Happy Friday! Donald Trump’s legal woes remain a serious obstacle to his hopes of reclaiming the US presidency.
The former president has been charged with violating the US Espionage Act over classified documents held at his Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago and has been summoned to court next week. That makes Trump the first former US president to face federal criminal charges.
And over in Europe, the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive is reported to have begun.
Top news
Explosive allegations amid Lehrmann trial | Lawyers for Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson have alleged that a “calculated” and “concerted” media campaign using restricted court material is being waged to pressure and dissuade witnesses from giving evidence in the defamation trial brought by Bruce Lehrmann – pointing to a significant amount of publicity on Channel Seven and in News Corp publications in recent days. The Coalition are also on the attack over text exchanges in February 2021 between the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and David Sharaz – the partner of Brittany Higgins. The prime minister today denied Gallagher misled parliament over the texts, insisting “no one had any knowledge” before Higgins made her rape allegation.
Trump charges | This is the second indictment to hit Trump in the last two months and comes after state charges were filed in New York over his alleged role in hush-money payments to an adult film star in 2016. Here’s an explainer on the importance of the Mar-a-Lago case, and an analysis on the probability of Trump going to jail.
Julian Assange loses appeal | The Australian WikiLeaks founder is “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US after the UK high court rejected all eight grounds of Assange’s appeal. But Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, said her husband would make a “renewed application for appeal to the high court” next week.
Family tragedy in Queensland | A 16-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a woman and a girl were allegedly found stabbed at a Brisbane home. Another child also living at the home was not injured, and was being cared for by relatives.
Brett Sutton resigns | The man who led Victoria’s health response throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has resigned as the state’s chief health officer, and will join CSIRO as director of health and biosecurity. Victoria’s union representing nurses and midwives thanked Sutton for pandemic decisions that, “while not always popular, were always designed to protect the lives of all Victorians”.
Greens infighting over voice | Senator Dorinda Cox and former Blak Greens leader Tjanara Goreng Goreng have made separate allegations to the AFP over an altercation between them at Perth airport.
Ukraine counteroffensive begins | A substantial Ukrainian force was pushing an assault against Russian positions in the south overnight Australian time, in an intensification of fighting that some Ukrainian officials and western analysts said marked the start in earnest of Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive.
EU’s radical reforms on migration | EU member states will be charged €20,000 a head for refusing to take their fair share of refugees, after intense negotiations in Luxembourg that ended years of infighting over a joint migration and asylum policy.
Meta showcases new AI tools | After months of financial struggle, Facebook’s owner confirmed it has been building new products that could converse using different personas, including ChatGPT-like chatbots planned for Messenger and WhatsApp.
Full Story
We examine Justice Anthony Besanko’s full verdict, which describes how Australia’s most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith lied to save his reputation. Listen to this 32-minute episode.
What they said …
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“This is a pretty vile attack from Dutton and Linda Reynolds, putting at risk the mental health of someone that’s very vulnerable. We have to remember that Brittany Higgins is a very vulnerable young woman and making her the punching bag of a political attack is really unsavoury.” – IndepZali Steggall
In numbers
Victoria is going rogue on electric vehicles – by comparison, Queensland recently doubled its EV subsidy to $6,000.
Before bed read
If you’re suffering from Succession withdrawal like me, here are a few options for shows full of backstabbing and ladder-climbing to scratch that itch.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: TAY. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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