7 h. ago US judge finds evidence of ‘government misconduct’ in federal case against Comey

Federal judge ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to former FBI director James Comey’s defense teamA US judge on Monday found evidence of “government misconduct” in how a prosecutor aligned with Donald Trump secured criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to Comey’s defense team.Last week, prosecutors were ordered to produce a trove of materials from the investigation, with the court saying it was concerned that the US justice department’s position on Comey had been to “indict first and investigate later”. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Major change to root out 'bad actors' in councils amid misbehaviour

Councillors and mayors who repeatedly break the rules or commit serious misconduct will face tougher sanctions under Government plans published today

Politics

9 d. ago ‘Huge victory’ in Portland as judge’s final order bars Trump from sending national guard

Karin Immergut said earlier she ‘found no credible evidence’ that protests in Oregon city were out of controlA federal judge in Oregon on Friday blocked Donald Trump from deploying national guard troops to Portland, ruling there was no evidence of widespread violence to justify federal intervention.The US district court judge, Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, delivered her final order in the case on Friday. She found that protests near Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility were “predominately peaceful, with only isolated and sporadic instances of relatively low-level violence”. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Judge orders prosecutors to turn over evidence in case against James Comey

Federal judge concerned that justice department sought to ‘indict first and investigate later’ in case of ex-FBI directorA federal judge on Wednesday ordered prosecutors in the criminal case of the former FBI director James Comey to produce a trove of materials from the investigation, saying he was concerned that the justice department’s position had been to “indict first and investigate later”.Magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick instructed prosecutors to produce by the end of the day on Thursday grand jury materials as well as other evidence that investigators seized during the investigation. The order followed arguments in which Comey’s attorneys said they were at a disadvantage because they had not been able to review materials that were gathered years ago. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Salmond’s estate seeks effective bankruptcy over costs of court action

The former first minister successfully took the Scottish Government to court and was acquitted of a raft of sexual misconduct charges.

Economics

2 w. ago Chimps are 'much smarter than we thought' and can make decisions just like humans

Boffins at the University of Portsmouth carried out a series of tests and found that chimpanzees can judge the quality of evidence when making decisions, just like people do

Politics

3 w. ago Northern Ireland veteran says 'a line has to be drawn' on Troubles prosecutions as paratrooper is cleared of two Bloody Sunday murders

Delivering his verdict, Judge Patrick Lynch KC said the evidence against Soldier F fell 'well short' and 'failed to meet the high standard of proof needed' to convict.

Events

4 w. ago Comey asks judge to dismiss criminal charges claiming selective prosecution

Ex-FBI director claims he is victim of selective prosecution and charges were filed by unlawfully appointed attorneyFormer FBI director James Comey formally asked a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges against him, arguing he was the victim of a selective prosecution and that the US attorney who filed the charges was unlawfully appointed.“The record as it currently exists shows a clear causal link between President Trump’s animus and the prosecution of Mr Comey,” Comey’s lawyers wrote in their request to dismiss the case, calling a 20 September Truth Social post in which he disparaged Comey and called for his prosecution “smoking gun evidence”. “President Trump’s repeated public statements and action leave no doubt as to the government’s genuine animus toward Mr Comey.” Comey’s lawyers attached an exhibit to their filing on Monday, which contains dozens of public statements from Trump criticizing Comey. Continue reading...

Events