Trump news – live: Trump denies calling to ‘terminate’ the Constitution in furious Truth Social post

Donald Trump drew widespread condemnation for his explicitly antidemocratic suggestion that his baseless claims of the 2020 presidential election merit the “termination” of the US Constitution.

Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk was among those criticising his statement, saying that “the Constitution is greater than any President. End of story.”

Congresswoman Liz Cheney wrote on Twitter that “no honest person can now deny that Trump is an enemy of the Constitution,” while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer labelled him a “danger to our democracy”.

On Monday, the former president claimed that “fake news” accurately reported what he wrote just days ago is “actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution.”

In his follow-up post on Truth Social on Monday, he called reporting that shared exactly what he said “disinformation and lies”.

Key points

• Trump denies calling for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution despite statement

• Liz Cheney labels Donald Trump an ‘enemy of the Constitution'

• Elon Musk dismisses Trump’s proposal to terminate parts of Constitution

• Jeffries slams Republicans for their continued association with Trump

• Trump a ‘danger to democracy', says Chuck Schumer

ICYMI: Giuliani defends his 2020 election challenges as he faces professional sanctions

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is being questioned by a committee at the Washington DC Bar Board of Professional Responsibility to determine whether he violated ethics rules with his federal court challenges to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

During his testimony on Monday, he echoed baseless claims about the election and complained that federal investigators have “persecuted” him.

Disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox dismissed his legal challenge as “frivolous” and argued that Mr Giuliani has “weaponised his law license” to “undermine the Constitution to which he, like all members of the District of Columbia Bar, took an oath to support.”

He was suspended from the New York bar last year for his “false and misleading” statements about the 2020 election.

Proceedings in the hearing are expected to last through this week. The committee then will draft a report and issue recommendations to the full board for disciplinary actions.

ICYMI: Trump falsely claims he never called to ‘terminate’ US constitution despite having said exactly that

07:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s suggestion that he would endorse the “termination” of the Constitution after his 2020 election loss, a race that he continues to falsely claim was “stolen” from him and marred by widespread fraud, was met with a resounding rebuke from Democratic and Republican officials.

In an apparent response to criticism, the former president posted on Truth Social to claim he never said what he said just two days earlier.

Trump claims he never called to ‘terminate’ US constitution despite having done so

John Bolton may ‘seriously consider’ presidential run after Trump’s ‘disqualifying’ statement

06:00 , Alex Woodward

Former Trump-era national security adviser John Bolton said he would consider running for president to “stop some of the things Trump has done to the party” after the former president suggested he would “terminate” the Constitution after falsely claiming that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“I’d like to see Shermanesque statements from all the potential candidates,” he said. “If I don’t see that, then I’m going to seriously consider getting in.”

Mr Bolton called Trump’s statement “disqualifying.”

Trump is the only candidate who has so far formally announced a run for the GOP nomination in 2024.

Trump’s political action committee is paying legal bills for Mar-a-Lago witnesses

05:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s Save America political action committee is paying legal bills for key witnesses involved in the federal investigation into his mishandling of White House documents at his Florida compound, according to The Washington Post.

The former president’s fundraising arm is supporting former administration officials Kash Patel and Dan Scavino as well as Trump valet Walt Nauta, according to the report.

Mr Nauta reportedly told federal investigators that Trump instructed him to move boxes at Mar-a-Lago.

They are reportedly being represented by Brand Woodward Law, which was paid $120,000 by Save America.

Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in 2020 election defamation case over bogus voting machines claims

04:00 , Alex Woodward

Fox Corporation chair Rupert Murdoch will be forced to answer questions under oath next about his network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election as part of a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News, which is accused of purposefully airing false claims about Dominion Voting Systems during the 2020 presidential election.

According to a filing in Delaware, Mr Murdoch’s deposition will be performed remotely via video conference on December 13 and 14. The filings were first reported by The Washington Post.

During a hearing in October, Dominion attorney Justin Nelson argued that the network’s coverage was “an orchestrated effort,” not just the responsibility of “each host individually,” but “across Fox News as a company.”

Mr Murdoch’s son Lachlan Murdoch was deposed on Monday.

Arizona certifies election results as Kari Lake threatens lawsuit

03:00 , Alex Woodward

Arizona officials have certified the state’s results from 2022 elections, what has historically been a routine ceremony but has faced unrelenting scrutiny from conspiracy theroists and the candidates and supporters who have refused to accept the outcome.

“Arizona had a successful election. But too often, throughout the process, powerful voices proliferated misinformation that threatened to disenfranchise voters,” said Arizona secretary of state Katie Hobbs, who defeated Kari Lake in the governor’s race.

“Democracy prevailed, but it’s not out of the woods,” she added on Monday, pointing to the surge in so-called election deniers and the likely challenges ahead in 2024 elections.

Also signing the certifications were Governor Doug Ducey and Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich – both of whom are Republicans.

Ms Lake and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, both of whom have amplified bogus election-related conspiracies, were endorsed by Trump. Both lost their races. Republican candidate for attorney general Abe Hamedeh, a third so-called election denier running for one of three top statewide offices in Arizona and who also is endorsed by Trump, is trailing Democrat Kris Mayes by 500 votes. A winner has not been declared in that race.

Ms Lake told far-right conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon that her campaign is “ready to go with what we believe to be an exceptional lawsuit.”

“And we believe we will be victorious in that lawsuit,” she said.

Chuck Schumer: ‘Trump can’t seem to go a week without doing or saying something disgusting, dishonourable or disqualifying'

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned Trump’s latest antidemocratic attack in remarks from the Senate floor on Monday, delivering a rebuke of the former president’s comments on Truth Social suggesting the “termination” of the Constitution after his 2020 election loss.

“Donald Trump cannot seem to go a week without doing or saying something disgusting, dishonourable, or frankly disqualifying for high office,” he said.

He also condemned his dinner with antisemitic far-right influencers Kanye West and Nick Fuentes as well as his recent remarks calling fo the suspension of laws “because he lost the 2020 elechion,” Mr Schumer said.

“Aside from the pettiness and the ego of that, it’s as if Donald Trump is on a mission to find new ways to sink lower and lower at the detriment of America,” he said.

Republicans distance themselves from Trump’s remarks: ‘He goes from MAGA to RINO’

00:31 , Alex Woodward

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

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

More from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

Republicans distance themselves from Trump’s remarks about the Constitution

White House rebukes Trump’s calls to suspend Constitution over 2020 election

00:00 , Alex Woodward

Over the weekend, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that “attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation and should be universally condemned.”

“You cannot only love America when you win,” he added.

Biden administration attacks Trump for calling to terminate Constitution

Trump-endorsed New Hampshire senate candidate eyeing state party leadership after loss

Monday 5 December 2022 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Don Bolduc, who lost the race for a Senate seat in New Hampshire against incumbent Democratic candidate Maggie Hassan by nine points, is now running for a leadership role in the state’s Republican party.

“I was humbled by the outpouring of support during my Senate run and the encouragement of the grassroots to stay involved in the political process,” he said in a statement on Monday.

“The last few weeks laid bare the need to change as a party,” he added. “We have to counter the misconceptions peddled by the other side while convincing voters the core beliefs of the GOP are the policies best suited for their needs and to bring back American Strength.”

During his campaign, Mr Bolduc amplified Trump’s baseless election lies, including a false statement that Trump “won” in 2020 and an interview in which he falsely claimed that there was a “tremendous amount of fraud” and that Democratic officials conspired to “steal the presidency.”

He later appeared to walk back some of his claims – which Trump criticised after Mr Bolduc’s loss.

John Cornyn: Trump’s comments are ‘irresponsible'

Monday 5 December 2022 22:30 , Namita Singh

Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters that Trump’s suggestion that the US Constitution be “terminated” is “irresponsible.”

He said he is at a “loss for words” why Trump, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, would explicitly call for the suspension of democracy to subvert the 2020 election that he lost.

“I don’t know why anybody would say something like that, certainly not an ex-president,” he said. “I just think it’s irresponsible.”

Top GOP senator ‘couldn’t disagree more’ with Trump’s comments

Monday 5 December 2022 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Senate Minority Whip John Thune told reporters on Monday that he “couldn’t disagree more” with Trump’s call for the “termination” of the Constitution after his baseless claims of 2020 election fraud.

“Of course I disagree with that. I swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, and it is a bedrock principle – it is the principle, the bedrock of our country. So I couldn’t disagree more,” Mr Thune said, according to The Hill.

“It’s going to be the grist of the campaign,” he added. “If you’re one of these other people who’s interested in running this year, this is certainly an opportunity that would create some contrast.”

Breaking: Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzling clients’ money

Monday 5 December 2022 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against Donald Trump, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after stealing millions of dollars from clients.

Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzling clients’ money

Former Justice Department official heading to Manhattan DA’s office to lead Trump probe

Monday 5 December 2022 21:00 , Alex Woodward

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has hired a former official at the US Department of Justice to help lead New York prosecutors’ criminal investigation into Donald Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Monday that Matthew Colangelo has been tapped as a senior counsel.

Mr Colangelo will focus on issues surrounding housing and tenant protection and labor and worker protection “as well as the office’s most sensitive and high-profile white-collar investigations,” according to an announcement. “Public safety requires economic stability, and all New Yorkers deserve to live and work without risk of harassment, wage theft, or dangerous workplaces,” Mr Bragg said in a statement.

The revelation that Mr Colangelo will assist with the office’s Trump investigation came from The New York Times.

“Those who would harass tenants, steal wages, endanger workers, or defraud the public should know that the Manhattan DA’s office has never had a stronger, more dedicated team in place to enforce our laws and hold them accountable,” Mr Bragg added in his statement.

Mr Colangelo also has experience at the New York attorney general office, where he led dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration, as well as a probe into the Trump Foundation, which ultimately led to its dissolve.

His investigations also led to Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit against Mr Trump and his business empire.

Mike Pence responds to Trump’s threat to Constitution

Monday 5 December 2022 20:30 , Alex Woodward

Asked to respond to Trump’s threat to “terminate” the US Constitution during a radio interview on Monday, former vice president Mike Pence said he and other official took an oath to “commit ourselves to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

“I think everyone that serves in public office, everyone that aspires to serve or to serve again, should make it clear we will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which I believe by God’s grace I was able to do during not only my tenure as vice president but during those tumultuous days at the end,” Mr Pence said.

Those “tumultuous days” include Trump’s pressure campaign to get his then-vice president to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election, and a violent riot fuelled by Trump’s rejection of those results; Mr Pence was escorted out of the Capitol on 6 January, 2021, as a mob chanted “hang Mike Pence” as it stormed the halls of Congress. Hours later he presided over the certification of electoral college votes.

Giuliani defends his 2020 election challenges as he faces professional sanctions

Monday 5 December 2022 20:00 , Alex Woodward

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is being questioned by the a committee at the Washington DC Bar Board of Professional Responsibility to determine whether he violated attorney ethics rules with his federal court challenges to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidentuial election.

During his testimony, he has continued baseless claims about the election, complained that federal investigators have “persecuted” him,

Disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox dismissed his legal challenge as “frivolous,” and that Mr Giuliani has “weaponized his law license” to “undermine the Constitution to which he, like all members of the District of Columbia Bar, took an oath to support.”

He was suspended from the New York bar last year for his “false and misleading” statements about the 2020 election.

Proceedings in the hearing are expected to last through this week. The committee then will draft a report and issue recommendations to the full board for disciplinary actions.

Today’s hearing is ongoing.

Trump falsely claims he never called to ‘terminate’ US constitution despite having said exactly that

Monday 5 December 2022 19:30 , Alex Woodward

The former president’s disturbing suggestion that the US Constitution should be terminated was met with widespread backlash, including from members of his own party.

Apparently in reaction to the criticism, he took to his Truth Social again on Monday to claim he’d never said what he’d said two days before.

Trump claims he never called to ‘terminate’ US constitution despite having done so

Trump trails Liz Cheney for 2024 in surprising new red state poll

Monday 5 December 2022 19:05 , Johanna Chisholm

A surprising new poll from Republican stronghold Utah signals trouble ahead for Donald Trump - with voters favouring Liz Cheney over the former president for 2024.

According to a recent poll, Republican voters in Utah - who overwhelmingly supported Mr Trump in both 2016 and 2020 - are beginning to pin their hopes on two of his most avowed rivals: outgoing Wisconsin Rep Cheney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

In the poll by Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics, Republican respondents had the one-term president finishing third among a field of potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates, a result that has been echoed in recent surveys of both Democratic and Republican voters, showing the hold that the “Make America Great Again” president has on the GOP might indeed be slipping.

In the poll, Rep Cheney, who has built her brand of politics over the last few years around taking swipes at the twice impeached president for his conduct inside and outside the Oval Office, placed second as she picked up 16.4 per cent support from Utah GOP primary voters.

Trump trails Liz Cheney for 2024 in surprising new red state poll

Analysis: Donald Trump has stumbled out of the blocks in his 2024 campaign

Monday 5 December 2022 18:40 , Johanna Chisholm

Another Donald Trump tantrum – this time calling for the “termination” of the election rules in the US constitution in order to overturn the results of the 2020 election and reinstate him as president – has been met with another, almost weary, response from the White House.

Trump has repeatedly, and falsely, claimed that he was the true winner of that presidential election, and it never takes much to get him to wade back into those waters. The trigger this time was the release of internal Twitter emails showing deliberation over an October 2020 New York Post story concerning material found on a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden (the son of the current president). The emails show employees in the legal, policy and communications departments at Twitter at times disagreeing over whether to restrict the article under the company’s hacked materials policy.

It is the latest in a string of events that have characterised the first few weeks of Trump’s bid for re-election in 2024 as it stumbled out of the blocks.

From controversies to legal cases and social media rants, the former president has probably not begun his re-election bid in the way his team would want, explains Chris Stevenson in his latest.

Politics Explained: Donald Trump has stumbled out of the blocks in his 2024 campaign

Trump faces peril in docs probe after decades of scrutiny

Monday 5 December 2022 18:20 , Associated Press

As a businessman and president, Donald Trump faced a litany of lawsuits and criminal investigations yet emerged from the legal scrutiny time and again with his public and political standing largely intact.

But he’s perhaps never confronted a probe as perilous as the Mar-a-Lago investigation, an inquiry focused on the potential mishandling of top-secret documents. The sense of vulnerability has been heightened in recent weeks not only by the Justice Department‘s appointment of a special counsel with a reputation for aggressiveness but also by the removal of a Trump-requested independent arbiter in the case and by judges’ unequivocal rejection of his lawyers’ arguments.

It’s impossible to predict how much longer the investigation will last or whether the Justice Department will take the unprecedented step of indicting a former president and current candidate. But Trump is no longer shielded from prosecution the way he was as president, and some legal experts regard the Mar-a-Lago investigation as centered on more straightforward factual and legal questions than the prior probes he has dealt with.

“Unlike many of these past investigations which involved these complex financial frauds where prosecutors have to explain to a jury why the conduct is even a crime to begin with, here prosecutors won’t have that difficulty, won’t have that challenge to explain what the crime is about” if charges are ultimately filed, said former Justice Department prosecutor Robert Mintz.

Read the full report here with The Independent.

Trump faces peril in docs probe after decades of scrutiny

Trump, who suggested calling for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, denies calling for the termination of the Constitution

Monday 5 December 2022 18:08 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump has denied making what was an explicitly antidemocratic statement suggesting “massive fraud” in the 2020 presidential election “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”

In another post on his Truth Social account on Monday, following up his statement from just two days ago, the former president claims that the “fake news” is “actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution.”

Here’s what he wrote on Saturday: “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”

In his post on Monday, he called reports that accurately captured what he wrote “disinformation and lies”.

Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Borat to take aim at Trump and Kanye West

Monday 5 December 2022 18:00 , Johanna Chisholm

Sacha Baron Cohen took aim at Kanye West and Donald Trump in a new Borat skit on stage at the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors.

The actor and comedian returned as Borat Sagdiyev during a segment of the night paying tribute to U2.

Baron Cohen began speaking as the character by pretending to mistake president Joe Biden, who was in attendence, for former president Trump.

“I am told the president of US today is here,” he said, per Deadline. “Where are you Mr Trump? You don’t look so good.”

Biden could be seen laughing alongside his wife, Jill, in the audience.

“Where has your blown-ass big belly gone? And your pretty orange skin without fail,” the character continued. “I see you have a new wife. Whoa whoa whooo wha! She is very erotic.”

Baron Cohen, who is Jewish, then turned his attention to antisemitism, while still in character as Borat.

“I must say I’m very upset about the antisemitism in the US today,” he said. “It’s not fair. Kazakhstan is the number one Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal. Stop the steal.”

Louis Chilton has more here.

Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Borat to take aim at Trump and Kanye West

Ron DeSantis short-listed for Time magazine’s Person of the Year

Monday 5 December 2022 17:30 , Johanna Chisholm

MSNBC Morning Joe hosts found themselves flabbergasted at the news that Florida Gov Ron DeSantis has been short-listed for Time magazine’s Person of the Year award, finding himself alongside figures like Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.

“His presence on the list is because he won reelection in massive landslide, he flipped Miami-Dade and much to the chagrin of a former constituent is on the cusp of really being the frontrunner for the Republican nomination,” explained Time executive editor Ben Goldberger on the MSNBC program, hinting at how “former constituent” - Donald Trump - has reportedly been enraged at the prospect that the Florida governor could challenge him for the GOP ticket in 2024.

Trump’s spokesperson says that ex-president holding a telerally for Senate candidate Walker tonight

Monday 5 December 2022 17:10 , Johanna Chisholm

A spokesperson for Donald Trump says that the former president plans to hold a phone call rally for Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, a Republican he endorsed early on in the race but who failed to gain the necessary majority during the November midterms forcing him and Senator Raphael Warnock into a runoff election.

“If you want a big game day turnout for Herschel, you bring in President Trump,” said Liz Harrington on Monday while appearing on Real America’s Voice.

“Herschel is a great man, a great candidate,” added Ms Harrington.

Early voting in the Georgia runoff election began last month, shortly after the results from the 11 November race were certified. The polls open for in-person voting on Tuesday morning.

Lisa Murkowski becomes latest Republican to berate Trump for his remarks

Monday 5 December 2022 16:50 , Johanna Chisholm

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski became the latest Republican to shame Donald Trump for suggesting over the weekend that parts of the Constitution be “terminated” to better serve his widely debunked claims of election fraud in 2020.

“Suggesting the termination of the Constitution is not only a betrayal of our Oath of Office, it’s an affront to our Republic,” the Alaska senator wrote on Twitter late Sunday night, about a day after he’d made the controversy-stirring remark.

Trump activist Harmeet Dhillon preparing to challenge Ronna McDaniel for RNC chair

Monday 5 December 2022 16:30 , Johanna Chisholm

Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican National Committee person whose firm represents former president Donald Trump, is reportedly preparing to challenge Ronna McDaniel in the RNC race for the chair, joining MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and perhaps even Rep Lee Zeldin, who is also weighing his options for a bid.

Politico reported that Ms Dhillon has been talking with fellow RNC members about a prospective run, according to two people familiar with her planning. A formal announcement from the Trump loyalist could arrive within the next few days.

Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy calls Trump’s comments ‘crazy'

Monday 5 December 2022 16:10 , Johanna Chisholm

Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy called out the suggestion that Donald Trump made over the weekend, in which he proposed “terminating” parts of the Constitution in order to have the results of the 2020 election hashed out again, “crazy”.

“He said yesterday that the Constitution should be thrown out, which is crazy,” said the Fox host on Sunday morning, to which is colleague quipped, “he wants a redo”.

The conversation didn’t linger on the issue of Trump’s remarks for much longer than that thought, as the group quickly pivoted to the issue of how Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibibi released a trove of internal Twitter documents on Friday night showing how Twitter temporarily suppressed the report about Hunter Biden’s laptop, fearing it was a Russian hacking operation days out from the 2020 presidential election.

Milos Yiannopoulos out as Ye’s campaign manager

Monday 5 December 2022 15:50 , Johanna Chisholm

Far-right agitator and online provocateur Milos Yiannopoulos has parted ways with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who he’d been working for as a campaign manager in Ye’s informal 2024 presidential campaign, The Daily Beast reports.

“Ye and I have come to the mutual conclusion that I should step away from his political team,” Mr Yiannopoulos said in an interview with the news outlet on Sunday afternoon. “I will continue to pray for Ye and all his endeavors.”

The far-right agitator was brought on board by West as one of the first operatives in his supposed bid for the White House, a team that also counts white nationalist Nick Fuentes as one of the team members.

Mr Yiannopoulos recently made headlines after he claimed that the disastrous Mar-a-Lago dinner that saw Mr Trump break bread with one of the US’s most prominent racists came as a result of his own plans and schemes.

What to watch in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff election

Monday 5 December 2022 15:30 , Johanna Chisholm

The extended Senate campaign in Georgia gives Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Herschel Walker a second chance to persuade voters to send them to Washington. But without party control of Congress at stake and absent other candidates on the ticket, the runoff looks different from the November general election.

The results of the AP VoteCast survey illustrate some of the challenges each candidate faces on Tuesday. Mr Walker will need to turn out a GOP base that wasn’t enamored with him to start with, and do it without the more popular Gov. Brian Kemp on the ballot. Mr Warnock must get his coalition of some lower-propensity voting groups to turn out.

And both candidates have to motivate voters despite a predetermined balance of power in Washington.

Keep reading to learn more about what’s at stake.

What to watch in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff election

Utah voters might be ready to move on from Trump

Monday 5 December 2022 15:10 , Johanna Chisholm

Utah - a state that Donald Trump won in both 2016 and 2020 - might be ready to move on from the “Make America Great Again” president.

A new poll from Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics found that Republican voters in the deep red state had the one-term president finishing third among a field of potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates, placing him behind his known adversary for the GOP ticket - Florida Gov Ron DeSantis - and, likely to his shock and great dismay, outgoing Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney.

Rep Cheney, who has built her brand of politics over the last few years around taking swipes at the twice impeached president for his conduct inside and outside the Oval Office, came in second in the Deseret News/Hinckley survey with 16.4 per cent support from Utah GOP primary voters.

Gov DeSantis, a likely challenger for Mr Trump on the GOP ticket in 2024, came in first with 24.2 per cent.

More damning than that, the survey found that overall, around six out of 10 Utahns have an unfavourable impression of the former president, with those scores ticking up slightly for registered Republican voters.

If the Republican presidential primary were held today, only 14.4 per cent of Utahns would vote for the former president, who announced his candidacy for the White House for a third time last month from his home in Mar-a-Lago.

Elon Musk dismisses Donald Trump’s call to ‘terminate’ parts of the US Constitution

Monday 5 December 2022 14:50 , Johanna Chisholm

Tech titan-turned-online provocateur Elon Musk has weighed in on Donald Trump’s proposal to “terminate” parts of the US Constitution to overturn the 2020 election.

The Tesla chief executive wrote on Twitter, a social media platform he recently acquired for $44bn, that he agreed with the Democrats and the select number of Republicans who had come out swinging against the one-term president for suggesting that the landmark legal document be amended to suit him.

“The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story,” tweeted Mr Musk late Sunday night, about a day after Mr Trump took to his own social media platform – Truth Social – to falsely claim that the results of the 2020 election were “fraudulent” and argued that, therefore, the country’s supreme law should bend to his will.

Johanna Chisholm has more details here.

Elon Musk dismisses Donald Trump’s call to ‘terminate’ parts of the US Constitution

Jury deliberations commence in Trump Organization tax fraud trial

Monday 5 December 2022 14:30 , Johanna Chisholm

After prosecutors and the defence delivered closing arguments at the Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud trial last week, the 12-person jury is set to begin deliberations Monday.

The Trump Organization, the entity through which former President Donald Trump manages his real estate holdings and other ventures, is accused of helping some top executives avoid paying income taxes on company-paid perks, such as apartments and luxury cars.

The 15-count indictment charges the company and CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records. Mr Weisselberg also received an additional grand larceny charge, with prosecutors claiming that he used his position to avoid paying taxes on more than $1.7m in income.

The case is being heard in state Supreme Court, New York’s highest trial court.