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Tag: investigations

  • Man arrested in connection with 42-year-old homicide cold case using new DNA technology | CNN

    Man arrested in connection with 42-year-old homicide cold case using new DNA technology | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a man in connection with the killing of 25-year-old Sandra DiFelice, nearly 42 years after her death.

    Paul Nuttall, 64, was arrested on charges of “open murder” with the use of a deadly weapon, sexual assault with the use of a deadly weapon and burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, police said in a statement Monday.

    In Nevada, a person accused of murder will generally be charged with “open murder,” meaning a general allegation of murder which includes, “Murder in the First Degree and all necessarily included offenses. These would include Murder in the Second Degree and possibly Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter based upon the specific facts of the case,” according to Clark County’s website.

    CNN has reached out to Nuttall’s public defender but has not yet heard back.

    DiFelice was allegedly brutally raped and murdered inside her home on December 26, 1980, according to police.

    In February 2021, DiFelice’s daughter – who at the time of the incident was three years old and at her grandparents’ house – called cold case detectives at the police department to ask for an update on the investigation.

    Detectives reviewed the investigation, and “upon a review of that investigation, in conjunction with our DNA forensics lab, they were able to determine that there was additional evidence that could be submitted for processing using new DNA technology. During that processing of the evidence, DNA recovered from under the fingernails of Sandra DiFelice identified the suspect of Sandra DiFelice’s murder as Paul Nuttall,” Lt. Jason Johansson said during a news conference.

    Nuttall was originally named as a person of interest during the initial stages of the investigation, police said during the news conference. Authorities said his fingerprint was found in DiFelice’s home, but it was determined that Nuttall knew DiFelice’s roommate and that explained why his fingerprint was there, police said during the news conference.

    Nuttall is currently in custody at the Clark County Detention Center, according to online records.

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  • Senate Democrat wants national security investigation of Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk-Twitter deal | CNN Business

    Senate Democrat wants national security investigation of Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk-Twitter deal | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is calling on the federal government to investigate national security concerns raised by Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

    Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal helped Musk finance the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter (TWTR) by rolling over his

    existing $1.9 billion stake     in the social media company. The move makes Saudi entities the second-largest shareholder in Twitter – behind only Musk himself.

    “We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting US politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform,” Murphy said in a tweet on Monday.

    The Connecticut Democrat urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, to conduct an investigation into the “national security implications” of the Saudi involvement. CIFUS, an interagency committee chaired by the US Treasury Department, reviews takeovers of US businesses by foreign buyers and has the ability to block transactions that raise concerns.

    Even though Musk already closed his takeover of Twitter late last week, it may still be subject to national security review.

    According to the 2021 annual CFIUS report to Congress, the panel has the authority to “review pending or completed transactions” if a member of the committee believes there are national security concerns.

    “There is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should do a review,” Murphy said, noting that another major social media platform, TikTok, is owned by a Chinese company. “This is a dangerous trend, and we don’t have to accept it.”

    Both the White House and the Treasury Department declined to comment in response to the call from Murphy.

    Earlier this month, Twitter shares dropped after Bloomberg News reported Biden officials are in early discussions about possibly subjecting some of Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, including the Twitter deal.

    However, US officials pushed back on that report. “We do now know of any such conversations,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement on October 21.

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  • A man has been arrested and charged with murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teen girls in Indiana, authorities say | CNN

    A man has been arrested and charged with murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teen girls in Indiana, authorities say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A man has been arrested in the 2017 killings of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in Delphi, Indiana, authorities said Monday.

    Richard M. Allen, of Delphi, was arrested on two counts of murder, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said at a news conference.

    “The arrest of Richard M. Allen of Delphi on two counts of murder is sure a major step in leading to the conclusion of this long term and complex investigation,” Carter said.

    “This investigation is far from complete,” the superintendent said. “And we will not jeopardize its integrity by releasing or discussing documents or information before the appropriate time.”

    “While I know you are all expecting final details today concerning this arrest, today is not that day,” he said.

    “We are going to continue a very methodical and committed approach to ensure that if any other person had any involvement in these murders in any way, that person or persons will be held accountable.”

    Allen pleaded not guilty during an initial hearing, Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Nick McLeland said at the news conference.

    Abby and Libby set out on a hike at the Delphi Historic Trails during a day off from school on February 13, 2017 – but never returned.

    A massive search began after the teens failed to meet Libby’s dad that afternoon for a ride home. Eighteen hours later, their bodies were found in the woods, close to an abandoned railroad bridge they’d been photographing during their hike.

    Abby posted a photo to Snapchat of the girls crossing the railroad bridge a short time before they were killed.

    But it was another image Libby captured that drew headlines across the country – a grainy, pixelated image of a man in a blue jacket and jeans on the bridge. Shortly after the killings, Indiana State Police released that image of the man they believed to be a suspect in the double homicide, CNN previously reported.

    State police also released an audio recording of the alleged killer saying the four words that continue to terrorize Delphi: “… guys … down the hill,” in the hopes the public might identify the suspect’s voice.

    In 2019, police released a new sketch and additional video from one of the girl’s cell phones.

    The killings devastated the Delphi community, which rallied to find the killer. Investigators received a dozen or more new tips every day, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said in 2019.

    Libby’s grandparents, Mike and Becky Patty, issued a passionate appeal for help in 2021.

    “Realizing life goes on, life is busy, people forget,” they said in a letter to the public. “Please understand, at one time that was us also. But not now, we are stuck in time looking for a monster that murdered two young girls. We are only asking for one minute out of your day. If it was your child or loved one, would you think that is too much to ask?”

    In December 2021, detectives with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police asked for the public’s help regarding the social media profile for “anthony_shots,” which was used from 2016 to 2017 on Snapchat, Instagram and possibly other social media sites, according to a state police news release.

    The catfish account “used images of a known male model and portrayed himself as being extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports cars,” the release said. “The creator of the fictitious profile used this information while communicating with juvenile females to solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them.”

    Investigators have identified the model pictured in the photos and said, “he is not a person of interest in the investigation.”

    Detectives, however, are seeking information about “the person who created the anthony_shots profile,” according to the news release.

    Last week, Cynthia Rossi, a friend of Abby and Liberty who grew up near them, told CNN that there was “a lot of hopefulness” that Monday’s announcement will provide closure to the case.

    “I’m glad that justice will be served, hopefully, that that’s what the news is, but a part of me will always have died with them that day, and a part of me will never fully find peace and justice,” Rossi said.

    Delphi resident Shirley Goyer said the town “is ready for the news” on Monday and many people will be present during the news conference in anticipation that police might have caught the person responsible for Abby’s and Liberty’s deaths.

    “There’s a lot of people that will be there. We’ve been waiting for this, so it’s a good thing that we’re finally getting to the end of it, I hope,” Goyer said.

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  • Unconfirmed Liz Truss phone hack report prompts calls for investigation | CNN

    Unconfirmed Liz Truss phone hack report prompts calls for investigation | CNN

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    The UK government is facing calls to investigate after an unconfirmed media report claimed former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ phone was hacked while she was foreign secretary.

    The UK’s Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that private messages between Truss and international foreign ministers, including messages about the war in Ukraine, as well as messages with former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng fell “into foreign hands.”

    The paper claimed that the hack was discovered during the Conservative Party leadership campaign over the summer, which ultimately saw Truss named prime minister.

