Trump news - live: Ex-president files $500m suit against Michael Cohen while Republicans seek to defund Bragg

Allies of the former president in Congress on Thursday unveiled a new angle of their efforts to defend Donald Trump: Legislation, authored by Rep Andy Biggs, which aims to defund the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The bill is never going to make it to Joe Biden’s desk, but will likely please the former president nonetheless.

And back in Florida, Mr Trump has sued his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen for $500m over his testimony before the New York grand jury that landed him with criminal charges.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday, alleges a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

Cohen, who is at the centre of the hush money case against the former president, fired back at Mr Trump tweeting: “Despite Trump’s attempts to intimidate and harass me, I will NEVER stop fighting and holding him accountable for his dirty deeds.”

This comes one week after he was arraigned in a Manhattan court on a 34-count indictment in the hush money case.

Key Points

• Trump arrives in Manhattan for NY attorney general's deposition

• Legal troubles heat up for Fox’s Rupert Murdoch

• Republicans seek to defund Alvin Bragg’s office

• Trump sues former lawyer Michael Cohen for $500m

• More audio of Rudy Giuliani admitting Trump campaign had no evidence is released

Special counsel on Mar-a-Lago papers investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

03:25 , John Bowden

Federal investigators are probing whether or not Donald Trump showed off a map containing sensitive intelligence information to his visitors after he left the White House.

The probe is part of the federal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents following his presidency.

Investigators have questioned several witnesses about the map, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Times. The nature of the map’s contents are unknown.

Graig Graziosi reports:

Special counsel investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan to block ‘transparent campaign’ of intimidation over Trump prosecution

02:26 , John Bowden

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is fighting back at what he says is an explicit attempt by House Republicans to interfere in his office’s prosecution of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Mr Bragg sued the House Judiciary Committee chair, Jim Jordan, and accused him of undertaking “a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack District Attorney Bragg, making demands for confidential documents and testimony from the District Attorney himself as well as his current and former employees and officials” in federal court.

Republicans, predictably, howled in outrage at the DA’s response to their attempts to attack the credibility of his office.

Read more:

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan over Trump prosecution intimidation

Judge in Dominion Voting Systems case says Fox News has a ‘credibility problem’

01:26 , John Bowden

Things took a turn for the worse for Fox News’s legal team this week as Dominion Voting Systems’s $1.6bn lawsuit against the channel proceeds.

A judge reprimanded Fox’s lawyers and said that he was no longer confident that attorneys for the company were being “straightforward” with the court.

Find out more in The Independent:

Judge: No separate defamation trials for Fox News, Fox Corp.

Trump is back in New York – for a different legal battle

Friday 14 April 2023 00:26 , John Bowden

Donald Trump returned to New York on Thursday for the first time since his arrest and arraignment last week to face his latest legal battle.

He was scheduled to sit for a deposition on Thursday before Attorney General Letitia James, who has brought a $250m business fraud lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization over alleged wrongdoing, including misleading banks and others that inflated the value of golf courses and hotels that bear his name.

This comes one week after he was arraigned in a Manhattan court on a 34-count indictment in the hush money case.

Andy Biggs introduces legislation to strip Bragg’s office of federal funds

Thursday 13 April 2023 23:26 , John Bowden

An Arizona congressman and fierce Trump ally has announced a bill aimed at stripping Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office of any federal funding in revenge for the prosecution of Donald Trump by Mr Bragg. It faces a steep road to passage in House, which is controlled by a thin GOP majority. It will not pass the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

“District Attorney Alvin Bragg ran on a campaign pledge to indict President Trump. Bragg took the unprecedented action of converting alleged minor business misdemeanors to 34 individual felonies in an attempt to put President Trump behind bars and humiliate him and his supporters,” he told The Daily Caller.

Victorious Tennessee Democrats celebrate with parade after reinstatements

Thursday 13 April 2023 22:26 , John Bowden

Two Black Democrats who were ousted from the Tennessee state legislature last week led a parade through the streets of Memphis on Wednesday after being successfully reinstated to their positions.

State Reps Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were both expelled by Republicans in the statehouse last week for joining with gun control protesters for a demonstration in the building; now, their respective local government councils have voted overwhelmingly to return both men to their seats in the capital.

Watch their victorious march, alongside fellow state Rep Gloria Johnson (who was not expelled, despite participating in the same protest):

What does Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit claim?

Thursday 13 April 2023 22:03 , John Bowden

Former president Donald Trump was expected to visit the offices of New York‘s attorney general Thursday for his second deposition in a legal battle over his company’s business practices.

The Republican was scheduled to meet with lawyers for attorney general Letitia James, who sued Mr Trump last year. Her lawsuit claims Mr Trump and his family misled banks and business associates by giving them false information about his net worth and the value of assets such as hotels and golf courses.

The lawsuit is unrelated to the felony criminal charges filed against Mr Trump by the Manhattan district attorney, which led last week to his historic arraignment, the first for a former president.

More in this report:

Trump set to give 2nd deposition in New York fraud lawsuit

Thursday 13 April 2023 20:53 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has sued his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen for $500m over his testimony before the New York grand jury that landed him with criminal charges.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday, alleges a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

Cohen, who is at the centre of the hush money case against the former president, fired back at Mr Trump, tweeting: “Despite Trump’s attempts to intimidate and harass me, I will NEVER stop fighting and holding him accountable for his dirty deeds.”

Donald Trump Jr promotes Trump fan ‘Catturd2’ coming ‘out of the litter box'

Thursday 13 April 2023 20:30 , John Bowden

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder, Donald Trump Jr shows up promoting his upcoming interview with “catturd2”.

The pro-Trump Twitter accoung has become widely known in recent months for the owner’s frequent interactions with Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, and will now apparently be sitting down for an interview with the son of the former president. Welcome to 2023!

Jury selection to begin today in Fox News’ Dominion lawsuit

Thursday 13 April 2023 19:59 , John Bowden

Jury selection began today in Dominion Voting Systems $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News.

Dominion Voting Systems has accused Fox News of pushing pro-Trump conspiracy theories of voter fraud including claiming that its ballot counting technology rigged the 2020 presidential election against the one-term president.

The voting machine company said the network “recklessly disregarded the truth”.

Fox News has denied the allegations and claimed the lawsuit threatens the First Amendment right.

Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday in the case with opening statements scheduled for 17 April.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is sent a second package containing white powder after Trump arrest

Thursday 13 April 2023 19:15 , John Bowden

On Wednesday, two law enforcement agents officials told NBC News that an envelope, which was addressed to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, was reported to authorities after being found to contain an explicit note, a photo of Mr Bragg and Donald Trump, and a mysterious white powder.

It’s the second instance of Mr Bragg receiving such a threatening package since his prosecution of the former president began.

New York police were called to the mailroom at the office located in Lower Manhattan as a precaution and determined the white powder was nonhazardous.

Read more in The Independent:

Alvin Bragg sent a second package containing white powder after Trump arrest

Audio reveals Rudy Giuliani and Trump campaign had no evidence to back up Dominion claims

Thursday 13 April 2023 18:43 , John Bowden

A second audio recording in which former Trump lead attorney Rudy Giuliani admits that the Trump campaign had no evidence to back up their claims about Dominion Voting Systems has been released.

The latest revelation is thanks to the $1.6bn lawsuit the company has filed against Fox News, which is resulting in a cascade of humiliation for the right-leaning network as private communications between top personalities who publicly defended these claims on air have been publicised.

Read more:

Giuliani and Trump campaign had no evidence for Dominion claims, recordings reveal

Legal troubles ramp up for Fox as Rupert Murdoch is sued by investor over ‘stolen election claims’

Thursday 13 April 2023 17:55 , John Bowden

An individual shareholder of Fox Corporation is suing Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, as well as other members of the company’s board alleging they breached their fiduciary duty to the company.

In a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court on 11 April, investor Robert Schwarz brought forth a derivative suit claiming that board members chose to promote “false stolen election claims” which negatively impacted the company’s reputation and led to two defamation cases.

This news comes as more and more Fox employees are fretting in comments to journalists about the future of their company thanks to the massive $1.6bn lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems that threatens the company’s finances in an unprecedented way.

Ariana Baio has more:

Fox investor sues Rupert Murdoch over ‘stolen election claims’

Andy Biggs introduces legislation to strip Bragg’s office of federal funds

Thursday 13 April 2023 17:26 , John Bowden

An Arizona congressman and fierce Trump ally has announced a bill aimed at stripping Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office of any federal funding in revenge for the prosecution of Donald Trump by Mr Bragg.

Mr Biggs introduced the bill on Thursday. It faces a steep road to passage in House, which is controlled by a thin GOP majority. It will not pass the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

Jim Jordan to hold ‘field hearing’ of House Judiciary Committee in New York

Thursday 13 April 2023 16:33 , John Bowden

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan will host a “field hearing”, likely to be attended by the committee’s Republican members, in New York next week as he continues his efforts to try and politically punish District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Mr Jordan plans to highlight victims of crime in New York City as he tries to argue that the Manhattan DA is ignoring his responsibilities to prosecute street crime as his office pursues charges against Mr Trump. Mr Bragg has fiercely denied this, and decried Mr Jordan’s efforts as blatant political intimidation.

Special counsel on Mar-a-Lago papers investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

Thursday 13 April 2023 15:06 , John Bowden

Federal investigators are probing whether or not Donald Trump showed off a map containing sensitive intelligence information to his visitors after he left the White House.

The probe is part of the federal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents following his presidency.

Investigators have questioned several witnesses about the map, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Times. The nature of the map’s contents are unknown.

Graig Graziosi reports:

Special counsel investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

Bombshell recordings reveal Rudy Giuliani admitting to Fox News there is no evidence of 2020 voter systems fraud

Thursday 13 April 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Bombshell audio recordings have revealed Rudy Giuliani and other Trump officials admitting to Fox News that there was no evidence of Dominion Voting Machines being rigging the 2020 election.

Listen below:

E Jean Carroll jury selection questions revealed

Thursday 13 April 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

The questionnaire for the pool of prospective jurors in E Jean Carroll’s rape trial against Donald Trump has been revealed.

Ms Carroll claims that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

Mr Trump has repeatedly and emphatically denied the allegation.

A jury will be asked to decide whether the rape occurred and if Mr Trump defamed Ms Carroll with his comments.

Some of the jury questions were published by The Daily Beast.

They include: “Are you on Truth Social?”

“What cable news network do you watch?”

“Have you ever used the hashtag #BelieveAllWomen when discussing sexual assault?”

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is sent a second package containing white powder after Trump arrest

Thursday 13 April 2023 13:34 , Rachel Sharp

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been sent a second package containing “white powder” after his office brought charges against Donald Trump.

Two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that an envelope addressed to Mr Bragg arrived at his office on Wednesday.

The envelope contained white powder, a letter using an expletive to describe thr DA’s weight and a photo of Mr Bragg and Mr Trump.

The powder was later determined to be nonhazardous.

This marks the second time a white powder was sent to Mr Bragg’s office as he has faced multiple threats for his prosecution of Mr Trump.

Jury selection to begin today in Fox News’ Dominion lawsuit

Thursday 13 April 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Jury selection is set to begin today in Dominion Voting Systems $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News.

Dominion Voting Systems has accused Fox News of pushing pro-Trump conspiracy theories of voter fraud including claiming that its ballot counting technology rigged the 2020 presidential election against the one-term president.

The voting machine company said the network “recklessly disregarded the truth”.

Fox News has denied the allegations and claimed the lawsuit threatens the First Amendment right.

Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday in the case with opening statements scheduled for 17 April.

Judge in Dominion Voting Systems case says Fox News has a ‘credibility problem’

Thursday 13 April 2023 13:15 , John Bowden

Things took a turn for the worse for Fox News’s legal team this week as Dominion Voting Systems’s $1.6bn lawsuit against the channel proceeds.

A judge reprimanded Fox’s lawyers and said that he was no longer confident that attorneys for the company were being “straightforward” with the court.

Find out more in The Independent:

Judge: No separate defamation trials for Fox News, Fox Corp.

Donald Trump calls himself ‘president’ in $500m lawsuit against Michael Cohen

Thursday 13 April 2023 12:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has sued his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is at the heart of the New York hush money payment case against the former president, for $500m.

The lawsuit alleges a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims. It was filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.

The former president appears to finally be making an effort to seek revenge against his ex-”fixer”, who would go on to tell Congress that his former employer was a racist and a con man after leaving his position.

Trump calls himself ‘president’ in $500m lawsuit against Michael Cohen

Judge sanctions Fox News ahead of Dominion Voting Systems trial

Thursday 13 April 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

Ahead of jury selection in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News, the Delaware Supreme Court Judge on the case is planning to appoint a “special master” to help determine whether the news company withheld key information and evidence.

Judge Eric Davis said he was considering the appointment on Wednesday, CNN reports, days before the trial is due to start.

Dominion accuses Fox News of knowingly spreading false information about its voting machines in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in support of Donald Trump‘s false claims that the election had been “stolen” from him.

Read the full story:

Judge in $1.6bn defamation case against Fox may appoint special master

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan to block ‘transparent campaign’ of intimidation over Trump prosecution

Thursday 13 April 2023 12:15 , John Bowden

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is fighting back at what he says is an explicit attempt by House Republicans to interfere in his office’s prosecution of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Mr Bragg sued the House Judiciary Committee chair, Jim Jordan, and accused him of undertaking “a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack District Attorney Bragg, making demands for confidential documents and testimony from the District Attorney himself as well as his current and former employees and officials” in federal court.

Republicans, predictably, howled in outrage at the DA’s response to their attempts to attack the credibility of his office.

Read more:

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan over Trump prosecution intimidation

Trump is back in New York – for latest legal battle

Thursday 13 April 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has now returned to New York for the first time since his arrest and arraignment last week to face his latest legal battle.

He is scheduled to sit for a deposition on Thursday before Attorney General Letitia James who has brought a $250m business fraud lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization over alleged wrongdoing, including misleading banks and others that inflated the value of golf courses and hotels that bear his name.

This comes one week after he was arraigned in a Manhattan court on a 34-count indictment in the hush money case.

Trump seeks delay to rape case – claiming need for ‘cooling off’ period after indictment

Thursday 13 April 2023 11:45 , John Bowden

An attorney for Donald Trump is seeking a one-month delay in the trial regarding a columnist’s claims that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s, contending that his client’s right to a fair trial depends on a “cooling off” period following the former president’s indictment and arraignment.

The trial was set for April 25. In a letter Tuesday to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, attorney Joseph Tacopina cited “the recent deluge of prejudicial media coverage” surrounding Trump’s arrest and court appearance in arguing for a delay. The former president was charged March 30 with 34 felony counts related to allegations that he paid hush money to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels.

The civil case before Judge Kaplan was brought against Mr Trump in November by E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who says the wealthy real estate developer raped her in early 1996 after a chance meeting at the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

Mr Trump has repeatedly and emphatically denied the allegation. A jury will be asked to decide whether the rape occurred and if Trump defamed Carroll with his comments.

A temporary state law that took effect last year allows adult rape victims to sue their abusers, even if attacks happened decades ago.

Mr Tacopina’s letter seeking a delay in the trial for Carroll’s civil suit followed Kaplan’s order on Monday directing parties in the case to notify him by April 20 whether they will be present throughout the trial in Manhattan federal court. Carroll’s attorney has said she will attend; Trump’s attorney has not responded to requests for comment on Kaplan’s order.

Associated Press

Michael Cohen fires back after Trump sues him for $500m

Thursday 13 April 2023 11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has sued his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen for $500m over his testimony before the New York grand jury that landed him with criminal charges.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday, alleges a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

Cohen, who is at the centre of the hush money case against the former president, fired back at Mr Trump tweeting: “Despite Trump’s attempts to intimidate and harass me, I will NEVER stop fighting and holding him accountable for his dirty deeds.”

‘He still owes me dinner!’ Stormy Daniels jokes about Trump

Thursday 13 April 2023 11:13 , John Bowden

Stormy Daniels has joked that Donald Trump still “owes me dinner” as she told Piers Morgan about her alleged sexual liaison with the former president.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges connected with $130,000 in hush money payments made to the adult movie actress.

Following his arrest and arraignment earlier this week, Ms Daniels told Morgan about the evening she alleges she slept with Mr Trump following a golf event at Lake Tahoe.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Stormy Daniels tells Piers Morgan that Trump cheated her on offer of meal

Victorious Tennessee Democrats celebrate with parade after reinstatements

Thursday 13 April 2023 10:16 , John Bowden

Two Black Democrats who were ousted from the Tennessee state legislature last week led a parade through the streets of Memphis on Wednesday after being successfully reinstated to their positions.

State Reps Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were both expelled by Republicans in the statehouse last week for joining with gun control protesters for a demonstration in the building; now, their respective local government councils have voted overwhelmingly to return both men to their seats in the capital.

Watch their victorious march, alongside fellow state Rep Gloria Johnson (who was not expelled, despite participating in the same protest):

Legal troubles ramp up for Fox as Rupert Murdoch is sued by investor over ‘stolen election claims’

Thursday 13 April 2023 09:15 , John Bowden

An individual shareholder of Fox Corporation is suing Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, as well as other members of the company’s board alleging they breached their fiduciary duty to the company.

In a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court on 11 April, investor Robert Schwarz brought forth a derivative suit claiming that board members chose to promote “false stolen election claims” which negatively impacted the company’s reputation and led to two defamation cases.

This news comes as more and more Fox employees are fretting in comments to journalists about the future of their company thanks to the massive $1.6bn lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems that threatens the company’s finances in an unprecedented way.

Ariana Baio has more:

Fox investor sues Rupert Murdoch over ‘stolen election claims’

Judge in Dominion's $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News may appoint special master

Thursday 13 April 2023 08:15 , John Bowden

Ahead of jury selection in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News, the Delaware Supreme Court Judge on the case is planning to appoint a “special master” to help determine whether the news company withheld key information and evidence.

Judge Eric Davis said he was considering the appointment on Wednesday, CNN reports, days before the trial is due to start.

Sebastian Miño-Bucheli has the story:

Judge in $1.6bn defamation case against Fox may appoint special master

Special counsel on Mar-a-Lago papers investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

Thursday 13 April 2023 07:45 , Namita Singh

Federal investigators are probing whether or not Donald Trump showed off a map containing sensitive intelligence information to his visitors after he left the White House.

The probe is part of the federal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents following his presidency.

Investigators have questioned several witnesses about the map, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Times. The nature of the map’s contents are unknown.

My colleague Graig Graziosi reports:

Special counsel investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says

Judge in Dominion’s $1.6bn defamation case may appoint special master

Thursday 13 April 2023 07:30 , Namita Singh

Ahead of jury selection in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News, the Delaware Supreme Court Judge on the case is planning to appoint a “special master” to help determine whether the news company withheld key information and evidence.

Judge Eric Davis said he was considering the appointment on Wednesday, CNN reports, days before the trial is due to start.

Dominion accuses Fox News of knowingly spreading false information about its voting machines in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in support of Donald Trump‘s false claims that the election had been “stolen” from him.

Read the details here:

Judge in $1.6bn defamation case against Fox may appoint special master

In video: Trump claims courthouse staff ‘were crying’ when he was indicted

Thursday 13 April 2023 07:17 , Namita Singh

Trump claims courthouse staff ‘were crying’ when he was indicted

Republican Senator Tim Scott launches exploratory 2024 committee

Thursday 13 April 2023 07:15 , John Bowden

The Senate’s lone Black Republican member is entering the 2024 race.

Sen Tim Scott on Wednesday announced the launch of an exploratory political campaign for the Republican nomination; in doing so, he also previewed what is likely to be the defining weakness of his campaign. His announcement interview carried no mention of Donald Trump and reflected little of the actual realities of today’s modern-day GOP.

Read more:

Republican Senator Tim Scott launches exploratory committee

What does Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit claim?

Thursday 13 April 2023 06:51 , Namita Singh

Former president Donald Trump was expected to visit the offices of New York‘s attorney general Thursday for his second deposition in a legal battle over his company’s business practices.

The Republican was scheduled to meet with lawyers for attorney general Letitia James, who sued Mr Trump last year. Her lawsuit claims Mr Trump and his family misled banks and business associates by giving them false information about his net worth and the value of assets such as hotels and golf courses.

The lawsuit is unrelated to the felony criminal charges filed against Mr Trump by the Manhattan district attorney, which led last week to his historic arraignment, the first for a former president.

More in this report:

Trump set to give 2nd deposition in New York fraud lawsuit

Alvin Bragg reportedly receives second envelope with white powder

Thursday 13 April 2023 06:14 , John Bowden

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has now received a second envelope addressed to him which contained a mysterious white powder, according to NBC News, as he continues his prosecution of Donald Trump over the Stormy Daniels matter.

Mr Bragg has been the target of heightened vitriol from Republicans, especially former President Donald Trump, as he continues his efforts to prosecute Mr Trump for falsifying business records.

Read more at NBC News:

Trump arrives in Manhattan for NY attorney general's deposition

Thursday 13 April 2023 05:50 , Namita Singh

Former US president Donald Trump has arrived in Manhattan for a deposition before New York’s attorney general Letitia James, he said on Thursday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

The embattled 45th president returned to the city just a week after he was arraigned in a Manhattan court on a 34-count indictment in a separate criminal case from district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ms James has brought a $250m business fraud lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization over alleged wrongdoing, including misleading banks and others that inflated the value of golf courses and hotels that bear his name.

Donald Trump calls himself ‘president’ in $500m lawsuit against Michael Cohen

Thursday 13 April 2023 05:14 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has sued his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is at the heart of the New York hush money payment case against the former president, for $500m.

The lawsuit alleges a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims. It was filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.

The former president appears to finally be making an effort to seek revenge against his ex-”fixer”, who would go on to tell Congress that his former employer was a racist and a con man after leaving his position.

Trump calls himself ‘president’ in $500m lawsuit against Michael Cohen

Melania Trump hits back at media ‘assumptions’ after indictment

Thursday 13 April 2023 04:13 , John Bowden

Melania Trump has fired back at “assumptions” being made in the media after her absence from her husband’s arrest and post-arraignment speech hit headlines across the globe.

The former first lady released a statement through her office on Tuesday morning hitting out at the use of “unnamed sources” in reports about her “personal, professional, and political” viewpoints and urging readers to “exercise caution and good judgment”.

Read more:

Melania Trump hits back at media ‘assumptions’ after indictment

Trump says he will ‘never’ drop out of 2024 race – even from jail

Thursday 13 April 2023 03:15 , John Bowden

Former president Donald Trump vowed to stay in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and the 2024 general election despite his mounting legal troubles, even if it means he’ll be locked up in a jail cell by the time his name appears on a ballot.

Mr Trump made the defiant pronouncement during a fawning Tuesday evening interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the twice-impeached ex-president’s first sit-down with a media outlet since he was arraigned on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in his former home state of New York.

Read more:

Trump says he will ‘never’ drop out of 2024 race – even from jail

Trump’s ‘crying’ court officials claim ‘absolute BS'

Thursday 13 April 2023 02:12 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s claim that New York court staff were ‘crying’ when he was arrested and arraigned are “absolute BS”, a law enforcement official told Yahoo!News.

The one-term president made the bizarre claim to Tucker Carlson in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night.

“They were incredible. When I went to the courthouse which is also a prison in a sense, they signed me in and I’ll tell you people were crying,” he claimed.

“People that work there. Professionally work there that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. It’s a tough, tough place and they were crying. They were actually crying. They said I’m sorry.”

Video footage from inside the courthouse in Manhattan last week actually showed court staff refusing to hold open a door for Mr Trump as he walked in to face a judge.

Now law enforcement sources have laughed off the claim, telling Yahoo!News it had “zero” accuracy.

“There were zero people crying. There were zero people saying ‘I’m sorry.’”

Judge in Dominion Voting Systems case says Fox News has a ‘credibility problem’

Thursday 13 April 2023 01:15 , John Bowden

Things took a turn for the worse for Fox News’s legal team this week as Dominion Voting Systems’s $1.6bn lawsuit against the channel proceeds.

A judge reprimanded Fox’s lawyers and said that he was no longer confident that attorneys for the company were being “straightforward” with the court.

Find out more in The Independent:

Judge: No separate defamation trials for Fox News, Fox Corp.

Judge in Dominion's $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News may appoint special master

Thursday 13 April 2023 00:15 , John Bowden

Ahead of jury selection in Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6bn defamation case against Fox News, the Delaware Supreme Court Judge on the case is planning to appoint a "special master" to help determine whether the news company withheld key information and evidence.

Judge Eric Davis said he was considering the appointment on Wednesday, CNN reports, days before the trial is due to start.

Sebastian Miño-Bucheli has the story:

Judge in $1.6bn defamation case against Fox may appoint special master

Alvin Bragg reportedly receives second envelope with white powder

Wednesday 12 April 2023 23:27 , John Bowden

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has now received a second envelope addressed to him which contained a mysterious white powder, according to NBC News, as he continues his prosecution of Donald Trump over the Stormy Daniels matter.

Mr Bragg has been the target of heightened vitriol from Republicans, especially former President Donald Trump, as he continues his efforts to prosecute Mr Trump for falsifying business records.

Read more at NBC News:

Victorious Tennessee Democrats celebrate with parade after reinstatements

Wednesday 12 April 2023 22:43 , John Bowden

Two Black Democrats who were ousted from the Tennessee state legislature last week led a parade through the streets of Memphis on Wednesday after being successfully reinstated to their positions.

State Reps Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were both expelled by Republicans in the statehouse last week for joining with gun control protesters for a demonstration in the building; now, their respective local government councils have voted overwhelmingly to return both men to their seats in the capital.

‘He still owes me dinner!’ Stormy Daniels jokes about Trump

Wednesday 12 April 2023 21:55 , John Bowden

Stormy Daniels has joked that Donald Trump still “owes me dinner” as she told Piers Morgan about her alleged sexual liaison with the former president.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges connected with $130,000 in hush money payments made to the adult movie actress.

Following his arrest and arraignment earlier this week, Ms Daniels told Morgan about the evening she alleges she slept with Mr Trump following a golf event at Lake Tahoe.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Stormy Daniels tells Piers Morgan that Trump cheated her on offer of meal

Democratic senators urge chief justice to probe Thomas trips

Wednesday 12 April 2023 21:12 , John Bowden

Senate Democrats are calling on U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to open an investigation into the undisclosed acceptance of luxury trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife that were paid for by a Republican megadonor.

A letter from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s majority stated that the committee plans to hold a hearing in coming days regarding the “need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards.”

And if the Supreme Court does not deal with the issue on its own, the committee will consider voting on legislation, the letter continued. Such a measure would also need support from the Republican-led House to become law.

Read more:

Democratic senators urge chief justice to probe Thomas trips

Trump seeks delay to rape case – claiming need for ‘cooling off’ period after indictment

Wednesday 12 April 2023 20:45 , John Bowden

An attorney for Donald Trump is seeking a one-month delay in the trial regarding a columnist’s claims that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s, contending that his client’s right to a fair trial depends on a “cooling off” period following the former president’s indictment and arraignment.

The trial was set for April 25. In a letter Tuesday to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, attorney Joseph Tacopina cited “the recent deluge of prejudicial media coverage” surrounding Trump’s arrest and court appearance in arguing for a delay. The former president was charged March 30 with 34 felony counts related to allegations that he paid hush money to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels.

The civil case before Judge Kaplan was brought against Mr Trump in November by E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who says the wealthy real estate developer raped her in early 1996 after a chance meeting at the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

Mr Trump has repeatedly and emphatically denied the allegation. A jury will be asked to decide whether the rape occurred and if Trump defamed Carroll with his comments.

A temporary state law that took effect last year allows adult rape victims to sue their abusers, even if attacks happened decades ago.

Mr Tacopina’s letter seeking a delay in the trial for Carroll’s civil suit followed Kaplan’s order on Monday directing parties in the case to notify him by April 20 whether they will be present throughout the trial in Manhattan federal court. Carroll’s attorney has said she will attend; Trump’s attorney has not responded to requests for comment on Kaplan’s order.

Associated Press

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan to block ‘transparent campaign’ of intimidation over Trump prosecution

Wednesday 12 April 2023 20:15 , Megan Sheets

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is fighting back at what he says is an explicit attempt by House Republicans to interfere in his office’s prosecution of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Mr Bragg sued the House Judiciary Committee chair, Jim Jordan, and accused him of undertaking “a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack District Attorney Bragg, making demands for confidential documents and testimony from the District Attorney himself as well as his current and former employees and officials” in federal court.

Read more:

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan over Trump prosecution intimidation

Trump’s ‘crying’ court staff claim is ‘absolute BS’ say law enforcement

Wednesday 12 April 2023 20:02 , Graeme Massie

The one-term president made a bizarre claim to Tucker Carlson during a Fox News interview this week.

Trump’s ‘crying’ court staff claim is ‘absolute BS’ say law enforcement

Trump suing former lawyer Michael Cohen for $500m, says report

Wednesday 12 April 2023 19:40 , Graeme Massie

Allegations include breach of their attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment.

Trump suing former lawyer Michael Cohen for $500m

Legal troubles ramp up for Fox as Rupert Murdoch is sued by investor over ‘stolen election claims’

Wednesday 12 April 2023 19:32 , Graeme Massie

The derivative lawsuit comes as Fox prepares to go to trial with Dominion Voting Systems.

Fox investor sues Rupert Murdoch over ‘stolen election claims’

Trump impersonated for ‘SNL’ Easter message

Wednesday 12 April 2023 19:16 , John Bowden

In the latest SNL cold open, the former president — played by James Austin Johnson — compares his indictment to the persecution of Jesus and calls him a “nepo baby”.

In the clip, the actor delivers a perfect Trump monologue: “A famous, wonderful man arrested for no reason at all. If you haven’t put it together folks, I’m comparing myself to Jesus—again. And what better time than on his birthday, Easter?”

“We’re both very tall, very popular, and both, frankly, white Americans,” he explains.“He rose from the dead on the third day,” the actor said. “I would have done it faster—possibly two. Possibly two days. I think we could have done it a lot faster.”

“Because I’m a self-made billionaire and Christ was—let’s call it what it is—a nepo baby. I mean, his dad was God. It’s pretty easy to start a religion when your daddy’s God.”

Watch below:

Judge in Dominion Voting Systems case says Fox News has a ‘credibility problem’

Wednesday 12 April 2023 19:01 , Graeme Massie

‘I need to feel comfortable that when you represent something to me, it’s the truth,’ the judge said. ‘I’m not very happy right now.’

Judge in Dominion Voting Systems case says Fox News has a ‘credibility problem’

What we know about E Jean Carroll’s rape allegations against Donald Trump

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:45 , John Bowden

Amid the frenzy of media speculation surrounding Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution and the possibility that other cases involving him will end in indictments, one lawsuit against the former president is quietly trodding along in the background.

Journalist and author E Jean Carroll filed her suit in November 2019, five months after she came forward with her allegation that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. It continues today, even as Mr Trump faces the first criminal indictment of a US president in history.

Let’s examine what we know about this case, and how it could affect Mr Trump going forward:

What we know about E Jean Carroll’s rape allegations against Donald Trump

Trump’s ‘crying’ court officials claim ‘absolute BS'

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:30 , Graeme Massie

Donald Trump’s claim that New York court staff were ‘crying’ when he was arrested and arraigned are “absolute BS”, a law enforcement official told Yahoo!News.

The one-term president made the bizarre claim to Tucker Carlson in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night.

“They were incredible. When I went to the courthouse which is also a prison in a sense, they signed me in and I’ll tell you people were crying,” he claimed.

“People that work there. Professionally work there that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. It’s a tough, tough place and they were crying. They were actually crying. They said I’m sorry.”

Video footage from inside the courthouse in Manhattan last week actually showed court staff refusing to hold open a door for Mr Trump as he walked in to face a judge.

Now law enforcement sources have laughed off the claim, telling Yahoo!News it had “zero” accuracy.

“There were zero people crying. There were zero people saying ‘I’m sorry.’”

Trump breezes past deadlines to file financial disclosures

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s campaign for president ahead of the 2024 election is already bumping up against the Federal Election Commission.

Raw Story reports that the agency sent a letter ordering former president Donald Trump to comply with election law and file his financial disclosures after he missed the March 15 deadline to file his campaign financial disclosure forms.

The agency rebuffed his request for an extension, and could levy a fine against his campaign.

Read more:

Trump breezes past deadlines to file financial disclosures

Trump reveals he lost and then found $3,755 golden golf club given to him by Shinzo Abe

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump said he has found a golf club presented to him by the late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The $3,755 golf club was gifted to Mr Trump by Abe in 2016 when he visited Mr Trump, who was the president-elect at the time.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, was assassinated last July by a gunman who opened fire as he delivered a campaign speech.

Read the full story:

Trump reveals he found $3,755 golden golf club given to him by Shinzo Abe

Schumer calls Trump’s bluff on defunding the FBI

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:06 , John Bowden

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called former president Donald Trump’s bluff as he plans to introduce a resolution that would reject Mr Trump’s calls to defund the FBI and the Department of Justice.

The New York Democrat sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter that said he would introduce the resolution as soon as the Senate returns next week. The resolution’s vote on the floor will force Republican senators to take a public stand on the former president’s increasingly furious calls for revenge against law enforcement agencies involved in investigations into his activities.

Read more:

Schumer calls Trump’s bluff on defunding the FBI

Trump to return to New York for latest legal battle

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:38 , John Bowden

Donald Trump is expected to return to New York City this week to face the latest in his ever-growing list of legal battles.

The former president is scheduled to sit for a deposition on Thursday in the $250m civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Mr Trump, his adult children and the Trump Organization.

Ms James alleges that they were embroiled in a decade-long fraud scheme to inflate the value of his assets.

Mr Trump previously sat for a deposition in August where he pleaded the Fifth.

The latest deposition will come just one week after Mr Trump’s last visit to the Big Apple where he was arrested and charged with 34 felonies over hush money payments before the 2016 presidential election.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 15:55 , John Bowden

Donald Trump was once again the target of mockery from his political foes this week after claiming that “people were actually crying” when he was arrested and arraigned in a New York court.

The former president, who has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records over hush money payments, made the claim during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News.

Read more:

Trump mocked for claiming NYC courthouse staff were ‘crying’ when he was arrested

Trump says he will ‘never’ drop out of 2024 race – even from jail

Wednesday 12 April 2023 15:20 , John Bowden

Former president Donald Trump vowed to stay in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and the 2024 general election despite his mounting legal troubles, even if it means he’ll be locked up in a jail cell by the time his name appears on a ballot.

Mr Trump made the defiant pronouncement during a Tuesday evening interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the twice-impeached ex-president’s first sit-down with a media outlet since he was arraigned on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in his former home state of New York.

Read more:

Trump says he will ‘never’ drop out of 2024 race – even from jail

Republican Tim Scott launches exploratory bid to take on Trump in 2024 race

Wednesday 12 April 2023 14:50 , John Bowden

The Senate’s lone Black Republican member is entering the 2024 race.

Sen Tim Scott on Wednesday announced the launch of an exploratory political campaign for the Republican nomination; in doing so, he also previewed what is likely to be the defining weakness of his campaign. His announcement interview carried no mention of Donald Trump and reflected little of the actual realities of today’s modern-day GOP.

Read more:

Republican Senator Tim Scott launches exploratory committee

Republican Tim Scott launches exploratory bid to take on Trump in 2024 race

Wednesday 12 April 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Republican lawmaker Tim Scott has launched an exploratory bid to take on Donald Trump in the 2024 White House race.

The South Carolina senator announced a presidential exploratory committee on Wednesday morning, ahead of planned events in the early voting state of Iowa later in the day.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past few months,” he said in an email to his supporters.

“I’ve been thinking about my faith. I’ve been thinking about the future of our country. And I’ve been thinking about the Left’s plan to ruin America.”

Trump says he will 'never' drop out of 2024 race – even from jail

Wednesday 12 April 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has insisted he will “never” drop out of the 2024 White House race – even from jail.

In his interview with Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, the former president was asked whether there is “anything they could throw at you legally that would convince you to drop out of the race—if you get convicted in this case in New York?”

Mr Trump remained defiant, insisting he will not drop out even if any of the 34 felony counts land him with a conviction.

“No, I’d never drop out,” he said.

“It’s not my thing. I wouldn’t do it.”

Trump seeks delay to rape case – claiming need for ‘cooling off’ period after indictment

Wednesday 12 April 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

An attorney for Donald Trump is seeking a one-month delay in the trial regarding a columnist’s claims that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s, contending that his client’s right to a fair trial depends on a “cooling off” period following the former president’s indictment and arraignment.

The trial was set for April 25. In a letter Tuesday to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, attorney Joseph Tacopina cited “the recent deluge of prejudicial media coverage” surrounding Trump’s arrest and court appearance in arguing for a delay. The former president was charged March 30 with 34 felony counts related to allegations that he paid hush money to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels.

The civil case before Judge Kaplan was brought against Mr Trump in November by E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who says the wealthy real estate developer raped her in early 1996 after a chance meeting at the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

Mr Trump has repeatedly and emphatically denied the allegation. A jury will be asked to decide whether the rape occurred and if Trump defamed Carroll with his comments.

A temporary state law that took effect last year allows adult rape victims to sue their abusers, even if attacks happened decades ago.

Mr Tacopina’s letter seeking a delay in the trial for Carroll’s civil suit followed Kaplan’s order on Monday directing parties in the case to notify him by April 20 whether they will be present throughout the trial in Manhattan federal court. Carroll’s attorney has said she will attend; Trump’s attorney has not responded to requests for comment on Kaplan’s order.

Associated Press

‘He still owes me dinner!’ Stormy Daniels jokes about Trump

Wednesday 12 April 2023 13:01 , Graeme Massie

Stormy Daniels has joked that Donald Trump still “owes me dinner” as she told Piers Morgan about her alleged sexual liaison with the former president.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges connected with $130,000 in hush money payments made to the adult movie actress.

Following his arrest and arraignment earlier this week, Ms Daniels told Morgan about the evening she alleges she slept with Mr Trump following a golf event at Lake Tahoe.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Stormy Daniels tells Piers Morgan that Trump cheated her on offer of meal