Live updates: Fani Willis disqualification probe enters final stage – The Independent

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Fulton County judge Scott McAfee says he will consider legal arguments and rule on disqualification of district attorney and prosecutor in next two weeks
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Trump lawyers accused of trying to ‘embarrass and harass’ Fani Willis
There were two key hearings in Donald Trump’s criminal cases on Friday, as Judge Aileen Cannon considered a trial date for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and closing arguments were heard concerning the disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The former president attended the Florida hearing at which Judge Cannon called the prosecution’s request for the trial to begin in July ‘unrealistic’ given the potential for preparation to overlap with the New York hush-money trial scheduled for six weeks from 25 March. She is yet to set a trial date.
It was clarified by special counsel Jack Smith’s team that, as charges have already been filed, they comply with Justice Department policy on investigative actions not coming 60 days before an election.
In Georgia, Judge Scott McAfee did not rule on Ms Willis’s continued involvement in the sprawling election interference case after each side presented their case, promising to post a decision on the docket in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, the former president’s plea for “presidential immunity” in his federal election interference case will now be heard by the conservative-leaning Supreme Court with oral arguments scheduled to take place on 22 April.
Andrew Feinberg reports on the duelling visits to the border:
The two men expected to go head-to-head in November’s election were making their pitch on one of the key issues on the same day
Mike Bedigan reports:
Donald Trump falsely claimed that “nobody speaks the languages” of migrants crossing the US’s southern border, in another wild and rambling campaign speech, in which he also echoed his previous remarks that were criticised as being similar to Nazi propaganda.
Both Mr Trump and President Joe Biden held duelling campaign trips to the southern border on Thursday in an attempt to seize the narrative around immigration.
The former president, speaking from Eagle Pass, Texas, wildly claimed that there were “millions of people from places unknown” coming into the US that “don’t speak languages”.
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The former president spoke from the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on the same day that President Joe Biden made a campaign stop in Brownsville
Donald Trump is well-known for a lot of things: his divisiveness, his career in real estate, The Apprentice, his lawsuits, for being the only president to be impeached twice. But perhaps nothing has infiltrated society more than Mr Trump’s unique linguistic style.
Whether he’s posting on Truth Social, speaking at a campaign rally, or testifying in court, Mr Trump never seems to be at a loss for words — and sometimes, he even makes up new ones.
From uttering gaffes to tweeting typos (like “covfefe”) to misreading words (like “Nambia”) to dismissing his opponent with a harsh nickname, his terminology quickly turns iconic.
Here, The Independent offers a dictionary guide to the Mr Trump’s most memorable phrases:
Trump’s gaffes, typos, and infamous phrases have become a staple of US politics. Kelly Rissman explains what (we think) his most iconic phrases mean
Eric Garcia and Gustaf Kilander report from Capitol Hill:
SenateRepublicans have a clear message for former president Donald Trump about the race to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: stay out of this.
After they got over the initial shock of McConnell’s announcement on Wednesday, the race to replace him – namely among the “Three Johns,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso and Senator John Cornyn of Texas – has begun at a quick pace. Friends of The Independent’sInside Washington newsletter Stef Kight and Stephen Neukam at Axios reported that Trump wants National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines of Montana to run for the job.
But Republicans expressed scepticism about Trump playing a role in replacing McConnell, his longtime nemesis.
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‘I don’t want a beauty contest,’ one Republican senator says
Illinois has become the latest state to weigh in on Donald Trump’s presidential primary ballot eligibility, with a judge ordering the former president to be removed due to his alleged involvement in the January 6 insurrection.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Tracie Porter of Cook County issued a ruling in a challenge to Mr Trump’s eligibility which was brought by four Illinois voters and the organisation Free Speech For People.
Much like the near-identical lawsuits brought in other states, the group of voters claimed Mr Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot due to his actions leading up to and on January 6 2021 – a violation of Section Three of the 14th Amendment known as the “insurrection clause”.
The judge agreed and said the former president should not appear on the ballot.
A spokesperson from Mr Trump’s campaign called the Illinois decision “unconstitutional” and accused the judge of having a Democratic political agenda.
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Former president appealed the Illinois decision hours later
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel skewered Donald Trump for his Texas speech which was filled with falsehoods and lies and his team’s hypocritical statement that the president was only at the border for political reasons.
As usual, the talk show host didn’t hold back:
‘Could someone please push him over that border and build his wall up real quick’
Eric Garcia writes:
Trump has largely stayed away from going into specifics on abortion because he considers it, as he said, “very polarising,” but also, it’s fairly clear it does not animate him the way immigration does. A former Democrat from New York, he is clearly not fluent in the language of evangelical conservatives who set aside their reservations about a thrice-married casino owner who does not go to church in hopes he would facilitate the death of Roe.
Read the full article…
The former president is winning the messaging war on immigration. But he’s giving Democrats a way to run against him
Kelly Rissman reports:
Rudy Giuliani, the former lawyer of Donald Trump and the former New York City mayor, has taken his Upper East Side apartment off the market — despite being bankrupt and facing a mountain of legal woes.
In August, Mr Giuliani listed his Manhattan apartment for a whopping $6.5m. By October, he later cut the price tag to $6.1m. In a bankruptcy court filing, he listed his Upper East Side property as being valued at $5.6m, slashing its value by nearly a million from the original listing. Now, it is nowhere to be found on Sotheby’s Realty.
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The property was once listed on Sotheby Realty’s website for $6.5m — but a bankruptcy court filing has since valued it at $5.6m
A federal appeals court in Washington has ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling issued Friday that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
While a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld Larry Brock’s conviction, the court said a judge wrongly applied an enhancement that lengthened the recommended prison sentence range under federal guidelines.
Continue reading…
A federal appeals court in Washington has ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
via REUTERS
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