Trump news – live: Trump to give ‘big political speech’ today after awkward error in E Jean Carroll deposition
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After an extended rant about the New York investigation into his business and personal finances, Donald Trump has promised to make a “big political speech” at his Miami gold blub today. The event appears to be a response to “fake news media” criticism of the lacklustre start to his 2024 campaign that has barely seen him leave Mar-a-Lago.
Mr Trump is also reportedly poised to return to Twitter as part of his 2024 campaign and representatives have petitioned Facebook parent Meta for his account on that platform to be reinstated, according to reporting by NBC News.
The former president also continues to sound off about the parallel investigations into the discovery of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago and classified documents at President Joe Biden’s home and an office he once used. In angery Truth Social posts he claims he did nothing wrong but Mr Biden did.
Meanwhile, an awkward error by Mr Trump in his deposition for the case brought against him by writer E Jean Carroll who accuses him of raping her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s may have undermined part of his defence strategy.
Key points
Trump to make ‘big political speech’ today at his golf club
Awkward moment in E Jean Carroll case as Trump may have undermined his defence
Trump calls on GOP to play hardball on debt limit and get back what McConnell ‘gave up’
Trump to make ‘big political speech’ today at his golf club
14:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump says he will make a “big political speech” today at his Miami golf course, Trump Doral. He hits back at the “fake news media” for saying he is “not campaigning very hard”, calling them “stupid and corrupt”.
Mr Trump has barely left Mar-a-Lago since the lacklustre launch of his 2024 campaign on 15 November 2022, shortly after the midterms handed the Republican Party a disappointing marginal win in the House of Representatives and a loss in the Senate.
The former president promises “MANY GIANT RALLIES” and other events and that it will be “wild and exciting”.
Awkward moment in E Jean Carroll case as Trump may have undermined his defence
15:05 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump mistook writer E Jean Carroll, who has accused him of sexual assault, for his former wife Marla Maples when a photo was shown to him during a deposition, according to newly unsealed court documents.
The former president was shown a black-and-white photograph of a small group of people, including Mr Trump and Ms Carroll, as per an excerpt from a deposition that took place in October 2020 at Mar-a-Lago.
“That’s Marla, yeah. That’s my wife,” Mr Trump said, referring to his former wife. The blunder was corrected by his lawyer Alina Habba, who told him it was Ms Carroll and not Ms Maples.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar explains why this may have undermined a portion of his defence case.
Donald Trump mistook rape accuser E Jean Carroll for his ex-wife
Kushner warned Trump against going down rabbit hole of bogus election claims
14:55 , Oliver O'Connell
Jared Kushner warned Donald Trump against listening to the outside lawyers he’d gathered around himself during his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, telling his father-in-law that his legal team was sending him on “a funky ride”.
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
Kushner warned Trump against going down rabbit hole of bogus election claims
What you missed on Truth Social overnight
14:20 , Oliver O'Connell
Late last night Donald Trump posted another rant directed at former special assistant district attorney in the office of New York County Mark Pomerantz who was part of the investigation into the former president and his business.
Mr Pomerantz wrote a book about his involvement in the investigation of Mr Trump, The People vs. Donald Trump, which is due for release on 7 February 2023.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote a letter to the publisher Simon & Schuster cautioning against the release of classified information related to the investigation, which he worried could derail their case.
On Truth Social, the former president wrote:
Page 1: Now I’ve got Crooked Hillary Clinton’s, the DNC’s, & a big possibly implicated bank’s lawyer, SleazeBag Mark Pomerantz, who (get this!) took leave from his Democrat representing law firm, with staff, & with the firm’s OK, to go work for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in order to “GET TRUMP.” This is all coordinated with the Federal Department of Injustice, who sent a top person to the D.A.’s Office to help the Witch Hunt get done. Marxist Persecution like never before in USA!
What followed was a strange overnight gap of approximately nine hours before “Page 2” was posted.
Page 2: So just think of this corrupt system! A SleazeBag lawyer that represents Crooked Hillary Clinton & the Democrat Party, leaves his law firm which represents the Democrat Party, moves into the Manhattan D.A.’s Office in order to GET TRUMP. The Injustice Department sends its big gun to work in the Office also to help destroy the leading, by a lot, Republican candidate for President. Record murder & violent crime is RAGING in N.Y., NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT it, people are fleeing, but GET TRUMP!
Shortly after that, a new post was published (not titled “Page 3”, but still on the same topic) in which the former president claimed that the reason for the renewed interest in the case was pressure from the “Fake News Media” and that Mr Bragg had previously abandoned what he saw as a weak case.
A short time ago the Manhattan D.A., Alvin Bragg, wanted no part of a case against me. He though it was weak & ridiculous, and most agreed-Prosecutors started leaving the Office. Now the Fake News Media is pushing him hard to do the wrong thing. They want some Trump ACTION, even if I did NOTHING WRONG. Crooked Hillary’s lawyer, a SleazeBag, finagled his way into working for the D.A., but after a year of pushing them hard, couldn’t make the case-Got fired. Now writing a book! All headed up by DC.
Stay tuned, there’re more...
Amid new hush money probe, Cohen meets with Trump prosecutors
14:09 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he met for 2½ hours Tuesday with Manhattan prosecutors who have revived a years-old investigation into payments made to a porn star to keep her quiet about an alleged extramarital tryst.
Cohen said he had been “ordered not to disclose” any of the people present at the meeting or to discuss prosecutors’ area of interest in any detail.
Read on:
Cohen meets Trump prosecutors amid renewed hush money probe
Awkward video shows Trump ducking fan’s high five
13:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has been captured on video awkwardly avoiding a high five after taking a photo with a group of supporters during what appears to be a round of golf at his private Florida club.
Lawyer Ron Filipkowski shared the footage on Twitter, in which the former president smiles for the camera and gives a thumbs up before climbing back into his golf cart, without high-fiving the supporter next to him, whose arm is grabbed by a man, preventing him from touching Mr Trump.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Awkward video shows Trump ducking a high five from admirer
Trump to preside over memorial service for Diamond
12:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has announced that he will preside over the memorial service for Diamond of the political vlogging duo Diamond and Silk.
“They were with me from the beginning and they never wavered,” Mr Trump said.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump to preside over memorial service for Diamond of vloggers duo Diamond and Silk
11:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Lincoln Project battles MAGA narrative on Biden documents
In its efforts to fight the rot of political dialogue by equating the Biden and Trump documents cases, the anti-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project lays out why they are different in a tweet thread this morning.
The group states that ultra-MAGA talking points are endangering the political conversation and that the media has a bad habit of normalising bogus narratives from the right-wing ecosystem.
“We’re fighting bothsidesism (bias that presents an issue as balanced even when the evidence doesn’t support it),” the group tweeted.
“The right-wing media trying to equate Biden’s handling of classified documents with Trump’s malintent rots the political dialogue - and one of the Lincoln Project’s missions is to stop it.”
Setting out the facts as they stand in an attempt to help people set the record straight, the tweet thread continues:
2. Zero Coverup: President Biden has made no bizarre claim to have retroactively declassified these documents with his mind (you know, like the insane Trump excuse).
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 18, 2023
1. No intent: There is no evidence President Biden ever actively knew about these documents.
2. Zero Coverup: President Biden has made no bizarre claim to have retroactively declassified these documents with his mind (you know, like the insane Trump excuse).
3. Total Cooperation: President Biden has completely cooperated with the investigation from the onset, including fully accepting the newly appointed special counsel.
“Disinformation can come in many different forms, and even small equivocations can damage the long-term health of our democracy,” the group concludes before directing followers to previous content on how to battle the right-wing ecosystem.
Disinformation can come in many different forms, and even small equivocations can damage the long-term health of our democracy. Check out previous content to understand how to battle the right-wing ecosystem.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 18, 2023
Kushner claims ‘knock-down, drag-out screaming matches’ with Trump over 2020 election schemes
10:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Former president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one-time White House adviser, Jared Kushner, has described heated confrontations with the then-president over his allegations of voter fraud and attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
Mr Kushner recalls the “knock-down, drag-out screaming matches” with Mr Trump in author Chris Whipple’s new book The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House, Mediaite reports.
“With all due respect, I’m not going to like what you are doing, and you’re going to be screaming at me,” Mr Kushner reportedly told his father-in-law while arguing about debunked claims of voter fraud.
“Look, when you’re out of here, a lot of people will scatter,” he reportedly yelled at Mr Trump, according to the book.
“I’m with you until you hit the dirt — so you may want to listen to what I’m saying,” Mr Kushner added.
Mr Kushner also warned Mr Trump that some of his election lawyers including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell were taking him “on a funky ride”.
Watch: Trump says China buying up ‘crown jewels’ of US economy in campaign-style video
09:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has posted a campaign-style video to Truth Social about Chinese ownership of US economic interests.
He writes: “When I’m president, I will ensure that America’s future remains firmly in American hands, not in China’s. We need to enact aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of any vital infrastructure in the United States, including energy, technology, telecommunications, farmland, natural resources, medical supplies, and other strategic national assets.”
Watch:
Poll: Trump leads DeSantis by 17 points
07:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Former president Donald Trump holds a 17 point lead over his next nearest rival for the Republican Party ticket according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult and released on Wednesday morning.
The hypothetical GOP primary poll put Mr Trump at 28 per cent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 31 per cent, with former vice president Mike Pence trailing at eight per cent.
Polls since the November midterm elections have generally shown Mr DeSantis closing the gap on Mr Trump.
Trump foe, former Rep Liz Cheney got three per cent of the poll, while former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas both got two per cent.
Yes, there’s a hole in Trump’s latest explanation about the documents
06:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Wouldn’t classified documents remain in their classified folders? Why would the documents be collected and the folders discarded? Doesn’t that undermine the purpose of the folders to begin with?
This isn't true unless they were incredibly dysfunctional. Classified materials stay in their marked folders. https://t.co/rhr6XZtmWi
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 18, 2023
The FBI search inventory from Mar-a-Lago does say that they found dozens of empty classified folders, but it also lists more than 100 actual confidential, secret, and top secret documents.
Former President Trump says he "saved hundreds" of empty classified folders as a "cool keepsake."
(Also, to be clear, FBI search inventory says they found dozens of empty classified folders *as well as* more than 100 *actual* confidential, secret and top secret documents.) pic.twitter.com/SUvxrD7i5r— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 18, 2023
Trump: ‘Biden being treated so smuch better than me'
04:30 , Oliver O'Connell
There was a bit of a delayed drop for “Page 3” of Donald Trump’s latest rant trying to explain why he feels he is being treated so much worse than President Joe Biden when it comes to the classified material found at his Palm Beach home.
He wrote on Truth Social:
Biden is being treated so smuch [sic] better than me, I’m shocked (not really!). Why aren’t they raiding his house, & how come his representatives and lawyers are allowed to work together with the Gestopo [sic] in looking for documents, when my lawyers & representatives were not allowed anywhere near the search. We weren’t even allowed to know what they took when they raided my home. “Please leave the premises,” they said, & then lugged out everything they could, including my Passports & Med Recs.
The key difference between the cases is that there was a protracted legal effort by the Trump team to not turn over the documents, whereas the Biden team alerted the appropriate authorities as documents were discovered and arranged to hand them over.
Full story: Trump preparing return to Twitter and Facebook, report says
03:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump is preparing to return to Twitter and Facebook, a report states.
As the 2024 race for the White House nears, the former president is set to once again use some of the largest and most influential social media platforms after he was booted from them following the January 6 insurrection, according to NBC News.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump preparing return to Twitter and Facebook, report says
‘You have the right to remain silent, you know’: Conway schools Trump over latest post
02:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Conservative lawyer George Conway reminded Donald Trump that all of his posts — be they on Truth Social or perhaps soon another platform — could come back to haunt him in a court of law.
Mr Conway, a longtime Trump foe, reminded the former president of the most basic of rights — the right to remain silent if one is suspected of a crime as set out by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
People are protected from being compelled to give testimony that could incriminate them. Mr Trump offers written testimony on social media in written form often multiple times a day.
“You have the right to remain silent, you know. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” posted Mr Conway on Truth Social in response to the former president’s most recent attempt at explaining away the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
“Do you understand these rights, @realDonaldTrump?”
Trump calls classified folders ‘cool keepsake’ while lashing out at ‘Gestapo’ FBI
01:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Another day, another protestation of innocence from former president Donald Trump regarding the trove of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr Trump argues that he kept the inexpensive folders marked “classified” or “confidential” as a “cool” keepsake before accusing the “Gestapo” — the FBI — of taking these empty folders and counting them as classified documents.
Further, the former president then floated the conspiracy theory that “Trump Hating Marxist Thugs’ would “plant documents while they’re in possession of the material”.
He ended with a defiant: “I DID NOTHING WRONG. JOE DID!”
How ominous is the debt limit problem?
00:30 , Oliver O'Connell
On the brink of hitting the nation’s legal borrowing limit on Thursday, the government is resorting to “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default.
Sounds ominous, right?
But — take a breath — the phrase technically refers to a bunch of accounting workarounds. Yes, accounting.
EXPLAINER: How ominous is the debt limit problem?
Voices: Why Kevin McCarthy can’t quit George Santos
Wednesday 18 January 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Another day, another George Santos headline. Several of them, actually.
Eric Garcia explains why Kevin McCarthy – let alone the rest of GOP leadership – likely can’t afford to quit Mr Santos for one simple reason.
Read on:
Why Kevin McCarthy can’t quit George Santos
Renewed Stormy Daniels hush money probe see Cohen meet with Trump prosecutors
Wednesday 18 January 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he met for 2½ hours Tuesday with Manhattan prosecutors who have revived a years-old investigation into payments made to a porn star to keep her quiet about an alleged extramarital tryst.
Cohen said he had been “ordered not to disclose” any of the people present at the meeting or to discuss prosecutors’ area of interest in any detail.
Read on:
Cohen meets Trump prosecutors amid renewed hush money probe
Voices: The dangerous troll under the Republican House bridge
Wednesday 18 January 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Noah Berlatsky writes:
Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has repeated his intention to keep Democratic representatives Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, and Ilhan Omar off the House intelligence committee. The move is widely seen as revenge for Democrats removing Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar. It is also, though, a reiteration of Republican commitment to government by trolling.
Read on:
The dangerous troll under the Republican House bridge | Opinion
Trump wants Obama questioned on classified papers
Wednesday 18 January 2023 22:11 , Oliver O'Connell
In a busy day of Truth Social posts, former president Donald Trump wonders:
Why aren’t they asking President Obama what’s going on with his Administration? Crooked Hillary took and illegally deleted and acid washed 33,000 Emails AFTER getting a Subpoena for those Emails from the United States Congress, and who knows how many Classified Documents Joe took, especially pertaining to Ukraine and China. Maybe Trump Hating Special “Prosecutor” Jack Smith, who is doing the dirty work for his Marxist Democrat friends, should do the right thing for our Country!
He adds in a follow-up post:
Our Country has become the Investigation Capital of the World. Actually, that’s all we do, and it’s only good for our many enemies. They could not be happier as they brilliantly plot our demise!!!
Trump claims he kept classified folders as ‘cool’ keepsakes
Wednesday 18 January 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday in posts on Truth Social that many of the documents marked “classified” found at Mar-a-Lago — of more than 300 in total — were in fact empty folders marked “classified” that he had taken as “cool” keepsakes.
Mr Trump went on to reiterate his baseless accusation claiming that federal law enforcement agents would plant more classified documents among the seized materials in order to further incriminate him.
John Bowden has the details.
Trump boasts he kept classified folders as ‘cool’ keepsakes in TruthSocial rant
Kushner warned Trump against going down rabbit hole of bogus election claims
Wednesday 18 January 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Jared Kushner warned Donald Trump against listening to the outside lawyers he’d gathered around himself during his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, telling his father-in-law that his legal team was sending him on “a funky ride”.
In his new book on the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency, The Fight of his Life, author Chris Whipple writes that Mr Kushner “chose to make himself scarce” in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol because he “knew there was nothing there” when it came to Mr Trump’s claims to be the victim of a stolen election.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
Kushner warned Trump against going down rabbit hole of bogus election claims
Awkward video shows Trump ducking fan’s high five
Wednesday 18 January 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has been captured on video awkwardly avoiding a high five after taking a photo with a group of supporters during what appears to be a round of golf at his private Florida club.
Lawyer Ron Filipkowski shared the footage on Twitter, in which the former president smiles for the camera and gives a thumbs up before climbing back into his golf cart, without high-fiving the supporter next to him, whose arm is grabbed by a man, preventing him from touching Mr Trump.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Awkward video shows Trump ducking a high five from admirer
Trump to preside over memorial service for Diamond
Wednesday 18 January 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has announced that he will preside over the memorial service for Diamond of the political vlogging duo Diamond and Silk.
“They were with me from the beginning and they never wavered,” Mr Trump said.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump to preside over memorial service for Diamond of vloggers duo Diamond and Silk
New bizarre low in Santos allegations
Wednesday 18 January 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell
A former acquaintance of Congressman George Santos appeared on CNN on Tuesday and delivered the latest round of seemingly unending allegations of dishonesty piling up around the freshman Republican from New York.
Gregory Morey-Parker claimed that the Republican representative would use a false last name on some GoFundMe campaigns in an effort to pass off as Jewish, which Mr Morey-Parker explained was part of a scheme to entice Jewish Americans to donate to the campaigns.
John Bowden filed this report.
Santos targeted Jewish donors in GoFundMe scam, former friend claims
Edward Snowden dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene as she tries to agree with him
Wednesday 18 January 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Edward Snowden brutally shot down Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene as she tried to agree with him on media “lies” on Twitter.
Maroosha Muzaffar has the story.
Edward Snowden shoots down Marjorie Taylor Greene as she tries to agree with him
Lincoln Project battles MAGA narrative on Biden documents
Wednesday 18 January 2023 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell
In its efforts to fight the rot of political dialogue by equating the Biden and Trump documents cases, the anti-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project lays out why they are different in a tweet thread this morning.
The group states that ultra-MAGA talking points are endangering the political conversation and that the media has a bad habit of normalising bogus narratives from the right-wing ecosystem.
“We’re fighting bothsidesism (bias that presents an issue as balanced even when the evidence doesn’t support it),” the group tweeted.
“The right-wing media trying to equate Biden’s handling of classified documents with Trump’s malintent rots the political dialogue - and one of the Lincoln Project’s missions is to stop it.”
Setting out the facts as they stand in an attempt to help people set the record straight, the tweet thread continues:
2. Zero Coverup: President Biden has made no bizarre claim to have retroactively declassified these documents with his mind (you know, like the insane Trump excuse).
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 18, 2023
1. No intent: There is no evidence President Biden ever actively knew about these documents.
2. Zero Coverup: President Biden has made no bizarre claim to have retroactively declassified these documents with his mind (you know, like the insane Trump excuse).
3. Total Cooperation: President Biden has completely cooperated with the investigation from the onset, including fully accepting the newly appointed special counsel.
“Disinformation can come in many different forms, and even small equivocations can damage the long-term health of our democracy,” the group concludes before directing followers to previous content on how to battle the right-wing ecosystem.
Disinformation can come in many different forms, and even small equivocations can damage the long-term health of our democracy. Check out previous content to understand how to battle the right-wing ecosystem.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 18, 2023
Trump to attend memorial service for Diamond of ‘Diamond and Silk’
Wednesday 18 January 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has announced he will be at the memorial service for Diamond of ‘Diamond and Silk’ this Saturday.
Trump announces that he will preside over ‘Diamond’ (of Diamond & Silk) memorial service in NC this Saturday: “They we’re with me from the beginning and they never wavered.” pic.twitter.com/h3FM2NIzr9
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) January 18, 2023
Kushner claims ‘knock-down, drag-out screaming matches’ with Trump over 2020 election schemes
Wednesday 18 January 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Former president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one-time White House adviser, Jared Kushner, has described heated confrontations with the then-president over his allegations of voter fraud and attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
Mr Kushner recalls the “knock-down, drag-out screaming matches” with Mr Trump in author Chris Whipple’s new book The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House, Mediaite reports.
“With all due respect, I’m not going to like what you are doing, and you’re going to be screaming at me,” Mr Kushner reportedly told his father-in-law while arguing about debunked claims of voter fraud.
“Look, when you’re out of here, a lot of people will scatter,” he reportedly yelled at Mr Trump, according to the book.
“I’m with you until you hit the dirt — so you may want to listen to what I’m saying,” Mr Kushner added.
Mr Kushner also warned Mr Trump that some of his election lawyers including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell were taking him “on a funky ride”.
Watch: Trump says China buying up ‘crown jewels’ of US economy in campaign-style video
Wednesday 18 January 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has posted a campaign-style video to Truth Social about Chinese ownership of US economic interests.
He writes: “When I'm president, I will ensure that America's future remains firmly in American hands, not in China's. We need to enact aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of any vital infrastructure in the United States, including energy, technology, telecommunications, farmland, natural resources, medical supplies, and other strategic national assets.”
Watch:
Poll: Trump leads DeSantis by 17 points
Wednesday 18 January 2023 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Former president Donald Trump holds a 17 point lead over his next nearest rival for the Republican Party ticket according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult and released on Wednesday morning.
The hypothetical GOP primary poll put Mr Trump at 28 per cent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 31 per cent, with former vice president Mike Pence trailing at eight per cent.
Polls since the November midterm elections have generally shown Mr DeSantis closing the gap on Mr Trump.
Trump foe, former Rep Liz Cheney got three per cent of the poll, while former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas both got two per cent.
Yes, there’s a hole in Trump’s latest explanation about the documents
Wednesday 18 January 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Wouldn’t classified documents remain in their classified folders? Why would the documents be collected and the folders discarded? Doesn’t that undermine the purpose of the folders to begin with?
This isn't true unless they were incredibly dysfunctional. Classified materials stay in their marked folders. https://t.co/rhr6XZtmWi
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 18, 2023
The FBI search inventory from Mar-a-Lago does say that they found dozens of empty classified folders, but it also lists more than 100 actual confidential, secret, and top secret documents.
Former President Trump says he "saved hundreds" of empty classified folders as a "cool keepsake."
(Also, to be clear, FBI search inventory says they found dozens of empty classified folders *as well as* more than 100 *actual* confidential, secret and top secret documents.) pic.twitter.com/SUvxrD7i5r— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 18, 2023
But wait, there’s more...
Wednesday 18 January 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell
There was a bit of a delayed drop for “Page 3” of Donald Trump’s latest rant trying to explain why he feels he is being treated so much worse than President Joe Biden when it comes to the classified material found at his Palm Beach home.
He wrote on Truth Social:
Biden is being treated so smuch [sic] better than me, I’m shocked (not really!). Why aren’t they raiding his house, & how come his representatives and lawyers are allowed to work together with the Gestopo [sic] in looking for documents, when my lawyers & representatives were not allowed anywhere near the search. We weren’t even allowed to know what they took when they raided my home. “Please leave the premises,” they said, & then lugged out everything they could, including my Passports & Med Recs.
The key difference between the cases is that there was a protracted legal effort by the Trump team to not turn over the documents, whereas the Biden team alerted the appropriate authorities as documents were discovered and arranged to hand them over.
Full story: Trump preparing return to Twitter and Facebook, report says
Wednesday 18 January 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump is preparing to return to Twitter and Facebook, a report states.
As the 2024 race for the White House nears, the former president is set to once again use some of the largest and most influential social media platforms after he was booted from them following the January 6 insurrection, according to NBC News.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump preparing return to Twitter and Facebook, report says
Watch: Jimmy Kimmel predicts what Trump will do with his money when he dies
Wednesday 18 January 2023 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell
‘You have the right to remain silent, you know’: Conway claps back at Trump over latest post
Wednesday 18 January 2023 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Conservative lawyer George Conway reminded Donald Trump that all of his posts — be they on Truth Social or perhaps soon another platform — could come back to haunt him in a court of law.
Mr Conway, a longtime Trump foe, reminded the former president of the most basic of rights — the right to remain silent if one is suspected of a crime as set out by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
People are protected from being compelled to give testimony that could incriminate them. Mr Trump offers written testimony on social media in written form often multiple times a day.
“You have the right to remain silent, you know. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” posted Mr Conway on Truth Social in response to the former president’s most recent attempt at explaining away the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
“Do you understand these rights, @realDonaldTrump?”
Trump poised to return to Twitter as campaign demands Facebook reinstatement, report says
Wednesday 18 January 2023 14:26 , Oliver O'Connell
While Donald Trump was granted access to his Twitter account back on 19 November following the takeover of the company by Elon Musk and the decision to reverse the ban imposed on the former president in the wake of the Capitol riot, he has to tweet.
That could all change according to reporting by NBC News, which states that his 2024 campaign advisers have been workshopping ideas for his first tweet.
In addition, the campaign has also approached Facebook parent Meta to unblock his account on that platform which was also suspended two years ago.
“We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse,” Trump’s campaign wrote in its letter to Meta on Tuesday, according to a copy reviewed by NBC News.
The campaign would like a meeting to discuss reinstatement. Meta has said it will announce a decision in the coming weeks.
Since his ban from the principal social media platforms, Mr Trump founded his own — Truth Social — but does not enjoy the audience and bully pulpit he had on the other sites. While he has 4.8 million followers on Truth Social, he had 88 million on Twitter and 34 million on Facebook.
