Janet Jackson is on tour, and she’s been featuring songs from other artists in mixes with her own. After recently incorporating Tinashe‘s new hit “Nasty” into her set, a recent show captured her dancing to a mix that included a song from Common.
“Shout to my brother @common. In chicago the other night had to flip ‘Go’ into @janetjackson Nasty!! #TogetherAgaintour2024 #JanetJackson #Common,” wrote Aktive, who’s been DJing for Janet on the road.
Common then reacted, writing, “Wow! It’s a honor to have my song incorporated into the great @JanetJackson show! A special thanks to my brother @djaktive for making it happen!
The video for GloRilla‘s “TGIF” has arrived just days after the single dropped.
Directed by Jerry Morka and Diesel, it sees Glo riding on an ATV, dancing on a tour bus and having a ball with her friends on the beach, where she also gets a manicure and pedicure. It’s now available to watch on YouTube.
“TGIF” was first previewed on social media and quickly went viral. Fans made TikToks to the lyrics, “It’s 7 pm Friday, it’s 95 degrees … I ain’t got no n**** and no n**** ain’t got me,” increasing demand for the song, which was finally released on Friday.
It’s also one of the songs performed during her set on Megan Thee Stallion‘s Hot Girl Summer Tour; the next stop is Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — A man is at large after committing a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman sunbathing in New York City’s Central Park, according to police.
The young woman was alone and sunbathing in the Great Hill section of the park when a man came toward her exposing himself around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference.
“She screams and gets up to run,” but “he tackles her from behind” and “tried to get on top of her,” Chell said.
The victim fought the man off and he fled, Chell said.
Officers scoured the park for witnesses on Monday afternoon, Chell said. Police said they’re checking for surveillance video.
The attack unfolded in “one of the most iconic locations in the world” for New Yorkers and visitors, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard said.
Police “are going to continue to be out here until we feel that this perpetrator is off the streets,” Sheppard said.
There’s no pattern of sexual assaults in Central Park, Chell noted.
The attacker is described as a Black man in his 30s with curly hair, police said. He has a medium build and is about 6 feet tall, police said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.
(NEW YORK) — A man is at large after committing a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman sunbathing in New York City’s Central Park, according to police.
The young woman was alone and sunbathing in the Great Hill section of the park when a man came toward her exposing himself around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference.
“She screams and gets up to run,” but “he tackles her from behind” and “tried to get on top of her,” Chell said.
The victim fought the man off and he fled, Chell said.
Officers scoured the park for witnesses on Monday afternoon, Chell said. Police said they’re checking for surveillance video.
The attack unfolded in “one of the most iconic locations in the world” for New Yorkers and visitors, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard said.
Police “are going to continue to be out here until we feel that this perpetrator is off the streets,” Sheppard said.
There’s no pattern of sexual assaults in Central Park, Chell noted.
The attacker is described as a Black man in his 30s with curly hair, police said. He has a medium build and is about 6 feet tall, police said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.
(WASHINGTON) — Three more states are holding congressional primaries on Tuesday.
Voters in Colorado, New York and Utah will cast ballots. The Beehive State will also vote in a gubernatorial primary.
Colorado
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
The last day to register to vote in the primary and receive a mail-in ballot was June 17. Absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday, June 25, 9 p.m. ET. Early voting was from June 17 to 24.
Republican and Democratic primaries for several races — including the U.S. House, state House, state Senate and state Board of Education — will take place Tuesday.
Rep. Lauren Boebert announced in December that she will switch congressional districts when she runs for reelection.
Boebert, a House hardliner who made a name for herself as a staunch advocate for gun owner rights, said she will be running in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District rather than the 3rd Congressional District, which she currently represents. The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary for District 3 will face Adam Frisch, the main Democratic challenger.
Republican Ken Buck previously represented the 4th Congressional District. Buck, who had already announced he would not be seeking reelection, left Congress in March. The district leans more Republican than the seat Boebert currently holds.
There is a special election Tuesday to replace Buck, and the winner will serve the remainder of his term; Boebert is not running in the special election.
New York
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Mail-in ballots should be postmarked no later than Tuesday, June 25. Primary voters can also drop their ballots at their respective county Board of Elections Office no later than 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday. They can also deliver them to a poll site on Tuesday no later than 9 p.m. Early voting was from June 15 to 23.
One of the most anticipated congressional races is in District 16, where Rep. Jamaal Bowman faces Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the Democratic primary. District 16 includes a portion of the Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County.
Utah
Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.
June 18 was the last day residents could request a mail-in ballot for the regular primary election, and Monday, June 24, was the last day ballots could be postmarked.
Incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox and state Rep. Phil Lyman are on the ballot in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Natalie Clawson are on the GOP primary ballot for lieutenant governor.
In Utah’s Senate GOP primary, voters will begin the process to elect a successor to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who announced in September 2023 that he would not seek reelection.
Romney — who once served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and earned the 2012 GOP nomination for president — has had a storied career as a conservative public official. However, as an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and Trump’s GOP, Romney has virtually lost his place in his party.
Trump supporters Brad Wilson, the former state House speaker, and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs are on the primary ticket. U.S. Rep. John Curtis is also on the ballot.
A police car is seen outside former U.S. President Donald Trump’s residence in Mar-A-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida on Aug. 8, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump privately expressed concerns that turning over potentially classified documents in his possession after a May 2022 subpoena could result in criminal charges while repeatedly engaging in what prosecutors have described as an effort to enlist his lawyers to lie and destroy documents for his benefit, according to transcripts of audio notes reviewed by ABC News.
Prosecutors allege that rather than comply with the subpoena, Trump opted to hide dozens of classified documents from his own lawyers, and federal agents eventually seized 102 classified documents — including 17 top secret documents — after they executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022.
The notes, which ABC News first reported on last year, are at the center of an ongoing legal battle in the former president’s federal classified documents case, where prosecutors have used the detailed notes about Trump’s behavior and statements as key evidence to demonstrate that the former president attempted to obstruct justice by hiding documents from investigators.
Aileen Cannon, the judge overseeing the case, is hearing arguments Tuesday on Trump’s effort to limit prosecutors’ use of the notes and to have the entire case dismissed based on the role of the notes in the government’s case.
Two months before agents searched Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s former lead attorney Evan Corcoran’s notes — which prosecutors have used to bolster their case against the former president — describe that Trump repeatedly blamed his legal troubles on his “political enemies,” was reluctant to allow the review of boxes that prosecutors say contained dozens of classified documents, and engaged in conduct that prosecutors believe was an effort to “corrupt” his attorneys by concealing Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents.
“He raised a question as to, if we gave them additional documents now, would they, would they, the Department of Justice, come back and say well, why did you withhold them and try to use that as a basis for criminal liability or to make him look bad in the press,” according to Corcoran’s notes about what Trump asked his attorneys in May 2022 after prosecutors subpoenaed the former president to turn over any classified documents in his possession, records reviewed by ABC News say.
“Well look isn’t it better if there are no documents?” Trump also asked his attorneys after raising concerns about prosecutors “opening up new fronts against him,” according to Corcoran’s notes.
A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News. A spokesperson with the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors alleged in a recent court filing that Trump attempted to “enlist [Corcoran] in the corrupt endeavor” by suggesting he falsely tell the FBI that Trump did not have classified documents or that he hide or destroy them rather than turn them over.
“Trump tried to enlist his attorney in his criminal endeavor, tested his attorney’s receptiveness, and then manipulated his attorney to achieve his criminal ends when the attorney did not accept his overtures,” prosecutors wrote in a recent filing.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to a 40-count indictment related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back. Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
Defense lawyers have repeatedly argued that the notes from Trump’s lawyer are protected by attorney-client privilege, but a federal judge in Washington, D.C. last year determined that notes could be used as evidence after prosecutors demonstrated that Trump deliberately misled his attorneys in furtherance of a crime, piercing attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers.
‘I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes’
Corcoran made multiple audio recordings to memorialize his interactions with the former president, including meeting with Trump on May 23, 2022 to discuss his response to a subpoena for any classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.
During an approximately one-and-a-half-hour meeting with both Trump and attorney Jennifer Little, Trump brought a box to their first meeting to demonstrate its contents, showing the attorneys his newspaper clippings, Post-it notes, and photos, and other materials.
“I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t, I don’t want you looking through my boxes,” Trump said, according to a portion of the notes included in the indictment against Trump. “Look I just don’t want anybody going through these things.”
Corcoran wrote that he attempted to focus on Trump’s response to the subpoena, though the former president frequently returned to the topic that he was being targeted by political opponents.
“He repeated many times that he felt he was really being targeted,” Corcoran noted.
“Look, you know, I have ten different actions against me. They are trying to get me. They’re going after me. These people are ruthless,” Trump remarked while boasting about his own administration. “I’ve done all these great things for the country. I improved the economy, I lowered taxes, I did this, I did that, built the wall.”
Corcoran recalled that he tried to steer the conversation back to the boxes and warned the former president about the legal consequences of not complying with the subpoena.
“Well what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” Trump asked, according to a portion of the notes included in the indictment.
“Well, there’s a prospect that they could go to a judge and get a search warrant and that they could arrive here and get a search warrant,” Corcoran responded.
According to Corcoran, Trump repeatedly asked during their meeting if it would be “better if we just told them we don’t have anything here.”
During an interview with Smith’s team, Little largely corroborated Corcoran’s recollection of the meeting, telling investigators that she “very clearly” warned Trump about the seriousness of the subpoena and told him “it’s going to be a crime” if he failed to comply but swore otherwise.
After speaking about the subpoena for more than an hour, Trump concluded the meeting to attend a series of interviews before reconvening with the attorneys in the afternoon. According to Corcoran, Trump suggested that the attorneys — who he noted were both single — “take a walk along the beach” and that “maybe … sparks will fly.”
But while waiting poolside at Mar-a-Lago for their next meeting with Trump, Corcoran said Little warned — based on her conversation with two other Trump attorneys — that if they pushed Trump to comply with the subpoena, “he’s just going to go ballistic,” Corcoran noted.
Little added that “there’s no way he’s going to agree to anything and that, that he was going to deny that there were any more boxes at all,” according to Corcoran’s notes.
‘Isn’t it better if there are no documents?’
Later in the afternoon on May 23, 2022, Corcoran and Little met with Trump in a small library at Mar-a-Lago, ditching their phones outside the room at the direction of the former president, according to Corcoran.
Sitting feet from Trump across a small table, Corcoran said Trump asked about the legal consequences for complying with the subpoena while cautioning that prosecutors “really wanted to get him anyway they could.”
Trump blamed the investigation on his “political enemies” who wanted to “weaken him and get him not to run” for president. Trump said he was “just trying to understand what the best way” was to respond to the investigations and claimed that prosecutors would “keep opening up new fronts against him.”
According to Corcoran’s notes, Trump expressed concerns that returning “additional documents” following the subpoena could become the “basis for criminal liability.
“He asked again, he said — Well look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?” Corcoran noted.
Corcoran added that during their meeting, Trump repeatedly recounted that a lawyer for Hillary Clinton “deleted all of her emails” so “she didn’t get into any trouble.”
“He was great, he did a great job,” Trump told the lawyers, according to the notes.
Prosecutors allege that during the meetings with his attorneys, Trump attempted to test Corcoran’s receptiveness to evading the subpoena, though the meeting concluded with the two setting a plan for Corcoran to return to Mar-a-Lago to search through the boxes for documents responsive to the subpoena.
“Look, so you’re — so if I’m hearing you right, what you want is to come back and have me or somebody go through and find some, get any classified documents if there are any. That, that, sounds like that’s the plan you want, is it?” Trump said, repeating the plan multiple times, according to the notes.
“We will figure this out. Go through the documents, if we’ve got any classified stuff, get it to DOJ,” Trump said, according to the notes.
Prosecutors allege that Corcoran’s rebuff to Trump’s suggestions resulted in the former president adopting a different plan — deceiving his attorney by having his “trusted body man” and co-defendant Walt Nauta move the boxes from the storage room in Mar-a-Lago to prevent Corcoran from conducting a complete search.
In the days between the May 23 meeting with Trump and Corcoran’s June 2 review of the boxes at Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors allege that Trump coordinated for Nauta to remove 64 boxes out of the storage room to Trump’s personal residence, where Trump planned to “pick from them,” according to text messages between Nauta and a Trump family member. By the time Corcoran returned to Mar-a-Lago to review the boxes, only about 30 of the 64 boxes moved by Nauta were returned for the search.
‘Don’t call me with any bad news’
Corcoran described the process of searching through the boxes in the cramped storage room during a humid June day as a “laborious” and unpleasant task, though Corcoran noted that contents of the boxes — “thousands” of Post-it notes, magazines, emails with senators and heads of state, books, notebooks, and briefing materials — offered a unique window into Trump’s state of mind as president.
“If Robert Caro or some other presidential biographer had been in my position, they would have been absolutely in heaven,” Corcoran said in his notes.
Corcoran also noted that the boxes included an odd variety of contents, including presidential memorabilia, Make America Great Again hats, gifts from foreign leaders, clothing — including underwear and socks — and toiletries like mouthwash, toothpaste, and razors. Some of the boxes were sealed with white duct tape and many included a typed note about the destination for the box, such as “W-H to M-A-L.”
According to Corcoran, Trump’s description of the boxes’ contents suggested they became “catch-all depositories for what he’d gone through day after day” when he reviewed materials in the White House residence.
“I had to read these things at night so that I could be ready, that’s the only time I could read something, and I had to read them so I could be ready for calls or meetings the next day,” Trump told Corcoran about how briefing memos, notes, and emails ended up in the boxes. “I just had boxes in the, in my bedroom, you know, a lot of boxes and I’d just, you know, read these things and then throw them in there.”
While Trump told Corcoran he instructed others to declassify any of the documents that entered his residence, the former president appeared to acknowledge in his conversation with Corcoran that simply bringing the documents into his residence did not result in declassifying the documents.
“I told people to declassify — anything that comes into the residence should be declassified. And I told people. I told lawyers that. I don’t know what was done, I don’t know how they were marked. But that was my position,” Trump said, according to Corcoran.
Corcoran’s search of the room ultimately resulted in a half-inch stack of classified documents, which he sealed in a redweld envelope using duct tape.
“Did you find anything?” Trump asked Corcoran after he concluded his search. “Is it bad? Good?”
According to Corcoran, Trump asked Corcoran about how he planned to store the documents, particularly “anything really bad in there.”
“He made a funny motion as though — well okay why don’t you take them with you to your hotel room and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out. And that was the motion that he made. He didn’t say that,” Corcoran noted.
The following day, Corcoran coordinated for Jay Bratt, then the deputy chief of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and FBI agents to visit Mar-a-Lago to take custody of the responsive documents.
Corcoran received a panicked call from Trump about the visit from federal officials on the morning of their visit, according to Corcoran’s notes.
“Oh that’s very bad. What, you know, what do they want? What are they trying to, why are they trying to get something on me again?” Trump said, according to the notes.
While Corcoran emphasized that the meeting was a routine step that he coordinated, Trump still expressed concern that “this is very bad” and was particularly interested in Bratt’s attendance at the meeting.
“Why is the top guy coming? It’s very unusual, very unusual, you know?” Trump remarked, though Corcoran noted that Trump’s tone about the meeting appeared to change over the day.
According to Corcoran, Trump personally encouraged showing Bratt and the FBI agents the storage room where the documents were stored, over the advice of Corcoran. According to prosecutors, despite Corcoran’s search resulting in return of 38 documents bearing classification markings, Trump still possessed 102 classified documents in Mar-a-Lago — in part due to his effort to hide documents from Corcoran when he attempted to comply with the subpoena — which would be discovered when federal agents returned to Mar-a-Lago two months later with a search warrant.
“I’ve got nothing to hide. I’ve got nothing to hide. If they ask. I want you to show them,” Trump told Corcoran in June.
Later that day, Trump walked into the meeting where Corcoran handed over the classified documents to federal officials, personally shaking the hands of Bratt and the FBI agents.
“I’m glad you’re here. I — I appreciate what you’re doing. If you need anything at all just ask Evan,” Trump said, according to Corcoran.
After Trump left the meeting, Corcoran escorted the federal officials to the storage room where Trump’s boxes were stored, allowing them to look at the room but not touch any of the boxes.
Later that day, Corcoran noted that he received a phone call from Trump, who was onboard his plane en route to New Jersey for the summer.
“Well we’re taking off. But look, Evan, don’t call me with any bad news, okay? Don’t call me with any bad news,” Trump said, according to the notes.
(NEW YORK) — A 32-year-old woman has been arrested after police found a dead woman in the backseat of her car that authorities say was not a result of the single-vehicle accident she had been involved in.
The Olmstead County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota responded to a single-vehicle accident at approximately 7 a.m. on Saturday morning on Interstate 90 going eastbound near the Highway 42 Exit in Olmstead county when police encountered Margot Lewis, a 32-year-old woman being tended to by a somebody passing by, according to a statement from the Olmstead County Sheriff’s Office released on Monday.
“The driver of the vehicle, identified as Margot Lewis, a 32-year-old female of an unknown residence, was out of the vehicle and being tended to by a passerby. In checking to see if anyone else was in the vehicle, a deceased individual, a 35-year-old female, was located in the back seat,” police said. “The condition of the deceased was suspicious, and it was immediately apparent that the death was not a result of the motor vehicle accident.”
Police were able to eventually identify the victim but said that the name of the deceased is currently being withheld until her next of kin has been notified.
“Ms. Lewis was transported by Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service (MCAS) to the hospital, where she was medically cleared. Ms. Lewis was then transported to the Adult Detention Center (ADC) and placed under arrest for Interference with a Dead Body,” authorities said.
Lewis is now expected to make an appearance in court on this case on sometime on Tuesday, according to the Olmstead County Sheriff’s Office.
Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Eyota Fire Department, and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service assisted with the initial call and authorities from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said that they extend “sincere condolences to the friends and family of the deceased.”
The investigation into the incident is currently ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.
(NEW YORK) — A 26-year-old woman has drowned after being swept over a waterfall and getting trapped under the gushing water for several minutes, officials said.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when authorities began receiving received multiple 911 calls routed through Glacier County dispatch at approximately 5:20 p.m. saying that an unnamed 26-year-old woman from Pennsylvania was swept over St. Mary’s Falls on the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana and fell approximately 35 feet into the water below, according to a statement from the National Park Service (NPS) released on Monday.
“According to witnesses, the woman was washed over the falls and trapped under water for several minutes,” NPS said. “Bystanders pulled her from the water below the falls and administered CPR until emergency responders arrived. Park rangers and Babb ambulance personnel took over CPR upon arrival.”
Park rangers were on the scene at 5:45 p.m., approximately 25 minutes after the incident was first reported, NPS said.
An ALERT helicopter landed nearby shortly after for further support at about 6:20 pm and assisted with resuscitation efforts but the victim never regained consciousness.
“Resuscitation efforts were terminated at about 7 pm and ALERT personnel pronounced the woman deceased,” NPS said. “ALERT flew the body to the 1913 Ranger Station near St. Mary, MT where they were met by the Glacier County coroner at about 7:30 pm. The coroner is transporting the body to the medical examiner in Missoula, MT for an autopsy.”
The death is currently under investigation while additional details are still being gathered and the victim’s next of kin is currently being notified in advance of releasing the woman’s name.
“Park staff would like to thank Glacier County, ALERT, Babb Ambulance and US Border Patrol for their support, along with numerous bystanders for their immediate assistance,” NPS said. “The park extends their deepest condolences to family and friends of the woman and asks that the public respect their privacy.”
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — In two court rulings Monday night, federal judges in Kansas and Missouri halted key aspects of President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan repayment program.
The SAVE plan, a student loan repayment plan that ties how much someone pays each month to what their income is, has been in place for almost a year and is the jewel of Biden’s surviving student loan efforts — one that he has touted heavily in his re-election campaign.
The rulings Monday will stop the Biden administration from any further implementation of the program — in which eight million are enrolled — but allow people who are enrolled to keep using SAVE as is until the cases are fully litigated.
That means phase two of SAVE, which would’ve reduced monthly payments from 10% of a borrower’s discretionary income down to 5%, is on pause, as is any further cancellation of debt for people who took out smaller initial loan payments and have been paying for 10-plus years.
SAVE is similar to other income-driven repayment plans, which have been used for decades but are more generous because of lower monthly payments — people who make a minimum wage can pay as little as $0 a month — as well as a shorter path to debt relief.
Through SAVE so far, Biden has canceled $5.5 billion in debt for almost 414,000 borrowers.
The lawsuits were brought by Republican states who argued that the Biden administration lacked authority from Congress to enact the SAVE plan — the same states that fought to overturn Biden’s initial debt relief plan last year.
The Department of Education and the White House vowed to fight the rulings.
“We strongly disagree with the Kansas and Missouri District Court rulings, which block components of the SAVE Plan that help student loan borrowers have affordable monthly payments and stay out of default. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement late Monday night.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called out Republicans for depriving their constituents of lower student debt payments.
“It’s unfortunate that Republican elected officials and their allies have fought tooth and nail to prevent their constituents from accessing lower payments and a faster path to debt forgiveness — and that courts are now rejecting authority that the Department has applied repeatedly for decades to improve income-driven repayment plans,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — During a two-hour hearing Monday morning, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case pressed government attorneys to provide more information about the funding of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, at one point remarking that the funding presents a “separation of powers concern.”
The hearing, conducted by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, was a continuation of Friday’s hearing in which defense attorneys sought to have the documents case dismissed on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back. Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
Defense lawyer Emil Bove argued Monday that the funding of the special counsel’s office was unconstitutional because it relies on a “permanent indefinite appropriation” that is outside of the normal budget process.
“Is there any cap to the funding?” Judge Cannon asked.
“No, and I think that is part of the reason … to be very wary of who can access it and why,” Bove said. “There is no check on the scope of what’s going on here.”
As Bove hammered at the constitutionality of the special counsel’s office, Smith himself sat just feet away in the courtroom, occasionally jotting down notes during the argument. Smith did not attend Friday’s hearing.
While Cannon appeared skeptical of Bove’s argument at times — including accusing him of doing a “flip flop” on his position about the independence of the special counsel’s office — she pressed assistant special counsel James Pearce about the office’s budget.
“It is the full commitment of the DOJ that the special counsel has the funding to continue this prosecution,” Pearce said.
Pearce claimed that the change in funding source would result in “no effect or change whatsoever” to the case.
However, Bove argued that the Department of Justice funding the special counsel would result in a “very strong” response,” including congressional action and additional motions from defense counsel.
“It is difficult for me to imagine how that resolves the motion here,” Bove said. “I think there would be a very strong political response.”
Cannon appeared to backtrack on some of her comments during the hearing, remarking, “I am not indicating anything. I am just trying to cover the scope of what has been briefed here.”
Cannon heard arguments Monday afternoon about imposing a gag order on Trump to prohibit statements that endanger law enforcement. Previewing his argument at the end of the morning hearing, Bove described the proposed gag order as “truly extraordinary effort to gag [Trump’s] ability to speak at a debate and the campaign trail.”
