Russian teen arrested for planning attack in Berlin
The teen was arrested on Thursday and placed in investigative custody on Friday, police said in a statement.
They added that he is being investigated on a charge of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, but declined to comment further on the background and motive.
State prosecutors and the Russian embassy did not immediately respond to written requests for comment from Reuters.
(Writing by Friederike Heine; editing by Matthias Williams)
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The next day, the White House said the president is not interested in tapping a special prosecutor. However, he did direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony,' following a Wall Street Journal report, which revealed the existence of a 2003 birthday letter from Trump to Epstein. What exactly is a special counsel? How independent are they? And could they help Trump put the Epstein saga behind him? McClatchy News reached out to legal experts to weigh in. What is a special counsel? A special counsel is an independent prosecutor appointed by the attorney general to investigate, and potentially prosecute, cases in extraordinary circumstances. These include 'when there is a conflict of interest' or 'if a situation is so unusual and significant that it necessitates an independent investigator,' Robert Shapiro, a professor of government at Columbia University, told McClatchy News. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a special counsel must have 'a reputation for integrity and impartial decisionmaking' and 'an informed understanding of the criminal law and Department of Justice policies.' Once appointed, they are given a budget, staff, the authority to issue subpoenas, warrants and indictments, and ability to charge individuals with crimes, according to the Associated Press. Past special counsels have included Robert Mueller, who was tapped to look into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and David Weiss, who was appointed to lead a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden. The Epstein case is unusual by comparison, Cody Corliss, a professor at the West Virginia University College of Law, told McClatchy News. 'The calls for a special counsel are odd more generally because the special counsel regulations require an investigation into a criminal matter,' he said. 'Epstein is dead and Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted. 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Additionally, given there is no indication of a criminal investigation, it's not clear if the regulations governing the appointment of a special counsel apply, Corliss said. On top of this, Trump, and members of his administration, have previously argued that independent special counsels are unconstitutional, Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law, told McClatchy News. Because of this, he said, 'I think it unlikely that Bondi appoints a special counsel.'
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Russian lawmaker issued a warning to the United States about its nuclear doctrine following remarks from General Christopher Donahue about Kaliningrad. Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, as well as the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, for comment. Why It Matters The Russia-Ukraine war, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022, has fueled nuclear concerns across the globe. The invasion of Ukraine strained already-frayed relations between Russia and the U.S., as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance of the U.S., Canada and European allies. President Donald Trump has taken a different approach to Russia and Ukraine than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, such as more directly engaging with Moscow and has been more willing to criticize Ukrainian officials like President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has, however, recently ramped up criticism of Putin. What to Know The latest remarks from Donahue, reported first by Defense News, drew scrutiny from Russia. Donahue said that Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, is surrounded by NATO and that the alliance could "take that down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we've ever been able to do," Defense News reported. Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky smiles in the hallway of the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg on April 26, 2024. Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky smiles in the hallway of the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg on April 26, 2024. Contributor/Getty Images Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, responded to those comments in remarks reported by Russian state media TASS. "An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine. The US general should take this into account before making such statements," Slutsky said. He added that NATO "poses a threat to global security and stability." Slutsky is the second Russian official to make nuclear remarks toward the U.S. this week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said Russia's nuclear doctrine "remains in effect" after Trump announced the U.S. and NATO allies will supply advanced weapons to Ukraine. Donahue's remarks came as he discussed the "Eastern Flank Deterrence Line," a plan to improve ground-based capabilities across the alliance at the LandEuro in Wiesbaden, Germany, Defense News reported. What People Are Saying Donahue said, per Defense News: "We know what we have to develop and the use case that we're using is you have to [deter] from the ground. The land domain is not becoming less important, it's becoming more important. You can now take down [anti-access, aerial-denial] A2AD bubbles from the ground. You can now take over sea from the ground. All of those things we are watching happen in Ukraine." Dr. Stephen Hall of the University of Bath told The Kyiv Independent of Donahue's remarks: "It's merely trying to shore up the effect that America is going to be here for the long haul and that NATO is going to be a military organization for a lot longer." What's Happens Next? Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are likely to remain high, though there are no known plans for a Western attack on Kaliningrad.
