International
Ex-Trump aide Bannon faces possible prison for contempt
| By AFP |
Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon faces possible prison time Friday, when a judge will set his sentence for refusing to testify in Congress’ 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 urged the court Monday to sentence the 68-year-old to six months in prison — the high end of sentencing guidelines but less than the maximum possible 12 months — and fine him $200,000, pointing out that Bannon had 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.
Bannon, who currently runs a streaming political commentary website, asked the court to sentence him to probation, saying he had rejected the congressional subpoena on the advice of his lawyers.
He also asked that the court place a stay on implementation of any sentence while his appeal of the original verdict goes ahead.
“Mr. Bannon respectfully asserts that a sentence of incarceration would violate his constitutional rights,” his submission said.
The investigation by a special House committee has depicted Bannon as knowing in advance of the plan by hardline Trump supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6 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 Justice Department told the court in its sentencing memo.
“By flouting the Select Committee’s subpoena and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault.”
Bannon was one of the masterminds behind Trump’s original presidential campaign and victory in 2016.
He served in the White House for the first seven months of Trump’s term as chief strategist, leaving reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers.
In 2020, Bannon was charged together with others with wire fraud and money laundering for taking millions of dollars for personal use that donors contributed to their scheme to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
While others were found guilty in the scheme, before leaving office in January 2021, Trump issued of blanket pardon for Bannon, leading to the dismissal of the charges against him.
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
International
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
The man who killed nine people, including five children, on Saturday night in Paramaribo died by suicide while in custody, Suriname police confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The suspect, identified by the initials D.A., 43, “hanged himself inside a holding cell at the Keizerstraat police station” in the capital, Paramaribo, according to the official report.
Police said the man sustained leg injuries during his arrest and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the detention facility on Sunday night. Authorities did not provide further details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
International
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Airlines canceled around 1,500 flights across the United States during the peak Christmas travel season after warnings of a severe winter storm and forecasts of heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Northeast. An additional 5,900 flights were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
More than 40 million Americans were under snowstorm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas. Meanwhile, another 30 million people faced flood or storm alerts in California, where an atmospheric river triggered intense rainfall.
New York City was bracing for up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow overnight, which would mark its heaviest snowfall in four years. Cold weather was expected to persist through the weekend in the nation’s largest city. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, airports in the New York area recorded about 850 flight cancellations.
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
-
Central America4 days agoGuatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
-
Central America4 days agoInternational leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
-
International2 days agoWinter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
-
International20 hours agoMan accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
-
International20 hours agoSix killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador