Trump news – live: Trump says he rejected Whelan swap as Schiff confirms evidence of Jan 6 criminality

Donald Trump said that he had rejected an attempt by Russia to trade “Merchant of Death” arms dealer Viktor Bout for former US Marine Paul Whelan and added that he would never free someone who has “killed untold numbers”.

“I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan,” the former president said on Sunday on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, as the January 6 select committee prepares to release its final report next week, Congressman Adam Schiff, a panel member, yesterday confirmed that he and his colleagues on the panel are in agreement that they have “evidence of criminality” – but that while they have agreed on nexst steps, he is not in position to confirm them.

The committee, he says, is mindful that that by only referring certain people, they could create the perception that others are below the threshold of culpability for the violent attack on the US Capitol.

Extremist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told a meeting of the New York Young Republicans Club this weekend that “If Steve Bannon and I organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.”

Key points

• Trump claims he previously rejected Russia deal to swap Paul Whelan for convicted arms dealer

• Judge declines DoJ request to hold Trump team in contempt of court, report says

• Trump’s lacklustre campaign and series of disasters ‘emboldens GOP rivals'

• More classified documents found in search of Trump storage unit, report says

• At least four Trump associates may face criminal referrals from January 6 committee

• How much do Republicans blame Trump for Senate flop?

Jan 6 committee’s incoming criminal referrals are ‘more than symbolic’, Kinzinger says

11:30 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Adam Kinzinger did not indicate whether Trump would be included in a round of criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.

“I don’t think criminal referrals are pointless. I think the point on that it’s very clear that the DOJ has to decide to take this up,” he told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

Mr Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee, said that “the referrals won’t necessarily be something that’s going to wake up DOJ to something they didn’t know before.”

“I do think it will be an important symbolic thing that the committee can do – or even more than symbolic, just [making it] very clear that Congress thinks a crime has been committed here and the DOJ should investigate it,” he said.

Marjorie Taylor Greene says January 6 rioters ‘would’ve been armed’ if she had organised rally

11:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Far-right influencers, white nationalists, neo-fascist activists and extremist European figures mingled with Republican members of Congress and allies of Donald Trump at a black-tie event in New York City, where Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested Capitol rioters “would’ve been armed” had she organised the attack.

At the group’s annual gala in Manhattan on 10 December, the president of the New York Young Republicans Club declared “total war” on the political left, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose reporters attended the gathering.

Read the full story by Alex Woodward here:

Marjorie Taylor Greene says Jan 6 rioters ‘would’ve been armed’ if she organised it

ICYMI: Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

10:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Former President Donald Trump hit out at “Jewish leaders” for a “lack of loyalty” to him in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning, saying “they should be ashamed of themselves”.

Posting a link to an article in The Gateway Pundit by Wayne Allyn Root, defending him from the outrage sparked by his dinner at Mar-a-Lago with antisemitic rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, Mr Trump thanked the author.

Read the full story by Olicer O’Connell here:

Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

Jim Jordan makes false claim about deleted ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet in House committee hearing

10:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican congressman Jim Jordan appeared to deny that a now-deleted Twitter post praising Elon Musk, Kanye West and Donald Trump came from an account linked to him.

An account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, on which Mr Jordan serves as ranking member, posted “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” on 6 October. The post was deleted roughly two months later, after the virulently antisemitic rapper praised Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

But during a committee hearing on ethics breaches at the US Supreme Court, Mr Jordan falsely claimed that the now-deleted tweet “was not our account”.

Jim Jordan makes false claim about ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet

ICYMI: Jim Jordan makes false claim about deleted ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet in House committee hearing

09:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Republican congressman Jim Jordan appeared to deny that a now-deleted Twitter post praising Elon Musk, Kanye West and Donald Trump came from an account linked to him.

An account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, on which Mr Jordan serves as ranking member, posted “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” on 6 October. The post was deleted roughly two months later, after the virulently antisemitic rapper praised Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

Read the full story by Alex Woodward here:

Jim Jordan makes false claim about ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, his former national security official says

09:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump and his allies have accused Biden of ignoring the imprisoned former US Marine Paul Whelan after securing Brittney Griner’s release from Russia. But former White House officials and Whelan’s family members say Trump didn’t want to take up his case.

Former Trump-era White House national security adviser Fiona Hill said her former boss “wasn’t especially interested in engaging” in the exchange.

“He was not particularly interested in Paul’s case in the way that one would have thought he would be,” she told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, according to former officials

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, his former national security official says

08:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Former president Donald Trump and his allies have raged against President Joe Biden’s administration after US officials secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian authorities in a prison exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The former president and other Republican officials have derided the exchange, accusing the Biden administration of neglecting the case of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on accusations of espionage, charges that he has denied.

Read the full story by Alex Woodward here:

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, according to former officials

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, his former national security official says

08:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Former president Donald Trump and his allies have raged against President Joe Biden’s administration after US officials secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian authorities in a prison exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The former president and other Republican officials have derided the exchange, accusing the Biden administration of neglecting the case of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on accusations of espionage, charges that he has denied.

Read the full story by Alex Woodward here:

Trump was not interested in Paul Whelan’s case, according to former officials

Fauci says Covid response was hampered by ‘disinformation and political ideology’ in farewell essay

07:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Anthony Fauci, who for many Americans became the champion of a science-first approach to tackling the pandemic, is retiring from his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases this month.

In a farewell essay, he argued that the US could have had an even more effective response to Covid, were it not for the deep polarisation of American politics and culture at large.

Read the full story by Josh Marcus here:

Fauci says Covid response hampered by ‘political ideology’ in farewell essay

Trump claims he previously rejected Russia deal to swap Paul Whelan for convicted arms dealer

07:12 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Donald Trump said that he had rejected an attempt by Russia to trade “Merchant of Death” arms dealer Viktor Bout for former US Marine Paul Whelan and added that he would never free someone who has “killed untold numbers”.

“I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan,” the former president said on Sunday on Truth Social.

“I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals.”

Jan 6 committee’s incoming criminal referrals are ‘more than symbolic’, Kinzinger says

07:00 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Adam Kinzinger did not indicate whether Trump would be included in a round of criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.

“I don’t think criminal referrals are pointless. I think the point on that it’s very clear that the DOJ has to decide to take this up,” he told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

Mr Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee, said that “the referrals won’t necessarily be something that’s going to wake up DOJ to something they didn’t know before.”

“I do think it will be an important symbolic thing that the committee can do – or even more than symbolic, just [making it] very clear that Congress thinks a crime has been committed here and the DOJ should investigate it,” he said.

Senate Republican rejects Trump as Republican Party leader

06:00 , Alex Woodward

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, among Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment, told CNN on Sunday that he rejects “the premise that he’s the leader of the Republican Party” and suggested that the GOP should consider a new nominee in 2024.

“The Republican Party does not have a president in office right now,” he said. “It does not have anybody who’s obviously not my leader.”

He said that a “right of center party which thinks that smaller government, that individual responsibility, that free markets is more likely to bring prosperity to a family and prosperity to our country” should guide the party, “then we win.”

ICYMI: Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

05:00 , Alex Woodward

Posting a link to an article in The Gateway Pundit by far-right activist Wayne Allyn Root, who defended Trump from the outrage sparked by his dinner at Mar-a-Lago with antisemitic rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, the former president thanked the author by reviving his antisemitic remarks that Jewish people are insufficiently loyal to him over his foreign policy decisions.

“Jewish Leaders forgot that I was the best, by far, President for Israel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They should be ashamed of themselves. This lack of loyalty to their greatest friends and allies is why large numbers in Congress, and so many others, have stopped giving support to Israel.”

Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

Roger Stone claims he’s a ‘different man’ as Elon Musk welcomes him back to Twitter

03:00 , Alex Woodward

Infamous Republican political consultant and Donald Trump ally Roger Stone is distancing himself from old tweets after Elon Musk reinstated his Twitter account.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Stone thanked the Twitter owner for removing a block that stemmed from a 2017 incident during which the Trump loyalist had threatened CNN hosts.

“I am gratified for the reinstatement of my account on Twitter and am grateful to Elon Musk for his commitment to fairness and free speech,” the self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” wrote. “God bless America and thank you, Jesus.”

Roger Stone claims he’s a ‘different man’ as Elon Musk welcomes him back to Twitter

ICYMI: Republican senators turn on Trump over his attack on the Constitution: ‘He goes from MAGA to RINO’

02:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican Senators sought to distance themselves from former president Donald Trump’s remarks calling for laws to be terminated so that he could be reinstated as president.

“Kind of at a loss for words,” Senator John Cornyn of Texas told The Independent.

