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Man who stabbed SKorean leader didn’t want him to become president: Police

Man who stabbed SKorean leader didn’t want him to become president: Police

Opposition politician Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck in a near-fatal attack on January 2 in southern Busan city. Police in South Korea have revealed that the man accused of stabbing opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck wanted to kill him to prevent him from becoming the country’s president. “The suspect decided to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president,” Busan police chief Woo Cheol-mun told reporters on Wednesday. Woo said the suspect said he was unsatisfied with what he believes were authorities’ failures to punish Lee over corruption allegations. On January 2, the 59-year-old leader was brutally attacked in southern Busan city. The assailant, posing as a supporter, pushed through a crowd to reach him and stabbed him in the neck, causing a near-fatal injury to his jugular vein. Following extensive emergency surgery, Lee recovered and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday. South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks after being discharged at Seoul National University Hospital [Yonhap via Reuters] Woo said the suspect left an eight-page note, adding that he bought an outdoor knife last April and followed Lee on five events since June. “It’s analysed that the suspect’s subjective political belief led to the extreme crime,” Woo said, noting that police had not found other accomplices. During police questioning, the suspect had no defence lawyer, according to Busan police. ‘End politics of hate’ Police handed over the suspect to prosecutors, who will determine whether to indict him and send him to a trial. If he is indicted but still has no lawyer, a court will appoint one. A Busan court earlier approved an arrest warrant for him on alleged attempted murder. “I feel sorry because I caused concerns to the people,” the suspect said in brief comments to reporters at the Busan prosecutors’ office. Asked by a reporter whether he plotted the attack alone, he said, “Yes. How could I plan this with someone else?” Police declined from identifying him by name and only said that he is about 67. After his discharge from hospital on Wednesday, Lee said he hoped his stabbing would mark the end of the “politics of hate”. “I hope this case, which shocked everyone, can serve as a milestone to end the politics of hate and confrontation and restore proper politics,” Lee told reporters and supporters. South Korean politics have become increasingly polarised and heated recently ahead of a general election in April, with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative People Power Party and Lee’s Democratic Party neck and neck in the polls. Adblock test (Why?)

Virginia heads into 2024 General Assembly session with Democrats in control of Capitol

Virginia heads into 2024 General Assembly session with Democrats in control of Capitol

A remade Virginia General Assembly will convene its 2024 session Wednesday with a Democratic majority newly in charge of both chambers after a consequential election cycle that followed two years of divided control at the Capitol. Guns, gambling, abortion, public safety and other issues will be on the agenda as Democrats seek to hold their razor-thin majorities together over the course of the 60-day session. They will need to win Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s support for most of their priorities, though in a few areas they will be able to move without him. VIRGINIA OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN VIRAL TIKTOKER’S TUNNEL PROJECT “I think there are some things we’re going to be able to agree on,” incoming Democratic House Speaker Don Scott said of the governor, ticking off spots of typical bipartisan cooperation, like education, mental health and workforce development. On other legislative items — like gun control and Youngkin’s push for a new sports stadium — it remains to be seen where or whether compromise can be found, Scott said in an interview. Scott, a trial lawyer who will make history as the first Black person to serve as speaker, will take his seat in an increasingly diverse Capitol. Last year’s election cycle, when every legislative seat was on the ballot, was the first held under new maps drawn in the last redistricting process. The new maps coupled with the requirement that legislators live in their district contributed to a wave of retirements that included some of the Assembly’s most senior members. Others were ousted in an especially competitive primary season. About a third of the Assembly’s membership will be newly elected to their respective chamber. The Capitol will see new historic firsts in representation and a new generation of leadership. The Assembly will also convene with a record-high percentage of female legislators, according to data maintained by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers. Forty-eight of the 140 members, or 34.3%, are women, according to the center, not accounting for the results of two Tuesday special legislative elections in which three female candidates were competing. LAWMAKER PROPOSES CASINO COMPLEX IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA AMID STATEWIDE GAMBLING EXPANSION Wednesday’s session kick-off will effectively mark the halfway point of Youngkin’s term. The governor, who ultimately did not mount a presidential bid after heaps of speculation in 2023 that he might, is prohibited by Virginia law from seeking a second consecutive four years in office. In the two months since the GOP fell short of Youngkin’s stated electoral expectations — losing its House majority and failing to flip the Senate — the governor has begun to roll out his policy roadmap, including his proposed budget. Crafting the next two-year state spending plan will be one of the session’s biggest tasks, something lawmakers in recent years have failed to do on time. The governor has called for lowering the income tax while raising the state’s sales tax, a proposal that’s been greeted by skepticism from members of both parties. Incoming Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle said in an interview that many members of his caucus think lowering the income tax would help make Virginia more competitive with competitor states. But the mechanism for doing so and maintaining a balanced budget will be an ongoing discussion, he said. Youngkin unveiled plans for a separate and possibly legacy-making project in December when he announced the framework of a proposal to move the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals across the Potomac to Alexandria. Legislation that would create a government entity that could issue around $1.5 billion in bonds to finance the deal will be among the session’s most closely watched. VIRGINIA HOME EXPLODES AFTER BARRICADED SUSPECT FIRES FLARE GUN, FIREARM WHILE POLICE ATTEMPT SEARCH The governor has also called for lawmakers to continue working with him to improve the state’s mental health care system, including by tightening the reins on social media companies and banning TikTok for users under 18. Later Wednesday, he will offer his annual State of the Commonwealth address, a chance to set the tone for his work with the new Assembly and highlight additional priorities. Lawmakers will take up hundreds of other bills in the hectic sprint that is the legislative session. Republicans, who have said they plan to hold Democrats accountable for any rush to the left, want to try again to pass a bill that would allow prosecutors to charge drug dealers with felony homicide if a user dies of an overdose. They’re also promising a renewed effort to repeal an electric vehicle mandate Democrats enacted in 2021. Democrats, who overhauled the state’s gun laws while they controlled state government in 2020 and 2021, have filed a wide range of bills to tighten penalties for gun-related convictions and limit access to firearms, including a measure that would prohibit the sale of certain assault-style weapons. Those measures will face the prospect of a Youngkin veto, though the governor has been quiet enough on the issue that leading gun rights advocates have said they are uncertain of how he might act. Democrats have or are expected to file measures that will put Youngkin on the record on other topics where he’s hedged, including gay marriage and marijuana retail sales. They will also be able to elect judges and fill other appointments and have pledged to start the multi-year process of amending the state constitution to protect abortion rights and take the process of restoring voting rights for felons who have served their terms out of the governor’s hands. This year’s session is scheduled to end in early March.

