Trump news – live: Manhattan grand jury to break for a month, further delaying possible indictment
The Manhattan grand jury reviewing Donald Trump’s role supposed role in a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels is set to go on a month-long break.
The jury won’t hear any evidence in the proceedings against the former president mostly because of an already-scheduled hiatus.
While it’s possible that the schedule may change, any indictment of Mr Trump will now come late next month at the earliest.
This comes as a Fox News contributor has slammed Mr Trump’s “horrific” interview with Sean Hannity after the ex-president returned to the right-wing network on Monday night.
Former Republican Rep Jason Chaffetz said he watched Mr Trump’s interview and thought it was “the worst interview I’ve seen the president do”.
His comments came as a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that former Vice President Mike Pence must testify to a grand jury investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
Key Points
Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe
Trump calls top rival ‘Ron ‘Kill Social Security’ DeSanctimonious’ as he boasts about polling
Trump reverses course and praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him
Fox News contributor slams Trump’s ‘horrific’ interview with Sean Hannity
Stormy Daniels may soon seal Trump’s fate. How did a porn star become one of the most powerful people in politics?
Stormy Daniels may soon seal Trump’s fate. How did a porn star become one of the most powerful people in politics?
17:15 , Io Dodds
One busy weekday night in May 2018, a Pittsburgh strip club dancer named Scarlet went to the bar for fries and ran into something unusual: a young man carrying a political non-fiction book conspicuously under his arm.
The book was Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, about the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, and the man – Isaac – was hoping that one of the other strippers would sign it for him.
“I’m not much of a strip club guy, but I had to come see this,” Isaac told The Pitt News as he waited in line behind a man carrying several bright red Trump hats.
These men were among the hundreds drawn to see porn performer Stormy Daniels as she danced across the country on her “Make America Horny Again” tour, closely followed by a political tempest over her alleged history with the serving president of the United States.
Read more:
How Stormy Daniels became one of the most powerful people in politics
Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe
16:45 , Andrew Feinberg
The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.
Mr Pence had sought an order precluding him from testifying before the grand jury entirely, and in papers filed with the court he had claimed immunity under the US Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, citing his role as President of the Senate during Congress’ quadrennial certification of electoral votes.
Read more:
Judge orders Pence to give evidence
‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
16:15 , Eric Garcia
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.
Mr Comer, along with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, sent a letter to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to compel him to testify before Congress.
The three chairmen sent the letter to Mr Bragg after Mr Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this month that he would be indicted within a few days.
Mr Bragg’s office is currently investigating Mr Trump allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a supposed sexual liaison, which Mr Trump denies.
Read more:
AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
Dominion wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and other Fox News figures to testify in $1.6bn case
15:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Dominion Voting Systems wants to put Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, and other Fox News executives on the witness stand to testify in its $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against the right-wing network.
The voting machines manufacturer also wants to call Fox News president Jay Wallace, chief executive Suzanne Scott, hosts Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo to testify at trial, it said in a court filing on Monday, according to CNN.
Delaware Superior Court judge Eric Davis is expected to make a summary judgement ruling in favour of either side or to go forward with a trial.
Dominion has accused Fox of airing false allegations that the company was engaged in voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election even though many at the network doubted the claims were true. Fox said it was lawfully reporting on newsworthy developments.
Read more:
Dominion wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and other Fox News figures to testify
Trump calls top rival ‘Ron ‘Kill Social Security’ DeSanctimonious’ as he boasts about polling
15:15 , Gustaf Kilander
Mr Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to boast about his polling figures and take a shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“New Polling just out: I (WE!) lead Ron “Kill Social Security” DeSanctimonious, 61 to 19, and lead Joe Biden, by far the worst President in the history of the United States, by 7. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he wrote.
He then went on to yet again push the lie that he won the 2020 election.
“Don’t forget, we WON the second Election by far more Votes than we WON the first. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” he said.
Obama takes aim at Rupert Murdoch for ‘polarisation of society’
14:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Barack Obama has blamed media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s media empire for creating polarisation in Western societies and for making people “angry and resentful”.
The former president was speaking during an event at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre on Tuesday.
“Here’s the good news about the US, though. We’re not quite as polarised as we seem. 60 to 65 per cent of the country, let’s call it 70 per cent, does occupy a reality-based world,” he said.
“And that’s true within the Republicans.”
Mr Obama said there was “one other factor that’s led to this polarisation”.
Read more:
Obama takes aim at Rupert Murdoch for ‘polarisation of society’
Trump reverses course and praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him
14:15 , Gustaf Kilander
In an all-caps rant on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump said he had “gained such respect” for the grand jury reviewing hush money payments allegedly made on his behalf during the 2016 campaign to women claiming they had previously had affairs with the then-candidate.
“I HAVE GAINED SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE,” Mr Trump wrote on Wednesday morning. “THE EVIDENCE IS SO OVERWHELMING IN MY FAVOR, & SO RIDICULOUSLY BAD FOR THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & HATEFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THAT THE GRAND JURY IS SAYING, HOLD ON, WE ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP, WHICH MOST GRAND JURIES ARE BRANDED AS BEING, WE ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE AGAINST A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE OR AGAINST LARGE NUMBERS OF LEGAL SCHOLARS ALL SAYING THERE IS NO CASE HERE. DROP THIS SICK WITCH HUNT, NOW!”
Read more:
Trump praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him
Fox News contributor slams Trump’s ‘horrific’ interview with Sean Hannity
13:45 , Rachel Sharp
A Fox News contributor has slammed Donald Trump’s “horrific” interview with Sean Hannity after the former president returned to the right-wing network on Monday night.
Former Republican Rep Jason Chaffetz said he watched Mr Trump’s interview and thought it was “the worst interview I’ve seen the president do”.
“I thought he was absolutely horrific,” he said. “He’s a former president of the United States. Act like it. He didn’t in that interview.”
During Monday night’s interview, Mr Trump repeatedly dodged questions about the Manhattan probe investigating the Stormy Daniels hush money payments. He also continued to lash out at Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy
13:15 , John Bowden
Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.
He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.
“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.
“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”
Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.
The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.
DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump 'chaos' candidacy
Judge orders Pence to give testimony
12:45 , John Bowden
The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.
Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.
Andrew Feinberg has more:
Judge orders Pence to give evidence
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
12:15 , John Bowden
The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.
That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges
10:45 , John Bowden
Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for two years, and is already itching to go back.
But one figure from his first run for president has refused to go away, and may end up being a major headache for him as he pursues a third White House bid.
We’re talking, of course, about adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known by her real name, Stephanie Clifford. Ms Daniels made headlines in 2018 when she came forward with an allegation that she had been in a romantic extramarital relationship with the president in 2006, and had been threatened and later bribed to keep her mouth shut.
At the time, the basis of her claim took on an interesting angle thanks to a lawsuit she filed against then-President Donald Trump. Alleging that the hush agreement was invalid because Mr Trump had not signed it, she sued him and triggered what would become a years-long investigation into whether the scheme was legal at all points.
Read more:
Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges
Trump claims DeSantis would be “working in a pizza parlour” without his endorsement
09:45 , John Bowden
Donald Trump has claimed that Ron DeSantis would be "working in a pizza parlour" if it weren't for his endorsement during the 2018 gubernatorial race.
The former president, who has declared that he will stand for a second non-consecutive term in 2024, made the remarks in an interview with Sean Hannity on Monday night.
The pair have stepped up attacks on one another ahead of next year's election, but Mr DeSantis has not formally announced his intention to run.
Watch this video report from The Independent:
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, documents show
08:45 , John Bowden
Ivana Trump was under an FBI counterintelligence inquiry on allegations surrounding her ties to her home country Czechoslovakia, a trove of secret documents has revealed.
The FBI “recommended a preliminary inquiry be opened on Ivana Trump” based on information received from a confidential source in 1989, according to 190 pages of classified documents released by the law enforcement agency on Monday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from Bloomberg News.
Read more:
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, documents show
Alvin Bragg rips ‘baseless accusations’ as House Republicans demand he be hauled to Congress
07:45 , John Bowden
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has fired back at “baseless accusations” after House Republicans threatened to haul the New York City prosecutor before Congress to explain a potential indictment against Donald Trump.
Republicans have rallied in Donald Trump’s defence after the one-term president predicted that he will be arrested on Tuesday. A trio of House committee chairs threatened to call Mr Bragg to testify before Congress.
“We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law,” a spokesperson for Mr Bragg told Fox News. “"In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth. Our skilled, honest and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work.”
Read more:
House Republicans demand Alvin Bragg be hauled to Congress over Trump indictment
‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
06:45 , John Bowden
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.
“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”
Read more:
AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting
05:45 , John Bowden
Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, once considered to be a political ally of Donald Trump’s, has come out swinging against the former US president in a new interview that touched on Mr Trump’s meeting with disgraced rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
The comments were made during an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, due to air in the coming days on the streaming service Fox Nation. Excerpts were released on Monday by Fox News.
Speaking with Morgan, Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Trump “should be rebuked and condemned” for his meeting with Fuentes, who regularly rants about the Jewish people and is known for his denial of the Holocaust.
Read more:
One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting
Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe
04:45 , John Bowden
The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.
Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.
Andrew Feinberg has more:
Judge orders Pence to give evidence
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
03:45 , John Bowden
The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.
That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy
02:45 , AP
Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.
He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.
“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.
“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”
Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.
The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.
DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump 'chaos' candidacy
Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent indictment rhetoric
01:45 , John Bowden
Alex Jones, the InfoWars broadcaster and conspiracy theorist, said he believes that former President Donald Trump may be assassinated by the so-called deep state.
Mr Jones, who lost a defamation lawsuit after spreading disinformation about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, has said that if it appears as if Mr Trump may win the 2024 election, deep state operatives may take him out by blowing up his plane or shooting him.
The host was speaking on Sunday after Mr Trump had held his first 2024 rally on Saturday in Waco, Texas on the 30th anniversary of the deadly standoff by federal authorities and a religious cult leading to the deaths of 86 people, and spawning conspiracy theorists among Americans with anti-government sentiments.
It was one of the most lethal battles against law enforcement in US history, and Mr Trump spent a significant part of his speech railing against those investigating him for various alleged offences.
Read more:
Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent rhetoric
Trump says mail in ballots used to ‘cheat’ – days after urging supporters to ‘change our thinking’ on voting method
Wednesday 29 March 2023 00:45 , John Bowden
Former president Donald Trump has returned to his old position that mail-in ballots are used to “cheat” after he had previously told his supporters that they needed to “change our thinking” about the voting practice.
The former president criticised the use of mail-in ballots on his networking platform Truth Social.
“The Democrats used Covid inspired Mail In Ballots to CHEAT,” he said. “Even Jimmy Carter’s Commission said that Mail In Ballots will lead to massive cheating, which they they have. France, and others, gave up on them — MASSIVE FRAUD. Now they are using PROSECUTORS to CHEAT — No shame. They are the lowest of the low!”
The former president repeatedly criticised mail-in votig throughout the 2020 presidential election, despite the fact he voted by mail himself. Republicans have historically preferred using mail-in ballots, but Mr Trump’s critiques have led to many more Republicans opposing the practice.
Read more:
Trump gives contradictory statements on mail-in ballots days apart
Trump goes all in against trans rights
Tuesday 28 March 2023 23:45 , John Bowden
Former US president Donald Trump smeared rights for transgender Americans as “insanity” and pledged to “revoke every Biden policy promoting the disfigurement of our youth” over the weekend.
At the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign on Saturday in Waco, Texas, Trump doubled down on a vow he made last month to revoke his successor’s policies on gender-affirming care for transgender children.
Trump said that he would “keep men out of women’s sports” if re-elected president, after he last year misgendered transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Read more:
Trump attacks transgender rights and says he will ban ‘disfigurement of our youth’
Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges
Tuesday 28 March 2023 23:15 , John Bowden
Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for two years, and is already itching to go back.
But one figure from his first run for president has refused to go away, and may end up being a major headache for him as he pursues a third White House bid.
We’re talking, of course, about adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known by her real name, Stephanie Clifford. Ms Daniels made headlines in 2018 when she came forward with an allegation that she had been in a romantic extramarital relationship with the president in 2006, and had been threatened and later bribed to keep her mouth shut.
At the time, the basis of her claim took on an interesting angle thanks to a lawsuit she filed against then-President Donald Trump. Alleging that the hush agreement was invalid because Mr Trump had not signed it, she sued him and triggered what would become a years-long investigation into whether the scheme was legal at all points.
Read more:
Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges
‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:45 , John Bowden
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.
“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”
Read more:
AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
Trump rails against ‘demonic forces’ and pitches 2024 race as ‘the final battle’ at Waco rally
Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:15 , John Bowden
Donald Trump railed against “demonic forces” and pitched the 2024 presidential race as “the final battle” at the first rally of his third campaign for the White House in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
Mr Trump opened the rally by playing a song recorded by a choir of men imprisoned for their involvement in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He then launched into a speech that echoed the same incendiary language he used in the run-up to that day.
“If we don’t win this election in 2024, I truly believe our country is doomed,” he said, hitting out at “demonic forces” who are “destroying the country.”
“Either the Deep State destroys America or we destroy the Deep State,” the former president warned his followers.
Read more:
Trump rails against ‘demonic forces’ and calls 2024 ‘the final battle’ at Waco rally
Stormy Daniels destroys critic with three word response after being attacked for sex with married Trump
Tuesday 28 March 2023 21:48 , John Bowden
Porn actor Stormy Daniels hit back at critics on Twitter amid the ongoing investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into the hush money payment she received from former President Donald Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen in 2016.
Ms Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. She was paid off to keep quiet about the supposed extramarital activity.
Mr Trump insulted Ms Daniels during his Saturday rally in Waco, Texas, rejecting all allegations of an affair.
“Sex with Stormy Daniels is traumatic enough. Hasn’t President Trump been punished enough?” one Twitter user said.
“I think he needs another spanking,” Ms Daniels responded.
Read more:
Stormy Daniels destroys critic after she’s attacked for sex with married Trump
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
Tuesday 28 March 2023 20:29 , John Bowden
The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.
That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.
No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe
FBI fully prepared after Trump’s ‘death and destruction’ post, lawmaker says
Tuesday 28 March 2023 20:15 , John Bowden
US senator Mark Warner said on Sunday he was briefed by the FBI on Donald Trump‘s rhetoric after the former president verbally lashed out at a New York prosecutor overseeing a grand jury investigation into alleged hush-money payments.
“I have been briefed by the FBI. They say they are fully prepared,” Warner, a Democrat and the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN on Sunday. “They have seen no specific threats but the level of rhetoric on some of these right-wing sites has increased.”
Mr Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against New York prosecutors who are leading investigations into the alleged payment of hush-money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
On Friday Mr Trump warned in a Truth Social post of “potential death and destruction” if he is charged in the case.
He also shared a composite picture showing him wielding a baseball bat next to the head of Mr Bragg, a post widely seen as a dangerous call to violence against a prosecutor. The post was later deleted.
Trump warns of ‘potential death and destruction’ if indicted in hush money probe
Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting his imminent arrest
Tuesday 28 March 2023 19:45 , John Bowden
Following his campaign rally in Waco, Texas, Donald Trump said he believes prosecutors in New York City have “already dropped” a case against him, one week after his false prediction of his imminent arrest generated a media firestorm, a rush of Republican support and a surge in donations to his campaign.
Speaking to reporters on 25 March, the former president said he thinks the office of New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg is no longer investigating Mr Trump’s alleged hush money payment to an adult film star in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.
“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” he said, according to Axios. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”
A New York grand jury continues to hear witnesses and evidence in that case. Mr Trump and his aides have blamed “leaks” and “rumours” for his claims, though the former president appeared to be the only source for publicly announcing them, and his team has clarified that he did not receive any indications from prosecutors that would be imminently charged.
Read more:
Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting arrest
Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe
Tuesday 28 March 2023 19:09 , John Bowden
The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.
Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.
Andrew Feinberg has more:
Judge orders Pence to give evidence
Trump’s own lawyer says violent Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised'
Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:46 , John Bowden
Trump’s own lawyer calls violent Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised’
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer refused to defend his client’s social media post attacking New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg who is overseeing proceedings on the Stormy Daniels hush money case.
Joe Tacopina condemned Mr Trump’s Truth Social post in which the former president was seen wielding a baseball bat next to a photo of Mr Bragg’s head.
Mr Tacopina was asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press on Sunday if he would “advise a client to personally attack a prosecutor like this”.
Read more:
Trump’s own lawyer calls Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised’
Majority of Americans think Trump investigations are fair
Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:03 , John Bowden
Most Americans think the investigations into former President Donald Trump are fair, according to a new poll.
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll includes responses from 1,300 adults and shows that around 60 per cent of Americans don’t want him to be president again.
A majority of Americans disagree with Mr Trump as 56 per cent say that the investigations are fair and not a “witch hunt” – 41 per cent take the opposing view, according to NPR.
There’s a massive partisan divide – about 90 per cent of Democrats think the probs are fair, while 80 per cent of Republicans think they’re a witch hunt.
Among independents, 51 per cent think they’re fair, while 47 per cent do not.
‘Of all the things that Donald Trump has done and accomplished in his life, it’s just constant chaos'
Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:30 , AP
DeSantis’ allies privately scoffed at recent reports of anonymous concerns over the direction of his campaign, noting there is no campaign. The 44-year-old governor isn’t expected to launch his White House bid for at least two more months. And the first presidential primary contest is roughly 10 months away.
For now, DeSantis’ team, headquartered here on the front edge of Florida’s Panhandle, believes he holds a position of strength among Republican voters. And as Trump fights to undermine DeSantis, his strongest Republican rival, the Florida governor’s growing coalition is eager to highlight the contrast between the two men.
On one side stands Trump, a twice-impeached former president carrying a new level of turmoil into the 2024 presidential contest. On the other is DeSantis, a big-state governor coming off a commanding reelection, who is a far more disciplined messenger and hyperfocused on enacting conservative policies.
“Of all the things that Donald Trump has done and accomplished in his life, it’s just constant chaos. And I think the American people are just tired of it,” said Florida state Rep. Spencer Roach, a former Trump supporter who thinks DeSantis would be “a very formidable presidential candidate.”
DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy
Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:00 , AP
Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.
He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.
“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.
“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”
Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.
The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, report claims
Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:30 , Shweta Sharma, Andrew Feinberg
Ivana Trump was under an FBI counterintelligence inquiry on allegations surrounding her ties to her home country Czechoslovakia, a trove of secret documents has revealed.
The FBI “recommended a preliminary inquiry be opened on Ivana Trump” based on information received from a confidential source in 1989, according to 190 pages of classified documents released by the law enforcement agency on Monday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from Bloomberg News.
One passage in the trove of documents noted that it was “unknown” whether the allegations against her “stem[med] from jealousies of her wealth and fame” but said the probe was nonetheless “continuing”.
Born Ivana ZelníÄková in 1949 in what was then Czechoslovakia, she left the then-communist country in 1971 after marrying an Austrian ski instructor who she divorced a year later after obtaining Austrian citizenship, eventually making her way to California, then New York, where she earned a living as a model.
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Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, report claims
Trump offers rambling defence for post showing him wielding baseball bat next to Alvin Bragg’s head
Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:00 , Stuti Mishra
Donald Trump offered a bizarre and rambling response when he was asked about a controversial Truth Social post showing him wielding a baseball bat next to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s head.
Mr Trump’s defence has come as his social media shows an increase in inflammatory rhetoric against the investigation on a hush money payment that could lead to charges being brought against him, but which the twice-impeached president now claims have been dropped.
In a Fox News interview on Monday, the former president claimed the two photos in the post were unrelated.
Fox host Sean Hannity began by questioning Mr Trump about the post, which was later taken down, and the criticism it generated.
“Why open yourself up to criticism?” Hannity asked.
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Trump offers rambling defence of post of him wielding bat next to Alvin Bragg’s head
Trump says Ron DeSantis would be working in a pizza parlour if it wasn’t for him
Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:30 , Namita Singh
Donald Trump has bragged about how his “great” endorsement for Ron DeSantis during the 2018 gubernatorial race had helped the Florida governor, without which he would be “working in a pizza parlour”.
Both Republican leaders have stepped up attacks on each other in the run up to the 2024 presidential election, though Mr DeSantis is yet to officially declare that he will run for president.
Mr Trump, who had earlier come up with a nickname for Mr DeSantis using his Italian-American heritage, gave a detailed account of how he allegedly helped the Florida governor.
Mr Trump’s fresh remarks in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Monday night have come after Mr DeSantis’s own sass-infused comments about the investigation on the hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels.
“The question I’m asked the most about you of late is Ron DeSantis. This is the question – what happened? I thought they were friends,” said Hannity.
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Trump says Ron DeSantis would be working in a pizza parlour if it wasn’t for him
Trump escalates rhetoric against Manhattan DA
Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:00 , AP
Trump raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday. He has since used the absence of an indictment to claim, furnishing no evidence, that the investigation is somehow faltering.
The Republican former president has also escalated his rhetoric, warning that “potential death & destruction” would accompany any indictment. He also posted a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. On Thursday, Trump referred to Bragg, Manhattan’s first Black D.A., as an “animal.”
In a memo to staff Friday, Bragg thanked the nearly 1,600 people for persevering in the face of “additional press attention and security around our office“ and said their safety remains the top priority.
“We will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, which is what each of you does every single day,” Bragg wrote.
Since then, former federal prosecutors in New York City have rallied to Bragg’s defense, signing a letter that condemned the verbal attacks.
“As former prosecutors, we denounce efforts to intimidate the Manhattan District Attorney and we call upon all to support and protect prosecutorial independence and the rule of law,” he said.
‘I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David'
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:40 , AP
Among the witnesses the grand jury has already heard from is Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer who has said he orchestrated the payoffs. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges arising from the payments and has become a potentially major witness for state prosecutors.
Pecker is seen as relevant to the investigation because his company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trump’s campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougal’s story until after the election, a dubious journalism practice known as “catch-and-kill.”
Cohen made recordings of a conversation in which he and Trump spoke about the arrangement to pay McDougal through the tabloid publisher.
At one point in the recording, Cohen told Trump, “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David,” a reference to Pecker.
Cohen told Trump that he had already spoken with the Trump Organization’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, on “how to set the whole thing up.”
Trump then said: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”
Cohen also signed an agreement to buy the nondisclosure part of McDougal’s contract with AMI for $125,000 through a company he formed called Resolution Consultants LLC, but a few months later Pecker told Cohen that the deal was off and Cohen never paid the $125,000, according to court documents from Cohen’s criminal case.
Separately, Cohen has admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels to keep her from telling her story to the Enquirer or some other media.
Trump has said that he personally, not his company, reimbursed Cohen.
Federal prosecutors revealed in 2018 that they had agreed not to bring criminal charges against AMI. Pecker has since stepped down as CEO.
In Trump probe, key witness returns, no indictment vote yet
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:22 , AP
A pivotal figure in the hush money payment investigation of Donald Trump returned on Monday to the building where a grand jury has been meeting for months, a repeat appearance suggesting his testimony could be key as prosecutors push toward potential criminal charges.
There was still no word on when the panel might vote on a possible indictment of the former president.
David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer, was back as the grand jury heard testimony in the probe for the first time since last Monday, when a witness favorable to the ex-president appeared.
The grand jury is now back on the Trump matter, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secretive proceedings. The ex-president is being investigated over payments during his 2016 campaign to two women who alleged affairs or sexual encounters with him.
Trump denies being involved with either of the women, porn actor Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, and claims he’s the victim of “extortion.”
Trump grand jury back at work this week in Manhattan
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:00 , John Bowden
The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments returned on Monday to hear more evidence, with still no word on when it might be asked to vote on a possible indictment.
It was the first time the panel was hearing testimony in the Trump probe since last Monday, when a witness favorable to the ex-president appeared before the grand jury. The jurors did not meet at all on Wednesday, one of the days when they ordinarily convene, and heard other matters on Thursday. The members typically do not meet on Tuesdays or Fridays.
The grand jury is now back on Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secretive proceedings. It was not immediately clear whether an additional witness might be called before the panel.
Trump raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday. He has since used the absence of an indictment to claim, furnishing no evidence, that the investigation is somehow faltering.
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In Trump probe, Manhattan grand jury is back at work
Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting his imminent arrest
Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:30 , John Bowden
Following his campaign rally in Waco, Texas, Donald Trump said he believes prosecutors in New York City have “already dropped” a case against him, one week after his false prediction of his imminent arrest generated a media firestorm, a rush of Republican support and a surge in donations to his campaign.
Speaking to reporters on 25 March, the former president said he thinks the office of New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg is no longer investigating Mr Trump’s alleged hush money payment to an adult film star in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.
“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” he said, according to Axios. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”
A New York grand jury continues to hear witnesses and evidence in that case. Mr Trump and his aides have blamed “leaks” and “rumours” for his claims, though the former president appeared to be the only source for publicly announcing them, and his team has clarified that he did not receive any indications from prosecutors that would be imminently charged.
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Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting arrest
Has Trump been arrested? The former president’s moving indictment timeline
Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:00 , John Bowden
Workers began erecting barricades around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse last week, bracing for a potential, unprecedented moment: Donald Trump arriving to face charges in a hush money probe, making him the first president in US history to face criminal charges.
In an all-caps warning on his Truth Social account on 18 March, the former president predicted his own arrest and called on his supporters to protest what he called the “corrupt and highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office.”
A Trump spokesperson later clarified the former president’s team has been given “no notification” of an impending arrest or indictment beside “illegal leaks,” though Mr Trump was the only person to have announced his imminent arrest, which he said would take place on 21 March.
A grand jury in New York City has met on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays since January to consider evidence involving the former president’s role involving a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels that prosecutors at the New York County district attorney’s office reportedly allege was an illegal campaign expenditure.
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Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent rhetoric
‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:44 , John Bowden
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.
“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”
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AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe
One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting
Tuesday 28 March 2023 11:30 , John Bowden
Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, once considered to be a political ally of Donald Trump’s, has come out swinging against the former US president in a new interview that touched on Mr Trump’s meeting with disgraced rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
The comments were made during an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, due to air in the coming days on the streaming service Fox Nation. Excerpts were released on Monday by Fox News.
Speaking with Morgan, Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Trump “should be rebuked and condemned” for his meeting with Fuentes, who regularly rants about the Jewish people and is known for his denial of the Holocaust.
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One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting
