Letitia James accuses Donald Trump of ‘weaponizing’ US justice system after her indictment – US politics live

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US to send 200 troops to Israel to support and monitor ceasefire deal, reports say

Gabrielle Canon

US troops have been sent to Israel as part of the peace deal approved on Thursday to support and help monitor the ceasefire, according to multiple news reports.

Senior US officials told reporters that 200 troops will initially be on the ground with a “civil-military coordination center” operated by US Central Command to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory wracked by two years of war, the Associated Press reported, citing two officials who confirmed the report on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release.

Reuters and ABC News also reported on military troops being sent to Israel.

The troops are part of a broader team that also includes partner nations, non-governmental organizations and private-sector entities there to help monitor the peace deal and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza, US officials said.

US service members have already begun arriving in the region from around the globe, according to one of the officials, and will continue to travel to the region over the weekend to begin planning and establishing the center.

American troops will not be sent into Gaza, they said, and the coordination center will be staffed by about 200 US service members who have expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering.

Federal appeals court hears arguments on whether Trump can federalize Oregon national guard

A federal appeals court heard arguments on whether Donald Trump had authority to take control of 200 Oregon national guard troops. The president had planned to deploy them in Portland, where protesters have shown up wearing frog and chicken costumes at the mostly small, nightly demonstrations outside an Ice building.

A three-judge panel in San Francisco on Thursday appeared likely to set aside the ruling blocking Trump’s Portland deployment, which would clear the way for hundreds of soldiers to enter that city.

A judge on Sunday granted a temporary restraining order blocking the move. Trump had mobilized California troops for Portland just hours after the judge first blocked him from using Oregon’s guard.

Stacy Chaffin, an Oregon assistant attorney general, echoed the language of the lower court judge who blocked Trump’s deployment, saying the president’s descriptions of Portland as riven by violence were “untethered from reality”.

The judges questioned whether they should only consider the current circumstances or take into account more active protests earlier this year that temporarily shut down Ice’s Portland headquarters.

The US circuit judge Ryan Nelson, a Trump appointee, said courts should not engage in a “day-by-day” review of whether troops were needed at any given time.

Letitia James criminally charged in Trump’s latest effort to punish rivals

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you the latest news lines over the next few hours.

We begin with the news that a federal grand jury has indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general, for bank fraud, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, personally presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday, the person said. US attorneys do not typically present to a grand jury.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York state attorney general,” James said in a recorded video statement on Thursday.

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”

Halligan was installed in the role last month after Donald Trump became frustrated with the pace of investigations against his rivals. “No one is above the law,” Halligan said in a statement.

“The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust. The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

Read the full story here:

In other developments:

• A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago, saying in court that there was no evidence of a rebellion brewing in Illinois and that the Department of Homeland Security’s “narrative of events is simply unreliable.”

• In a similar case unfolding in federal court in San Francisco, challenging Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, appellate judges heard arguments and seemed more likely to rule in Trump’s favor, allowing the deployment of troops.

• Nearly half of the FBI agents working in the US’s major field offices have been reassigned to aid immigration enforcement, according to newly released data, a stunning shift in law enforcement priorities that has raised public safety concerns.

• US troops have been sent to Israel as part of the peace deal approved on Thursday to support and help monitor the ceasefire, according to multiple news reports.

• The US Senate remained deadlocked on legislation to end the government shutdown on Friday, as Donald Trump reiterated his threat to make Democrats pay for the funding lapse that has closed federal agencies and furloughed workers nationwide.

• The chances of the US stock market crashing is far greater than many financiers believe, the head of America’s largest bank has said.

• A Rutgers University professor who taught a course on anti-fascism was blocked from leaving the US for Spain, according to media reports.

• Meanwhile, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is slated to be announced today. Donald Trump wants to win the prize this year, but probably won’t.