Alvin Bragg may have been asked to delay Trump charges: John Dean
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may have been asked to delay bringing charges against former President Trump, Watergate figure John Dean speculated in a CNN interview on Friday. Dean emphasized that he did not know the facts, but commented on the possibility that another lawyer on a separate Trump case might have asked Bragg to…
news.yahoo.comUnearthed footage from 2018 shows Trump's defense lawyer saying the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment could be a 'real problem' for Trump
Trump's defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, went on CNN multiple times to discuss the hush money payment and once said that it's "fair game" for scrutiny.
news.yahoo.comNATO chief warns Bakhmut may fall 'in coming days'
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Wednesday the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut may fall into Russian hands in the coming days following months of intense fighting. His remarks come as Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded the attack on Bakhmut, claimed to have captured the eastern bank of the industrial town that has been devastated in the longest battle since Moscow invaded. In Stockholm, EU ministers were discussing plans to ramp up defence production and rush ammunition to Ukraine as it burns through thousands of howitzer shells each day. Wagner chief and Kremlin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin said on social media Wednesday that his forces "have taken all of the eastern part of Bakhmut", a salt-mining town with a pre-war population of 80,000.The intense fighting around Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest in Russia's more than year-long invasion, which has devastated swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people."What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity," Stoltenberg told reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of an EU defence ministers meeting."We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days," the head of the US-led military alliance said, adding that "this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an interview with CNN what could happen if Bakhmut falls to Russian forces. "We understand that after Bakhmut, (Russian forces) could go further" and attack nearby cities in the Donetsk region."They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction," Zelensky said in an interview set to air Wednesday.- Russia aims for 'further offensive' -Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told military officials during a televised meeting on Tuesday that taking control of the city would allow for "further offensive operations" in eastern Ukraine.Prigozhin estimated the day before that between "12,000 and 20,000" Ukrainian troops were still defending the town. Zelensky told CNN that his armed forces were resolved to stay in Bakhmut."Of course, we have to think about the lives of our military. But we have to do whatever we can whilst we're getting weapons, supplies, and our army is getting ready for the counter-offensive."Zelensky on Wednesday hosted UN chief Antonio Guterres in Kyiv as he makes his third visit to Ukraine since Russia's invasion. In a statement following the talks, Guterres underscored the importance of extending an expiring deal that has allowed Ukraine to export its grain."I want to underscore the critical importance of the rollover of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 18 March," Guterres said.EU defence ministers were meeting in Stockholm to discuss a plan to rush one billion euros worth of ammunition to Ukraine as pressure mounts on Kyiv's allies to bolster supplies to the war effort.Ukraine's Western backers warn that Kyiv is facing a critical shortage of 155-millimetre howitzer shells as it fires thousands each day in its fight against the grinding Russian offensive. "The current rate of consumption compared to the current rate of production of ammunition is not sustainable, and therefore we need to ramp up production," Stoltenberg said.During a visit to Canada on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underscored a European resolve to ward off Russian aggression.But a report by The New York Times on Tuesday claiming that US officials had seen new intelligence indicating a "pro-Ukrainian group" was behind last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines could raise difficult questions among the allies."This is not our activity," Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told reporters in Stockholm.- 'Glory to Ukraine' -As Russia said it was closer to capturing Bakhmut, Ukraine identified the man who was shot dead in a video that sparked outrage on social media as one of its soldiers.The footage shows what appears to be a detained Ukrainian combatant standing in a shallow trench and smoking, and then being shot after saying "Glory to Ukraine"."Based on a preliminary examination, we believe that the video may be authentic," a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office told AFP on Wednesday.In Kyiv, Guterres said the "shocking" footage was "yet another tragic reminder that the laws of war must be strictly respected". Both sides have said the Bakhmut battle has cost a significant number of troops, though neither has given figures.Ukrainian officials say around 4,000 civilians remain in the town, which has been virtually flattened, including dozens of children.bur/oc/jmm
news.yahoo.comBill Maher: ‘I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level’
Bill Maher says he’s scared of former President Trump “on a very personal level” and “what he would do” to the comedian if he were to win the 2024 White House race. “I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don’t think he likes me. I understand why,” the HBO “Real…
news.yahoo.comGOP Chair Makes Delusional Promises on Behalf of Donald Trump
CNNGOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel painted a rosy picture of the Republican Party headed into the 2024 election on Sunday, namely a united front, candidates supporting one another, and Donald Trump accepting the results of an election.Her picture, however, seemed devoid of the reality her party members have lived in.In her first interview since her contentious reelection last month, McDaniel presented a mission statement of unity, one she said propelled her to a fourth term. “We can't be so viciou
news.yahoo.comDon Lemon to return to CNN, undergo 'formal training'
CNN chief executive Chris Licht said in an email to employees Monday night that anchor Don Lemon will return to work Wednesday and will receive “formal training” in the aftermath of his on-air comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Cohen says DA took phones for renewed Trump hush-money probe
Donald Trump’s long-estranged former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, says Manhattan prosecutors recently took his cellphones to preserve evidence related to a hush-money payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Judge again denies Bannon bid to delay his trial next week
A federal judge says the criminal contempt trial of Steve Bannon can start as scheduled next week and that the extensive media coverage of the onetime adviser to former President Donald Trump shouldn't be a barrier to selecting an unbiased jury to hear the case.
Michigan fake pro-Trump electors subpoenaed by US House panel
The chairperson and secretary of a group of 16 Michigan Republicans who signed a false certificate claiming Donald Trump won Michigan’s electoral votes in the 2020 General Election have been subpoenaed by the U.S. House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.
New audio shows Michigan Republican Party co-chair reportedly tell crowd that Trump directed fake electors plot
Meshawn Maddock, the Co-Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was one of the 16 GOP electors who submitted false electoral college documents to the National Archive in an attempt to give former President Donald Trump a win after the fact in Michigan.
New audio shows Michigan Republican Party co-chair reportedly tell crowd that Trump directed fake electors plot
Meshawn Maddock, the Co-Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was one of the 16 GOP electors who submitted false electoral college documents to the National Archive in an attempt to give former President Donald Trump a win after the fact in Michigan.