Trump news – live: Two NY prosecutors resign in ex-president’s case, amid backlash for Putin ‘genius’ remark

Oliver O'Connell and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
·38 min read
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Donald Trump has hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin as “savvy” and called his move on Ukraine “genius” in a new interview.

Mr Putin’s steps towards a possible full-on invasion of Ukraine have seen a number of Republicans seeking to blame the crisis on Joe Biden, arguing that Russia did not invade any countries while Mr Trump was president – despite the fact that he repeatedly sided with Mr Putin over the US’s military and intelligence agencies, disdained Nato, and attempted to extort the Ukrainian government into investigating the Biden family.

Mr Trump initially broke his silence on the Russia-Ukraine crisis on Tuesday morning through a tweet posted by his spokesperson in which he claimed that his relationship with Putin would have prevented the crisis.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last night laid into Mr Trump over his description of Mr Putin, saying at her briefing: “As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there.”

On concerns that Mr Trump’s comments could help turn the Russian invasion into a wedge issue in American politics, she remarked: “You know, I think that is up to members of the Republican Party to make the decision, to make the determination.”

Several members of the party have since spoken out about the president’s comments.

Key Points

  • Trump insists Ukraine crisis would not have happened while he was president

  • Truth Social goes live - but many users report being stuck on waiting list

  • Donald Trump brought classified information to his Florida residence

  • Trump’s days are ‘numbered,’ Glen Kirschner says

  • E Jean Carroll v Donald Trump - what you need to know

Trump criminal case more difficult to prove than civil inquiry

20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

The resignations and apparent pause in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Mr Trump coincides with increased activity in the parallel civil inquiry by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, which is also looking into Mr Trump’s business conduct.

Ms James’ inquiry is focussed on the way in which the Trump Organization may have misrepresented the value of its properties. As of last week, she is able to question the former president, his son Don Jr, and his daughter Ivanka, who were active in the business.

The state attorney general lacks the power to criminally charge Mr Trump, but she could sue him.

Mr Trump denies the accusations.

The Manhattan DA’s office must meet a higher bar to bring a criminal case against Mr Trump and has been handicapped by an inability to get any of the company’s executives to cooperate.

There are two other criminal investigations into Mr Trump — one in Georgia regarding the 2020 election, and one in Westchester County, New York, similar in nature to the Manhattan investigation, but relating to a Trump golf course.

State of the Union 2022: What you need to know

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

US President Joe Biden will give his first State of the Union address to Congress on the evening of Tuesday, 1 March after accepting the customary formal invitation for that date from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Joe Sommerlad explains everything you need to know.

Everything we know about Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address

Two prosecutors on New York Trump inquiry resign

19:47 , Oliver O'Connell

The New York Times reports that two of the prosecutors leading the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump and his business practices abruptly resigned on Wednesday.

Their resignations come amid a month-long pause in their presentation of evidence to a grand jury, and the future of the high-stakes inquiry has now been thrown into serious doubt.

The paper cites people with knowledge of the matter.

Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz both submitted their resignations after the new Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, indicated to them that he had doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr Trump, the sources said.

Mr Pomerantz confirmed to the Times in a brief interview that he had resigned, but declined to elaborate. Mr Dunne declined to comment.

Trump: Putin’s ‘genius’ peacekeepers could help on US southern border

19:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump says a few of the Russian peacekeeping tanks rolling into Ukraine would be welcomed on the southern border, where the former president claims 10 million illegal immigrants are “bum-rushing” the US.

“And he’s [Vladimir Putin] gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force … We could use that on our southern border,” Mr Trump said. “There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right.”

Justin Vallejo has the story.

Trump says 10 million criminals from 127 countries ‘bum-rushing’ the US

US warns Putin ‘as ready as he can be’ for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine

19:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “as ready as he can be” for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a US official has warned.

The US believes the Russian military has 80 per cent of troops assembled around Ukraine in an attack position to launch an invasion at any time.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Putin ‘as ready as he can be’ for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US warns

Vast majority of Florida voters oppose ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida’s House of Representatives passed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill and set the much-maligned law up for a final vote despite widespread disapproval among voters.

As lawmakers passed a final version of the bill on Tuesday, a poll showed around a third of voters (34 per cent) supporting the legislation “somewhat or strongly”.

Gino Spocchia reports.

Vast majority of voters oppose Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

Voices: Attacking Bernie Sanders about American imperialism and Putin is missing the point

18:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Read a transcript of Putin’s most recent speech and the reality of the situation is made pretty clear, writes Nathan McDermott.

Attacking Bernie Sanders about American imperialism and Putin is missing the point

Steve Jobs’ son refuses to comment on report he might run for Pelosi’s seat

18:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Reed Jobs, the son of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has declined to comment for a piece on rumours that he once pondered running for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat when she eventually retires.

The 81-year-old speaker of the House of Representatives, who has represented San Francisco since 1987, announced last month that she would be running for re-election this year. However, if the Republican Party takes back the House – as is widely expected – many anticipate that she could give up the Democratic leadership and retire from her seat at the end of the next term.

Andrew Naughtie reports.

Reed Jobs: Steve Jobs’ son refuses to comment on report he might run for Pelosi seat

After a disastrous launch, Truth Social is already making a lot of money

17:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Even after a chaotic launch beset with errors and public relations disasters, Donald Trump’s new “free speech” social media platform Truth Social appears to be providing a major financial boost for its backers.

According to Reuters, shares in the platform’s main acquisition company, Digital World Acquisition Corp, have risen by a striking 14 per cent on the back of the app’s 170,000-odd downloads. The company’s share price has hit levels not seen since last October.

Andrew Naughtie has the story.

Trump’s Truth Social launch was a disaster, but it’s already making a fortune

Trump doubles down on ‘insane’ ‘adulation’ of Putin

17:31 , Oliver O'Connell

The former president of the United States doubled down on his praise for Vladimir Putin and criticism of Joe Biden on Wednesday as the US and Russia appear to be experiencing a major breakdown of relations amid Russia’s aggression in Crimea and towards Ukraine.

Donald Trump issued an early-morning statement on Wednesday which crowed that the Russian president was playing his US counterpart “like a drum”, seemingly ignoring the criticism he has faced over the last day regarding his overly-complimentary view of Mr Putin.

“Putin is playing Biden like a drum. It is not a pretty thing to watch!” said the former president in one of his tweet-like statements issued by his office.

John Bowden has the story.

Trump doubles down on Putin commentary as he’s blasted for ‘insane’ ‘adulation’

Kinzinger hits out at ‘sick’ Trump for ‘love’ for Putin

17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Anti-Trump Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger has hit out at the former president’s “love” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his outrageous suggestion that the US should follow Russia’s example in Ukraine by seizing parts of Mexico.

Posting an article from The Hill, the Illinois lawmaker tweeted: “Trump is a sick man. For us to do the same on Southern Border (as he suggests) we would have to invade Mexico and declare it ours today. But he loves him some Putin.”

Trump touts strength against Biden as he looks forward to 2024

16:53 , Andrew Naughtie

While he has yet to announce a re-election campaign, Donald Trump has many times claimed to be in pole position to win re-election in 2024 – and in an interview yesterday, he offered a prediction that Joe Biden won’t even stand for a second term himself.

“I don’t think he’s going to run, or I don’t think he’s — you know, he could run and maybe somebody would run against him, and that’s very rare, that something like that would happen,” said Mr Trump. “I think the net result is so bad, I just don’t think he can do it.”

Mr Biden has repeatedly insisted that he intends to run for a second term. His age has frequently been raised as a potential barrier, but Mr Trump is only a few years younger.

Read more below:

Trump says he doesn’t think Biden will run for second term

Censorship already raising hackles on Truth Social

16:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The premise of Donald Trump’s new social network is ostensibly that right-wingers need a place to discuss opinions and ideas that are being censored elsewhere. However, it seems that the app’s own efforts to curtail the worst content posted by its users are already causing trouble – with one right-wing shock jock complaining about a flag added to a post in which he called for political executions.

ICYMI: Cheney rips Trump for Putin remarks

15:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Liz Cheney, who is fighting for re-election despite Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s disgust at her criticism of the former president, has spoken out against Mr Trump’s calling Vladimir Putin a “genius” and boasting about getting on well with him during his presidency.

Liz Cheney accuses Trump of ‘aiding our enemies’ by calling Putin a ‘genius’

2024 Republicans still laying the groundwork

15:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Aaron Rupar spots a telltale sign that South Dakota’s Kristi Noem is getting her ducks in a row for the 2024 Republican primary with a de rigeur super-safe political “memoir”:

Report: Giuliani striking co-operation deal with 6 January committee

14:30 , Andrew Naughtie

According to The Guardian, Rudy Giuliani is poised to begin co-operating with the select committee investigating the 6 January riot under a proposed deal that would see him reveal any contact he had with Republican members of Congress about what was planned for the day.

The paper reports:

Broadly, Giuliani has indicated through his lawyer to the select committee that he will produce documents and answer questions about Trump’s schemes to return himself to office on 6 January that House investigators had outlined in a subpoena issued to him last month.The former president’s attorney is prepared to reveal his contacts and the roles played by Republican members of Congress in the scheme Giuliani helped orchestrate to have then-vice-president Mike Pence stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.

Giuliani is also prepared to divulge details about Trump’s pressure campaign on Pence to adopt the scheme, and the effort coordinated by him and the Trump White House to have legislatures certify slates of electors for Trump in states actually won by Biden.

But the former president’s attorney has indicated that he will assist the select committee only if his appearance is not pursuant to his subpoena, and does not have to give records or discuss his contacts with Trump over executive and attorney-client privilege concerns.

Read the full piece here.

Trump begins the day with dig at Biden

14:01 , Andrew Naughtie

Another day, another statement from Donald Trump issued via his Save America mailing list. This one is less verbose than some of his recent rants:

Putin is playing Biden like a drum. It is not a pretty thing to watch!

GOP Senate battle in Missouri turns nastier

13:35 , Andrew Naughtie

The Missouri Senate seat thrown open by the retirement of Republican Roy Blunt is a must-hold for the GOP as they try to retake the upper chamber, and like many races around the country, some of the party establishment are worried about what might happen if a loose-cannon candidate with a toxic personal history gets the nomination.

The candidate in question is Eric Greitens, a former governor who resigned amid a scandal in 2018 that saw him accused of numerous sexual assaults and “revenge porn” blackmail by a woman with whom he’d had an affair. Nonetheless, despite those and unrelated ethics investigations, he has decided to run for the seat.

Read more on Mr Greitens below:

EXPLAINER: What’s the background of Senate hopeful Greitens?

Florida Senator punches back at criticism of his homegrown party platform

13:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott took an unusually bold step this week by releasing his own quasi-manifesto for his party’s midterm Senate campaign. The chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which oversees the GOP’s strategy to retake the upper chamber, he immediately drew criticism from Democrats for his plan, which explicitly accuses them of trying to “rig elections” and appears to suggest raising income tax on half the adult American population.

By releasing the 11-point plan, Mr Scott jumped ahead of his own party’s congressional leadership, who have declined to spell out any specific legislative agenda in favour of simply promising to obstruct Joe Biden. Read more on his plans below:

Rick Scott’s Senate GOP platform accuses Democrats of ‘trying to rig elections’

Truck driver planning Washington, DC protest sympathises with dead Jan 6 rioter

12:30 , Andrew Naughtie

As plans come together for a US “freedom convoy” protest mimicking the truckers’ occupation of Ottawa – an idea that has leaders worried about possible risks to the US Capitol – one of the key organisers is voicing grievances that have nothing to do with Covid-19 vaccine mandates:

As Alex Woodward writes, the prospects for the protest remain unclear, as do the precise intentions of those involved.

What we know about possible trucker protests coming to Washington DC

ICYMI: Psaki on Trump’s ‘genius’ remarks

12:00 , Andrew Naughtie

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last night laid into Donald Trump over his description of Vladimir Putin as a “genius”, saying at her briefing that “As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there.”

On concerns that Mr Trump’s comments could help turn the Russian invasion into a wedge issue in American politics, she remarked: “You know, I think that is up to members of the Republican Party to make the decision, to make the determination.”

Jen Psaki slams Trump for defending Putin’s invasion of parts of Ukraine territory

Look back: Trump and Putin’s Helsinki meeting

11:28 , Andrew Naughtie

The word “Helsinki” is trending after Donald Trump’s interview calling Vladimir Putin a “genius” and boasting of how well he knew and liked him during his time in office. It’s a prompt to look back at one of the most disastrous moments of the Trump presidency: the 2018 Helsinki meeting where the then-president held a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin and sided with him over the US’s own intelligence services.

“President Putin says it’s not Russia,” Mr Trump said of intelligence assessments that the Kremlin ordered interference in the 2016 election. “I don’t see why it should be. President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial.”

Former aide and Russia expert Fiona Hill has since described how she considered setting off a fire alarm to bring the summit to a halt. Here’s how The Independent’s Kim Sengupta wrote up the summit at the time.

Opinion: Donald Trump is cosying up to Vladimir Putin while cutting off Europe – we should be scared

Falsehood social: Trump fans “tricked” by fake site

10:57 , Andrew Naughtie

The bumpy quasi-launch of Donald Trump’s new social media site Truth Social saw thousands of fans confined to a waitlist and confronted with error messages – and another problem has now emerged: insidious imitators.

According to new reports, many users of the Android store – where Truth Social is not yet available – downloaded similar-looking apps that invited them to create profiles before bombarding them with ads and possibly introducing malware onto their phones.

Read more:

Thousands of Trump fans duped by fake versions of his social media site Truth Social

House Republicans’ attempt to troll Biden backfires

10:20 , Andrew Naughtie

A Tweet from the House Republicans’ official twitter account accusing Joe Biden of “weakness on the world stage” appears to have backfired somewhat, with reams of disgusted and mocking replies to its unclear message...

More criticism of Trump’s “genius” remarks: “a sick man"

09:35 , Andrew Naughtie

Adam Kinzinger, an outlying Trump critic in the House GOP, has laid into the president’s glowing description of Vladimir Putin:

He was joined in his condemnation by fellow 6 January committee member Liz Cheney:

Republican candidate denounces Michael Flynn as a ‘traitor’

08:44 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Republican candidate for the US Senate denounced QAnon leader Gen Michael Flynn as a “traitor” in a hot-tempered primary debate.

Everett Stern, a former banking whistleblower who is running for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat in this year’s midterm elections, made the remark while debating other GOP candidates in Philadelphia on Monday night.

While his opponent Kathy Barnette was speaking, Mr Stern interrupted to say “You’re being backed by General Flynn. You’re being backed by a traitor.”

Io Dodds has more.

Republican candidate denounces Michael Flynn as a ‘traitor’ during GOP debate

Jen Psaki slams Trump for praising Putin

07:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticised former president Donald Trump for defending Vladimir Putin’s invasion of parts of Ukraine.

“As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises president Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there,” she said, while responding to a question about Mr Trump’s comments.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports.

Jen Psaki slams Trump for defending Putin’s invasion of parts of Ukraine territory

'Putin has made serious miscalculation', says Stephen King

07:22 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

American author Stephen King weighed in on the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine and slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Taking to Twitter, the 74-year-old wrote: “Mr Putin has made a serious miscalculation. He forgot he’s no longer dealing with Trump”.

Lawyer says Trump family may plead the fifth amendment

06:49 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Alina Habba, the lawyer working on behalf of the Trump family has told a right-wing news outlet Newsmax that she may yet advise her clients to plead the fifth amendment as a long-running investigation into their finances closes in on them.

She remarked that the Trumps had been put “between a rock and a hard place”.

“I haven’t made a determination on what I think is best,” she said when asked by the host if her clients would be invoking their protection against self-incrimination.

Andrew Naughtie has more.

Trump lawyer says whole family may plead the fifth in finances probe

Former CFO of Trump Organisation seeks dismissal of indictment

06:23 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organisation, on Tuesday asked a judge to dismiss the fraud and tax evasion charges against him, claiming that he was politically targeted.

He argued that it violates the immunity he was provided in the federal investigation into Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney to former president Donald Trump.

Mr Weisselberg’s attorneys stated that the Manhattan district attorney and New York attorney general have targeted him, along with the former president and the Trump Organisation, CNN reported.

‘Helsinki’ trends on Twitter as Republicans blame Biden for Ukraine crisis

05:58 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The crisis in Ukraine has inspired chatter on social media about former president Donald Trump’s stance toward Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

As of Tuesday, hundreds of people were tweeting messages with “Trump” and “Helsinki” together.

During the 2018 Helsinki summit, Mr Trump said he believed Mr Putin’s “extremely strong and powerful” denials about meddling in the 2016 election, contradicting the findings of US intelligence services.

“I have president Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this. I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Mr Trump said, standing next to the Russian president.

Josh Marcus reports.

‘Helsinki’ trending as GOP blaming Biden for Ukraine reminded of Trump-Putin summit

Jen Psaki describes Biden reading Trump’s letter in the Oval Office

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

White House press secretary Jen Psaki revealed that she was in the Oval Office when Joe Biden read the outgoing letter from predecessor Donald Trump.

“It was long, it was very long,” she said during a podcast with West Wing actor Rob Lowe, who played a speechwriter in the popular political series.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Jen Psaki describes Biden reading Trump’s ‘very long’ letter in the Oval Office

Tucker Carlson blasted for playing down criticism of Russia

05:24 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Fox News host Tucker Carlson is facing backlash for doubling down on his criticism of Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the crisis in Ukraine. The popular Fox News pundit’s opinions have largely favoured Russia in his recent coverage.

On Tuesday, Mr Carlson said: “Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle-class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Does he eat dogs”?

His remarks came at the heels of former president Donald Trump’s praise for the Russian president. In an interview, Mr Trump called Mr Putin “savvy” and dubbed his move on Ukraine “genius”.

Slamming the host, senator Jim Hendren wrote on Twitter: “I watched his Air Force drop chemical weapons on children. How about that for a reason Tucker Carlson”. He was referring to a 2017 report when Russia faced sharp criticism by world powers over the chemical weapons deaths in northern Syria.

“In 35 seconds here, Tucker Carlson basically said: ‘Putin isn’t your enemy. Your fellow American is’,” Rep Adam Kinzinger tweeted.

He added: “This is beyond dangerous, to say the least”.

Voices | Trump ‘s embarrassing social network

05:00 , Andrew Naughtie

A funny thing happened when I tried to sign up for TRUTH Social, Donald Trump’s new social media platform. It asked me to agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, which is fair enough; most websites do. No, the strange thing was that when I clicked on them, I got a 404 error.

“Sorry, but it looks like this page does not exist,” I was informed.Nothing better sums up Donald Trump — as businessman, as reality TV star, as politician — than a 404 error. As an entrepreneur, Trump was famed for overpromising and overdelivering, writes Skylar Baker-Jordan.

Trump’s new social network TRUTH Social is just as embarrassing as you’re imagining

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden said the United States would levy a “first tranche” of sanctions on two large Russian banks and “comprehensive sanctions” against Russia’s sovereign debt in response to its invasion of Ukraine, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law”.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Lawyer for Carrol who says Trump raped her tells court they want his DNA

04:22 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A federal judge sparred with former president Donald Trump’s legal team over his attempt to countersue E Jean Carroll, the journalist who has sued him for defamation.

Ms Carroll has alleged that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. The former president has denied the allegations.

Representing Ms Carroll, Roberta Kaplan said her client is keen to proceed with fact-finding regarding the case: “We’d like to get on with discovery. We do not seek to depose President Trump.”

“And we’d like his DNA,” she added, repeating a request previously made at an earlier stage of the case.

Clémence Michallon and Oliver O’Connell report.

Lawyer for journalist who says Trump raped her tells court they want his DNA

Republicans slam Trump for praising Putin amid Ukraine crisis

04:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Republican leaders on Tuesday slammed former president Donald Trump after he hailed Russian president Vladimir Putin as “savvy” and called his move on Ukraine “genius”.

Rep Liz Cheney on Tuesday said: “Former President Trump’s adulation of Putin today - including calling him a “genius” - aids our enemies”.

“Trump’s interests don’t seem to align with the interests of the United States of America,” she added.

House Republicans tweeted an image of Mr Biden walking away with a caption: “This is what weakness on the world stage looks like.”

Retweeting the post, Rep Adam Kinzinger condemned the “damn awful tweet during the crisis”.

“You can criticize policy but this is insane and feeds into Putin’s narrative. But hey, retweets amirite,” he added.

Florida Republican withdraws ‘Don’t Say Gay’ amendment that would forcibly out students

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A Republican legislator in Florida has withdrawn an amendment to his so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would require schools to disclose whether a child is LGBT+ to their parents within six weeks of learning whether they are not straight, and appeared to remove protections for students who would have potentially been subject to abuse, abandonment or neglect by their families.

Alex Woodward reports.

Republican withdraws ‘Don’t Say Gay’ amendment requiring schools to out students

Everything we know about CPAC 2022

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) opens on Thursday, 24 February in Orlando, Florida, with Donald Trump once again its headline speaker as he seeks to re-establish his grasp over the Republican Party ahead of a long-rumoured presidential run in 2024.

Joe Sommerlad reports.

Everything we know about CPAC 2022

Lawmaker’s Senate GOP platform says Democrats ‘trying to rig elections’

02:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Absent any agenda from Senate Republican leaders heading into midterm elections this fall, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee has released his own blueprint to “rescue America” with a mix of familiar GOP priorities and culture war politics-fuelled action items.

Alex Woodward reports.

Rick Scott’s Senate GOP platform accuses Democrats of ‘trying to rig elections’

Trump insists Ukraine crisis would not have happened while he was president

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump broke his silence about the crisis in Ukraine to slam the Biden administration, saying Moscow’s decision send troops across its border would not have happened during his administration since he knows Russian President Vladimir Putin well.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump says Ukraine crisis would not happen during his presidency

Trump sitting on electoral war chest

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The 45th president has endorsed more than 100 candidates but has been less forthcoming with donations, writes Chris Stevenson.

Analysis: Trump is sitting on a political war chest – and keeping it for himself

Supreme Court denies Trump bid to review Jan 6 documents

Tuesday 22 February 2022 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Supreme Court has denied a request by former president Donald Trump to review his White House records related to the Capitol insurrection on 6 January of last year.

The court made the announcement on Tuesday in a list of orders on pending cases. Mr Trump had requested a writ of writ of certiorari in a case against Rep Bennie Thompson, who serves as chairman of the House select committee investigating the riot.

“The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied,” the court wrote.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Supreme Court denies Trump bid to review Jan 6 documents

Trump’s social media platform dedicated to free speech appears to have already banned an account

Tuesday 22 February 2022 23:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s new social media platform was meant to be a bulwark against the tyranny of Big Tech censorship.

But Truth Social already appears to be banning accounts that get under the skin of the social media company’s CEO, former Congressman Devin Nunes.

Matt Ortega, described as a “frequent internet trickster”, tried to set up a parody account on the platform under the name DevinNunesCow, mimicking a popular Twitter account that is being sued by Mr Nunes for defamation.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Trump’s new social media platform bans Devin Nunes Cow satirical account

Former Trump press secretary ridiculed for saying Putin has no greater supporters than Democrats

Tuesday 22 February 2022 22:24 , Oliver O'Connell

The last press secretary of the Trump White House was mocked after claiming that her former boss would have done a better job of standing up to Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression in Ukraine on Tuesday.

Kayleigh McEnany, now a co-host of the Fox News show Outnumbered, made the eyebrow-raising remarks on Tuesday’s broadcast while a discussion of Russia’s decision to move troops into Donbas was underway.

John Bowden reports.

Trump’s ex-spox ridiculed for saying Putin has no greater ally than the Democrats

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Tuesday 22 February 2022 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the United States would levy a “first tranche” of sanctions on two large Russian banks and “comprehensive sanctions” against Russia’s soverign debt in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law”.

Specifically, Mr Biden announced that the US was imposing sanctions against VEB.RF — formerly known as Vnesheconombank — and Russia’s “military bank”.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Trump says Putin is a ‘tough cookie’ and he believes China will go after Taiwan

Tuesday 22 February 2022 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

In a further portion of his interview today with The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, former president Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin “a tough cookie” with “great charm and a lot of pride” who “loves his country”.

He claims he talked about Ukraine at length with Mr Putin and added that he believed that China will be looking to go after Taiwan in much the same way that Russia has invaded Ukraine.

Here is an extract from the interview:

Donald Trump: “This would never have happened if we were there. But he did. Chuck Todd asked that question. How come there was none of this was happening during the Trump administration? I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him. I mean, you know, he’s a tough cookie, got a lot of the great charm and a lot of pride. But the way he — and he loves his country, you know? He loves his country. He’s acting a little differently I think now.

“I think he sees this opportunity. I knew that he always wanted Ukraine. I used to talk to him about it. I said, ‘You can’t do it. You’re not gonna do it.’ But I could see that he wanted it. I used to ask him. We used to talk about it at length. I think nobody probably knows him better in terms of the discussions that we have or that we’re having this morning. So I knew him very well. I got to know him. I got to know President Xi. By the way, China is gonna be next. You know, China is gonna —”

Clay Travis: “You think they’re gonna go after Taiwan?”

Donald Trump: “Oh, absolutely. Not with me, they wouldn’t have.”

Clay Travis: “But you think with Biden they’ll try it?”

Donald Trump: “Oh, yeah. They’re waiting ’til after the Olympics. Now the Olympics ended, and look at your stopwatch, right? No, he wants that just like… It’s almost like twin sisters right here because you have one that wants Taiwan, I think, equally badly. Somebody said, ‘Who wants it more?’ I think probably equally badly. But, no, Putin would have never done it, and Xi would have never done it. And also, North Korea has not acted up for four years.”

Jen Psaki describes Biden reading Trump’s letter in the Oval Office

Tuesday 22 February 2022 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

White House press secretary Jen Psaki revealed that she was in the Oval Office when Joe Biden read the outgoing letter from predecessor Donald Trump.

“It was long, it was very long,” she said during a podcast with West Wing actor Rob Lowe, who played a speechwriter in the popular political series.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Jen Psaki describes Biden reading Trump’s ‘very long’ letter in the Oval Office

Florida Republican withdraws ‘Don’t Say Gay’ amendment that would forcibly out students

Tuesday 22 February 2022 21:12 , Oliver O'Connell

A Republican legislator in Florida has withdrawn an amendment to his so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would require schools to disclose whether a child is LGBT+ to their parents within six weeks of learning whether they are not straight, and appeared to remove protections for students who would have potentially been subject to abuse, abandonment or neglect by their families.

Alex Woodward reports.

Republican withdraws ‘Don’t Say Gay’ amendment requiring schools to out students

Trump: ‘Savvy’ Putin’s move on Ukraine is ‘genius'

Tuesday 22 February 2022 20:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump was asked about the crisis in Ukraine in a new interview today and described Vladimir Putin’s actions as “genius” and the Russian leader as “very savvy”, adding: “I know him very well. Very, very well.”

Here is a portion of the transcript from The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.

Buck Sexton: “Mr President, in the last 24 hours we know Russia has said that they are recognizing two breakaway regions of Ukraine, and now this White House is stating that this is an “invasion.” That’s a strong word. What went wrong here? What has the current occupant of the Oval Office done that he could have done differently?”

Donald Trump: “Well, what went wrong was a rigged election and what went wrong is a candidate that shouldn’t be there and a man that has no concept of what he’s doing. I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius’. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful.

“So Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, “How smart is that?” And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy… I know him very well. Very, very well.

“By the way, this never would have happened with us. Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened. But here’s a guy that says, you know, ‘I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,’ he used the word ‘independent,’ and ‘we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace’. You gotta say that’s pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad. Very sad.”

Biden plan to pick Black woman Supreme Court justice ‘not inappropriate’, says McConnell

Tuesday 22 February 2022 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he did not oppose President Joe Biden’s plan to nominate a Black woman to the US Supreme Court.

The Republican leader’s remarks contradict those of other Republicans such as Sens Josh Hawley and Roger Wicker, who both objected to Mr Biden’s plans to name a Black woman to succeed retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Mr Wicker told The Washington Post that any nominee would be the “beneficiary” of an affirmative action “quota.” Sen Susan Collins of Maine, who won reelection in 2020 despite Mr Biden winning her state, similarly called Mr Biden’s announcement “clumsy at best”.

Eric Garcia reports.

McConnell says Biden plan to pick Black woman for Supreme Court ‘not inappropriate’

Rick Scott’s Senate GOP platform accuses Democrats of ‘trying to rig elections’

Tuesday 22 February 2022 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Absent any agenda from Senate Republican leaders heading into midterm elections this fall, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee has released his own blueprint to “rescue America” with a mix of familiar GOP priorities and culture war politics-fuelled action items.

Republican Senator Rick Scott’s 31-page, 11-point agenda obtained by Politico calls for effectively erasing transgender people, eliminating questions about race on government forms, and completing Donald Trump’s border wall.

Alex Woodward reports.

Rick Scott’s Senate GOP platform accuses Democrats of ‘trying to rig elections’

Whole Trump family may plead the fifth amendment in probe into their finances, says lawyer

Tuesday 22 February 2022 20:02 , Oliver O'Connell

A lawyer working on behalf of the Trump family has told a right-wing news outlet that she may yet advise her clients to plead the fifth amendment as a long-running investigation into their finances closes in on them.

Speaking on Newsmax, Alina Habba remarked that the Trumps had been put “between a rock and a hard place”.

“I haven’t made a determination on what I think is best,” she said when asked by the host if her clients would be invoking their protection against self-incrimination.

Andrew Naughtie reports.

Trump lawyer says whole family may plead the fifth in finances probe

Oral argument in Carroll vs Trump case scheduled for 4pm

Tuesday 22 February 2022 19:52 , Oliver O'Connell

An oral argument has been scheduled for 4pm today in the case of E Jean Carroll vs Donald Trump.

If you need a refresher on the case, Ms Carroll accused Mr Trump of raping her in a department store fitting room in the 1990s. She has since sued him for defamation and he has threatened to counter sue.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Author who claims Trump raped her responds to former president’s counter-lawsuit

Biden: Sanctions go far beyond 2014 measures

Tuesday 22 February 2022 19:43 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden announces new sanctions on Russia “far beyond” those imposed in 2014: “This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine … If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions.”

He adds: “Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors? This is flagrant violation of international law.”

Biden: US troops to bolster Baltic States

Tuesday 22 February 2022 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden also announced that he has authorised additional forces already stationed in Europe to bolster Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

He called these “totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia,” but said they’ll defend “every inch” of NATO.

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Tuesday 22 February 2022 19:37 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the United States would levy a “first tranche” of sanctions on two large Russian banks and “comprehensive sanctions” against Russia’s soverign debt in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law”.

Biden announces sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Trump keeping political war chest for himself

Tuesday 22 February 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

If there was any doubt about the hold Donald Trump still has on the Republican Party, his fundraising power is an apt illustration.

The former president’s Trump’s Save America PAC (Political Action Committee) ended January with $108m (£79m) in its war chest – with the party’s Republican National Committee (RNC) ending the same period with under $52m. A ridiculous difference.

The 45th president has endorsed more than 100 candidates but has been less forthcoming with donations, writes Chris Stevenson.

Analysis: Trump is sitting on a political war chest – and keeping it for himself