A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
Leading the week
After a week dominated by developments in the Fulton County racketeering case against Donald Trump and 18 others ahead of today’s surrender deadline, the focus looks set to return at least temporarily to DC next week when a hearing takes place on Monday (August 28) in the federal case against Trump, at which a trial date is likely to be set. Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested that the trial begin on January 2, while Trump’s legal team has countered with what it calls a ‘more reasonable schedule’ that wouldn’t see proceedings get underway until April 2026.
Back in Georgia, a federal judge is set to hear arguments on Monday (August 28) from Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who is seeking to have his case moved from state to federal court, claiming charges should be dismissed on the grounds they breach the constitution’s Supremacy Clause. Meadows, who is not alone in his bid to move his case to a federal setting, suffered a setback earlier this week when the judge overseeing his case rejected his request for an emergency order barring Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from enforcing an arrest warrant against him while the litigation continues. It emerged yesterday that Willis has subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to appear at Monday’s hearing. Arraignments in the Fulton County case are expected to begin on September 5, and a judge ruled this week that proceedings can be televised live.
Finally, three days of sentencing hearings get underway in DC on Wednesday (August 30) in the case of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other men following their conviction in May. All but one of the five were found guilty of seditious conspiracy over their roles January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and prosecutors are seeking 33-year prison sentences for Tarrio, who is sentenced on Wednesday, and top lieutenant Joseph Biggs, whose hearing follows on Thursday (August 31). To date, the longest sentence that has been handed down over the insurrection is the 18 years given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.
Looking abroad
The selection process gets underway on Monday (August 28) in the contest to see who will represent Mexico’s ruling Morena party in next year’s presidential election. With incumbent Andrés Manuel López Obrador having put to rest suggestions he might seek an unconstitutional second term, the winner of the primary will automatically become the frontrunner to win the June 2 vote. The two leading candidates are former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, with Sheinbaum said to be ahead in polls. Under the unusual selection process, the winner will be determined via five simultaneous polls from Monday through Sunday (September 3). The winner is then set to be announced on September 6.
Pope Francis heads to Mongolia on Thursday (August 31) where he’ll undertake four days of engagements in the country, which has a tiny Catholic population of fewer than 1,500 people. The visit is expected to be closely watched by Russia and China, both of which view Mongolia as strategically important. The highlight of the trip is a mass on Sunday (September 3) at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar. As ever with such trips, Pope Francis is expected to answer questions on a range of topics from media accompanying him on the flight back to Rome the following day (September 4).