Trump news - live: Trump back on Facebook as Stormy Daniels hush money indictment looms

A federal judge ordered Donald Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran to give evidence before a grand jury regarding conversations he had with the former president relating to the trove of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. The ruling pierces attorney-client privilege the pair would have otherwise been protected by.

Meanwhile, Law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are preparing for the possibility that Mr Trump may be indicted as early as next week in relation to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, according to NBC News.

New York prosecutors are expected to reach a decision soon as to whether Mr Trump should face criminal charges. In a sign that his campaign is worried about a possible indictment, they released a statement attacking the Manhattan DA’s office.

Meanwhile on social media, Mr Trump triumphantly returned to Facebook and posted no less than eight videos to his Truth Social account on Friday. Earlier, YouTube announced an end to his ban from the platform. The video-sharing site and all other social media sites de-platformed the former president in the aftermath of the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 for inciting violence.

Key Points

• Trump returns to Facebook after two-year ban

• Trump lawyer must give evidence on conversations with former president

• Law enforcement planning security for possible Trump indictment

• Dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff subpoenaed in classified docs investigation, report says

• Trump hits out at cable news foes before laying out manifesto for averting World War Three

'I’M BACK’

21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump announced his return to Facebook on Friday with a video after the social media giant reinstated him.

Donald Trump returns to Facebook two years after ban over Jan 6 riot: ‘I’m back!’

Judge rules Trump lawyer must give evidence on conversations with ex-president in Mar-a-Lago probe

21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The chief judge of the Washington, DC federal district court has ordered Evan Corcoran, the Maryland-based attorney who represented former president Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to the 8 August FBI search of his Palm Beach, Florida property, to give evidence before a grand jury regarding conversations he had with Mr Trump about efforts to find and return classified documents to the US government.

According to multiple reports, Judge Beryl Howell granted a request made by Jack Smith, the DOJ special counsel supervising multiple probes into Mr Trump, to pierce the attorney-client privilege Mr Corcoran would normally enjoy as a member of the ex-president’s legal team.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest from Washington, DC.

Trump lawyer must give evidence on conversations with ex-president

YouTube to lift Trump ban

21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

YouTube has reversed its ban on Donald Trump, and he will be allowed to post videos once again.

Mr Trump was banned from posting on YouTube in the wake of 6 January, when it joined other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook amid fears his account could be used to promote violence.

Many of those platforms have already reversed their bans. He has been allowed back on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Andrew Griffin reports.

YouTube to lift ban on Donald Trump

Trump spokesperson responds to judge ruling on Mar-a-Lago papers probe

20:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s spokesperson responds to Judge Beryl Howell’s ruling that his lawyer Evan Corcoran must give additional testimony regarding the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe, piercing attorney-client privilege.

Whenever prosecutors target the attorneys, that's usually a good indication their underlying case is very weak. If they had a real case, they wouldn't need to play corrupt games with the Constitution. Every American has the right to consult with counsel and have candid discussions — this promotes adherence to the law. We will fight the Department of Justice on this front and all others that jeopardize fundamental American rights and values. Interfering with Americans' right to an attorney is a serious and weighty matter. For a judge to do so in violation of due process, without allowing for any real hearing, and within a few hours of her expiration date — as chief judge supervising the grand jury — is unAmerican.

Trump returns to Facebook with first post since January 6 Capitol riot

20:21 , Oliver O'Connell

“Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business.”

Trump: Biden leading us toward a great depression

20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

In his eighth video of the day, Donald Trump accuses Joe Biden of leading the US toward a great depression and that last week’s bank failures “no one believed possible”, saying there should be no bailouts.

He vows that when he is back in the White House he will “immediately unleash energy production, slash regulations like I did just three years ago and repeal Biden’s tax hikes to get inflation down as fast as possible”.

Mr Trump conveniently sidesteps noting that part of the reason for last week’s bank failures was his slashing of regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.

Watch below:

Judge order Trump lawyer to give additional testimony about Mar-a-Lago papers

19:59 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran to give additional testimony as part of the investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, according to reports.

Mr Corcoran has the potential to become one of the most crucial witnesses in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents probe and the possible obstruction of justice.

District Judge Beryl Howell said in an order under seal that Justice Department prosecutors have met the threshold for the crime-fraud exception for Corcoran, a source told CNN.

Mr Trump’s lawyers have been trying to hold off investigators from learning about direct conversations between the former president and his closest advisers. Mr Corcoran had previously argued attorney-client privilege, but the DOJ argued that his discussions with Mr Trump may have been part of an attempt to plan a crime.

More follows.

Trump claims Apple temporarily removed Jan 6 song from iTunes chart

19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump claims Apple temporarily removed his number one song “Justice for all” from the iTunes chart. He posted on Truth Social

Apple temporarily removed the Number One song on the iTunes Chart, “Justice For All.” Doing massive business, beating every other song, so why was it removed? They said it is going back up. BUT GUESS WHAT REPLACED IT AT #1? “TRUMP WON,” by Natasha Owens. I’m sure the Radical Left Is happy about that!

A quick check of the chart shows Taylor Swift has come to the rescue of the “radical left”.

1NEWTaylor Swift - All Of The Girls You Loved Before

2NEWTaylor Swift - If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version)

3NEWJimin - Set Me Free, Pt. 2

4NEWTaylor Swift - Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)

5NEWTaylor Swift, Joy Williams & John Paul White - Safe & Sound (Taylor's Version)

6-5Natasha Owens - Trump Won

7-4Donald J. Trump & J6 Prison Choir - Justice for All

8-4Miley Cyrus - Flowers

9-4Morgan Wallen - Last Night

10NEWHozier - Eat Your Young

Only one Jan 6 clip broadcast by Tucker Carlson was reviewed by Capitol Police

19:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Politico reports that House Republicans repeatedly ignored the Capitol Police’s requests to review and approve any January 6 security footage that would be released to the public, according to a sworn affidavit filed on Friday.

Just one clip out of 40 that were broadcast on Fox News by Tucker Carlson was previewed by the Capitol Police and approved for transmission, Capitol Police general counsel Thomas DiBiase said in the court filing.

The remainder, he said, were “never shown to me nor anyone else from the Capitol Police”.

The six-page affidavit is part of a Capitol riot criminal case and within it Mr DiBiase describes the timeline over which House Republicans were given access to the 41,000 hours of footage captured as pro-Trump rioters stormed Congress.

Trump revels in his achievements for farmers and makes it awkward

19:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump posted another video (the seventh today) reveling in his achievements for farmers in battling China and doing away with death taxes on farms.

It wouldn’t be a Trump video without some level of awkward phrasing or bizarre overemphasis — watch below as he makes a point of telling farmers wondering about estate planning: “If you don’t love your children so much — and there are some people who don’t and maybe deservedly so — it won’t matter, because frankly, you don’t have to leave them anything.”

Trump’s fate could be decided by Brett Kavanaugh’s former roommate

18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The new chief judge at the District Court in Washington, DC who will oversee the special counsel investigations into former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice was once a roommate of Trump Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh while they were at law school.

Judge James Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, has been lauded by both Republican and Democratic presidents in the past and he has also overseen some legal proceedings in connection to the insurrection on January 6, 2021, as he placed one defendant under home confinement, according to Newsweek.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

Judge who could decide Trump’s fate once lived with Brett Kavanaugh

The case of the missing golf clubs [and life-size portrait]

18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The Washington Post reports that federal officials are searching for two gifts received from foreign nations by Donald Trump and his family during his presidency — a life-size painting of Mr Trump from the president of El Salvador and a set of golf clubs from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

According to a new report from House Democrats, they are among more than 100 foreign gifts — with a total value of nearly $300,000 — that Mr Trump failed to report to the State Department in violation of federal law.

During his final year in office, Mr Trump reported no gifts and only reported some of those received in previous years. The former president repeatedly told advisers that gifts given to him were his and were not the property of the federal government.

Law enforcement agencies planning security for possible Trump indictment

18:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are preparing for the possibility that former President Donald Trump may be indicted as early as next week in relation to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, NBC News reports.

The network cites five senior officials familiar with the preparations.

Preliminary security assessments are being conducted, officials said, as well as discussions about potential security plans in the vicinity of the Manhattan Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street in case Mr Trump appears in person to face charges.

NYPD, New York State Court Officers, the US Secret Service, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are all involved.

The officials stress that any planning is precautionary in nature as no charges have been filed.

Pence says Pete Buttigieg ‘can’t take a joke’ as he doubles down on homophobic comment

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Vice President Mike Pence has doubled down on the homophobic comments he made about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during his speech at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Pence says Buttigieg ‘can’t take a joke’ as he doubles down on homophobic comment

Trump campaign report refutes former president’s claims about dead voters

17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Department of Justice investigators have obtained a copy of a Trump campaign-commissioned report that debunked specific voter fraud claims days before then-President Donald Trump used them to pressure officials to help him overturn the result of the 2020 election.

In a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Mr Trump claimed that close to 5,000 dead people voted in the state.

However, The Washington Post reports:

But a report commissioned by his own campaign dated one day prior told a different story: Researchers paid by Trump’s team had “high confidence” of only nine dead voters in Fulton County, defined as ballots that may have been cast by someone else in the name of a deceased person. They believed there was a “potential statewide exposure” of 23 such votes across the Peach State — or 4,977 fewer than the “minimum” Trump claimed.

Further:

The “Project 2020” report conducted by the Berkeley Research Group has now been obtained by prosecutors investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. A copy was reviewed by The Washington Post, and it shows that Trump’s own campaign paid more than $600,000 for research that undercut many of his most explosive claims. The research was never made public.

Full story: YouTube lifts Donald Trump ban

16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

YouTube has reversed its ban on Donald Trump, and he will be allowed to post videos once again.

Mr Trump was banned from posting on YouTube in the wake of 6 January, when it joined other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook amid fears his account could be used to promote violence.

Many of those platforms have already reversed their bans. He has been allowed back on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Andrew Griffin has the story.

YouTube to lift ban on Donald Trump

Pence heads to Iowa

16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Pence will be in Iowa tomorrow as part of a perceived preamble to a 2024 presidential campaign.

He will be joined by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and former Republican Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan who supported the impeachment of Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection over the January 6 Capitol riot.

Mr Hogan was tipped as a potential candidate for president in 2024 but said he would not seek the Republican nomination.

He did not rule out running as a third party candidate if the 2024 election became a Trump-Biden rematch.

Pence: ‘Many causes’ to Jan 6 violence, but Trump’s ‘reckless words ... endangered us all'

16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

During an interview on Thursday, Larry Kudlow, Fox Business host and former Trump administration adviser, pressed former Vice President Mike Pence about recent comments he made pointing the finger of blame for the January 6 Capitol riot at Donald Trump.

After asking Mr Pence why he made the remarks when he did, Kudlow asked specifically if he believed Mr Trump incited violence or insurrection.

The former vice president answered:

Well, look there was a riot at the Capitol that day and there were many causes. I do think that the president’s reckless words that day endangered all of us that were at the Capitol. When I say my family, you know, my wife and my daughter were with me all the way until four in the morning the following day.

But thanks to law enforcement, we quelled the riot. We were able to reconvene the Congress very same day and complete our work under the Constitution of the United States. But I’ll let history be the judge of those matters and the American people can each have their own opinions.

While Mr Pence refused to say that Mr Trump directly incited the riot, the former president is less courteous and apparently has no qualms in blaming his one-time second in command.

Trump v DeSantis: Rivals’ very different styles on display

15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

While DeSantis has taken a cloistered approach, Trump has been maximizing his interactions with voters and the press as he begins to visit early voting states — an effort that aides say is part of a larger push to contrast Trump's strengths with DeSantis' perceived weaknesses.

Read on:

Trump vs. DeSantis: Rivals' very different styles on display

YouTube to lift Trump ban today

15:20 , Oliver O'Connell

YouTube will end Donald Trump’s ban from the platform today, Axios reports citing a spokesperson.

The former president has been unable to post anything to his channel since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol after violating the platform’s policies for posting content that incited calls to violence

YouTube said it would lift restrictions on Mr Trump when it determined that “the risk of violence has decreased”.

Restrictions were also placed on whether people could comment on Trump’s videos. This will also be lifted when the ban ends. The videos that YouTube determined violated its policy about inciting violence were removed and will not be restored.

YouTube’s vice president of public policy Leslie Miller told Axios that from today, the Donald J Trump channel is “no longer restricted and the ability to upload new content is restored”.

“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, balancing that with the importance of preserving the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election,” Miller said.

“This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”

Mr Trump will now also be allowed to buy YouTube ads in compliance with the platform’s policies.

The former president has already been reinstated on Facebook, Instagram, and Elon Musk’s Twitter. To date, he has not used any of them but it is thought that they may become active as the 2024 campaign heats up.

Mr Trump currently prefers to post on his own platform, Truth Social, where his followers can enjoy engaging content like this:

Trump takes aim at DeSantis (again) and posts slew of bizarre topical video clips

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump was quiet on social media last night as reports swirled about subpoenas for Mar-a-Lago staff and close aides to the former president. Not so this morning.

First off, Mr Trump had a quick jab at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — whom you could call his current number one foe, but with so many it’s difficult to rank them — by attacking his legislative record relating to ethanol and social security and then calling him Paul Ryan’s twin.

Here’s what he said:

Remember, Ron DeSanctus strongly opposed ethanol and fought against it at every turn, and he’ll do it again, they always go back to their original thought. He also fought against Social Security, wanted to decimate it, and voted against it 3 times. And on Social Security, while we’re at it, he wanted the minimum retirement age to be lifted to people that are 70 years old, a substantial increase. He also voted to severely cut Medicare….

….Remember, he was a disciple of Paul Ryan, a RINO loser who’s currently destroying Fox, and would constantly vote against entitlements. Ryan is a big reason that Mitt Romney lost his election. And to be honest with you, Ron reminds me of Mitt Romney, he’s like a twin.

He followed that by reposting a clip that shows Governor DeSantis apparently changing how he pronounces his own name [from Ron Dee-Santis to Ron DiSantis?].

The former president was just getting warmed up.

He then posted six mercifully short campaign-style video clips covering a range of topics from the investigations against him [“your all-time favourite president - me”] to the “China virus” [vowing retribution] via the prosecution of January 6 rioters [patriotic Americans peacefully protesting], Democrats allegedly stealing elections, and TikTok. The tone is very much someone trying to convince themself about what they’re saying.

In probably the pièce de résistance of the bunch for anyone who needs a good laugh, he said in the manner of someone who hasn’t done the reading and is trying to reach a minimum word count:

Lately there’s a statement, it’s been out there all over the place, it’s a quote from a lot of people, it said: ‘Trump’s been right about everything’. And if you think about it, I really have. It’s my honour to do it, but we have to do something about it. We have to save our country. Thank you very much.

Here’s the clip:

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

14:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Big problems, doom, World War... Alex Woodward reports on the former president’s dark rhetoric.

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

Team Trump take aim at the Manhattan DA to divert from likely indictment

13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s camp is said to be planning to launch a smear campaign against the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in response to a potential looming criminal indictment against the former president.

Two of Mr Trump’s political allies told The New York Times that his campaign is preparing for a “political war” if or when DA Alvin Bragg’s office indicts the former president over the hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

This attack will focus on a push to claim that charges are merely the work of a politically-motivated attack by the Democratic party – with a particular focus on aiming to tie Mr Bragg to President Joe Biden.

Rachel Sharp has the latest.

Trump team plans ‘smear campaign’ against Manhattan DA’s office over hush money probe

Trump aides and Mar-a-Lago staff subpoenaed in classified documents investigation

13:25 , Rachel Sharp

At least two dozen people close to Donald Trump, ranging from inner circle aides to staff members at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, have been subpoeanaed as part of the special counsel investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, CNN reports.

“They’re casting an extremely wide net – anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” an anonmyous source familiar with the investigation told the broadcaster.

Investigators have spoken with a Mar-a-Lago staff member seen on security footage moving boxes and called Trump adviser Margo Martin to appear before a grand jury in Washington on Thursday, CNN adds.

The Independent’s Josh Marcus reports:

Two dozen Trump aides and Mar-a-Lago staff subpoenaed in special counsel probe

Fears in Trumpworld? Ex-president’s camp issues statement slamming Manhattan prosecutors as charges loom

12:55 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump’s campaign has launched a fierce attack on the Manhattan prosecutors investigating the Stormy Daniels hush money payments in what appears to be a sign the former president’s camp is worried about a looming indictment.

Mr Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung released a statement on Thursday slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office over what they claim is a “witch hunt” against the one-term president.

“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” said Mr Cheung.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:

Trump campaign issues statement slamming Manhattan prosecutors as charges loom

Elizabeth Warren: GOP handed Fed chairman ‘flamethrower that he aimed at the banking rules’

12:25 , Rachel Sharp

Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed a 2018 piece of legislation that deregulated the financial industry as contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The Massachusetts Democrat and longtime critic of the financial industry made the remarks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Eric Garcia reports.

Warren says Republicans handed Fed chairman ‘flamethrower’ aimed at banking rules

Tucker Carlson’s criticism of Janet Yellen backfires after he backdates 2017 comments to 2007

11:55 , Rachel Sharp

Tucker Carlson’s criticism of Janet Yellen backfired after he said a video of her comments was from 2007 when it actually was from 2017, leading to commentators accusing him of lying.

“This is not the first time she’s been wrong. Here she was in 2007, one year before the Great Recession,” said the Fox News host, before playing a clip of the Treasury Secretary that clearly mentioned it was from 2017.

“Our mistake, that was 2017,” Carlson said as soon as the clip ended.

On social media, commentators lashed out at the Fox anchor.

The Independent’s Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Tucker Carlson’s criticism of Janet Yellen backfires after he backdates 2017 comments

Mike Lindell now claims MyPillow is ‘doing great’ after complaining ‘political pressure’ hurting sales

11:25 , Oliver O'Connell

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell now says that his company is doing just fine despite his previous complaints of “political pressure” supposedly hurting business.

Mr Lindell made the pronouncement on Wednesday in a comment to The Daily Beast, prompted by the news outlet in response to remarks he had made a day earlier on the “War Room” podcast hosted by Steve Bannon.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Mike Lindell claims MyPillow is ‘doing great’ after saying Trump baggage hurt sales

Trump team issues statement slamming Manhattan prosecutors as hush money charges loom

10:55 , Rachel Sharp

Manhattan prosecutors continue to push forward with the investigation into whether Donald Trump should face criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election.

This week, Daniels and Mr Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen testified in the case – while Mr Trump’s attorney went on a media blitz slamming the probe.

In a sign that his camp may be worried an indictment is looming for the former president, his campaign released a statement on Thursday attacking the Manhattan DA’s office.

“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for his campaign, said in a statement.

“From Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Mueller Hoax, to Impeachment Hoaxes 1 and 2, and even the Unlawful Mar-a-Lago Raid, Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected — and they’ve failed every time.”

EDITORIAL: Why questions about DeSantis’s Guantanamo record are in the public interest

10:25 , Rachel Sharp

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, could be president of the United States in two years. His character and his record should be under the scrutiny that such high office demands.

The Independent believes that the American people, and the people of a world in which American power is paramount, have a right to know where he stands on the question of whether detainees at the US base at Guantanamo Bay were tortured.

Read the full editorial here:

Why questions about DeSantis’s Guantanamo record are in the public interest

EXCLUSIVE – Former Guantanamo prisoner: Ron DeSantis watched me being tortured

09:54 , Rachel Sharp

A former detainee of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has claimed that Florida governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis witnessed him being tortured during the time he was stationed there.

Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni citizen who was held for 14 years on the US Naval base in Cuba, told The Independent in an extraordinary interview that he was brutally force-fed by camp staff during a hunger strike in 2006, and that Mr DeSantis was present for at least one of those sessions.

The United Nations has characterised the force-feeding of hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay as torture. The US government has denied that the practice amounts to torture, and it has been used against prisoners over successive administrations during hunger strikes.

Mr DeSantis was stationed on the base between March 2006 and January 2007, according to his military records.

An investigation by The Independent details the following claims:

• Two prisoners held at the camp at the time Mr DeSantis was stationed there claim he witnessed the forced-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners.

• Mr Adayfi claims that Mr DeSantis had initially told him he was there for the detainees’ welfare.

• Mr DeSantis was stationed at Guantanamo during a year marked by riots, hunger strikes and death.

• Part of his role was to field concerns and complaints from prisoners.

• Mr DeSantis emerged from his time at Guantanamo as an advocate for its continued use, and against the release of detainees

Read the full investigation by The Independent’s Richard Hall:

Former Guantanamo prisoner: Ron DeSantis watched me being tortured

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Big problems, doom, World War... Alex Woodward reports on the former president’s dark rhetoric.

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

Who will be Trump’s running mate?

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

“A lot of people are right now auditioning,” Trump boasted to supporters in Florida last month.

Trump's VP? Some in GOP already jockeying for consideration

Florida plans to revoke hotel liquor licence over drag show

07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is moving to revoke the liquor license of a Miami hotel that hosted a Christmas drag show, a crackdown that comes as the Republican governor looks to shore up his conservative credentials ahead of an expected 2024 presidential bid.

The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed an administrative complaint earlier this week against the Hyatt Regency Miami for hosting the Christmas-themed show.

Read more:

Florida aims to revoke hotel's liquor license for drag show

Former editor of Jewish newspaper charged for grabbing Capitol riot offence

05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A former top editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York City was arrested Thursday on charges that he interfered with police officers who were trying to protect the US Capitol during the January 6 riot.

Elliot Resnick, 39, was chief editor of The Jewish Press when he joined the crowd of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on 6 January 2021, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

More details:

Former editor of Jewish newspaper is charged for grabbing Capitol officer on Jan 6

Trump firmly ahead of DeSantis in new poll

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump remains firmly on top of the Republican field for 2024, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.

The survey showed the former president with a strong lead over his most competitive potential 2024 rival, the undeclared Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, in both head-to-head matchups and broader contests with other Republicans in the field.

John Bowden reports.

New poll places Trump firmly ahead of DeSantis

GOP congressman faces questions over $25k funds for child burial garden

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A Republican congressman who was recently criticised for misrepresenting his educational background is now facing scrutiny after he refused to explain what happened to money he raised to build a burial garden for children.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

GOP congressman faces questions over $25k funds for child burial garden

Lindsey Graham slammed for provoking ‘dangerous escalation’ with Russia

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Russia’s ambassador to the United States slammed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham for suggesting that the United States shoot down any Russian planes if they “ever get near another US asset flying in international waters”.

Eric Garcia reports.

Lindsey Graham slammed for provoking ‘dangerous escalation’ with Russia over US drone

Whoopi Goldberg apologises after using slur in reference to Trump

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Whoopi Goldberg has apologised for using a pejorative word on the latest episode of The View.

Following Wednesday’s (15 March) episode of the American talk series, the co-host came under brief fire for her use of a dated slur while discussing former US President Donald Trump’s current legal battles.

Inga Parkel reports.

Whoopi Goldberg apologises after using slur in reference to Donald Trump on The View

Trump inner circle hit with numerous subpoenas in special counsel probe: report

Thursday 16 March 2023 23:28 , Josh Marcus

At least two dozen people close to Donald Trump, ranging from inner circle aides to staff members at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, have been subpoeanaed as part of the special counsel investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, CNN reports.

“They’re casting an extremely wide net – anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” an anonmyous source familiar with the investigation told the broadcaster.

Investigators have spoken with a Mar-a-Lago staff member seen on security footage moving boxes and called Trump adviser Margo Martin to appear before a grand jury in Washington on Thursday, CNN adds.

Federal officials have been investigating Mr Trump’s conduct at the Florida estate since the summer of 2022, when the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August and uncovered numerous documents marked classified, following a lengthy back-and-forth in which the former president allegedly failed to comply with federal archivists.

More details in our full story.

FLOW

Lindsey Graham: Trump would have believed aliens stole his votes

Thursday 16 March 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump was so desperate to defend election fraud claims that he would have believed aliens stole ballots, his close ally and senator Lindsey Graham reportedly told a jury.

In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, five of the 23 members of the Fulton County grand jury provided details of eight months of testimony into the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar has the story.

Lindsay Graham told court Trump would have believed aliens stole his votes

Georgia grand jury heard third Trump 2020 election call

Thursday 16 March 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A special grand jury in Georgia reportedly heard a recording of Donald Trump attempting to get then-state House Speaker David Ralston to convene a special session of the legislature to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 election win in the state.

Ralston, who has since passed away, reportedly deflected the outgoing president’s request, allegedly telling Mr Trump, “I will do everything in my power that I think is appropriate,” according to jurors who spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported the news of the call.

A special session was never called, though Republicans in the state did organise a plan to serve as unauthorised fake electors and cast their votes in the Electoral College for Donald Trump, even though Mr Biden won the state’s vote.

Josh Marcus has the story.

Georgia grand jury heard third Trump call attempting to influence election results

Who is jockeying to be Trump’s VP pick?

Thursday 16 March 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The prime contenders are almost all women...

Trump's VP? Some in GOP already jockeying for consideration

Dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff subpoenaed in classified docs investigation, report says

Thursday 16 March 2023 20:32 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN reports that at least two dozen people at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, ranging from staff to aides and members of the former president’s inner circle, have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury investigating the handing of classified documents found at the Florida estate.

The network cites multiple sources familiar with the investigation.

On Thursday, Margo Martin, a communications aide who worked at the White House and followed Mr Trump to Florida, appeared before the grand jury in Washington, DC.

When approached by CNN, she declined to answer any questions.

A source described the Department of Justice efforts as “casting an extremely wide net”.

Another 1,000 people could face Jan. 6 charges, prosecutor says

Thursday 16 March 2023 19:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Department of Justice officials are eying charges for as many as 1,000 more potential defendants in connection with the pro-Trump riot that attempted to disrupt certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, the District of Columbia’s top prosecutor has said.

Andrew Feinberg reports for The Independent from Washington, DC.

Another 1,000 people could face charges in January 6 probe, prosecutor says

Voices: Ron DeSantis feels the heat of the 2024 spotlight

Thursday 16 March 2023 19:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is now feeling the heat – both from former president Donald Trump and over the governor’s remarks about Ukraine’s war with Russia as he prepares his run for the White House...

...It amounts to Mr DeSantis’ first time facing serious scrutiny both nationally on the world stage as he prepares an impending presidential bid.

Read more:

Ron DeSantis feels the heat of the 2024 spotlight

Trump hits out at cable news foes before laying out manifesto for averting World War Three

Thursday 16 March 2023 19:04 , Oliver O'Connell

In an after-lunch pair of posts on Truth Social, Donald Trump first lashed out at some of his favourite cable news foes, claiming that HBO/CNN talk show host Bill Maher’s ratings are dying... before saying he wouldn’t talk about that anymore. He clarified that was because he now believes Maher now recognises that he is leading in the polls and the investigations into him are a hoax. Lucky Bill Maher.

Instead, the former president hit out at (for the umpteenth time) Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski over on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, saying that their ratings were at an all-time low.

Mr Trump was not done yet and moved on to more serious matters. In the second post he included one of his campaign-style video speeches, this one about... Preventing World War Three.

Here’s his summary, which amazingly only includes one all-caps word:

There MUST be a complete commitment to dismantling the entire globalist neo-con establishment that is perpetually dragging us into endless wars, pretending to fight for freedom and democracy abroad, while they turn us into a third-world country and a third-world dictatorship right here at home!

You can watch the whole shouty three-and-a-half-minute screed below which includes segments on how we are our own worst enemy, and something about fertility:

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

Thursday 16 March 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports on how big problems, doom, world war, and the former president’s dark visions of a looming civil war colour his response to potential indictments and depict the aftermath of an election if he loses.

Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign

Citing ‘shadow campaign’ Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against DeSantis

Thursday 16 March 2023 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s super PAC announced on Wednesday that it had filed a state-level ethics complaint against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of running a “shadow campaign” for the GOP nomination without formally filing paperwork to run for president.

The complaint, which came in the form of a letter sent by the Make America Great Again PAC to the Florida Ethics Commission, requests an investigation into the state’s governor for supposedly receiving gifts in support of a “shadow” presidential campaign which the Trump PAC alleges is being run alongside Mr DeSantis’s duties as governor.

John Bowden explains:

Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against DeSantis over ‘shadow campaign’

ICYMI: Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors in Trump hush money investigation

Thursday 16 March 2023 17:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Adult film star Stormy Daniels confirmed on Wednesday that she had met with prosecutors with Manhattan’s district attorney’s office as part of the ongoing investigation into a hush payment she received from Donald Trump’s lawyer in 2016.

Clark Brewster, an attorney representing Ms Daniels, tweeted the news Wednesday afternoon. His client retweeted it, thanking him and taking a veiled shot at her previous attorney, Michael Avenatti.

John Bowden filed this report.

Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors in Trump hush money investigation

Meanwhile, the candidacy America has been waiting for...

Thursday 16 March 2023 17:25 , Oliver O'Connell

“Tiger King” Joe Exotic has formally announced his candidacy for the 2024 US Presidential Election.

He clarified that it was not a joke.

Inga Parkel has the details.

Convicted felon Joe Exotic announces bid for 2024 US presidential election

Trump firmly ahead of DeSantis, according to new poll

Thursday 16 March 2023 16:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump remains firmly on top of the Republican field for 2024, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.

The survey showed the former president with a strong lead over his most competitive potential 2024 rival, the undeclared Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, in both head-to-head matchups and broader contests with other Republicans in the field.

John Bowden reports on the details.

New poll places Trump firmly ahead of DeSantis

Trump hits out at lead prosecutor on Stormy Daniels case

Thursday 16 March 2023 16:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump has hit out at one of the lead prosecutors on the New York Stormy Daniels hush money case — Michael Colangelo — whom he claims was “quietly snuck into the local Manhattan DAs office” from the Justice Department.

Mr Colangelo’s appointment was widely reported in early December 2022 and he previously worked on the investigation into Trump’s Seven Springs estate in Westchester County.

Mr Trump posted:

The person heading up the New York City investigation into the now ancient, and many times debunked, Stormy “Horseface” Danials [sic] matter, is none other than top DOJ (D.C.) operative Matthew Colangelo, one of Merrick Garland’s senior officials, who was quietly snuck into the local Manhattan D.A.’s Office so that DOJ could say they weren’t involved with this local persecution of a popular (75 Million Votes!) President. Who knows, though, maybe they’re there to make it legit?

Not done yet, Mr Trump then went for his former fixer Michael Cohen whom he called a “sleazebag” and a “total loser!”

Does anybody believe that SleazeBag disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen went before a Grand Jury yesterday, and did little but talk about it today? You’re not allowed to do that, just like in Georgia where the Juror was severely admonished for “talking.” Cohen has no credibility at any level - A Total Loser!

Thursday 16 March 2023 16:35 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the more bizarre parts of the arrest of Guo yesterday was that his apartment caught fire some hours later while FBI agents were still inside...

$32m penthouse catches fire during arrest of Chinese billionaire ally of Steve Bannon

ICYMI: Sprawling fraud case sees Steve Bannon’s billionaire Chinese ally arrested by FBI

Thursday 16 March 2023 16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, an ally of far-right activist and former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in connection with a sprawling fraud case.

He owned the 152-foot-long yacht on which Bannon was arrested in August 2020 and helped found a media group under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Guo, known as Ho Wan Kwok, among other aliases, was arrested in New York on 15 March on charges that he orchestrated a $1bn fraud scheme under a 12-count indictment alleging wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Steve Bannon’s billionaire Chinese ally arrested by FBI in sprawling fraud case

Georgia grand jury heard third Trump 2020 election call

Thursday 16 March 2023 15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A special grand jury in Georgia reportedly heard a recording of Donald Trump attempting to get then-state House Speaker David Ralston to convene a special session of the legislature to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 election win in the state.

Ralston, who has since passed away, reportedly deflected the outgoing president’s request, allegedly telling Mr Trump, “I will do everything in my power that I think is appropriate,” according to jurors who spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported the news of the call.

Josh Marcus reports.

Georgia grand jury heard third Trump call attempting to influence election results

Whoopi Goldberg apologises after using slur in reference to Trump

Thursday 16 March 2023 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Whoopi Goldberg has apologised for using a pejorative word on the latest episode of The View.

Following Wednesday’s (15 March) episode of the American talk series, the co-host came under brief fire for her use of a dated slur while discussing former US President Donald Trump’s current legal battles.

Shortly after, the show’s official Twitter account posted a video “message from Whoopi Goldberg”.

Inga Parkel has the story.

Whoopi Goldberg apologises after using slur in reference to Donald Trump on The View

No more delay in civil fraud case, New York tells Trump

Thursday 16 March 2023 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

New York’s attorney general urged a state judge to reject Donald Trump’s bid to delay her civil fraud case against him, and said the former US president might use his 2024 White House run as an excuse for further delay.

In a Wednesday night court filing, Attorney General Letitia James said her office had provided Trump and other defendants with an “enormous quantity” of material, including 1.7 million documents and interview transcripts for 56 witnesses.

She said that negates their plea for an extra six months to gather evidence to defend themselves adequately at trial, now scheduled for 2 October, and accused them of being slow to conduct their own witness depositions.

“The record defendants have and are compiling is more than sufficient to afford them due process and prevent the trial from becoming a game of surprise,” Ms James said.

Reuters

Thursday 16 March 2023 14:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Now over to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s 2024 Republican foe, who despite having not announced he is running, gained the endorsement of Texas Rep Chip Roy yesterday. Here’s what the former president focused on in his latest tirade:

In addition to wanting to cut Social Security (and raise the minimum age to at least 70) & MediCare, RINO Ron DeSanctimonious is delivering the biggest insurance company BAILOUT to Globalist Insurance Companies, IN HISTORY. He’s also crushed Florida homeowners whose houses were destroyed in the Hurricane - They’re getting pennies on the dollar. His Insurance Commissioner does NOTHING, while Florida’s lives are ruined. This is the worst Insurance Scam in the entire Country!

Ouch.

Finally, presumably before turning in for the night, Mr Trump rounded out the day with a general all-caps post railing against “radical left Democrat prosecutors” and those pesky investigations of which he seems to be the target.

Thursday 16 March 2023 14:10 , Oliver O'Connell

After a brief diversion in which he praised House Republican Chair Elise Stefanik for writing an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal showering him with praise, Mr Trump turned his fire on the USGA.

Here we go again with the USGA wanting to cut the distance out of a golf ball! Remember, you still have to chip, putt, and do everything else. They really have bigger problems, like LIV. People want to feel and watch the long ball. Also, they want to see the great players hit home runs, not singles and doubles. Length is important for Entertainment Value. LEAVE THE GOLF BALL ALONE. Balls will be mixed for years to come. What a mess. Also, allow long putters, and ball drops from past heights!

As a non-golfer, I don’t know what he’s talking about but he seems very worked up about it. Kudos for getting a quick promo for the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament in there which will hold three events at Trump properties this year.

What you missed last night on Truth Social

Thursday 16 March 2023 14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

After a quiet day on the socials for the former president, Donald Trump cracked his knuckles late last night and decided to share his thoughts on the day’s news, taking potshots at Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Ron ‘DeSanctimonious’ DeSantis, and the US Golf Association.

First, developments in the New York hush money case as both porn star Stormy Daniels and his former fixer Michael Cohen wrapped up their testimony to Manhattan prosecutors.

I did NOTHING wrong in the “Horseface” case. I see she showed up in New York today trying to drum up some publicity for herself. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since I took a picture with her on a golf course, in full golf gear including a hat, close to 18 years ago. She knows nothing about me other than her conman lawyer, Avanatti, and convicted liar and felon, jailbird Michael Cohen, may have schemed up. Never had an affair with her, just another false acquisition by a SleazeBag. Witch Hunt!

Princess Diana’s brother reveals her unflattering opinion of Donald Trump

Thursday 16 March 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer has countered Donald Trump’s claim that at one point world leaders, politicians, and celebrities including his late sister wanted to “kiss” his “a**”.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Spencer shared his late sister’s opinion of the former president.

“Surprised to hear that Donald Trump is apparently claiming that my late sister Diana wanted to ‘kiss his a***’, since the one time she mentioned him to me – when he was using her good name to sell some real estate in New York – she clearly viewed him as worse than an anal fissure,” he wrote.

Read the full story:

Princess Diana’s brother reveals her unflattering opinion of Donald Trump

Truth Social business investigated for money laundering

Thursday 16 March 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp

New details about another probe involving Donald Trump have come to light.

Sources told The Guardian that the former president’s social media company Trump Media – which runs his Truth Social platform – was investigated for money laundering last year.

The SEC first launched the probe into Trump Media over its proposed merger with Digital World which raised concerns it the arrangement broke regulations.

As part of a criminal investigation, New York federal prosecutors were examining two loans worth $8m which appeared to have been tied to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the sources said.

The two payments were wired through the Caribbean.

The first $2m payment came in December 2021 when the planned merger was put on hold and Trump Media was close to collapse.

Republicans quietly drop probe into Trump’s finances

Thursday 16 March 2023 12:45 , Rachel Sharp

Republicans have quietly dropped a yearslong investigation into Donald Trump’s finances and whether his businesses profited improperly from his presidency.

The House Oversight Committee – now led by the GOP after the party took control of the House – is no longer enforcing a court order that Mr Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars USA turn over its financial records to Congress, revealed The New York Times.

Committee chairman Rep James Comer told the paper he “honestly didn’t even know who or what Mazars was” as he made it clear he is now steering the committee to investigate the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

“What exactly are they looking for?” he said in a statement.

“They’ve been ‘investigating’ Trump for six years. I know exactly what I’m investigating: money the Bidens received from China.”

His apparent ignorance about the yearslong Democrat-led probe comes despite the fact he was the senior Republican on the committee during the last Congress, while the investigation was under way.

The admission of the dropping of the probe comes Rep Jamie Raskin wrote to Mr Comer accusing him of coordinating with Mr Trump’s lawyers to kill the investigation and block the committee from gaining access to the financial records.

“It has come to my attention that you may have acted in league with attorneys for former President Donald Trump to block the committee from receiving documents subpoenaed in its investigation of unauthorized, unreported and unlawful payments by foreign governments and others to then-President Trump,” Mr Raskin wrote to Mr Comer.

The Democrat accused the Republican of hypocrisy as he plowed ahead with a probe into Hunter Biden.

Trump hush money probe: Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors as Michael Cohen wraps testimony

Thursday 16 March 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Adult film star Stormy Daniels confirmed on Wednesday that she had met with prosecutors with Manhattan’s district attorney’s office as part of the ongoing investigation into a hush payment she received from Donald Trump’s lawyer in 2016.

Clark Brewster, an attorney representing Ms Daniels, tweeted the news Wednesday afternoon.

John Bowden filed this report on Wednesday.

Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors in Trump hush money investigation

Chip Roy endorses DeSantis for 2023... before he’s even announced

Thursday 16 March 2023 11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep Chip Roy of Texas, an outspoken member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, preemptively endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president on Wednesday, pushing his fellow Republican House members to look beyond former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination.

DeSantis nabs presidential endorsement from GOP House member

Lindsey Graham said Trump would believe ‘aliens’ stole 2020 election

Thursday 16 March 2023 11:15 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump would have even believed “aliens” stole the 2020 presidential election, according to his onetime ally Lindsey Graham.

The senator testified before the Georgia grand jury investigating Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s election results in his favour.

One juror told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mr Graham testified under oath about Mr Trump’s state of mind after he lost the state – and election – to President Joe Biden.

“[Graham] said that during that time, if somebody had told Trump that aliens came down and stole Trump ballots, that Trump would’ve believed it,” the juror said.

Report says prosecutors probed Trump social media company over $8m money laundering

Thursday 16 March 2023 10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A social media company backed by Donald Trump has reportedly been under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York for potential money laundering.

In late 2021 and early 2022, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Truth Social, received a combined $8m in loans with potentially dubious origins, The Guardian reports, citing multiple unnamed sources with knowledge of the investigation and a bank receipt showing the transfer.

The funds came from a trust and passed through Paxum Bank, registered on the Caribbean island of Dominica, which is partly owned by Anton Postolnikov, who appears related to Vladimir Putin ally Aleksandr Smirnov, a Russian connection that raised the interested of the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York, according to the report.

Josh Marcus reports on the alleged probe into the tangled web.

Federal officials probed Trump social media company for $8m money laundering: report

Trump attorney admits hush money indictment ‘probable’

Thursday 16 March 2023 10:21 , Rachel Sharp

An attorney for Donald Trump has admitted that it is now “more probable” that the former president will be indicted on criminal charges over the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Joe Tacopina told NewsNation on Tuesday that – while he hopes “justice will prevail” – he believes it is looking more likely that Mr Trump will face charges.

“The one thing I still hold onto is hope that justice will prevail,” Joe Tacopina said in an interview Tuesday with NewsNation host Dan Abrams.

Mr Tacopina insisted that Mr trump was a “victim of extortion” before saying: “Anyway, extortion or no extortion, there’s no crime here.”

‘Shadow campaign’: Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against DeSantis

Thursday 16 March 2023 09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s super PAC announced on Wednesday that it had filed a state-level ethics complaint against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of running a “shadow campaign” for the GOP nomination without formally filing paperwork to run for president.

The complaint, which came in the form of a letter sent by the Make America Great Again PAC to the Florida Ethics Commission, requests an investigation into the state’s governor for supposedly receiving gifts in support of a “shadow” presidential campaign which the Trump PAC alleges is being run alongside Mr DeSantis’s duties as governor.

John Bowden has the details.

Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against DeSantis over ‘shadow campaign’

MSNBC host and Trump lawyer have on-air spat over hush money case papers

Thursday 16 March 2023 08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina reached for MSNBC host Ari Melber’s papers live on air as they argued over the former president’s hush money case involving porn actor Stormy Daniels.

Mr Melber was reading from a transcript of Mr Trump saying that he didn’t know of the hush money payment to Ms Daniels made during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public with her claim that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump lawyer pounces at MSNBC host in on-air spat over hush money case papers

Steve Bannon’s billionaire Chinese ally Guo Wengui arrested by FBI

Thursday 16 March 2023 07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, an ally of far-right activist and former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in connection with a sprawling fraud case.

He owned the 152-foot-long yacht on which Bannon was arrested in August 2020 and helped found a media group under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Guo, known as Ho Wan Kwok, among other aliases, was arrested in New York on 15 March on charges that he orchestrated a $1bn fraud scheme under a 12-count indictment alleging wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Alex Woodward has the details.

Steve Bannon’s billionaire Chinese ally arrested by FBI in sprawling fraud case

FBI pushes back on Trump’s claims he ‘sent’ feds to help DeSantis

Thursday 16 March 2023 06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has officially denied a claim made by former President Donald Trump last year about supposedly utilising the law enforcement agency to aid Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the weeks after his election victory in 2018.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

FBI pushes back on Trump’s claims he ‘sent’ feds to help DeSantis in 2018

What is a lie? What is truth?

Thursday 16 March 2023 05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina told Ari Melber that a lie is only one when said under oath...

Trump lawyer says ex-president ‘did not say the truth’ about Stormy Daniels payoff

How the 2008 financial crisis still fuels today’s populist politics

Thursday 16 March 2023 03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Pence and Bernie Sanders are hardly political allies.

But in the aftermath of two large bank failures, the conservative former vice president and the democratic socialist senator are striking remarkably similar tones. Pence, a Republican, bemoaned that “we live in a world where certain politically favored businesses are propped up, backstopped and bailed out by government.” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said “we cannot continue down the road of more socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for everyone else.”

Their sentiment reflects the populism that has coursed through both political parties in the 15 years since shaky financial institutions last spurred anxiety about the broader economy. The 2008 financial crisis unleashed a political realignment that rejected perceived elites and establishment figures, often with unpredictable results for Democrats and Republicans alike.

How the last banking tumult fuels today's populist politics

Paris Hilton admits she ‘pretended’ to vote for Trump in 2016

Thursday 16 March 2023 02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Paris Hilton has addressed her controversial fib about having voted for former US President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

During an interview with an Australian TV station days after Trump won the election, the American media personality said that she had voted for the Republican nominee, who she said she’s known “since she was a little girl”.

Now she has admitted the full truth, as Inga Parkel reports.

Paris Hilton admits she ‘pretended’ to vote for Donald Trump in 2016 election

Early GOP 2024 field divided by Ukraine support

Thursday 16 March 2023 01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are emerging as leading rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. But when it comes to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, they are united in arguing that stopping the aggression isn’t a vital US strategic interest.

This puts them at odds with many others in the Republican Party.

Divide on Ukraine support emerges in early 2024 GOP field

How the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Thursday 16 March 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

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. That question remains unanswered today, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reportedly considering charges against the former president and possibly others as part of the long-running probe into the 2016 payment.

Let’s go back to the beginning, and look at the major milestones of the Trump-Stormy relationship:

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Study shows Fox News now referencing DeSantis more than Trump

Wednesday 15 March 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being mentioned more on Fox News than former President Donald Trump as they move closer to their expected battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Hosts and guests appearing on air on the right-wing network mentioned Mr Trump more than Mr DeSantis every week until last week when the Florida governor was mentioned 177 times and Mr Trump 142 times, according to Media Matters, which noted that the shift may reveal a change in focus towards the 44-year-old governor as he gears up to announce his expected run for president.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Fox News now referencing DeSantis more than Trump, study reveals

Another recording surfaces of Trump’s 2020 pressure campaign in Georgia

Wednesday 15 March 2023 23:45 , Josh Marcus

A special grand jury in Georgia reportedly heard a recording of Donald Trump attempting to get then-state House Speak David Ralston to convene a special session of the legislature to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 election win in the state.

Ralston, who has since passed away, reportedly deflected the outgoing president’s request, allegedly telling Mr Trump, “I will do everything in my power that I think is appropriate,” according to jurors who spoke with the Altanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported the news of the call.

A special session was never called, though Republicans in the state did organise a plan to serve as unauthorised fake electors and cast their votes in the Electoral College for Donald Trump, even though Mr Biden won the state’s vote.

More details in our full story.

Trump-appointed judge presides over high-stakes abortion drug case

Wednesday 15 March 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal judge in Texas appointed by Donald Trump is considering whether to reverse the US Food and Drug Administration’s long-standing approval of a commonly used abortion drug used for more than half of all abortions.

An imminent decision from US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to potentially block access to mifepristone, even temporarily, could upend access to medication abortion nationwide, even in states where access to care is legally protected. Abortion rights advocates are protesting the challenge in a series of demonstrations in Texas.

Alex Woodward is following the case.

Trump-appointed judge holds high-stakes hearing on abortion drug case

Asked to define ‘woke’, conservative author left speechless

Wednesday 15 March 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative author Bethany Mandel was widely mocked after she appeared on the Rising morning show broadcast by The Hill and was seemingly unable to define “wokeness” – the slogan some on the right have used as a cudgel against liberals.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Conservative author mocked as ‘completely speechless’ when asked to define ‘woke’