Trump news – live: Mar-a-Lago raided by FBI and ex-president’s private safe searched

FBI agents have executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home at his Mar-a-Lago club.

Mr Trump said his Florida residence was “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents” in a statement on Monday evening, who, among other things, “broke into” a safe belonging to the ex-president.

“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Mr Trump said in a statement.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After I working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”

Meanwhile, photos have emerged purporting to show fragments of presidential documents that Donald Trump tried to flush down toilets, potentially violating the Presidential Records Act that requires him to preserve them.

The images come just after Mr Trump lashed out at Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell after Democrats passed a massive package of spending and deficit reduction measures.

“Mitch McConnell got played like a fiddle with the vote today by the Senate Democrats,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social. “First he gave them the fake Infrastructure Bill, then Guns, never used the Debt Ceiling for negotiating purposes (gave it away for NOTHING!), and now this. Mitch doesn’t have a clue - he is sooo bad for the Republican Party!”

Key Points

• Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

• Trump lamented his generals weren’t as loyal as Hitler's

• Documents pictured floating in toilets after Trump tried to flush them

• Trump hints at running for office again in 2024

• Trump claims Jan 6 riots and plot against Gretchen Whitmer were ‘fake’

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges to just 257 votes behind pro-impeachment Republican

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Kent, the former green beret endorsed by Donald Trump, has surged to just 257 votes behind the Republican congresswoman he is trying to oust.

After the first votes were counted in Tuesday’s primary, Mr Kent, 42, was some way behind the incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, as well as Democratic candidate Marie Perez in the race for Washington’s third congressional district.

But as the count has continued, with more results being released, Mr Kent has seen his numbers soar.

Joe Kent surges to just 257 votes behind Republican who backed impeachment

Photos show Trump apparently ripped up handwritten notes and attempted to flush down toilet

08:24 , Arpan Rai

Freshly revealed photographs show former president Donald Trump attempted to flush down ripped up handwritten notes down the toilet on two occasions, reported CNN.

The new images will appear in the forthcoming book “Confidence Man” of New York Times reporter and CNN contributor Maggie Haberman and were shared by her on Twitter.

Mr Trump reportedly flushed papers down the toilet at the White House periodically, which were later discovered only by repairmen summoned to fix the clogged toilets.

The photos of documents shared on Monday appear to be written in Mr Trump’s handwriting in black marker as the torn paper is seen inside the toilet. The other photo, provided by a source under the earlier Trump administration, is from an overseas trip and also shows a piece of paper in a toilet seat.

The former president has rejected the allegations of dumping papers in the toilet and said that the reporting of the practice was fabricated.

Trump tried to flush documents down White House toilet, new photos show

Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘defund the FBI’ after raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home

07:42 , Arpan Rai

Several Republican officials have slammed the FBI’s raid on former president Donald Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago on Monday evening.

Mr Trump released a statement criticising the raid at his estate in Florida, which reportedly happened while he was in New York.

“It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections,” he said.

In response, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Mr Trump’s biggest defender in Congress, tweeted it was enough reason to not fund the agency, tweeting simply, “DEFUND THE FBI!”

Read the full story here:

Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets ‘defund the FBI’ after raid on Trump’s home

Minority Republican leader warns attorney general to ‘clear your calendar’ after FBI search

07:04 , Arpan Rai

House minority leader and Republican member Kevin McCarthy has warned the attorney general with political retaliation after Donald Trump’s house-turned-club Mar-a-Lago was searched by the FBI on Monday.

“I’ve seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicisation. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned,” said Mr McCarthy, a likely candidate to become the house speaker if Republicans retake the house.

Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar, he warned in a tweet.

However, the statement received flak in Washington from former justice department officials and congressional aides who pointed out that attorney generals have to testify before Congress annually as part of regular oversight hearings.

Giuliani won’t testify Tuesday in Georgia election probe, says lawyer

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rudy Giuliani will not appear as scheduled Tuesday before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia, his lawyer said.

A judge last month had ordered Giuliani, a Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, to appear before the special grand jury on Tuesday.

Lawyer: Giuliani won't testify Tuesday in Ga. election probe

‘Love letters’ from Kim Jong-un in boxes recovered from Trump’s house

06:19 , Arpan Rai

Archive officials said the National Archives and Records Administration recovered 15 boxes of documents and other items from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last month, stating that the material should have been turned over to the agency when he left the White House, reported The Washington Post on Monday.

The retrieval of boxes from the Florida resort owned by the former president has sparked fresh concerns about his compliance with the Presidential Records Act under which the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties are required.

In the boxes recovered, officials founds items like Mr Trump’s correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, described as “love letters” by the former president, and a letter left for Mr Trump by his predecessor Barack Obama, two people familiar with the matter said, according to the report.

Mike Pompeo says FBI warrant against ex-Potus ‘dangerous'

05:52 , Arpan Rai

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the “apparent political weaponisation” of the Justice Department and FBI is shameful as he reacted to the search at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“Executing a warrant against ex-POTUS is dangerous. The apparent political weaponization of DOJ/FBI is shameful. AG must explain why 250 yrs of practice was upended w/ this raid,” Mr Pompeo, a top official in the Trump administration, said.

He added that when he served on Benghazi Committee “where we proved Hillary possessed classified info, they didn’t raid her home”.

White House denies having information on FBI search at Trump’s house

05:37 , Arpan Rai

The White House has denied having an information on the FBI search at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“No advance knowledge — some [in the White House] learned from old media, some from social media,” a senior White House official, unauthorised to speak publicly on the issue told the CBS news.

Protesters swarm Trump’s Mar-a-Lago after FBI raid

05:15 , Arpan Rai

Protestors backing Donald Trump swarmed his Palm Beach, Florida resort against the FBI’s raid of his property earlier in the day after news of the investigation broke on Monday evening.

Photos and videos showed Mr Trump’s supporters reaching at the resort and new home of the former president and many fans claimed “thousands” were planning to show up.

Mr Trump’s supporters arrived on-scene late on Monday are unlikely to hear directly from their leader, but that has not stopped the crowd from growing as midnight approached.

Dozens of people were seen before midnight on Monday, though the mood could hardly be described as angry as loudspeakers blared dance music. Amid this, supporters reached the premises of FBI raid by car on the pitch-black scene where lights were hastily being set up.

Read the full story here:

Protesters descend upon Trump’s Mar-a-Lago after FBI raid

Trump loves to save newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, says daughter-in-law

04:45 , Arpan Rai

Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump said that the former president likes to collect things and documents that he was permitted to take from the White House.

Talking to Fox News, Lara Trump said: “Look, my father-in-law as anybody knows who’s been around him a lot loves to save things like newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, photographs, documents that he had every authority to take from the White House.”

“And you know, again, he’s been cooperating every single step of the way with the people that have questioned any of this,” Ms Trump said, hours after the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club at Palm Beach house was raided by the FBI.

Trump ally accused of attempting to illegally seize Michigan voting machines

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Michigan’s Democratic attorney general has called for a special prosecutor to investigate her Donald Trump-backed Republican rival after state police reportedly found evidence that he helped orchestrate attempts to illegally seize and gain access to voting equipment, an effort fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Trump ally accused of attempting to illegally seize voting equipment in Michigan

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

04:04 , Graeme Massie

ICYMI: Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home at his Mar-a-Lago club, the ex-president said in a statement Monday evening.

Mr Trump said his Florida residence was “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents” who, among other things, “broke into” a safe belonging to the ex-president.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Paul Manafort, the chairman of former president Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has admitted sharing confidential campaign polling data with a suspected Russian intelligence officer at the same time Moscow was interfering in the 2016 election on Mr Trump’s behalf.

In an interview with Insider, Mr Manafort — who was later convicted of tax evasion but received a pardon from the ex-president — said he shared the data, which the Department of the Treasury described as “sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy”, with suspected Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik in hopes of financial gain for himself, not to aid Russia’s efforts to help Mr Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians

Trump’s full statement following FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago home: ‘They even broke into my safe’

03:01 , Graeme Massie

Former president Donald Trump released a statement on his Truth Social platform revealing that FBI agents had carried out a search of his home at Mar-a-Lago.

Read the full statement here:

Trump’s full statement following FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago home

Trump’s 108-minute CPAC speech is branded ‘unapologetic fascism’

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has been accused of spewing “unapologetic fascism” and “blood-and-soil rhetoric” in his rambling speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas over the weekend.

The former president pushed the notion from the stage in Dallas on Saturday that the US has been decimated since he left the White House in January of last year. He claimed that crime is out of control and that unemployment was skyrocketing - despite official figures showing that it’s at its lowest level in half a century.

His dark remarks drew outcry on social media.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump’s 108-minute CPAC speech is branded ‘unapologetic fascism’

MRG calls for FBI to be defunded

02:07 , Graeme Massie

Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for the FBI to be “defunded” in the wake of the agency’s raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges past Republican who voted for impeachment

01:55 , Graeme Massie

Former green beret Joe Kent has surged past a Republican who voted for Donald Trump’s impeachment - in a hotly-contested battle for a congressional seat.

Almost a week after voters in Washington’s third congressional district went to the polls, it was revealed that Mr Kent had now passed Jaime Herrera Beutler, and now led her by 813 votes.

Andrew Buncombe has the story.

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges past Republican who voted for impeachment

Rachel Maddow under fire for gushing praise of Tucker Carlson

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Maddow’s gushing praise of Tucker Carlson in a new interview has sparked a social media backlash, with some accusing her of giving a “giant middle finger” to her liberal fan base.

The MSNBC host told Vanity Fair of her admiration for the Fox News rival, who has openly promoted white supremacist ideology, spread misinformation that the January 6 insurrection was organised by the FBI, and just last week claimed that Derek Chauvin didn’t murder George Floyd.

“Tucker’s doing great right now,” Ms Maddow told the outlet.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Rachel Maddow under fire for gushing praise of Tucker Carlson

Trump’s former adviser Stephen Miller calls FBI aid ‘abomination’

01:23 , Graeme Massie

Mr Miller appeared on Fox News and attacked the raid by FBI agents at Mr Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Trump’s former fixer says he enjoyed seeing FBI raid Mar-a-Lago.

01:14 , Graeme Massie

Michael Cohen took to Twitter to mock the former president’s issues as FBI agents raided his Florida mansion.

“The look on your face when you learn that the (FBI) just raided Mar-a-Lardo and #TFG is sh***ing a brick!!!” tweeted Mr Cohen on monday along with a picture of him sitting in a car making a thumbs up pose.

Trump raid took place on anniversary of Nixon resignation

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:58 , Graeme Massie

The FBI’s raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida took place on the anniversary of Richard Nixon’s 1974 resignation from the Oval Office.

Don Jr claims raid on father’s home is ‘ripping this country apart'

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:49 , Graeme Massie

“Biden’s out of control DOJ is ripping this country apart with how they’re openly targeting their political enemies. This is what you see happen in 3rd World Banana Republics!!!” he tweeted after the raid took place.

Trump was ‘doing great and irreparable harm’ to US said top general in undelivered resignation letter

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mark Milley, the four-star US army general whom former president Donald Trump picked to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drafted a resignation letter to Mr Trump accusing him of “doing great and irreparable harm” to the United States in an undelivered resignation letter. It was written just days after the then-president ordered a violent crackdown on protesters near the White House so he could participate in a photo opportunity.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Mark Milley said Trump ‘doing great and irreparable harm’ to US in draft resignation

Fox News claims FBI raid will 'enrage the country’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:21 , Graeme Massie

The wild claim was made by host Jesse Watters as he appeared on the right-wing network.

Donald Trump vows to campaign against Joe Manchin in West Virginia

Monday 8 August 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump tore into US Senator Joe Manchin during his speech from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, vowing to campaign against the West Virginia Democrat who he claimed was “devastating” the state by signing onto the Democrats’ budget and climate deal.

“I’ll go down and campaign against him as hard as anybody can,” said Mr Trump, eliciting one of his biggest rounds of applause of the night.

Josh Marcus reported on the news over the weekend for The Independent.

Donald Trump vows during CPAC to campaign ‘as hard as anybody’ against Joe Manchin

Trump didn’t want ‘wounded’ soldiers in military parade spectacle

Monday 8 August 2022 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump once ordered US military officials to exclude combat-wounded soldiers from the Soviet-style military parade he wanted held during his term in the White House, according to a new book by two veteran Washington reporters.

In an excerpt from their forthcoming chronicle of Mr Trump’s presidency, The Divider, journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser reveal that Mr Trump got the idea for a military parade when he witnessed Bastille Day festivities during a 2017 visit to France.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump didn’t want ‘wounded’ soldiers in military parade: ‘Doesn’t look good for me’

Russian state TV calls for Trump support and to ‘not be shy about it’

Monday 8 August 2022 22:12 , Oliver O'Connell

A pundit on Russian state television called on Russians and their government to declare openly their political support for Donald Trump in an eye-opening moment that comes as Mr Trump and his wing of the GOP have taken a softer stance towards Moscow amid the invasion of Ukraine.

The comments made by Igor Korotchenko, a pundit and editor-in-chief of National Defense, came during a panel discussion on Russia’s Channel 1 News, a state-run broadcaster. They were highlighted first by Julia Davis, founder of Russia Media Monitor.

“We should support Trump and not be shy about it,” he said. “We should support US politicians, like Trump, and other healthy conservative European powers who advocate for the normalisation of relations between Russia and the West.”

John Bowden reports.

Russian state TV calls for Trump support and to ‘not be shy about it’

New photos show Trump tried to flush documents down White House toilet

Monday 8 August 2022 21:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Images obtained for an upcoming book on the Trump presidency appear to show torn documents floating in toilets – backing up reports that Donald Trump tried to destroy presidential paperwork by flushing it away.

The photos, shared by New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman and published by Axios, show torn fragments of handwritten documents floating in two separate toilets, one in the White House and the other in an unspecified location visited by Mr Trump on an overseas trip.

If proven to show what Ms Haberman’s sources claim, the photos would provide further evidence that Mr Trump destroyed or attempted to destroy presidential records that he may have been legally required to preserve.

Andrew Naughtie reports.

Trump tried to flush documents down White House toilet, new photos show

Anti-Herschel Walker ad features ex-wife recalling him putting a gun to her head

Monday 8 August 2022 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A new advertisement meant to dissuade Georgia voters from electing Herschel Walker as the Peach State’s next senator features the former football star’s ex-wife describing how the Republican Senate nominee once put a pistol to her head and threatened to pull the trigger.

The 30-second spot, produced by the Republican Accountability Political Action Committee, opens with a voiceover asking if viewers think they know the ex-Georgia Bulldogs collegiate football standout. Mr Walker won the coveted Heisman Trophy — an award bestowed on the player deemed to be the best in college football — in 1982.

The ad then asks viewers to listen to Mr Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, describe her ex-husband’s violent tendencies.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Anti-Herschel Walker ad features ex-wife recalling him putting a gun to her head

Giuliani won’t testify Tuesday in Gergia election probe, says lawyer

Monday 8 August 2022 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Rudy Giuliani will not appear as scheduled Tuesday before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia, his lawyer said.

A judge last month had ordered Giuliani, a Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, to appear before the special grand jury Tuesday.

Lawyer: Giuliani won't testify Tuesday in Ga. election probe

Trump told top aide he wanted ‘totally loyal’ generals like Hitler had

Monday 8 August 2022 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump complained to his most senior aide, then-chief of staff John Kelly, that he wanted the US’s top generals including retired military figures to show him absolute, unquestioning loyalty while specifically pointing to Nazi Germany as an example.

In a bizarre exchange described by reporters for The New Yorker and The New York Times in an upcoming book Mr Trump is said to have asked his top aide, who himself was a four-star general in charge of US Southern Command, “[W]hy can’t you be like the German generals?”

John Bowden reports on the rest of their conversation.

Trump told top aide he wanted ‘totally loyal’ generals like Hitler had

Liz Cheney would find it ‘very difficult’ to support a DeSantis presidential run

Monday 8 August 2022 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Congresswoman Liz Cheney may be part of a very slim minority of Republican voters in 2024 when she casts her ballot in the GOP’s presidential primary, if her recent statements give any indication.

The Wyoming Republican and vice chair of the select committee investigating January 6 in the House spoke about the Florida governor and widely-speculated-about potential contender for the party’s 2024 nomination in an interview published on Sunday in The New York Times.

John Bowden reports.

Liz Cheney says she would find it ‘very difficult’ to support DeSantis for president

Trump-back rival to Rep Herrera Beutler surges in poll count

Monday 8 August 2022 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Kent, the former green beret endorsed by Donald Trump, has surged to just 257 votes behind the Republican congresswoman he is trying to oust.

After the first votes were counted in Tuesday’s primary, Mr Kent, 42, was some way behind the incumbent, as well as Democratic candidate Marie Perez in the race for Washington’s third congressional district.

But as the count has continued, with more results being released, Mr Kent has seen his numbers soar.

Andrew Buncombe has the latest for The Independent.

Joe Kent surges to just 257 votes behind Republican who backed impeachment

Report: Alex Jones’ Jan 6 texts turned over to House select committee

Monday 8 August 2022 18:58 , Oliver O'Connell

A trove of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ text messages spanning a two-year period has reportedly been turned over to the House January 6 select committee.

According to CNN, the text messages are from the same cache revealed last week during Mr Jones’ defamation trial in Travis County, Texas by attorneys representing parents of children killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Alex Jones’ Jan 6 texts turned over to House select committee, report says

Trump celebrates Arizona candidate’s 2020 election obsession

Monday 8 August 2022 18:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Even some Trump allies have publicly called for the former president to stop talking about the 2020 election and start focusing on the future, but their entreaties have so far fallen on deaf ears – and in many key swing states, his anointed candidates are those who’ve grabbed his attention by being just as fixated as he is on the supposed “theft” of the presidency.

Top of the list is Arizona gubernatorial candidate, about whom Politico has this juicy quote:

Anti-Trump Republicans run shocking ad against Herschel Walker

Monday 8 August 2022 18:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Republican Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker has worried many in his party with his frequently erratic public behaviour and string of false statements about his personal life – but far more troubling are serious accusations that he was a perpetrator of domestic violence.

Now, the anti-Trump group known as the Republican Accountability Project is on air with an ad excerpting an interview with Mr Walker’s ex-wife, who describes how he allegedly treated her.

General Milley’s unsent resignation letter

Monday 8 August 2022 17:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Mark Milley, the four-star US army general whom former president Donald Trump picked to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drafted a resignation letter to Mr Trump accusing him of “doing great and irreparable harm” to the United States in an undelivered resignation letter. It was written just days after the then-president ordered a violent crackdown on protesters near the White House so he could participate in a photo opportunity.

In the draft letter, which was obtained by New Yorker writer Susan Glasser and New York Times reporter Peter Baker for their upcoming book The Divider: Trump in the White House, Mr Milley wrote that he found that he could “ no longer faithfully support and execute” Mr Trump’s orders after “deep soul-searching” following the 1 June 2020 clearing of Lafayette Square by federal law enforcement.

Read more from Andrew Feinberg:

Mark Milley said Trump ‘doing great and irreparable harm’ to US in draft resignation

Row in Michigan over Trump supporters’ ‘voting machine breach'

Monday 8 August 2022 17:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Michigan’s Democratic attorney general has called for a special prosecutor to investigate her Donald Trump-backed Republican rival after state police reportedly found evidence that he helped orchestrate attempts to illegally seize and gain access to voting equipment, an effort fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud.

Dana Nessel announced the probe following the results of a months-long investigation by the Michigan State Police finding that GOP candidate Matthew DePerno “orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators”, according to her petition for a special prosecutor.

“When this investigation began there was not a conflict of interest. However, during the course of the investigation, facts were developed that DePerno was one of the prime instigators of the conspiracy,” she writes in the petition.

Alex Woodward has more.

Trump ally accused of attempting to illegally seize voting equipment in Michigan

Paul Manafort admits sharing data with Russians

Monday 8 August 2022 16:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Paul Manafort, the chairman of former president Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has admitted sharing confidential campaign polling data with a suspected Russian intelligence officer at the same time Moscow was interfering in the 2016 election on Mr Trump’s behalf.

In an interview with Insider, Mr Manafort — who was later convicted of tax evasion but received a pardon from the ex-president — said he shared the data, which the Department of the Treasury described as “sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy”, with suspected Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik in hopes of financial gain for himself, not to aid Russia’s efforts to help Mr Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

“The data that I shared with him was a combination of public information and stuff for the spring that was — it was old,” said Mr Manafort, whose claim is at odds with what he told his former deputy, Rick Gates, in an email seized by federal investigators during the Justice Department’s probe into whether the Trump campaign had ties to Russia’s pro-Trump interference efforts.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians