It’s time for ‘America Now’ to deliver live American news.
Moderator) What news do you have today?
The FBI raided the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the residence of former President Donald Trump. White men who shot and killed a black man while jogging have been sentenced to life in prison for a second time.
Host) America Now, let’s take a look at the first news. Federal investigators searched the residence of former President Donald Trump?
Reporter) Yes. Former President Trump announced on the 8th that FBI agents raided his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
Moderator) How did the search come to light?
In a statement on the evening of the 8th (Reporter), former President Trump said, “A large number of FBI agents have come to our beautiful home in Palm Beach, Florida, in Mar-a-Lago.” “After working with relevant government agencies, they raided our house without notice,” Trump said.
Moderator) Is it known why the FBI conducted the search and seizure?
The exact reason is still unknown. Former President Trump was in New York at the time of the raid. In his statement, former President Trump did not specify the reasons for the search and seizure. Neither the Justice Department nor the FBI have commented on Trump’s statement yet. However, US media say the raids are related to ex-President Trump’s release of presidential records.
Moderator) Why do you see it that way?
Reporter) This is because, when former President Trump took office, most of the official documents of the president were moved from the White House to the Mar-a-Lago resort, and confidential information was found in a box that was moved to his home, and the Justice Department is currently investigating.
Moderator) Wasn’t it known about a few months ago?
Reporter) That’s right. Earlier this year, the National Archives and Archives said 15 boxes of presidential records were found at the Mar-a-Lago resort while collaborating with former President Trump to find undisturbed presidential records. Criticism has been raised that former President Trump violated the Presidential Records Act.
Moderator) What is the Presidential Records Act?
Moderator) The ‘Presidential Records Act’ is a law enacted in 1978 that states that all official data handled by the President, as well as the Vice President and White House aides are ‘owned by the state’, not the personal possession of the President. there is. This means that all written communication records such as memos, letters, and emails from the time of the president’s presidency should be kept. In principle, all related records are managed by the National Archives Administration after the end of the presidential term.
Moderator) But did former President Trump take these records to his private residence while leaving office?
moderator) That’s right. However, former President Trump said he had no intention of breaking the law, and said the National Archives had moved 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in accordance with the Presidential Records Act. The Documents Management Agency also stated that in the process, they did not visit Mara-Lago’s residence or take action to seize it.
Moderator) But after a few months, the FBI conducted a search and seizure?
Reporter) Yes. Former President Trump condemned the raid, calling it “an abuse of the prosecution’s powers and a weaponization of the judicial system.” He also said that FBI agents had even opened resort vaults.
Moderator) Did former President Trump claim that there were political reasons for the raid?
Yes, former President Trump has described the situation as an attack by radical left Democrats who “desperately want to stop” his running for president in 2024. Former President Trump has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of his running for president. As a result, the possibility of a rematch between former President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden is expected in the next presidential election.
Moderator) What is the reaction of the White House to this raid?
Reporter) The White House did not make any comments about it. According to media reports, senior White House officials have not been informed of the search and seizure in advance. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is investigating the possibility of committing illegal acts in relation to former President Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, in addition to the export of presidential records.
Host) America Now, the next news. The white men who shot and killed a black man who was jogging years ago were sentenced to life in prison?
Reporter) Yes. A federal court sentenced Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael to life in prison for the 2020 murder of a black young man jogging in a neighborhood. A federal court for the Southern District of Georgia sentenced the two men to life in prison on the 8th and to 35 years in prison for their neighbor, William Bryan.
Moderator) Shall we find out what kind of incident they caused in detail?
In February 2020, the three men chased and shot and killed 25-year-old African American Ahmord Arbury, a 25-year-old black man who was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia. And the process was filmed by his neighbor, Brian, with his cell phone. At the time, it was revealed that the McMichael father and son had mistaken Arbury as someone involved in a series of recent thefts. However, they had followed Georgia’s ‘citizen arrest law’ and claimed that Mr. Arbury attacked them and used a gun in self-defense.
Host) But didn’t these three people not get arrested right away, so there was no controversy?
Reporter) That’s right. Prosecutors in charge of the case showed a lukewarm attitude toward the investigation, so the police did not arrest them, and they were not arrested until 70 days after the incident occurred. Then, when the incident became known through the media and a video showing the situation at the time of the shooting was released, there was a big reaction. In the end, the Georgia state prosecutor’s office indicted and the investigation began.
Moderator) Have there been any state trials against them?
Previously, they were sentenced to life in prison in a state trial. In January, a court in Glin County, Georgia, found the three men convicted of murder and sentenced the McMichael to life in prison without parole. Brian was sentenced to life in prison with conditions of parole after 30 years in prison.
Moderator) So you got a second life sentence in this federal trial?
Reporter) That’s right. The three were previously convicted in a federal trial in February of violating Mr. Arbury’s citizenship by attacking and kidnapping Mr. Arbury on the grounds of race. And McMichael was also convicted of a gun charge. On the 8th, Judge Lisa Godbay Wood sentenced the McMichael family to life in prison. When Judge Wood delivered his sentence, he explained to McMichael’s son that he was charged with a federal hate crime, saying, “You acted because of the color of Mr. Arbury’s skin.”
Host) My neighbor, Brian, is avoiding life imprisonment this time.
Reporter) Yes, Judge Wood said Mr. Bryan deserved a shorter sentence than the McMichael’s because he wasn’t holding a gun when he pursued Mr. Arbury. But, he said, “He doesn’t deserve a light sentence,” and he sentenced him to 35 years in prison. He added that Brian would be in his 90s before completing his federal sentence.
Moderator) What did the McMichael and father say before the sentencing?
Host) Gregory McMichael said before the sentencing, “There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day.” But he made no explicit apology.
Moderator) America Now, I will listen to this until today.