Trump federal election case paused pending presidential immunity appeal: Live

Judge Tanya Chutkan has officially stayed all deadlines in Donald Trump’s federal election interference case, pending resolution of his appeal on presidential immunity.

Deadlines in the case are not being vacated, meaning the trial is technically still scheduled for 4 March 2024. Mr Trump is accused of unlawfully trying to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

The Supreme Court has agreed to a request from special counsel Jack Smith to hear the immunity case on an expedited basis.

While that is argued, an appeals court ruling earlier on Wednesday states Mr Trump cannot assert presidential immunity from a defamation lawsuit by writer E Jean Carroll, who accused him of rape, dealing the former president a legal setback.

The ruling upholds a federal judge’s decision to reject his claim of immunity, finding Mr Trump had waited too long to raise it as a defence. The trial will now go ahead on 16 January 2024. His lawyer Alina Habba said they are prepared for court.

These latest legal developments come as Mr Trump’s civil fraud trial has wrapped up and while his ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s defamation trial is underway in Washington, DC.

Key Points

• Judge pauses Trump federal election case pending appeal on presidential immunity

• Trump loses bid for presidential immunity in E Jean Carroll’s defamation suit

• Jack Smith asks US Supreme Court to rule on Trump immunity — and quick

• Trump hawks mug shot NFTs and pieces of suit in latest cash-in

• Giuliani defamation trial: Election worker targeted by former mayor’s lies is afraid for her life

• Supreme Court to hear case on Jan 6 obstruction of justice charges

New York court evacuated as man starts fire hours after Trump’s fraud trial wrapped up

12:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The New York courthouse that has played host to Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial for the past two months was dramatically evacuated on Wednesday after a man started a fire.

Just hours after testimony wrapped up in the former president’s case at the New York State Supreme Court, a man set a stack of court papers on fire inside the building, according to officials.

Firefighters responded to reports of a “suspicious odour” at the courthouse at around 4.15pm on Wednesday to find the fire already extinguished.

Al Baker, a court spokesperson, told The Associated Press that – after starting the small fire – the man had used a fire extinguisher on the fourth floor, releasing fumes into the air.

Three floors of the building, located at 60 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, were evacuated amid the chaos.

The FNDY said that 17 people suffered minor injuries as a result of the fire including two people – a court officer and a sergeant – who were hospitalised. They have since been released.

The injuries were largely due to the chemicals released by the fire extinguisher.

Amelia Neath has more.

New York court which hosted Trump’s fraud trial is evacuated over fire

Paul Ryan: ‘Trump’s not a conservative, he’s a populist authoritarian narcissist’

11:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The former Republican speaker of the House has lashed out at Donald Trump and defended GOP pariahs Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney for standing up to him during his second impeachment following the events of 6 January 2021.

“Trump’s not a conservative, he’s an authoritarian narcissist. So I think they basically called him out for that,” Ryan told Teneo Political Risk Advisory co-president Kevin Kajiwara during a video conference interview, The Hill reports.

“Historically speaking, all of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, makes him feel good in any given moment,” Ryan continued.

“He doesn’t think in classical liberal conservative terms. He thinks in an authoritarian way and he’s been able to get a big chunk of the Republican base to follow him because he’s the culture warrior.”

Ryan added that Kinzinger and Cheney had bravely “stepped out of the flow” by refusing to fall into lockstep with Trump had been “and called it out” at the cost of their careers.

“There has to be some line, some principle that is so important to you that you’re not going to cross so that when you’re brushing in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror, you like what you see. I think Adam and Liz are brushing their teeth, liking what they see.”

Rudy Giuliani plans to testify today in defamation case

11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Ex-New York City mayor and Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani indicated yesterday that he plans to take the stand on Thursday in the defamation case brought against him by two Georgia election workers.

Wednesday’s session saw tearful testimony from Ruby Freeman conclude with no cross-examination from Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Sibley, causing her to be excused from the witness stand and the plaintiffs rest their case.

This is what the defendant had to say afterwards.

Trump jokes Hunter Biden ‘went to the wrong place’ after skipping congressional deposition

10:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Also in Iowa, Trump could not resist the opportunity to ridicule Hunter Biden after his defiant address to reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, having refused to deliver testimony behind closed doors to the House Republicans investigating spurious corruption allegations against his father

“Did you see Hunter today, right?” Trump gloated. “He went to the wrong place. He went to the Senate instead of the House.

“Everyone’s saying, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ See, it always gets, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ What a two-tier system of justice we have.”

