Trump fraud trial gag order paused by appeals court judge: Live

Thursday was another intense day in Donald Trump’s legal quagmire, with a New York appeals court judge pausing the gag order imposed on the former president by Justice Arthur Engoron in his civil fraud trial.

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James noted a “demonstrable lack of urgency” to respond to defence requests for a mistrial over “spurious allegations” of bias.

In Washington, DC, Mr Trump’s federal election interference trial attorneys asked the court to strike a filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith that said the former president was responsible for the events of January 6. They also asked for the case to be halted over the question of presidential immunity.

Down in Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to move a Mar-a-Lago classified documents court date that clashed with a hearing in the Mr Trump’s New York hush money criminal case. In Manhattan, DA Alvin Bragg urged the court to reject an attempt to dismiss that case and move it to trial.

Finally, in Fulton County, Georgia, Judge Scott McAfee entered a protective order for discovery materials after a video leak and set a date for a hearing to possibly revoke the bond of a Trump co-defendant.

Key Points

• Gag order in Trump’s fraud trial paused by appeals court judge

• Fulton County DA wants to jail Trump co-defendant over witness intimidation

• Trump lawyers file mistrial motion in New York fraud case

• Trump co-defendant’s attorney confesses to Georgia witness videos leak

• Fulton County: Judge enters limited protective order over discovery materials

• Trump attorneys ask court to strike Jack Smith filing that said former president responsible for Jan 6

09:15 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the court clerk in his New York civil fraud trial almost as soon as the gag order was lifted in the case.

On Thursday, an appeals court judge paused the gag order which was introduced by Justice Arthur Engoron following his previous comments about the court clerk.

The former president took to Truth Social to instantly take advantage of the opportunity to attack her and the judge.

“Judge Arthur Engoron has just been overturned (stayed!) by the New York State Appellate Division (Appeals Court), for the 4th TIME (on the same case!). His Ridiculous and Unconstitutional Gag Order, not allowing me to defend myself against him and his politically biased and out of control, Trump Hating Clerk, who is sinking him and his Court to new levels of LOW, is a disgrace,” he wrote.

“They are defending the Worst and Least Respected Attorney General in the United States, Letitia James, who is a Worldwide disgrace, as is her illegal Witch Hunt against me. The Radical and Unprecedented actions of Judge Engoron will keep BUSINESSES and JOBS forever out of New York State.

“I have done NOTHING WRONG, my numbers were low, not high, I have a COMPLETE DISCLAIMER CLAUSE, their Star Witness admitted he lied and made up this Fake case against me, and the the Attorney General used a “Get Trump” platform in order to run for A.G. & Governor (she failed!). This wicked attack on Democracy must be ended, NOW!”

Full story: Gag order in Trump’s fraud trial paused by appeals court judge

08:40 , Oliver O'Connell

An appeals court judge in New York has paused a gag order intended to block Donald Trump from disparaging members of a court in a civil fraud trial targeting the former president’s family business and real-estate empire, a measure that his attorneys claim is a violation of his First Amendment rights.

The judge overseeing the fraud case issued the order after the former president made a series of false and disparaging remarks about his chief clerk outside the courtroom and on his Truth Social account.

Mr Trump already has violated the order twice, incurring $15,000 in fines.

After Mr Trump’s lead attorney Christopher Kise excoriated the clerk for what he called “bias” against his client, and amplified allegations outlined in a right-wing news website, Judge Arthur Engoron expanded the order to include the parties’ attorneys.

The order is a “serious and continuing violation of the procedural and substantive rights guaranteed to them under New York law and the United States Constitution,” according to a filing on Thursday from attorneys representing defendants in the case, which stems from the attorney general’s $250m lawsuit alleging more than a decade of fraud within the Trump Organization.

Read Alex Woodward’s full report.

06:10 , Oliver O'Connell

George Santos mocked for claiming he didn’t know what OnlyFans was

The US just avoided a government shutdown... now what happens?

04:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate passed the funding package put forward by the House, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature and setting up two new deadlines early next year.

The funding package, which passed the Senate against the opposition of one Democrat and 10 Republicans, keeps parts of the government up and running until early next year. The bill extends funding for military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Department of Energy until 19 January and the rest of the government until 2 February.

House Republicans pushed for the two-pronged measure in the hope that it would block the passing of a massive “omnibus” funding package – which typically includes all 12 major spending bills – as they believe the omnibus procedure prevents spending cuts.

The continuing resolution passed by both chambers doesn’t include any aid to either Israel or Ukraine, which were important issues for Democrats.

Here’s what happens next:

The US just avoided a government shutdown. What happens now?

Trump co-defendant’s attorney confesses to Fulton County witness videos leak

03:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The source of the leak of several witness proffer videos in Donald Trump’s sweeping RICO election interference case in Georgia has now been revealed.

Jonathan Miller, an attorney for one of Mr Trump’s co-defendants Misty Hampton, confessed in a court hearing on Wednesday that he was responsible for the leak.

Mr Miller told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that he was coming clean so that he could “sleep well tonight” and to prevent anyone else from shouldering the blame – after legal teams for Mr Trump and co-defendant Rudy Giuliani sought to pin the leak on District Attorney Fani Willis’ office.

Read the full article.

Trump calls Kim Kardashian world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’

02:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump took a break from bashing public officials in his New York civil fraud case and his 2024 rivals to take on Kim Kardashian.

