International News
US Attorney General Denies Political Influence On Trump, Biden Prosecutions
US Attorney General Merrick Garland denied Republican allegations Wednesday that he had protected Democratic President Joe Biden’s son Hunter while the Justice department prosecutes former president Donald Trump.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary oversight of the US Department of Justice, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 20, 2023. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan accused the US justice chief of helping to stall a long-running investigation of Hunter Biden, which Republicans claim, without evidence, could show the elder Biden improperly benefited financially from Hunter’s overseas business dealings.
Meanwhile, Jordan alleged, Garland was propelling the two federal prosecutions of Trump, who is Joe Biden’s top Republican rival in next year’s presidential election.
“There’s one investigation protecting President Biden; there’s another one attacking President Trump,” Jordan said.
“The Justice Department has got both sides of the equation covered,” he said.
In a heated hearing, Garland, who has appointed independent special counsels to handle both the Trump and Hunter Biden investigations, stiffly denied that politics or the White House influences his decisions.
And he denied any interference in the decision on whether to prosecute Hunter Biden, saying it was in the hands of Special Counsel David Weiss, who Trump appointed to the Justice Department.
“We apply the same laws to everyone,” Garland said.
“Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.”
However, he added, one job of the Justice Department is protecting democratic institutions.
That includes, he said, “holding accountable all those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” a reference to the prosecution of Trump and hundreds of his supporters for the violent 2021 assault on Congress.
Targeting The President’s Son
House Republicans opened an impeachment investigation of Joe Biden last week.
They allege, with no evident proof, that Biden benefited directly from millions of dollars his son earned in business dealings in China, Ukraine and elsewhere while Biden was vice president and had oversight over relations with Kyiv.
The impeachment effort though is widely seen as an attempt to counter the political damage from the two criminal prosecutions of Trump led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump is facing criminal charges in Florida for illegally concealing top secret documents, and separately in Washington over his effort to upend the results of the 2020 US election, which led to the January 6 attack.
Garland, who was appointed as attorney general by Biden, said he was not involved in any of the decisions of either Weiss or Smith.
Last month Weiss charged Hunter Biden with a seldom-prosecuted charge of illegally buying a handgun in 2018 while he was a user of illicit drugs, which is forbidden under US law.
And Weiss has signaled that he is investigating Hunter Biden on possible tax charges related to his Ukraine and China earnings.
But Jordan and other Republicans alleged that Weiss too is going easy on the president’s son.
Garland repeatedly told the committee that Weiss’s charging decisions were his alone, and did not involve him.
“I told the committee that I would not interfere. I made clear that Mr. Weiss would have the authority to bring cases that he thought were appropriate,” Garland said, reiterating that Weiss was appointed by Trump.
Garland meanwhile warned the committee that attacks and allegations against Justice Department and law enforcement officials were turning into real, violent threats against individuals from members of the public.
“Singling out individual career public servants who are just doing their jobs is dangerous — particularly at a time of increased threats to the safety of public servants and their families,” Garland said.
“We will not be intimidated. We will do our jobs free from outside interference,” he said.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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