Trump blasts Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis after romantic partner allegations: ‘Totally compromised’

Trump blasts Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis after romantic partner allegations: ‘Totally compromised’

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the 2020 election case against him in Georgia should be dropped after prosecutor Fani Willis was accused of ethics violations. A co-defendant in the Trump case alleged in court documents that Willis had an “improper” romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade. Willis and Wade allegedly benefited financially from the relationship in the form of vacations the two took using funds that his law firm received for working the case.  “You had a very big event yesterday as you saw in Georgia where the district attorney is totally compromised. The case has to be dropped,” Trump told reporters In Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, speaking after a hearing in a separate federal 2020 election interference case. “They went after 18 or 20 people. … She was out of her mind. Now it turns out that case is totally compromised.  “It’s illegal. What she did is illegal. So we’ll let the state handle that, but what a sad situation it is,” Trump added. FULTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR, FANI WILLIS ROMANTIC PARTNER, MET WITH BIDEN WHITE HOUSE TWICE BEFORE CHARGING TRUMP The allegations against Willis were included in a motion that was filed on behalf of former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the case, in a bid to have the charges against him dismissed. It cites “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” as confirming “they had an ongoing, personal relationship.” County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case. The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case. TOP TRUMP PROSECUTOR, GEORGIA DA ALLEGED TO BE IN ‘IMPROPER’ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP: COURT FILING In August, Willis charged Trump out of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. The former president and 2024 frontrunner also faces charges in separate cases in New York City, Florida and Washington, D.C. Trump appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as his attorneys argued he has presidential immunity from charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.  FORMER COP TARGETS TRUMP, GOP OPPONENTS OVER ‘DISGRACEFUL’ LAW ENFORCEMENT RHETORIC 3 YEARS AFTER JAN 6 Trump attorney D. John Sauer argued that the president has “absolute immunity,” even after leaving office, and that President Biden, “the current incumbent of the presidency is prosecuting his number one political opponent and his greatest electoral threat.” Smith’s legal team said presidents are not entitled to absolute immunity and that Trump’s alleged actions fall outside a president’s official job duties.  Smith’s case against Trump is on pause as Trump’s attorneys appeal the case and argue that presidential immunity protects him from being prosecuted. The trial had been set to begin on March 4. It is unclear when the appeals court will issue a decision.  Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.