In a rambling Truth Social rant, the former president called the reality TV star-turned-social justice campaigner the “World’s most overrated celebrity.”

His criticism comes as Jonathan Karl writes in his new book, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, how the reality star leveraged her celebrity to urge the then-president to commute certain prison sentences.

Read the full response from the former president:

Trump rants that Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’

Hunter Biden’s team wants to subpoena Trump and DOJ officials

01:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys for Hunter Biden have asked a judge to subpoena Donald Trump and several former US Department of Justice officials in a case surrounding his felony gun charges.

A filing from the legal team for President Joe Biden’s son lists Mr Trump’s “incessant, improper, and partisan pressure” campaign to investigate Hunter, his “incendiary” rhetoric, and a “sustained, almost-nonstop public pressure campaign” from Mr Trump and his allies in Congress who have criticised the Justice Department’s handling of the case.

The proposed subpoenas also seek testimony from former US Attorney General Bill Barr, former deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and former US Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Hunter Biden seeks information “that goes to the heart of his defense that this is, possibly, a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration,” according to Mr Biden’s attorneys.

Read more:

Hunter Biden’s team wants to subpoena Trump and DOJ officials

ICYMI: Trump called ‘loser’ by Biden for Nazi rhetoric

00:40 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric, including the use of the word “vermin” to describe opponents, which has been compared to that of fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

In a speech on Veterans Day, Mr Trump argued that his domestic opponents are more of a threat to the US than the likes of China, Russia and North Korea.

Mr Trump, 77, spoke in Claremont, New Hampshire, telling the crowd in his usual grievance-laden parlance: “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections.”

The former president has refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and continues to lie, falsely claiming that it was stolen.

Read the full article.

Giuliani and Ellis could testify in election workers’ defamation trial

Thursday 16 November 2023 23:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Rudy Giuliani might be headed to the witness stand to testify in his own defence during a trial that will determine how much damage his false statements caused a mother-daughter pair of election workers at the centre of bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who was found liable for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, could be called to testify about his false statements as well as his team’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to a Tuesday filing with an outline of the case.

Jenna Ellis, among attorneys alongside Mr Giuliani who launched a spurious legal campaign to overturn election results, also is on the trial’s witness list, along with other Trump-connected figures Bernie Kerik and Christina Bobb, among others.

A trial is scheduled to begin on 11 December and will last up to four days.

Full story:

Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis could testify in election workers’ defamation trial

Thursday 16 November 2023 23:10 , Oliver O'Connell

George Santos mocked for claiming he didn’t know what OnlyFans was

Voices: Screw it. Let’s talk about the possibility of President Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Thursday 16 November 2023 22:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Finally, The Rock has come back to Capitol Hill.

Things have really gone downhill if the 10-time WWE world champion, former winner of the Royal Rumble and star of The Fast and Furious saga Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the least violent man on the Hill this week. Indeed, if we are to believe Rep Tim Burchett (R-TN), the person who did deliver the sharpest elbow this week was former speaker Kevin McCarthy.

But senators somehow found time amid their scramble to vote to keep the government open to meet with Mr Johnson to talk about military recruitment.

(Much to her chagrin, Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has a well-publicised crush on Mr Johnson, told me that she didn’t get to meet Mr Johnson when I asked her).

Inevitably, this only added to the speculation that Mr Johnson would run for president.

Read the full article:

Screw it. Let’s talk about the possibility of President Dwayne Johnson

NY fraud trial: This afternoon in court

Thursday 16 November 2023 22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Despite most attention being on the lifting of the gag order on former president Donald Trump and his lawyers, the afternoon session began with the testimony of defence witness Steven Laposa, PhD, an expert on property valuation.

He testified that the valuations of a property can differ widely. Asked how common it is for appraisers to disagree on a valuation he replied: “Very common.”

Mr Laposa gave the same response to how often non-appraisers differ in opinion.

After a short break, Judge Arthur Engoron overruled an objection from the Attorney General’s office seeking to limit Mr Laposa’s testimony.

“To me it’s not even close, objection overruled, there’s no jury. Given this guy’s experience...30 plus years...I want to hear what he has to say about valuation,” Justice Engoron says.

Mr Laposa refers to two valuation concepts: market value and investment value.

Market value is the price that an asset is currently being offered for in the marketplace, while investment value is what an investor is willing to pay for the asset. He concluded that the NY AG is using market value in its complaint which he said he considered “flawed” as it doesn’t take into account the potential investment value of the properties.

Giving the example of the 40 Wall Street skyscraper, A Capital One appraisal from 2012 gives it a value of $220m with a projection that it will rise to $260m by the end of 2015.

Another appraisal by Cushman & Wakefield in June of 2015 says the same property is worth $540m.

Court adjourns for the day. Mr Laposa will resume his testimony at 10am tomorrow.

Fulton County: Fani Willis wants Trump’s co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia’s election interference case could return to jail after he repeatedly violated the terms of his release, according to prosecutors in Atlanta.

A filing from the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argues that Harrison Floyd, the leader of Black Voices for Trump, has “engaged in a pattern of intimidation” against his co-defendants and witnesses since he was released on bond in August.

Mr Floyd, like his co-defendants, was charged under the state’s anti-racketeering statute for allegedly joining a criminal enterprise to reverse Mr Trump’s loss in the state in the 2020 presidential election. He also is charged with conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings and influencing witnesses.