    The paper also claimed that “agents suspected of working for the Kremlin” were behind the hack, citing unnamed sources.

    CNN cannot independently verify the Mail on Sunday claims, whether a hack occurred or who might have been behind it.

    CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

    A UK government spokesperson told CNN that the government “do not comment on individuals’ security arrangements,” but added it had “robust systems in place to protect against cyber threats.”

    Chair of the government’s Defense Select Committee, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, told Sky News on Sunday that Russia is “getting better and better at these cyber-attacks and hacking.”

    “We take the most stringent measures to make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said adding that “it is something for the intelligence and security committee to investigate further.”

    UK opposition parties have demanded an investigation into the reported claims.

    The Labour Party’s shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement the report raises, “immensely important national security issues… which will have been taken extremely seriously by our intelligence and security agencies.”

    The Liberal Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran also called for an “urgent independent investigation to uncover the truth” in a tweet Saturday.

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  • What we know and still don’t know about the attack on Paul Pelosi | CNN Politics

    What we know and still don’t know about the attack on Paul Pelosi | CNN Politics

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The man who is alleged to have attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in the couple’s San Francisco home on Friday is expected to be charged with multiple felonies Monday, according San Francisco law enforcement officials. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

    “We are coordinating closely with federal and local law enforcement partners on this investigation. We will bring forward multiple felony charges on Monday and expect [suspect David DePape] to be arraigned on Tuesday. DePape will be held accountable for his heinous crimes,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins tweeted Friday evening.

    Here’s a look at what we know – and still don’t know – about the attack:

    An intruder, identified by police as David DePape, 42, confronted the 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer early Friday morning, shouting, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” according to a law enforcement source. The assailant attempted to tie Pelosi up “until Nancy got home,” two sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

    Pelosi called 911 when he encountered the threatening man and left the line open so a dispatcher could hear his conversation with DePape, speaking surreptitiously but making it clear that he needed help, according to a law enforcement source.

    San Francisco police entered the home around 2:27 a.m. local time Friday (5:27 a.m. ET) to find Pelosi struggling over a hammer with a man, who has since been identified as DePape, according to the city’s police chief. Officers saw DePape “violently assault” Pelosi with the hammer before they tackled him to the ground and arrested him.

    “It is really thanks to Mr. Pelosi having the ability to make that call, and truly the attention and the instincts of that dispatcher to realize that something was wrong in that situation and to make the police call a priority so they got there within two minutes to respond to this situation,” Jenkins told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday.

    Police said the DePape entered through a back door and it wasn’t clear if he circumvented any security measures.

    Pelosi was taken to a hospital after the attack and underwent a “successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement early Friday evening. He is expected to make a full recovery.

    Authorities said Friday that the suspect is in the hospital for minor injuries. DePape was not known to US Capitol Police and was not in any federal databases tracking threats, according to three sources who were briefed on the investigation. But he had posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

    US Capitol Police said in a statement Friday that it is assisting the FBI and the San Francisco Police “with a joint investigation” into the break-in.

    Law enforcement officials have not provided a motive for the attack, but San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a news conference Friday that the attack was “intentional” and “not a random act.”

    “It’s wrong. Our elected officials are here to do the business of their cities, their counties, their states and this nation. Their families don’t sign up for this to be harmed and it is wrong,” Scott said.

    Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time of the attack but traveled to California on Friday to be with her husband. The security detail for lawmakers, including the speaker, does not protect their spouses when the members of Congress are not with them. Pelosi was able to speak to her husband following the attack and before he was taken into surgery, according to a source familiar with the matter.

    The attack sent shock waves through Washington and sparked an outpouring of condolences and condemnation from congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle. It has also underscored fears of political violence directed toward lawmakers in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, as well as other high-profile violent incidents that have targeted lawmakers in recent years.

    President Joe Biden described the attack on Paul Pelosi as “despicable” and directly tied the assault to growing strains of right-wing extremism.

    “This is despicable. There’s no place in America – there’s too much violence, political violence. Too much hatred. Too much vitriol,” Biden told a fundraising dinner Friday in Philadelphia.

    Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet Friday that he was “horrified and disgusted” by the reports while House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s office said he had reached out to the speaker, a fellow Californian.

    Vice President Kamala Harris said the assault was more evidence of “scary stuff” happening in politics around the country.

    At a campaign rally Saturday in Baltimore, Harris recalled a time in the US when it was “appreciated that it is the diversity of opinions that will lead us to progress, to smart decisions.”

    But now, she said, certain “so-called leaders” were using their positions to advance “preservation of their personal power” and to divide the country. They are “using the bully pulpit in a way that is propagating hate,” the vice president said.

    House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, speaking at the same rally, asked people to pray for Paul Pelosi and reflect on what led to the brutal attack.

    “I want you to think upon the environment that has been created in America by some who would bring us down, who would pit one another against one another, who would degrade our Constitution and our declaration and our proposition that ‘all men and women are created equal’” the Maryland Democrat said. “We say, ‘Those truths are self-evident,’ but they are not self-executing. It is up to us to make sure that America survives the hate and division that too many purvey in our country.”

    Authorities in San Francisco are appealing to the public to provide tips regarding the attack.

    “While an arrest has been made, this remains an open investigation,” the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.

    Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444.

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  • DOJ asks judge to force Trump White House lawyers to testify in Jan. 6 probe | CNN Politics

    DOJ asks judge to force Trump White House lawyers to testify in Jan. 6 probe | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to force the top two lawyers from Donald Trump’s White House counsel’s office to testify about their conversations with the former President, as it tries to break through the privilege firewall Trump has used to avoid scrutiny of his actions on January 6, 2021, according to three people familiar with the investigation.

    The move to compel additional testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin just last week is part of a set of secret court proceedings. Trump has been fighting to keep former advisers from testifying before a criminal grand jury about certain conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privileges to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.

    But the Justice Department successfully secured answers from top vice presidential advisers Greg Jacob and Marc Short over the past three weeks in significant court victories that could make it more likely the criminal investigation reaches further into Trump’s inner circle.

    Jacob’s testimony on October 6, which has not been previously reported, is the first identifiable time when the confidentiality Trump had tried to maintain around the West Wing after the 2020 election has been pierced in the criminal probe following a court battle. A week after Jacob spoke to the grand jury again, Short had his own grand jury appearance date, CNN reported.

    All four men previously declined to answer some questions about advice and interactions with Trump when they testified in recent months in the secret criminal probe. Trump lost the court battles related to Jacob and Short before the chief judge of the trial-level US District Court in Washington, DC, last month.

    Attorneys for the men whom the DOJ is seeking to compel have declined to comment for this story or haven’t responded to requests. Cipollone and Philbin didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Justice Department also declined to comment.

    All four men have been willing to be as cooperative as the law demands, leaving Trump’s team to handle the fight over certain details in the investigation, the sources say.

    The litigation around Cipollone and Philbin’s testimony may be important for investigators in the long run, given how close the pair was to the Trump leading up to and during the Capitol riot. Prosecutors are likely to aim for the grand jury to hear about their direct conversations with the then-President.

    The disputes – conducted under seal in court because they involve grand jury activity – may also spawn several more court fights that will be crucial for prosecutors as they work to bring criminal charges related to Trump’s post-election efforts.

    Witnesses the federal grand jury has subpoenaed, such as former White House officials Mark Meadows, Eric Herschmann, Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller and campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, also could decline to describe their conversations with Trump or advice being given to him after the election, several sources familiar with the investigation say.

    Trump and his allies have used claims of confidentiality – both executive privilege and attorney-client privilege – with mixed results in multiple legal quagmires that surround the former President. Those include the January 6 federal criminal investigation, the Mar-a-Lago documents federal criminal investigation, Georgia’s Fulton County investigation of election meddling, and the House select committee probe of January 6 as well. Some of the privilege arguments Trump has raised have never been settled in federal court, and some of the fights could lead to the Supreme Court.

    Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich slammed the “weaponized” Justice Department in a statement and referred to the probes surrounding the former President as “witch hunts.”

    According to the sources, the Justice Department won a trial-level judge’s order at the end of September that said Jacob and Short must testify in response to certain questions over which Trump’s team had tried to claim presidential and attorney-client confidentiality.

    The sealed court case, stemming from the grand jury’s work, had been before the chief judge of the DC District Court, Beryl Howell. Howell refused to put on hold Jacob and Short’s testimony while Trump’s team appealed, a source said.

    The Trump team, meanwhile, took several days to respond to their loss before Howell in court. The Justice Department set a quick-turnaround subpoena date for Jacob, leaving him to head into the grand jury under subpoena on October 6, according to several sources.

    The DC Circuit Court of Appeals is still considering legal arguments from Trump’s defense lawyers and the Justice Department over his ability to make executive and attorney-client privilege claims.

    How that is resolved – either by the appeals court or even the Supreme Court, if Trump pursues it that far – could have significant consequences for the January 6 criminal investigation, and for multiple witnesses who may be refusing to share some of what they know because of Trump’s privilege claims.

    Among a large group of former top Trump officials, Jacob has been one of the most searing voices condemning the then-President’s actions after the election, especially regarding the pressure he and his election attorney, John Eastman, tried to place on then-Vice President Mike Pence to block the congressional certification of the presidential vote.

    Jacob has been a harsh critic of Eastman, who is also of interest to prosecutors, dating back to when Eastman tried to convince Pence’s office the vice president alone could override the vote. He told Eastman at the time the right-wing attorney was a “serpent in the ear” of the President, and wrote while Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, “thanks to your bulls**t, we are now under siege.”

    Jacob added to a parade of star witnesses at public House select committee hearings this summer, speaking candidly about his disgust with what he witnessed inside the White House complex from his high-ranking position administration.

    “There is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person would choose the American President, and then unbroken historical practice for 230 years, that the vice president did not have such an authority,” Jacob testified in July.

    But what Jacob and Short knew of Trump’s conversations, they wouldn’t disclose to the House nor to the grand jury until this month.

    In a taped House select committee deposition, Cipollone answered many questions about what happened inside the West Wing on January 6 but declined to describe communications between him and Trump.

    Cipollone’s and Philbin’s roles as White House lawyers raise complicated legal questions about whether Trump can claim confidentiality over the legal advice they gave him, as well as whether a former president can assert executive privilege to hold off criminal investigators.

    President Joe Biden has repeatedly declined to assert executive privilege around January 6 information, essentially leaving the fight for Trump to wage opposite the Justice Department.

    While the courts will look at each situation individually, history isn’t on Trump’s side. Federal prosecutors investigating former Presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon were able to overcome attorney-client privilege assertions for White House counsel as well as executive privilege assertions so the grand jury could hear closely guarded information.

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  • Plane crash into multi-family home in New Hampshire kills 2 people on board, officials say | CNN

    Plane crash into multi-family home in New Hampshire kills 2 people on board, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A single-engine airplane crashed into a home Friday evening near an airport in New Hampshire, killing both people on board, officials said.

    Although parts of the multifamily home where eight people lived erupted in flames following the crash, no fatalities were reported on the ground.

    “There were no injuries at the multifamily building. Unfortunately, those on the plane have perished,” Keene officials said, describing the crash as an accident and saying emergency personnel was responding to the scene.

    The men who died were identified as Lawrence Marchiony, 41, of Baldwinville, Massachusetts, and Marvin David Dezendorf, 60, of Townshend, Vermont, according to the Keene Police Department.

    The Beechcraft Sierra aircraft crashed north of Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport just before 7 p.m. Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN.

    “Last night at 6:48 p.m., the call came into 911, so our first responders responded to the call. It was a plane crash, a small plane that hit a multifamily building and started a subsequent fire that was declared out at 8:47 p.m.,” Mayor George Hansel said during a Saturday news conference.

    “The crash occurred right after departure from the Dillant-Hopkins Airport shortly after departure,” Hansel added.

    The mayor said the eight people who resided in the home were displaced and the Red Cross is helping to relocate them.

    The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The transportation safety board will oversee the investigation and release updates.

    “This incident is still under investigation, further information regarding the accident will be made public when it is released by the NTSB,” the City of Keene said in a news release posted to Facebook Monday.

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  • EXCLUSIVE: Trump considers allowing federal investigators to search Mar-a-Lago again | CNN Politics

    EXCLUSIVE: Trump considers allowing federal investigators to search Mar-a-Lago again | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Donald Trump’s legal team is weighing whether to allow federal agents to return to the former President’s Florida residence, and potentially conduct a supervised search, to satisfy the Justice Department’s demands that all sensitive government documents are returned, sources tell CNN.

    In private discussions with Trump’s team as well as court filings, the Justice Department has made clear that it believes Trump failed to comply with a May subpoena ordering the return of all documents marked as classified and that more government records remain missing.

    Some in Trump’s inner circle aren’t convinced there are any remaining government documents, after the FBI seized nearly 22,000 pages when they executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in August.

    The possibility of allowing federal officials to return to Trump’s property – likely with Trump’s own lawyers present – is just one option on the table as the Trump team grapples with how best to protect the former President from legal jeopardy. No firm decisions have been made while sources familiar with the situation say Trump’s legal team is continuing to weigh how accommodating or adversarial they should be toward the Justice Department.

    “It’s a risk to invite a DOJ lawyer to lunch let alone back to Mar-a-Lago,” said a person close to Trump.

    In the throes of multiple legal battles and hoping to alleviate some of the pressure he is facing, Trump has recently signaled to aides and allies that he is open to a less adversarial approach toward the Justice Department – one that might swiftly resolve the records issue after weeks of contentious court proceedings, according to people familiar with the situation.

    The approach comes even as Trump continues to indulge legal theories that the records he took with him at the end of his presidency are his personal property, an argument his team is making in court and that he first heard from conservative judicial activist Tom Fitton.

    “The general belief in Trump World is that this is much ado about nothing and the sooner we get past it the better,” said a person close to Trump, adding that the former President has told allies he “wants to move on.”

    Trump’s compliance with the grand jury subpoena potentially poses a distinct legal risk amid legal wrangling over whether the former President mishandled classified documents he retained after leaving the White House. In earlier court filings, prosecutors claimed that Trump’s team had not fully complied with a subpoena served in May and “efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

    At least some of the battle to secure their return has been playing out behind the scenes in a court proceeding that is under seal, according to people familiar with the situation. One potential resolution could involve the Justice Department asking a judge to issue an order compelling the Trump team to work with DOJ to arrange for another search.

    The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

    Sources close to Trump said that the former President has become more amenable to the cooperative approach being advocated by some of his more experienced lawyers, including former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise, who joined his legal team following the FBI search in August. Kise had faced headwinds from Trump and some of his more aggressive advisers.

