Court rejects Trump’s efforts to keep records from Jan. 6 committee
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
In a 68-page ruling, the three-judge panel tossed aside Trump’s various arguments for blocking through executive privilege records that the committee regards as vital to its investigation into the run-up to the deadly riot aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the court, said Congress had “uniquely vital interests” in studying the events of Jan. 6 and said President Joe Biden had made a “carefully reasoned” determination that the documents were in the public interest and that executive privilege should therefore not be invoked. Trump also failed to show any harm that would occur from the release of the sought-after records, Millett wrote.
“On the record before us, former President Trump has provided no basis for this court to override President Biden’s judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the Political Branches over these documents,” the opinion states.
It adds, “Both Branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the Committee’s inquiry into an attack on the Legislative Branch and its constitutional role in the peaceful transfer of power.
The appeals court ruled that the injunction that has prevented the National Archives from turning over the documents will expire in two weeks, or when the Supreme Court rules on an expected appeal from Trump, whichever is later. Lawyers for Trump can also ask the entire appeals court to review the case.
Child pornography: Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was taken into custody Thursday after a federal jury convicted him of downloading and possessing child pornography.
The jury in Fayetteville, Arkansas, found Duggar, 33, guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count when he’s sentenced.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks said sentencing will happen in about four months, Fayetteville TV station KNWA reported.
Duggar and his large Arkansas family starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until the network canceled the show in 2015 following revelations that he had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. Authorities began investigating the abuse in 2006, but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired. Myanmar troops: Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be children, tied them up and slaughtered them, according to a witness and other reports. An opposition leader said the civilians were burned alive, as repression of resistance to a de facto coup takes an increasingly brutal turn.
A video of the aftermath of Tuesday’s assault — apparently retaliation for an attack on a military convoy — showed the charred bodies of 11 people, lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut.
that adorn St. Peter’s square at the Vatican is seen during a media preview Thursday. The nativity scene from the Huancavelica region, in Peru, and the 113-year-old, 92-foot-tall tree, a gift from the city of Andalo in Trentino Alto Adige-South Tyrol region, northeastern Italy, will be lit during a ceremony Friday.
Outrage spread both inside and outside Myanmar as graphic images were shared on social media of the assault, which Human Rights Watch said was similar to other recent attacks — and looked like it was meant to be discovered.
Opposition spokesperson, Dr. Sasa, said the attack began after a military convoy — which was raiding villages in the country’s northwest — hit a roadside bomb. Troops retaliated first by shelling the village of Done Taw, then rounding up anyone they could capture there. Vaccine mandates: The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.
The vote was 52-48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take the measure up, which means the mandate would stand,
though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.
Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.
Iran nuclear talks: Negotiations between Iran and world powers aimed at salvaging a tattered 2015 nuclear deal resumed in Vienna on Thursday, with tensions high after Tehran made demands last week that European countries strongly criticized. The talks’ chairman said he detected “a renewed sense of purpose.”
Diplomats from Britain,
France and Germany had urged Tehran to come back with “realistic proposals” after the Iranian delegation made numerous demands last week that other parties to the accord deemed unacceptable. Last week’s talks were the first in over five months, a gap caused by a new hard-line government assuming power in Tehran.
European Union diplomat Enrique Mora, who chaired Thursday’s meeting of all the deal’s remaining signatories — Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — said afterward that he felt “a renewed sense of purpose on the need to work and to reach an agreement on bringing the (agreement) back to life.”
He said that it is becoming “more imperative” with time to reach an agreement quickly.
Wildfire arrests: A father and son were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of starting a massive California wildfire that destroyed many homes and forced tens
of thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe communities earlier this year, authorities said.
David Scott Smith, 66, and his son, Travis Shane Smith, 32, are accused of reckless arson in a warrant issued before formal charges are filed, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office said.
Mark Reichel, the attorney for both men, said they were arrested Wednesday afternoon and that reckless arson means starting a blaze by accident but “to such a degree that it was considered reckless.”
Authorities allege they caused homes to burn and people to be injured in the fire that began in August. The Caldor fire scorched over 346 square miles from east of Sacramento to the Nevada border, threatening ski resorts and other prominent recreational areas.
The fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes and other buildings while crossing a mostly remote forested area of seasonal cabins.