Legal troubles build up for Donald Trump without protection of presidency
India Today
Legal troubles have been building up for former US President Donald Trump as he faces a criminal investigation into whether classified records were mishandled during his presidency.
Stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed. Far-reaching fraud allegations by New York’s attorney general. It’s been a week of widening legal troubles for Donald Trump, laying bare the challenges piling up as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House.
The bravado that served him well in the political arena is less handy in a legal realm dominated by verifiable evidence, where judges this week have looked askance at his claims and where a fraud investigation that took root when Trump was still president burst into public view in an allegation-filled 222-page state lawsuit.
In politics, “you can say what you want and if people like it, it works. In a legal realm, it’s different,” said Chris Edelson, a presidential powers scholar and American University government professor. “It’s an arena where there are tangible consequences for missteps, misdeeds, false statements in a way that doesn’t apply in politics.”
That distinction between politics and law was evident in a single 30-hour period this week.
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Trump insisted on Fox News in an interview that aired Wednesday that the highly classified government records he had at Mar-a-Lago actually had been declassified, that a president has the power to declassify information “even by thinking about it.”
A day earlier, however, an independent arbiter his own lawyers had recommended appeared perplexed when the Trump team declined to present any information to support his claims that the documents had been declassified. The special master, Raymond Dearie, a veteran federal judge, said Trump’s team was trying to “have its cake and eat it” too, and that, absent information to back up the claims, he was inclined to regard the records the way the government does: Classified.
Yogesh Yadav, climbed nearly 40 feet up the tower on Tuesday morning and refused to come down for several hours. He was later taken into custody.
Snubs, sarcasm and shifting power play - Iran's choice of JD Vance over Trump's trusted aides reveals a deeper mistrust, raising questions over who really controls the path to ending the war.
The video, originally shared on Rakesh Kumar's Facebook profile, shows him dragging a snake-like object tied to a rope across a platform that triggered fear and confusion among passengers present at the station.
From shutting US bases to controlling a key global oil route, Iran's demands in response to Trump's proposal set a steep stage for talks, but hints of flexibility quietly emerge behind the scenes.
Shantanu Deshpande recorded the moment from inside the workplace, spotlighting Akash Sharma, a supply chain intern, who casually broke into a set of pull-ups in the middle of a regular workday.
Oil and gas refineries and hubs are up in flames not just in the Middle East, but also in Russia and the US. Crude oil prices have surged over $100 a barrel. With the energy infrastructure in the Middle East likely to take years to be rebuilt, the world could be set for the biggest oil disruption in history.
The US has sent a 15-point proposal to Iran aimed at ending the Middle East conflict, including strict restrictions on its nuclear programme, halting support for proxy groups and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump says the war is already "won", but then points to his own defence chief as the man who did not want peace. Behind the victory claim lies a growing split inside Washington's war room.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the United States was in contact with "the right people" in Iran and suggested that Tehran was eager to reach an agreement to halt hostilities. "We're in negotiations right now," he told reporters, without offering further details on the scope or format of the talks.
Casting doubt on the prospects of any immediate resolution, Jeffrey Sachs dismissed the idea of a near-term endgame.
Iran has issued a blunt warning to the US, threatening to sink US ships and paralyse the country if attacked. A senior official said any strike would trigger a "head for an eye" response, if US strikes on Iranian infrastructure.
The young aviator, Rishi, is seen confidently guiding the aircraft during a practice session at California's Oxnard Airport.