Trump news – live: Ex-president rages at ‘unpolitical thugs’ on Truth Social as Navarro indicted over Jan 6

Donald Trump has lashed out at the 6 January select committee after the indictment of his former trade adviser Peter Navarro, a notorious propagator of false election theft conspiracy theories who has now been formally charged with contempt of Congress.

“Wow!” wrote the former president on Truth Social, his bespoke social network. “Peter Navarro, our brilliant Harvard educated White House Trade official...was just handcuffed, shackled, and put into prison because he didn’t obay the orders of the Unselect Committee of political THUGS.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Mr Trump could soon announce his bid for the 2024 presidential race.

Jason Miller, a longtime confidante and former aide, told NBC News that Mr Trump should start building his supporter base while "it is still fresh in people's minds". According to the report, two people in the former president’s close circle have been asked to consider 4 July as a date for a possible announcement, but Mr Miller added that it was “not true” that the day has been reserved “even unofficially”.

Peter Navarro’s arrest warrant

16:47 , Andrew Naughtie

Peter Navarro’s indictment for contempt of Congress is one of the more sordid moments of the 6 January investigation so far – and driving the unseemly point home is the warrant issued for his arrest:

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter deal on the skids?

16:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Many Trump fans have placed great hope in Elon Musk’s buyout of Twitter, hoping that their leader will be allowed back onto the platform and that extreme conservative voices will be unblocked in the name of “freedom of speech”.

However, Mr Musk’s list of irritations at the platform has only grown since the deal was announced. And now it seems that he may be considering dropping out altogether.

Sentencing for Capitol rioter who posted smashed window picture on Facebook

15:33 , Andrew Naughtie

Another in the hundreds of Capitol rioters awaiting sentencing finds out their fate today. Jody Lynn of Florida did not face trial and instead took a plea deal, which given the fact she posted imaged of herself at the riot was perhaps unsurprising:

Adam Schiff: “The public hasn’t seen Jan 6 woven together”

14:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Speaking on CBS News’s Face the Nation yesterday, Democratic congressman and 6 January committee member Adam Schiff explained what point the panel will be trying to make with the televised hearings that begin later this week.

“The public hasn’t seen it woven together,” he said, “how one thing led to another, how one line of effort to overturn the election led to another, and ultimately led to terrible violence.”

Watch his remarks below.

Watch: Pro-Trump candidate blames shootings on “transgendering” drugs

14:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Michele Fiore, who is favoured to win the Republican primary for state treasurer in Nevada, is an example of the kind of downballot candidate that has mainstream conservatives and those outside the GOP worried about the sort of people that could hold crucial state-level posts after the November elections.

Having appealed explicitly to Trump-leaning voters in her campaign so far, she this weekend went on a strange ramble theorising about the causes of mass shootings, blaming massacres on pharmaceutical companies’ “transgendering” drugs which she says are turning teenagers murderous.

A false rumour that the Uvalde school shooter was trans was quickly debunked, but not before many on the right had circulated pictures of an innocent transwoman unconnected to the tragedy.

ICYMI: Could a Trump 2024 announcement be imminent?

13:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Advisers to former president Donald Trump say the ex-president is eager to jump back into electoral politics as a candidate in the 2024 election and could announce a third presidential run this summer.

According to NBC News, Mr Trump’s aides are divided over whether he should declare himself a candidate before or after the November midterm elections because waiting would keep Democrats from harnessing his re-emergence as fuel for their own re-election bids this year.

Others believe an earlier declaration of his intentions would freeze the GOP primary field by blocking out other candidates who could also potentially announce, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Mr Trump’s former Vice President, Mike Pence.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump may announce 2024 run next month, report says

Trump hawking bizarre children’s book about “Russiagate"

13:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Former Trump administration member Kash Patel, who was chief of staff to the acting secretary of defence at the point when the former president was trying to subvert the 2020 election, has penned an extremely strange children’s book about the investigation into Mr Trump’s Russian ties. The Plot Against the King is framed by its publisher as a “fantastical retelling of the terrible true story” of what Mr Trump calls the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax”, rendering the ex-president’s enemies in cartoonish incarnations like “the Russionians” and “Hillary Queenton”.

Mr Trump is now helping to promote Mr Patel’s book, writing on Truth Social that it should be placed in every school in the country.

Liz Cheney describes “extremely well-organized” and “chilling” effort to subvert 2020 election

12:40 , Andrew Naughtie

In an interview yesterday, Liz Cheney offered CBS News a flavour of the upcoming 6 January committee hearings – and her words indicate that the evidence to be unveiled is grievous indeed.

Asked if the events that led to the riot amounted to a conspiracy, she replied that she does. remarking that she was troubled by “how broad this multi-pronged effort was”.

She also accused house minority leader Kevin McCarthy of sticking by Donald Trump out of “craven political calculation” and accused him of “lying about what happened on 6 January”.

Watch a clip of her remarks below.

ICYMI: Trump’s McCarthy endorsement

12:15 , Andrew Naughtie

In a weekend endorsement spree, Donald Trump blasted out messages of approval for various Republicans, many of them relatively low-profile but some at the top of the party structure – in particular Kevin McCarthy, whom the ex-president continues to support despite the release of audio showing that he discussed removing Mr Trump after the 6 January insurrection.

“Congressman Kevin McCarthy is an outstanding Representative for the people of California, and a strong and fearless Leader of the House Republican Conference,” Mr Trump wrote in a statement.

“In Congress, Kevin is a tireless advocate for the people of Bakersfield and the Central Valley. He is working incredibly hard to Stop Inflation, Deliver Water Solutions, and Hold Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi Accountable for their catastrophic failures and dereliction of duty.”

John Bowden has more.

Trump-backed Senate candidate blames gun violence on Black people

11:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump last week made an endorsement in Arizona’s crucial senate primary, choosing Peter Thiel-backed candidate Blake Masters – and as with other Trump endorsements, now the attention is on, the chosen candidate’s past words are coming back to haunt him.

The Daily Beast reports that in an April interview on a right-wing podcast, Mr Masters opined that “It’s people in Chicago, St. Louis shooting each other. Very often, you know, Black people, frankly. And the Democrats don’t want to do anything about that.”

Read more on Mr Masters and the Trump endorsement below.

Trump endorses Blake Masters in Arizona Senate race

Former GOP rep who worked with Jan 6 committee says the party has left him

11:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Denver Riggleman, the former Republican congressman who seved on the behind-the-scenes staff of the 6 January committee, told CNN yesterday that because of the political changes wrought by the last several years, he no longer considers himself a member of the party.

“I think the party left me some time ago,” he said. “What I’ve seen behind the scenes has even pushed me further away, that the party has moved away from conservative principles to this cult of personality that Liz Cheney is talking about...it’s absolutely insane what people have sort of put their arms around.”

Watch his comments below.

Trump-appointed ambassador to Russia speaks out

10:46 , Gino Spocchia

The Donald Trump-appointed US ambassador to Russia has told a news outlet in the country that the Kremlin should keep the American embassy there open, and that closing it would be a “big mistake”.

John J Sullivan told Russia’s state TASS news agency that Washington and Moscow should be open to talks despite the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, according to a Reuters translation of a recent interview.

Mr Sullivan described the embassy as a means of “preserving the ability to speak to each other” and said closing the US embassy would be a “big mistake”.

It comes amid a historic low for diplomatic relations between Russia and the US, and the worst between the two nuclear powers since the Cold War.

Mr Sullivan said Russia has suggested that embassy closures could be announced as payback for economic and political sanctions against Moscow for Vladmir Putin’s three-month war on Ukraine.

Other US diplomats and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have said Russia is “destined to lose” its war on Kyiv and signalled that “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” with Moscow, in a reference to the Taylor Swift hit.

2022 midterms: What to watch in primaries in 7 states

08:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Primary elections in seven states on Tuesday will set the stage for US house and senate races this fall, with many contests shaped by political fissures in both major parties and the lingering shadow of former president Donald Trump.

With control of Congress in play, a string of Republican House incumbents are contending with challenges from the political right, and some rivals are embracing Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in his 2020 loss to president Joe Biden.

No incumbent governors or senators appear to be in imminent danger. In Iowa, several Democrats are jockeying for the chance to take on seven-term Republican senator Chuck Grassley, with the campaign showcasing the breach between the Democratic party’s progressive and establishment wings.

Here’s what to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota:

2022 midterms: What to watch in primaries in 7 states

Poll suggests 70% Americans prioritise laws reducing gun violence

07:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Amidst the rising incidents of mass shootings, seven out of ten Americans believe new legislation reducing gun violence should be prioritised over protecting gun rights, a new poll suggests.

According to the ABC/ Ipsos poll, 29 per cent of those surveyed said gun rights should be a higher priority than reducing gun violence in the United States.

The poll also found that only 37 per cent approve of president Joe Biden’s handling of the economic recovery.

Biden scrambles to avoid Americas Summit flop

07:03 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

When leaders gather at the Summit of the Americas this week, the focus is likely to veer from policy issues — migration, climate change and galloping inflation.

With Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador topping a list of leaders threatening to stay home to protest the exclusion by the host United States of authoritarian leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, experts say the event could turn into an embarrassment for US president Joe Biden.

“The real question is why the Biden administration didn’t do its homework,” said Jorge Castañeda, a former Mexican foreign minister who now teaches at New York University.

While the Biden administration insists the president in Los Angeles will outline his vision for a “sustainable, resilient, and equitable future” for the hemisphere, Mr Castañeda said it’s clear from the last-minute wrangling over the guest list that Latin America is not a priority for the US president.

Read more from AP here.

Biden hoping to avoid Summit of the Americas flop in LA

Shooting survivor slams Marjorie Taylor Greene over gun control push

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg tore into Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for “attacking survivors” to raise funds.

The congresswoman wrote to Mr Hogg, a co-founder of March For Our Lives has been organising marches following the Uvalde shooting where an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.

“I hear you & your girls are funded to come to town this week to once again try to manipulate some of my gutless weak colleagues to vote for gun control that will violate our freedoms and leave Americans defenceless,” Ms Greene tweeted at Hogg on Sunday.

I’m more interested in protecting children and meeting commonsense people who are looking for reasonable solutions to stop children from dying,” Mr Hogg shot back.

“Don’t really have time to help you go viral for attacking survivors so you can fundraise.”

Trump backs Kevin McCarthy despite leaked audio

05:56 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Former president Donald Trump endorsed House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy on Sunday, alongside a handful of other candidates, for the 2022 midterms.

The endorsement comes just two days ahead of a nonpartisan party primary for California’s 20th congressional district where the top two candidates will face off in a head-to-head battle in November.

Mr Trump’s continued support of Mr McCarthy is significant given audio recordings of the California Republican speaking to GOP colleagues in the immediate aftermath of 6 January attacks, published by The New York Times in April.

He is heard saying that he will urge the president to resign and may even support attempts to remove him from office.

Mr McCarthy, meanwhile, sent a letter via his lawyer to the House select committee investigating the Capitol riots, outlining why he will not comply with his subpoena.

Other candidates endorsed by Mr Trump on Sunday included California’s representative Darrell Issa, senator Chuck Grassley and governor Kim Reynolds in Iowa.

Trump slams Paul Ryan as ‘pathetic loser’

05:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Former president Donald Trump has furiously attacked his one-time ally, Paul Ryan, over the former House speaker’s continued support of Republicans who voted for his second impeachment.

In a statement posted on social media, Mr Trump excoriated Mr Ryan for his opposition to the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

“Did anyone notice that Fox News went lame (bad!) when weak RINO Paul Ryan, who is despised in the Great State of Wisconsin for being ‘a pathetic loser,’ went on the Fox Board[?]” Mr Trump wrote.

“They won’t even talk about an obviously rigged 2020 Presidential Election”, he added, before calling on Mr Ryan to be removed from the Fox Corp’s board of directors.

John Bowden reports.

Trump rips into former GOP speaker Paul Ryan as a ‘pathetic loser’

2024 elections: DeSantis beats Trump in a straw poll

05:34 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday swept a straw poll for 2024 presidential candidates, beating former president Donald Trump, at a Colorado conference.

As many as 71 per cent of attendees at the western conservative summit approved of Mr DeSantis as a potential candidate, while 67 per cent approved of Mr Trump.

The straw poll was conducted based on an “approval” system, where attendees were allowed to vote for more than one candidate, Fox News reported.

04:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

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