Trump news - live: Ex-president would tell Putin ‘go on in’ to Ukraine says former aide

As Joe Biden prepared to announce a ban on the importation of Russian oil, Donald Trump contributed an angry statement about rising gas prices.

“BREAKING NEWS,” he wrote in an email to supporters: “HIGHEST GAS PRICES IN HISTORY! DO YOU MISS ME YET?

Meanwhile, the chair of the panel investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol has described newly obtained White House visitor logs as “very fruitful”.

According to chair Bennie Thompson, the records, which the committee has obtained over the fierce objections of Donald Trump, have been sent to the committee from the National Archives in the last few days. The hope is that they will yield crucial information about who the ex-president may have been in direct contact with on the day of the riot, when he appears to have spent several hours largely isolated from many of his aides and family members.

Meanwhile, Minority Whip Steve Scalise has drawn flack for comments he made in response to a question regarding former President Trump’s threat to withhold military aid from Ukraine.

He was accused of trying to rewrite history regarding the episode that led to Mr Trump’s first impeachment.

Stephanie Grisham, who served as Mr Trump’s fourth press secretary, said she believed Mr Trump’s approach to the situation in Ukraine would be “completely hands off” and he would tell Vladimir Putin to “go on in there”, she said on ABC’s The View.

Key points

• Trump would have told Putin to ‘go on in’ over Ukraine, former staffer says

• Republicans slammed for attempting to rewrite history of Trump and Ukraine

• Bill Barr asked why he didn’t speak out about Trump sooner

• Trump says Putin ‘was a friend of mine’

• Barr says he’d still vote for Trump in 2024

US congress reaches deal on $14bn emergency aid to Ukraine

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a deal between the two parties to provide $14 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine on Tuesday while lashing out at Democrats over the speed of negotiations.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr McConnell announced the settled-upon figure before claiming it had been like “pulling teeth” negotiating a higher dollar-value with Democrats, whom he said were willing to block passage of the bill. Some progressives have raised questions about the scale of weapons shipments being sent to militia groups aligned with Ukraine’s government some of whom experts have warned have white nationalist ideologies.

“It’s been like pulling teeth to get out of House Democrats what the Ukrainians obviously need at this particular time,” said Mr McConnell.

US congress reaches deal on $14 billion emergency aid to Ukraine

Trump attacks Biden with Ukraine abuse, claims Europe is using him

22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump lashed out at his successor, Joe Biden, on Tuesday in a furious statement that betrayed his own refusal to acknowledge the history of his relationship with Ukraine’s government.

Mr Trump wrote on Tuesday that Mr Biden “was giving blankets, to great and open complaints” from Ukraine when he took office as opposed to direct military aid shipments, adding that the president “canceled the remaining military equipment that was packed, loaded, and ready to be shipped”.

The former president went on to imply that the news media was creating a false narrative that depicted Mr Biden as a close ally of Ukraine while he was not.

John Bowden reports.

Trump attacks Biden with Ukraine abuse, claims Europe is using him

Poll: 72 per cent of Trump voters support Biden Russia oil ban

21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

A new poll from The Wall Street Journal not only shows that 79 per cent of Americans support the ban on the import of Russian oil even if it means higher prices in the US, but the move by President Joe Biden even enjoys the support of 72 per cent of people who say they would vote for Donald Trump if he ran again in 2024.

Per the Journal:

The new Journal poll showed broad support for Mr. Biden’s energy ban across political breakdowns. The ban had support from 77% of Republicans and 72% of voters who said they would support former President Trump if he ran again in 2024. Among Democrats, 88% said they favored the moratorium on Russian oil imports, including 94% of Democratic men.

The Journal poll surveyed 529 registered voters from March 4-7 about their opinion on halting Russian energy imports. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Melania Trump was ‘smarter’ than Donald, Bill Barr says

21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former US Attorney General Bill Barr revealed in his new book that former First Lady Melania Trump saved his job.

In One Damn Think After Another, Mr Barr recalls meeting Ms Trump, who he called “elegant” and “intelligent.” He also noted an encounter with former President Donald Trump during which the then-Commander in Chief told him she was the only reason he had a job in the administration.

Graog Graziosi reports.

Melania Trump was ‘smarter’ than Donald, Bill Barr says in new book

Trump would have told Putin to ‘go on in’ over Ukraine, former staffer says

20:52 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s White House press secretaries has said the former president would have had taken a very hands off approach to Ukraine and told Vladimir Putin to “go on in there”.

As the Biden administration announced the president was to sign an executive order banning the import of Russian oil and other fossils fuel as part of a tightening of sanctions against Moscow, Stephanie Grisham, who served as Mr Trump’s fourth press secretary, said the former president would have not taken such steps.

“I think that he would have a completely hands off approach. I think he’d be like, ‘go on in there’,” she said on ABC’s The View, when asked how Mr Trump would have responded to the crisis.

Andrew Buncombe reports.

“He really admired Putin, and I saw that firsthand.”

Trump would have told Putin ‘go on in’ Ukraine, says ex-White House press secretary

New ad from Republican Accountability Project shreds Trump for Putin praise

20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

An ad aired nationally during Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News on Monday night shredded former President Donald Trump for his praise of Vladimir Putin.

Republicans slammed for attempting to rewrite history

20:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Minority Whip Steve Scalise has drawn flack for comments he made in response to a question regarding former President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold military aid from Ukraine.

Asked if he had done any rethinking about Mr Trump’s withholding of military aid to Zelensky as he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden, Mr Scalise responded: “If you look at that conversation, President Zelensky had called President Trump to thank him for the leadership that he provided.”

He then proceeded to reel off a list of well-worn but factually inaccurate talking points regarding the relationship between Ukraine and the US during the Obama and Trump years.

Here’s the video:

Glen Kessler, editor of The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, tweeted: “How many lies in this answer? I count at least three. [Zelensky] was asking for more Javelins. Trump withheld it and the money only came (late) after congressional pressure. And the firing of the prosecutor was a joint US-EU demand, not just Biden. Time to get new talking points.”

Susan Glasser of The New Yorker tweeted: “Still defending Trump’s blackmail of Zelensky. Still.”

Citizens for Ethics wrote: “Yes! This is the question every Republican (except Mitt Romney) needs to be asked whenever they talk about Ukraine. They can lie all they want, but when Zelensky brought up military aid, Trump said he needed a favor.”

The DNC War Room posted: “Republican lawmakers are still trying to excuse Trump for trying to withhold military aid from Ukraine. Republicans enabled Trump selling out Ukraine to Putin for years — don’t buy their efforts to rewrite history.”

Alexander Vindman added: “@SteveScalise is a fool and a liar. Trump called Zelensky to extort a investigation of @POTUS to try to steal the 2020 election. I exposed that effort & now your efforts to rewrite history. You were complicit in inviting Russia’s war on Ukraine. Repent. #StandWithUkraine️.”

Who is Guy Wesley Reffitt, the first Capitol rioter convicted at jury trial

19:48 , Oliver O'Connell

The trial of a Texas man who threatened to kill his own family members if they turned him in for his part in the Capitol riot ended with a conviction on Tuesday.

Guy Wesley Reffitt, the first 6 January defendant to be tried by a jury, is one of hundreds of Trump supporters arrested after they were spotted on camera at the Capitol during the 2021 insurrection. As per an affidavit from an FBI special agent, 49-year-old Mr Reffitt was formally identified from video shot at the west front of the Capitol during the riot.

Who is Guy Wesley Reffitt, the first Capitol rioter convicted at jury trial?

DC truckers insist they have ‘millions’ of supporters

19:28 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the members of the “People’s Convoy” has claimed they had “millions” of people supporting them along the way as they drove from California to Washington, DC.

Members of the convoy, which is protesting vaccine mandates and other public health pandemic restrictions, met with Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin at the US Capitol on Tuesday.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

DC truckers insist they have ‘millions’ of supporters at meeting with 2 lawmakers

First Jan 6 rioter to go to trial found guilty on all counts

19:06 , Oliver O'Connell

The first Capitol riot defendant to go to trial has been found guilty on five counts related to his role in the attack on Congress on 6 January 2021.

Guy Reffitt of Texas, who attempted to storm the US Capitol while allegedly armed with a gun and zip ties, was convicted of all five counts with which he was charged.

These included transport of a firearm in support of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Jurors began deliberating on Tuesday morning after a week-long trial in which they heard testimony from Reffitt's teenage son Jackson Reffitt, who tipped off the FBI about his father before the January 6 attack.

Texas man guilty of assault in first jury trial conviction over US Capitol riot

Trump attacks Biden with Ukraine abuse

19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump lashed out at his successor, President Joe Biden, on Tuesday in a furious statement that betrayed his own refusal to acknowledge the history of his relationship with Ukraine’s government.

John Bowden has the latest from Washington, DC.

Trump attacks Biden with Ukraine abuse, claims Europe is using him

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, indicted on conspiracy charges over Capitol riot

18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Enrique Tarrio, a longtime leader of the extremist “western chauvinist” Proud Boys group, is reportedly to face conspiracy charges related to the 6 January riot at the US Capitol.

According to the Washington Post, the indictment against Mr Tarrio was docketed on Tuesday morning in Washington, DC.

Andrew Naughtie reports.

Proud Boys leader indicted on Jan 6 conspiracy charges

Jared Kushner wanted to reroute vaccines to US from Canada and Latin America, Pfizer CEO claims

18:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has claimed that former President Donald Trump’s son in law and adviser Jared Kushner wanted to reroute vaccines from Canada, Japan, and Latin America to the US.

In an op-ed in Forbes, Dr Bourla wrote that he had a “heated” debate with Mr Kushner concerning whether the US would receive the company’s vaccines first.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Pfizer CEO claims Jared Kushner wanted to reroute vaccines from Latin America to US

Trump jumps on Biden banning Russian oil to promote himself

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former presidentDonald Trump hit President Joe Biden for gas prices being the highest they have been in years with a simple statement: “DO YOU MISS ME YET?”

The former president’s statement came as the Biden administration announced a ban on Russian-imported oil into the United States amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine and as gas prices skyrocket.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Trump jumps on Biden banning Russian oil to promote himself: ‘DO YOU MISS ME YET?’

“People’s Convoy” truckers claim “millions” support them

17:24 , Andrew Naughtie

Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson have been meeting with leaders of the People’s Convoy, a group of truckers nominally protesting Covid-19 restrictions but also aggrieved at assorted other phenomena in the contemporary US.

In a discussion with the two senators, one of the group’s leaders claims that “millions” of people turned out to support the truckers as they drove across the US – this even as his movement has so far failed to make the same impact as the Ottawa protests that inspired it.

Watch below:

Read the new Proud Boys Jan 6 indictment

16:59 , Andrew Naughtie

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and several members of his group have been indicted on conspiracy charges related to the 6 January riot. You can read the indictment against them below:

ICYMI: Did Mark Meadows break voter registration laws?

16:45 , Andrew Naughtie

The story of Mark Meadows’s voter registration details continues to deepen, with increasing information about the trailer home he cited as his home address when registering in 2020.

The Washington Post has this deep dive into the story, which revolves around the question of whether Mr Meadows “physically lived” at the address. If he didn’t, that would mean he had potentially violated voter registration laws in exactly the way he, Donald Trump and others on the right were claiming Biden supporters did in their droves.

Report: Proud Boys leader faces Jan 6 conspiracy charges

16:17 , Andrew Naughtie

Enrique Tarrio, the sometime leader of the extremist “western chauvinist” Proud Boys group, has reportedly been indicted on conspiracy charges related to the 6 January riot at the US Capitol.

Proud Boys leader indicted on Jan 6 conspiracy charges

Jury in first Jan 6 trial begins deliberations

15:55 , Andrew Naughtie

Guy Reffitt, the first Capitol rioter to go on trial, might soon find out what verdict he will face:

Mr Reffitt, who allegedly threatened his family with murder if they turned him in to the FBI (as his son later did), was caught on camera at the west front of the Capitol and has been identified as associating with a branch of the Three Percenters, a self-styled militia group.

Read more below:

Capitol riot suspect glares at witnesses as first jury trial over insurrection ends

Trump wakes up...

14:58 , Andrew Naughtie

Today’s first statement sent via Trump’s Save America PAC has landed, and it hits one of the safer themes for the ex-president:

“BREAKING NEWS: HIGHEST GAS PRICES IN HISTORY! DO YOU MISS ME YET?”

The US has indeed hit a record gas price high. The statement comes just as the Biden administration prepares to announce a ban on the importation of Russian oil, something that can be expected to stir up further rancour at the price of filling up a petrol tank during a major land war launched by one of the world’s top fossil fuel producers.

Biden expected to announce Russian oil ban

New Jan 6 footage from outside Pelosi’s office

14:30 , Andrew Naughtie

As more cases against 6 January defendants get underway, the Justice Department continues to release CCTV footage from the riot. Here’s a new segment from the hallway outside Nancy Pelosi’s office, where staffers were hiding under their desks.

Visible in his wooly hat is Adam Johnson, recently sentenced for stealing the speaker’s lectern.

Capitol rioter who carried Pelosi’s lectern sentenced to prison

Report: Department of Homeland Security failed to share Jan 6 intelligence before riot

14:00 , Andrew Naughtie

According to a new report from CNN, three separate divisions in the Department of Homeland Security received intelligence or identified potentially violent threats that should have been released to other agencies, but did not share what they had received until after the riot was over.

The news comes in the form of a report from the DHS Office of the Inspector General, which found that information-sharing failures meant the department “was unable to provide its many state, local and Federal partners with timely, actionable and predictive intelligence”.

Read more:

The Trump-endorsed far-right Arizona Republican who embodies a violent new tendency

13:36 , Andrew Naughtie

The Washington Post has this remarkable profile of Wendy Rogers, a state legislator in Arizona who has become one of the far right’s most vocal and visible elected members. Endorsed by Donald Trump even as she endorses political executions and associates with self-declared militia movements, she has raised millions of dollars from out-of-state donors.

Read the full piece below.

Redistricting: Supreme Court deals blow to Republicans in two states

12:55 , Andrew Naughtie

With the stakes for control of Congress higher than ever, gerrymandering has become a major national issue in advance of this November’s elections, and Republicans now appear to have suffered a major blow in their efforts to tilt redistricting plans their way.

The US Supreme Court yesterday rejected a move from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania who wanted to block state redistricting plans that they said will be favourable to Democrats in this year’s midterms.

In a decision issued as part of its “shadow docket”, the court effectively gave the green light to the new post-census congressional maps in two states that will prove crucial to the Democrats’ efforts to retain as many House seats as possible in what could be a brutally punishing midterm cycle.

Read more:

Court rejects GOP redistricting plans in NC, Pennsylvania

Trump spokeswoman repeats debunked 2020 conspiracy theory about Georgia vote

12:25 , Andrew Naughtie

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington has once again shared “evidence” of a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election in Georgia for Joe Biden, repeating a claim that more than 17,000 votes in Fulton County cannot be validated.

As explained by this Reuters fact check several months ago, the claim that these votes cannot be verified is demonstrably inaccurate. Republican officials in Georgia have repeatedly reassured that the votes have been counted multiple times.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump faces a criminal investigation in Georgia over his efforts to pressure state officials to “find” enough votes for him to overtake Joe Biden in the final count.

Trump defends ‘perfect’ Georgia phone call as prosecutor requests special grand jury

Jan 6 chair: White House visitor logs proving “fruitful"

13:01 , Andrew Naughtie

According to CNN, Bennie Thompson, the chair of the 6 January select committee, has confirmed receipt of the White House visitor logs Donald Trump tried to keep his inquiry from accessing. And as he put it, they are already proving illuminating:

Read Trump’s latest Barr tirade

11:50 , Andrew Naughtie

Here’s Donald Trump’s latest rant at Bill Barr, blasted out via his mailing list yesterday evening and shared on Twitter (as usual) by his spokeswoman Liz Harrington.

Right-wing Senators to attend trucker protest

11:20 , Andrew Naughtie

The “People’s Convoy”, a group of truckers seeking to emulate the demonstration that occupied central Ottawa earlier this year, are continuing their effort to snarl up traffic in Washington, DC as they protest against assorted grievances including Covid-19 restrictions. They are gathered for now in Hagerstown, 80 miles northwest of the capitol in Maryland – and they will soon be getting some high-profile visitors...

Is Trump vulnerable on crime?

10:50 , Andrew Naughtie

While Donald Trump retains a commanding hold over the Republican base, he is not perfectly in sync with its prevailing views – particularly when it comes to Covid-19 vaccines, which he celebrates as a towering personal achievement. But as others in the GOP line themselves up to run in 2024 if he isn’t on the ballot for whatever reason, some of them are implicitly or explicitly attacking parts of his record.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, one of the harshest “law-and-order” conservatives in the Senate, gave a speech last night in which he called out the former president on a key piece of crime legislation that in his view helped fuel what many on the right are increasingly characterising as a crime “surge”.

Seth Meyers takes a dig at Trump over his remark of bombing the ‘s*** out of Russia’

10:15 , Namita Singh

Taking a dig at president Donald Trump for suggesting that US should the cover fighter planes with the Chinese flag and “bomb the s*** out of Russia”, comedian Seth Meyers said his idea seems to have been inspired from Looney Tunes.

“Look, we came very close, very close to a world where Trump was still in charge during Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine, which is scary for many reasons,” Meyers during his Late Night show said on Monday.

“One of which is Trump keeps giving us a glimpse as to how he would have responded, and, as usual, he has that unique Trump blend of being both terrifying and incredibly stupid at the same time.”

“He definitely gets his ideas from cartoons. I mean this is a slightly stupider version of Bugs Bunny dressed as a sexy lady to distract Elmer Fudd.”

‘Trump White House visitor logs very fruitful’

09:30 , Namita Singh

The House select committee probing the attack on the US Capitol has found the newly released visitor logs from former president Donald Trump’s White House tenure to be “very fruitful”.

The National Archives and Records Administration handed over the logs last Thursday following an order from president Joe Biden.Representative Bennie Thompson who is the chair of the select committee investigating the 6 January Capitol attacks told CNN that the committee has “started receiving” the Trump White House visitor logs and the documents are “very fruitful”.

Barr likened Trump to bull in a bull ring

08:45 , Namita Singh

Describing Donald Trump as a man distracted by his own self-interest, former attorney general William Barr said that Mike Pompeo exploited this trait to his advantage.

“We had this running joke that, whenever the president was chewing out Mike about something in a private Oval Office meeting, all Mike had to do was mention Russiagate or something like that,” Mr Barr told NPR. “And the president would, you know, take it and run for quite a while, he’d rant and ... he wouldn’t remember what he was angry at Pompeo about.”

Likening his reaction to criticism as that of the animal in a bullfight, Mr Barr said that he tried to tell Mr Trump about how the opposition uses this to get under his skin but “he didn’t think much of that metaphor”.

“At one point, I said to the president: ‘You know, Mr President, you’re like a bull in a bull ring and your adversaries have your number. They know how to get under your skin, and all they have to do is wave a red flag over here and you go charging and attack it.’ And I said, ‘At the end of the day, you’re going to be in the middle of the ring sweating and someone’s going to come and put a sword through your head,’” said Mr Barr. “He didn’t think much of that metaphor.”

Barr believes Capitol attack did not amount to insurrection

08:00 , Namita Singh

Former attorney general William Barr does not believe that the 6 January attack on the US Capitol amounted to insurrection.

“I didn’t view it as an insurrection. I mean, I think it was a riot that got out of control,” Mr Barr said during an interview with NPR on Monday, as he described Mr Trump as a person distracted by his own self-interest.

The former attorney general also dismissed chants by the pro-Trump mob to “hang Mike Pence” as a “propaganda-type thing” and not a literal threat to the life of the then-vice president.

Jury selection begins in the trial of Michigan governor kidnap plot

07:32 , Namita Singh

Jury selection process has begun in the trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer for her swift response to Covid-19 during the early months of the pandemic.

In 2020, when the Democrat was trading barbs with president Donald Trump over his administration’s response to Covid-19, four individuals- Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Varry Croft Jr and Daniel Harris– allegedly were coming up with a plot to abduct the governor.

They are accused of taking gun drills in the woods and driving to northern Michigan to scout her home and figure out how to blow up a bridge.

The plan was however thwarted in October 2020, after FBI reportedly infiltrated the group of six. While two of them, Ty Garbin and Kalen Franks pleaded guilty, the others denied the charges.

Kellogg suggests deploying ballistic missile submarine to assess Putin’s seriousness about nuclear threat

06:40 , Namita Singh

Trump era national security adviser flagged a “creative” solution to assess the seriousness of nuclear threats by Vladimir Putin.

Retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg on Monday suggested that the US should activate its entire fleet of ballistic missile submarines to see if Russia’s president is “really bluffing or not ‘’ about the nuclear threats.

“You know, we’ve generally got between five and six ballistic missile submarines — the boomers — at sea at any one time,” Mr Kellogg said on Fox News.

“Flush the whole fleet, put every boomer we’ve got at sea, and we can crew them and put them out there. And you say: ‘Look, we’re not going to back off from a nuclear concern that you’ve got,’” he said. “You know, go all in, bluff him — you know, he’s — let’s see if he’s really bluffing or not,”

'Trump unhappy about Truth Social’s failure to grip the market'

06:08 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump, who launched his own social media platform -- Truth Social -- is unhappy about the app, reported the Daily Beast.

Twice- impeached former president, however, putting up a brave face publicly, even though he has been heard swearing on phone and asking things like, “What the fuck is going on” with Truth Social, two sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.

Mr Trump reportedly bemoaned about the negative press, as he demanded to know the reason behind the app’s inability to dominate the market.

Eastman rejects select committee’s claim of criminal intent behind his legal advise to Trump

05:30 , Namita Singh

Attorney John Eastman, who represented Donald Trump in a long-shot lawsuit to overturn election results in four states that the former president lost in the 2020 elections, rejected 6 January select committee’s claim that his attempts might amount to a criminal conspiracy.

Mr Eastman said that the panel’s arguments would criminalize “good-faith” legal advise to a client, as he attempts to shield the emails between him and Mr Trump citing attorney-client privilege.

“It is based on lies, distortions drawn from select snippets of behind-closed-door testimony, and innuendo,” Mr Eastman’s attorneys Anthony Caso and Charles Burnham were quoted as saying byPolitico.

The argument submitted in a Monday court filing is a first rebuttal to the accusations by the select committee which is seeking to persuade federal judge to upend Mr Eastman’s privilege claim.

Savannah Guthrie grills Barr for silence under Trump

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Bill Barr, who served as Attorney General under former President Donald Trump, was grilled by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on why he didn’t speak out sooner despite believing that Mr Trump was acting in “dangerous” ways.

Mr Barr appeared on NBC’s Today to promote his memoir about his time in the Trump administration, One Damn Thing After Another.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Savannah Guthrie grills Barr for silence under Trump: ‘Why didn’t you speak out?’

Ex-AG Bill Barr says he’d still vote for Trump in 2024

05:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Attorney General Bill Barr doesn’t want Donald Trump to be the 2024 GOP nominee, but if that happens the former Justice Department chief says he can’t imagine voting for anyone else.

Mr Barr made the comments in an interview with NBC News, which was broadcast on Monday. During the interview Mr Barr heaped excoriating criticism on his former boss for his efforts to overturn the election and his anger towards people who stood up against his false claims, but made clear that he was still a loyal Republican.

John Bowden reports.

Ex-AG Bill Barr says he’d still vote for Trump in 2024

Trump kept out of the conservative donors meet

04:54 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump has been kept out of a high-level annual meeting with conservative political donors, reported CBS News.

The World Forum event set for this weekend, while includes president Joe Biden’s top economic adviser along with other Democrats and Republicans critical of the former president, Mr Trump has been iced out.

Among the participants include Mitch McConnell, who has repeatedly clashed with Mr Trump, and Governor Doug Ducey, who pushed back against pressure from the former president to not certify Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona.

Barr pushes back against Trump’s ‘childish’ letter

04:36 , Namita Singh

Former attorney general William Barr responded to president Donald Trump’s comments calling him “slow” and a “big disappointment”.

“It’s par for the course. The (former) president is a man who, when he’s told something he doesn’t want to hear, he immediately throws a tantrum and attacks the person personally,” Mr Barr told NBC. “So, I thought the letter was childish.”

Barr was a ‘Bushie’, says Trump

04:16 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump referred to his former attorney general WIlliam Barr as a “Bushie”, apparently referring to the time he served under the presidency of George HW Bush.

“He was so afraid of being impeached, that he went to the other side—and they left him alone,” Mr Trump said in a statement. “Barr was a ‘Bushie’ who never had the energy or competence to do the job that he was put in place to do.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene slated for insulting decorated veteran

04:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Fresh off her performance heckling Joe Biden during last week’s State of the Union, Marjorie Taylor Greene is in hot water again after launching a tirade against Alexander Vindman – the former national security adviser who testified against Donald Trump in his first impeachment.

After Ms Greene tweeted that “people are dying because of Biden’s poor decision-making leading up to Putin declaring war on Ukraine”, Mr Vindman replied: “Nope. It’s because you and your pro-Putin party encouraged Putin to invade, by cheerleading him. Worse yet, you undermined @POTUS efforts to signal punishing costs… you undermined US efforts [to] deter the war. You have blood in [sic] your hands. The American people will not forget.”

Ms Greene responded: “This clown wants to drag Americans into war with Russia with his big tough tweets and his zoom interviews on CNN. Go ahead and go fight yourself since you’re from Ukraine.”

The reaction has not gone in her favour.

Anger as Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lt Col Vindman a ‘clown’ in Ukraine Twitter row

Ex-Rand Paul aide charged with funneling Russian money into 2016 election

03:52 , Namita Singh

Jesse Benton, a former campaign staffer and the grandson-in-law of US Senator Rand Paul who received a presidential pardon from former President Donald Trump has been charged with directing Russian money into the 2016 presidential election, according to the US Department of Justice.

The announcement came on Monday via an unseal indictment from 9 September.

Mr Benton “conspired to illegally funnel thousands of dollars of foreign money from a Russian foreign national” into the 2016 campaign, reported Business Insider.

Graig Graziosi has the details:

Jury begins deliberation in first trial over Capitol riot

03:41 , Namita Singh

A 12-member federal jury is scheduled to begin deliberation on Tuesday in the case against Guy Wesley Reffitt who is the person to be tried over the criminal charges emerging from deadly Capitol riots on 6 January.

Accused of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun strapped to his waist and for interfering with police officers at the Senate door, Ms Reffitt is also charged with threatening his teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement after the attack on 6 January.

Read the details in this report by Andrew Naughtie and Gustaf Kilander:

Capitol riot suspect glares at witnesses as first jury trial over insurrection ends

ICYMI: News anchor shuts down Matt Gaetz’s false 2020 election claims

03:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz often repeats the falsehood that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, but on one local news station, he found himself being unexpectedly fact-checked in real-time.

“So you’re still maintaining the 2020 election was stolen? Are we still going with that?” WEAR ABC 3 anchor Bob Solarski asked the Republican on Friday, as their conversation was broadcast live.

Nathan Place reports on the awkward confrontation.

Local news anchor shuts down Matt Gaetz’s false 2020 election claims on live TV

ICYMI: Trump says Putin ‘was a friend of mine’

02:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump was recorded describing Vladimir Putin as his “friend” in a bizarre phone conversation with pro golfer John Daly. “You know, he was a friend of mine,” the former president told the athlete on speaker phone, as recorded in a viral video. “I got along great with him.”

Mr Trump during the phone conversation repeated a claim that he’s made frequently in recent weeks: that if he were still president, Russia’s leader wouldn’t dare invade Ukraine.

“I’d say, ‘Vladimir, if you do it, we’re hitting Moscow,’” the one-term president bragged to Mr Daly. “I said, ‘We’re gonna hit Moscow.’ And he sort of believed me, like five per cent, 10 per cent. That’s all you need. He never did it during my time, John.”

Nathan Place reports.

Trump says Putin ‘was a friend of mine’ in bizarre phone conversation

‘Mark Meadows may have committed a voter fraud’

01:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows may have committed voter fraud, according to a report by the New Yorker.

The outlet reported that it has dug up Mr Meadows’ voter registration form, and found that he registered to vote at a Scaly Mountain, North Carolina, address – a mobile home he’s never owned.

Nathan Place has the story.

Mark Meadows may have committed voter fraud, report says

‘Bomb the s*** out of Russia’

00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Musing the audience with a war between Russia and China, the former president Donald Trump said the US should “bomb the s*** out of Russia” with F-22 planes covered in Chinese flag and see the two nations go to war.

“And then we say, China did it, we didn’t do it, China did it and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,” the former president said while musing the GOP donors in New Orleans on Saturday.

Nathan Place reports.

Trump says US should put Chinese flags on fighter jets and bomb Russia

US falling behind on development of hypersonic weaponry

Monday 7 March 2022 23:02 , Oliver O'Connell

The US may have fallen further behind Russia and China in developing hypersonic weapons after a string of test failures.

Defence manufacturer Lockheed-Martin’s air-launched missile has failed three consecutive tests, while both China and Russia have completed their own test firings of the high-tech weaponry.

The Pentagon had hoped to approve initial production of America’s combat-ready hypersonic weapon by 30 September, according to Bloomberg.

Graeme Massie reports.

US falls further behind Russia and China in developing hypersonic missile

Graham stands by call for someone in Russia to assassinate Putin

Monday 7 March 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lindsey Graham, the Republican South Carolina Senator, is standing by his call for someone in Russia to take out the country’s President Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Graham told TMZ that he was surprised by the negative feedback he has received from both sides of the aisle after he called for someone in Russia to take out Mr Putin.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

Lindsey Graham stands by call for someone in Russia to assassinate Putin