The terms of his release prohibited him from intimidating co-defendants and witnesses and from communicating “in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of the case” with any co-defendants or witnesses, except through his counsel.

Alex Woodward explains how he violated those terms.

Georgia prosecutors want Trump’s co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation

Biden classified docs special counsel not expected to bring charges, report says

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:16 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN reports that Special Counsel Robert Hur is not expected to charge anyone in connection with the mishandling of classified documents at two locations connected to President Joe Biden, the network cites two sources close to the investigation.

Per CNN:

Hur and his team are compiling a detailed report on their year-long probe that is expected to be critical of Biden and his staff for the way they handled sensitive materials. The report is expected to go into significant detail about what the special counsel’s office found in its investigation.

Investigators on Hur’s team have told other Justice Department officials that they hope to have the report completed by the end of the year, but that timeline could slide.

Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, declined to comment.

Read The Independent’s earlier coverage of the investigation.

Feud: Candace Owens blasts ‘emotionally unhinged’ Ben Shapiro

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Candace Owens said that her colleague and fellow right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro should be “embarrassed” amid an online feud between the pair, and accused him of making “ad hominem attacks” on her.

Ms Owens, who is known for her outspoken views on issues including the Covid vaccine and the Black Lives Matter movement, said Mr Shapiro had “thrown her under a bus”, also accusing him of being “unprofessional” and “emotionally unhinged”.

It comes after a video shared online showed Mr Shapiro speaking at what appeared to be a private event, during which he described Ms Owens’ “faux sophistication” of certain issues as “disgraceful” and “ridiculous”.

The pair both work together on right-wing news company The Daily Wire.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Candace Owens blasts ‘emotionally unhinged’ Ben Shapiro amid online feud

Jan 6 rioter who pretended to be journalist convicted on all counts

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:02 , Oliver O'Connell

John Earle Sullivan, a Utah man who filmed controversial stuff for clout on social media, rallied with the January 6 mob, helped storm the US Capitol, ended up filming the shooting of Ashli Babbit, and then pretended to be a journalist to avoid prosecution... has been found guilty of four felonies.

A jury in Washington, DC took just four hours to reach a verdict, WUSA9 reports.

During his testimony, Sullivan claimed he joined in the shouts of the rioters and helped them in order to blend in and be a “neutral observer” as a journalist. Footage played in court showed Sullivan saying that it was a “ploy” to avoid being arrested and in a clip from December 2020 he said: “I don’t make money off of it so I don’t consider myself a journalist.”

Justice Royce Lamberth ordered Sullivan into custody while he awaits sentencing.

Watch: How is Trump sleeping at night amid all his legal problems?

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas Republican gives fiery denunciation of own party on floor of House

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas Rep Chip Roy went after his own party in a searing speech on the floor of the House, blasting the Republican Party for being unable to give him just one “thing I can go campaign on”.

The rightwing Republican, born in the Washington, DC suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, went after both parties in his speech on Wednesday, arguing that their leaderships has failed, specifically mentioning spending cuts and confronting countries such as China and Iran.

He criticised former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who’s running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, for suggesting that social media users should no longer be able to post anonymously.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

Republican launches into fiery takedown of his own party in House floor speech

UPDATED: Gag order in Trump’s fraud trial paused by appeals court judge

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:18 , Oliver O'Connell

An appeals court judge in New York has paused a gag order intended to block Donald Trump from disparaging members of a court in a civil fraud trial, a measure that the former president claims is a violation of his First Amendment rights.

The judge overseeing the fraud case issued the order after the former president made a series of false and disparaging remarks about his chief clerk outside the courtroom and on his Truth Social account.

Mr Trump already has violated the order twice, incurring $15,000 in fines.

After Mr Trump’s lead attorney Christopher Kise excoriated the clerk for what he called “bias” against his client, and amplified allegations outlined in a right-wing news website, Judge Arthur Engoron expanded the order to include the parties’ attorneys.

The order is a “serious and continuing violation of the procedural and substantive rights guaranteed to them under New York law and the United States Constitution,” according to a filing on Thursday from attorneys representing defendants in the case, which stems from the attorney general’s $250m lawsuit alleging more than a decade of fraud within the Trump Organization.

Associate Justice David Friedman agreed to temporarily lift the gag order after oral arguments in the case on Thursday afternoon.

Read Alex Woodward’s full report on today’s developments in court in Manhattan.

Developing: Trump sues fraud trial judge to overturn gag orders

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit to block a gag order that prohibits all parties in a civil fraud trial playing out in a New York courtroom from disparaging members of the court’s staff, a measure that the former president claims is a violation of his First Amendment rights.

The judge overseeing the case issued the order after the former president made a series of false and disparaging remarks about his chief clerk outside the courtroom and on his Truth Social account.

Mr Trump already has violated the order twice, incurring $15,000 in fines.

After Mr Trump’s lead attorney Christopher Kise excoriated the clerk for what he called “bias” against his client, and amplified allegations outlined in a right-wing news website, Judge Arthur Engoron expanded the order to include the parties’ attorneys.

The order is a “serious and continuing violation of the procedural and substantive rights guaranteed to them under New York law and the United States Constitution,” according to a filing from attorneys representing defendants in the case, which stems from the attorney general’s $250m lawsuit alleging more than a decade of fraud within the Trump Organization.

Alex Woodward is following developments.

Trump sues fraud trial judge to overturn gag orders

Trump files lawsuit against fraud trial judge over gag order

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has filed an emergency lawsuit against Justice Arthur Engoron with the New York appellate court seeking to overturn his gag orders.

“Supreme Court’s gag orders entered during the non-jury trial in the underlying proceeding are unconstitutional, and sanctions imposed” violate the law, the suit argues.

Oral arguments are currently underway.

This is a developing story, more details to follow...

The US just avoided a government shutdown. Now what?

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate passed the funding package put forward by the House, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature and setting up two new deadlines early next year.

The funding package, which passed the Senate against the opposition of one Democrat and 10 Republicans, keeps parts of the government up and running until early next year. The bill extends funding for military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Department of Energy until 19 January and the rest of the government until 2 February.

House Republicans pushed for the two-pronged measure in the hope that it would block the passing of a massive “omnibus” funding package – which typically includes all 12 major spending bills – as they believe the omnibus procedure prevents spending cuts.

The continuing resolution passed by both chambers doesn’t include any aid to either Israel or Ukraine, which were important issues for Democrats.

So what happens next?

The US just avoided a government shutdown. What happens now?

Fulton County: Judge set bond revocation for Trump co-defendant

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Scott McAfee has set a bond revocation hearing for Donald Trump’s Georgia election subversion co-defendant Harrison Floyd.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 1.30pm ET at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta.

Mr Floyd must show up in court, Judge McAfee says.

Here’s our earlier reporting on the case:

Georgia prosecutors want Trump’s co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation

Santos won’t seek re-election after damning ethics report

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican New York Representative George Santos has announced that he won’t seek re-election in 2024 following the release of a damning ethics report.

The freshman congressman made the revelation to Semafor on Thursday.

In a lengthy statement on X, Mr Santos wrote that wouldn’t be seeking “a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time”.

Gustaf Kilander has the latest.

George Santos won’t seek re-election after damning ethics report

Caitlyn Jenner botches Biden attack with misspelled slur

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Caitlyn Jenner botched an attack on President Joe Biden, misspelling a slur as she blasted the commander in chief on X.

Ms Jenner, 74, a former reality TV star, 2021 GOP California gubernatorial candidate, and 1976 Olympic gold medallist, responded to a post by Donald Trump Jr on X.

The eldest son of Mr Biden’s predecessor in turn had responded to a post by Adam Kredo, a writer at the right-wing Washington Free Beacon.

Read what it said and how the pair responded:

Caitlyn Jenner botches Biden attack with misspelled slur

Classified docs trial: Judge won’t consider scheduling changes until 1 March 2024

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Aileen Cannon has denied the Department of Justice’s motion to set some key pretrial deadlines in December for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

In a paperless order, the judge said she would not consider scheduling adjustments until 1 March 2024.

The trial is set to begin on 20 May amid at least three other criminal proceedings against the former president.

Here’s the full order:

PAPERLESS ORDER denying without prejudice 219 Motion for CIPA Section 5 Notification. As stated in the Court’s November 10, 2023, Order 215, “[a]ll previously remaining deadlines in the Court’s July 21, 2023, Order are superseded except calendar call and trial.” The Court “reset[] the first set of pre-trial deadlines” as indicated on pages 8 and 9 of that Order 215 and scheduled a conference on March 1, 2024, “to address remaining deadlines.” To the extent the Special Counsel’s motion seeks reconsideration in part of the Court’s November 10, 2023, Order 215, that request is denied. CIPA Section 5 deadlines, and all other pre-trial deadlines not included in the first batch of pre-trial deadlines contained in the Court’s revised schedule 215, will be set following the March 1, 2024, scheduling conference. Signed by Judge Aileen M. Cannon on 11/16/2023. (jf01) (Entered: 11/16/2023)

Watch: Christie comments on Ramaswamy defending Trump’s ‘vermin’ remarks

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

NY fraud trial: This morning in court…

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence expert witness Jason Flemmons returned to the stand this morning for the continuation of his testimony in Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial.

Mr Flemmons said in earlier testimony for the defence that it is OK for the Trump Organization to have disregarded appraisals and used another legitimate type of valuation (of which there are many) for its real estate assets.

While he testified about proper methods of valuation, he could not testify about the actual values that the company assigned to properties and whether they were inflated or not.

Mr Trump can still therefore be liable for fraud if he said he used a proper method of valuation on his financial statements but actually did not, or if he inflated the values of his assets in another way.

After yesterday’s cross-examination, Trump attorney Jesus Suarez began redirect by asking about generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and if it was OK to depart from them if you disclosed that you had.

Asked about a specific incident in which this happened and a disclosure was made, Mr Flemmons says: “This is language that comes straight out of … guidance.”

“It’s communicating to the user that the information contained in the annual statements of financial condition does not comport with GAAP, so user beware.”

The Trump defence has relied heavily on “user beware” by saying that the statements of financial condition they sent to banks came with this big disclaimer and by arguing that lenders or insurers should do their own due diligence.

There is a brief recross from New York Attorney General counsel Kevin Wallace in which it is established Mr Flemmons is being paid for his testimony and the firm is charging $925 per hour.

The next witness on the stand is Mr Flemmons’s colleague at Ankura Consulting Group, Steven Collins, who specialises in construction consulting as a civil engineer. He testified about the government contracts in which the Trump Organization was engaged — specifically the Old Post Office building in Washington, DC that they turned into a hotel.

