that Mr McCarthy “has $17m in an account,” before accusing him of plotting to use the cash to mess with “a lot of people like my and Nancy Mace’s campaigns, I’m sure”.

“I don’t know if he does that with Nancy Mace. She could come back with some stuff that he doesn’t want out there in the public, I think. If you know what I’m saying,” Newsmax co-host Rob Finnerty said.

Kelly Rissman has further details.

GOP rep hints Nancy Mace has dirt on Kevin McCarthy after elbow saga

NY fraud trial: This afternoon in court

Wednesday 15 November 2023 21:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s defence team’s accounting expert witness, Jason Flemmons, continued his testimony after lunch with direct examination by Jesus Suarez,

After covering the valuation of the Trump brand on licencing deals, Suarez asks: “Was the basis for the valuation of properties in the statements of financial condition accurately described?”

“I believe so, yes,” Mr Flemmons replies.

Suarez asks: “In connection with your review of the [financial statements] and the supporting data, what, if any, GAAP departures did you observe that were not disclosed?”

“I don’t believe I identified any additional discrepancies with GAAP that were not disclosed,” Mr Flemmons answers.

Kevin Wallace, counsel for the New York Attorney General’s office, then began cross-examination. The NY AG tried to have Mr Flemmons barred as a witness as he was a rebuttal to a witness the prosecution had not used after the pre-trial ruling found Mr Trump et al liable for fraud.

Wallace asks about specific transactions and if GAPP departures were disclosed in the financial statements relating to them. Mr Flemmons says he lacks that information.

Asked if someone could make their own valuation of Trump Tower based on the disclosure, he says someone wouldn’t need the disclosure as there are other ways to value the property.

The AG's office apparently doesn't like that idea. Justice Engoron has also said one of the valuations was fraudulent because Trump disrgarded appraisals that valued the property as much less than Trump did.
— Stewart Bishop (@stewartbishop) November 15, 2023

Turning to appraisals of properties — some of which were commissioned but then not used for valuations in financial statements — Mr Flemmons is asked if he didn’t believe they had an obligation to provide accountants with copies of the appraisals for the compilation of the financial statements at the heart of the case.

“That’s correct,” he replies.

Mr Flemmons reiterates that you could perform 12 different valuations using different acceptable methods and only disclose the results of one to accountants compiling financial statements, and that would be fine, according to professional accounting standards.

Cross-examination will continue tomorrow at 10am.

Sen Mullin boasts about almost getting in a fight with union leader

Wednesday 15 November 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A GOP senator who nearly started a fight during a committee hearing on Tuesday proudly took a victory lap on Sean Hannity’s show after the incident.

Sen Markwayne Mullin’s attempt to physically brawl with a union boss who had called him a “clown” on social media captured the attention of many on Tuesday and left some questioning the seriousness of the United States Congress.

The moment played out during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (HELP) as members of the Senate heard from Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. Mr O’Brien was in Washington to testify on issues including ongoing collective bargaining efforts in America for a hearing chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders which also touched on America’s spike in EV production.

Mr Mullin ignored the hearing’s premise entirely and instead focused on a series of tweets Mr O’Brien had aimed at the senator following the committee’s last meeting with union leaders.

John Bowden reports on what happened next.

GOP senator boasts about almost getting in a fight with union leader

FBI director bats away bizarre Jan 6 ‘ghost bus’ conspiracy at hearing

Wednesday 15 November 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Bedigan reports on more bizarre happenings in Congress:

The director of the FBI has dismissed a suggestion that several so-called “ghost buses” were used by the bureau to help organise the violent protests at the US Capitol on January 6.

Chistopher Wray said he was unfamiliar with the term when presented with the theory by pro-Trump Republican congressman Clay Higgins, who said such vehicles were used for “nefarious” purposes.

The exchange took place during the ongoing hearings into the insurrections in Washington DC, in which thousands of right-wing supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden after the Democrat won the 2020 election.

On Wednesday, Mr Wray was asked about the possibility of involvement from FBI agents in the events, and the use of vehicles used for “secret purposes”.

Recap: Will Donald Trump go to prison?

Wednesday 15 November 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in three separate jurisdictions. Nearly 100 felony criminal charges are leveled against the former president, who remains the odds-on favourite to win the 2024 Republican primary.

As his legal battles grow more complex by the day, a serious question has emerged: Whether Mr Trump will win the nomination and campaign for the general election as a convicted criminal.

That possibility, in turn, raises another, simpler question: Will the 45th President of the United States go to prison?

John Bowden looks at the cases against him.

Will Donald Trump go to prison?

The Rock visits Congress

Wednesday 15 November 2023 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson visits Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer...

Live shot of @TheRock and @senschumer pic.twitter.com/5eICqAnhLE
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) November 15, 2023

Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until after election, Fani Willis says

Wednesday 15 November 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

That means the trial could last through the key final stages of the 2024 election.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until 2025, Fani Willis says

Trump calls Kim Kardashian ‘world’s most overrated celebrity’ while dismissing latest book about him

Wednesday 15 November 2023 19:54 , Oliver O'Connell

It had been a quiet day on Truth Social, but Donald Trump is rarely quiet for long.

First, he attacked ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl’s new book (Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party), and Kim Kardashian got caught in the social media salvo fired off from the former president’s keyboard.

Here’s what he posted this lunchtime:

Failed ABC Fake News reporter Jonathan Karl just wrote another bad book. He works sooo hard, but has sooo little talent - Some people have it, and some people don’t. In the “book” he has the World’s most overrated celebrity, Kim Kardashian, supposedly telling me that she “would leverage her celebrity to get football stars to come to the White House,” if I would commute the sentences of various prisoners. This story is Fake News in that she would be the last person I asked to get football players. I’ve had many teams, from all sports and leagues, in the White House. If there was even a slight reluctance, I would immediately withdraw the invitation, there would be NO Negotiation - But this did not happen often. I did help with prisoner commutation, but only if deserving, and much more so for Kanye West than for Kim, who probably voted for Crooked Joe Biden, and look at the mess our Country is in now. Many other false stories in Karl’s very boring book, but nothing worth mentioning!

Mr Trump continued 20 minutes later with new (repetitive) commentary on the criminal cases in which he is charged:

These Fake Political cases brought against me could have been filed years ago, but these Crooked and Biased Prosecutors, working closely with my Political Opponent in Washington, D.C., Crooked Joe Biden, waited, and waited, and waited, and filed them right in the middle of my campaign for President. Why do you think that Fani, and Alvin, and Letitia and, of course, the Deranged One, Jack Smith, took sooo long after very publicly (LEAKS!) starting their “work?” ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!! PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!!!

He’s obviously feeling familiar and comfortable enough with the lead prosecutors to refer to them on a first-name-only basis.

Dramatic moment lawyer admits to Fulton County proffer video leak as defendants agree protective order

Wednesday 15 November 2023 19:23 , Oliver O'Connell