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Trump unbowed after indictment for bid to steal 2020 election

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Donald Trump spun his latest indictments into a 2024 campaign pitch Wednesday, but faced withering criticism from his former vice president who accused him of relying on “crackpot lawyers” for advice.

The twice-impeached Republican has remained defiant despite accumulating legal woes — including the extraordinary 45-page indictment unsealed Tuesday, which argues that while still president he put the foundations of American democracy at risk by conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results.

A key figure in the indictment was then-vice president Mike Pence, who provided prosecutors “contemporaneous notes” that he took documenting the efforts to reverse the poll outcome.

Pence, who is likely to be a star witness in any eventual trial, offered unyielding criticism on Wednesday of Trump for pressuring him to thwart the will of the voters by refusing to certify Joe Biden’s election victory at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol that day called for Pence to be hanged over his refusal.

Anyone who asks someone else to put themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again,” Pence, who is also running for the Republican nomination, told reporters in Indianapolis.

“I had no right to overturn the election and… what the president maintained that day and frankly, has said over and over again over the last two and a half years, is completely false.”

“Sadly the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers who kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear,” Pence, whose refusal to do as Trump asked on January 6 forms a key part of the indictment, said.

Trump spent part of the morning playing golf at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club, according to CBS TV broadcast images.

He also vented online about the new indictments, the third time he has been criminally charged this year, keeping up his refrain that the election was rigged.

– ‘Speedy trial’ –

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the 77-year-old suggested the indictment was all the more reason for his supporters to circle the wagons and elect him next year.

“I have never had so much support on anything before,” Trump said in a five-sentence post written in all caps.

“This unprecedented indictment of a former (highly successful!) president, & the leading candidate, by far, in both the Republican Party and the 2024 general election, has awoken the world to the corruption, scandal & failure that has taken place in the United States for the past three years,” he added.

“America is a nation in decline, but we will make it great again, greater than ever before.”

The comments are the latest by the pugnacious ex-president insisting the charges against him are “fake,” and that President Joe Biden is actively seeking to derail the campaign of his political rival.

With speculation mounting about when the case could go to court after special counsel Jack Smith said he is seeking a “speedy trial,” a Trump attorney weighed in to warn that rushing the process would only confirm to observers that the indictment is “about pure politics.”

“The government has had three years to investigate this, and now they want to rush this to trial in the middle of a political season? What does that tell you?” Trump attorney John Lauro said on CNN.

“We deserve as much time as any American citizen to defend on these issues… and for the government to have three years to do it and then expect us to do it in three weeks or four weeks is just ridiculous.”

Trump already faces criminal prosecution over his handling of classified documents at his Florida estate after he left the White House, and over hush-money payments made to a pornographic actress in 2016.

Georgia prosecutors are also looking into whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election outcome in the southern state.

Despite his legal peril, Trump retains the loyalty of a large segment of his party. He holds a substantial lead in polls for the Republican nomination and is seen as widening the gap with his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

 

 

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Alleged KGB Infiltration: Police in Dilemma as Senator Natasha Abandons Petition, Snubs Summons

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The Nigeria Police Force appears to be in a quandary over its investigation into the alleged infiltration of the National Assembly by Russia’s KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), the former Soviet security agency.

Checks revealed that the police had invited the Senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, for interrogation following a petition filed by his colleague, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central.

In the petition dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently serving a six-month suspension from the Senate, urged the police to investigate Karimi’s claim that the KGB had infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

She specifically alleged that Senator Karimi had circulated a report titled “KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy” on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.

Describing the claim as a matter of national security, Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that the alarm raised by Karimi should not be taken lightly. “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body,” she emphasized in her petition.

Karimi Appears Before Police, Natasha Recoils

Further investigations revealed that Senator Karimi honored the police invitation on Monday, appearing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to clarify his position.

Sources within the police described his session as “positive and insightful,” revealing that he admitted to sharing the report in question. However, the police were reportedly taken aback when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan distanced herself from the petition and ignored requests to appear for questioning.

“We reached out to her after our session with Senator Karimi, expecting her to provide further clarification, but she has continuously ignored our invitation,” a senior police source disclosed.

“What is disturbing is how she suddenly abandoned such a serious petition against her colleague. First, she claimed to be outside the country, but a viral video has since surfaced showing her in her constituency. It is difficult to reconcile her claims with the information available to us,” the source added.

The police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, further hinted at possible political undertones behind the petition.

“We do not want to meddle in the ongoing power play within the Senate. However, it would be scandalous if she attempted to use the police as a tool in her political battles.”

When asked about the possible next steps, the source stated that his superiors would determine the fate of the petition, which he described as “frivolous.”

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Twelve Inmates Escape in Kotonkarfe Jailbreak

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Twelve inmates have escaped from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State, following an early morning jailbreak on Monday.

Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, described it as “unfortunate” and assured the public that the government, in collaboration with security agencies, was taking measures to prevent a recurrence.

According to Fanwo, law enforcement officers have already re-arrested one of the escapees.

“The theory that the inmates escaped through the tower without causing any structural damage raises serious concerns. This calls for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the escape, arrest the fleeing inmates, and identify possible saboteurs within the system,” he stated.

The commissioner further disclosed that Governor Usman Ododo has directed security agencies to ensure that such breaches do not happen again.

“We call on the public to report any suspicious individuals in their communities. Anyone found harbouring an escaped inmate will be held accountable,” Fanwo warned.

Reassuring residents, he added: “There is no cause for panic. We encourage citizens to go about their daily activities as normal, knowing that the security of lives and property remains our top priority.”

Authorities have yet to disclose further details about the escapees or ongoing efforts to apprehend them.

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Trump Ends Legal Status for Over 500,000 Immigrants, Orders Mass Expulsions

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The United States has announced the termination of legal status for over 500,000 immigrants, ordering them to leave the country within weeks, as President Donald Trump pushes forward with what he calls the largest deportation campaign in American history.

The sweeping directive, issued on Friday, affects approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived under a programme launched by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the affected immigrants will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. This means they must leave the United States by 24 April, unless they secure another immigration status permitting them to stay.

Welcome.US, an organisation that supports asylum seekers, has urged those impacted to “immediately” seek legal counsel regarding their options.

A Reversal of Biden’s Immigration Policy

The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) programme, introduced in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these nations to enter the United States for two years. The initiative was designed to offer a “safe and humane” alternative to the dangerous crossings at the US-Mexico border, which had seen a surge in arrivals.

However, the DHS reiterated on Friday that the programme was never meant to provide permanent residency.

“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” the agency stated.

Mass Deportations Under Trump

Trump, who has made immigration control a cornerstone of his presidency, has vowed to crack down on migrants—particularly those from Latin America.

Last week, he invoked rare wartime legislation to deport more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, a country that has controversially offered to imprison both migrants and U.S. citizens at a discounted rate.

The latest order signals Trump’s intent to follow through on his hardline immigration policies, raising concerns among human rights advocates about the humanitarian impact of such mass deportations.

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