This project was spearheaded by Ivanka Trump and involved a $170m loan from Deutsche Bank, with the lease obtained from the General Services Administration — part of the federal government.

In assessing the suitability of Trump for the project, the GSA scored Trump highly but did note that there was a lack of audited financials. Mr Collins said there was not one specific reason the government gave for awarding the contract to Trump.

The next witness on the stand for the defence is Steven Laposa, PhD, an expert on property valuation.

Court then recessed for lunch.

Manchin says Trump would destroy US democracy if he wins in 2024

Thursday 16 November 2023 17:44 , AP

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, days removed from announcing he won’t seek reelection, said Wednesday that if the nation’s voters give former President Donald Trump another term in the White House, “he will destroy democracy in America.”

Manchin, whose home state voters overwhelmingly backed Trump in the last two presidential elections, made the comment on a press call with West Virginia-based reporters amid speculation that Manchin himself might be weighing a third-party run for president.

The moderate West Virginia Democrat said Wednesday that he would never want to be a “spoiler” who contributed to getting any other candidate elected. But he said he would do what he had to in order to save the country.

“If they said, ‘You’re the only person to do it,’ I’ll do whatever I can to save this nation,” he said.

Manchin had harsh words for how the two-party system is currently functioning.

Read more...

Trump would destroy US democracy if he wins in 2024, Manchin says

But wait, there’s more: Here’s the latest from the New York criminal case against Trump...

Thursday 16 November 2023 17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is urging a New York court to reject Donald Trump’s attempt to dismiss the criminal case against him over the hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The case was the former president’s first criminal indictment of four this year and consists of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree as part of an expansive and corrupt criminal scheme to conceal damaging information from the voting public in advance of the 2016 presidential election. Mr Bragg argues in the new filing that the case must be brought to trial and there is no reason to dismiss the case.

After recapping the basis for the case and the DA’s arguments against the defence, Mr Bragg adds that the defendant’s argument that “because he is a current presidential candidate, the ordinary rules for criminal law and procedure should be applied differently here. This argument is essentially an attempt to evade criminal responsibility because [the] defendant is politically powerful.”

He continues: “Courts have repeatedly rejected defendant’s demands for special treatment and instead have adhered to the core principle that the rule of law applies equally to the powerful as to the powerless … There is no basis to dismiss this case.”

As mentioned in the earlier post regarding the scheduling of the federal documents case, there is a hearing scheduled in New York on 15 February 2024 and the trial is supposed to begin on 15 March with Judge Juan Merchan presiding.

However, the federal election interference trial in Washington, DC is scheduled to begin on 4 March, so the date of the Manhattan criminal trial may change.

You can read the full filing here.

Fulton County: Judge enters limited protective order over discovery materials

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:57 , Oliver O'Connell

In the aftermath of the leaked proffer videos of the four co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in the sprawling Georgia racketeering and election interference case against Donald Trump and 18 others, Judge Scott McAfee has published the limited protective order covering sensitive discovery materials.

All of the remaining defendants bar one — more on that later — agreed to the terms of the order as suggested by defendant David Shafer, though some noted they didn’t feel the need for one in the spirit of transparency.

The only objection came from lawyers for Harrison Floyd, the leader of Black Voices for Trump, who is now facing bigger problems given his repeated violations of the terms of his bond.

The videos of the proffer meetings were leaked by an attorney for defendant Misty Hampton.

You can read the full protective order here.

Meanwhile, in Florida...

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Aileen Cannon has agreed to a request by Donald Trump’s defence team to move a Mar-a-Lago classified documents federal criminal case court date that would have clashed with another court date in the former president’s New York criminal case.

The Trump defence team will now be in West Palm Beach, Florida for a documents case hearing on 12-13 February 2024, and will then have to be in New York on 15 February for a hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

All of this will be happening in the middle of the Republican primaries...

The increasingly complicated legal schedule has already been evident. At one point during the former president’s civil fraud trial in New York, attorney Christopher Kise had to excuse himself to join a Zoom meeting relating to the federal classified documents case.

Trump chips in on Biden-Xi meeting

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Having seen the largely positive coverage of the meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of China in San Francisco on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, former president Donald Trump couldn’t help but frame events from his own unique perspective:

President Xi and I had a deal whereby China was going to criminalize at the highest level, THE DEATH PENALTY, the manufacturing of Fentanyl. That deal miraculously disappeared with our RIGGED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020. Too bad!!! One more thing to add to the Stolen Election List of Disasters!

...and in another filing, they demand court halts case until question of presidential immunity resolved

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche writes in a further filing with the DC court:

“Police officers, corrections officers, federal agents, executive officials, state prosecutors, federal prosecutors, state judges, federal judges, and Members of Congress — all of these officials routinely obtain stays of discovery and of other pre-trial proceedings when they assert official immunity, pending a final resolution of those asserted claims of immunity. The prosecution contends that President Trump should be the only official in America who is not entitled to such consideration ... That position is meritless. The Court should reject the prosecution’s arguments and stay all proceedings until there is a final resolution of President Trump’s claim of Presidential immunity.”\

Read the full filing here.

Trump attorneys ask court to strike Jack Smith filing that said former president responsible for Jan 6

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s defence team has asked a court in Washington, DC to strike from the record part of an earlier filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith that says the former president was “responsible for the events at the Capitol on January 6” as part of the preparation for the federal case against him for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

In a filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Mr Trump’s lawyer John Lauro writes: “The indictment does not charge President Trump with causing, or participating in, those events. Nor could it, as not a shred of evidence suggests President Trump called for any violence or asked anyone to enter the Capitol unlawfully. In fact, President Trump clearly and repeatedly called for ‘peaceful and patriotic’ assembly, consistent with the finest ideals of our Country.”

After repeating the former president’s contention that he authorised 10,000 National Guard troops to prevent violence at the Capitol on 6 January 2021 which was then denied by both DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the filing continues: “The prosecution now seeks to try President Trump for crimes the grand jury never charged, based on actions President Trump did not take, in a place he never was on January 6, by people he never directed, and opposite to actions he actually did take and statements he made. All with the goal of inflaming and prejudicing the jury.

“The prosecution may not do so. Allegations that third parties allegedly acted improperly will serve only to inflame and prejudice the jury and do not belong in the indictment against President Trump. The Court should strike them.”

Read the full filing here.

Watch: George Santos — what you need to know

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:01 , Oliver O'Connell

George Santos: House Ethics Committee report finds ‘substantial’ evidence federal laws broken

Thursday 16 November 2023 15:46 , Oliver O'Connell

The House Ethics Committee said that it found what it considered “substantial evidence” in its report on Rep George Santos (R-NY) that the embattled freshman Republican broke federal laws in a report it released Thursday morning.

The House Ethics Committee — a bipartisan committee made up of equal members from both parties — released its report on Thursday after a months-long investigation into Mr Santos.

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent on this developing story from Capitol Hill.

House Ethics Committee finds ‘substantial’ evidence George Santos broke federal laws

Trump claims Cohen testimony should’ve ended ‘witch hunt'

Thursday 16 November 2023 15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

In his latest Truth Social post as the 30th day of his civil fraud trial gets underway in Lower Manhattan, Donald Trump still maintains that former fixer Michael Cohen’s testimony should have ended the “witch hunt” case against him.

Why doesn’t the implosion of the A.G. of New York State’s Star Witness end this Witch Hunt. He admitted on the stand that he lied, and that I NEVER TOLD HIM, OR ANYONE ELSE, TO INFLATE THE NUMBERS. In fact, the numbers are low, or very conservative, the exact opposite of what this ridiculous RIGGED case is all about. THE FRAUD IS BY THE JUDGE & A.G. (Mar-a-Lago & more!), NOT BY ME!!!

Mr Cohen testified that the former president would tell him and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg that he believed his net worth was far greater than in reality and they would change valuations to make that the case — but Mr Trump never directly told them to do so he said on cross-examination. The former lawyer and fixer for Mr Trump said his ex-boss would instead speak in coded language and imply that was what he wanted.

NYAG asks until 8 December to respond to fraud mistrial motion

Thursday 16 November 2023 15:01 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office has asked Judge Arthur Engoron to give her until 8 December to respond to former president Donald Trump’s “spurious allegations” in the mistrial motion filed by his defence team in his ongoing New York civil fraud trial.

In a letter to the judge, Kevin Wallace, senior enforcement counsel of the Division of Economic Justice, cites a “demonstrable lack of urgency, the impending Thanksgiving holiday, and the fact that the ongoing trial necessitates considerable daily attention” as reasons for asking for time to respond to the motion.

NY fraud trial: Day 30 (!) of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial to get underway soon

Thursday 16 November 2023 14:40 , Oliver O'Connell

What happened yesterday in court?

After the motion for a mistrial based on bias allegations against Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk that the Trump legal team filed in the morning, testimony continued in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York, with expert witness Jason Flemmons back on the stand being questioned by the defence.

Mr Flemmons, who qualifies as an expert having worked for PwC, FTI Consulting and Ankura, as well as being an ex-SEC auditor, testified that accounting regulations allow for “wildly” different valuations depending on different methods, and that doesn’t make them fraudulent.

Asked by Judge Engoron whether he believes the numbers are correct, Mr Flemmons responded: “My testimony is really limited to the methods … not necessary to the numbers that are attached to them.”

On another brief tour of Trump’s real estate assets, Mr Flemmons was asked about the former president’s statements of financial condition, which were compiled by outside accounting firm Mazars.

It transpired through his testimony that the method of determining the value of each property for the purpose of the statements of financial condition was disclosed to the firm in the supporting data.

Mr Flemmons was asked if Trump had disclosed an improper asset valuation method to Mazars, would the accounting firm be required to bring it up with him.

“Yes … professional standards that are applicable to Mazars would require them to do just that,” he replies.

Testimony continued after lunch with direct examination by Jesus Suarez.

After covering the valuation of the Trump brand on licencing deals, Suarez asked: “Was the basis for the valuation of properties in the statements of financial condition accurately described?”

“I believe so, yes,” Mr Flemmons replied.

Suarez asked: “In connection with your review of the [financial statements] and the supporting data, what, if any, GAAP departures did you observe that were not disclosed?”

“I don’t believe I identified any additional discrepancies with GAAP that were not disclosed,” Mr Flemmons answered.

Kevin Wallace, counsel for the New York Attorney General’s office, then began cross-examination. The NY AG tried to have Mr Flemmons barred as a witness as he was a rebuttal to a witness the prosecution had not used after the pre-trial ruling found Mr Trump et al liable for fraud.

Wallace asked about specific transactions and if GAAP departures were disclosed in the financial statements relating to them. Mr Flemmons said he lacked that information.

Asked if someone could make their own valuation of Trump Tower based on the disclosure, he said someone wouldn’t need the disclosure as there are other ways to value the property.

Turning to appraisals of properties — some of which were commissioned but then not used for valuations in financial statements — Mr Flemmons was asked if he didn’t believe they had an obligation to provide accountants with copies of the appraisals for the compilation of the financial statements at the heart of the case.

“That’s correct,” he replied.

Mr Flemmons reiterated that you could perform 12 different valuations using different acceptable methods and only disclose the results of one to accountants compiling financial statements, and that would be fine, according to professional accounting standards.

Cross-examination will continue at 10am.

Fulton County prosecutors want Trump’s co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation

Thursday 16 November 2023 14:24 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia’s election interference case could return to jail after he repeatedly violated the terms of his release, according to prosecutors in Atlanta.

A filing from the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argues that Harrison Floyd, the leader of Black Voices for Trump, has “engaged in a pattern of intimidation” against his co-defendants and witnesses since he was released on bond in August.

Mr Floyd, like his co-defendants, was charged under the state’s anti-racketeering statute for allegedly joining a criminal enterprise to reverse Mr Trump’s loss in the state in the 2020 presidential election. He also is charged with conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings and influencing witnesses.

The terms of his release prohibited him from intimidating co-defendants and witnesses and from communicating “in any way, directly or indirectly, about the facts of the case” with any co-defendants or witnesses, except through his counsel.

Prosecutors say he has since “engaged in numerous intentional and flagrant violations of the conditions of release,” including multiple social media posts about plea deals for co-defendants Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell and posts about Georgia election officials who are witnesses in the case.

Alex Woodward has the details.

Georgia prosecutors want Trump’s co-defendant jailed for witness intimidation

How the Fulton County protective order hearing unfolded yesterday

Thursday 16 November 2023 14:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The defendants in the sprawling Georgia election interference RICO case, and the Fulton County DA’s office, have agreed on a more limited protective order proposed by defendant David Shafer.

Judge McAfee asked whether adopting the order would pave the way for hearings whenever there are disagreements over what constitutes ‘sensitive’ material.

Will Wooten of the DA’s office says they would consider witness proffers, personal identifying information and some business records would be considered sensitive.

Among other things, the order would require the DA’s office to designate certain evidence as “sensitive materials” and give defendants time to contest the designation.

During a roll call to ensure that everyone was in agreement, Jonathan Miller, an attorney for defendant Misty Hampton, says he shared the proffers with a media outlet.

He told Judge McAfee he shared the proffers with the media because the four defendants who had struck plea deals did so in public and to hide the proffers in his mind misleads the public as to what went into those deals and what is going on.

“I don’t believe that two of those defendants were directly related to my client, and I don’t believe that either one of those hurt my client. If anything, I believe they help my client, and the public needs to know that,” Mr Miller argued

There were reports yesterday based on an alleged typo that it was attorneys for defendant Harrison Floyd who had leaked the information, which they vehemently denied.

Before the end of the hearing, Tom Clyde, representing a group of media outlets, objected to the imposition of a protective order saying the standard for one has not been met and that recent events have not given weight to the need for one — there is no physical or economic threat to witnesses.

Mr Clyde notes this is a very different situation to that of grand jurors and jury selection for the upcoming trial.

Speaking for the state, Mr Wooten argued that the media has no standing in this order and that those parties who do have all agreed with only a few specific objections.

Judge McAfee says he will put together a protective order in the same vein as that pitched by David Shafer as everyone is on board including those who do not believe it is needed.

As the hearing wrapped up Harrison Floyd’s lawyers changed their mind and joined media outlets in opposition.

NYAG says Trump trying to distract with mistrial motion

Thursday 16 November 2023 13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Attorney General Letitia James has commented on the mistrial motion Donald Trump’s legal team has filed in his civil fraud case currently on trial in Lower Manhattan.

“Once again, Donald Trump is trying to dismiss the truth and the facts, but the numbers and evidence don’t lie,” she says.

“Donald Trump is now being held accountable for the years of fraud he committed and the incredible ways he lied to enrich himself and his family,” the attorney general says. “He can keep trying to distract from his fraud, but the truth always comes out.”

Meadows requests two-month delay in his Georgia criminal case

Thursday 16 November 2023 13:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Mark Meadows have asked Judge Scott McAfee for a two-month delay on two key pre-trial deadlines in the Fulton County, Georgia 2020 election interference case.

The former White House chief of staff is trying to get his portion of the sprawling racketeering case moved to a federal court.

In a four-page motion, his attorneys ask to shift the deadline for discovery from 4 December to 5 February 2024 and the deadline for pre-trial motions from 8 January to 4 March 2024.

Mr Meadows’s lawyers are preparing to go before a three-judge panel in the 11 Circuit of the US Court of Appeals next month to overturn a lower court’s opinion that he must stand trial alongside his 14 co-defendants including former president Donald Trump (a further four have agreed plea deals with prosecutors).

ICYMI: Trump lawyers file mistrial motion in New York fraud case

Thursday 16 November 2023 13:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s attorneys have filed a mistrial motion in the New York civil fraud case brought against the former president, his sons, and his company the Trump Organization as well as key executives, by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The former president’s defence team argues in part: “This appearance of bias threatens both Defendants’ rights and the integrity of the judiciary as an institution. As developed herein, in this case the evidence of apparent and actual bias is tangible and overwhelming. Such evidence, coupled with an unprecedented departure from standard judicial procedure, has tainted these proceedings and a mistrial is warranted. Specifically, the Court’s own conduct, coupled with the Principal Law Clerk, Allison Greenfield’s (“Principal Law Clerk”) unprecedented role in the trial and extensive, public partisan activities, would cause even a casual observer to question the Court’s partiality. Thus, only the grant of a mistrial can salvage what is left of the rule of law.”

You can read the accompanying memo in support of the arguments here.

Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’ according to Trump

Thursday 16 November 2023 13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump took a break from bashing public officials in his New York civil fraud case and his 2024 rivals to take on Kim Kardashian.

In a rambling Truth Social rant, the former president called the reality TV star-turned-social justice campaigner the “World’s most overrated celebrity.”

His criticism comes as Jonathan Karl writes in his new book, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, how the reality star leveraged her celebrity to urge the then-president to commute certain prison sentences.

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Trump rants that Kim Kardashian is world’s ‘most overrated celebrity’

FBI director bats away bizarre Jan 6 ‘ghost bus’ conspiracy

Thursday 16 November 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The director of the FBI has dismissed a suggestion that several so-called “ghost buses” were used by the bureau to help organise the violent protests at the US Capitol on January 6.

Chistopher Wray said he was unfamiliar with the term when presented with the theory by pro-Trump Republican congressman Clay Higgins, who said such vehicles were used for “nefarious” purposes.

The exchange took place during the ongoing hearings into the insurrections in Washington DC, in which thousands of right-wing supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden after the Democrat won the 2020 election.

On Wednesday, Mr Wray was asked about the possibility of involvement from FBI agents in the events, and the use of vehicles used for “secret purposes”.

“If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and or agents, the answer is emphatically no,” he said, under questioning from Mr Higgins.

Read the full report by Mike Bedigan

Giuliani and Ellis could testify in election workers’ defamation trial

Thursday 16 November 2023 11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rudy Giuliani might be headed to the witness stand to testify in his own defence during a trial that will determine how much damage his false statements caused a mother-daughter pair of election workers at the centre of bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who was found liable for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, could be called to testify about his false statements as well as his team’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to a Tuesday filing with an outline of the case.

Jenna Ellis, among attorneys alongside Mr Giuliani who launched a spurious legal campaign to overturn election results, also is on the trial’s witness list, along with other Trump-connected figures Bernie Kerik and Christina Bobb, among others.

A trial is scheduled to begin on 11 December and will last up to four days.

Alex Woodward reports.

Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis could testify in election workers’ defamation trial

Trump co-defendant’s attorney confesses to Georgia witness videos leak

Thursday 16 November 2023 10:45 , Rachel Sharp

The source of the leak of several witness proffer videos in Donald Trump’s sweeping RICO election interference case in Georgia has now been revealed.

Jonathan Miller, an attorney for one of Mr Trump’s co-defendants Misty Hampton, confessed in a court hearing on Wednesday that he was responsible the leak.

Mr Miller told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that he was coming clean so that he can “sleep well tonight” and to prevent anyone else shouldering the blame – after legal teams for Mr Trump and co-defendant Rudy Giuliani sought to pin the leak on District Attorney Fani Willis’ office.

“In being transparent with the court and to make sure that nobody else gets blamed for what happened and so that I can go to sleep well tonight, judge, I did release those videos to one outlet,” Mr Miller confessed.

“In all candor to the court, I need the court to know that.”

Read the full story here

Marjorie Taylor Greene grilled about ‘Jewish space lasers’

Thursday 16 November 2023 10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has refused to explain her infamous remarks about so-called “Jewish space lasers” during a chaotic interview with Piers Morgan.

Confronted on British TV on Tuesday night about her past statements on Facebook, Ms Greene claimed that her words had been “twisted” and insisted that she was “not antisemitic at all”.

But she declined to clarify exactly what she meant when she suggested back in 2018 that wildfires in California had been deliberately started using orbital light beams as part of a complex scheme involving the state utility company PG&E, then state governor Jerry Brown, and the Jewish Rothschild family.

Io Dodds has the story.

Piers Morgan grills Marjorie Taylor Greene about ‘Jewish space lasers’

Fani Willis: Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until 2025

Thursday 16 November 2023 09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The racketeering case against Donald Trump and his allies for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia may not conclude until the beginning of 2025, according to Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis.

That means the trial could last through the key final stages of the 2024 election.

“I believe in that case there will be a trial. I believe the trial will take many months. And I don’t expect that we will conclude until the winter or the very early part of 2025,” she said at a Washington Post summit on Tuesday.

Trump’s Georgia RICO trial may not end until 2025, Fani Willis says

Haley partially backtracks on push to verify social media users

Thursday 16 November 2023 08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has partially backtracked on her pledge to force social media users to publicly show their real names if she is elected following outrage from her GOP competitors.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, the former South Carolina governor claimed that online anonymity is a “national security threat” and that her policy would “get rid of” foreign bot armies.

Ms Haley’s Republican rivals immediately pushed back. Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy called her idea “disgusting,” adding: “Alexander Hamilton, John Jay & James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers under pseudonym. Here’s what they would say to Nikki Haley if they were alive: get your heels off my neck & go back to England.”

Read the full article