Trump news – live: Cheney says she could leave GOP as Jan 6 committee ‘aware’ of White House call to rioter

The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol fuelled by Donald Trump’s baseless election fraud narrative is “aware” of allegations that the White House connected a call to a rioter while the assault was underway.

US Rep Jamie Raskin said on Sunday that the new revelations are “one of thousands of details” that the committee is examining as it prepares for a possible final public hearing on Wendesday.

Committee co-chair Liz Cheney, who recently lost a Republican primary to a Trump-backed opponent, said that she will drop out of the party if the former president is the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2024.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he is not the nominee,” Ms Cheney said on Saturday. “And if he is the nominee, I won’t be a Republican.”

Meanwhile, committee member Adam Schiff has rebuked Trump’s claim that he could declassify documents at the centre of a separate probe led by the US Department of Justice into his Mar-a-Lago estate, claims that “don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” according to the congressman.

Key points

• Jan 6 committee ‘aware’ that White House connected switchboard to Capitol rioter during attack

• Liz Cheney will leave Republican Party is Trump is 2024 nominee

• What has Trump said about the Mar-a-Lago investigation so far?

• New York AG suing Trump for ‘numerous acts of fraud'

• Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ before warning of ‘great anger’ in US over criminal probes

Jan 6 committee ‘aware’ of new detail that White House connected switchboard to Capitol rioter during artack

15:00 , Alex Woodward

A former congressman alleges in a forthcoming CBS 60 Minutes interview the White House switchboard connected a phone call to a Capitol rioter while the attack was under way.

US Rep Jamie Raskin told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that the allegations are “one of thousands of details” that the committee is “aware” of.

“Our job is to put everything into a comprehensive portrait and narrative timeline of what took place,” he said. “To me, it’s interesting, but less interesting that [Trump] told the crowd in public that you got to fight like hell ... We’re interseted in telling the big story, which this was an organised, premediated, deliberate hit against the vice president and the Congress to overthrow the 2020 election.”

More on that alleged phone call from the White House:

January 6 committee advisor says White House called rioter during Capitol attack

Republicans are ‘going through contortions’ to defend Trump after Mar-a-Lago raid

14:45 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Liz Cheney said members of her party are “going through contortions” to defend the former president after taking sensitive and top secret documents from the White House to his home at Mar-a-Lago.

The GOP’s response is “the latest example of how fundamentally destructive Donald Trump has been,” she said at a Texas Tribune event on Saturday.

Cheney will do ‘everything’ she can to prevent Trump’s GOP nomination if he runs in 2024. Or she wont be a Republican

14:32 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Liz Cheney, who recently lost her seat in the House after losing Republican primary in Wyoming to a Trump-backed candidate, told a Texas Tribune event on Saturday that she will drop out of the party if the former president is the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2024.

“I’m going to make sure Donald Trump – I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he is not the nominee,” Ms Cheney said. “And if he is the nominee, I won’t be a Republican.”

She also said she will campaign for Democrats to ensure candidates like Kari Lake – the GOP nominee for the Arizona governor’s race – are not elected in 2022.

“I think it’s really important though, as voters are going to vote, that they recognize and understand what the Republican Conference consists of in the House of Representatives today,” she added.

Cheney: ‘Any interaction that Donald Trump has with the committee will be under oath and subject to penalties of perjury'

14:23 , Alex Woodward

Good morning from the US.

The January 6 committee will resume public hearings on Wednesday, what could be the final public review of findings from House lawmakers investigating the events leading up to and surrounding the attack on the US Capitol fuelled by Trump’s election lies.

In conversation at a Texas Tribune event on Saturday, committee co-chair Liz Cheney was asked whether she wants Trump himself to testify.

Her answer: “Any interaction that Donald Trump has with the committee will be under oath and subject to penalties of perjury.”

Breyer says leak of Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe v Wade was ‘very damaging’ as leaker remains unknown

13:00 , Alex Woodward

Now-retired US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, among three justices who opposed the conservative majority’s decision to strike down the constitutional right to abortion, said a leaked draft of the opinion in the landmark case was a “very damaging” breach of the high court’s protocol.

“Was I happy about it? Not for an instant,” he told CNN of the 24 June decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. “Did I do everything I could to persuade people? Of course, of course. But there we are and now we go on. We try to work together.”

Breyer says leak of Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe v Wade was ‘very damaging’

ICYMI: Security tells Trump fans to stop making QAnon salute at his latest rally

12:00 , Alex Woodward

Like at his rally in Youngstown, Ohio last week, supporters in North Carolina on Friday night began to raise up their index fingers – which some have speculated might be a QAnon salute reflecting the slogan “Where we go one we go all” – as a song that sounds a lot like a QAnon anthem played on the loudspeakers.

Lisa Pyle, who wore a hat with the Q symbol, told The Independent that she appreciated his use of Q symbolism.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said, but added she likely would not vote in 2022. “Would you vote in a broken election if you knew? If you knew the truth?”

Trump fans do QAnon symbol again at rally despite security trying to stop them

ICYMI: QAnon supporters are thriving on Truth Social

11:00 , Alex Woodward

As The Independent previously reported following the platform’s formal launch, hashtags related to the QAnon slogan “where we go one we go all” were easily found among hundreds of recent posts on Trump’s Truth Social platform, and profiles dedicated to “the great awakening” – the ascendance of a far-right renaissance with Trump at the helm, jailing or killing his political enemies – and other QAnon-referencing accounts were easily searchable through the platform’s account search function.

In the months since its launch, at least 88 accounts embedded within the QAnon delusion with more than 10,000 followers are promoting Q-related slogans, graphics and messages widely across the platform. More than one third of those accounts were previously banned on Twitter.

QAnon followers are thriving on Donald Trump’s Truth Social

ICYMI: Breyer refuses to condemn Ginni Thomas’s efforts to overturn election

09:00 , Alex Woodward

Former US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has refused to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Ginni Thomas’s involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The now-retired Breyer told CNN that the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas can make her own decisions about her political activity and whether it could impact the nation’s highest court – as he insisted that he “likes” both her and his conservative counterpart.

“I don’t go through that in that I strongly believe that women who are wives, including wives of Supreme Court justices, have to make the decisions about how to lead their lives, careers, what kind of career, etc., for themselves,” he said.

Ex-Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer refuses to condemn Ginni Thomas

Trump opens rally with crude insults about ‘raging maniac’ New York attorney general after she sues him

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump was not 10 minutes into his remarks at a North Carolina rally to boost Republican candidates in the state when he turned his attention to a candidate who will appear on a ballot 437 miles away in the state he once called home.

Two days after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump of engaging in a years-long scheme to inflate his net work, the former president derided her efforts as “gross prosecutorial misconduct” that is he claims is a Democratic-led plot to destroy him and his extremist political movement.

