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VOL. 11,
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Trump arraigned in federal court, pleads not guilty
LA council president calls for suspension of Curren Price following criminal charges
By HeyWire AI
By City News Service
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Former president Donald Trump on Saturday, May 30, 2020. | Photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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he historic arrest and arraignment of former President Donald Trump took place in Miami on Tuesday afternoon, with little incident and only moderate fanfare. Trump, accompanied by his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta, arrived at the federal courthouse via motorcade around 2 p.m, where he pleaded not guilty to 37 felony counts related to the mishandling of national security information, concealing documents and obstruction of justice. Trump's legal team is expected to file pre-trial motions, such as to suppress evidence, that could delay the trial by months, or even a year. Federal prosecutors claim that after leaving office, Trump held onto incredibly sensitive, classified national security materials, including documents about nuclear programs and defense capa-
bilities, that he then stored in areas accessible to the public, including a bathroom and ballroom. He then, allegedly, defied a Justice Department subpoena by refusing to turn the documents back over to the government and hatching and executing a plan to hide documents from his lawyers and the government. Additionally, prosecutors claim that in two separate instances, Trump knowingly showed classified documents to people who did not have clearance to see such information. Despite the charges against him, Trump continues to be the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination and has vowed not to drop out of the race, even if convicted. If Trump becomes the Republican nominee and is elected as the president, he could theoretically pardon himself, though that move remains
legally dubious, or appoint a friendly attorney general to dismiss the case. Many Republicans – including a lot of Trump's GOP primary opponents – have rallied around him. Trump has already used the indictment as a fundraising pitch and is expecting to see a bump in the polls as supporters rally behind him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) criticized the Justice Department, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to take questions about the charges against his party’s frontrunner. Unlike Trump’s April arraignment on criminal charges in New York, there was no photographic or video record of the hearing or Trump’s movements inside the courthouse Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman presided over the
proceedings and declined media requests to allow photography and live audio transmission of the hearing. The judge also barred journalists from bringing cellphones and recorders into the courthouse. A mid-sized crowd of supporters, counterprotesters, and journalists gathered outside the courthouse without any major incidents or violence. The next few months promise to be tumultuous for the former president as an additional indictment is expected from Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, who has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Furthermore, special counsel Jack Smith and the Jan. 6 grand jury continue to investigate Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
os Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian introduced a motion Wednesday to suspend Councilman Curren Price, who has been charged with theft by embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest for allegedly voting on projects involving developers tied to his wife's consulting firm, then failing to report the connections. Motions were also introduced to have Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson fill Price's position of president pro tempore of the council, and to initiate a process for community input from Ninth District residents. For the time being, Krekorian said he will be appointing Councilman Bob Blumenfield as the assistant pro tem. The motion to suspend Price, pursuant to Section 211 of the City Charter, will proceed to the Rules Committee for hearing, then back to the full council for a final vote. A Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee meeting is scheduled a week from Friday, but Krekorian said the council might agree to a special session to discuss the motion sooner. At a news conference Wednesday morning at City Hall to explain the council's next steps, Krekorian acknowledged that the council has been rocked by a number of scandals in recent years which are "palpably felt by me, by the members of the council and certainly by the members of the public." But he also recognized the See Paul Krekorian Page 31
Curren Price. | Photo courtesy of Eric Garcetti/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
need to look at these cases as "things that stand on their own." Regarding the charges against Price, Krekorian noted that the council does not know whether they have merit. The judicial process will bear that out, he added. "The process will give the council adequate opportunity to consider all of the issues, including the nature of the charges that have been filed and the impacts of suspension of the people of the Ninth District," Krekorian said. If the council ultimately makes the decision to suspend Price, Krekorian said he would "immediately appoint a caretaker" to ensure that the work of the Ninth District office continues. Krekorian said the caretaker could be a temporary voting member. "That is obviously a deeply political process that the community will have to have significant weigh-in as to who that person might be to represent them as a temporary voting member," he added. Harris-Dawson introduced the motion to initiate