Trump makes outlandish boasts about his health in bid to reassure Iowa voters

10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Meanwhile, over in the Midwest, Trump himself spent last night bragging about his physical and mental fitness in comparison to Joe Biden, following a series of eyebrow-raising verbal blunders on the campaign trail, telling his audience in Coralville, Iowa: “I just took a physical, you’ll be happy to hear… I passed with flying colours. And I took a cognitive exam. I said, ‘Doctor, give me anything you want. I want to take it.’”

Invoking his former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, now a Texas congressman, Trump said: “He was Obama’s doctor, too, by the way. I said, ‘Who’s healthier?’ He said, ‘Sir, there’s no contest.’ I won’t tell you the answer, but you know the answer, OK? It was me.”

The 77-year-old also quoted Johnson as saying: “‘If he didn’t eat junk food, he’d live to 200 years old.’ That’s my kind of a doctor.”

On whether his health was becoming an issue, Trump said: “I’ll be the first to know. But I feel that right now I’m sharper than I was 20 years ago, and I don’t know why.

“It’s a funny thing, and it’s a very minor thing, but I’m a much better golfer than I was 10 or 15 years ago. It means something, you know? It means something in a certain way.”

Classic.

Meanwhile, here he is laying into Iowa governor Kim Reynolds for endorsing Ron DeSantis.

House Republicans do Trump’s bidding in vote to open impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden

09:53 , Joe Sommerlad

In case you missed the big news from Capitol Hill overnight, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted along party lines on Wednesday to authorise an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, fulfilling a wish articulated by Donald Trump and many of his allies, who would like to see Mr Biden tainted by the GOP-led probe as he seeks re-election next year.

On what grounds, you ask? That’s a good question.

An exasperated Jamie Raskin said it best when he compared the matter to an Agatha Christie novel.

Here’s Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg with the full story.

House Republicans officially open an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden

George Santos says the US Congress hasn’t seen the last of him

09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Oh good.

Graeme Massie reports:

Disgraced former Republican lawmaker George Santos is already eyeing a return to Congress.

When he walked out of Congress for the final time on 1 December, Mr Santos — who was ousted House in a bipartisan vote after a damning ethics report and 23 federal criminal charges — was adamant he would never return, telling reporters, “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”

Now he has told New York radio host Frank Morano he would like his old job back one day.

“I’m not done with public service. I want to go back to Congress,” he said in an interview.

Read on...

George Santos says Congress hasn’t seen the last of him

Refusing to sit for deposition, Hunter Biden slams ‘shameless’ House GOP

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Hunter Biden gave a defiant speech on Capitol Hill as he refused to sit for a closed-door deposition in House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden.

In a statement to reporters upon his arrival at the Capitol complex Wednesday morning, he said he would only testify publicly as he explained he had come there “to make sure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family did not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies” and “to acknowledge that I’ve made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded”.

“For that I’m responsible for that. I’m accountable for that. I’m making amends,” he said.

He added that he was also at the Capitol “to correct how the Maga right” was portraying him for political purposes and said the GOP does not want an “open process where Americans can see their tactics”.

Hunter Biden slams ‘shameless’ House GOP as he refuses to sit for deposition

Kimmel mocks Trump for ‘shameless’ move to flog mug shot suit

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tore into Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he made moves to flog the suit he wore in his now infamous mug shot.

On Tuesday, the former president offered fans the chance to buy a “historic” gift for loved ones this Christmas – a piece of the suit worn when he surrendered for arrest in Georgia – for the bargain price of $4,600.

The offer came as part of Mr Trump’s new series of digital trading cards, titled “The Mugshot Edition”, featuring various patriotic pop art depictions of Mr Trump at $99 a pop.

When customers purchase 47 of the digital trading cards in a single transaction, they will receive a special physical card including a strip of material taken from the suit.

Customers will also be invited to a special gala dinner with Mr Trump at his Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida.

Jimmy Kimmel mocks Trump for ‘shameless’ move to flog suit he wore in mug shot

Giuliani defamation trial — Day two: Election worker left afraid for her life by his lies

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Life for Shaye Moss turned upside down after Rudy Giuliani made life hell for her family.

Three years after spreading a lie that the election worker in Georgia manipulated ballots to rig the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump’s former attorney listened to her in person for the first time as she described the abuse she endured, the pain she lives with, and the overwhelming anxiety she continues to experience.

She testified from the witness stand in a federal courtroom on Tuesday as part of a jury trial that will determine how much Mr Giuliani owes Ms Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman for his defamatory statements in the volatile aftermath of the 2020 election.

He was already found liable for defaming the mother-daughter pair of election workers, whose lives were bombarded with racist threats and harassment fuelled by false claims amplified across social media and right-wing media networks.

Election worker targeted by Rudy Giuliani’s lies is afraid for her life

CNN town hall: DeSantis hits Trump on ‘bravery’, border wall and debates

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis mocked Donald Trump for comparing his “bravery” in debating Hillary Clinton after the Access Hollywood tape scandal to the military service of Americans killed in conflicts.

The Florida governor went on the front foot and attacked the former president during a CNN town hall event in Iowa on Tuesday night.

“When he says that debating Hillary Clinton after Access Hollywood was like an example of bravery that some general told him was more significant than soldiers who fight and die in war that is offensive and wrong,” Mr DeSantis told the audience at Grand View University in Des Moines. The Access Hollywood tape revealing Mr Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women emerged in the run-up to the 2016 election and nearly derailed his campaign. He later dismissed his boasts as “locker-room talk”.

Mr DeSantis also slammed Mr Trump for avoiding any of the Republican debates held in 2023.

DeSantis hits Trump on ‘bravery’, border wall and debates in CNN town hall

Giuliani defamation trial — Day one: Case could cost former mayor millions

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

In a hearing in front of state lawmakers in Georgia on 11 December 2020, Rudy Giuliani baselessly accused a mother-daughter pair of election workers in the state of “quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine”.

He smeared Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss as criminals whose workplaces and homes should be searched for evidence of voter fraud.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who launched spurious lawsuits to overturn 2020 presidential election results, also appeared on podcasts and television shows to falsely claim those women wheeled a suitcase loaded with fraudulent ballots into a vote-counting centre and used a flash drive to manipulate the results to ensure Joe Biden’s victory.

Three years and one day after he introduced those bogus claims to Georgia lawmakers, Mr Giuliani sat with his attorneys for the first day of a civil trial in a federal courtroom in Washington DC, where an eight-member jury will determine how much he owes for defaming them.

Alex Woodward reports.

Rudy Giuliani’s lies about election workers are going to cost him

Earlier: Trump fraud trial judge jokes he’ll ‘miss’ the case as testimony ends

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

After 44 days across more than two months, witness testimony in a civil trial that could imperil Donald Trump’s real estate empire has concluded.

Final testimony on Wednesday morning closed a key chapter in a lawsuit that strikes at the heart of the former president’s persona as a successful businessman, a narrative that launched his presidential campaign and is now at the centre of a blockbuster lawsuit alleging a decade of fraud.

But the trial isn’t over just yet.

Lawyers for both parties will file their final briefs to the court by 5 January.

Closing arguments are scheduled for 11 January, and New York County Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said he plans to issue a final ruling before the end of next month.

Alex Woodward watched the trial for The Independent and filed this story:

Trump fraud trial judge jokes he’ll ‘miss’ the case as testimony ends

Democrats call for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from Trump’s SCOTUS hearing

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A group of Senate Democrats are calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from ruling on Donald Trump‘s claims that he cannot be prosecuted for trying to overturn the 2020 election due to presidential immunity.

Senator Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee chair, and other Democratic allies are arguing that Mr Thomas should recuse himself because of his wife Ginni’s outspoken support for Mr Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

“There are so many unanswered questions about the relationship of the justice and his family with the Trump administration that I think in the interests of justice, he should recuse himself,” Mr Durbin said, according to The Hill.

He said he had concerns that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court would rule in Mr Trump’s favour, effectively making any action he took while president potentially subject to an immunity claim.

“If we say certain people are above the law, I believe it diminishes values in this country,” he said.

Democrats call for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from Trump’s immunity case

Wednesday 13 December 2023 23:15 , AP

Additionally, a state Senate subcommittee is looking into the problem-plagued Fulton County Jail, where Trump and his co-defendants were booked and processed shortly after they were indicted. One co-defendant, Harrison William Prescott Floyd, spent several days at the jail after failing to negotiate a bond agreement before surrendering.

Some Republicans have placed some of the blame for overcrowding at the jail on Willis, suggesting she is expending too many resources on the Trump prosecution and neglecting other cases.

“They don’t know what they’re talking about in terms of the facts of the jail, nor do they understand the process,” Willis said. She said a vast majority of those who are arrested are given bonds within 72 hours. She noted that the law says anyone held more than 90 days without being indicted is entitled to a bond.

The jail is under the control of the sheriff, not the district attorney, and Willis agreed that it needs to be replaced. She said county officials have “sat on their hands” for too long, not wanting to invest in the jail “and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”

She said state senators should instead focus on the violent and understaffed state prison system, which is under their jurisdiction.

The Justice Department has opened investigations into detention conditions in both Fulton County and the state prison system.

Wednesday 13 December 2023 23:05 , AP

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions brought against Trump this year, and it has significant overlap with the indictment brought in Washington by Smith.

Willis would not say whether her office had been in contact with Smith, but she seemed to indicate that she had no reason to seek help from him.

“A woman in Georgia is able to get evidence, look at the evidence and make charging decisions, and we can actually do it all here in the state of Georgia,” said Willis, a Democrat who is up for reelection next year.

Some Republicans have suggested that her case against Trump is politically motivated.

She has been involved in a caustic back-and-forth with US Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a close Trump ally. Jordan has demanded that Willis turn over documents, including any communications with the Justice Department or federal executive branch officials related to her investigation.

Closer to home, legislators in Georgia passed a law this year creating a commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors. Willis said she finds it “very interesting” that while the law was framed as a way to go after prosecutors who were improperly refusing to prosecute certain crimes, some Republicans tried to use it to target her, “someone who actually did their job, that did bring forth cases.”

Georgia’s Supreme Court last month refused to approve rules for the commission, preventing it from acting, for now.

Continued...

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:55 , AP

Willis and her team have said they want to have a single trial for the rest of the defendants. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, has expressed skepticism about the idea of trying too many people at once. He said earlier this month that even 12 people at once could be a stretch.

Willis disagrees with the judge on that. “My answer would be it’s whittled down now to a size we can try, but I don’t know that all 15 will be at the table once they get through the process,” she said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have been exchanging evidence. Pretrial motions for most of the defendants are due early next month.

As they sift through that evidence and once the judge rules on what is permissible for trial, some defense lawyers may advise their clients that a negotiated plea is in their best interest, Willis said.

Asked whether she expects that Trump will spend time behind bars in Georgia once the case runs its course, Willis declined to speak about any particular defendant. But she noted that the indictment includes serious charges, including alleged violations of the state’s anti-racketeering law, that carry significant prison time.

“You can look at the statutes that we charged. It’s a very serious case,” she said. “And there are consequences to violating serious laws.”

Continued...

Fani Willis: ‘Silly notion’ that Trump’s Georgia case should pause for election

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:45 , AP

The district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia says she has a duty to file charges against anyone who violates the law and that it’s a “silly notion” that the former president’s case should be paused just because he is running for office.

In an interview this week with The Associated Press, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis declined to say whether she or her team has been in touch with US Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who has filed federal charges in an election interference case against Trump in Washington. She also raised the possibility that more of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia case could take plea deals, further paring down the number who could go on trial with him.

Willis is seeking an August trial date for Trump and his co-defendants, a time frame that would put the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in court defending himself in the months, weeks and even days leading up to the November general election. Trump’s lawyer has said that if Trump is the nominee, that would be “the most effective election interference in the history of the United States.”

Willis brushed off that idea, pointing out that prosecutors all over the country are always investigating people for various crimes and that they do not stop doing so just because someone runs for office.

“If the prosecutor finds that they violated the law, they have an ethical duty to bring forth charges and so this is a silly notion to me that because one runs from office that your criminal case would stop,” she said.

Willis has alleged that Trump, lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and others participated in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election after voters elected Democrat Joe Biden as president.

Four of the 19 people charged have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and the others remaining have pleaded not guilty.

Continued...

Watch: Giuliani repeats claim ‘truth will come out’ and says he intends to testify tomorrow

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Analysis: How will Hunter Biden’s legal woes affect Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign?

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Gustaf Kilander writes:

In a defiant statement outside the US Capitol on Wednesday, Hunter Biden forcefully pushed back on the idea that his father, President Joe Biden, had any connections to his business dealings, including in China and Ukraine.

He said his father did not play any part in his ventures, “not as a practising lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist”.

“There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” he said as he defied a Republican-led subpoena to testify behind closed doors.

Read on...

How will Hunter Biden’s legal woes affect Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign?

Giuliani defamation trial: Former mayor intends to testify tomorrow

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Giuliani defamation trial: Plaintiffs rest case

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:07 , Oliver O'Connell

WIth the tearful testimony of Ruby Freeman concluded and no cross-examination from Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Sibley, she is excused from the witness stand and the plaintiffs rest their case.

Tomorrow, the defence of the former mayor of New York will lay out their case. It is unclear if that will consist of more than Giuliani himself taking the stand.

Tune in tomorrow.

‘Grinch’ Jack Smith trying to rush federal election case, Trump lawyers say

Wednesday 13 December 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Donald Trump told a federal appeals court on Wednesday that it should not speed up its consideration of whether the former president is immune from prosecution, accusing federal prosecutors of trying to rush his 2020 election subversion case through before next year’s presidential election.

The issue is of paramount significance to both sides given the potential for a protracted appeal to delay a trial beyond its currently scheduled start date of 4 March 2024 — amid the 2024 presidential primaries.

The former president faces charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election after he lost to Democrat President Joe Biden, and he has denied doing anything wrong. He also faces three other criminal cases in addition to civil cases.

In their filing, the Trump team also accused Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose team has brought two federal cases against Trump in Washington and in Florida, of being like the fictional character the Grinch from the Dr Seuss children’s books in his attempts to spoil their Christmas.

Read on...

Trump lawyers say ‘Grinch’ Jack Smith trying to rush federal election case

Wednesday 13 December 2023 21:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Freeman continues to cry as she gives her testimony about having to relocate.

“It was hard because I knew I couldn't have the home in my name. The utilities, nothing in my name. I had to get a certain kind of lawyer to help me so I wouldn't have nothing in my name.”

She recalls often looking at the security cameras and was too scared to tell her new neighbours her name. She is very choked up.

“I miss my old neighborhood because I was me. I could introduce myself. Now I don't have a name really.”

On January 6, she says people came to her house before the Capitol riot began and later found out she was on a “death list”.

Wednesday 13 December 2023 21:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Freeman is asked about the strategic communications plan as laid out by Giuliani.

“When I saw this, it took me back to when it first came out that I had did something. I felt that this was a plan. This was a plan from the beginning that #45 didn't win. They had my name from my shirt [Lady Ruby] so they set me up... they filled in my name.

Asked how it felt to have the most powerful person on earth talking about her, she says: “I was just like, really? The president talking about me? Me? How mean. Evil. I just was devastated. It made me feel like you really don't care. You're just trying to execute your plan.”

She added: “I felt bad. I felt horrible. I'm getting all the death threats... They're really telling them they should find me. I should be arrested.”

“They was coming to get me,” she says. “I just felt this all started with one tweet. #45 and his campaign and Mr. Giuliani, they just messed me up. They messed up my name. My business. They got my daughter involved. It was horrible.”

It was at this point the FBI told her she had to leave her home until at least after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

For two months she stayed in different Airbnbs and cries when she talks about leaving her home.

Wednesday 13 December 2023 21:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Examples of the tirade of abuse Ms Freeman received continue including physical pieces of mail, which causes her to choke up on the witness stand.

A series of voicemails is also played in court.

This is followed by audio of Ms Freeman calling police as people were banging on her door.

“I was scared, because I didn't know if they were coming to kill me,” she says.

Wednesday 13 December 2023 21:04 , Oliver O'Connell

After being shown the Giuliani tweet from 3 December 2020 with the State Farm Arena video, she explains that she started getting phone calls and messages “like crazy”.

The court is shown a number of examples:

Giuliani defamation trial: Ruby Freeman takes the stand

Wednesday 13 December 2023 21:01 , Oliver O'Connell

The final witness for the plaintiffs is Ruby Freeman, mother and election worker.

We cut right to the chase and tallk about candy — the famous ginger mints that she gave her daughter during the vote count that Giuliani falsely claimed was a USB drive that played some bizarre role in overturning the election in Georgia.

Ms Freeman tells the jury that during the pandemic she started giving them to people because she thought they tasted good and were healthy.

Giving some background to the jury, she says she went to a segregated school as a child, graduated high school and did filing work for a law firm. In the late 1980s she began selling clothes as a street vendor at the Atlanta Braves’ stadium and during the 1996 Olympics.

Her dream was to own a brick and mortar store but that has been dashed: “Can't advertise. Can't use my name. Lady Ruby.”

She worked as a non-officer employee for the Fulton County Police Department for 11 years and for the county’s 911 centre for eight.

Describing her feeling toward politics, she said: “You know, you vote. You have to vote because we finally earned the right as Blacks and as a woman.”

Judge pauses all deadlines in Trump federal election case pending appeal on presidential immunity

Wednesday 13 December 2023 20:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Tanya Chutkan has officially stayed all deadlines in Donald Trump’s federal election interference case, pending resolution of his appeal on presidential immunity.

Deadlines in the case are not being vacated, meaning the trial is technically still scheduled for 4 March 2024.

Trump hits out at Sununu for Haley endorsement

Wednesday 13 December 2023 20:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has hit out at New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu over his endorsement of former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

The former president wrote on Truth Social:

Chris Sununu could have run for the Senate in New Hampshire and WON, but no, he wanted to run for President and, without announcing, did. Sadly for him, he got ZERO traction, and went back to being Governor. Very selfish! Now he is unelectable in his own State, and can back Nikki, who has no chance of winning. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

Chaotic struggle to handle Trump with kid gloves in 2020 election briefing revealed

Wednesday 13 December 2023 20:12 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the many lawyers present at the White House towards the end of Donald Trump’s presidency told him in a December 2020 meeting that he still had a chance to win, giving the outgoing commander-in-chief false hope ahead of what would become the January 6 Capitol riot.

Former Trump-connected attorney Kenneth Chesebro has reached a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors after he was part of a plot to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the state – the first Democrat to win Georgia on the presidential level since Bill Clinton in 1992.

Chesebro has now been working with the prosecution regarding what has become known as the “fake elector” plot to keep Mr Trump in the White House.

Recordings obtained by CNN of Chesebro meeting with Michigan prosecutors have revealed that he falsely told Mr Trump at a meeting in the Oval Office in December 2020 that he could still win. Chesebro told the then-president that he could overturn the results with a plan to enlist Trump allies to stand as “alternate” electors in states he lost who could certify him as the victor despite Mr Biden’s win in both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

Continue reading...

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Sibley then asks Dr Humphreys about her methodology, noting that the only other hjudgment it has been used in is the E Jean Carroll case against Mr Trump.

She responds that she cannot say if anyone else has used the same methodology.

Sibley asks if Dr Humphreys has any examples of private individuals conducting successful reputation repair campaigns as opposed to prominent individuals or companies. She says no.

Continuing, he says that sometimes when horrible things happen to people it give them a platform to increase their standing in the community, noting that both Ms Freeman and Ms Moss received the Presidential Citizens Medal.

He asks if the goal of Dr Humphreys’ theory is to forcibly convert election deniers through reeducation campaigns. She says no.

Giuliani defamation trial: Cross-examination of plaintiff’s expert witness

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:52 , Oliver O'Connell

After court returned from lunch it was the turn of Giuliani lawyer Joseph Sibley to question Dr Ashlee Humphreys, the plaintiffs’ expert witness on the impact of defamation and its reach.

Sibley asks her about her previous cases including those against Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and Ms Freeman and Ms Moss’s case against Gateway Pundit.

The questioning tries to get Dr Humphreys to agree either that all of the news coverage of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss has already ameliorated the damage caused by the false statements against them, or that no amount of money will do it. She does not take the bait.

Sibley asks: “If we can't change their minds, why are we spending the money to do it?”

Dr Humphreys replies: “In my field, it's been documented that reputation repair can be effective.”

Sibley seems especially determined to make Gateway Pundit a scapegoat for Giuliani, noting it was cited numerous times in the strategic communications plan for the Trump campaign.

Want a piece of the suit Trump wore in his mug shot? Why not donate to charity instead?

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has offered fans the chance to buy an “historic” gift for loved ones this Christmas – a piece of the suit worn while taking his now infamous mugshot – for the bargain price of $4,600.

On Tuesday, the former president announced that a new series of his digital trading cards, titled The Mugshot Edition, was now on sale.

When customers purchase 47 of the digital trading cards, featuring various patriotic pop art depictions of Mr Trump – at $99 a pop – they will also be gifted a special physical card.

That card will feature a strip of material taken from the suit worn by Mr Trump when he was formally arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, on 24 August . The resulting picture was the first-ever mugshot of a United States president.

Mike Bedigan has the details:

Trump is giving away pieces of suit worn in his mug shot – with a $4,600 catch

NY fraud trial: NY AG statement as case rests

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:24 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement as both sides concluded their cases in the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.

Today, after 11 weeks of trial, we rested our case against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization for years of financial fraud. While the judge already ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family, this trial revealed the full extent of that fraud — and the defendants’ inability to disprove it. We look forward to presenting our closing argument on January 11.

Colbert trolls Tucker by buying up platform domain name

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Stephen Colbert has trolled former Fox News host Tucker Carlson over his new streaming platform – by buying up a similar website domain name.

The Late Show host brought up the newly launched Tucker Carlson Network on his show on Tuesday night, saying that Mr Carlson’s new venture had come about after he was forced to leave Fox News for “somehow being too racist”.

Mr Carlson had worked at Fox News since 2009 but was abruptly ousted in April this year.

The right-wing figure claimed his firing was a condition of the settlement Fox News reached with Dominion Voting Systems after the network aired false claims about its ballot counting systems.

After a brief stint hosting a show on X, conspiracy theorist Mr Carlson has now set his sights on a new venture, creating his own self-titled network.

Amelia Neath has the story.

Stephen Colbert trolls Tucker Carlson by buying up platform domain name

Wednesday 13 December 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The Trump Organization on trial: How it happened

Meanwhile, here’s the latest on Hunter Biden...

Wednesday 13 December 2023 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Hunter Biden gave a defiant speech on Capitol Hill as he refused to sit for a closed-door deposition in House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden.

In a statement to reporters upon his arrival at the Capitol complex Wednesday morning, he said he would only testify publicly as he explained he had come there “to make sure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family did not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies” and “to acknowledge that I’ve made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded”.

“For that I’m responsible for that. I’m accountable for that. I’m making amends,” he said.

He added that he was also at the Capitol “to correct how the Maga right” was portraying him for political purposes and said the GOP does not want an “open process where Americans can see their tactics”.

Andrew Feinberg and Gustaf Kilander filed this report from Washington, DC.

Hunter Biden slams ‘shameless’ House GOP as he refuses to sit for deposition

‘Internet pornography personality’ arrested over Capitol riot

Wednesday 13 December 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested an “internet pornography personality” who is accused of participating in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Agents arrested Paul Caloia, who goes by the screen name “God Hypnotic,” last week. The FBI first identified Caloia as a suspect just days after the Capitol riot, when they received a witness tip that he was “bragging” on Skype about participating in the riot, according to an affidavit.

Katie Hawkinson has the story:

‘Internet pornography personality’ arrested over Capitol riot

CNN town hall: DeSantis knocks Trump on ‘bravery’, border wall an debates

Wednesday 13 December 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis mocked Donald Trump for comparing his “bravery” in debating Hillary Clinton after the Access Hollywood tape scandal to the military service of Americans killed in conflicts.

The Florida governor went on the front foot and attacked the former president during a CNN town hall event in Iowa on Tuesday night.

“When he says that debating Hillary Clinton after Access Hollywood was like an example of bravery that some general told him was more significant than soldiers who fight and die in war that is offensive and wrong,” Mr DeSantis told the audience at Grand View University in Des Moines. The Access Hollywood tape revealing Mr Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women emerged in the run-up to the 2016 election and nearly derailed his campaign. He later dismissed his boasts as “locker-room talk”.

Mr DeSantis also slammed Mr Trump for avoiding any of the Republican debates held in 2023.

Graeme Massie reports on what else the governor had to say:

DeSantis hits Trump on ‘bravery’, border wall and debates in CNN town hall

Watch: Trump lawyer Alina Habba says they’re ‘prepared’ for trial in E Jean Carroll case

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Giuliani defamation trial: Expert witness explains reputational harm toward plaintiffs

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Humphreys is still on the stand and moves on to explaining the reputational harm and emotional damage caused by Giuliani’s statements.

She says that prior to 3 December 2020 “there was practically no search traffic for the name Ruby Freeman”, where after that point “there was a dramatic increase over a period of months” with significant spikes in Google trends in December 2020 and January 2021.

Among the most popular search terms were:

- “Ruby Freeman arrested”- “Ruby Freeman fraud”- “Ruby Freeman FBI”

There were hundreds of thousands of like and tens of thousands of comments on Giuliani’s posts about Ms Freeman and Ms Moss — one comment called for their execution on the grounds of treason.

“Their reputation was severely damaged,” Dr Humphreys summarises.

And it did not stop there. Between May and August of 2023 there wre 300,000 mentions of the mother and daughter showing that their reputation is still harmed.

There is “significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss” and they are “widely associated with claims of election fraud”.

In Dr Humphreys’ assessment: “Racist statements and malicious threats of physical violence and incarceration began in 2020 and continue to today.”

Through this she arrived at an estimate of the cost of repairing their reputations which ranges from $17.8m to $47.5m, with the biggest costs attirbuted to cable TV ads, and YouTube and Facebook influencers.

Full story: Trump fraud trial judge jokes he’ll ‘miss’ the case as testimony ends

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:35 , Oliver O'Connell

After 44 days across more than three months, witness testimony in a civil trial that could imperil Donald Trump’s real estate empire has concluded.

Final testimony on Wednesday morning closed a key chapter in a lawsuit that strikes at the heart of the former president’s brand-building persona as a successful businessman, a narrative that launched his presidential campaign and is now at the centre of a blockbuster lawsuit alleging a decade of fraud.

But the trial isn’t over just yet.

Lawyers for both parties will file their final briefs to the court by 5 January.

Closing arguments are scheduled for 11 January, and New York County Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said he plans to issue a final ruling before the end of next month.

Alex Woodward filed this report for The Independent from the New York State Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan.

Trump fraud trial judge jokes he’ll ‘miss’ the case as testimony ends

Recap: Yesterday in court at Giuliani’s defamation trial

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Life for Shaye Moss turned upside down after Rudy Giuliani made life hell for her family.

Three years after spreading a lie that the election worker in Georgia manipulated ballots to rig the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump’s former attorney listened to her in person for the first time as she described the abuse she endured, the pain she lives with, and the overwhelming anxiety she continues to experience.

She testified from the witness stand in a federal courtroom on Tuesday as part of a jury trial that will determine how much Mr Giuliani owes Ms Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman for his defamatory statements in the volatile aftermath of the 2020 election.

He was already found liable for defaming the mother-daughter pair of election workers, whose lives were bombarded with racist threats and harassment fuelled by false claims amplified across social media and right-wing media networks.

Read the rest of the recap of Tuesday’s proceedings

NY fraud trial: Testimony wraps, that’s it until the new year

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:27 , Oliver O'Connell

With no redirect or rebuttal for the final witness, Eric Lewis is allowed to step down from the witness stand and departs the room.

Trump attorney Christopher Kise says the defence team will submit another filing for a summary judgement (the fifth? sixth?).

And just like that, testimony wraps after eleven short weeks and a lot of angry Truth Social posts.

Judge Arthur Engoron wishes everyone a happy holiday season and tells both sides he will see them next year for closing arguments, currently scheduled for 11 January 2024.

Giuliani defamation trial: Expert reveals enormous reach of defamatory comments

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:22 , Oliver O'Connell

In addition to the reach of Giuliani’s podcast (see earlier post), Dr Humphreys estimated that a Trump campaign ad on the same date (23 December 2020) generated between 8-18 million impressions online.

Further, the audio and transcript of Donald Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on 2 January 2021 was also a factor in disseminating the defamatory statements against Ms Freeman and Ms Moss.

Through NBC News' YouTube account alone Dr Humphreys estimated it reached a receptive audience of approximately 3.3 million people with a total of 11.75 million receptive impressions across all platforms.

Totalled up, she estimates that the estimated impressions for 91 defamatory statements was between 35-56 million.

NY fraud trial: Trump’s attorneys grill attorney general’s rebuttal witness

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:01 , Alex Woodward

Trump attorney Jesus Suarez is digging into Eric Lewis and his credentials, suggesting that he has no accounting experience and reading from bad reviews on his profile on Ratemyprofessors.com.

Suarez: “Are you aware that your students describe you as the worst professor in the Cornell accounting program? ‘Good class if you want to chill and not learn much.’”

The former president’s team filed an objection letter against this witness, claiming that he is “unqualified” and has no experience or education in accounting.

Lewis, however, wrote his doctoral dissertation on “An Examination of the use of Accounting Based Risk Measures for the Valuation of Closely Held Businesses” and he got his MBA in accounting and went to college for finance. He is a Cornell professor in the accounting department.

“How is that practising accounting?” Suarez asked.

Satanic display at Iowa Capitol blamed on Trump

Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis has blamed Donald Trump for the appearance of a controversial satanic display inside the Iowa state Capitol building.

The Florida governor appeared at a CNN town hall on Tuesday night where he gave some of his sharpest criticism to date of his one-time close ally turned 2024 rival.

At one point, host Jake Tapper asked Mr DeSantis about the display that sprung up in Iowa in recent days.

The governor – who is trailing Mr Trump in the polls – pointed the finger at the former president, saying that the Trump administration gave the Satanic Temple free rein to be regarded as a religion.

Rachel Sharp has the story:

DeSantis blames Trump for satanic display at Iowa Capitol