Trump opens rally with crude rant about ‘raging maniac’ New York attorney general

Five takeaways from the lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024

07:00 , Alex Woodward

A sweeping lawsuit against the Trump empire comes as the former president weighs another run for president in 2024 after he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

After the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago last month, one poll showed that he bolted even further ahead of other potential Republican challengers in a primary. Similarly, the former president’s supporters have shown little sign of abandoning him, and it’s unlikely the latest lawsuit will push his followers away.

Five major allegations from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

06:00 , Alex Woodward

The New York Attorney General’s lawsuit against Trump and his business empire follows a three-year civil investigation into at least 23 of his properties and assets, from his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida to his namesake tower in Manhattan and golf courses in Scotland.

Ms James’s office found that at least 11 of Mr Trump’s annual financial statements included more than 200 false and misleading asset valuations.

“The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year,” according to the lawsuit.

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Man charged with assault for tapping Giuliani on the back signals potential $2m lawsuit for false arrest

05:00 , Alex Woodward

A man charged with assault and jailed for more than 24 hours in June for touching Rudy Giuliani’s back in a Staten Island supermarket has signalled a potential lawsuit against New York City for $2m for his false arrest.

Video captured Daniel Gill, then an employee of the store, touching Mr Giuliani on the back with his hand inside a ShopRite market while the former mayor and Donald Trump attorney was supporting his son Andrew’s unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination for governor.

“What’s up, scumbag?” Mr Gill said, according to a notice of a claim that was filed on 22 September.

“I believe you let Mr Gill go, a lot more of these crazy pro-choice people are going to start attacking people,” Mr Giuliani said on a Facebook Live video in June addressing the incident.

Man charged with assault for tapping Giuliani signals $2m wrongful arrest lawsuit

ICYMI: Trump shares Truth Social photo declaring himself second only to Jesus

04:00 , Alex Woodward

Using his own Truth Social platform (he remains banned from Twitter and Facebook), Trump “re-truthed” a post by another Truth Social user which read: “Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest”.

Trump shares Truth Social photo declaring himself second only to Jesus

Eric Garcia: These are the Senate seats most likely to flip in November

03:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s Washington bureau chief Eric Garcia has his updated ranking of Senate seats most likely to flip in November elections.

These are the Senate seats most likely to flip in November

Ahmed Baba: ‘Trump and his children are in a lot of trouble – more than we ever expected'

02:00 , Alex Woodward

Ahmed Baba

Trump and his kids are in a lot of trouble — more than we ever expected

Trumps could face $250m penalty and ban from doing business in New York in fraud suit

01:00 , Alex Woodward

The former president, his business empire, associates and three adult children are facing serious consequences for an alleged fraud scheme outlined in a sweeping lawsuit from the New York Attorney General.

Letitia James is also seeking to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s finances, and wants to oust the Trumps from their positions in the organization.

But the suit goes even further than that. She is asking that Mr Trump and his adult children be barred from serving as officers or directors in a New York company, effectively running them out of the state.

Trumps could face $250m penalty and ban from doing business in NY in fraud lawsuit

ICYMI: Rioter who pursued Eugene Goodman found guilty on all counts in Capitol riot case

Sunday 25 September 2022 00:00 , Alex Woodward

Doug Jensen, who stormed the US Capitol wearing a QAnon T-shirt and chased after the lauded US Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, was found guilty on Friday of all seven counts he was facing.

Jan 6 rioter Doug Jensen who pursued Eugene Goodman found guilty on all counts

QAnon, the Big Lie and misogyny: Inside Trump’s Wilmington rally

Saturday 24 September 2022 23:13 , Alex Woodward

Days after he was hit with a bombshell lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump returned to his comfort zone: in front of an adoring crowd, where he can revel in his disdain for his political opponents and whoop up support against the multiple investigations closing in on him.

His latest rally in North Carolina was also the former president’s chance to return a conquering hero, since most of the candidates he endorsed in the state won their primaries.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia reports from Wilmington:

QAnon, the Big Lie and misogyny: Inside Trump’s Wilmington rally

Judge dismisses Arizona GOP chair’s lawsuit against Jan 6 committee, clearing way for access to her phone records

Saturday 24 September 2022 22:28 , Alex Woodward

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward seeking to block a subpoena from the January 6 committee for access to her phone records.

US District Judge Diane Humetewa said in her ruling issued late on Thursday that the committee has a legitimite reason to review calls made in the days between Election Day 2020 and the end of Trump’s term in office, during which Ms Ward – a prominent election denier in the state – sought to organise “alternate” electors to reject Joe Biden’s certification.

“That three-month period is plainly relevant to [the committee’s] investigation into the causes” of the attack at the US Capitol, the judge rule.

Newt Gingrich tells reporter ‘you have a learning disability’ in exchange over Jan 6 probe

Saturday 24 September 2022 22:00 , Alex Woodward

The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol is seeking information from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who remains an influential figure among Republican politics and a close ally to the former president.

But when asked by a reporter at the Capitol on 22 September whether he has any thoughts about the committee’s work, Mr Gingrich said “I think you have a learning disability.”

Watch the exchange and learn why the committee is demanding his cooperation:

Newt Gingrich tells reporter ‘you have a learning disability’ in exchange over Jan 6

Matt Gaetz unlikely to be charged in sex trafficking probe but investigation’s future unclear, report says

Saturday 24 September 2022 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who has been tied to a sex trafficking probe as part of a long-running Justice Department investigation, is reportedly unlikely to face charges because career prosecutors believe they will be unlikely to obtain a conviction.

A report from The Washington Post says that senior officials have not yet decided whether to seek an indictment, but prosecutors are recommending that they not do so because of “of credibility questions with the two central witnesses”.

The Post reported that “people familiar with the matter” say it is possible that “additional evidence” could change prosecutors’ “understanding of the case” but as of now it is unlikely that he will ever face an indictment.

Matt Gaetz unlikely to be charged in sex trafficking probe, report says

ICYMI: Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury

Saturday 24 September 2022 21:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s legal team is reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from his White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

The former president’s lawyers have reportedly asserted executive and attorney-client privilege to block some witnesses, such as ex-White House aide and attorney Eric Herschmann, from complying with subpoenas to appear before the grand jury.

A trio of Trump lawyers were at a Washington, DC courthouse on Thursday, reportedly to present arguments on the matter to a federal judge.

Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Adam Schiff: DOJ made ‘breathtaking’ request for Jan 6 committee’s files

Saturday 24 September 2022 20:30 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Adam Schiff, who sits on the House selecte committee investigating the Capitol attack, said that the US Department of Justice requested documents from the committee, what he called a “breathtaking” request.

“My first reaction was ... why don’t you have your own damn files?” he said on Saturday, according to NBC News’s Ali Vitali. “Why haven’t you been conducting your own investigation?”

Writer behind Trump rally song compared to QAnon theme rejects association with conspiracy theory movement

Saturday 24 September 2022 20:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump aides were quick to deny that a song that has played at Trump rallies is a QAnon theme after playing a royalty-free track called “Mirrors” by composer Will Van De Crommert.

The song bears some resemblance to the song “Wwg1wga”, an abbreviation for the QAnon slogan “Where we go one, we go all.”

Mr Van De Crommert is not pleased with the association and has sought to distance himself from the campaign and conspiracy theorist movement

Writer behind song used in Trump rally and similar to QAnon theme hits out at its use

Breyer refuses to condemn Ginni Thomas’s efforts to overturn election

Saturday 24 September 2022 19:45 , Alex Woodward

Former US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has refused to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Ginni Thomas’s involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The now-retired Breyer told CNN that the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas can make her own decisions about her political activity and whether it could impact the nation’s highest court – as he insisted that he “likes” both her and his conservative counterpart.

“I don’t go through that in that I strongly believe that women who are wives, including wives of Supreme Court justices, have to make the decisions about how to lead their lives, careers, what kind of career, etc., for themselves,” he said.

Ex-Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer refuses to condemn Ginni Thomas

White House condemns ‘catastrophic’ decision allowing Arizona’s 1864 anti-abortion law to take effect

Saturday 24 September 2022 19:30 , Alex Woodward

The White House has warned of “catastrophic, dangerous and unacceptable” consequences to follow a judge’s decision upholding Arizona’s 158-year-old anti-abortion law, initially drafted 48 years before Arizona was even a state.

In a statement on 24 September, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre warned the judge’s decision will “set Arizona women back more than a century.”

White House condemns Arizona’s 150-year-old abortion ban allowed to take effect

Trump-backed Ohio congressional candidate can’t explain disputes over his military service records

Saturday 24 September 2022 19:15 , Alex Woodward

Ohio Republican congressional candidate JR Majewski wildly exaggerated his military and professional background, including record as a “combat veteran” in Afghanistan despite only serving six months loading planes far from any frontline battles.

During a press conference addressing the report on Friday, the Trump-backed GOP candidate insisted his military records are “classified”.

“The military record I have been able to obtain, from my personal files, shows that all of my deployments are listed as classified,” he said.

He claimed that the Associated Press report debunking his claims was an attempt to “defame” him with a “fake hit piece.”

The report says Mr Majrewski’s post-military career “has been defined by exaggerations, conspiracy theories, talk of violent action against the US government and occasional financial duress.”

Investors pulled millions out of Truth Social acquisition deal

Saturday 24 September 2022 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Investors are pulling out of a plan from Digital World Acquisition Corp to acquire Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, according to the firm’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Digital World announce on Friday that it received termination notices from private investment in public equity investors ending nearly $139m in investments out of the $1bn commitment it had previously announced, according to Reuters.

ICYMI: QAnon supporters are thriving on Truth Social

Saturday 24 September 2022 18:30 , Alex Woodward

Within the first few months of Trump’s Truth Social, the former president himself has shared 30 different QAnon-affiliated accounts dozens of times to his more than 4 million followers.

At least 88 accounts embedded within the sprawling QAnon delusion with more than 10,000 followers each are promoting Q-related slogans, graphics and messages widely across the platform. More than one third of those accounts were previously banned on Twitter.

From our report in August:

QAnon followers are thriving on Donald Trump’s Truth Social

QAnon, the Big Lie and misogyny: Inside Trump’s Wilmington rally

Saturday 24 September 2022 18:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s ongoing baseless narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him continues to dominate his public appearances and social media posts stringing together lies about voter fraud.

His latest rally was no exception, while also digging into his misogynistic disdain for women who have challenged him and openly courting QAnon conspiracy theorists who fuel his Truth Social platform.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia has the big takeaways from on the ground in North Carolina:

QAnon, the Big Lie and misogyny: Inside Trump’s Wilmington rally

Trump fans do QAnon symbol again at rally despite security trying to stop them

Saturday 24 September 2022 17:30 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump has openly courted QAnon influencers and supporters, who are raising their fingers in the air in an apparent salute referencing the sprawling conspiracy theory that baselessly asserts the 2020 presidential election was rigged, among other claims.

Lisa Pyle, who wore a hat with the Q symbol, told The Independent that she appreciated his use of QAnon symbolism.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said.

She told The Independent’s chief Washington correspondent Eric Garcia that she likely would not vote in 2022: “Would you vote in a broken election if you knew? If you knew the truth?”

Trump fans do QAnon symbol again at rally despite security trying to stop them

January 6 committee adviser says White House called rioter during Capitol insurrection

Saturday 24 September 2022 17:00 , Alex Woodward

While a mob of Trump supporters stormed the hall of Congress, the White House switchboard reportedly connected a phone call to one of the rioters.

“I only know one end of that call,” Denver Riggleman, a technical adviser who worked with the congressional, told 60 Minutes. “I don’t know the White House end, which I believe is more important. But the thing is the American people need to know that there are link connections that need to be explored more.”

Mr Riggleman, a former military intelligence officer and Republican congressman from Virginia, is the author of a forthcoming book which argues the January 6 committee needed to further investigate communication records like the alleged White House call.

January 6 committee advisor says White House called rioter during Capitol attack

January 6 rioter who pursued Eugene Goodman found guilty on all counts in Capitol riot case

Saturday 24 September 2022 16:00 , Alex Woodward

Doug Jensen, a January 6 rioter who stormed the US Capitol wearing a QAnon T-shirt while chasing after the lauded US Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, was found guilty on Friday of all seven counts he was facing.

The Iowa man was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol building, according to the government.

Federal prosecutors said he “would not be stopped on January 6 until he got what he came for: to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”

Jan 6 rioter Doug Jensen who pursued Eugene Goodman found guilty on all counts

These are the 20 properties in Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Saturday 24 September 2022 15:00 , Alex Woodward

The New York attorney general lawsuit against Trump follows a three-year civil investigation into at least 23 of his properties and assets, from his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida to his namesake tower in Manhattan and golf courses in Scotland.

Her office found that at least 11 of his annual financial statements included more than 200 false and misleading asset valuations.

“The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year,” according to the lawsuit.

Here’s a look at the 20 of those properties and the myriad schemes allegedly used to fraudulently boost his financial state.

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Watch: Trump calls New York Attorney General ‘crazy, radical, leftist nutjob’ during rally

Saturday 24 September 2022 14:30 , Alex Woodward

After a three-year investigation into widespread allegations of fraud and dubious business practices within his real estate empire, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this week a sweeping lawsuit targeting Trump, his three adult children and associates within his Trump Organization.

During his campaign-style rally in North Carolina on Friday night, Trump called her a “raging maniac” and “leftist nutjob.”

ICYMI: Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Saturday 24 September 2022 12:40 , Josh Marcus

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump are reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from the twice-impeached ex-president’s White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

According to CNN, Mr Trump’s lawyers have aggressively asserted executive and attorney-client privilege to block some witnesses, such as ex-White House aide and attorney Eric Herschmann, from complying with subpoenas to appear before the grand jury.

A trio of Trump lawyers were at a Washington, DC courthouse on Thursday, reportedly to present arguments on the matter to a federal judge.

After Evan Corcoran, Tim Parlatore and John Rowley were seen exiting the courthouse, Mr Palatore told reporters he was “representing a client” there but did not elaborate further.

Andrew Feinberg has the details for The Independent.

Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Donald Trump favourite Elton John plays Biden White House

Saturday 24 September 2022 11:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump may love Elton John, but Elton John is not a huge fan of Donald Trump, having turned down an invitation to perform at the 2016 inauguration.

Today, the “Rocket Man” legend played a concert on the lawn of the White House on Friday for Joe Biden, while Mr Trump gave a rally in North Carolina.

Here’s more on the strange relationship between Mr Trump and Sir Elton.

Elton John's unlikely recurring role in Trump’s presidency

Kushner pays $3.25m to settle illegal tenant fee accusations

Saturday 24 September 2022 10:40 , Josh Marcus

A property management company owned by the family of former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has agreed to pay a $3.25 million civil penalty and restitution to settle a 2019 lawsuit in Maryland over allegations of charging tenants illegal fees and failing to maintain properties, Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Friday.

Frosh announced that his office’s Consumer Protection Division has reached a settlement with Westminster Management, LLC, a New Jersey-based corporation, and the 25 companies that own or owned 17 residential communities managed by Westminster Management in Maryland.

The settlement addresses charges that Westminster and the property owners violated the Consumer Protection Act.

Full story here.

Maryland announces settlement with Kushner-owned company

ICYMI: January 6 committee adviser says White House called rioter during Capitol insurrection

Saturday 24 September 2022 23:33 , Alex Woodward

While a mob of Trump supporters stormed the hall of Congress, the White House switchboard reportedly connected a phone call to one of the rioters.

“I only know one end of that call,” Denver Riggleman, a technical adviser who worked with the congressional, told 60 Minutes. “I don’t know the White House end, which I believe is more important. But the thing is the American people need to know that there are link connections that need to be explored more.”

Mr Riggleman, a former military intelligence officer and Republican congressman from Virginia, is the author of a forthcoming book which argues the January 6 committee needed to further investigate communication records like the alleged White House call.

January 6 committee advisor says White House called rioter during Capitol attack

The 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing now that he’s left office

Saturday 24 September 2022 09:40 , Josh Marcus

Lawsuits and investigations hung over Donald Trump throughout his business career, then his presidency, and have continued on through to his current post-presidency phase.

Most recently, there’s the bombshell $250m lawsuit from New York attorney general Letitia James against Mr Trump and three of his children for a host of allegedly fraudulent business practices. But there are plenty more.

Mr Trump has reportedly faced an estimated 4,000 cases in his lifetime, plus two (unsuccessful) impeachments, two (successful) divorces, six bankruptcies, and 26 sexual misconduct allegations. Things haven only gotten worse now that he’s a private citizen again, without the backing of the Justice Department.

Here’s a rundown of all the legal trouble facing the former president.

Here are all 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing

Is the MAGA fundraising machine slowing down?

Saturday 24 September 2022 08:40 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump’s super PAC raised only $40 in the month of August, in a sign that his name doesn’t have the fundraising pull it once did.

Along with the low August numbers, the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC only raised $351,000 in July and nothing in June. By comparison, in the final fundraising quarter of last year, the super PAC raised $4m to $5m.

Even in April and May, it raised $864,000. Among the merchandise Mr Trump’s political action committees are selling include his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s memoir of his time working in the Trump White House, Trump wine glasses, a rally speech signed by the former president and the opportunity have their name engraved on the “donor wall”.

The numbers come as Save America political action committee foots the bill for Mr Trump’s legal fees. Last month, it spent $3.8m on legal fees, the most it had spent on such fees for a month the entire 2022 campaign cycle, with $3m going to Critton, Luttier & Coleman, a law firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump’s Super PAC raised just $40 in August despite selling branded trinkets

What has Donald Trump said about the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation so far?

Saturday 24 September 2022 07:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is becoming increasingly hostile against the federal investigation into his handling of White House documents after leaving office.

In an in-depth interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, he railed against the search, federal agencies, and made numerous false or exagerrated claims.

Here’s some of our reporting on what he said.

Trump says he balked at settling New York tax fraud probe

Trump says he can declassify secret papers just ‘by thinking about it’

Trump says National Archives has ‘a radical left group of people running that thing’

VIDEO: White House switchboard connected call to Capitol rioter, Jan 6 staff claims

Saturday 24 September 2022 06:40 , Josh Marcus

Former January 6 committee staffer Denver Riggleman claims that the White House called one of the Capitol rioters while the insurrection ongoing.

“The American people need to know that there are link connections that need be explored more,” the former Republican House member and advisor to the January 6 inquiry told 60 Minutes on Friday.

New York Attorney General latest target after Trump is MLB

Saturday 24 September 2022 05:40 , Josh Marcus

Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, clearly has no problem taking on powerful entities.

Earlier this week, she filed a bombshell $250m lawsuit against Donald Trump and his family-owned company, accusing the Trump Organization of a host of fraudulent business practices.

NY attorney general files $250m lawsuit against Trump and three of his children

On Friday, she urged Major League Baseball and Apple TV to allow a Yankees game to be aired on cable as well, so New Yorkers could watch Aaron Judge potentially break a homerun record.

Donald Trump continues teasing 2024 run

Saturday 24 September 2022 04:40 , Josh Marcus

The former president has spent nearly his whole time since leaving office running a shadow campaign for the 2024 presidential race.

He’s not slowing down now.

This week, Mr Trump linked on social media to a text on the website American Thinker with the headline “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee” before linking to a CNN report stating that “Trump fields calls from Republican allies to speed up 2024 bid after FBI raid”.

He then shared a story from Townhall.com which said, “The Washington Establishment Fears A Second Term Trump”.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: ‘History is calling’

Donald Trump achieving new heights of humility

Saturday 24 September 2022 03:40 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump on Friday re-shared a social media post in which he was declared to be “second” only to the man Christians believe to have been the son of God.

Using his own Truth Social platform (he remains banned from Twitter and Facebook), Mr Trump “re-truthed” a post by another Truth Social user which read: “Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest”.

The admission that he would be “second” behind anyone is a notable example of humility from the twice-impeached ex-president, who frequently boasts of being the greatest chief executive in American history and describes his own accomplishments using similar superlatives.

Andrew Feinberg has the full story.

Trump shares Truth Social photo declaring himself second only to Jesus

Donald Trump accidentally roasts political allies as ugly

Saturday 24 September 2022 02:36 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is a famously image-conscious fellow, and his rally in North Carolina on Friday was proof.

Towards the end of his speech, as he shouted out various North Carolina candidates he was endorsing, he joked that he didn’t like supporting good-looking politicians.

“Usually I don’t like endorsing handsome people, but I have no choice,” he said of Bo Hines, a former college football player who is running for the House of Representatives.

Trump references Cayler Ellingson killing in North Carolina speech

Saturday 24 September 2022 02:26 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s speech in North Carolina briefly mentioned Cayler Ellingson, a North Dakota teen who was killed in September during a political argument.

Here’s our report on what happened, courtesy of Shweta Sharma.

Man admits to killing teenager over ‘links to extreme right political group’

Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ before warning of ‘great anger’ in US over criminal probes

Saturday 24 September 2022 02:16 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump scoffed at the suggestion that he and his supporters are dangerous at his most recent political rally in North Carolina on Friday, in response president Biden’s recent pro-democracy speech in which he criticised the Maga movement as extreme.

Mr Trump, who is the subject of multiple criminal investigations in Washington DC and Georgia, accused the Biden administration of taking FBI resources “away from fighting crime and using them for partisan political investigations” in hopes of “falsely label[ing]” his “Make America Great Again” movement.

“They want to call us domestic terrorists,” Mr Trump told the crowd. “Can you believe it? I’m not a terrorist”.

Continuing, Mr Trump said there is now “great anger” in the US because of the multiple investigations into his conduct and the conduct of his supporters, as well as the ongoing FBI efforts to bring to justice anyone who broke laws during the January 6 2021 riot he incited.

Andrew Feinberg has the full story.

Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ and warns of ‘great anger’ over criminal probes

Donald Trump tells crowd America is ‘not great anymore'

Saturday 24 September 2022 02:06 , Josh Marcus

In classic fashion, Donald Trump is vacilitating in this rally between inflated claims about his perfect record in the White House and apocalyptic predictions that America is dying.

“For some reason, it’s just not great anymore,” Mr Trump said of America during his rally on Friday in North Carolina.

Here’s a clip.

Donald Trump reiterates false claims that death penalty for dealers will stop drug crime

Saturday 24 September 2022 01:56 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is continuing to call for a death penalty for drug dealers, supporting his proposal with false claims that such a policy would dramatically reduce crime.

“If you do the death penalty for drug dealers, you will cut crime by more than 80 per cent in this country, immediately,” Mr Trump told the North Carolina crowd on Friday.

As Alex Woodward and Josh Marcus reported for The Independent, not only is this not true, but it goes against Mr Trump’s own past bills on criminal justice.

Trump says death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers is ‘very humane’

Trump opens rally with crude insults about New York attorney general after she sues him

Saturday 24 September 2022 01:46 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump was not 10 minutes into his remarks at a rally meant to boost Republican candidates in North Carolina when he turned his attention to a candidate who will appear on a ballot 437 miles away in the state he once called home.

Instead of extolling the virtuest of the GOP ticket in this year’s midterm elections, the twice-impeached ex-president launched into an extended tirade about the New York State attorney general who on Wednesday filed a $250m lawsuit against him, his three eldest children and a host of companies, organisations and persons associated with his eponymous real estate and licensing business, following a three-year civil investigation into allegations of fraud.

“There’s no better example of the left’s chilling obsession with targeting political opponents than the baseless, abusive and depraved lawsuit against me, my family, my company, by the racist Attorney General of New York State. Leticia ‘Peekaboo’ James,” said Mr Trump, who employed a bizarre and heretofore unexplained nickname for the Empire State’s chief law enforcement officer.

Read Andrew Feinberg’s full report.

Trump opens rally with crude rant about New York attorney general after she sues him

Donald Trump insists he’s not a ‘terrorist’ in oblique reply to Biden speech

Saturday 24 September 2022 01:36 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump took a belated jab at Joe Biden during his speech on Friday in North Carolina.

“They want to call us domestic terrorists,” Mr Trump told the crowd. “Can you believe it? I’m not a terrorist.”

The remark was an apparent response to Mr Biden’s high-profile speech earlier this month where he described the Make America Great Again movement as a form of extremism.

“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” Mr Biden said at a speech in Philadelphia, adding that the man he defeated nearly two years ago — former president Donald Trump — and his “Maga Republican” allies “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic”.

Mr Biden stressed that “not every Republican” subscribes to the “extreme ideology” of Mr Trump and his acolytes, but he warned that the GOP today is largely “dominated, driven and intimidated” by Mr Trump and “the Maga Republicans,” referring to Mr Trump’s and his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

Biden warns of Trump and GOP extremism threatening ‘foundations of our republic’

Donald Trump encourages GOP turnout in November while continuing election falsehoods

Saturday 24 September 2022 01:26 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is sounding a little different than he has at past rallies.

Make no mistake, he’s still falsely claiming to have won the 2020 election.

“I ran twice. I won twice, getting many millions more votes,” told the crowd in North Carolina.

But he’s also encouraging GOP voters to turn out in November.

“You must vote Republican” in “overwhelming numbers,” Mr Trump told the rally.

“We have to swamp ‘em,” he continued. “The best way we can stop them from cheating—becuas they’re cheaters, dirty rotten cheaters—is to swamp them.”

Previously, during the 2020 election, he rankled top Republicans by saying voters shouldn’t bother with the tight Georgia Senate race, where a pair of Democrats won.

Trump staff defensive over claims of poor turnout at Georgia rally

Trump rails against ‘racist’ New York attorney general lawsuit

Saturday 24 September 2022 01:02 , Josh Marcus

Predictably, Donald Trump is hammering New York attorney general Letitia James for the massive fraud lawsuit she filed this week against the former president and the Trump Organization.

He told the crowd at a Friday rally in North Carolina the suit from “this crazy radical nutjob James” was “racist” and an “appalling and malicious abuse of power.”

“There’s never been a president that’s gone through the crap I’ve gone through,” Mr Trump complained during his speech.

Donald Trump takes the stage in North Carolina

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:52 , Josh Marcus

The former president has taken the stage, after a lengthy wait at his Friday rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.

We’ll be following all the latest from his campaign-style speech.

Trump’s weird theory about Biden and ‘Phantom of the Opera’

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:40 , Josh Marcus

Ahead of Donald Trump’s rally in North Carolina on Friday, he played a track from the musical Phantom of the Opera for the crowd.

The former president has a deep, somewhat strange attachment to the Broadway show.

He even thinks its recent closure is related to the Biden administration.

Andrew Feinberg has more.

Trump bizarrely tries to pin ‘Phantom of the Opera’ closure on Biden administration

Follow our man on the ground for the latest from the Trump rally

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:20 , Josh Marcus

The Independent’s Eric Michael Garcia is on the ground in North Carolina for today’s Trump rally.

Right now, per Eric, the crowd is watching a Fox News clip about the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Follow @EricMGarcia for the latest.

South Korean president calls US lawmakers ‘idiots’ on hot mic

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:13 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is a man who famously values his image.

He probably wouldn’t like the reviews of America coming out of the top levels of South Korea right now.

The president of South Korea was been caught on camera calling US lawmakers “idiots” and saying that they could possibly embarrass US President Joe Biden if they don’t approve funding for global public health initiatives.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story.

South Korean president calls US lawmakers ‘idiots’ on hot mic

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

Friday 23 September 2022 23:25 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Tump alleged that during his negotiations with the Taliban as US president he used a satellite image of a Taliban leader’s house to threaten the terrorist group.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News this week, Mr Trump said he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the designated terrorist group.

Gino Spocchia reports:

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

Five key takeaways from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024

Friday 23 September 2022 22:55 , Gino Spocchia

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a massive civil suit on Wednesday accusing Donald Trump and his adult children of artificially inflating the value of multiple business entities. The suit seeks to bar them from doing business in New York state, where the family made their bones for decades.

The extent and the detail of Mr Trump’s actions, with the assistance of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were not known until now.

Eric Garcia breaks down the main takeaways from this new effort by state officials in New York to make Mr Trump answer for longstanding allegations of fraud:

Five major allegations from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump

ICYMI: Gaetz wanted Trump pardon

Friday 23 September 2022 22:15 , Gino Spocchia

Following reports on Friday that Matt Gaetz will likely not face charges over an investigation into him by the Department of Justice, another report only last week revealed that the pro-Trump congressman had expressed a desire for the former president to issue a preemptive pardon before leaving office.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander with the details:

Gaetz wanted Trump to give him pre-emptive pardon over sex investigation, report says

Trump PAC raises $40 in August

Friday 23 September 2022 21:45 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump’s super PAC raised only $40 in the month of August, in a sign that his name doesn’t have the fundraising pull it once did.

Along with the low August numbers, the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC only raised $351,000 in July and nothing in June. By comparison, in the final fundraising quarter of last year, the super PAC raised $4m to $5m.

As Eric Garcia explains, the numbers come as the Save America political action committee foots the bill for Mr Trump’s legal fees, which last month came to a reported $3.8m are are likely to grow.

Trump’s Super PAC raised just $40 in August despite selling branded trinkets

Latest behind-the-scenes efforts in Trump legal case

Friday 23 September 2022 21:33 , Andrew Feinberg

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump are reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from the twice-impeached ex-president’s White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Trump keeps ‘Truth’-ing

Friday 23 September 2022 21:32 , David Taintor

In his latest peculiar post on Truth Social, Donald Trump shared an image from a supporter celebrating the former president as second “only” to Jesus.

ICYMI: Trump faced criticism for QAnon symbols at rally

Friday 23 September 2022 21:05 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump came under fire earlier this week following a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he played a song associated with QAnon, wore a “Q” shaped pin, and referred to QAnon beliefs and slogans.

“This is the week when Trump became Qanon,” wrote one analyst of the rally in support of Republican Senate candidate JD Vance. “This isn’t a political statement; it just is, however disturbing.”

It remains to be seen if QAnon will again feature in North Carolina this evening.

Gustaf Kilander has the details:

Trump under fire for QAnon display at Ohio rally: ‘He has gone completely insane’

Gates open at Wilmington International Airport

Friday 23 September 2022 20:25 , Gino Spocchia

Gates at the Aero Center at Wilmington International Airport, where Mr Trump is holding a rally tonight, were due to open at 2pm local time, ahead of his 7pm time slot.

According to The Carolina Journal, North Carolina Lt Governor Mark Robinson, Rep David Rouzer, local GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, and Bo Hines, a Republican congressional candidate, are due to speak.

While the rally is in support of Ted Budd, the Republican senate candidate for the state, most of the attention will likely be on the twice-impeached former president.

Ted Budd adopting controversy – and Trump

Friday 23 September 2022 19:45 , Gino Spocchia

Ahead of November’s elections, Republican candidates up and down the US are distancing themselves from controversial policies and people — namely, abortion and former president Donald Trump — as Election Day approaches.

Not Ted Budd, the North Carolina Republican Senate nominee, who the Associated Press reports “is leaning into support for abortion restrictions and amity with the former Republican president as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the Southern swing state.”

Continue reading here:

Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

How AOC was responsible for the NY investigation into Trump

Friday 23 September 2022 19:05 , Gino Spocchia

On Wednesday, when New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her $250m civil lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, she specifically cited former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s testimony in 2019, when he revealed that the former president fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.

The question that triggered Mr Cohen’s response came in 2019 from Ms James’s fellow New Yorker, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg report:

How AOC inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

QAnon memes go further on Trump’s Truth Social

Friday 23 September 2022 18:25 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump has again been accused of falling further into the world of QAnon after he shared multiple images nodding to the conspiracy theoryin a video.

The QAnon memes appeared in a minute-long montage shared by the former president on his own Truth Social media platform on Thursday night.

Gino Spocchia has more:

Trump falls deeper into QAnon with post about ‘santanists’

Meta to consider Trump Facebook account

Friday 23 September 2022 17:45 , Gino Spocchia

Meta executive Nick Clegg says he will make the final call on whether to reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook account when his suspension from the social media platform runs out next year.

Mr Clegg, the company’s head of global affairs, told an event in Washington DC that allowing the one-term president to potentially return to Facebook is “a decision I oversee and I drive”.

Graeme Massie has the details:

Facebook executive Nick Clegg will make decision on whether to reinstate Trump

Biden preparing for Florida rally

Friday 23 September 2022 17:05 , Gino Spocchia

Joe Biden will be holding a rally in Florida next week, in an effort at building momentumm ahead of the next presidential election om 2024.

Donald Trump or the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis. are tipped to run.

Mr Biden lost the state by three points in 2020.

Trump was called ‘orange Jesus’ on January 6

Friday 23 September 2022 16:25 , Gino Spocchia

Liz Cheney has said that one House Republican who objected to the 2020 presidential election results called former president Donald Trump “orange Jesus” in the hours before January 6.

Eric Garcia has more:

Liz Cheney says pro-Trump colleague muttered: ‘The things we do for the Orange Jesus’

Capitol rioter sentenced to four years in prison

Friday 23 September 2022 15:45 , Gino Spocchia

A Capitol rioter who dressed up as Adolf Hitler for January – and whose case has been championed by former president Donald Trump – has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for participating in the attack.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of New Jersey, is a former Army reservist who was convicted in May after trying — and failing — to convince a jury he was unaware that Congress was in session at the Capitol.

Graig Graziosi has more:

Capitol rioter who dressed as Hitler sentenced to four years in federal prison

Looking back at Trump’s migrant policies

Friday 23 September 2022 15:05 , Gino Spocchia

Following Donald Trump’s most recent comments about deprorting migrants if he runs for president in 2024 and wins, here’s a reminder of what happened when his administration separated children arriving at the southern border from their families.

Speaking at the opening of a regular Human Rights Council session in Geneva in 2018, a top UN human rights official said the Trump administration policy was “unconscionable”.

“The thought that any state would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein at the time.

Read more here:

Trump's policy of breaking up migrant families is 'unconscionable', says UN human rights chief

Declassified documents reveal Nixon radiation exposure in 1976

Friday 23 September 2022 14:35 , Gino Spocchia

Newly declassified documents have revealed that former president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat were exposed to radiation during their visit to the Soviet Union in July 1959 during the Cold War.

The state department was informed of the incident 17 years later in 1976, when a member of Nixon’s secret service team, James Golden, revealed detection equipment known as Radiac Dosimeters, had “measured significant levels of radiation” in and around the vice president’s sleeping quarters at Spaso House.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Richard Nixon was ‘exposed to massive dosages of radiation’ during 1959 Moscow trip

Trump made satellite image threat to Taliban co-founder

Friday 23 September 2022 13:55 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Tump has alleged that during his negotiations with the Taliban as US president he used a satellite image of a Taliban leader’s house to threaten the terrorist group.

The small – but eye-opening detail – came in a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News this week.

Mr Trump said he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the designated terrorist group which eventually led to the withdrawn from, and take-over of, Afghanistan.

Gino Spocchia has more:

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Friday 23 September 2022 13:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has made some very eyebrow-raising claims about his supposed authority to declassify documents that were found by FBI agents at Mar-a-Lago.

But notably, his attorneys have not actually followed up and made that claim in legal filings on his behalf, showing the disfunction that defines Mr Trump’s inner team and legal counsel.

Let’s take a look at what a president can actually declassify — and what, if anything, it has to do with a former president who has left office.

Read more in The Independent:

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn’t Trump in cuffs?

Friday 23 September 2022 12:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

New York’s attorney general isn’t arresting former President Donald Trump even though she says her three-year investigation uncovered potential crimes in the way he ran his real estate empire.

Read the full piece by Associated Press here:

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Five key takeaways from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024

Friday 23 September 2022 11:15 , John Bowden

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a massive civil suit on Wednesday accusing Donald Trump and his adult children of artificially inflating the value of multiple business entities. The suit seeks to bar them from doing business in New York state, where the family made their bones for decades.

The extent and the detail of Mr Trump’s actions, with the assistance of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were not known until now.

Eric Garcia breaks down the main takeaways from this new effort by state officials in New York to make Mr Trump answer for longstanding allegations of fraud.

Five major allegations from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump

Ted Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

Friday 23 September 2022 10:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Ted Budd is leaning into his support for abortion restrictions and his allegiance to former president Donald Trump as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the southern swing state, Associated Press reports:

Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

203 Republicans try to vote down bill to make it harder to overthrow election

Friday 23 September 2022 09:15 , John Bowden

More than 200 Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a bill aimed at preventing Congress from interfering in the election certification process, a clear show of fealty to the de facto leader of their party who asked them to do so just two years ago.

Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming co-sponsored the legislation with Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren. Both members sit on the House select committee to investigate riot at the US Capitol on January 6. It passed, thanks to the chamber’s Democratic majority. Companion legislation in the Senate also has some bipartisan support.

But only 11 Republicans voted to pass the final legislation in the House.

Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

203 Republicans try to vote down bill to make it harder to overthrow election

ICYMI: Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Friday 23 September 2022 08:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The Brooklyn federal judge in charge of reviewing the 11,000 documents which the FBI seized from former president Donald Trump’s home during an 8 August search has ordered the ex-president’s legal team to say whether they believe agents planted evidence to incriminate the former president.

Read the full story by Andrew Feinberg here:

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Trump-backed Joe Kent has ‘good hair’ but ‘bad ideas’, says Democratic challenger

Friday 23 September 2022 08:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent has nice hair but bad ideas, his Democratic opponent has said, alleging the former Green Beret is too extreme for Washington state.

Read the full story by Andrew Buncombe here:

Trump-backed Joe Kent has ‘good hair’ but ‘bad ideas’, says Democratic challenger

Book reveals bizarre business practices at Trump Organization, including once getting paid with gold bars

Friday 23 September 2022 07:49 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A forthcoming book by a New York Times journalist, Maggie Haberman, claims that Donald Trump’s unusual business practices include once being paid with gold bars, CNN reported.

Haberman’s book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” will be released on 4 October.

According to the book excerpts seen by CNN, Mr Trump told aides that he didn’t know what to do with the gold bars once they had been delivered. He ultimately directed a senior official from the Trump Organization to wheel the bars up to his apartment in Trump Tower.

Trump claims ‘most’ FBI agents voted for him despite accusing agency of bias

Friday 23 September 2022 07:15 , John Bowden

Mr Trump’s back-and-forth support for law enforcement continues, as he claimed on Fox News this week that “most of the people within the FBI” — outside of “top groups” — “probably voted for Trump”.

It’s a somewhat bizarre claim given that just a few weeks ago, Republican House Minority Whip Steve Scalise was on the same network claiming that “rogue” FBI agents may have been behind the raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The former president’s latest claim was part of a rambling, off-the-rails interview with Sean Hannity, his first face-to-face sitdown interview since FBI agents raided his home for classified materials.

Read more from Andrew Feinberg:

Trump claims ‘most’ FBI agents voted for him despite accusing agency of bias

Trump promises to deport 'millions' if reelected

Friday 23 September 2022 06:56 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Former president Donald Trump said that he would deport millions of immigrants if he were re-elected in 2024.

During an interview with Fox News, when the host Sean Hannity asked him “if you were to win and became president… how long do you believe you could get things back to where you had it when you left?” the former president said: “Very quickly, except for one thing: millions of people are in our country now that shouldn’t be here. Many of them are prisoners, criminals.”

When the host asked him “would you deport them?” he responded: “The bad ones I would deport. Millions and millions of people have... they’re poisoning our country. They’re poisoning – I’d like to be nice about it.”

Explainer: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Friday 23 September 2022 06:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

In the weeks since the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and seized about 100 documents with classification markings, the former president has insisted he had declassified the information. Presidents do have broad authority to declassify material, experts say, but there is a detailed process unlike what Trump described.