    Trump has favored a more pugilistic approach, even accusing federal investigators at one point of planting evidence during their search at Mar-a-Lago – a claim he has never substantiated in court.

    As the midterm election draws closer and Trump grapples with his next political move, he and allies are eager for some relief from his web of legal troubles.

    “He is worn down,” one source close to the former President said. “Getting one thing off his plate” would help him move forward.

    A spokesperson for Trump declined to comment.

    Among the complicating factors has been Trump’s personal views on the document dispute. He initially claimed that his team had been fully cooperative with investigators and insisted on social media “ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS ASK,” for documents to be returned. Trump has since argued, on social media and in court filings, that the Mar-a-Lago documents are his property. “I want my documents back!” the former President said in early October.

    As recently as last Thursday, Trump complained to donors at a roundtable at Mar-a-Lago that federal investigators “got to see everything” when they searched his residence and were conducting a “complete sham” investigation, according to a person familiar with his comments.

    Trump has continued to complain to advisers and allies that he is being treated unfairly and different than past presidents, multiple sources said.

    Some Trump allies also worry that the legal jeopardy lawyers currently face could grow worse the longer the records issue drags on.

    Trump lawyer Christina Bobb had to hire her own lawyer after signing an attestation in June which declared that Trump’s team had conducted a “diligent search” to comply with the Justice Department’s subpoena and returned all documents with classified markings. Bobb, who was Trump’s custodian of records at the time, recently told federal investigators in a voluntary interview that the attestation had been drafted by another Trump lawyer, Evan Corcoran, for her to sign. A source with knowledge of the event said Bobb was rushed to Mar-a-Lago to sign the attestation, but she insisted on first adding a line that her knowledge was “based upon the information that has been provided” to her.

    Two months later, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, recovering thousands of additional government documents, including more than 100 with classified markings.

    Corcoran has insisted to colleagues that he does not believe he faces any legal risk and has not hired a lawyer, according to sources familiar with his situation.

    A third Trump lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, had his cellphone seized by the FBI last month and has testified in front of a Georgia grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

    In her conversation with federal investigators, Bobb also discussed Epshteyn, said a source briefed on the matter.

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  • Hong Kong protester allegedly beaten at Chinese consulate in UK | CNN

    Hong Kong protester allegedly beaten at Chinese consulate in UK | CNN

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Police in Manchester have launched an investigation after a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was allegedly beaten on the grounds of the Chinese consulate in the English city.

    A pro-democracy group called Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force had staged a protest outside the consulate in the northern city on Sunday, in opposition to the Chinese Communist Party Congress happening the same day in Beijing.

    Video of the incident shared widely on social media shows a confrontation breaking out on the sidewalk outside the consulate, with loud shouts heard as people rush towards the gated entrance. The video then appears to show one Hong Kong protester being dragged through the gate into the consulate grounds and beaten by a group of men.

    The video appears to show local police entering the grounds of the consulate to break up the violence.

    Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force alleges that Chinese consular staff were involved in the alleged beating, and that the protester was taken to hospital in stable condition.

    Greater Manchester Police said Monday they were investigating the incident, in which a man “suffered several physical injuries.”

    “We understand the shock and concern that this incident will have caused not just locally, but for those much further afield who may have connections with our communities here in Greater Manchester,” assistant chief constable Rob Potts said in a statement.

    “Shortly before 4 p.m. a small group of men came out of the building and a man was dragged into the Consulate grounds and assaulted. Due to our fears for the safety of the man, officers intervened and removed the victim from the Consulate grounds.”

    “The man – aged in his 30s – suffered several physical injuries and remained in hospital overnight for treatment. He is continuing to receive our support for his welfare.”

    The statemented added that currently “no arrests have been made” and that the investigation was ongoing.

    A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Liz Truss described the incident as “deeply concerning.”

    On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he was “not aware of the situation.”

    “Chinese Embassy and consulates in the UK have always abided by the laws of the countries where they are stationed,” he said in a regular news briefing. “We also hope that the British side, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, will facilitate the normal performance of the duties of the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the UK.”

    CNN approached the Chinese Embassy in London for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

    Video of the scuffle has been shared online by multiple UK lawmakers, who have called for an investigation into the alleged involvement of Chinese consular staff.

    “The UK Government must demand a full apology from the Chinese Ambassador to the UK and demand those responsible are sent home to China,” ruling Conservative Party lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith wrote on Twitter.

    Conservative Party member of Parliament Alicia Kearns also tweeted on Sunday that authorities “need to urgently investigate,” and that the Chinese Ambassador should be summoned. “If any official has beaten protesters, they must be expelled or prosecuted,” she wrote.

    Both lawmakers have previously been vocal critics of the Chinese Communist Party.

    Prominent Hong Kong activists have also spoken out. Nathan Law, a former lawmaker and pro-democracy figure who fled to the UK in 2020, tweeted: “If the consulate staff responsible are not held accountable, Hong Kongers would live in fear of being kidnapped and persecuted.” He urged the British government to “investigate and protect our community and people in the UK.”

    Britain is home to large numbers of Hong Kong citizens, many of whom left the territory following the introduction of a sweeping national security law in 2020 that critics say stripped the former British colony of its autonomy and precious civil freedoms, while cementing Beijing’s authoritarian rule.

    According to an online statement by organizers of Sunday’s protest, around 60 demonstrators had gathered outside the Manchester consulate to protest “the re-election of Xi Jinping.”

    The Chinese Communist Party Congress, a twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle and meeting of the party’s top officials, kicked off on Sunday. Chinese leader Xi, who came to power in 2012, is widely expected to break with convention and take on a third term, paving the way for lifelong rule.

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  • Arizona Attorney General’s office asks for federal investigation of conservative nonprofit True the Vote | CNN Politics

    Arizona Attorney General’s office asks for federal investigation of conservative nonprofit True the Vote | CNN Politics

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The Arizona Attorney General’s office has asked for a federal investigation related to potential violations of the Internal Revenue Code by the conservative nonprofit True the Vote, which claims to be trying to expose voter fraud.

    An investigator in Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office, Reginald Grigsby, said in a letter that the group has “raised considerable sums of money alleging they had evidence of widespread voter fraud” but has failed to provide any evidence to its office, despite publicly indicating they had shared the information with law enforcement agencies.

    “Given TTV’s status as a nonprofit organization, it would appear that further review of its financials may be warranted,” the letter, released on Friday, reads in a striking move for an office overseen by a Republican. Brnovich had sought to win over former President Donald Trump and his supporters in his unsuccessful bid for the nomination for Senate earlier this year.

    Grigsby detailed three meetings representatives from the attorney general’s office had with Catherine Engelbrecht, who founded the Texas-based nonprofit, and Gregg Phillips, who is a contracted partner.

    The meetings were spread out over a year – the first took place in June 2021 and the following two occurred in April and June of this year. Grigsby said prior to each meeting, Engelbrecht and Phillips said they would provide the attorney general’s office with information to support their claims of voter fraud but they never provided any so-called evidence.

    In a statement, True the Vote called the letter “false” and said it “smacks of retribution for the AG’s own decision to ignore suspicious voting activity.” The statement also countered that its hard drive of data is “available to any law enforcement agency which issues a lawful subpoena for the data” and said that it “has documentary records of correspondence with the State of Arizona and the FBI, detailing the evidence and its limitations.”

    In its letter, the attorney general’s office stated that it had requested the information by electronic and US mail and by leaving voicemails after the latest in-person meeting, but it did not indicate whether it had formally subpoenaed the data.

