Skip to main contentSkip to main content

    President Joe Biden signed an executive order aiming to bolster job opportunities for military and veteran spouses whose careers are often disrupted by their loved ones’ deployments. Biden used a visit to the recently renamed Fort Liberty in North Carolina to highlight the order. Less than 100 miles away at the state’s Republican Party convention on Friday evening,  GOP presidential contender, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, vowed to restore the former name of the base if voters elect him president. The president made no mention of renaming of the base that officially shed its former name Fort Bragg, which honored a Confederate general, last week.

      Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. That's according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning portrait of Trump's treatment of national security information. The first federal case against a former president cuts to the heart of any president’s responsibility to safeguard the government’s most valuable secrets. Prosecutors say the documents he stowed, refused to return and in some cases showed to visitors risked jeopardizing not only relations with foreign nations but also the safety of troops and confidential sources.

        A judge overseeing the case against a man charged with killing four University of Idaho students is considering whether to revoke or alter a gag order that largely bars attorneys and other parties in the case from speaking with news reporters. A coalition of more than 30 media organizations has challenged the order during a hearing Friday, saying it violates the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and a free press. A lawyer for one of the victim’s families has also made that argument in the case set to be heard Friday. But prosecutors and the defendant’s lawyers insist it’s needed to prevent prejudicial news coverage that could damage Bryan Kohberger's right to a fair trial.

        Donald Trump's indictment on federal charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate represents the most serious legal jeopardy so far for the former president. Trump faces 37 criminal counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to the indictment unsealed Friday. The charges include counts of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes. Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings. The top charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

        The Democratic leaders of both congressional chambers are urging supporters and detractors of former President Donald Trump alike to let the case against him peacefully run its course in court. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, released a statement Friday saying Trump’s indictment must “play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference.” That was a departure from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The California Republican suggested that the nation’s core legal values were being undermined.

        The historic federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump has been assigned to a judge he appointed who faced blistering criticism over her earlier pro-Trump handling of a search warrant in his case. A person familiar with the development confirmed Friday the case was assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, who issued a ruling last year granting Trump's request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida estate. Many legal experts saw her ruling as extraordinary and unusually broad, and it was later overturned on appeal. Cannon is a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020.

        Affiliate

        Last March, when Donald Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges, his reelection campaign saw a huge surge in donations. Even political rivals rushed to support him. There was no dent in his front-runner status after the state charges in New York. Now, news that Trump has been indicted again, this time on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents, may offer a repeat. The fact that someone under indictment — twice — could somehow still be considered a viable presidential candidate underscores Trump’s continued grip on the Republican Party, as well as the fundamental ways in which he has transformed American democratic norms.

        Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was indicted in a probe over his handling of classified documents, in a case that would make him the first US president to face federal criminal charges. But the matter is far from the only legal peril dogging Trump as he seeks a return to the White…