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Trials adding up for West Virginia Supreme Court justices

The federal trial of a suspended West Virginia Supreme Court justice is starting a day after a colleague’s impeachment trial began in the state Senate. Jury selection is set to get under way Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Charleston for Justice Allen Loughry, while an impeachment trial against Justice Beth Walker begins its second day on Tuesday. 

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Judge pro tem appointed to replace Lake Superior Judge Villalpando

A judge pro tempore has been appointed to perform the duties of Lake Superior Court judge Jesse M. Villalpando, whose name was recently removed from the Nov. 6 general election ballot. A Friday order announced the Lake Superior Court judge will take leave from the bench beginning today and will remain on leave for the duration of his elected term, while attorney Stephen A. Tyler will serve in his place as judge pro tem. 

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Kavanaugh faces crucial vote, White House eyes GOP senators

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faced a crucial vote Friday as a Senate panel decides whether to move his nomination on to the full Senate a day after he adamantly denied sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford, who insisted she’s “100 percent” certain he did.

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Angry Kavanaugh denies Ford accusation, sees ‘disgrace’

Emotionally battling to rescue his Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday denied allegations that he’d sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when both were high school students and told Congress the accusations and biting criticism by Democrats had “totally and permanently destroyed” his family and reputation.

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Justices consider ouster of Yorktown clerk-treasurer

Choosing to forcibly remove an elected official from office is a weighty decision, one that requires government officials to go against the will of the voters — presumably for the public good. In theory, an impeachment occurs only when an elected officer has egregiously failed to perform his or her duties, leaving no choice but to force the official to vacate her office.

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Senate concludes Kavanaugh hearing; confirmation likely

After two marathon days questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, senators concluded his confirmation hearing Friday by listening to others talk about him — friends stressing his fairness and warmth but opponents warning he’d roll back abortion rights and shield President Donald Trump. Senators on the Judiciary Committee are likely to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Sept. 20 with a vote by the full Senate the following week.

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Giuliani: Trump won’t answer obstruction questions

President Donald Trump will not answer federal investigators’ questions, in writing or in person, about whether he tried to block the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, one of the president’s attorneys told The Associated Press.

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Concern in White House over shortage of lawyers, press aides

Increasingly convinced that the West Wing is wholly unprepared to handle the expected assault from Democrats if they win the House in November, President Donald Trump’s aides and allies are privately raising alarm as his circle of legal and communications advisers continues to shrink.

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Judges: N.C. congressional districts still partisan biased

Federal judges on Monday affirmed their earlier decision striking North Carolina’s congressional districts as unconstitutional because Republicans drew them with excessive partisanship. The Tarheel State is one of several in which lawsuits are challenging partisan gerrymandering.

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Indiana’s election security plans don’t include new machines

Indiana’s top elections official is planning to use more than $7.5 million in federal funding to improve the state’s election security, but not to upgrade its voting machines. Indiana was among the states and territories to receive money from the $380 million approved by Congress amid ongoing threats from Russia and others.

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Prosecutors grant immunity to longtime Trump finance chief

President Donald Trump’s finance chief, a confidant who has worked for the family’s real estate business since the early 1970s, was granted immunity in the federal probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

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Justices remove Lake superior judge from retention ballot

The Indiana Supreme Court yanked a Lake Superior Court judge from the Nov. 6 retention ballot following his retirement announcement Friday that came after the court’s office of judicial administration requested a new judge be appointed due to alleged dereliction of duty.

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Leaker of secret report on Russian hacking gets 5 years

Former government contractor Reality Winner, who pleaded guilty to mailing a classified U.S. report to a news organization, was sentenced to more than five years Thursday as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors called it the longest sentence ever imposed for a federal crime involving leaks to the media.

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Trump’s ex-lawyer’s guilty plea implicates president

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and implicated Trump in a campaign cover-up to buy the silence of women who said they had sexual relationships with him. Michael Cohen’s admission threw Trump’s presidency into crisis and raises questions about Trump’s own legal jeopardy.

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Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen pleads guilty in hush-money scheme

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying he and Trump arranged the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the election.

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