    An IRS spokesperson told CNN, “Due to privacy regulations, the IRS will not comment on the status of an individual or organization.”

    True the Vote and Engelbrecht have advanced claims of election-fraud for years. But the group recently gained new prominence through the film, “2000 Mules” produced by conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza. It claims “mules” were used to illegally collect and deliver ballots to drop boxes in key states in the 2020 election.

    True the Vote has said it purchased cellphone geo-tracking data to identify devices that went repeatedly near drop boxes and certain nonprofits ahead of the election to advance the argument that illegal ballot harvesting occurred in key swing states.

    Multiple fact-checkers have debunked those claims. And in testimony that aired during a hearing of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, former Attorney General William Barr called the film’s premise flawed.

    The film has been touted by Trump and some Trump-aligned candidates. Earlier this year, the former President hosted a screening of the film at Mar-a-Lago, his waterfront Florida resort and home.

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  • The fatal shooting of a 15-year-old by police in Mississippi is under state investigation, officials say | CNN

    The fatal shooting of a 15-year-old by police in Mississippi is under state investigation, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations has launched a probe regarding a police officer shooting and killing a teenager earlier this month in the city of Gulfport, police said, as attorneys for the teen’s family call for video footage of the incident to be released.

    Law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call on October 6 of multiple people in a vehicle brandishing firearms, Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper said at a news briefing this week. When police arrived and made contact with the vehicle, members of the group left the vehicle and attempted to flee, he said.

    An officer then fired at an armed suspect – identified by police as Jaheim McMillan – who pointed a weapon in their direction, Cooper said.

    McMillan, 15, was struck in the head and later died after being taken off life support, according to a news release from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is retained by McMillan’s family.

    The officer who fired and struck McMillan has been placed on non-enforcement duties, Gulfport Police spokesperson Sgt. Jason DuCré told CNN on Friday.

    The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations “is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Upon completing their investigation, agents will share their findings with the local Attorney General’s Office,” the state bureau said. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office declined to comment, citing the active investigation.

    Police have not publicly released any footage of the shooting. Crump called on officials to release all video “so that we can see with our own eyes what transpired on that tragic night,” he said.

    “This child had his whole life ahead of him, but bullets from those officers took all possibility of that away in an instant,” Crump said. “While much remains unknown about this case, we fully intend to put pressure on officials in Mississippi until this family gets the answers they need and deserve.”

    Police say McMillan did not comply with the officer’s verbal commands to stop running and drop his weapon. Instead, police alleged, McMillan turned his body and weapon toward the officer, prompting the officer to fire at McMillan.

    After being shot, McMillan was taken to a hospital before being airlifted to another medical center, police said.

    Gulfport police have turned over all evidence to the state bureau and are cooperating fully with the investigation, Cooper said. The police department is also conducting its own internal investigation to determine whether policies were violated.

    CNN has reached out to the Harrison County Coroner’s office for further information.

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  • Elon Musk is under federal investigation over his Twitter deal, Twitter claims | CNN Business

    Elon Musk is under federal investigation over his Twitter deal, Twitter claims | CNN Business

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    CNN Business
     — 

    Federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk in connection with his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the social media platform said in a court filing Thursday.

    It is not clear which agencies may be carrying out the probe, and Twitter did not identify what specific actions by Musk US officials may be investigating. Twitter’s filing merely said authorities are looking into Musk’s “conduct” linked to the deal.

    The company’s court filing elsewhere accused Musk’s legal team of failing to produce draft communications with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a slide presentation to the Federal Trade Commission as part of the two sides’ ongoing litigation over whether Musk can walk away from the deal.

    Musk first attempted to terminate the deal in July, alleging that Twitter violated their mutual purchase agreement by misrepresenting the number of spam and fake bot accounts on its platform. Twitter sued Musk to complete the acquisition, accusing the billionaire of using bots as a pretext to exit a deal that he developed buyer’s remorse over following a market decline.

    Last week, Musk proposed following through with his deal to buy the company at the originally agreed upon price of $54.20 per share. The judge overseeing the dispute later in the week ruled to pause the legal proceedings until Oct. 28 following a request from Musk.

    In response to Twitter’s Thursday filing, Alex Spiro, Musk’s attorney, said it was designed to distract from Twitter’s own legal problems, which arose after the company’s former head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, accused Twitter of long-ignored security vulnerabilities in a whistleblower disclosure.

    “Twitter’s executives are under federal investigation,” Spiro said in a statement to CNN. “This misdirection was sent by Twitter to try and uncover which of their assorted misconduct they are under investigation for.”

    The Federal Trade Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the terms of a 2011 consent order with Twitter that Zatko alleges the company violated, has not publicly disclosed an investigation. But its chair, Lina Khan, has told Congress in public testimony that if it’s determined Twitter executives were responsible for legal violations, the FTC “absolutely” would and “won’t hesitate” to hold those executives personally accountable.

    In a separate filing on Thursday, Twitter also maintained that it did not instruct Zatko to burn several notebooks as part of a separation agreement, as Musk’s team had claimed in a filing earlier this month. Instead, Twitter claimed, Zatko destroyed the notebooks of his own volition.

    “Twitter did not ask Zatko to torch his own documents, much less demand that he do so,” Twitter’s filing read. “Twitter had no knowledge of Zatko’s notebooks and no idea what information they contained.”

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  • First on CNN: Former White House aide cooperating with investigation of Trump effort to overturn election results | CNN Politics

    First on CNN: Former White House aide cooperating with investigation of Trump effort to overturn election results | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    An Atlanta-area prosecutor investigating Donald Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election has secured cooperation from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

    Hutchinson, whose cooperation has not previously been reported, became a prominent witness during a summer hearing for the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection.

    Ex-aide was told Trump became irate when stopped from going to Capitol

    The former top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows could offer Georgia prosecutors insights about what she witnessed in the West Wing, as well as steps her former boss took specifically when it came to Georgia.

    Prosecutors have called for Meadows to testify before the special grand jury, but they are still working to secure his testimony. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for late October.

    Meadows was among the participants on the January 2021 call between Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, and Meadows also made a surprise visit to a Cobb County location in December 2020, where officials were conducting an absentee ballot signature audit.

    Hutchinson has also been cooperating with the Justice Department, which also faces a pre-election quiet period, in its criminal investigation into efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

    An attorney for Hutchinson did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said the Georgia probe is shifting into a quieter mode to avoid any appearance of influencing the upcoming midterm election. Legal experts told CNN she could still use that time to have the special grand jury pore over information it has already obtained and work on the final report it will issue when its investigation is complete.

    CNN previously reported that Willis is aiming to swiftly wrap up her probe after the midterms and could begin issuing indictments as soon as December.

    A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office declined to comment.

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  • Prosecutors argue Graham should have to testify before grand jury in Georgia 2020 investigation | CNN Politics

    Prosecutors argue Graham should have to testify before grand jury in Georgia 2020 investigation | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Fulton County district attorney’s office is pushing back on Sen. Lindsey Graham’s ongoing efforts to quash a grand jury subpoena, saying his testimony is “essential” and could reveal more information about efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

    Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is asking the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals to put on hold a lower federal court order that Graham must testify to the grand jury, with the questions limited in scope.

    The litigation over the subpoena has been on-going for months, with Graham initially moving to quash the motion in July. Prosecutors say that, after three failed attempts to quash his subpoena, Graham is repeating the same arguments. They are asking for the matter to be remanded back to a Fulton County Superior Court, which oversees the grand jury investigation.

    “The Senator’s position, which would allow him to dictate when and where he will be immune from questioning or liability, renders him precisely the sort of unaccountable ‘super-citizen’ which the United States Supreme Court has taken care to avoid,” the Fulton County district attorney’s office said in the court filing with the 11th Circuit on Friday.

    Graham’s attorneys argue that the lower court ruling did not offer enough protection from being questioned about his role as a US senator.

    They say that his calls to Georgia officials after the election were legislative activity directly related to his committee responsibilities as the then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and that his actions should be protected by the US Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.

    Atlanta-based federal Judge Leigh Martin May, who denied Graham’s motion to quash his subpoena this summer, wrote in her decision that there were “considerable areas of inquiry” that were not legislative in nature that he should have to testify about.

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the investigation into 2020 election interference, wrote in previous court filings that she wants to question the senator about his phone calls to election officials.

    Willis is particularly interested in a call Graham made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger when – according to Raffensperger – Graham hinted that Raffensperger should discard some Georgia ballots during the state’s audit.

    Fulton County prosecutors on Friday said Graham’s claim that the call was intended to inform his vote on certifying the 2020 election amounts to “litigation-prompted hindsight” and “a product of lawyering, not legislating.”

    Graham has repeatedly denied accusations of applying any pressure to Georgia officials. Even if he were to lose this appeal, he signaled he would take the case to the Supreme Court.

    “I’ll go as far as I need to take it,” Graham told CNN last month. “I’m committed to standing up for the institution as I see it.”

    The 11th Circuit will rule on Graham’s emergency motion. The appeals court has set Tuesday as deadline for his legal team to file an opening brief on the merits of the appeal.

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  • Suspect in deaths of California family spent almost a decade in prison | CNN

    Suspect in deaths of California family spent almost a decade in prison | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Four kidnapped California family members – including a baby girl – were found dead in a farm area Wednesday, authorities said, two days after they were abducted from their business in a case where investigators have detained a suspect but not announced a motive.

    The bodies of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh were recovered by authorities Wednesday evening after a farmworker alerted them to remains in an orchard in central California’s Merced County, authorities said.

    The discovery, coming a day after a suspect in the case was detained, was announced by a visibly emotional sheriff who said the killings were “completely and totally senseless.”

    “There’s a special place in hell for this guy,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said Wednesday night, referring to the suspect.

    “A whole family (was) wiped out, and we still don’t know why,” Warnke said.

    The suspect, identified by the Merced Sheriff’s Office as 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado, remains in custody but has not been charged.

    Salgado is “suspected of involvement in the kidnapping and death of the four victims,” Alexandra Britton, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department, told CNN on Thursday.

    Salgado was previously in prison for nearly a decade after being convicted of attempted false imprisonment, first degree robbery and possession of a controlled substance, according to records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

    The family was kidnapped at gunpoint – an abduction recorded on surveillance video – from their trucking business Monday morning in Merced, a city between Modesto and Fresno in central California, authorities said. Investigators learned they were missing after a family vehicle was found abandoned and on fire that morning, authorities said.

    Police took the suspect into custody Tuesday after his family told law enforcement he admitted to being involved in the kidnapping, Britton said.

    “The circumstances around this, when we are able to release everything, should anger the hell out of you,” Warnke said.

    The suspect attempted suicide sometime before he was taken into custody, and he has been receiving medical attention, Warnke said.

    Warnke did not say how the family was slain. He said it appears they were killed where they were found, and killed before the sheriff’s department was notified Monday that the family was missing.

    Salgado is the main suspect in the killings, though investigators believe others may have been involved, according to Warnke, who did not elaborate on the extent of that involvement.

    “I fully believe that we will uncover and find out that there was more than just him involved,” Warnke said.

    He has been providing information to investigators, and officials are working with him to identify a motive, Warnke said.

    00:56
    – Source:
    kmph

    ‘Our worst fears were realized’: Sheriff makes announcement about missing family

    In the previous case, Salgado was sentenced to 11 years in January 2007. He was released on parole in June 2015, and his parole supervision ended in Jun 2018, the department told CNN in an email.

    CNN is working to identify Salgado’s legal representative for comment.

    Earlier Wednesday, authorities released surveillance footage of the kidnapping at the family’s Merced trucking business Monday morning.

    The video shows Jasdeep Singh arriving at the business’ parking lot at 8:30 a.m., followed by Amandeep Singh arriving nine minutes later.

    Shortly before 9 a.m., Jasdeep is seen encountering a man outside the business. The man carried a trash bag and pulled out what appeared to be a firearm, the video shows.

    Several minutes later, Jasdeep and Amandeep are seen with their hands tied behind their backs as they get into a truck. Shortly after, the truck leaves and returns six minutes later.

    Upon returning, the suspect enters the business and exits with a gun in hand as Jasleen Kaur holds 8-month-old Aroohi and walks in front of the suspect to the truck.

    Later Monday, a farmer found two of the victims’ cell phones on a road, authorities said. At one point, the farmer answered the phone and spoke with a relative of the victims.

    Before the bodies were found Wednesday evening, a family member had urged people to come forward with any information in the case.

    “This is a peace-loving family and running a small business in the Merced area,” pleaded Balvinder, a family member. “This is something that nobody is prepared for dealing with … we are just hoping and praying every moment.”

    Jasleen Kaur, left, and Jasdeep Singh, center, hold 8-month-old Aroohi. Amandeep Singh is seen on right. They family were found dead Wednesday in Merced County, California.

    On Tuesday morning, investigators learned that an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used at a bank in Atwater, California, which is about 9 miles northwest of Merced, the sheriff’s office said.

    It is unclear whether the man in custody is the person who used that card, Britton said.

    The suspect in custody was convicted in 2005 in a case involving armed robbery and false imprisonment and was paroled in 2015, Warnke said.

    In that previous case, the man acted alone and knew the victims, according to Warnke.

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  • Search continues for abducted California family as relatives appeal for public’s help in finding them | CNN

    Search continues for abducted California family as relatives appeal for public’s help in finding them | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The search for a family of four kidnapped in California continues Wednesday as relatives appealed for the public’s help.

    Authorities said they have a person of interest in custody and held a news conference in which they showed surveillance video of the family being forced into a truck by an armed man.

    The kidnapping of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh and the child’s uncle Amandeep Singh occurred on Monday in Merced, California.

    “Every store, gas stations, everybody who has cameras please check the cameras,” Sukhdeep Singh, a brother of one of the victims, told reporters Wednesday. “We need the public’s help right now. Please help us … so my family comes home safe.”

    Another relative, identified only as Balvinder, described the family as “peace loving” and said they own a small business and are longtime residents of the area.

    “We are devastated. We are shocked. We are dying every moment not finding any clues,” Balvinder said.

    Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said the man in custody was convicted in 2005 in a case involving armed robbery and false imprisonment. The man was paroled in 2015. Warnke said the man acted alone in the previous case, and knew the victims.

    Warnke said he believes at least one other person was involved in the kidnapping but “we don’t have any evidence to support that.”

    In the video shown at the news conference, Jasdeep and Amandeep Singh are seen arriving at the family trucking business nine minutes apart. Shortly before 9 a.m. Monday, Jasdeep encounters a man outside the business – who carried a trash bag and then pulled out what appeared to be a firearm.

    Jasdeep and Amandeep, hands tied behind their backs, are later seen being escorted by the gunman into the back of a truck, which leaves and returns six minutes later.

    The gunman then reenters the business and is seen taking Jasleen, who is carrying baby Aroohi, to the pickup.

    A farmer found two of the victims’ cell phones on a road Monday, authorities said. The farmer at one point answered the phone and spoke with a relative of the victims.

    The person of interest, who attempted to take his life, was sedated because he has been violent at the hospital.

    “We’ve got to get this person into a position where we can start asking questions and hopefully get some answers,” the sheriff said.

    “Right now, the big question and the first question that’s asked is, ‘Where’s the family?’” he added.

    No charges have been filed, according to the DA’s office. CNN is not naming the man in custody.

    According to the Merced County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began Monday at 11:39 a.m., when the California Highway Patrol responded to a 2020 Dodge Ram that was on fire and asked the Merced Police Department to help track down the vehicle’s owner.

    Roughly an hour later, at 12:35 p.m., Merced police officers arrived at the truck owner’s address and met with a family member there. Officers tried to contact the couple and the child’s uncle, but they were not able to reach them.

    Later Monday, at 1:04 p.m., officers with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office responded to a business on South Highway 59. “During the primary investigation, Detectives determined that the individuals were kidnapped,” the sheriff’s office stated Tuesday.

    The kidnapping involved a gun and restraints, according to Deputy Alexandra Britton, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

    In an initial statement about the case Monday, the sheriff’s office said it believed the family was taken “against their will” from a business in the 800 block of South Highway 59 in Merced, which sits between Modesto and Fresno in central California.

    “We have no motivation behind it. We just know they are gone,” Warnke said in a video message posted on Facebook.

    Warnke also said investigators collected evidence that indicates “the individuals involved in this destroyed evidence in an attempt to cover up their tracks.”

    On Tuesday, authorities took a 48-year-old man into custody as a person of interest in the case.

    Britton said the man’s family had contacted law enforcement and told them the man admitted being involved in the kidnapping. Law enforcement made contact with the man after the family’s call.

    As they investigate, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office continues to ask the public to contact its office at 209-385-7547 to share any information they may have regarding the case. The FBI and the California justice department are also investigating.

    Investigators learned Tuesday morning that an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used at a bank in Atwater, California, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Atwater is about nine miles northwest of Merced. Britton said it is unclear whether the 48-year-old in custody is the person who used that card.

    After that transaction, investigators were able to identify the 48-year-old man as a person of interest in the case and later took him into custody, officials said.

    The man tried to take his life before law enforcement involvement, and he was in critical condition Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office.

    Authorities were working to confirm the man in custody is the same suspect they released photos of Monday, Alexandra Britton, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told CNN.

    “Investigators obtained the surveillance photo of a subject making a bank transaction where the person is similar in appearance to the surveillance photo from the original kidnapping scene,” the sheriff’s office said.

    On Monday, officials described the suspect as a man with a shaved head and was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt. He was considered armed and dangerous, officials said.

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  • A big week for Trump’s delay delay delay legal strategy | CNN Politics

    A big week for Trump’s delay delay delay legal strategy | CNN Politics

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    A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.



    CNN
     — 

    While a lot of us have been diverted by weather events (Ian) and world events (Russia) there were multiple developments on multiple fronts where it concerns former President Donald Trump this week.

    Trump rode out the storm in Mar-a-Lago, which enabled him to delay testimony in a class action fraud lawsuit.

    The January 6 committee postponed its planned public hearing due to the storm, but it did interview Ginni Thomas, conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

    A judge Trump appointed in Florida shielded him from the special master he requested and she approved, which means he does not have to justify in court some of his wild claims about the FBI.

    I talked to Katelyn Polantz, CNN’s senior crime and justice reporter, who keeps track of all of this, to get read in on the developments. We conducted this conversation by direct message.

    WHAT MATTERS: What’s the thing this week that most caught your attention and why?

    POLANTZ: What all of these developments have in common is how timing really is everything.

    This week, there was a clear need to shift from the daily grind of investigations and legal battles to focus on the devastation of the hurricane in Florida. But things are really getting down to the wire on some political fronts.

    In the deposition situation, that lawsuit had a deadline of Friday to get Trump under oath, months after he had agreed to do the deposition. It was scheduled for the very last day it was possible, but the hurricane and his insistence on staying in Florida really threw a wrench in that. The new deadline for his deposition now is end of October, which further delays the work being done in that case, which is a class action against his promotions of scam businesses.

    The House too is not being helped by delay. The January 6 committee has an expiration date tied to the end of this Congress in January. As the congressional election draws near, there’s not much more time for public hearings before people vote. That said, the committee is obviously continuing its work and still promises to release a final report before the end of the year. It’s not clear if they will be able to muster the same political impact as their series of hearings over the summer.

    As for the Mar-a-Lago investigation – perhaps the most high-stakes legal situation Trump faces – Judge Aileen Cannon has given the Trump team an extra gift, in that prosecutors won’t be getting clarity on the issues Trump has with what was seized, or the ability to use the non-classified documents in their investigation until after the November election.

    The name of the game right now on every front for Trump is delay, delay, delay. Though there’s still a question of whether he can hold off all the investigations bearing down around him in a way that runs out the clock.

    WHAT MATTERS: You wrote an interesting story last week, along with Evan Perez and Zachary Cohen, about Trump’s “secret” court fight to block information from a federal grand jury. I feel like that is another theme of these inquiries. There is the publicly known information, the reported details, and then the secret things lurking below the water. What else can we assume we don’t know about?

    POLANTZ: There are always parts of investigations, or even entire investigative avenues, we don’t know about. That’s just the nature of how investigations, especially those being done by the Justice Department, work. We can’t assume much more than what we’ve reported, because this fight, like many others, didn’t bubble out of nowhere. It is another step in a painstaking effort from the federal grand jury in DC to gather information from top advisers to Trump in the White House and then-Vice President Mike Pence. We know it regards Trump’s assertions of privilege, and it could impact a very important set of witnesses, and whether they and others can be compelled to share interactions that have so far been kept secret from all investigations. We also know that, because of how Trump tends to push the courts into uncharted legal territory, we may be in for tracking rounds of appeals – even if the past precedent indicates that even sitting presidents lose these types of battles in criminal probes. But how the outcomes will settle, and when, remains a major question.

    WHAT MATTERS: The DOJ is not the only government entity with an investigation that could touch Trump. What’s going on with the Fulton County DA’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state?

    POLANTZ: That grand jury is still at work! They’re bringing in witnesses like Boris Epshteyn this week. Like most grand jury investigations, their work could result in charges against one or many people – several allies of Trump have received target letters. But where the investigation is exactly, and how it is functioning at the local level is a question that may be answered better by others than me.

    POLANTZ: There is an intriguing situation with all these simultaneous investigation I want to mention –

    WHAT MATTERS: Go on…

    POLANTZ: At the end of the day, will the Big Kahuna of January 6 investigations, the one being done by the Justice Department out of Washington, get answers no other investigators have been able to get? With so many investigations simultaneously, this is a very complex game.

    Take for instance, Jeffrey Clark, the ex-DOJ official whose phone was seized by federal investigators as part of their investigation into conspiracy and obstructive acts. He has not been charged with any crime.

    He is facing an attorney discipline case in DC that resulted from months of investigation and was pursued by the House Select Committee. In both of those situations, he took the Fifth and didn’t answer questions. Will the DOJ, which has tools to immunize witnesses and force them to answer questions, be able to get someone like him to talk? Will they even want to try to get him to talk? Lots of people close to Trump are taking the Fifth, based on what we know of their non-answers to the House Select Committee.

    WHAT MATTERS: That’s an interesting side drama – Trump’s legal team. There was a report this week about one of his newer lawyers, Chris Kise, being sidelined. What, if anything, do we know about the size of his legal team, how they are being paid, and how they are dividing up these many, many, many different cases?

    POLANTZ: Zach, you are asking the most complex questions today! From what we know, there are many attorneys working with Trump, and no central person coordinating all his efforts and keeping tabs on all investigative subjects who are close to and aligned with him. Payments to various lawyers have popped up consistently on Trump’s political committee expenditure reports.

    The lawyer who was sidelined – who was brought in to take charge in Florida with the Mar-a-Lago situation and was on track to have a $3 million retainer fee – wasn’t even on the Trump team’s latest filing in the public court record. There are three lawyers still listed. One of whom, Evan Corcoran, is on a separate team of three lawyers who went to court on the January 6 privilege fight, alongside yet another two attorneys. Others that we know of are in the background, including Ephsteyn. I’m not even getting to the various legal teams Trump uses to respond to his myriad ongoing civil suits. That would be a tome. Of course, it’s not unusual for a person with a lot of legal entanglements to need a lot of lawyers.

    That said, lawyers don’t come cheap! On top of all these attorneys, Trump is on the hook for special master costs in the Mar-a-Lago document review. The special master selected, a working judge, isn’t taking payment, but a retired judge he’s brought on to help him will be billing $500 an hour. And in the legal world, that’s a bargain.

    WHAT MATTERS: I think that’s a good place to leave it today. Keep up the good work!

    POLANTZ: You as well!

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  • The CSPOA is Calling Upon All Americans and Law Enforcement Nationwide to Come Together in Pursuit of the Truth Regarding the 2020 Election

    The CSPOA is Calling Upon All Americans and Law Enforcement Nationwide to Come Together in Pursuit of the Truth Regarding the 2020 Election

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    Press Release
    –

    May 24, 2022


    PHOENIX, May 24, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The following is an open letter from the Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association:

    The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is calling upon all Americans and law enforcement nationwide to come together in pursuit of the truth regarding the 2020 election.

    Considering the persistent allegations of election fraud since even before the 2020 elections began, and as a response to the perpetual polarizing effect this has had on the American people, the CSPOA would like to put this issue to rest. Our constitutional republic and peaceful future as a free people absolutely depend on it.

    In the opinion of the CSPOA, there is very compelling physical evidence presented by truethevote.org in the movie “2000 Mules” produced by Dinesh D’Souza. “Law Enforcement has to step in at this point,” asserts D’Souza, and we absolutely agree with him. Therefore, we are asking for all local law enforcement agencies to work together to pursue investigations to determine the veracity of the “2000 Mules” information.

    If D’Souza’s documentary is wrong, then we want that exposed. If it’s correct, then we want proper investigations fully undertaken and the criminals responsible prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    No one, from either side of the aisle, ought to be against honest, professional, and independent investigations. We ask for all Americans to demonstrate civility and cooperation as we pursue the truth.

    What we want is the truth; let the consequences fall where they may.

    Contacts: Sheriff Richard Mack, CSPOA Pres. (928 432 1879) Sam Bushman, VP of Operations (801-756-9133)

    Source: CSPOA

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  • Durham interviewed Hillary Clinton on alleged plan to tie Trump to Russia, found no ‘provable criminal offense’ | CNN Politics

    Durham interviewed Hillary Clinton on alleged plan to tie Trump to Russia, found no ‘provable criminal offense’ | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Special counsel John Durham’s report released Monday details his investigation of a purported effort by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign to tie Donald Trump to Russia but which Durham concludes “did not, all things considered, amount to a provable criminal offense.”

    Durham reveals in a footnote that he interviewed the former secretary of State in May 2022 as part of his investigation.

    The special counsel was looking into whether any crimes occurred in the handling of an uncorroborated piece of US intelligence indicating Russia knew of a Clinton campaign plan to vilify her opponent, Trump, by tying him to the country.

    The 2016 intelligence got the attention of then-CIA Director John Brennan, who briefed the Obama White House and referred the issue to the FBI. During the Trump administration, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe released some of Brennan’s notes about the intelligence used in his briefing of former President Barack Obama.

    Ratcliffe publicly said that the intelligence community never corroborated the Russian claims of a “Clinton Plan” to frame Trump, and didn’t know whether it was fabricated.

    In her interview with Durham’s investigators, Clinton expressed sympathy for Durham’s hunt. She calls it, “really sad,” adding, “I get it, you have to go down every rabbit hole.”

    Honig unsurprised by Durham findings because of this ‘revealing moment’

    But Durham believes the uncorroborated intelligence should have at least made the FBI question whether it was being used by a political opponent to pursue allegations against the Trump campaign, the report shows.

    Clinton called the intelligence that was consuming Durham’s time bogus, saying it “looked like Russian disinformation to me.”

    A spokesman for Clinton didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.

    Durham concludes that it would be impossible to prosecute anyone for their handling of the intelligence. He said it “amounted to a significant intelligence failure,” but not a crime.

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  • Biden to allow US to share evidence of Russian war crimes with International Criminal Court | CNN Politics

    Biden to allow US to share evidence of Russian war crimes with International Criminal Court | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    President Joe Biden has decided to allow the US to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, two US officials and a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

    The decision comes after months of internal debate and marks a historic shift, as it would be the first time the US has agreed to share evidence with the court as part of a criminal probe into a country that is not a member of the ICC. Neither the US nor Russia are members of the court.

    “It could be deeply consequential,” one of the sources said, adding that the US government now has “a clear green light” to share information and evidence with the ICC.

    What information the US shares will ultimately depend on what the ICC prosecutor requests for the investigations, the source explained.

    A National Security Council spokesperson would not comment directly on the decision, but said in a statement that Biden “has been clear: there needs to be accountability for the perpetrators and enablers of war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.”

    “We have been clear that we support a range of international mechanisms to identify and hold accountable those responsible, including through the Office of the Ukraine Prosecutor General, the Joint Investigative Team through Eurojust, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission, the Expert Missions established under the OSCE’s ‘Moscow Mechanism,’ and the International Criminal Court among others,” the spokesperson added.

    The New York Times first reported on Biden’s order.

    Over the course of the war, Biden administration officials have obtained evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, through intelligence gathering mechanisms among other channels, officials told CNN. But the administration debated for months internally over whether to share that evidence with the court, as officials grappled with the possibility that doing so could set a precedent that could one day be used against the United States, officials explained.

    The Pentagon was the most concerned about cooperating with the court, officials said, and worried that doing so might set a precedent for the ICC to investigate alleged war crimes carried out by Americans in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin raised his concerns with the president earlier this year, but told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer earlier this month that the Defense Department would cooperate with whatever policy decision was made by the president.

    The NSC spokesperson noted that the US has already “deployed teams of international investigators and prosecutors to assist Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General in documenting, preserving, and preparing war crimes cases for prosecution, and the Department of Justice has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate with Ukraine on investigations and prosecutions of war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

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