Trump news – live: Ex-president tells Piers Morgan he ‘threatened’ Putin, as court rules against him

Donald Trump has been found in contempt of proceedings brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating allegations of fraud in the Trump Organization’s real estate dealings.

The ex-president and his associates have so far refused to comply with Ms James’s demands for documents, leading a judge to impose a $10,000 daily fine until the records are turned over.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s much-trailed interview with Piers Morgan has begun with the ex-president insisting he deterred an invasion of Ukraine during his administration by threatening Vladimir Putin “like he’s never been threatened before”.

In advance of their conversation’s screening, Mr Morgan described Mr Trump as “pathological” in his fixation on the supposed theft of the 2020 election, a conspiracy theory for which the journalist insisted there is no evidence.

In the interview, Mr Trump takes aim at Meghan Markle and alleges that she is leading Harry “by the nose” while asserting that the Queen should strip the couple of all royal titles.

Read More:

Key points

• Trump takes misogynistic swipe at Meghan Markle

• Piers Morgan calls Trump 'pathological'

• Gaetz backs Trump supporter Jordan against McCarthy

• Hunter Biden to be prime target if Republicans win Congress

• Trump says Biden 'taking orders from Easter Bunny'

Son of famed American artist charged in Capitol riot

07:42 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Vincent Gillespie, the son of renowned postwar American artist Gregory Gillespie, has been charged for taking part in the 6 January insurrection.

He was among a mob trying to force its way through a tunnel at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol - an assault that almost succeeded by his own description, investigators said.“We were almost overpowering them,” Mr Gillespie with visible blood visible on his scalp, told Associated Press at the scene that day.

“If you had like another 15, 20 guys behind us pushing I think we could have won it.”Mr Gillespie added that he and others tried to burst through an opening.

“I was with some other guys. And then we were starting to push against them and they were beating us and putting that pepper spray stuff in your eyes. But there were a bunch of people pushing behind us,” he added.

Son of famed American artist charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Can Trump run again in the 2024 election?

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Former president Donald Trump has not stopped fundraising since moving from Washington DC to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, amassing a war chest of well over $100m.

He has been back out on the road this year ahead of the midterm elections, holding MAGA rallies in state after state with candidates he’s endorsed, insisting to crowds that he did not legitimately lose to Mr Biden and repeatedly hinting that he plans on avenging his defeat by running again.

Today, Mr Trump’s hold on the Republican party is overwhelming, and none of this year’s major candidates have broken from the former reality TV host.

Graeme Massie explains the legal struggles that could possibly hinder Donald Trump from running for a second term.

Can Trump run again in the 2024 election?

Trump allies pleaded to stop Capitol riots and rallied after, messages show

06:26 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

An array of text messages from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows between the election day and president Joe Biden’s inauguration shows how former president Donald Trump’s allies went from pleading for a stop to the violence on 6 January to affirming their support.

The trove of over 2,300 texts offers a glimpse into how Mr Trump’s inner circle, Republican lawmakers and Fox News hosts worked behind the scenes to overturn the election results, CNN reported.

On 6 January, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote to Mr Meadows: “Mark I was just told there is an active shooter on the first floor of the capitol please tell the president to calm people This isn’t the way to solve anything.”Other House members also texted Mr Meadows to call for a stop to the Capitol riots.

Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said: “TELL THEM TO GO HOME!!!”

Former president’s son Donald Trump Jr sent: “This one you go to the mattresses on. They will try to f*** his entire legacy on this if it gets worse.”

Toe-curling embarrassment of Morgan’s interview with Trump

05:00 , Justin Vallejo

The Independent’s Holly Baxter watched it so you don’t have to.

“And I can confirm that the Piers/Donald interview is the most toe-curlingly embarrassing TV you’ll ever see in your life. If you’re the kind of person who has to turn away during the worst parts of Borat, you won’t even get through the opening sequence.”

The toe-curling embarrassment of Piers Morgan’s interview with Donald Trump

ICYMI: Trump claims he ‘threatened’ Putin over Ukraine

04:00 , Justin Vallejo

Former President Donald Trump stuck to his claim that he could have prevented the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an interview broadcast Monday as part of the inaugural episode of Piers Morgan’s new show.

Mr Trump, combative as ever, insisted to Mr Morgan during the interview that he had “threatened” Russia’s Vladimir Putin during his time in office, warning that Moscow would face severe consequences for invading Ukraine.

The Independent’s John Bowden has the story.

Trump claims he ‘threatened’ Putin over Ukraine after praising Russian troop build-up

Watch: Piers Morgan opens show with rant at royals, ‘trans trojans’ and ‘vegan virtue-signalers’

03:00 , Justin Vallejo

Trump claims Boris Johnson intervened to cancel interview with Piers Morgan

02:00 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump has claimed he cancelled an interview with Piers Morgan due to an intervention from Boris Johnson.

The former US president made the revelation on the debut episode of the Good Morning Britain presenter’s new show “Uncensored”, on Monday night.

Joe Middleton reports.

Donald Trump claims Boris Johnson intervened to cancel interview with Piers Morgan

Watch: : Trump claims Johnson intervened to cancel Piers Morgan interview

01:00 , Justin Vallejo

Trump says he won’t return to Twitter but calls Elon Musk ‘a good man’

Tuesday 26 April 2022 00:00 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump has said he will not return to Twitter following the news that Elon Musk has bought the platform the former president was banned from.

Mr Trump made the announcement that he would not rejoin twitter despite the Tesla boss’s $44bn purchase, and instead said he wold use his own platform TRUTH Social.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Trump says he won't return to Twitter but calls Elon Musk 'a good man'

Will Donald Trump be allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk takeover?

Monday 25 April 2022 23:00 , Justin Vallejo

Twitter‘s announcement that it has struck a $44bn sale agreement with billionaire Elon Musk has sent a jolt of positive energy through many Republicans. Members of Congress including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan have celebrated the news as a potential breakthrough for “free speech” and hoped that some of them who’ve been “censored” might get their accounts back.

But looming largest of all, as ever, is Donald Trump, writes The Independent’s Andrew Naughtie.

Will Donald Trump be allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk takeover?

Trump tells Piers Morgan that Hunter Biden laptop story should have given him an extra 17 points

Monday 25 April 2022 22:57 , Justin Vallejo

Former President Donald Trump insisted in an interview with Piers Morgan that the story about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden falling into the hands of the media shouldn’t have been suppressed by social media outlets and cost him the 2020 election.

In part of their wide-ranging interview which was broadcast on Monday for the first episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, Morgan tells Mr Trump that the censoring of efforts to share the New York Post story detailing the contents of a laptop supposedly belonging to Hunter Biden before the election was unfair.

John Bowden has the story.

Trump tells Piers Morgan that Hunter Biden story should have given him 17 points

McConnell called Trump 'despicable'

Monday 25 April 2022 22:42 , Justin Vallejo

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said former president Donald Trump “totally, totally discredited himself” and “put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger” by his actions on the day a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in hopes of preventing Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

What we learned from Piers Morgan’s interview with Trump

Monday 25 April 2022 22:30 , Justin Vallejo

Ukraine, nuclear weapons and election “delusions”, writes The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg.

For nearly an hour, the two men — who first met when Morgan was a contestant on Mr Trump’s television show The Celebrity Apprentice – held forth on a variety of topics, including the war in Ukraine, Mr Trump’s relationship with ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and why UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson intervened to block a previously scheduled conversation between them.

Most explosive moments from Piers Morgan’s interview with Donald Trump

Marjorie Taylor Greene wanted Trump to declare ‘Marshall law’ on January 6

Monday 25 April 2022 22:10 , Justin Vallejo

Messages show full extent of the plot to overturn the 2020 election and how to act afterward, writes Eric Garcia.

Texts reveal Marjorie Taylor Greene wanted Trump to declare ‘Marshall law’

Watch: Trump claims Ukraine-Russia war wouldn't have happened if 2020 election wasn't 'rigged'

Monday 25 April 2022 21:24 , Justin Vallejo

Trump comments on Musk Twitter takeover:

Monday 25 April 2022 21:13 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump claims he won’t return to Twitter even if his account is reinstated following Elon Musk’s takeover.

“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH.”

Trump told added that he would begin “TRUTHing” over the next week, and remain there regardless of his follower count on Twitter.

“The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter,” he said, adding: “We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on TRUTH is much better than being on Twitter”.

Morgan claims Boris Johnson intervened to cancel Trump interview

Monday 25 April 2022 20:58 , Justin Vallejo

Piers Morgan claimed in the first part of his Trump interview that UK prime minister Boris Johnson had intervened in an attempt to cancel an interview between the two.

Further details, however, will have to wait until tomorrow’s episode.

Trump stormed out of interview in ‘a stinking temper’, says Morgan

Monday 25 April 2022 20:56 , Justin Vallejo

Slow rolling the drama of his interview, Piers Morgan says he won’t show the so-called storm out of Donald Trump until tomorrow’s episode of “Uncensored”.

He did preview, however, that Trump was in “a stinking temper”.

Prince Harry the most ‘whipped’, says Trump

Monday 25 April 2022 20:53 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump says Prince Harry is “whipped like no person I’ve ever seen” by Meghan Markle.

“I want to know what’s going to happen, when it ends,” Trump says. “It’ll end and it’ll end bad, and I wonder if Harry’s going to go back on his hands and knees to the beautiful city of London,” he added.

Trump calls Pence “foolish and weak”

Monday 25 April 2022 20:52 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump turned his back on his former vice president Mike Pence for refusing to back his fraudulent election claims

“Mike was foolish, and he was weak,” says Trump.

Trump claims ‘massive proof’ 2020 election was rigged

Monday 25 April 2022 20:47 , Justin Vallejo

Challenged on being morally responsible for the January 6 US Capitol riot, Donald Trump maintained his unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“I have proof, and we have massive proof,” Trump said, calling Piers Morgan a “fool” for believing it was a free and fair election.

Viewers slam Ricky Gervais intro to Piers Morgan’s Donald Trump interview

Monday 25 April 2022 20:40 , Justin Vallejo

Piers Morgan’s new show Uncensored aired on for the first time on Talk TV today (25 April), with a special introduction from comedian Ricky Gervais.

In the surprise cameo ahead of the British broadcaster’s highly publicised Donald Trump interview, Gervais appeared briefly to wish Morgan “good luck” with his new series, which Morgan promises will “cancel cancel culture”.

In the video Gervais said: “The producers of Piers Morgan’s new show contacted me and asked me if I’d like to be a guest. I said, ‘Definitely not.’”

He added: “They said would you mind doing a quick video wishing him luck? I said, ‘Do I have to mean it?’ They said ‘No’. I said ‘Good luck’.”

Amanda Whiting has the story.

Viewers slam Ricky Gervais intro to Piers Morgan’s Donald Trump interview

Watch: Trump claims he threatened Putin 'like he's never been threatened before'

Monday 25 April 2022 20:39 , Justin Vallejo

Trump gave Angela Merkel a white flag of surrender; ‘a very luxurious napkin’

Monday 25 April 2022 20:38 , Justin Vallejo

“I had it out with her,” Trump said of Germany’s energy dependence on Russia. “I sent her the white flag of surrender,” he continued.

She asked, what do you mean?

“Do me a favour, lift this flag of surrender. You know what it was? It was a very luxurious napkin,” Trump said.

Trump again hints at 2024 presidential campaign

Monday 25 April 2022 20:34 , Justin Vallejo

Trump has stuck to his well work line about running in 2024, saying that he can’t say due to campaign finance laws but that many people “will be very happy”.

Even Piers Morgan could beat Joe Biden right now, says Trump.

Trump says Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal led to Ukraine invasion

Monday 25 April 2022 20:28 , Justin Vallejo

“When they saw the way we acted in Afghanistan, they way we ran, surrendered…” Trump says. “He [Putin] said, ‘hey, this is no longer Trump’.”

Trump is comparing the size of the US’s nukes to Russia’s

Monday 25 April 2022 20:24 , Justin Vallejo

“There would be no Russia, there would be no Russia,” he says.

Trump refuses to deny threatening Putin with nukes

Monday 25 April 2022 20:23 , Justin Vallejo

“I don’t want to say that,” Trump said. “I threatened him like he’s never been threatened before.”

Trump agrees Putin a ‘genocidal monster’

Monday 25 April 2022 20:20 , Justin Vallejo

“I do, sure, who wouldn’t?” Trump agreed when asked if he thought Vladimir Putin was a genocidal monster.

“Isn’t it a shame all those people dead because of a rigged election,” he added, claiming Putin only invaded because Biden is president.

Trump says he ‘threatened’ Vladimir Putin

Monday 25 April 2022 20:15 , Justin Vallejo

Former president Donald Trump says he deterred Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine while he was in office.

“I threatened him like he’s never been threatened before,” Trump said in a preview of his interview with Piers Morgan.

“We have a war that would have never happened if I was president,” Trump added.

Trump interview to begin shortly

Monday 25 April 2022 20:11 , Justin Vallejo

The ex-president is coming up after the break.

Updates to follow.

Strange twists of the Trump-Morgan mutual adoration club

Monday 25 April 2022 19:30 , Justin Vallejo

At times, there was a true affection, it appeared, as Trump played the role of hard-knuckled tycoon in seasons of The Apprentice, and Morgan appeared as a convincingly fawning acolyte in a special episode featuring so-called celebrities.

The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe takes a walk down memory lane.

The strange twists of Trump and Piers Morgan’s self-serving mutual adoration club

How to watch Piers Morgan’s contentious Donald Trump interview

Monday 25 April 2022 18:54 , Justin Vallejo

Piers Morgan’s new TV show is set to kick off with his already high-profile spat with one-term president Donald Trump.

In the contentious interview, Mr Morgan confronts the former president about his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

And in the trailer for the interview it appears that Mr Trump stormed off set, although in a recording given to NBC by Mr trump’s spokesperson the men thanked each other and laughed.

The interview was recorded for Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV channel, which is launching in the UK on Monday 25 April, and the interview will air at 8pm GMT.

Here’s how to watch:

How to watch Piers Morgan’s contentious Donald Trump interview

Judge holds Trump in contempt

Monday 25 April 2022 17:56 , Justin Vallejo

Donald Trump was held in contempt and fined 0,000 per day for failing to comply with a subpoena requiring he turn over documents to New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“Mr Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously, I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 a day,” said New York Supreme Court judge Arthur Engoron.

Judge asked to fine Trump $10k a day for dodging tax subpoenas

Monday 25 April 2022 17:54 , Justin Vallejo

New York Attorney General Letitia James will formally request that a judge fine former president Donald Trump $10,000 for each that he flouts a subpoena into a tax probe by her office.

Ms James’s office filed a memorandium of law earlier this month on it, saying that the sum was “ sufficient to coerce his compliance” with a court order put in place in February. This comes after Judge Arthur Engoron said in a ruling that the former president and his children Don Jr and Ivanka needed to testify in an investigation from the attorney general’s office.

Eric Garcia has the story.

Letitia James to ask judge to fine Trump $10k a day for flouting tax probe subpoenas

Follow tonight: PA Senate debate featuring Dr Mehmet Oz

Monday 25 April 2022 17:27 , Andrew Naughtie

Pennsylvania is host to one of this year’s most important Senate races, and one of its oddest Republican candidates: Dr Mehmet Oz, a TV physician notorious for promoting “remedies” of dubious benefit. He has been endorsed by Donald Trump, who cited the doctor’s long TV career as a vote of confidence from Americans, but his assorted positions on matters from abortion to gun control have left many Trump supporters wondering why he got the ex-president’s backing.

Tonight, he will face his main primary opponent, David McCormick, on the debate stage – and The Independent’s Eric Garcia will be live-tweeting what ensues.

Will Elon Musk welcome Donald Trump back to Twitter?

Monday 25 April 2022 17:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The prospect of Elon Musk buying Twitter bodes well for some Republicans, who see in the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” a chance to get “censored” conservative voices (in particular their own) back onto the platform. But will Mr Musk give Twitter privileges back to the platform’s most famous banned user?

His idiosyncratic views on freedom of speech aside, Mr Musk is also known for being something of a maverick when it comes to his personal politics. He has previously rejected various of Mr Trump’s core policies and described him as “not right for the country”, but he also resisted various Covid-19 control regulations and has complained about censorship many times in ways that give hope to right-wing Trumpists.

Read more:

What Elon Musk’s Twitter bid could mean for Donald Trump

Analysis: The truth about Kevin McCarthy

Monday 25 April 2022 16:33 , Andrew Naughtie

Last week saw House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy deny a report that he had suggested Donald Trump resign after the Capitol attack in January 2021 – but less than 24 hours after he issued his denial, a recording of the conversation was leaked. There followed another audio recording in which he told Republican House members that Mr Trump was at least partly responsible for the insurrection, and that the then-president had accepted as much.

For now, Mr Trump seems relatively untroubled by the revelations, but as Eric Garcia writes, they may spell trouble for Mr McCarthy in other ways...

Read the full analysis below.

I’ve known the truth about Kevin McCarthy for a while. Now it’s all coming out

Republicans thrilled at news of Musk’s Twitter bid

Monday 25 April 2022 16:04 , Andrew Naughtie

Reports that Elon Musk and Twitter are nearing a multi-billion-dollar sale agreement have sent a jolt of positive energy through right-wing Republicans, many of whom have come to view the platform as a “woke”-tilted censor of conservative speech. Among them is Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal account was shut down after years of promoting variously false, racist and violent conspiracy theories.

John Bowden has more.

GOP revels in left’s ‘meltdown’ after news of Elon Musk nearing deal to buy Twitter

Trump faces contempt proceedings in New York probe

Monday 25 April 2022 15:30 , Andrew Naughtie

New York Attorney General Letitia James has kept up the pressure on Donald Trump to turn over financial documents as she investigates his real estate dealings, and in the absence of co-operation, her office is seeking to have the president held in contempt – potentially slapping him with a fine of $10,000 per day that he refuses to comply with subpoena requests.

Law and Crime’s Adam Klasfeld is live tweeting from the courtroom, where Assistant Attorney General Kevin C. Wallace has already likened the Trump probe to “pulling teeth”.

McCarthy and Greene head to Mexico border

Monday 25 April 2022 15:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Kevin McCarthy, whose taped conversations about Donald Trump were embarrassingly revealed last week, is today headed on a trip to the Texas-Mexico border with a group of other Republicans – and among them will be Marjorie Taylor Greene, who on Friday faced a lawsuit seeking to have her barred from office over her alleged support for the 6 January rioters and the overturning of the 2020 election.

Mr McCarthy has previously declined to punish Ms Greene for other transgressions, including her decision earlier this year to speak at a confererence held by overt racists and white nationalists.

Catch up on Ms Greene’s court appearance below with Andrew Feinberg.

Marjorie Taylor Greene forced to admit she called for Pelosi to get death penalty

Utah Democrats back independent to challenge Mike Lee

Monday 25 April 2022 14:30 , Andrew Naughtie

The Utah Democratic Party is getting serious about the effort to unseat GOP Senator Mike Lee – so much so that it has backed an independent candidate, Evan McMullin, to take him on.

Mr McMullin stood against Mr Trump in the state in 2016, and has maintained a profile as a non-partisan critic of the Republican Party’s hardcore turn.

“Today Utah Democrats voted to join Evan McMullin's cross-partisan coalition and not to nominate a candidate into the 2022 midterm US Senate race," his Senate campaign said in a statement on Saturday. "This marks the first time in Utah's history that the Democratic Party has not put forward a candidate for a statewide race choosing instead to put country over party.”

The incumbent Mr Lee, who was first elected during the Tea Party surge of the 2010s, has a reputation for taking extreme positions even by the standards of Senate Republicans, and he was recently revealed to have co-ordinated with Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Read more from CNN here.

Explainer: Can Trump run again in 2024?

Monday 25 April 2022 13:56 , Andrew Naughtie

With his rallies around the country getting more frequent, Donald Trump looks and sounds more and more like a 2024 presidential candidate. In fact, he has reportedly had to be talked out of announcing a second campaign for fear he could muddle the Republicans’ national message heading into the midterms this year.

But just because Mr Trump appears to have all but made up his mind to run again doesn’t mean he will, or that he necessarily can. His popularity with the GOP electorate is still towering and his few well-known critics in the party stand little chance of displacing him as the de facto leader, but the legal threats to the former president are still very much out there – and only one of them would need to blow up to seriously damage his chances.

Here’s what you need to know.

Can Trump run again in the 2024 election?