Read the full piece on how declassification works here:

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Bank directors urge firing of Trump official in ethics probe

Friday 23 September 2022 05:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Senior officials from the Inter-American Development Bank on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend firing a former Trump official as president of the Washington-based institution, it was reported.

Associated Press said that the move came after an investigation conducted at the bank board’s request determined that Mauricio Claver-Carone violated ethics rules by favouring a top aide with whom he had a romantic relationship.

A person familiar with the vote, said that the ultimate decision to fire Mr Claver-Carone now is with the finance officials who sit on the Board of Governors representing all 48 of the bank’s member nations.

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Friday 23 September 2022 05:15 , John Bowden

New York’s attorney general says her three-year investigation of former President Donald Trump uncovered potential crimes in the way he ran his real estate empire, including allegations of bank and insurance fraud. So why isn’t Trump being prosecuted?

The state’s law is complicated. Letitia James, the attorney general, is bound by restrictions on what criminal investigations she can actually launch herself without partnering with local prosecutors. And those investigations have yet to bear fruit against Mr Trump himself, though his CFO Allen Weisselberg last month plead guilty to felony charges.

Read more about the intricacies of the New York investigations in The Independent:

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Trump flinging paper towels at Puerto Rico residents resurfaces as Biden pledges full support after hurricane

Friday 23 September 2022 04:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Videos of Donald Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Rico residents in October 2017 have resurfaced on social media, as president Joe Biden pledged full support for the island, which has once again been struck by a natural disaster.

Read the full story by Gustaf Kilander here:

Trump flinging paper towels in Puerto Rico resurfaces as Biden pledges support

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer in January 6 panel interview

Friday 23 September 2022 04:15 , John Bowden

Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is set to give unprecedented testimony to the Jan 6 panel regarding her role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Her involvement in the pro-Trump scheme has cast a massive shadow on the work of the Supreme Court, which already faced historic concerns about its legitimacy from the American public.

There are several questions that Ms Thomas is in a unique position to answer, both regarding her own activities as well as those of White House staff in the weeks leading up to the attack as well as the day of January 6 itself.

Read more from John Bowden:

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer in January 6 panel interview

Trump's legal woes mount without protection of presidency

Friday 23 September 2022 03:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s growing storm of legal battles illustrates just how much protection he was being afforded as president — and how that all has come to an end.

Mr Trump’s own attorneys have illustrated that fact as they have refused to support their own client’s argument that any of the documents seized by FBI agents were declassified (so far).

Read more in The Independent about the evolving nature of Donald Trump’s post-presidential legal defences:

Trump's legal woes mount without protection of presidency

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

Friday 23 September 2022 02:15 , John Bowden

As New York’s attorney general announces a massive civil lawsuit aimed at holding Donald Trump accountable for allegedly fraudulent business practices, the spotlight is returning to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her questioning of a former Trump ally that led to this week’s news.

In 2019, Mr Cohen testified against his former boss before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. At the time, Ms Ocasio-Cortez asked questions about whether Mr Trump ever provided inflated assets to an insurance company.

Letitia James acknowledged Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s role this week, declaring: “I will remind everyone that this investigation only started after Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, his former lawyer, testified before Congress and shed light on this misconduct.”

Read more in The Independent:

How AOC inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

Pro-Trump host Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court

Friday 23 September 2022 01:15 , John Bowden

The second defamation trial of Alex Jones got off to a rocky start this week as the beleaguered Infowars host continues to face comeuppance for abetting years’ worth of right-wing harassment at the families of slain elementary schoolers.

The courtroom in Connecticut descended into chaos on Thursday as the far-right conspiracy theorist took the stand in his defamation case and refused to acknowledge any responsibility for causing a decade of harassment to the victims’ families.

“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.

Read more from Rachel Sharp:

Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: 'History is calling Donald Trump'

Friday 23 September 2022 00:15 , John Bowden

Amid a torrent of criminal investigations and lawsuits blaming him for fraudulent business practices, Donald Trump is trying to gin up support for a 2024 run.

That’s how the ex-president spent his day on Thursday, as he turned to his Truth Social platform to get the word out among his closest fans.

In one pair of posts, Mr Trump linked to a text on the website American Thinker with the headline “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee” before linking to a CNN report stating that “Trump fields calls from Republican allies to speed up 2024 bid after FBI raid”.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: ‘History is calling’

Mike Lindell under investigation over identity theft and damage to computer connected to voting machine

Thursday 22 September 2022 23:45 , John Bowden

Mike Lindell’s efforts to aid Donald Trump and the campaign to overturn the 2020 election may have finally gotten him into trouble.

NBC News reported on Wednesday that the hybrid pillow vendor and political operative is under federal investigation for a number of serious crimes related to his efforts to prove that widespread voter fraud or other election-related shenanigans cost Donald Trump the election in 2020.

Read more from John Bowden:

Mike Lindell under investigation over damaging voting machine computer

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Thursday 22 September 2022 23:15 , John Bowden

The Brooklyn federal judge in charge of reviewing the 11,000 documents which the FBI seized from former president Donald Trump’s home during an 8 August search has ordered the ex-president’s legal team to declare one way or the other whether they believe agents planted evidence to incriminate the former president.

The baseless accusations have floated for weeks, shared by the president himself and his closest allies. They’ve sparked conspiracies among his fans of a FBI-led political campaign to destroy Mr Trump, and led to an increase in violent threats targeting the agency.

In an order released on Thursday, the special master called for by Mr Trump’s team gave those attorneys until 30 September to say whether any of the items on the 11-page inventory provided by the department are described incorrectly.

Read more in The Independent:

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Trump to host fundraiser for right-wing GOP candidate

Thursday 22 September 2022 22:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump will host a fundraiser next month for Dan Cox, the Republican nominee for governor in Maryland, at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Mr Cox has bought in to the former president’s falsehoods about the 2020 election and was not endorsed for the nomination (or, so far, for the office at all) by Maryland’s incumbent retiring GOP governor, Larry Hogan. His victory in the GOP primary was one instance in which Democrats successfully boosted, through tactical campaign spending, an election denier against a more moderate opponent in a Republican-on-Republican matchup.

Read more at The Hill from Julia Manchester.

Trump flinging paper towels at Puerto Rico residents resurfaces as Biden pledges full support after hurricane

Thursday 22 September 2022 22:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Rico residents in October 2017 resurfaced on social media overnight Wednesday as President Joe Biden pledged full support for the island, which was once again struck by a natural disaster.

Twitter users were quick to contrast the Democratic president’s response with the resistance to aiding the island that some conservatives showed during the Trump administration as well at the ex-president’s own tone deaf photo op during which he threw rolls of paper towels at waiting residents.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

Trump flinging paper towels in Puerto Rico resurfaces as Biden pledges support

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website