Connect with us

Florida

Motion after motion puts Trump Florida case in slow motion as 3-day hearing begins

Published

on

Motion after motion puts Trump Florida case in slow motion as 3-day hearing begins


FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump is hearing arguments Friday on a long-shot defense effort to get the indictment thrown out based on the claim that the prosecutor who brought the charges was illegally appointed.

The arguments over the legality of special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment kick off a three-day hearing that is set to continue next week and bring further delays to a criminal case that had been scheduled for trial last month but has been snarled by a pileup of unresolved legal disputes. The motion questioning Smith’s selection and funding by the Justice Department is one of multiple challenges to the indictment the defense has raised, so far unsuccessfully, in the year since the charges were brought.

Even as Smith’s team looks to press forward on a prosecution seen by many legal experts as the most straightforward and clear-cut of the four prosecutions against Trump, Friday’s arguments before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon won’t involve discussion of the allegations against the former president. They’ll center instead on decades-old regulations governing the appointment of Justice Department special counsels like Smith, reflecting the judge’s continued willingness to entertain defense arguments that prosecutors say are meritless, contributing to the indefinite cancelation of a trial date.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, had exasperated prosecutors even before the June 2023 indictment by granting a Trump request to have an independent arbiter review the classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago — an order that was overturned by a unanimous federal appeals panel.

Advertisement

Since then, she has been intensely scrutinized over her handling of the case, including for taking months to issue rulings and for scheduling hearings on legally specious claims — all of which have combined to make a trial before the November presidential election a virtual impossibility. She was rebuked in March by prosecutors after she asked both sides to formulate jury instructions and to respond to a premise of the case that Smith’s team called “fundamentally flawed.”

The New York Times, citing two anonymous sources, reported Thursday that two judges — including the chief federal judge in the southern district of Florida — urged Cannon to step aside from the case after she was assigned to it.

The hearing is unfolding just weeks after Trump was convicted in a separate state case in New York of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actor who has said she had sex with him. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to issue a landmark opinion on whether Trump is immune from prosecution for acts he took in office or he can be be prosecuted by Smith’s team on charges that he schemed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

At issue in Friday’s hearing is a Trump team claim that Smith was illegally appointed in November 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland because he was not first approved by Congress and because the special counsel office that he was assigned to lead was not also created by Congress.

Smith’s team has said Garland was fully empowered as the head of the Justice Department to make the appointment and to delegate prosecutorial decisions to him. Prosecutors also note that courts have upheld prior appointments of special counsels, including Robert Mueller by Trump’s Justice Department.

Advertisement

On the agenda for next week are arguments over a limited gag order that prosecutors have requested to bar Trump from comments they fear could endanger the safety of FBI agents and other law enforcement officials involved in the case.

The restrictions were sought after Trump falsely claimed the agents who searched his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents in August 2022 were prepared to kill him even though he was citing boilerplate language from standard FBI policy about use of force during the execution of search warrants. The FBI had intentionally selected a day for the search when it knew Trump and his family would be out of town.

Trump’s lawyers have said any speech restrictions would infringe on his free speech rights. Cannon initially rejected the request on technical grounds, saying prosecutors had not sufficiently conferred with defense lawyers before seeking the gag restrictions. But prosecutors subsequently renewed the request.

Another issue set to be discussed next week is a defense request to exclude from the case evidence seized by the FBI during the Mar-a-Lago search, and to dismiss the indictment because of evidence it includes that came from former members of Trump’s defense team.

Though attorney-client privilege protects defense lawyers from being forced to testify about their confidential conversations with clients, prosecutors can get around that shield if they can establish that the lawyer’s legal services are being used to further a crime.

Advertisement

That’s what happened last year in the classified documents investigation, with prosecutors in their indictment repeatedly citing details of conversations Trump had with M. Evan Corcoran, an attorney who represented the former president during the investigation and who was forced by a judge to appear before the grand jury investigating Trump .

____

Tucker reported from Washington.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Florida

Jesuit’s Will Griffin becomes 10th Florida high school QB to throw for 10K yards

Published

on

Jesuit’s Will Griffin becomes 10th Florida high school QB to throw for 10K yards


Jesuit High School senior quarterback Will Griffin always idolized Florida Gator football legend Tim Tebow.

“I look up to him,” Griffin said.

Advertisement

However, it’s Tebow that is now looking up at Griffin, at least when it comes to the high school football record books.

What they’re saying:

“He’s definitely the once in a career type of player,” Jesuit head coach Matt Thompson said. “You don’t really get it that much. Not as a quarterback. I have not had a quarterback be as special as Will.”

Advertisement

In the first game of the 2025 season, Griffin surpassed the 10,000 passing yards career milestone. He is just the 10th player in high school football history in the sunshine state to ever join that club, according to MaxPreps. Tebow finished his career at Nease High School with 9,765 passing yards.

“10,000 was amazing,” Griffin said. “It is really hard to do that. I’ve got to remind myself that I go out here and play for the team. I am not playing for myself or the stats that follows. If you can have a good team around you and a great defense to get you the ball, a great offense that can score, the stats will naturally come.”

Advertisement

The backstory:

It certainly helps he was able to play varsity football as a seventh and eighth grader under Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Mike Alstott at Northside Christian. Griffin makes it clear; however, he does not deserve all of the credit for hitting this mark.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the offensive line,” Griffin said. “If it wasn’t for the receivers catching my passes. If it wasn’t for the running backs running touchdowns to open up the pass. A lot of things go into it.”

Advertisement

READ: State Basketball Championships moving to Jacksonville after decades in Lakeland

A lot of things go into his success, but Jesuit head football coach Matt Thompson says Griffin has a lot of the traits to be successful. 

Advertisement

“He has all of the measurables,” Thompson said. “[He has] the size, the speed, the strength and the arm strength as a quarterback. His football IQ is outstanding. He understands the game. He understands the offense. He understands the defense. He’s a total package.”

The University of Florida was impressed with those abilities and offered him a scholarship. For the kid who grew up watching the Gators on fall Saturdays, it’s a dream come true.

Going to Gainesville

Advertisement

“It’s just home,” Griffin said. “It felt like the right place for me to be. Very excited. I want to get there. I want to help out. I want to contribute. I want to play really badly.”

However, at this moment, Griffin just wants to soak in his last few months as a high school football player. 

“I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can because I know it’s going to end soon,” Griffin said. “I want to make sure I take in every moment.”

Advertisement

That’s because Griffin wants to be remembered not for his stats but for who he is as a person. 

“I want people to remember me more as a leader rather than going to Florida,” Griffin said. “I want it to be more like, ‘He was a leader. He gave everything to the team. He never quit. He never gave up.’”

Advertisement

Griffin will enroll early at Florida. He was the first commit for Billy Napier in the 2026 recruiting class.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Mark Skol, Jr.

High School SportsSportsTampa
Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Florida

Thousands of Northeast Florida students, community members pour out support for Charlie Kirk at vigil

Published

on

Thousands of Northeast Florida students, community members pour out support for Charlie Kirk at vigil


ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Students and community members from across Northeast Florida gathered Sunday evening at Veterans Park to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed last week while speaking at Utah Valley University.

The vigil that brought out thousands was organized by student-led chapters of Turning Point USA, including groups from the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Creekside High School and St. Augustine High School.

Northeast Florida students memorialize Charlie Kirk at vigil (WJXT)

VIDEO | ‘He sparked a movement’: News4JAX political analyst discusses political impact of Kirk assassination

Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point, was known for his rallies, debates and outspoken presence on college campuses across the country.

Advertisement

“Somebody that inspired me, somebody who made me want to voice my own opinion and how I feel about things going around in the world and my beliefs,” Abigail Venuto said.

Gov. DeSantis condemns ‘increasing levels of political violence’ after Charlie Kirk shot at campus event in Utah

Students who talked with News4JAX said the event honored Kirk’s legacy.

“We honored his movement,” Jaden Duffey said.

Mourners lit candles and left flowers and handwritten messages at the vigil.

Advertisement
Northeast Florida students memorialize Charlie Kirk at vigil (WJXT)

Duffey, former president of Creekside High School’s Turning Point USA chapter, urged unity.

“We’re in the midst of a political escalation,” he said. “Everybody needs to de-escalate and we’re not alone. We’re unified as Americans and that’s the most important thing.”

Duffey said during his time with Creekside chapter he had the chance to meet Kirk several times over breakfast.

“Someone who has accumulated millions of followers it was just stunning,” Duffey said. “Then you realize that he’s a very humble person inside.”

Northeast Florida students memorialize Charlie Kirk at vigil (WJXT)

Duffey said he was in disbelief when he first heard the news of Kirk’s death. He said there were lots of calls and conversation leading up to Sunday’s vigil.

Advertisement

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged the vigil in a social media post earlier in the day, saying deputies would have a “large law enforcement presence” at the park and surrounding area as a precaution.

“We’ve got to calm down,” Duffey said. “We have to bring back the American way – the first amendment right, allowing people to just disagree with one another no matter how passionate it is but violence is never the option.”

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Florida

Where to watch South Florida-Miami college football game today free livestream

Published

on

Where to watch South Florida-Miami college football game today free livestream


The No. 18 South Florida Bulls play against the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes in a college football game today. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on The CW Network. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV.

The Bulls enter this matchup with a 2-0 record, and they have already defeated two ranked opponents this season. In their most recent game, the Bulls defeated Florida 18-16.

During the victory, Byrum Brown led the South Florida offense. He completed 23-36 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, so he will look to perform similarly this afternoon.

Notably, Brown led the team in rushing with 66 yards on the ground.

Advertisement

The Hurricanes also enter this matchup with a 2-0 record, and they are coming off a 45-3 win against Bethune-Cookman.

During the victory, Carson Beck led the Miami offense. He completed 22-24 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns, which highlights his arm talent.

Beck has thrown for four touchdowns and nearly 500 yards this season, so he will try to continue his offensive success today.

Fans can watch this college football game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending