Trump news – live: Ex-president hugs Jan 6 rioter who called for Pence to be executed

Donald Trump hugged a woman at one who spent time in prison for her role in the January 6 insurrection. She later said that former Vice President Mike Pence and “every single” member of Congress who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory should be executed.

At a diner in New Hampshire, Mr Trump was notified by the people in the room that QAnon believer Micki Larson-Olson was a “January 6er”.

She later told NBC News the following day that Mr Trump is the “real president,” adding that she “would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed”.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina was scolded by the judge during E Jean Carroll’s civil rape trial against the former president due to his “argumentative, repetitive, and inappropriate” questioning of the alleged victim.

During the grilling, Mr Tacopina repeatedly questioned why she didn’t scream during the alleged rape in a dressing room in Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store.

Judge Lewis Kaplan also became impatient with the attorney and warned him about his line of questioning.

Ms Carroll will return to the stand on Monday morning when the trial continues.

Key Points

• PHOTOS: Trump greets supporters in New Hampshire diner

• VIDEO: Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

• Trump says he can engage with Gen Z voters and brags about popularity on college campuses

• Trump recommits to banning Muslims from entering US if he is re-elected

• VOICES: Why Trump’s Truth Social account is a legal landmine for him

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

05:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Former vice president Mike Pence has given evidence before the federal grand jury investigating former president Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, The Independent has confirmed.

Mr Pence spent roughly seven hours testifying to the grand jury and answering questions from prosecutors led by Jack Smith, the US Department of Justice special counsel leading investigations into Mr Trump’s push to remain in office against the will of voters, and the twice-impeached ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Pence’s appearance before the Washington DC grand jury comes less than 24 hours after a federal appeals court rejected a last-ditch appeal to block his testimony by Mr Trump’s legal team.

Read more:

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and bestowing it on Biden

02:00 , Abe Asher

Former President Donald Trump announced at a campaign event on Thursday that he is “retiring” the ‘Crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and will instead be using it going forward for President Joe Biden.

“I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton and her moniker, and I’m going to give her a new name, I don’t know, like maybe ‘Lovely Hillary’ or ‘Beautiful Hillary,’ but I’m going to retire the name ‘Crooked’ because he will be known from now on as ‘Crooked Joe Biden,’” Mr Trump said.

The watching crowd cheered and whistled. Mr Trump then speculated that Ms Clinton would be “celebrating” the announcement. He then launched a sizeable accusation at Mr Biden, the candidate who beat him handily in both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020.

Read more:

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton, giving it to Biden

Trump revives threat of skipping GOP presidential debates

Saturday 29 April 2023 23:00 , AP

Donald Trump is again threatening to skip a presidential debate.

The Republican former president has privately said that a debate in August would be too early and he would not participate, according to two people familiar with his concerns who insisted on anonymity to detail private discussions. He also has stepped up his public complaints this week, suggesting that his poll numbers are so high he has no reason to compete with the rest of the field.

“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” Trump said in a Tuesday post on his social media network.

Trump repeated the idea at at campaign event in New Hampshire on Thursday afternoon, showing a slideshow of his recent poll numbers among the GOP contenders and saying of the debates, “Why would you do that?”

Read more:

Trump revives threat of skipping GOP presidential debates

Fox ratings tumble in Tucker Carlson slot after his firing

Saturday 29 April 2023 20:00 , AP

Hundreds of thousands of Fox News viewers are reacting to Tucker Carlson‘s firing by abandoning the network in his old time slot — at least temporarily.

Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour on Wednesday night, putting the network second to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a competition Carlson used to dominate, the Nielsen company said.

That’s down 56% from the 3.05 million viewers Carlson reached last Wednesday, Nielsen said. For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox’s “The Five” as the most popular program on cable television.

Carlson offered his own alternative to Kilmeade on Wednesday, posting a two-minute monologue on Twitter at 8 p.m. By Thursday afternoon, that video had been viewed 62.7 million times, according to Twitter.

Kilmeade had 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 2.59 million on Monday, when he told people who hadn’t already heard the news that Carlson would no longer be there.

Read more:

Fox ratings tumble in Tucker Carlson slot after his firing

E Jean Carroll shuts down combative questioning by Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

Saturday 29 April 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

On day three of E Jean Carroll’s civil trial against Donald Trump, the former columnist faced tough cross-examination from Mr Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, and defended herself for not screaming during the alleged rape.

Mr Tacopina pressed Ms Carroll about her previous testimony, in an attempt to discredit her recollection of Mr Trump allegedly assaulting her.

He specifically targeted a portion of Ms Carroll’s testimony where she said she did not scream while Mr Trump was allegedly raping her.

Ms Carroll is alleging that Mr Trump sexually assaulted and raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodmans in the mid-1990s.

“I’m a fighter, not a screamer,” Ms Carroll said during her emotional testimony on 26 April.

Read more:

E Jean Carroll shuts down Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

GOP report on 2022 election struggles doesn't mention Trump

Saturday 29 April 2023 14:00 , AP

A draft of a report examining the Republican Party’s struggles in last year’s midterm elections says the results show that voters aren’t interested in “relitigating previous elections” and that failing to heed those warnings could harm the GOP in 2024 and beyond.

The draft notably does not mention former President Donald Trump by name, but alludes to the controversial, far-right candidates he endorsed who went on to lose. That includes many who echoed the former president’s lies about a stolen 2020 election.

“We cannot afford to ignore the obvious lessons of the 2022 election cycle,” the report’s introduction reads. “The Republican candidates in 2022 who delivered results and had a vision for the future did much, much better than those stuck in the past and rehashing old grievances.”

The draft also says that Republicans “underestimated the impact” of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in the months before the midterms, a landmark ruling that both parties have acknowledged played a role in Democrats‘ surprisingly strong performance in the elections.

Read more:

GOP report on 2022 election struggles doesn't mention Trump

VIDEO: Mike Pence testifies to federal grand jury

Saturday 29 April 2023 12:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Will Trump testify in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial? He faces ‘huge’ legal risk either way, experts say

Saturday 29 April 2023 11:00 , Bevan Hurley

A jury in New York is currently hearing allegations that E Jean Carroll was raped by Donald Trump in the changing rooms of a Manhattan department store nearly three decades ago.

The former president has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women, but this is the first time a jury will be asked to determine the claims in court.

Legal experts told The Independent that Mr Trump’s likely non-appearance in the civil battery and defamation trial in the US District Courthouse in lower Manhattan was a major gamble.

“The risk for Trump if he doesn’t testify is huge,” Jennifer Keller, who represented Kevin Spacey when he was found not liable of sexual battery by a jury in 2022, told The Independent.

“The jury will hear only one side of the story — the plaintiff’s. And the jurors may well conclude he’s afraid of showing up because he knows the allegations are true.”

Read more:

Donald Trump’s ‘huge’ legal risk in E Jean Carroll civil rape trial

VIDEO: Trump’s lawyers try to poke holes in woman’s recollection of rape

Saturday 29 April 2023 09:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Who is Natasha Stoynoff? The journalist who may be testifying in Trump civil rape trial

Saturday 29 April 2023 08:00 , Gustaf Kilander

People magazine sent correspondent Natasha Stoynoff to Mar-a-Lago in late 2005 to write a wedding anniversary story about Donald Trump, who had then recently married Melania Knauss.

Almost two decades later, her experience of the future president allegedly “forcing his tongue” down her throat could prove essential testimony in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial that began on 25 April in a federal court in New York City.

Before joining the magazine, Ms Stoynoff was a reporter and photographer at The Toronto Star, a columnist at The Toronto Sun, and a freelancer for Time Magazine. She then worked for People magazine for almost 20 years. She now lives in New York, where she writes books and screenplays, according to her bio on Goodreads.

The Trump legal team failed to stop the inclusion of Ms Stoynoff’s testimony in the trial.

Ms Carroll claims that Mr Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996 and that he later defamed her in 2019 as president when he rejected her allegation.

Read more:

Who is Natasha Stoynoff? The journalist whose testimony could bring down Trump

Trump hugs January 6 rioter who called for Pence and Congress to be executed

Saturday 29 April 2023 06:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump hugged a woman who spent time in prison for her role in the January 6 insurrection. She later said that former Vice President Mike Pence and “every single” member of Congress who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory should be executed.

At a diner in New Hampshire, Mr Trump was notified by the people in the room that QAnon believer Micki Larson-Olson was a “January 6er”.

Mr Trump approached her, said she was “terrific” and told her to “hang in there”. He then embraced her, video from the episode shows, according to The Hill.

She told NBC News the following day that Mr Trump is the “real president,” adding that she “would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed”.

“The punishment for treason is death, per the Constitution,” Larson-Olson said. “I believe every single person, every single person that stole a voice from our collective voice of ‘We the people, of the people, for the people, by the people,’ deserves death, and no less than that.”

Read more:

Trump hugs January 6 rioter who called for Pence and Congress to be executed

VOICES: Why Trump’s Truth Social account is a legal landmine for him

Saturday 29 April 2023 05:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Donald Trump has a problem.

He’s currently facing no fewer than three court proceedings in both civil and criminal courtrooms in his former home state of New York, and he can’t seem to keep his mouth shut about any of them.

In multiple instances, the twice-impeached ex-president’s conduct has caught the eye of the judges charged with overseeing cases against him, most recently in a New York City federal courtroom, where on Wednesday District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a stern warning to Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina.

The veteran jurist told Tacopina, who is representing Trump in a civil rape lawsuit brought by writer E Jean Carroll, that the former chief executive could have opened himself up to “a new source of potential liability” with inflammatory posts about the case on his Truth Social platform.

Specifically, Trump called the case a “scam” and made reference to alleged DNA evidence which isn’t going to be part of the trial.

Read more:

Why Trump’s Truth Social account is a legal landmine for him

Trump revives threat of skipping GOP presidential debates

Saturday 29 April 2023 04:00 , AP

Donald Trump is again threatening to skip a presidential debate.

The Republican former president has privately said that a debate in August would be too early and he would not participate, according to two people familiar with his concerns who insisted on anonymity to detail private discussions. He also has stepped up his public complaints this week, suggesting that his poll numbers are so high he has no reason to compete with the rest of the field.

“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” Trump said in a Tuesday post on his social media network.

Trump repeated the idea at at campaign event in New Hampshire on Thursday afternoon, showing a slideshow of his recent poll numbers among the GOP contenders and saying of the debates, “Why would you do that?”

Read more:

Trump revives threat of skipping GOP presidential debates

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and bestowing it on Biden

Saturday 29 April 2023 03:00 , Abe Asher

Former President Donald Trump announced at a campaign event on Thursday that he is “retiring” the ‘Crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and will instead be using it going forward for President Joe Biden.

“I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton and her moniker, and I’m going to give her a new name, I don’t know, like maybe ‘Lovely Hillary’ or ‘Beautiful Hillary,’ but I’m going to retire the name ‘Crooked’ because he will be known from now on as ‘Crooked Joe Biden,’” Mr Trump said.

The watching crowd cheered and whistled. Mr Trump then speculated that Ms Clinton would be “celebrating” the announcement. He then launched a sizeable accusation at Mr Biden, the candidate who beat him handily in both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020.

Read more:

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton, giving it to Biden

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

Saturday 29 April 2023 02:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Former vice president Mike Pence has given evidence before the federal grand jury investigating former president Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, The Independent has confirmed.

Mr Pence spent roughly seven hours testifying to the grand jury and answering questions from prosecutors led by Jack Smith, the US Department of Justice special counsel leading investigations into Mr Trump’s push to remain in office against the will of voters, and the twice-impeached ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Pence’s appearance before the Washington DC grand jury comes less than 24 hours after a federal appeals court rejected a last-ditch appeal to block his testimony by Mr Trump’s legal team.

Read more:

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

Who is running for president in 2024?

Saturday 29 April 2023 01:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Ariana Baio

With less than two years remaining until US voters will decide who will serve as president of the United States from January 2025 to January 2029, former Republican government officials are starting to jockey for position in the coming fight for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, while at least one prominent Democrat (California governor Gavin Newsom) has reportedly pledged not to challenge President Joe Biden in a Democratic primary.

As the 2024 campaign takes shape, here are the names you need to know:

Who is running for president in 2024?

Nikki Haley suggests Joe Biden will die in office if re-elected

Saturday 29 April 2023 00:30 , Andrew Feinberg

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley on Thursday claimed that Americans should not vote for Joe Biden because he may die during a second term and leave Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the executive branch.

Ms Haley made the incendiary comment during an interview on Fox News, just days after Mr Biden – the oldest person to ever serve as America’s chief executive – announced his candidacy in next year’s presidential election.

“He announced that he’s running again in 2024, and I think that we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” she said.

Mr Biden, who is 80 years of age, would be 82 on the day he is sworn in for a second term if he is re-elected next November. He would be 86 when his hypothetical second term expires.

The 46th president is generally considered to be in good health. In a memorandum released by the White House press office in February, Physician to the President Dr Kevin O’Connor said Mr Biden “remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief”.

Read more:

Nikki Haley suggests Joe Biden will die in office if re-elected

Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

Friday 28 April 2023 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump appeared on his eldest son’s programme Triggered, saying that “it’s a shame what happened to Tucker Carlson” and that the ousted Fox host was willing to tell “the truth”.

Mr Trump blasted the $787.5m settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems following the voting machine company’s lawsuit against the network for its repeated broadcasts including lies about the election and Dominion’s role in it.

“They need a new law firm,” Mr Trump said, adding that the Dominion lawsuit is “the craziest case I’ve ever heard”.

“It’s a shame what happened to Tucker Carlson. He had the number one show. He was doing great. His show was very interesting, and he was out there in the sense that he was telling the truth,” he said.

He claimed that others in the media are “lying and they’re hiding and they’re afraid to talk”.

Read more:

Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

Will other Fox News stars face Tucker Carlson’s fate?

Friday 28 April 2023 22:45 , Alex Woodward

A flood of reporting in the aftermath of Tucker Carlson’s abrupt exit from Fox News suggested that allegations outlined in lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems and a former producer who worked for his most-watched programme likely played a role in a decision to “part ways” with the host, as the network described it.

Now, speculation about the future of other Fox stars has been growing among pundits and media reporters after his apparent firing and the massive $787m settlement with Dominion, announced after a jury was already sworn in for what would have been a blockbuster trial against the right-wing media behemoth.

If that litigation played a role in Carlson’s exit from Fox News, analysts and pundits are left questioning how other figures who were central to the Dominion case have thus far avoided similar fates. The Daily Beast flatly asked in its headline, “How Does Maria Bartiromo Still Work at Fox News?”

Read more:

Will other Fox News stars face Tucker Carlson’s fate?

PHOTOS: Trump greets supporters in New Hampshire diner

Friday 28 April 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

VIDEO: Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

Friday 28 April 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump says he can engage with Gen Z voters and brags about popularity on college campuses

Friday 28 April 2023 21:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Former president Donald Trump said he is popular on college campuses and among the Generation Z while interacting with the audience at a campaign rally in New Hampshire on Thursday.

During the rally an audience member named Christine asked the former president about how he planned to engage with Gen-Z – the generation of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Engaging with young voters is crucial. Here in New Hampshire we have America First warriors like Caroline Lovett. How do you plan to engage with Gen-Z voters,” she was quoted as saying in a clip shared on Twitter by user Acyn.

Mr Trump replied: “I think we are doing that. I tell you what you would be shocked, like Charlie Kirk and others the job that they do, it’s a youth movement, you would be shocked to see how popular we are in college campuses-much different than what you hear.”

According to AP VoteCast, a sweeping national survey of the electorate conducted in December voters under 30 went 53 per cent for Democratic House candidates compared with only 41 per cent for Republican candidates nationwide.

Read more:

Trump says people would be ‘shocked’ how popular he is on college campuses

Ex-president hugs Jan 6 rioter who called for Pence to be executed

Friday 28 April 2023 20:28 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump hugged a woman at one who spent time in prison for her role in the January 6 insurrection. She later said that former Vice President Mike Pence and “every single” member of Congress who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory should be executed.

At a diner in New Hampshire, Mr Trump was notified by the people in the room that QAnon believer Micki Larson-Olson was a “January 6er”.

Mr Trump approached her, said she was “terrific” and told her to “hang in there”. He then embraced her, video from the episode shows, according to The Hill.

She later told NBC News the following day that Mr Trump is the “real president,” adding that she “would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed”.

“The punishment for treason is death, per the Constitution,” Ms Larson-Olson said. “I believe every single person, every single person that stole a voice from our collective voice of ‘We the people, of the people, for the people, by the people,’ deserves death, and no less than that.”

Trump recommits to banning Muslims from entering US if he is re-elected

Friday 28 April 2023 20:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Donald Trump has vowed to restore a travel ban on Islamic nations, prohibiting citizens of those countries from entering the US, if he is elected president in 2024.

“I will restore my travel ban to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country,” the twice-impeached former president said in New Hampshire on Thursday.

“You saw what happened. Four years… You saw that right? We were very tough on that. We don’t want our buildings blown up.”

Mr Trump, during his first week in office in 2017, restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority nations – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

While the order was at first blocked by the courts and the White House scrambled to say it was not a ban on Muslims, the Supreme Court in 2018 upheld the final version of the measure.

Read more:

Trump recommits to banning Muslims from entering US if he is re-elected

DeSantis' overseas trip overshadowed by fight with Disney

Friday 28 April 2023 19:30 , AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hoped his first international trade mission would generate lucrative business deals and boost his foreign policy resume ahead of an expected presidential run. Instead, he faced questions about losing ground to former President Donald Trump and being taken to court by Walt Disney World.

The trip reflected the intensifying pressure confronting DeSantis as some of his allies grow increasingly anxious about his White House prospects. Within a few short years, he rose from relatively a relatively obscure congressman to Trump’s leading Republican rival by embracing the former president’s cultural grievances without the constant tumult.

But it turns out DeSantis isn’t immune from drama. Facing questions this week about his standing within the GOP and his fight with Disney, he’s sometimes appeared agitated, reinforcing concerns within corners of his own party about his readiness for the rigor of presidential politics. Some in the GOP said that rather than burnish his image as a fighter, the confrontation with Disney over an anti-LGBTQ law and the theme part’s right to self-governor is becoming a distraction.

Read more:

DeSantis' overseas trip overshadowed by fight with Disney

Nikki Haley suggests Joe Biden will die in office if re-elected

Friday 28 April 2023 19:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley on Thursday claimed that Americans should not vote for Joe Biden because he may die during a second term and leave Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the executive branch.

Ms Haley made the incendiary comment during an interview on Fox News, just days after Mr Biden – the oldest person to ever serve as America’s chief executive – announced his candidacy in next year’s presidential election.

“He announced that he’s running again in 2024, and I think that we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” she said.

Mr Biden, who is 80 years of age, would be 82 on the day he is sworn in for a second term if he is re-elected next November. He would be 86 when his hypothetical second term expires.

Read more:

Nikki Haley suggests Joe Biden will die in office if re-elected

Fox News anchor fires back at guest for calling her ‘far right’

Friday 28 April 2023 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner made it clear she was less than impressed when a guest referred to her as “far right” in a segment on the right-wing network this week.

During her show The Faulkner Focus on Thursday morning, Ms Faulker was joined by Democratic politician Desiree Tims and GOP strategist David Avella for a debate about the launch of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

The exchange became heated when talk turned to who will be the likely Republican candidate to take on the current president in the 2024 White House race.

Ms Tims predicted that the US is headed for a 2020 Trump-Biden rematch – pointing out some polls that place Mr Biden “crushing” Donald Trump.

“There are also polls that came out recently that show President Biden absolutely crushing former President Donald Trump,” she said.

Read more:

Fox News anchor fires back at guest for calling her ‘far right’

Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

Friday 28 April 2023 18:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The former president appeared on his oldest son’s programme Triggered, saying that “it’s a shame what happened to Tucker Carlson” and that the fired Fox host was willing to tell “the truth”.

Donald Trump blasted the $787.5m settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems following the voting machine company’s lawsuit against the network for its repeated broadcasts including lies about the election and Dominion’s role in it.

Read more:

Trump says ‘it’s a shame’ what happened to Tucker Carlson: ‘He was telling the truth’

Friday 28 April 2023 17:30 , Bevan Hurley

When asked why she had filed the first lawsuit, Ms Carroll said she had been asked in interviews by several journalists whether or not she would pursue legal action against the then-president.

The idea had “crystalised” when she met George Conway, the conservative lawyer and Trump antagonist, at a party at the author Molly Jong-Fast’s home in 2019, she said.

In her book, Ms Carroll also alleged she had been sexually assaulted by the disgraced former CBS CEO and president Les Moonves.

When asked why she hadn’t sued Mr Moonves, she said: “He didn’t call me a liar.”

Ms Carroll said she was “stunned” when Mr Trump attacked her again in 2022, after she had filed the initial lawsuit against him.

The trial, which was initially set down for five to 10 days, is still on its second witness heading into day four.

‘Wave of slime’

Friday 28 April 2023 17:00 , Bevan Hurley

Under questioning from her attorney Mike Ferrara, Ms Carroll told how she would be inundated with a “wave of slime” every time Mr Trump commented or posted about her.

“It’s very hard to get up in the morning and receive those messages, that you are way too ugly to go on living.”

Ms Carroll said she had “peeked” at Twitter on Thursday morning, and was met with a familiar stream of abusive and threatening messages.

“There it was again the onslaught,” she said. “It’s not a great way to start the day.”

Ms Carroll added: “I like attention, there is no question. I don’t like attention because I’m suing Donald Trump, getting attention for being raped is hard.”

Initial lawsuit filed in 2019

Friday 28 April 2023 16:30 , Bevan Hurley

Ms Carroll initially sued Mr Trump for defamation in 2019, after he claimed in interviews and in White House press statements that the alleged rape didn’t occur.

When the former president posted on Truth Social in October 2022 that the lawsuit was a “con job”, she sued for defamation again.

This time, she filed an additional claim for battery after New York state passed the Adult Survivors Act, which allows adults who were sexually abused to sue their alleged attackers after the statutes of limitations have run out.

‘My biggest fears came absolutely true’

Friday 28 April 2023 16:00 , Bevan Hurley

Mr Tacopina repeatedly tried to undermine Ms Carroll’s credibility after she had earlier testified in graphic detail about the alleged rape during a chance encounter with Mr Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s.

He suggested the author had been motivated by financial gain and political ideology to finally come forward with the allegations.

“For two decades, Ms Carroll, you never told the police and never revealed the story in your hundreds of columns,” Mr Tacopina said.

She replied that she had been fearful of what Mr Trump, who was then one of the wealthiest and most famous men in New York, could do to her.

“I was afraid that Donald Trump would retaliate, which is exactly what he did,” she said. “My biggest fears came absolutely true.”

‘I had been silent for too long'

Friday 28 April 2023 15:30 , Bevan Hurley

Ms Carroll told the court on day three of the civil trial in a Manhattan federal court she hadn’t intended to write about the alleged rape when she began work on her book.

But after sexual assault allegations against the disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein became public in 2017, she decided she couldn’t remain silent any longer.

“I was not a pioneer, I am a follower,” she said during cross-examination. “I saw other women coming forward after Harvey Weinstein and I thought, ‘who am I to stay silent’. Also I was 78 or 79, I had been silent for too long.”

Judge slams Trump lawyer’s questioning as ‘argumentative, repetitive, and inappropriate'

Friday 28 April 2023 15:00 , Bevan Hurley

Judge Lewis Kaplan became impatient with the defence attorney as he continued to probe Ms Carroll’s testimony.

“It’s argumentative, it’s repetitive and it’s inappropriate,” Judge Kaplan told Mr Tacopina.

Ms Carroll first went public with the alleged rape in a 2019 New York magazine excerpt from her memoir What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.

She is suing the former president in civil court for defamation and battery after he said she was lying about the alleged incident, claiming she was “not his type”. Mr Trump, 76, has repeatedly denied the rape took place.

E Jean Carroll fires back on why she didn’t scream during alleged Donald Trump rape

Friday 28 April 2023 14:30 , Bevan Hurley

E Jean Carroll raised her voice in exasperation in a New York courtroom on Thursday as she was repeatedly asked why she didn’t scream while allegedly being raped by Donald Trump – before the judge admonished the ex-president’s lawyer for his line of questioning.

During hours of tense cross-examination, Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina peppered the 79-year-old former Elle advice columnist with questions about an alleged sexual assault in the dressing room of Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996.

Ms Carroll told how she was filled with adrenaline as she pushed and kicked back against the much larger man during the alleged three-minute encounter.

“I was in too much of a panic to scream, I was fighting,” she said.

When Mr Tacopina pressed the issue again, she replied: “You can’t beat up on me for not screaming.”

“One of the reasons why women don’t come forward is they are asked ‘why didn’t you scream’. It keeps women silent.”

Ms Carroll eventually raised her voice in exasperation, saying: “I’m telling you he raped me whether I screamed or not.”

Read more:

E Jean Carroll fires back on why she didn’t scream during alleged Donald Trump rape

Soccer executive and celebrity attorney: Who is Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina?

Friday 28 April 2023 14:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Lawyer Joe Tacopina is the head of the legal team representing former President Donald Trump in the civil rape trial against former Elle advice columnist E Jean Carroll.

Mr Tacopina began cross-examining Ms Carroll on Thursday in the trial, stemming from her allegation that Mr Trump raped her in a New York City department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996.

The attorney is also representing the ex-president in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into his alleged hush money payments to women claiming to have had affairs with him.

A Manhattan grand jury voted earlier this year to indict Mr Trump for falsifying business records in connection to a 2016 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels for her to remain silent about a 2006 affair she claims to have had with Mr Trump, a claim he denies.

Here’s what we know about the ex-president’s top lawyer:

Soccer executive and celebrity attorney: Who is Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina?

E Jean Carroll says she was hit with ‘wave of slime’ when Trump accused her of lying

Friday 28 April 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

E Jean Carroll has said she was hit with “wave of slime” when Trump accused her of lying about the alleged rape in the 1990s.

During direct questioning on Thursday, Ms Carroll told how she would be inundated with a “wave of slime” every time Mr Trump commented or posted about her.

“It’s very hard to get up in the morning and receive those messages, that you are way too ugly to go on living,” she said.

Ms Carroll said she had “peeked” at Twitter on Thursday morning, and was met with a familiar stream of abusive and threatening messages.

“There it was again the onslaught,” she said. “It’s not a great way to start the day.”

E Jean Carroll to return to the stand Monday

Friday 28 April 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

E Jean Carroll will return to the stand for her third day of testimony on Monday morning in her civil rape trial against Donald Trump.

In court on Thursday, she faced an intense cross-examination from Mr Trump’s legal team.

During the grilling, attorney Joe Tacopina repeatedly questioned why she didn’t scream during the alleged rape in a dressing room in Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store.

“One of the reasons why women don’t come forward is they are asked ‘why didn’t you scream’. It keeps women silent,” she said. “He raped me, whether I screamed or not.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan also became impatient with the attorney and warned him about his line of questioning.

VOICES: Why Trump’s Truth Social account is a legal landmine for him

Friday 28 April 2023 13:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Donald Trump has a problem.

He’s currently facing no fewer than three court proceedings in both civil and criminal courtrooms in his former home state of New York, and he can’t seem to keep his mouth shut about any of them.

In multiple instances, the twice-impeached ex-president’s conduct has caught the eye of the judges charged with overseeing cases against him, most recently in a New York City federal courtroom, where on Wednesday District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a stern warning to Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina.

The veteran jurist told Tacopina, who is representing Trump in a civil rape lawsuit brought by writer E Jean Carroll, that the former chief executive could have opened himself up to “a new source of potential liability” with inflammatory posts about the case on his Truth Social platform.

Specifically, Trump called the case a “scam” and made reference to alleged DNA evidence which isn’t going to be part of the trial.

Read more:

Why Trump’s Truth Social account is a legal landmine for him

Trump claims he is retiring ‘crooked Hillary’ nickname – to give it to Biden instead

Friday 28 April 2023 12:40 , Rachel Sharp

Former President Donald Trump announced at a campaign event on Thursday that he is “retiring” the ‘Crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and will instead be using it going forward for President Joe Biden.

“I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton and her moniker, and I’m going to give her a new name, I don’t know, like maybe ‘Lovely Hillary’ or ‘Beautiful Hillary,’ but I’m going to retire the name ‘Crooked’ because he will be known from now on as ‘Crooked Joe Biden,’” Mr Trump said.

The watching crowd cheered and whistled. Mr Trump then speculated that Ms Clinton would be “celebrating” the announcement. He then launched a sizeable accusation at Mr Biden, the candidate who beat him handily in both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020.

“There’s never been anyone in the history of American politics so crooked or dishonest as Joe Biden, and the press absoultely refuses to report it — all that press back there — because, frankly, they’re just as crooked as he is, and they are,” Mr Trump said.

Trump says he can engage with Gen Z voters and brags about popularity on college campuses

Friday 28 April 2023 12:20 , Rachel Sharp

Former president Donald Trump said he is popular on college campuses and among the Generation Z while interacting with the audience at a campaign rally in New Hampshire on Thursday.

During the rally an audience member named Christine asked the former president about how he planned to engage with Gen-Z – the generation of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Engaging with young voters is crucial. Here in New Hampshire we have America First warriors like Caroline Lovett. How do you plan to engage with Gen-Z voters,” she said.

Read the story here:

Trump says people would be ‘shocked’ how popular he is on college campuses

Trump lawyer cross examines rape accuser at rape trial

Friday 28 April 2023 12:00 , AP

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyer went on the attack Thursday against writer E. Jean Carroll’s claims that she was raped by Trump in the 1990s, using cross examination to try to discredit the longtime advice columnist before a jury at a New York civil trial.

Attorney Joe Tacopina began his questioning in Manhattan federal court by citing Carroll’s own words as he asked her to acknowledge that she has described her account as odd.

“Certain parts of this story are difficult to conceive of,” she said.

Tacopina used the word “supposedly” in reference to her rape claim, drawing an immediate and stern correction from the writer.

“Not supposedly. I was raped,” she said.

Read more:

Trump lawyer cross examines rape accuser at rape trial

Mike Pence testifies before Jan 6 probe

Friday 28 April 2023 11:40 , Rachel Sharp

Former vice president Mike Pence has given evidence before the federal grand jury investigating former president Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, The Independent has confirmed.

Mr Pence spent roughly seven hours testifying to the grand jury and answering questions from prosecutors led by Jack Smith, the US Department of Justice special counsel leading investigations into Mr Trump’s push to remain in office against the will of voters, and the twice-impeached ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Pence’s appearance before the Washington DC grand jury comes less than 24 hours after a federal appeals court rejected a last-ditch appeal to block his testimony by Mr Trump’s legal team.

A federal judge previously denied Mr Trump’s attempt to use executive privilege, a legal doctrine which protects communications between and among a president and his advisers, to shield Mr Pence from testifying about conversations he had with the then-president in the days leading up to 6 January 2021, when Mr Pence was set to preside over the joint session of Congress at which their loss to Mr Biden and Kamala Harris would be made official and final.

The judge did grant Mr Pence’s request to allow him to refrain from testifying about any actions he took in his role as President of the Senate, on the grounds that the US Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause prevents him from having to give evidence about his functions as the presiding officer of one half of the legislative branch.

His testimony comes as the former president faces mounting scrutiny from federal prosecutors and the special counsel’s investigation into the events surrounding January 6 and Mr Trump’s attempts to upend a democratic election, as well as a separate probe into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

Trump skips civil rape trial to slam Biden at New Hampshire rally

Friday 28 April 2023 11:20 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has so far skipped his civil rape trial, instead choosing to hold rally in New Hampshire on Thursday.

The former president largely stayed clear of targeting his GOP rivals – and instead hit out at President Joe Biden in what appears to be a clear sign he is preparing for Biden-Trump rematch.

“When I left office, we handed Joe Biden the fastest economic recovery ever recorded — all with no inflation,” he claimed.

“He took that booming economy, and he promptly blew it to shreds.”

This came just days after Mr Biden officially launched his reelection bid on Tuesday.

Who is Jessica Leeds? The Trump accuser who may testify about alleged plane assault at E Jean Carroll trial

Friday 28 April 2023 11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

E Jean Carroll, the former Elle magazine columnist, has been giving evidence at the Moynihan federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, this week at a civil trial in which she accuses the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, of rape.

Ms Carroll alleges that Mr Trump sexually assaulted her in the changing rooms of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s, an accusation he has denied.

The veteran writer is one of at least 26 women who have made historic sexual assault allegations against Mr Trump.

Another accuser who is likely to offer her testimony in court is Jessica Leeds, a businesswoman who has said the former president attacked her on a flight from Dallas, Texas, to New York in 1979, when she was 38.

Ms Leeds – originally from Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of an Oscar Mayer cattle buyer and the executive secretary to the city manager – was based in Connecticut at the time and worked as a travelling salesperson for a company that supplied paper to other businesses.

Read more:

Who is Jessica Leeds? Trump accuser may testify about plane assault at Carroll trial

Trump attorney scolded by judge for ‘inappropriate’ grilling of E Jean Carroll

Friday 28 April 2023 10:40 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina was scolded by the judge during E Jean Carroll’s civil rape trial against the former president due to his “argumentative, repetitive and inappropriate” questioning of the alleged victim.

Ms Carroll returned to the stand in a Manhattan courthouse on Thursday where she faced an intense cross-examination from Mr Trump’s legal team.

During the grilling, Mr Tacopina repeatedly questioned why she didn’t scream during the alleged rape in a dressing room in Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store.

“One of the reasons why women don’t come forward is they are asked ‘why didn’t you scream’. It keeps women silent,” she said. “He raped me, whether I screamed or not.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan also became impatient with the attorney and warned him about his line of questioning.

“It’s argumentative, it’s repetitive and it’s inappropriate,” he told Mr Tacopina.

WATCH: Fox News’ host lashes out when guest calls her ‘far right'

Friday 28 April 2023 10:20 , Rachel Sharp

Who is Natasha Stoynoff? The journalist who may be testifying in Trump civil rape trial

Friday 28 April 2023 10:00 , Gustaf Kilander

People magazine sent correspondent Natasha Stoynoff to Mar-a-Lago in late 2005 to write a wedding anniversary story about Donald Trump, who had then recently married Melania Knauss.

Almost two decades later, her experience of the future president allegedly “forcing his tongue” down her throat could prove essential testimony in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial that began on 25 April in a federal court in New York City.

Before joining the magazine, Ms Stoynoff was a reporter and photographer at The Toronto Star, a columnist at The Toronto Sun, and a freelancer for Time Magazine. She then worked for People magazine for almost 20 years. She now lives in New York, where she writes books and screenplays, according to her bio on Goodreads.

The Trump legal team failed to stop the inclusion of Ms Stoynoff’s testimony in the trial.

Ms Carroll claims that Mr Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996 and that he later defamed her in 2019 as president when he rejected her allegation.

Read more:

Who is Natasha Stoynoff? The journalist whose testimony could bring down Trump

Who is E Jean Carroll? The writer and TV host taking on Donald Trump

Friday 28 April 2023 09:00 , Bevan Hurley

E Jean Carroll has been a trailblazing figure in New York’s journalism, entertainment and literary scenes for decades.

Born in Detroit and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the one-time Miss Indiana University beauty queen began pitching her ideas to magazines at the age of 12.

After graduating from college, she got her breakthrough by landing her first published article in Esquire, a “witty literary quiz she concocted” about Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald.

From there, writing assignments at Rolling Stone and Playboy began to “trickle in”, she told Indianapolis Monthly in 1996.

While living in Montana with her first husband Steve Byers and their dog, she came to New York City in 1983 to interview Fran Leibowitz for a cover article in Outside magazine.

Read more:

E Jean Carroll: The author and TV talkshow host who took on Donald Trump

All of Trump’s marriages and sexual assault allegations amid the E Jean Carroll trial

Friday 28 April 2023 08:00 , Chelsea Ritschel

Prior to his marriage to Melania Trump, Donald Trump was married two other times.

He married his first wife, Ivana, in 1977. He would then go on to marry his second wife, Marla Maples, in 1993, after the pair were rumoured to have engaged in an affair during his first marriage.

In 1998, Donald met his current wife, Melania, and tied the knot in 2005. Throughout his three marriages, the 76-year-old is said to have engaged in a number of rumoured affairs and faced numerous sexual misconduct accusations.

Earlier this month, Melania Trump was notably absent when her husband surrendered to authorities in Manhattan after being indicted on 34 felony counts.

The absence of the former first lady sparked speculation about the state of the couple’s marriage, with some questioning whether Melania chose not to accompany her husband to New York City due to the nature of the charges. The one-time president is facing charges for falsification of business records in connection to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Read more:

A timeline of Trump’s marriages and sexual assault allegations

Trump lawyers ask House GOP for ‘legislative solution’ to block classified documents probe

Friday 28 April 2023 07:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Lawyers for former president Donald Trump have asked the Republican-led House of Representatives to intervene by enacting a new law to protect the twice-impeached former president from the Department of Justice probe into his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents and his alleged efforts to obstruct that investigation.

In a letter to Ohio Representative Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, attorneys Timothy Parlatore, John Rowley and James Trusty claim the Department of Justice — the executive branch department charged with investigating and prosecuting federal crimes — is “not the appropriate agency to conduct investigations pertaining to the mishandling or spillage of classified material” and allege that the department’s handling of the probe into Mr Trump’s alleged misconduct “is antithetical to the principles of a fair and impartial search for the truth”.

Read more:

Trump lawyers ask House GOP to rewrite law to block classified documents probe

Trump rape case explained: How a chance department store meeting led to a court case decades later

Friday 28 April 2023 06:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Decades after she was allegedly raped by a New York real estate mogul who would go on to be the 45th President of the United States, E Jean Carroll is getting her day in court.

Ms Carroll, a writer and former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is the plaintiff in a pair of civil lawsuits against former president Donald Trump.

One of those lawsuits is now being presented in a New York City federal courtroom under the supervision of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. The proceedings began on 25 April.

The jurors in the trial will remain anonymous on Judge Kaplan’s orders due to the risk of threats, intimidation or outright violence against anyone seen as an enemy by Mr Trump and his supporters as they hear evidence of allegations made by Ms Carroll against the twice-impeached and indicted ex-president.

Ms Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

Read more:

Trump on trial: What to know about the E Jean Carroll rape case

What exactly has Trump said about E Jean Carroll as her civil rape trial begins?

Friday 28 April 2023 05:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s lawyers entered court for yet another legal showdown in New York this week as the former president faces an accusation of rape from author E Jean Carroll.

It’s part of a long-brewing fight that has vexed the president for nearly a half decade, almost as long as the Stormy Daniels controversy which earlier this month resulted in Mr Trump being hit with 34 criminal counts by Manhattan prosecutors.

Ms Carroll alleges that the former president, then a business mogul known around New York, raped her in the fitting room of a department store in 1995 or 1996. According to news reports, she plans to corroborate her story with the testimony of individuals who will say that Ms Carroll told them shortly after the alleged attack, as well as testimony from other women who will reportedly testify about unwanted sexual advances from Mr Trump.

Read more:

What exactly has Trump said about E Jean Carroll as her civil rape trial begins?

Carroll stopped work on documentary because 'this case became more important’

Friday 28 April 2023 04:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she stopped filming a documentary because “this case became more important”.

“Donald Trump tweeted that the best example of injustice was my suing him,” she said, according to Inner City Press.

Her counsel brought up a Truth Social post by Mr Trump in which called her case a con job and the judicial system a disgrace in addition to comments about Ms Carroll not being his type.

“How did it impact your reputation?” her counsel asked.

“I thought I was back on my feet, had garnered some readers, then boom, he knocks me back down again,” she said.

“I was stunned,” she added.

Trump is fuming at a ‘liberal megadonor’ in the E Jean Carroll rape trial. Will his gripes affect the case?

Friday 28 April 2023 04:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump tore into his rape accuser, E Jean Carroll, on Truth Social in a post that accused her of being bankrolled by a liberal megadonor.

It was a scorching attack that nonetheless had his own attorneys in the most trouble later in the day.

The president wrote in a pair of posts on Wednesday morning that the author and advice columnist was running a “made up scam” and had been “caught lying” about the funding for her legal effort, which is likely in the thousands of dollars (if not much higher) even as the trial is just beginning.

“They got caught lying! The Miss Bergdorf Goodman case is financed by a big political donor that they tried to hide,” he wrote in one post.

In another, he added: “The E. Jean Carroll case, Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, is a made up SCAM. Her lawyer is a political operative, financed by a big political donor that they said didn’t exist, only to get caught lying about that.”

Read more:

Why is Trump fuming at a ‘liberal megadonor’ in the E Jean Carroll rape trial?

Carroll says she was mourning her mother’s passing during 2016 election

Friday 28 April 2023 03:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina brought up that Ms Carroll said she didn’t share her story publically before the 2016 election because her mom was dying.

“She was on her deathbed and my sisters and brothers joined her,” she said.

Mr Tacopina noted that Ms Carroll’s mom passed away in October 2016, according to Law & Crime.

The attorney asked why she didn’t publicise her story shortly afterwards.

“I was in deep, incredibly painful mourning,” Ms Carroll replied. Her mom died at the age of 97.

Mr Tacopina suggested that she didn’t go ahead with the story because she wasn’t ready to publish her book.

“I hadn’t conceived of writing a book at that point,” Ms Carroll said.

Writer E Jean Carroll tells court her ‘rape’ by Trump left her incapable of finding love: ‘He’s vile’

Friday 28 April 2023 03:00 , Bevan Hurley

Since 1996, when she alleges she was raped by Donald Trump, E Jean Carroll has been living a kind of dual existence, she said during harrowing testimony in a civil trial at the US Federal Courthouse in Manhattan on Wednesday.

There was the public persona; the successful writer, television host and Ask E Jean advice columnist who was always upbeat, optimistic and trying to help others.

“And then I have a private self, and that’s the one that can’t admit out loud that there has been any suffering,” she testified.

Ms Carroll described in graphic detail the alleged rape by the former president in a dressing room on the 6th floor of the luxury Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman.

The alleged incident caused her to suffer waves of crippling anxiety attacks, left her incapable of forming romantic relationships, and fearful of the flirtatious behaviour she and Mr Trump engaged in prior to the alleged assault, she said.

Read more:

Writer tells court her ‘rape’ by Trump left her incapable of finding love

‘You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you'

Friday 28 April 2023 02:30 , Gustaf Kilander

As he began cross-examining Ms Carroll on 27 April, Mr Tacopina brought up a draft of her book What Do We Need Men For? in which she writes about the episode involving the former president.

“You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you, to poison your water,” he said.

“That’s a draft. That was not published,” Ms Carroll responded.

Trump complains about length of John McCain’s funeral in shocking new attack

Friday 28 April 2023 02:00 , Shweta Sharma

Donald Trump’s latest attack on John McCain is a review of the late Republican stalwart’s funeral in his new coffee table book.

Mr Trump’s forthcoming book Letters to Trump features embittered comments about the war veteran and the length of his funeral, where the former president was not welcome.

“I never warmed to him,” wrote the one-time president, “never felt good about anybody having anything to do with John McCain and never will, even despite the fact that at their request, I gave him the world’s longest funeral, 11 days. Much like his wars, it never ended.”

McCain’s funeral took place over five days across three different cities. There is no evidence to show it was “the world’s longest”.

The former naval officer who unsuccessfully ran for president died in 2018 at the age of 81 after a battle with brain cancer.

Read more:

Trump complains about length of John McCain’s funeral in shocking new attack

E Jean Carroll pushes back against sexist questions during rape trial

Friday 28 April 2023 01:45 , Josh Marcus

E Jean Carroll raised her voice in exasperation in a New York courtroom on Thursday as she was repeatedly asked why she didn’t scream while allegedly being raped by Donald Trump – before the judge admonished the ex-president’s lawyer for his line of questioning.

During hours of tense cross-examination, Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina peppered the 79-year-old former Elle advice columnist with questions about an alleged sexual assault in the dressing room of Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996.

Ms Carroll told how she was filled with adrenaline as she pushed and kicked back against the much larger man during the alleged three-minute encounter.

“I was in too much of a panic to scream, I was fighting,” she said.

Bevan Hurley reports.

E Jean Carroll fires back on why she didn’t scream during alleged Donald Trump rape

‘It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living'

Friday 28 April 2023 01:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she’s “also suing him for assault, under the Adult Survivors Act passed by the NYS legislature. I had one year to sue”.

“Did you advocate for that law?” her counsel asked.

“Yes. Because I understand why women, and some men, do not come forward for years,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

After a post by Mr Trump on 12 October 2022, Ms Carroll said she was hit by “a wave of slime, people repeating what Donald Trump said, working for the Democrats, way too ugly. It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living, practically”.

Donald Trump is retiring one of his most famous nicknames

Friday 28 April 2023 01:15 , Josh Marcus

When it comes to Donald Trump, nicknames have great significance. They signify who he considers his main rivals, and they speak to the aggressive, loose-cannon style of politics he helped usher in.

So, it’s big news then that the former president announced at a campaign event on Thursday that he is “retiring” the ‘Crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and will instead be using it going forward for President Joe Biden.

“I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton and her moniker, and I’m going to give her a new name, I don’t know, like maybe ‘Lovely Hillary’ or ‘Beautiful Hillary,’ but I’m going to retire the name ‘Crooked’ because he will be known from now on as ‘Crooked Joe Biden,’” Mr Trump said.

The watching crowd cheered and whistled. Mr Trump then speculated that Ms Clinton would be “celebrating” the announcement. He then launched a sizeable accusation at Mr Biden, the candidate who beat him handily in both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020.

Abe Asher reports.

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton, giving it to Biden

E Jean Carroll shuts down combative questioning by Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

Friday 28 April 2023 01:00 , Ariana Baio

On day three of E Jean Carroll’s civil suit against Donald Trump, the former columnist faced tough cross-examination from Mr Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, and defended herself for not screaming during the alleged rape.

Mr Tacopina pressed Ms Carroll about her previous testimony, in an attempt to discredit her recollection of Mr Trump allegedly assaulting her.

He specifically targeted a portion of Ms Carroll’s testimony where she said she did not scream while Mr Trump was raping her.

“I’m a fighter, not a screamer,” Ms Carroll said during her emotional testimony on 26 April.

But Mr Tacopina used Ms Carroll’s quote to further question her on why she did not scream or yell for help while being attacked.

Read more:

E Jean Carroll shuts down Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

The federal grand jury’s latest Trump investigation witness? Mike Pence

Friday 28 April 2023 00:45 , Josh Marcus

As the E Jean Carroll rape trial was underway, another set of serious testimony raised questions about Donald Trump’s conduct.Former vice president Mike Pence has given evidence before the federal grand jury investigating former president and his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, The Independent has confirmed.

Mr Pence spent roughly seven hours testifying to the grand jury and answering questions from prosecutors led by Jack Smith, the US Department of Justice special counsel leading investigations into Mr Trump’s push to remain in office against the will of voters, and the twice-impeached ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Pence’s appearance before the Washington DC grand jury comes less than 24 hours after a federal appeals court rejected a last-ditch appeal to block his testimony by Mr Trump’s legal team.

A federal judge previously denied Mr Trump’s attempt to use executive privilege, a legal doctrine which protects communications between and among a president and his advisers, to shield Mr Pence from testifying about conversations he had with the then-president in the days leading up to 6 January 2021, when Mr Pence was set to preside over the joint session of Congress at which their loss to Mr Biden and Kamala Harris would be made official and final.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

‘Rape is used in our culture in entertainment’

Friday 28 April 2023 00:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Speaking about her statement in an interview that “most people think of rape as being sexy,” Ms Carroll said that “rape is used in our culture in entertainment”.

“Like in Game of Thrones. There are 9 violent rapes, as plot development, to bring in a bigger audience. Even old movies like The Fountainhead portrayed rape on screen,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

She added during her testimony ahead of the cross-examination later on Thursday that she doesn’t think rape is sexy, but that it “is one of the most violent things that can happen to a woman or a man”.

Will Trump testify in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial? He faces ‘huge’ legal risk either way, experts say

Friday 28 April 2023 00:00 , Bevan Hurley

A jury in New York is currently hearing allegations that E Jean Carroll was raped by Donald Trump in the changing rooms of a Manhattan department store nearly three decades ago.

The former president has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women, but this is the first time a jury will be asked to determine the claims in court.

Legal experts told The Independent that Mr Trump’s likely non-appearance in the civil battery and defamation trial in the US District Courthouse in lower Manhattan was a major gamble.

“The risk for Trump if he doesn’t testify is huge,” Jennifer Keller, who represented Kevin Spacey when he was found not liable of sexual battery by a jury in 2022, told The Independent.

“The jury will hear only one side of the story — the plaintiff’s. And the jurors may well conclude he’s afraid of showing up because he knows the allegations are true.”

Read more:

Donald Trump’s ‘huge’ legal risk in E Jean Carroll civil rape trial

‘I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad'

Thursday 27 April 2023 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander

When asked by her counsel who attended her parties, Ms Carroll mentioned journalists and podcasters .

“Celebrities?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Yes. I like attention, there is no question. But not necessarily for suing Donald Trump, or being raped,” Ms Carroll said. “I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad.”

When asked if she regretted bringing the lawsuit, Ms Carroll said she does so “five times a day”.

“I look at social media and see the onslaught against me,” she said.

Carroll alleges assault by ousted CBS boss

Thursday 27 April 2023 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander

As Ms Carroll’s testimony resumed on Thursday morning following a delay caused by a discussion between Judge Kaplan and the lawyers, the former magazine advice columnist spoke about her being allegedly sexually assaulted by former CBS boss Les Moonves.

At least a dozen women accused Mr Moonves of sexual misconduct, leading to his ouster in September 2018.

Ms Carroll said she was assaulted by Mr Moonves and that he denied it, according to Inner City Press.

When asked if she has sued the former executive for defamation, she said, “No, He did not defame me, unlike Donald Trump who called me a scam and a Democratic operative. Moonves stayed quiet”.

Carroll says conversation with George Conway made decision to sue clearer

Thursday 27 April 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said during her testimony on Thursday that Mr Trump “said I was in a conspiracy with the Democratic Party. He said I was trying to sell a book, that I was too ugly to rape”.

“When did you think of suing him?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Journalists would ask me,” she said.

She said a conversation with Anti-Trump conservative lawyer George Conway made the decision clearer.

She met him at a party hosted by Molly Jong-Fast, a podcaster with a large Twitter following.

“Did you file the case to make money?” her counsel asked.

“No. It’s about getting my name back,” she said.

Thursday 27 April 2023 22:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Thursday 27 April 2023 21:53 , Gustaf Kilander

Tacopina and judge argue after jury and Carroll leave courtroom

Thursday 27 April 2023 21:37 , Gustaf Kilander

Thursday 27 April 2023 21:36 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina brought up a 2019 interview she did with Lawrence O’Donnell.

“Would you bring a rape charge?” the MSNBC host asked her at the time.

“No, it would be disrespectful to the women on the border, raped around the clock. Mine was three minutes. I’m an adult, I’ve move on, I’m happy,” she replied in the clip played in court.

“You stand by that?” the lawyer asked.

“I’d read a news story that day about women on the border. I felt bad,” she said.

Thursday 27 April 2023 21:11 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked why it hadn’t occurred to Ms Carroll that she had been raped before she was told so by Ms Birnbach.

“When something horrible happens to you, it’s hard to grasp what happened,” Ms Carroll replied, according to Law & Crime.

Ms Carroll said Carol Martin “emphatically,” told her that she shouldn’t tell anyone about the alleged rape.

She added that she was concerned about Mr Trump’s reaction.

“He’s famous, he’s rich, and as Carol put it, he has 200 lawyers,” she said.

Regarding the concern about pushback, she said, “That’s exactly what he did”.

“He has two tables full of lawyers here today,” she added.

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:54 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll why she chose to call Lisa Birnbach after the alleged rape.

“She was the person I needed, to see what she would tell me, she told me to stop laughing. I think I was slightly disoriented. I thought it was tragic,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

“You said hilarious,” the lawyer retorted. “What story were you going to tell Lisa that you thought was hilarious?”

“Let me rephrase that - I was hoping it was hilarious. Lisa told me exactly what I needed to hear,” Ms Carroll said.

“She told you you had been raped,” Mr Tacopina replied.

“I don’t like the word,” Ms Carroll said.

“Had it occurred to you that you had been raped?” he pressed.

“I just needed to tell someone the story,” Ms Carroll replied.

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:45 , Gustaf Kilander

The attorney asked Ms Carroll if she “wish you’d screamed?”

“Of course. Then more people would believe me,” she said.

“If I was going to lie, I would have said I screamed,” she added, according to Inner City Press.

“I didn’t scream because I didn’t want to make a scene,” she said.

“You didn’t want anyone to hear and help? You say his penis was inside you, but your tights were above your knees?” Mr Tacopina said.

“Yes. I couldn’t get my knee up. I tried to stomp his foot,” Ms Carroll said.

“You pushed him off despite your ... tights [being] above your knees?” the attorney continued.

“Tights are amazingly stretchy,” she said.

“You did all this on 4 inch heels?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“I can dance on 4 inch heels. You dance, you understand,” she said, before Mr Tacopina said, “I won’t respond to that”.

“You got your knee up while being sexually penetrated then walked out wearing those tights?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“They did not come off,” Ms Carroll said.

“It’s your testimony you didn’t know if Mr Trump ejaculated?” Mr Tacopina pressed.

“I couldn’t see what was going on,” she said.

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:37 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll, “it’s your story at some point you felt his penis inside you” and that “he rummaged around your vagina,” which she confirmed.

“In your book you say he thrust inside, right?” he asked.

Ms Carroll said she had.

“And it took three minutes?” the attorney asked.

“No more than that. I didn’t have a stopwatch,” she said, according to Inner City Press.

‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:34 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina noted that Ms Carroll never screamed at Mr Trump or for aid.

“I’m not a screamer,” she said. “You can’t beat up on me for not screaming.”

“I’m telling you – he raped me, whether I screamed or not. I don’t need any excuse for not screaming,” Ms Carroll told Mr Tacopina, according to Law & Crime.

Carroll recounts using laughter ‘calm’ Trump’s ‘erotic’ intentions

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:27 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Caroll spoke about the moment when Mr Trump pushed her against a wall, banging her head.

“Then, he put his mouth against mine. Then, I understood. Ok,” she said, according to Law & Crime.

“You viewed what was going on as a fight?” Mr Tacopina asked, to which Ms Carroll said she did.

The Trump attorney noted that after the struggle started, Ms Carroll laughed. She explained that she was trying to end the interaction.

“Laughing is a very good, I’d like to use the word ‘weapon,’ to calm a man down if he has any erotic intention,” she said.

‘I expected the joshing to continue'

Thursday 27 April 2023 20:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if she expected Mr Trump to put on the bodysuit, to which she said she didn’t want to expect him to undress.

“I expected the joshing to continue,” she said, according to Law & Crime.

“I pictured in my mind the most hilarious image of him putting it on over his pants. I didn’t have time to think anything further because” he closed the door, she said. “I didn’t have a plan. I just, I didn’t want the scene to stop. It was very funny.”

Carroll recalls 1987 SNL skit with William Shatner

Thursday 27 April 2023 19:59 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if “Donald Trump told you to try on the lingerie?” which Ms Carroll said he had.

“He didn’t tell you to go into a changing room with him?” the attorney asked, according to Inner City Press.

“I told him to try it on, it was his colour,” Ms Carroll said, recalling her joke.

“He weighed about 225 pounds (102kg) in 1996?” Mr Tacopina added.

“Donald Trump being a large, tall very manly man, makes it twice as funny,” Ms Carroll said, according to Law & Crime.

“That was your plan, to get this large man to put on a not-so-large see-through body suit over his suit pants,” the lawyer pressed.

“I was just turning everything around,” Ms Carroll said. “I had written a similar scene for Saturday Night Live and I won an Emmy for it.”

“Your scene was about lingerie?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“No, his own underwear,” Ms Carroll said, adding that it was broadcast in 1987 with William Shatner playing the role. “That’s how comedy is born. You take two opposite things, put them together, and it makes a new scene.”

“It was very funny. He was falling in love with himself in the mirror,” she added.

E Jean Carroll trial judge orders Trump to stop ‘entirely inappropriate’ Truth Social posts

Thursday 27 April 2023 15:30 , Gustaf Kilander and Bevan Hurley

The judge in the civil rape trial between Donald Trump and E Jean Carroll has demanded that the former president stop posting on Truth Social after he broke his silence on the court proceedings in a furious rant.

The former president took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning ahead of the first day of testimony in the bombshell case pitting him against Ms Carroll, who accused Mr Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the 1990s.

In a pair of posts, he branded the case a “witch hunt” as he made a misleading suggestion about key evidence in the case: the dress Ms Carroll was wearing on the day of the alleged rape.

“The E. Jean Carroll case, Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, is a made up SCAM,” Mr Trump wrote. “Her lawyer is a political operative, financed by a big political donor that they said didn’t exist, only to get caught lying about that.”

“Just look at her CNN interview before & after the commercial break - Like a different person. She said there was a dress, using the ol’ Monica Lewinsky ‘stuff’, then she didn’t want to produce it. The dress should be allowed to be part of the case. This is a fraudulent & false story--Witch Hunt!”

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E Jean Carroll trial judge orders Trump to stop ‘inappropriate’ Truth Social posts