International
US seeks six months in jail for ex-Trump aide Bannon
AFP
The US Justice Department asked a judge Monday to sentence Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon to six months in prison for refusing to testify in Congress’s probe of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Bannon, a longtime political strategist and vocal advocate for the Republican former president, was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify.
The Justice Department said in a sentencing recommendation that the 68-year-old Bannon should receive the six-month sentence and pay a fine of $200,000 because he repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings by hinting he might cooperate.
Bannon “has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt,” the department said.
The investigation by a special House committee depicted Bannon last week as knowing in advance of the plan by hardline Trump supporters to attack the Capitol to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from being confirmed as the next president.
It also showed him advocating for Congress to block Biden — who defeated Trump in the November 2020 election — from becoming president.
“The rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building — they assaulted the rule of law upon which this country was built and through which it endures,” the department said.
“By flouting the Select Committee’s subpoena and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault.”
The maximum sentence for contempt of Congress is 12 months, and a $100,000 fine.
The department’s recommendation of six months in prison is at the top end of the standard sentencing guidelines, a calculation based on the context of the crime and the defendant’s own justice record.
Sentencing is set for October 21.
But Bannon, who currently runs a streaming political commentary website, “Bannon’s War Room,” could appeal the sentence, delaying its implementation well into next year.
International
Random attack in NYC Subway: Man pushed onto tracks and struck by train
A man is in critical condition after being pushed onto the tracks and run over by a moving train at a subway station in New York City on Tuesday, according to the city’s police, who are treating the incident as a random attack.
The attack occurred around 1:30 p.m. local time at the 18th Street station on the 1 line, allegedly as the train was entering the Manhattan station. At that moment, a man wearing a hood and face mask, who had been captured on station cameras moments earlier, pushed another man who was standing on the platform and apparently did not know him.
International
Trinidad and Tobago Declares State of Emergency Amid Surge in Criminal Activity
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago announced on Monday that the country has been declared in a state of emergency due to the increase in criminal activity.
The declaration was made by President Christine Kangaloo on the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, in response to the escalation of criminal activity that poses a serious threat to public safety, in accordance with the country’s Constitution.
The country has recently witnessed a rise in gang-related violence. In one incident, five people were killed in an attack in Laventille, a suburb of the capital city, Port of Spain, local media reported.
International
Azerbaijan claims Russian air defense hit plane before crash, investigation promised
Azerbaijan stated on Monday that Russia promised to identify and punish those responsible for the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which Baku claims was hit by Russian air defense systems before crashing in Kazakhstan on December 25.
Azerbaijan’s Attorney General, Kamran Aliev, said in a statement that the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrikin, informed him that “intensive measures were taken to identify the culprits and hold them criminally accountable.”
Russia also promised to “conduct a thorough, exhaustive, and objective investigation” into the incident, in addition to the investigations being carried out in Kazakhstan, where the plane crashed, the Azerbaijani prosecution added.
Random attack in NYC Subway: Man pushed onto tracks and struck by train
Trinidad and Tobago Declares State of Emergency Amid Surge in Criminal Activity
Azerbaijan claims Russian air defense hit plane before crash, investigation promised
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