Latest news with #SpecialProsecutor
CNA
12 hours ago
- Politics
- CNA
South Korea ex-President Yoon probed over failed martial law bid
SEOUL: South Korea's former President Yoon Suk Yeol answered a summons on Saturday (Jun 28) by a special prosecutor, under threat of another arrest as investigation intensified over the ousted leader's failed bid to impose martial law in December. Yoon, through his lawyers, has protested the special prosecutor's demands to appear for questioning under media attention as a violation of his rights and a tactic to publicly humiliate him. His lawyers said in a statement Yoon would respond to the investigation on Saturday and tell the truth. They described the investigation as "politically motivated" and "full of falsehood and distortion". Yoon did not answer questions from reporters as he entered the special prosecutor's office. The martial law attempt in December shocked a country that had prided itself on becoming a thriving democracy, having overcome military dictatorship in the 1980s. Yoon was later ousted in April by the Constitutional Court that upheld his impeachment by parliament. The special prosecutor sought a warrant to arrest Yoon for refusing to answer repeated summons earlier, but it was rejected by a court this week on grounds that he has since expressed willingness to cooperate. The special prosecutor was appointed in early June and has launched a team of more than 200 prosecutors and investigators to take over ongoing investigations of Yoon, a former top prosecutor who was elected president in 2022. Yoon is already on trial for leading the December 3 martial law declaration. He had been arrested in January after resisting authorities armed with a court warrant trying to take him into custody, but was released after 52 days on legal technicalities.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump demands special prosecutor investigate 'stolen' 2020 election, loss to Biden
President Donald Trump has called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the 2020 presidential election, which he has long maintained was rigged against him and in favor of Joe Biden. In a fiery Truth Social post Friday, Trump praised his administration for cutting border crossings to zero in May compared to the Biden administration, which oversaw the release of 62,000 migrants into the country during the same time last year. Trump said it was incomprehensible a president could oversee such an influx of illegal immigration and then took aim at the 2020 election. "Zero Border crossings for the month for TRUMP, verses 60,000 for Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden, a man who lost the 2020 Presidential Election by a "LANDSLIDE!" Trump wrote. "Biden was grossly incompetent and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed." Trump has argued for years that a series of alleged misdeeds led to Joe Biden's 2020 victory. In the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of the Electoral College results, several pro-Trump marches were held, culminating in a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump and his supporters failed to convince Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification by sending the results back to key battleground states' legislatures to allow for further investigation or the consideration of alternate slates of electors. Pence rejected the demands, arguing that the Constitution did not give the vice president authority to decide which electoral votes to count. Trump and his allies filed dozens of lawsuits challenging the results in various states. Most lawsuits failed due to what judges determined was a lack of standing or insufficient evidence. Biden secured 306 electoral votes with 81.2 million votes compared to Trump's 232 electoral votes and 74.2 million votes. The president has made a variety of claims to support his assertion that the 2020 election was "stolen." Trump has argued that ballot harvesting "mules" deposited ballots at late-night ballot drops after deadlines in key swing states. He made the claims central to his 2024 re-election bid, often using the slogan "too big to rig" to urge supporters to turn out in force and overcome what he described as a rigged or unfair system. "This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America!" Trump said in the post Friday. "Let the work begin! What this Crooked man, and his CORRUPT CRONIES, have done to our Country in 4 years, is grossly indescribable! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump's attorney general in 2020, Bill Barr, said there no was evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome, and the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity arm pronounced the election "the most secure in American history." It was unclear who Trump had in mind for a special prosecutor, but in the event Attorney General Pam Bondi heeds his call, she may face pressure to appoint someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate. The Justice Department in recent years has appointed a succession of special counsels — sometimes, though not always, plucked from outside the agency — to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters, including conduct by Biden and by Trump.
Al Jazeera
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election
Trump revives longstanding grievance as the White House is consumed by a foreign policy decision on whether to get directly involved in the Israel-Iran war. US President Donald Trump has called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim that the contest was marred by widespread fraud. In a post on Truth Social, the president criticised Biden on immigration issues and said he lost the 2020 presidential election by a 'LANDSLIDE'. 'Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD!' Trump said. 'The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!' Trump's revival of his longstanding grievance, which comes as his White House is consumed by a hugely substantial foreign policy decision on whether to get directly involved in the Israel-Iran war, is part of an amped-up effort by him to undermine the legitimacy of Biden's presidency. Earlier this month, Trump directed his administration to investigate Biden's actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor's 'cognitive decline.' Biden has dismissed the investigation as 'a mere distraction'. The post also revives Trump's claim that the election was stolen, even though courts around the country and a Trump attorney general from his first term found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity arm pronounced the election 'the most secure in American history'. And in 2022, the House of Representatives January 6 committee's final report asserts that Trump criminally engaged in a 'multi-part conspiracy' to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Advertisement Trump's repeated, false claims of widespread voter fraud resonated with his supporters, the committee said, and were amplified on social media, building on the distrust of government he had fostered during his four years in office. Sign up for Al Jazeera Americas Coverage Newsletter US politics, Canada's multiculturalism, South America's geopolitical rise—we bring you the stories that matter. Subscribe Your subscription failed. Please try again. Please check your email to confirm your subscription By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy protected by reCAPTCHA It was unclear what Trump had in mind when he called for a special prosecutor, but in the event Attorney General Pam Bondi heeds his call, she may face pressure to appoint someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment Friday. The Justice Department, in recent years, has appointed a succession of special counsels – sometimes, though not always, plucked from outside the agency – to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters, including conduct by Biden and Trump. Last year, Trump's personal lawyers launched an aggressive, and successful, challenge to the appointment of Jack Smith, the special counsel assigned to investigate his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. A Trump-appointed judge agreed, ruling that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland had exceeded his bounds by appointing a prosecutor without Senate approval and confirmation, and dismissed the case. That legal team included Todd Blanche, who is now deputy attorney general, as well as Emil Bove, who is Blanche's top deputy but was recently nominated to serve as a judge on a federal appeals court.
The Independent
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump calls for special prosecutor to probe his 2020 loss to ‘crooked' Joe Biden: ‘LANDSLIDE!'
Donald Trump is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, reviving an ongoing and baseless conspiracy theory that the results of the election were rigged and stolen from him. More than five years after losing in that year's election, and after returning to the presidency a second time with his victory in 2024, the president has routinely pressed attempts to undermine the legitimacy of Biden's presidency. 'Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD!' Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. He claimed 'the evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING,' despite White House officials and campaign lawyers failing to produce any within the last five years. 'A Special Prosecutor must be appointed,' Trump wrote. 'This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!' The persistent lie that the election was stolen from the president fueled violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, sustained partisan investigations intended to reverse the outcomes in states Trump lost, inspired Republican-led legislation in nearly every state to change how elections are run, and formed the basis of his 2024 campaign of 'retribution.' His post — in the middle of his administration's tense negotiations and foreign policy decision making over whether to intervene in a war with Iran — continues efforts within his administration to target his predecessor and revives long-standing grievances that have played a central role in his speeches and remarks for years, well into his second presidency. Earlier this month, Trump directed his administration to investigate Biden's actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor's 'cognitive decline.' Trump's false and inflated claims about election results, spanning more than a decade, have also sowed doubt among his supporters to construct the lie of 'stolen' and 'rigged' elections, animating Republican attempts to challenge results and craft legislation to do what the president and his allies failed to do in courtrooms in 2020.
Associated Press
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim that the contest was marred by widespread fraud. 'Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD!' Trump said in a social media post in which he also sought to favorably contrast his immigration enforcement approach with that of the former president. 'The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!' Trump's post, made as his Republican White House is consumed by a hugely substantial foreign policy decision on whether to get directly involved in the Israel-Iran war, is part of an amped-up effort by him to undermine the legitimacy of Biden's presidency. Earlier this month, Trump directed his administration to investigate Biden's actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor's 'cognitive decline.' Biden has dismissed the investigation as 'a mere distraction.' The post also revives a long-running grievance by Trump that the election was stolen even though courts around the country and a Trump attorney general from his first term found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity arm pronounced the election 'the most secure in American history.' It was unclear what Trump had in mind when he called for a special prosecutor, but in the event Attorney General Pam Bondi heeds his call, she may face pressure to appoint someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment Friday. The Justice Department in recent years has appointed a succession of special counsels — sometimes, though not always, plucked from outside the agency — to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters, including into conduct by Biden and by Trump. Last year, Trump's personal lawyers launched an aggressive, and successful, challenge to the appointment of Jack Smith, the special counsel assigned to investigate his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. A Trump-appointed judge agreed, ruling that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland had exceeded his bounds by appointing a prosecutor without Senate approval and confirmation, and dismissed the case. That legal team included Todd Blanche, who is now deputy attorney general, as well as Emil Bove, who is Blanche's top deputy but was recently nominated to serve as a judge on a federal appeals court. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at
