Trump loses bid to throw out Mar-a-Lago charges as hush money case faces delay: Live

A Florida man charged with interfering with police during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the U.S. Capitol is connected to a “network” of supporters who have helped other Capitol riot defendants avoid capture by the FBI, prosecutors said in a court filing this week.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Thomas Paul Osborne to be released from a Florida jail while he awaits trial on charges that he grabbed a police officer’s baton during a mob’s attack on the Capitol. Before the judge ruled, a Justice Department prosecutor argued that Osborne poses a risk of fleeing after his Feb. 22 arrest.

Osborne harbored a Jan. 6 defendant, Christopher Worrell, who disappeared last year after he was convicted of assaulting police with pepper spray during the Capitol riot, prosecutors said. They believe Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys extremist group, lived at Osborne’s home in Lakeland, Florida, for roughly six weeks while on the run.

Prosecutors also cited Osborne’s ties to the family of Jonathan Pollock and Olivia Pollock — a brother and sister from Lakeland who were declared fugitives after getting charged with Capitol riot-related crimes. Osborne traveled to Washington, D.C., with the Pollocks and their parents to attend then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6.

In January 2024, FBI agents arrested the Pollocks and a third fugitive, Joseph Hutchinson, at a ranch in Groveland, Florida. Jonathan Pollock had remained at large for over two years. Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson were on the run for approximately 10 months after tampering with their court-ordered GPS monitoring devices.

Despite his legal strategy in his criminal cases being to delay everything as long as possible, the former president said on Truth Social tonight:

The things that took place at the Manhattan D.A.’s office, in conjunction with people from the DOJ put in charge of “getting TRUMP,” are truly a sight to behold. They illegally withheld thousands of pages of documents. Then you have the really shady “Pomerantz” issue, and wow, people have never seen anything like this one. This will make Fani and her “lover” look like small potatoes!!!

Earlier, his campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, said:

President Trump and his counsel have been consistent and steadfast that this case has no basis in law or fact, and should be dismissed. Today, after conceding serious discovery violations by his office, the Manhattan DA agreed to an adjournment. We will continue to fight to end this Hoax, and all of the other Crooked Joe Biden-directed Witch Hunts, once and for all.

Here’s Ariana Baio’s report from earlier today:

Martha McHardy has the story:

Gustaf Kilander explains:

The former president joined his attorneys inside a federal courthouse in Florida for a hearing on two motions to dismiss the case, arguing that charges against him under the Espionage Age are unconstitutionally “vague” and that the Presidential Records Act protects him from prosecution.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon repeatedly appeared to cast doubt on the heart of Mr Trump’s arguments but did not immediately reach a decision after the hearing in Fort Pierce on Thursday.

The resolution of the defence’s question “depends too greatly on contested instructional questions about still-fluctuating definitions of statutory terms/phrases as charged, along with at least some disputed factual issues as raised in the motion,” she wrote.

Continue reading the full story…

Having promised a prompt ruling on Donald Trump’s motions to dismiss the federal classified documents case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith, Judge Aileen Cannon denied the first motion just over an hour after the hearing ended.

The judge denied the motion concerning “unconstitutional vagueness” over the laws on which the charges brought against the former president were based.

Mr Trump’s complaint concerned the statutory phrases “unauthorized possession,” “relating to the national defense,” and “entitled to receive” saying they are unconstitutionally vague as applied under the facts presented, in violation of due process and the rule of lenity.

“Although the motion raises various arguments warranting serious consideration, the Court ultimately determines, following lengthy oral argument, that resolution of the overall question presented depends too greatly on contested instructional questions about still-fluctuating definitions of statutory terms/phrases as charged, along with at least some disputed factual issues as raised in the Motion. For that reason, rather than prematurely decide now whether application of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e) in these circumstances yields unsalvageable vagueness despite the asserted judicial glosses, the Court elects to deny the Motion without prejudice, to be raised as appropriate in connection with jury-instruction briefing and/or other appropriate motions.”

Donald Trump is once again weighing in on the TikTok debate — by attacking Facebook.

TIKTOK IS LESS OF A DANGER TO THE USA THAN META (FACEBOOK!), WHICH IS A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. THEY SPENT $500,000,000 AGAINST ME AND OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY, “LOCKBOXES” AND ALL, AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO DO THAT. TIKTOK DIDN’T. LIKE CROOKED JOE BIDEN, FACEBOOK IS A GREAT THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, AND IT WILL ONLY GET BIGGER AND STRONGER IF TIKTOK IS TAKEN OUT. DO THEM BOTH? – AND RESTRICT THE MONEY ALLOWED TO BE SPENT ON POLITICS, AND LOCKBOXES, BY META/FACEBOOK!!!

President Trump and his counsel have been consistent and steadfast that this case has no basis in law or fact, and should be dismissed. Today, after conceding serious discovery violations by his office, the Manhattan DA agreed to an adjournment. We will continue to fight to end this Hoax, and all of the other Crooked Joe Biden-directed Witch Hunts, once and for all.

Steven Cheung Trump Campaign Communications Director