Senator Lindsey Graham also said he understood Mr Trump’s anger but told The Independent his remarks about terminating the Constitution or laws was “very inappropriate.”

“He’s frustrated because of the, you know, bias in the media and Democrats controlling Twitter and Russia, joke of investigation,” he said. “But the statement was inappropriate and I’m glad to see him clarify.”

Eric Garcia reports:

Republican senators have finally found a reason to turn on Trump

Evangelicals may be turning away from Trump, but Christian nationalism isn’t going anywhere

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Since the heady days of Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, Caleb Campbell’s congregation has been split in two. The pastor of an evangelical church in the northern suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, he has watched his flock both energised and repulsed by the real estate tycoon’s political rise.

“When Trump would come to town, we had members of our congregation inside the building for the rally and some outside the building protesting,” he tells The Independent. “I was naive. I remember thinking that obviously people see right through this. I was shocked to discover that most people really earnestly supported not only his policies, but also his cruel and dehumanising rhetoric.”

Evangelical support for Trump was crucial to his 2016 presidential victory and has remained stubbornly high despite his consistent proximity to scandal. Pastor Campbell, who grew up as a John McCain Republican, was not one of those supporters. He has spent much of his time since that first victory trying to guide his fellow evangelicals away from Trump and the MAGA movement, often to little avail.

Now, six years later, he believes cracks are beginning to show.

“I think what we’re seeing is people who were speaking out against it quietly four years ago are now saying the quiet part out loud,” he says.

The Independent’s Richard Hall reports:

Evangelicals may be turning away from Trump, but Christian nationalism is on the rise

White House officials say they will ‘keep trying' to return Paul Whelan to US

00:00 , Alex Woodward

Days after securing the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian custody, US officials said they are “still negotiating” for the release of former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said President Joe Biden’s administration made a “very serious, specific proposal” for Mr Whelan and Ms Griner together, but “it just didn’t land anywhere ... with the Russians,” he told ABC’s This Week on 11 December, three days after Ms Griner returned to US soil.

“As we progressed through this summer and into the fall ... it was clear that they were treating Paul very separately, very distinctly because of these sham espionage charges they levied against him,” he added. Mr Whelan was accused of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

White House officials will ‘keep trying’ to bring Paul Whelan home

Adam Schiff: Justice Department will ‘make use of the evidence’ from House select committee

Sunday 11 December 2022 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Democratic US Rep Adam Schiff told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that the US Department of Justice will “make use of the evidence” from the House select committee’s investigation into the Capitol attack, as the panel prepares to make criminal referrals to federal prosecutors.

Any referral to the agency would include “evidence of criminality”.

“If we do make referrals, we want to be very careful about how we do them,” he said. “But I think we’re all certainly in agreement that there is evidence of criminality here and we want to make sure that the Justice Department is aware of that.”

He said federal prosecutors will be able to “make use of the evidence that we prefer to present in our report to further their investigations”.

“And I think it makes an important statement, not a political one, but a statement about the evidence of an attack on the institutions of our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, that Congress examining an attack on itself is willing to report criminality,” he added.

Donald Trump Jr accuses Biden of refusing to free Paul Whelan because he didn’t ‘check off enough woke boxes'

Sunday 11 December 2022 21:00 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump Jr has suggested President Joe Biden’s administration didn’t free former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody because he didn’t “check off enough ‘woke’ boxes, probably”.

“We didn’t get back the American hero. We got Brittney Griner, who hates America, because she checks off a bunch of boxes,” he said. “There’s a level of arrogance that probably Brittney Griner had going into Russia thinking she should get away from these things. Because in America, as a female, celebrity, minority, lesbian – she probably felt and probably could actually be above the law.”

His father’s administration, meanwhile, has been accused of being uninterested in securing Mr Whelan’s release.

He has been imprisoned since 2018 on espionage charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

His brother David Whelan told MSNBC on Saturday that the former president was not “prepared to” or “interested in” working toward his brother’s release.

“I think the first two years, partly I think the Trump administration was not prepared to or not interested in working on wrongful detention cases,” he said.

Former Trump-era White House national security adviser Fiona Hill also said her former boss “wasn’t especially interested in engaging in that swap for also Paul Whelan.

“He was not particularly interested in Paul’s case in the way that one would have thought he would be,” she told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

Former US attorney believes Justice Department charges could ‘happen in a month'

Sunday 11 December 2022 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Former US attorney Preet Bharara said he believes the US Department of Justice is “on a path” to charge Trump.

He told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that the counsel team investigating criminal cases involving the former president includes “very seasoned prosecutors” picked for the job in part to determine whether the cases can be tried in court.

“I don’t think they would’ve left their former positions, both in government and private practice, unless there was a serious possibility” the Justice Department was looking at prosecuting, he said.

He said he believes charges could “happen in a month.”

Mr Bharar also said the forthcoming referrals from the House select committee are “largely symbolic” and that the Justice Department won’t be pushed to “act more quickly or aggressively”.

“I think they want to make a statement for themselves. I think it had no impact on the Justice Department whatsoever,” he said.

Final committee report to be published 21 December

Sunday 11 December 2022 18:00 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Adam Kinzinger – one of two Republicans on the House select committee investigating the events leading up to and surrounding the attack on the US Capitol – said the committee is “in the process” of determining what the release of a final report will look like when it is due on 21 December.

“What you will see with this report and everything included is a full picture,” he told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

“I think we were able to paint a very good picture over the summer with the hearings ... obviously we were limited on time,” he added.

The full report will fold in more context and fill in “a lot of areas that weren’t discussed in great detail,” he said.

The committee is meeting on Sunday to discuss criminal referrals of witnesses to the US Department of Justice.

Senate Republican rejects Trump as Republican Party leader

Sunday 11 December 2022 17:15 , Alex Woodward

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, among Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment, told CNN on Sunday that he rejects “the premise that he’s the leader of the Republican Party” and suggested that the GOP should consider a new nominee in 2024.

“The Republican Party does not have a president in office right now,” he said. “It does not have anybody who’s obviously not my leader.”

He said that a “right of center party which thinks that smaller government, that individual responsibility, that free markets is more likely to bring prosperity to a family and prosperity to our country” should guide the party, “then we win.”

Jan 6 committee’s incoming criminal referrals are ‘more than symbolic’, Kinzinger says

Sunday 11 December 2022 16:23 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Adam Kinzinger did not indicate whether Trump would be included in a round of criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.

‘I don’t think criminal referrals are pointless. I think the point on that it’s very clear that the DOJ has to decide to take this up,” he told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

Mr Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee, said that “the referrals won’t necessarily be something that’s going to wake up DOJ to something they didn’t know before.”

“I do think it will be an important symbolic thing that the committee can do – or even more than symbolic, just [making it] very clear that Congress thinks a crime has been committed here and the DOJ should investigate it,” he said.

House committee mulling criminal referrals for Trump and at least four others, according to report

Sunday 11 December 2022 13:00 , Alex Woodward

The House select committee investigating 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol attack is weighing criminal referrals against Trump and a number of his closest allies, according to CNN, citing unnamed sources.

The group is meeting on Sunday to discuss potential referrals.

The January 6 hearings revealed stunning details of Trump’s attempted ‘coup’. Now the committee is about to make criminal referrals

Sunday 11 December 2022 12:00 , Alex Woodward

The House select committee investigating the events leading up to and surrounding the attack on the US Capitol – fuelled by Trump’s bogus fraud narrative – will convene on Sunday to discuss criminal referrals for its investigative targets.

ReadThe Independent’s Andrew Buncombe on the path that got us here:

Jan 6 hearings revealed stunning details of Trump’s attempted ‘coup’

What the Georgia Senate result means for the Democrats – and Donald Trump

Sunday 11 December 2022 11:00 , Alex Woodward

Georgia and in particular its great cities such as Atlanta are changing, demographically, culturally and politically, writes Sean O’Grady:

What the Georgia Senate result means for the Democrats – and Donald Trump

Far-right Rep Paul Gosar deletes tweet endorsing Trump’s call to terminate Constitution

Sunday 11 December 2022 10:00 , Alex Woodward

Far-right Arizona congressman Paul Gosar deleted a tweet indicating his support for Trump’s suggested that the United States terminate its constitution.

“Unprecedented fraud requires unprecedented cure,” the congressman wrote on Wednesday, attaching a screenshot of the former president’s Truth Social post.

Far-right Rep Paul Gosar deletes tweet backing Trump’s call to terminate Constitution

Why is US Marine Paul Whelan detained in Russia?

Sunday 11 December 2022 09:00 , Alex Woodward

President Biden has said his administration would “never give up” trying to free other Americans who have been wrongfully detained by Russia, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian custody since he was arrested just after Christmas in 2018 on what American officials have described as bogus spying charges.

Why is US Marine Paul Whelan detained in Russia?

Michael Flynn testifies in Georgia election probe

Sunday 11 December 2022 08:00 , Kate Brumback

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was seen at a downtown Atlanta courthouse on Thursday to testify before a special grand jury that’s investigating whether Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia.

Michael Flynn testifies in Georgia election probe

A devastating day for Donald Trump

Sunday 11 December 2022 07:00 , Alex Woodward

The former president is no stranger to difficult days, court losses and looming investigations from mebers of Congress and federal law enforcement.

He spent years trying to avoid any stench of criminality, and his 2024 campaign is accused of largely being driven by his desperation to sheild himself from prosecution.

On 6 December, his company was convicted of a years-long tax avoidance scheme, it was revealed that the feds sent subpoenas to his allies, and the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack announced it was prepared to issue criminal referrals.

Trump faces ‘greed and cheating’ convictions and expanding criminal probes

Supreme Court hears how the ‘blast radius’ of a radical legal theory could sow ‘election chaos’

Sunday 11 December 2022 06:00 , Alex Woodward

The case of Moore v Harper involves North Carolina’s congressional map, which a state Supreme Court ruled was an illegal partisan gerrymander drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature.

Republican state legislators have asked the Supreme Court to toss out the new map, advancing a theory that state lawmakers have exclusive authority to set the rules for federal elections – a theory that also animated the bogus legal arguments behind Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a theory in this court that would invalidate more state constitutional clauses as being federally unconstitutional,” Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general under Barack Obama’s administration who is arguing the case on behalf of voting rights groups and Democratic voters.

“The blast radius from their [independent state legislature] theory would sow elections chaos, forcing a confusing two-track system with one set of rules for federal elections and another for state ones,” he told Supreme Court justices this week.

‘Blast radius’ of fringe legal theory could sow election chaos, Supreme Court hears

ICYMI: Judge declines DoJ request to hold Trump team in contempt of court over Mar-a-Lago papers subpoena

Sunday 11 December 2022 05:00 , Alex Woodward

A federal judge in Washington DC declined to hold Donald Trump or his legal team in contempt of court as the Department of Justice had requested at a court hearing on Friday.

The judge instead urged the Justice Department and the Trump legal team to resolve the dispute themselves.

Judge declines DoJ request to hold Trump team in contempt of court

Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

Sunday 11 December 2022 04:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump signalled an antisemitic broadside at “Jewish leaders” for a “lack of loyalty” to him in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning, saying “they should be ashamed of themselves”.

He posted a link to an article in The Gateway Pundit by a far-right activist who defended him from the outrage sparked by his dinner at Mar-a-Lago with antisemitic rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

“You are great but how quickly Jewish Leaders forgot that I was the best, by far, President for Israel,” he said, conflating Judaism with support for his foreign policy decisions. “They should be ashamed of themselves. This lack of loyalty to their greatest friends and allies is why large numbers in Congress, and so many others, have stopped giving support to Israel.”

Trump lashes out at ‘Jewish leaders’ for ‘lack of loyalty’ to him

Elon Musk reportedly threatens to sue Twitter staff if they leak to media after he leaked to media

Sunday 11 December 2022 02:30 , Alex Woodward

Elon Musk – who has repeatedly endorsed free speech absolutism and asserted “transparency is the key to trust” and that “sunlight is the best disinfectant” – has reportedly ordered Twitter staff to sign a document acknowledging a warning that they could be liable for “damages” if they share company info with the press.

Over the past week, Musk has been doing exactly that.

Free speech warrior Elon Musk threatens to sue Twitter staff if they leak to media

Evangelicals may be turning away from Trump, but Christian nationalism isn’t going anywhere

Sunday 11 December 2022 01:30 , Alex Woodward

Pastor Caleb Campbell spoke out against Trump, now he is warning evengelicals away from Christian nationalism.

“I think what we’re seeing is people who were speaking out against it quietly four years ago are now saying the quiet part out loud,” he says.

The Independent’s Richard Hall reports:

Evangelicals may be turning away from Trump, but Christian nationalism is on the rise

GOP lawmaker’s nephew responds to her vote against same-sex marriage

Sunday 11 December 2022 00:30 , Alex Woodward

In remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives, Missouri congresswoman Vicky Hartzler broke down in tears as she urged her colleagues to vote against a bill preserving marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples.

The Republican claimed that the “only purpose” of the legislation, which President Joe Biden will sign into law in coming days, is to “hand the federal government a legal bludgeoning tool to drive people of faith out of the public square and silence anyone who dissents”.

Her nephew Andrew Hartzler, who is gay, posted a response on TikTok that has been viewed more than 800,000 times since it was published on 8 December.

“My aunt Vicky started crying because gay people like me can get married,” Andrew, 24, said in the video. “So despite coming out to my aunt this past February, I guess she’s still just as much of a homophobe.”

GOP congresswoman’s gay nephew responds to her tearful vote against same-sex marriage

Jim Jordan makes false claim about deleted ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet in House committee hearing

Saturday 10 December 2022 23:30 , Alex Woodward

Republican congressman Jim Jordan appeared to deny that a now-deleted Twitter post praising Elon Musk, Kanye West and Donald Trump came from an account linked to him.

An account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, on which Mr Jordan serves as ranking member, posted “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” on 6 October. The post was deleted roughly two months later, after the virulently antisemitic rapper praised Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

Asked whether he would denounce the tweet, Mr Jordan said: “That tweet was not our account, and that tweet’s been removed.”

Jim Jordan makes false claim about ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ tweet

These are the investigations involving Donald Trump

Saturday 10 December 2022 22:30 , Alex Woodward

The former president, his business and allies are under scrutiny for tax fraud allegations, real estate practices and a plot to steal the 2020 election.

On 6 December, a jury in New York City found Donald Trump’s eponymous real estate and licensing company guilty on all charges against it, what prosecutors have argued stemmed from a decades-long scheme to avoid paying payroll taxes by compensating top executives with untaxed benefits.

Here is a partial list of the key probes involving Mr Trump and where they currently stand:

Jan 6, Mar-a-Lago and a golf course: The investigations Donald Trump is facing

Mary Trump criticises Trump’s ‘block hole of need’ after hosting QAnon-linked event at Mar-a-Lago

Saturday 10 December 2022 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Mary Trump has slammed her uncle for hosting QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin at an event for a Michael Flynn-connected event at Mar-a-Lago/

“Everything Donald does is transactional,” she told MSNBC on Saturday. “And one of the things we need to realize about him is he’s sort of a black hole of need. ... He will go wherever he needs to in order to get his fix, which is attention and sycophancy. So it doesn’t matter how extreme, whatever works.”

More about the event in The Independent:

Trump appears at Mar-a-Lago event with Pizzagate conspiracy theorist

Trump turned down Paul Whelan and Viktor Bout prisoner swap years ago, John Bolton says

Saturday 10 December 2022 19:30 , Alex Woodward

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton claims that there was a “possibility” of a chance to secure Paul Whelan’s release two years ago, though Trump has raged against the Biden administration’s deal to free Brittney Griner but left the US marine in Russian custody.

Mr Bolton, who was the national security adviser under Mr Trump for 17 months from 2018 to 2019, told CBS that the Trump administration had the opportunity to trade Mr Whelan for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2018.

“The possibility of a Bout-for-Whelan trade existed back then and it wasn’t made, for very good reasons having to deal with Viktor Bout,” he said.

Trump ‘turned down Paul Whelan and Viktor Bout prisoner swap years ago’

Kari Lake sues in bid to overturn Arizona election defeat

Saturday 10 December 2022 16:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake, who was defeated by Demcocratic candidate Katie Hobbs, has sued the state’s largest county after amplifying baseless claims that the election was corrupted.

Ms Hobbs, who is serving as Arizona’s secretary of state, called the lawsuit “baseless” and an attempt to “undermine our democracy and throw out the will of the voters”.

Trump-endorsed Republican Kari Lake sues Arizona in bid to overturn election

Trump, who ignored Whelan for two years, says deal to return Griner to US was ‘stupid’

Saturday 10 December 2022 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg writes:

Two years after his term in the White House ended without him mentioning his name, Donald Trump is now claiming the Biden administration’s prisoner swap to return wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner home is a “stupid” and “totally one-side transaction” because it did not include US Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan.

Donald Trump slams Brittney Griner deal after ignoring Paul Whelan for two years

On Friday, Mr Whelan’s brother tweeted: