Trump news - live: Pence sought for questioning in Jan 6 probe over attempt to overturn election

The Justice Department is reportedly seeking to question Mike Pence as part of its ongoing investigation into January 6 and Donald Trump’s months-long effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Mr Pence, his vice president, was in the Capital at the time of the attack to participate in the ceritfication of the results. His life was directly threatened by rioters during the attack, and his security team was forced to rush him away to a secure position just a few feet from where attackers had breached the building.

Since then, Mr Pence has been clear that Mr Trump’s actions during the riot endangered his family. The news is the first confirmation that the DoJ’s January 6 investigation has definitively expanded to include the highest levels of the White House after months of prosecutions of lower-level offenders as well as members of a right-wing militia charged with seditious conspiracy.

Key points

• Justice Department seeks to question Pence

• Trump reinstated to Twitter after two-year ban

• AG Garland names war crimes prosecutor Jack Smith as Trump probes special counsel

• Pence: Trump’s actions endangered my family

• Appeals court looks poised to toss out special master order

Trump rages at Bill Barr for saying it was increasingly likely ex-president would face criminal charges

06:20 , John Bowden

Calling him “sloppy,” “weak” and a “disgruntled former employee”, Donald Trump laid into his former attorney general this week after Bill Barr suggested that he thought it was now likely that federal prosecutors would indict him over his retention of documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Trump also claimed that the Mar-a-Lago documents case was a hoax. “He knows nothing about the document hoax, and as a lawyer and former AG, shouldn’t be talking.”

Read more about Mr Trump’s latest meltdown in response to the betrayal of a former ally:

Trump rages at Bill Barr for saying ex-president would face criminal charges

Judge warns Trump he needs to lawyer up days before E Jean Carroll expected to file rape case

05:20 , John Bowden

A federal judge warned Donald Trump to decide on his lawyers, and fast, ahead of a coming suit from writer E Jean Carroll accusing Mr Trump of raping her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

The warning came on Tuesday, during a conference in a defamation suit Ms Carroll filed after Mr Trump called the writer’s allegations, first aired in an excerpt of her memoir published in New York magazine, false and an attempt to drum up publicity.

“Your client has known this is coming for months, and he would be well-advised to decide who’s representing him in it,” US district judge Lewis Kaplan told Alina Habba, the former president’s attorney in the defamation case, on Tuesday.

Read more about the case’s new developments in The Independent:

Judge warns Trump he needs to lawyer up before expected E Jean Carroll rape case

Why do Democrats care about Donald Trump’s tax returns?

04:20 , John Bowden

The Supreme Court has dealt a final blow to Donald Trump in his years-long battle to shield his tax returns from Congress.

It was a victory for Democrats on an issue that seems almost antique now — the issue of Mr Trump’s finances took a back seat for many in the media and Democrats especially after January 6 and Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

With the House Ways and Means Committee now set to receive copies of Mr Trump’s tax returns from numerous years, it’s worth looking back to refresh our memories of exactly why those documents are so important.

Why do Democrats care about Donald Trump’s tax returns?

Tucker Carlson guest says shootings will continue until ‘evil agenda’ of gender affirming care ends

03:20 , John Bowden

Twitter users who came out in support of gay and transgender Americans reacted with shock and disgust after a guest on Tucker Carlon’s immensely popular Fox show claimed that more attacks like the Colorado Springs shooting would occur unless doctors ceased performing voluntary gender-affirming care for any American.

It was a moment viewed as a direct threat of violence by those who circulated the video on Twitter and came as some conservatives loudly protested being linked to the same rhetoric that is now blamed for inspiring the attack.

Read more about the right’s response to what is increasingly looking like the most violent act specifically targeting a gay community since the Pulse nightclub shooting:

Fox guest says shootings will continue until ‘evil agenda’ of transgender care ends

Trump's long-teased White House bid is low key in 1st week

02:27 , John Bowden

From the moment he left the White House in defeat last year, Donald Trump had teased the prospect of a third presidential campaign. But in the week since he officially declared his candidacy, the former president has been uncharacteristically low key.

There has been no massive stadium kickoff rally, notable for someone who has turned such events into a signature of his public life. His newly reinstated Twitter account, which helped fuel his political rise nearly a decade ago, sits silent with its more than 87 million followers.

With parts of the GOP in open rebellion, is Donald Trump truly still the leader of the party?

Read more:

Trump's long-teased White House bid is low key in 1st week

Montana man gets 3 years in prison for role in Capitol riot

01:20 , John Bowden

A Montana man who was among the first people to illegally enter the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election has been sentenced to just over three years in federal prison.

Joshua Hughes, 39, and his brother, Jerod Hughes, 37, pleaded guilty in August to obstruction of an official proceeding.

Read more about this trial and others involving January 6 defendents as the DoJ expands its probe to include former President Donald Trump himself:

Montana man gets 3 years in prison for role in Capitol riot

One setback after another for Donald Trump – but does it really matter?

00:24 , John Bowden

The bad news keeps coming for Donald Trump. In the wake of some of his high-profile endorsements getting the thumbs-down from the electorate came his low-energy 2024 launch speech. Videos showed some of his own guests trying to escape as he meandered endlessly on, whining and squinnying for all he was worth. Even Fox News cut away for a while, perhaps to give their viewers a much-needed break.

Absent from the speech were any high-profile supporters – including his own daughter and former aide, Ivanka. But that’s no reason to count the former president out just yet, writes Phil Thomas in The Independent:

One setback after another for Donald Trump – but does it really matter?

Like a Thanksgiving Turkey, Joe Biden was ‘pardoned’ by the midterms

Wednesday 23 November 2022 23:15 , John Bowden

If there was a particularly light-footed jocularity about Joe Biden this week as he pardoned turkeys Chocolate and Chip, which had been brought from North Carolina, it was understandable: the now 80-year-old Biden was setting off for a family gathering in Nantucket after having just witnessed Democrats enjoy a midterm election results not bettered in 20 years.

In seeing off a potential “red wave” and managing to hang onto the Senate, despite his low approval rating, a turbulent economy and historical precedence that says parties that occupy the White House tend to take a pounding in this cycle, the midterms may have also acted as the Democrats’ own pardoning of sorts of the president.

Andrew Buncombe has more on the president’s reprieve in The Independent:

Like a Thanksgiving Turkey, Joe Biden was ‘pardoned’ by the midterms

Herschel Walker makes awkward ‘erection’ gaffe amid abortion scandal

Wednesday 23 November 2022 22:10 , John Bowden

Former football star turned Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on Tuesday appeared to confuse the democratic process with an extremely sensitive anatomical one when he mistakenly referred to an aroused male sexual organ during an interview on Fox News.

Flanked by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Mr Walker was in the midst of responding to a question from Fox News host Sean Hannity when he committed the Freudian slip.

Watch the moment and read more in this article from Andrew Feinberg, for The Independent:

Herschel Walker makes awkward ‘erection’ gaffe amid abortion scandal

Arizona GOP governor congratulates Katie Hobbs while Kari Lake vows she won’t concede

Wednesday 23 November 2022 21:30 , John Bowden

Doug Ducey, the governor of Arizona, congratulated Democratic governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in the race on Wednesday even as her GOP opponent Kari Lake has not conceded.

The race was called a week ago, but Ms Lake and her supporters have alleged that long lines and printer issues at precincts were evidence of wrongdoing in the election process. Her supporters have also long suspected that fraud will take place given their adherence to Donald Trump’s 2020 conspiracies as well as the fact that Ms Hobbs oversees the agency which runs state elections as secretary of state.

Despite their complaints, the Lake campaign has yet to come forward with credible evidence of widespread fraud or issues with voting at precincts that could have had a measurable effect on the election results.

Georgia’s six-week abortion ban is reinstated one week after judge struck down law

Wednesday 23 November 2022 21:02 , John Bowden

A one-page order from Georgia’s Supreme Court has reinstated the state’s ban on abortion at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, overturning a lower-court ruling that struck down the ban just one week ago.

The ruling on 23 November puts the lower-court ruling on hold while the state’s high court considers the full appeal. Seven of the nine justices on the court agreed to the decision. And it could have drastic effects on the state’s runoff Senate election, which is just weeks away.

Follow more on this topic at The Independent:

Georgia’s six-week abortion ban is reinstated one week after judge struck down law

Trump blames low SCOTUS approval ratings on refusal to help him steal election

Wednesday 23 November 2022 20:20 , John Bowden

Donald Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seemingly blaming the Court’s low approval ratings on its refusal in 2020 to aid his efforts to overturn the 2020 election over baseless and false allegations of fraud and malign interference.

His anger came in the form of a Truth Social rant posted in the early afternoon.

“The Supreme Court of the United States has the lowest Approval Rating in its long and storied history. No wonder - There are leaks and they can’t find the leaker (which is easy to do!), they are petrified of the Radical Left Maniacs (Democrats) who are destroying our Country, are unwilling to make bold, courageous, and proper decisions on Rigged and Stolen Elections, and are always wanting to be Politically Correct instead of doing what is BEST for the USA. We need Strength & Wisdom, NOW!” he claimed.

The “leaks” he refer to include a draft decision of the Court’s reversal of Roe vs Wade earlier this year, as well as new allegations that a conservative justice on the Court leaked the institution’s 2014 Hobby Lobby decision.

Wednesday 23 November 2022 19:50 , John Bowden

The Justice Department is reportedly seeking to question former vice president Mike Pence as a witness as part of its criminal investigation into former president Donald Trump’s attempts to stay in office after the 2020 election, The New York Times reported.

The former vice president, whose life was threatened during the insurrection at the Capitol on 6 January after he refused to overturn the election results, is reportedly open to speaking. Mr Pence reportedly sees the investigation by the Justice Department as separate from the one held by the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot.

Read more from Eric Garcia:

Justice Department seeks to question Pence about January 6

Trump rages at Bill Barr for saying it was increasingly likely ex-president would face criminal charges

Wednesday 23 November 2022 19:22 , John Bowden

Donald Trump is furious once again with his former attorney general, Bill Barr, over the latter’s recent speculation that Mr Trump will face criminal indictment.

Mr Barr said during an interview with PBS that it was “increasingly more likely” in recent days that the DoJ would move to charge Mr Trump with a crime, and added that he believed the agency likely already had enough evidence to do so.

The former president is accused of illegally retaining presidential records, including highly classified documents, at Mar-a-Lago in defiance of the National Archives and, by extension, federal law.

Read more in The Independent:

Trump rages at Bill Barr for saying ex-president would face criminal charges

When is the Georgia Senate runoff between Walker and Warnock - and what are the stakes?

Wednesday 23 November 2022 18:34 , John Bowden

Democrats clinched their Senate majority earlier this month when they won seats in Nevada and Arizona. Still, there is one last contest in the battle for the Senate: The runoff race in Georgia between Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Trump-backed Republican Herschel Walker.

The race will determine whether the Senate will remain evenly split with Democrats and Republicans each holding 50 Senate seats, where Vice President Kamala Harris breaks ties, or whether Democrats will have a one-seat majority in the Senate.

Here’s our breakdown of the final and most important Senate race in the country:

When is the Georgia Senate runoff and what are the stakes?

This week offered a glimpse into Kevin McCarthy’s future

Wednesday 23 November 2022 18:00 , John Bowden

We may be getting close to Thanksgiving, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy might as well be wearing Ebenezer Scrooge’s pajamas as this past week has shown him a glimpse of the Congress yet to come, write Eric Garcia in The Independent today.

Mr McCarthy has often spent his career being the equivalent of the assistant coach–somebody everybody likes to work with but so far has not had the burden of responsibility. In the California legislature, he often served as an intermediary who helped negotiate deals between the Democratic majority and recalcitrant Republicans.

Read more about what his political future will look like as Republicans look poised to take a single-digit majority in the House:

This week offered a glimpse into Kevin McCarthy’s future

2024 primary: Newsmax shares poll putting Trump way ahead

Wednesday 23 November 2022 17:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Far-right pro-Trump network Newsmax is leaning hard into the story that the former president is running again, showing viewers the results of a new poll from Emerson that puts Donald Trump dramatically ahead of Ron DeSantis...and puts Liz Cheney marginally ahead of Ted Cruz:

Mar-a-Lago documents: Appeals court sceptical of Trump’s special master

Wednesday 23 November 2022 17:00 , Andrew Naughtie

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals appears poised to toss out a district judge’s order blocking the Department of Justice from using documents seized during the 8 August search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home and office.

The panel, composed of Chief Judge William Pryor, Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher, and Circuit Judge Elizabeth Cagle Grant, heard arguments from the government and from Mr Trump’s attorneys on whether it should allow a privilege review ordered by District Judge Aileen Cannon to continue or reverse the ruling, which prevented the department from using any of the thousands of non-classified documents seized during the search to further any criminal investigation while a third-party special master, New York-based District Judge Raymond Dearie, determines whether any are shielded by attorney-client or executive privilege.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

‘What are we doing here?’ Judges look inclined to toss Trump special master order

Trump furious at Bill Barr (again)

Wednesday 23 November 2022 16:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Former president Donald Trump lashed out at his former attorney general Bill Barr, calling him “sloppy” and “weak,” for saying that it was increasingly likely he would face criminal charges.

Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social account: “Sloppy Bill Barr was a weak and ineffective Attorney General who was fired (he didn’t quit!), and now he’s nothing more than a disgruntled former ‘employee’.”

He raged on: “Barr was a ‘Bushie’ who was petrified of being impeached, which the Dems were going to do until he changed course on the rigged election.”

Mr Trump also claimed that the Mar-a-Lago documents case was a hoax. “He knows nothing about the document hoax, and as a lawyer and former AG, shouldn’t be talking.”

Maroosha Muzaffar reports.

Trump rages at Bill Barr for saying ex-president would face criminal charges

Trump returns to retruthing QAnon users

Wednesday 23 November 2022 16:00 , Andrew Naughtie

On his low days, Donald Trump often skims around Truth Social for flattering memes shared by adoring followers for him to “retruth” with pride. He rarely pays regard to what these users are saying, or what they do with the rest of their profiles. A case in point: his most recent share of a meme praising him for fighting “a cabal”, a QAnon dogwhistle term:

The user in question has shared a steady stream of Q-flavoured content, including screenshots of the infamous “Q Drops” that sat at the centre of the violent, racist conspiracy creed until they dried up at the end of 2020.

Catch up: Why congressional Democrats want Trump’s tax returns

Wednesday 23 November 2022 15:30 , Andrew Naughtie

On Tuesday the Supreme Court dealt a final blow to Donald Trump in his years-long battle to shield his tax returns from Congress.

It was a victory for Democrats on an issue that seems almost antique now — the issue of Mr Trump’s finances took a back seat for many in the media and Democrats especially after January 6 and Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

With the House Ways and Means Committee now set to receive copies of Mr Trump’s tax returns from numerous years, it’s worth looking back to refresh our memories of exactly why those documents are so important. Here’s an explainer from John Bowden:

Why do Democrats care about Donald Trump’s tax returns?

Bannon weighs in on Bolsonaro’s election theft claims

Wednesday 23 November 2022 15:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Having initially kept quiet after losing last month’s presidential election, Brazil’s defeated president Jair Bolsonaro – a populist authoritarian who has taken counsel from various people in the Trump orbit – is now contesting the result, claiming that voting machines were somehow compromised.

Among those now getting behind the losing president’s claims about the election is convicted felon and former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who has previously appeared with Mr Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo at far-right events.

Here’s a video the younger Bolsonaro is now sharing in which Bannon draws a parallel between Mr Bolsonaro’s race and the ongoing false claims of election fraud being pushed by Kari Lake in Arizona:

Trump Organization case: accountant testifies to massive losses

Wednesday 23 November 2022 14:30 , Andrew Naughtie

The ongoing tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization yesterday saw an accountant who spent years preparing Donald Trump’s tax documents testify that the former president reported losses on his returns for more than a decade.

Donald Bender, a partner at Mr Trump’s longtime accounting firm Mazars USA LLP, was given immunity to testify at the criminal trial in New York city.

Read more:

On stand, accountant confirms Trump claimed huge tax losses

Kanye West ‘visits Mar-a-Lago’

Wednesday 23 November 2022 14:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Kanye West, aka Ye, was recently readmitted to Twitter by Elon Musk after all but removing himself from public acceptance with a threat to go “death con 3” on Jewish people. And he is now using his account to boast of his long-running affinity with Donald Trump:

Mr West’s erratic behaviour in recent years makes it hard to know what if anything in this tweet is truth, parody, or invention.

Former anti-abortion activist claims Supreme Court justice leaked landmark 2014 decision to influential donors

Wednesday 23 November 2022 13:30 , Andrew Naughtie

The Supreme Court’s conservatives are under fire yet again — this time with a second accusation involving one of their members supposedly leaking a decision before it was announced publicly.

Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, once a prominent anti-abortion leader in Washington DC, claims in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts that he was informed of the high court’s ruling in Burwell v Hobby Lobby, which marked a significant victory for Christian conservative groups.

But Justice Samuel Alito, the member of the Court accused of leaking the decision, is already denying it, claiming that he never detected any effort by Mr Schenck to either influence decisions or “extract” them from the court.

Read more about the latest scandal enveloping the embattled Court’s conservative majority:

Former anti-abortion activist claims Supreme Court leaked another landmark case

Trump rants about Supreme Court loss

Wednesday 23 November 2022 13:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump reliably flies off the handle on Truth Social whenever he suffers a legal setback, and so it went after the Supreme Court yesterday sided with Congress in his effort to keep his tax returns secret. Not only did he go after the court on that, but he also threw in a callback to the court’s rejection of a case challenging the results of the 2020 election, where it was decided that the group of states bringing the case had no standing to do so.

Mike Pence backed away from anti-LGBT figures before five killed in Colorado shooting

Wednesday 23 November 2022 12:31 , John Bowden

Former vice president Mike Pence appeared to take a step back from his party’s hard-right wing stand in an interview that was taped just days before the deadly attack at a gay nightclub that has been blamed on a rising tide of anti-LGBT hate.

His pivot occurred during an interview with CBS’s Margaret Brennan; it’s since been reported that Mr Pence is actively staffing up in anticipation of a 2024 bid for the White House.

The former vice president and longtime conservative seemed to back away from the rhetoric that has been embraced by many far-right commentators such as Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and Tucker Carlson seeking to link LGBT Americans to pedophilia in prescient remarks that took place just days before the Colorado Springs shooting.

Read more in The Independent from John Bowden:

Mike Pence backed away from anti-LGBT figures before five killed in Colorado shooting

Jury begins deliberating in Oath Keepers sedition trial

Wednesday 23 November 2022 12:00 , Andrew Naughtie

A jury has begun deliberating in the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates, who are charged with seditious conspiracy — the most serious charge to emerge from January 6 and the attack on the Capitol thus far.

If convicted, the members of the right-wing militia will face up to 20 years in prison.

Read more about this high-profile case that could have serious implications for the Justice Department’s January 6 prosecutions going forward:

Jury begins deliberating in Oath Keepers sedition trial

Supreme Court sides with Congress in Trump taxes case

Wednesday 23 November 2022 11:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump has finally lost his battle to block Democratic-led House committees from obtaining his tax returns, setting up a dead sprint by investigators with Democratic lawmakers to review them before the next Congress is sworn in.

The president had sought for years to shield his tax returns from being released to the House Ways and Means Committee, but on Tuesday saw a final defeat ironically at the hands of the conservative majority that he himself installed on the nation’s highest court.

The victory for House members on Tuesday means that Democratic lawmakers will have the rest of November and December to issue reports based on the findings from the tax returns before control of the committee is turned over to Republicans in January. Democrats will still be able to release reports beyond that date, but will lack the power of the committee to pursue further documents or other evidence.

John Bowden reports.

Supreme Court denies Trump’s bid to shield tax returns from Congress

Appeals panel appears inclined to toss out Trump special master order

Wednesday 23 November 2022 10:30 , John Bowden

Donald Trump could be on the verge of a major defeat in his lawsuit against the Justice Department, filed in response to the search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals appears poised to toss out a district judge’s order blocking the Department of Justice from using documents seized during the 8 August search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home and office.

Read more:

‘What are we doing here?’ Judges look inclined to toss Trump special master order