Trump news – live: Trump lawyer says FBI agents’ identities should be made public despite violent threats

One of the attorneys representing Donald Trump in the wake of the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago has said that CCTV from the search should be released and the agents who carried it out identified – this despite a surge in violent threats against law enforcement agents and justice officials from outraged Trump supporters.

Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the search warrant for the raid, says he is inclined to partially release the document as media organisations have requested. He will make a final decision next week after the redactions have been made.

The Justice Department has rebuffed demands to release the affidavit, warning that it could “chill” future efforts to secure witness cooperation, and argued that the investigation is still in its early days. Mr Trump has said he wants the affidavit to be released, but his legal team have taken no official steps to make it public.

This comes a January 6 Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney has said that the panel are “in discussions” with the counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence.

Key Points

• Rudy Giuliani gives new excuse for Trump holding onto classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

• VOICES: I was a Rikers Island inmate for a white-collar crime. Here’s what ex-Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg should expect

• Woman who took private jet to Capitol riot pleads guilty

• Rudy Giuliani defends Trump against Espionage Act accusations

• Abortion remains legal in Michigan after judge rules prosecutors can’t enforce ‘dangerous’ century-old ban

Georgia can ban people handing out food and water to voters, federal judge rules

21:10 , Alex Woodward

A federal judge has upheld Georgia’s ban on people handing out food and water to voters waiting in line to cast their ballots at the polls, part of a sweeping election law that has faced widespread criticism and a series of legal challenges.

US District Judge JP Boulee denied a request for a preliminary injunction from a coalition of voting rights groups who challenged the recently enacted ban on so-called “line relief” measures that makes it a crime to give out food or water within 150 feet of a polling place or within 25 feet of a person standing in line to vote.

Opponents argue that the measure is an attempt to suppress votes in areas where voters are more likely to endure longer lines on Election Day.

The judge argued that the law does not prohibit groups from verbally encouraging voters to stay in line or helping elderly or disabled voters.

But Judge Boulee suggested that banning food and drink within 25 feet of any voter standing in lines is likely unconstitutional, given reports of hours-long lines that have formed in some precincts disproportionately impacting Black voters.

Read more:

Georgia can ban people handing out food and water to voters, federal judge rules

Rudy Giuliani gives new excuse for Trump holding onto classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

20:40 , Andrew Feinberg

Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday appeared to admit that Mr Trump had classified documents that are the property of the US government, during an appearance on the right-wing Newsmax television network.

Mr Giuliani, who is currently facing disbarment for making false statements in the course of his representation of the ex-president during his push to overturn the 2020 election, was attempting to defend Mr Trump when he said the Espionage Act — the law FBI agents said may have been violated when they asked for a warrant to search Mr Trump’s home — was “really not about taking the documents”.

“It’s about destroying them or hiding them or giving them to the enemy. It’s not about taking them and putting them in a place that’s roughly as safe as they were in in the first place,” he said.

The ex-New York City mayor also said the Department of Justice officials investigating the classified documents which FBI agents found at Mr Trump’s home “want to make him responsible for having taken classified documents and preserve [sic] them”.

Read more:

Giuliani gives new excuse for Trump holding onto classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

Betsy DeVos says ‘uncomfortable’ 2019 encounter with Biden would make him guilty of sexual harassment under his Title IX rules

20:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos has accused President Joe Biden of inappropriate touching in connection to an alleged incident that occurred before he entered the White House.

Appearing on The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM on Wednesday, Ms Devos compared the interaction with Mr Biden to sexual harassment, according to the new definitions put forward by the administration for universities and colleges.

Ms DeVos said the encounter in early 2019 was the first time she met Mr Biden. She added that she was using a wheelchair at the time after having broken her pelvis.

She claimed that Mr Biden put his hands on her shoulders and leaned his forehead against hers “for several seconds”, saying that she had “nowhere to go to or escape”.

“If he had done that as a student on a college campus under his proposed rule, I would have a Title IX sexual harassment allegation to levy against him,” Ms DeVos told Ms Kelly.

Read more:

DeVos says 2019 Biden encounter was sexual harassment under his Title IX Rules

VOICES: I was a Rikers Island inmate for a white-collar crime. Here’s what ex-Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg should expect

19:40 , William Mersey

In the wake of Allen Weisselberg’s plea deal and impending designation to serve his time behind bars on Rikers Island, people might be curious as to what it’s really like to be jailed at Rikers — especially for a geriatric white-collar offender. The public hears so many scary stories that it can be hard to imagine surviving internment in what might possibly be the country’s most infamous jail.

Well, I know. I’m a 72-year-old man who served most of 2019 at three different institutions for the crime of tax fraud. And one of them was Rikers.

Once the judge sentences Weisselberg, he’ll likely be escorted to the Eric M. Taylor Center (EMTC, where most sentenced inmates end up). Inmates who enter general population are housed in a dormitory-style environment with 60 to 80 beds; rows and rows of urinals and dumpers; five beat-up shower heads with no partitions; and long sinks with several faucets. It may sound grim, but I actually preferred that arrangement on Rikers to my previous accommodations at MCC federal prison. There, I was locked into 60 square feet along with another inmate for 10 hours a day, with just a small sink and a toilet located in the middle of the cell with which to do our business. Clearly, modesty was not the order of the day!

Fortunately for Allen, he won’t have to suffer any of those humiliations. Prisoners held in protective custody on Rikers are afforded their own single cells, complete with stainless steel toilets they can use privately. I can’t imagine a man of Weisselberg’s age or social standing landing in general population. He’ll request protective custody and get it if he hasn’t already. That’s almost a given.

But there are downsides to PC housing. By the time meals are shuttled to their unit, they are at best lukewarm. One guard told me that the inmates who deliver the food to PC tend to do unspeakable “stuff” to that food en route, knowing where it’s going. And protective custody houses snitches as well as the rich and infamous. Jailbirds hate snitches. So it’s not a stretch to think they’ll mess with their food, too.

Read more:

I was a Rikers Island inmate. Here’s what Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg should expect

White House sees Liz Truss as ‘Boris loyalist’ and just a continuation of Johnson government - report

19:10 , Stuti Mishra

An American diplomat has described Tory frontrunner Liz Truss’s image at the White House as a “loyalist” of Boris Johnson and as someone who will be the extension of his government, a US media report says.

Ms Truss, who has maintained a commanding lead over opponent Rishi Sunak to succeed Mr Johnson at No 10, has a mixed number of admirers and critics at home too.

But a recent report from Politico magazine quoting several people from the White House, Congress and federal agencies in the US points to what it calls a “branding problem” for Ms Truss.

While the foreign secretary may not carry as much baggage as Mr Johnson in the eyes of US officials, many still see her as an extension of his government.

One unnamed US diplomat familiar with the Britain file was quoted describing Ms Truss as a “Boris loyalist” who is “likely to continue the policies and tone of Johnson’s government”.

Read more:

White House sees Liz Truss as ‘Boris loyalist’ - report

Florida’s new election police arrest 20 people with felony convictions for voting illegally

18:40 , Alex Woodward

Five days before midterm primary elections in the state, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that 20 people who were previously convicted of felonies were arrested for illegally voting in the 2020 presidential election, what he called the “opening salvo” of his recently opened office of election crimes.

The governor – flanked by 15 law enforcement officers – made the announcement from inside a courtroom in Broward County, home to more than 1.2 million registered voters, most of whom are registered Democrats, in a state with more than 14 million registered voters among 21 million residents.

Governor DeSantis said the 20 suspects – all between the ages of 43 and 72 – were previously convicted of murder or sex offenses, thus ineligible for their voting rights to be restored. They face up to $5,000 in fines and up to five years in prison, if convicted.

But the governor’s announcement on 18 August has highlighted the complications surrounding felony voting rights and eligibility requirements after Florida voters overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment to restore them, and exposed gaps in a system that should have prevented illegal votes in the first place.

Read more:

Florida’s new election police find 20 cases of illegal voting days before primary

Abortion remains legal in Michigan after judge rules prosecutors can’t enforce ‘dangerous’ century-old ban

18:10 , Alex Woodward

Michigan’s 1931 anti-abortion law will remain blocked after a judge ruled that local prosecutors cannot enforce the state’s “dangerous and chilling” ban on abortion care.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jacob James Cunningham granted a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the law until a final ruling is determined, arguing that the nearly century-old ban “simply does not pass constitutional muster.”

The ruling on 19 August follows an appeals court decision that determined that county prosecutors could enforce the law in the weeks after the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion care, allowing states to impose their own anti-abortion laws.

Michigan’s 1931 law, drafted decades before the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade overturned state-level bans, was ostensibly in effect with the collapse of that 1973 precedent. Michigan’s law would ban abortion in nearly all instances except to protect the life of the patient.

Judge Cunningham declared on Friday that “the harm to the body of women and people capable of pregnancy in not issuing the injunction could not be more real, clear, present and dangerous to the court.”

Read more:

Michigan judge blocks enforcement of ‘dangerous’ anti-abortion law

Woman who took private jet to Capitol riot pleads guilty

17:40 , Andrew Naughtie

A woman who travelled by private jet to what became the January 6 Capitol attack has pleaded guilty to offences she committed in the course of the riot.

Texas woman Katherine Schwab, who was identified in security camera footage taken inside the Capitol building during the riot, struck a deal with prosecutors under which she owned up to a charge of “Engaging in Disruptive or Disorderly Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds”.

Schwab’s case was notable not just because of her luxurious journey to Washington on 5 January 2021, but because she was among a group that included infamous rioter Jenna Ryan – a realtor who notoriously tweeted after the riot: “Sorry I have blonde hair, white skin, a great job, a great future, and I’m not going to jail.”

Read more:

Woman who took private jet to Jan 6 riot pleads guilty

What can Allen Weisselberg expect on Rikers Island?

17:10 , Andrew Naughtie

Longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty this week to his part in a multi-year tax fraud scheme. Under the terms of the deal, he will not only testify in the trial of the organisation itself this fall, but will also serve 5 months in prison, most likely at New York’s infamous Rikers Island.

Writing forThe Independent, former inmate William Mersey has some advice for him:

Read the full piece below...

I was a Rikers Island inmate. Here’s what Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg should expect

Rudy Giuliani defends Trump against Espionage Act accusations

16:40 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump and his team have put out a string of competing and sometimes directly contradictory claims about what happened at Mar-a-Lago last week and what was being kept there. What they have tried to steer clear of is any direct and unambiguous admission that the documents seized by the FBI were, in fact, still classified or officially desginated as secret.

But in an interview last night, Rudy Giuliani came perilously close to blowing that up.

White House announces anti-extremism summit

16:10 , Andrew Naughtie

The White House will convene a “bipartisan group of federal, state, and local officials, civil rights groups, faith and community leaders, technology and business leaders, law enforcement officials” and other stakeholders for a summit to continue the Biden administration’s efforts to counter violent extremism, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

In a statement announcing the 15 September “United We Stand Summit,” Ms Jean-Pierre said the event will “counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety, highlight the response of the Biden-Harris Administration and communities nationwide to these dangers, and put forward a shared vision for a more united America”.

The announcement of the anti-extremism event comes as Republicans, led by former president Donald Trump, have threatened to defund the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the wake of last week’s court-authorised search of Mr Trump’s home.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

White House announces anti-extremism summit amid GOP attacks on law enforcement

Ron DeSantis decried for campaigning with anti-semitic candidate

15:40 , Andrew Naughtie

Florida Governor Ron Deasntis will is set to appear today in Pittsburgh at a rally for Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania – and his appearance is causing some consternation.

As well as being a hardcore 2020 election denier, Mr Mastriano is an open Christian nationalist, and was recently found to have paid $5,000 for advertising to the notoriously anti-semitic founder of right-wing social media platform Gab. (For context, Gab was the preferred platform of the neo-nazi who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.)

The DeSantis-Mastriano rally has dismayed many faith leaders, and now the governor is under pressure from various sides to pull out of the rally and distance himself from Mr Mastriano.

Among those pushing back on the criticism? Sometime Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, a “stop the steal” alumna who was this week ordered to testify in the Georgia probe into the Trump team’s election interference.

15:09 , Andrew Naughtie

As staff at the FBI and Department of Justice face threats of violence in the wake of last week’s Mar-a-Lago search, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers has suggested releasing CCTV footage of the raid – and dismissed concerns about the consequences of revealing the identities of agents who carried it out.

“We don’t want you to see their identities,” said Alina Habba, mocking the rationale for keeping the tapes sealed, “because we don’t want you to know who did that. Well, if you’re doing it as an agent, I’m not sure you should have that right.”

Ms Habba made the remarks in an interview on pro-Trump network Newsmax. Read more below.

Trump lawyer says FBI agents who raided Mar-a-Lago should be publicly identified

Pompeo threads needle on 25th Amendment

14:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s last secretary of state, appeared on Fox News last night to discuss various topics, and among them was his recent interview with the 6 January select committee. On the face of it, his remarks were unremarkable, but amongst them was a subtly ambiguous phrasing about “discussions” over whether to invoke the 25th amendment against Mr Trump after the riot.

While Mr Pompeo dismissed ideas that the discussions were “serious”, he did not rule out that they had taken place – as has been reported elsewhere.

Woman who flew to Jan 6 riot on private jet pleads guilty

14:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Katherine Schwab, a Trump supporter who flew to Washington, DC on a private jet for the protest that became the 6 January Capitol attack, has pleaded guilty to offences connected with the riot.

Among Ms Schwab’s companions on the plane was Jenna Ryan, who infamously tweeted after the riot “Sorry, I have blonde hair, white skin, a great job, a great future, and I’m not going to jail.” She was later sentenced to jail.

The dissenter: Who is Fox News’s Jessica Tarlov?

13:45 , Andrew Naughtie

While most of Fox News’s pundit cohort are essentially on Donald Trump’s side in the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago raid, one host in particular has gone in another direction. Jessica Tarlov, who frequently appears on The Five, is an outspoken critic both of Mr Trump’s legal team and of claims that the DoJ and/or FBI overstepped their authority in carrying out the search in the first place.

Ms Tarlov’s presence and willingness to challenge Mr Trump during Fox News’ daytime programming has boosted her profile while showing the lengths to which Fox News personalities will go to defend Mr Trump. Abe Asher reports.

The Fox News pundit driving colleagues into a frenzy with stance on Mar-a-Lago raid

Trump spokesman celebrates affidavit ruling

13:13 , Andrew Naughtie

Taylor Budowich, one of Donald Trump’s top communications staffers, came out swinging after Judge Bruce Reinhart yesterday ordered the Department of Justice to propose redactions for a potential release of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit.

Like others in the former president’s orbit, he has called for the release of the affadavit with nothing redacted – this despite the fact that none of Mr Trump’s lawyers have made any formal attempt to get the affadavit unsealed, whether in whole or in part.

The Department of Justice argues that releasing the affidavit would jeopardise its investigations and potentially “chill” efforts to secure the cooperation of key witnesses.

Courtesy of Andrew Feinberg, here’s what the ruling yesterday means:

Judge ‘inclined’ to release partial Trump search warrant affidavit

Right-wing freakout over author’s Hunter Biden interview

12:42 , Andrew Naughtie

Much-followed author and Trump critic Sam Harris has incurred the wrath of right-wing pro-Trump Twitter with a podcast interview in which – according to his detractors – he suggested that burying unflattering stories about Hunter Biden was justified to keep Trump out of the White House.

This has predictably set off a storm, with users pouncing on Mr Harris’s remarks to claim they are yet further evidence that “the left” would rather gloss over the younger Biden’s allegedly corrupt behaviour and history of addiction problems if it meant getting Donald Trump out of the White House.

Here’s Mr Harris’s attempt at clarifying his remarks.

Giuliani: documents were “roughly as safe” at Mar-a-Lago as elsewhere

12:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Rudy Giuliani last night appeared on right-wing pro-Trump network Newsmax to defend Donald Trump’s decision to take sensitive documents to Mar-a-Lago. In his interview, he questioned the relevance of the Espionage Act to the investigation – and claimed that there was no reason to worry about whether the documents would have been safe at the president’s Florida residence.

Mr Giuliani gave his interview the same day he testified to a grand jury probe into the Trump team’s efforts to overthrow Joe Biden’s election in Georgia. The former Trump lawyer is himself a target of the investigation.

Eric Garcia has more:

Giuliani says he ‘satisfied his obligation’ after testifying before Georgia jury

Right-wing concern about Trump’s lawyers grows

11:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Fox News host Laura Ingraham last night hosted Trump lawyer Christina Bobb on her show The Ingraham Angle, and it did not go well, with the host all but guiding Ms Bobb through the implications of not speaking up in yesterday’s affadavit hearing – and openly saying that the team are not pushing hard enough to protect their client.

Mr Trump has defended his lawyers against claims they are ill-equipped to handle the case, calling them “excellent and experienced”. Graig Graziosi has this rundown of the names spearheading the former president’s efforts in the wake of the raid.

Who are the new faces on Trump’s legal team defending him over FBI raid

Secret Service did not inform police of Jan 6 threat against Pelosi, watchdog claims

11:00 , Andrew Naughtie

A watchdog group has said in a report that the Secret Service did not inform Capitol police about a threat against House speaker Nancy Pelosi until after the attack on 6 January last year.

According to email communication and documents obtained by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Secret Service was aware of threatening posts made on a Parler account as early as 4 January, but the Capitol police were only informed on 6 January at 5:55pm.

“January 6 starts [1776] all over again!! Fight for God! Fight for Your Freedom!! Fight for Your Children!! Fight for Trump!! Fight for America!! Fight for EVERYTHING… Enemies,” read one of the threatening posts, which tagged top Democrat leaders including Barack Obama.

The news of the message comes as the Secret Service comes under increased scrutiny over its action during the riots, and in particular its deletion of agents’ text messages from around the time of the insurrection.

Ex-Trump aides deny his claim he was allowed to declassify documents: ‘Ludicrous’

10:26 , Shweta Sharma

More than a dozen former Trump administration officials have shot down the former president’s claims that he had a “standing order” to declassify documents that he took to his White House residence from the Oval Office.

Donald Trump and his allies have claimed that the former president has a standing order stipulating that classified documents automatically became declassified when he removed them from the Oval Office in the days since the FBI searched his Florida residence for top-secret materials.

Read the full report.

Ex-Trump aides deny his ‘ludicrous’ claim he was allowed to declassify documents

Pence would consider giving evidence before January 6 committee

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former vice president Mike Pence says he would consider giving evidence before the House January 6 select committee if he were to receive an invitation to appear before the panel.

The former vice president, who became a target of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on the day Congress certified his and Donald Trump’s defeat at the hands of Joe Biden, was speaking at a “Politics and Eggs” breakfast event in New Hampshire on Wednesday when he was asked if he’d be willing to appear before the select committee.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the former vice president’s comments.

Pence says he would consider giving evidence before January 6 panel

ICYMI: Trump supporters circle Florida courthouse in support of former president

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump supporters were seen circling the courthouse in West Palm Beach in southern Florida where a US Magistrate Judge said he was “inclined” to rule that the Department of Justice should release some of the affidavit for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.

Members of the press also descended on the courthouse as they attempted to reveal the information that formed the basis for the search of former President Donald Trump’s home in the Sunshine State.

Trucks with Trump 2024 flags were seen driving around the building.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump supporters circle Florida courthouse as judge weighs raid affidavit release

Liz Cheney says she’s ‘thinking about’ White House run

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Liz Cheney has said that she’s “thinking about” a White House run, in her first interview after losing her primary to a Trump-backed opponent.

Gustaf Kilander reports on Ms Cheney has revealed so far about her plans.

Liz Cheney says she’s ‘thinking about’ White House run in first interview after loss

Ivana Trump walked out on ex-husband’s inauguration because of bad seat, report says

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivana Trump walked out on Donald Trump’s inauguration because she was horrified she had been assigned a “very bad seat”, according to a report. The former president’s late ex-wife was “in shock” at the seat she was given at the 2017 ceremony in Washington DC, says New York magazine.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Ivana Trump walked out on Trump’s inauguration because she was horrified by poor seat

Breathing room for Biden

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden and his allies hope big recent wins on climate, health care and more will at least temporarily tamp down questions among top Democrats about whether he will run for reelection.

That optimism may be short-lived, at risk if and when former President Donald Trump announces another White House campaign. But for now, the “Will he or won’t he” Washington parlor game appears to be on hold.

Read on:

Breathing room for Biden: Big summer wins ease 2024 doubts

18 ex-trump aides deny his claim he was allowed to declassify documents

05:06 , Shweta Sharma

Donald Trump and his allies’ claim that he had a “standing order” to declassify documents he took from the Oval Office is completely untrue, according to a large number of former White House officials interviewed by CNN.

The network reports that 18 former top Trump administration officials said they never heard any such order issued during their time working for Mr Trump, and that they believe the claim to be false.

The officials called it “complete fiction”, “ludicrous”, “ridiculous”, “laughable”, and “total nonsense” among other descriptions of the claim.

GOP sees post-Roe differences over new abortion rules

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Post-Roe differences surface in GOP over new abortion rules

Republican candidate clarifies after calling for execution of Merrick Garland

04:27 , Shweta Sharma

A Republican candidate for Congress in New York Carl Paladino has clarified after he said US attorney general Merrick Garland “should be executed” for authorising the Mar-a-Lago raid. The Buffalo-area businessman has clarified that he was being “facetious” and Mr Garland should be removed for his incompetence.

“I’m just being facetious. The man should be removed from office,” Mr Paladino said. “He shows his incompetence. He wants to get his face in front of the people and show he’s got some mettle to him, but his choice of issues and choice of methodology is very sad.”

Mr Paladino made the comment in an interview with Breitbart News, criticising Democratic party and Joe Biden’s leadership.“So we have a couple of unelected people who are running our government, in an administration of people like Garland, who should be not only impeached, he probably should be executed,” Paladino said.

“The guy is just lost. He’s a lost soul. He’s trying to get an image, and his image, his methodology is just terrible. To raid the home of a former president is just — people are scratching their heads and they’re saying, ‘What is wrong with this guy?”

Judge ‘inclined’ to release partial FBI Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The federal magistrate judge who authorised last week’s search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, home has ordered the Department of Justice to lay out what parts of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant should remain secret to protect ongoing criminal investigations.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday gave federal prosecutors seven days to propose what parts of the affidavit — a sworn statement by a law enforcement officer laying out how and why the Justice Department came to believe there was evidence of crimes at Mr Trump’s home — should be redacted before the public can be permitted to view it.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Judge ‘inclined’ to release partial Trump search warrant affidavit

Giuliani says he ‘satisfied his obligation’ after testifying before Georgia jury

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said that he “satisfied his obligation” by testifying before a special grand jury in Atlanta as part of an investigation into the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, where Atlanta is located, is leading a probe into Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Eric Garcia reports.

Giuliani says he ‘satisfied his obligation’ after testifying before Georgia jury

Ex-Trump aide pledged to release classified documents long before FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A Trump administration aide who remained in the ex-president’s inner circle after the events of January 6 and Mr Trump’s exit from the White House days later was leading an effort to obtain documents through the National Archives months before the FBI’s raid to obtain classified materials from Mar-a-Lago.

John Bowden has the story.

Ex-Trump aide pledged to release classified documents long before Mar-a-Lago raid

Who is Allen Weisselberg, the man who could bring down Donald Trump?

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

In Michael Cohen’s testimony to members of Congress in 2019, one name came up more than 20 times.

When asked by House Democrats who else would have access to business or financial records that could implicate Donald Trump in a range of investigations, from his campaign’s connections to Russia to hush money payments involving an adult film star, his former attorney listed the names of several Trump insiders – starting with Allen Weisselberg.

The man at the centre of investigations and criminal charges involving Mr Trump’s business, other than the former president whose name is emblazoned in gold on its Manhattan headquarters, is a press-averse accountant who has presided over the company’s finances for decades.

Alex Woodward profiles the man at the centre of Trumpworld news today.

Allen Weisselberg: Who is the man who could bring down Donald Trump?

Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty

Friday 19 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of former president Donald Trump’s eponymous real estate and hotel business, has pleaded guilty to 15 separate violations of New York tax law.

The Trumpworld veteran, who earlier this week agreed to a plea deal that will see him sentenced to five months behind bars and five years of probation, but will not require him to testify against his lifelong boss. But he will be required to give evidence in the upcoming trial of the two Trump companies that were indicted for tax fraud at the same time he was last summer.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest.

Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty to tax fraud charges

Bannon calls Pence ‘a disgusting coward’ for defending FBI

Thursday 18 August 2022 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump administration adviser Steve Bannon railed against former vice president Mike Pence on Wednesday after the latter defended the FBI from attacks and criticisms in response to the FBI executing a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Bannon made the remarks on his War Room: Pandemic podcast. On Wednesday, Mr Pence admonished conservatives and told them not to attack the FBI.

Eric Garcia has the story.

Steve Bannon calls Pence ‘coward’ for defending FBI from attacks after Trump raid

Lindsay Graham appeals order to testify

Thursday 18 August 2022 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Senator Lindsey Graham has formally appealed a judge’s order requiring him to testify before a special grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

Graham appeals order to testify in Georgia election probe

Secret Service did not inform Jan 6 threat made against Pelosi, watchdog claims

10:39 , Shweta Sharma

A watchdog group has said in a report that the Secret Service did not inform Capitol police about a threat against house speaker Nancy Pelosi until after the attack on January 6 2021.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

The Secret Service did not inform Capitol Police about a threat made against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot until after the attack was underway, according to a watchdog group.

The Secret Service was aware of threatening posts made on a Parler account as early as 4 January but the Capitol police were only informed on 6 January at 5:55pm, according to email communication and documents obtained by the watchdog.

“January 6 starts #1776 all over again!! Fight for God! Fight for Your Freedom!! Fight for Your Children!! Fight for Trump!! Fight for America!! Fight for EVERYTHING… Enemies: #MSM #BarackObama #HillaryClinton #GeorgeSoros #JoeBiden #AndrewCuomo #GavinNewsom #NancyPelosi #BillDeBlasio,” one of the threatening post read.

It comes as the agency is under increased scrutiny over its action during the riots and how it has preserved its correspondence following the riots.

Poll finds half of Republicans say FBI acted irresponsibly after Mar-a-Lago raid

Thursday 18 August 2022 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

More than half of Republican voters have taken the side of Donald Trump over the FBI following the search of his Palm Beach, Florida home last week, according to the results of a new poll made public on Thursday.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the surveys findings.

Half of Republicans say FBI acted irresponsibly after Mar-a-Lago raid, poll finds

ICYMI: Trump may release Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage from FBI search

Thursday 18 August 2022 22:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump might consider releasing security camera footage of the FBI search at his Mar-a-Lago residence as some of his allies have pressured him to make it public, according to a new report.

Some aides and allies of the former president are encouraging him to feature the closely held footage of the raid in campaign-style ads, a person familiar with the conversations told CNN.

The CCTV footage has been held so closely that it is believed the full footage has not been seen by the former president himself, the source said.

Shweta Sharma reports.

Trump may release surveillance footage from FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, report says

ICYMI: Trump posts bizarre series of endorsements for Democrats

Thursday 18 August 2022 22:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump made a bizarre attempt to mock Democrats on Wednesday as he sarcastically offered his support to political rivals who led efforts to impeach him.

Making the surprise announcement on his Truth Social account, the former president said it was his “great honour to strongly endorse” lawyer Dan Goldman, and Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler.

Shweta Sharma has the story.

Trump posts bizarre series of endorsements for Democrats on Truth Social

Trump claims he’s ‘very happy’ with legal team

Thursday 18 August 2022 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump on Thursday denied reports that he or his inner circle are concerned by his current legal team’s lack of experience dealing with the sort of complex federal litigation he could face if indicted for crimes related to his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents.

Over the 10 days since his Palm Beach, Florida home was searched by FBI agents, Mr Trump’s associates have raised concerns that the stable of lawyers who’ve been representing him in a variety of lawsuits since he left office is not up to the job.

Multiple news outlets have reported on the unease with his current representation among some of his aides, including The Independent and The Washington Post.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump says he’s ‘very happy’ with legal team as investigations escalate

CNN: Trump officials debunk former president’s claims of declassification ‘standing order’

Thursday 18 August 2022 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN reports that Donald Trump and his allies’ claim that he had a “standing order” to declassify documents he took from the Oval Office is completely untrue.

The network reports that 18 former top Trump administration officials said they never heard any such order issued during their time working for Mr Trump, and that they believe the claim to be patently false.

Per the network:

Several officials laughed at the notion. One senior administration official called it “bullsh*t.” Two of Trump’s former chiefs of staff went on the record to knock down the claim.“Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given,” said John Kelly, who served as Trump’s chief of staff for 17 months from 2017 to 2019. “And I can’t imagine anyone that worked at the White House after me that would have simply shrugged their shoulders and allowed that order to go forward without dying in the ditch trying to stop it.”

Mick Mulvaney, who succeeded Kelly as acting White House chief of staff, also dismissed the idea and told CNN he was “not aware of a general standing order” during his tenure.

Other descriptions of the notion that a standing order existed include: “complete fiction”, “ludicrous”, “ridiculous”, “laughable”, and “total nonsense”.

Bush CIA director says today’s GOP more ‘nihilistic and dangerous’ than terror groups

Thursday 18 August 2022 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Former CIA chief General Michael Hayden has said that he agrees there is no political force more nihilistic or dangerous than the current Republican Party.

General Hayden, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009 during the final years of George W Bush’s presidency, made the jarring statement in response to a tweet by Financial Times journalist Edward Luce.

Sravasti Dasgupta reports.

Ex-CIA director today’s Republican Party is more dangerous than terror groups

Trump supporters circle Florida courthouse in support of former president

Thursday 18 August 2022 21:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump supporters were seen circling the courthouse in West Palm Beach in southern Florida where a US Magistrate Judge said he was “inclined” to rule that the Department of Justice should release some of the affidavit for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.

Members of the press also descended on the courthouse as they attempted to reveal the information that formed the basis for the search of former President Donald Trump’s home in the Sunshine State.

Trucks with Trump 2024 flags were seen driving around the building.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump supporters circle Florida courthouse as judge weighs raid affidavit release

Alex Jones abandons Trump for Ron DeSantis

Thursday 18 August 2022 21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Infowars founder Alex Jones has withdrawn his support for Donald Trump and thrown his weight behind Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

In an Infowars broadcast, Mr Jones announced he would no longer “pigheadedly” support Mr Trump.

Sravasti Dasgupta reports.

Alex Jones abandons Trump for Ron DeSantis: ‘We have someone way better’

Trump reiterates desire for affidavit to be unsealed

Thursday 18 August 2022 20:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Taylor Budowich, Donald Trump’s director of communications, released a statement on behalf of his boss following today’s hearing in West Palm Beach: “President Trump has made his view clear that the American people should be permitted to see the unredacted affidavit related to the raid and break-in of his home. Today, magistrate Judge Reinhard rejected the DOJ’s cynical attempt to hide the whole affidavit from Americans.”

He continued: “However, no redactions should be necessary and the whole affidavit should be released, given the Democrats’ penchant for using redactions to hide government corruption, just like they did with the Russia hoax.”

Federal prosecutors have ‘all’ Trump White House documents obtained by Jan 6 committee

Thursday 18 August 2022 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors have reportedly used a grand jury subpoena to obtain a duplicate set of the Trump White House records which the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara) has been providing to the House January 6 select committee since last year.

The Independent has confirmed the existence of the subpoena which was first reported by the New York Times and was served on Nara this past May.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Federal prosecutors have ‘all’ Trump’s documents from Jan 6 committee: report

‘I don’t see how that helps him’: Trump allies divided over releasing Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage

Thursday 18 August 2022 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Some aides to Donald Trump are reportedly puzzled by the eagerness of Donald Trump and his inner circle to release private security camera footage from the hours-long raid of Mar-a-Lago by the FBI.

His son Eric Trump pledged “absolutely” to do so “at the right time” in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Monday.

In interviews with CNN, some privately speculated that the video, which could easily be taken by Democratic operatives and used in campaign ads, could do more harm than good unless there’s clear evidence on film of FBI agents committing some kind of unseemly act.

John Bowden reports.

Trump allies divided over releasing Mar-a-Lago video: ‘I don’t see how that helps’

Polls says 54% of Republicans say FBI acted irresponsibly after Mar-a-Lago raid

Thursday 18 August 2022 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

More than half of Republican voters have taken the side of Donald Trump over the FBI following the search of his Palm Beach, Florida home last week, according to the results of a new poll made public on Thursday.

The two-day Reuters/Ipsos online survey of 1,005 people — 436 Democrats and 387 Republicans — found that 54 per cent of Republican respondents said the FBI and Department of Justice had “behaved irresponsibly” by searching Mr Trump’s home and office at Mar-a-Lago, the mansion turned private club where he spends most of his year.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the survey’s findings.

Half of Republicans say FBI acted irresponsibly after Mar-a-Lago raid, poll finds

Judge ‘inclined’ to release partial Mar-a-Lago FBI search warrant affidavit

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:44 , Oliver O'Connell

The Florida magistrate judge who authorised last week’s search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home has ordered the Department of Justice to lay out what parts of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant should remain secret to protect ongoing criminal investigations.

Andrew Feinberg reports for The Independent.

Judge ‘inclined’ to release partial Trump search warrant affidavit

Navarro asks judge to dismiss contempt charges

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Peter Navarro, the ebullient Trump advisor who became a key player in the effort to get Mike Pence to throw out the certification of the 2020 election, has filed a motion to overturn the contempt of Congress charge brought against him for refusing to cooperate with a subpoena from the 6 January select committee.

Mr Navarro’s lawyers claim that the prosecution is “improperly based” on their client’s “obedience to president Trump’s invocation of executive privilege”, and say he “has been unfairly caught in a dispute between the executive and legislative branches of our government and placed on the horns of a dilemma: follow the explicit instructions from the President he served as a senior advisor for four years, or risk being held in Contempt of Congress and criminally prosecuted by the Department of Justice”.

Donald Trump has many times tried to claim executive privilege over documents and matters related to the 6 January investigation, but it is in fact generally up to the current president to decide whether or not to uphold executive privilege on a case-by-case basis. There is no indication that Joe Biden is inclined to protect Mr Navarro from having to testify.

Judge tells DoJ to propose redactions by next

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Bruce Reinhart tells the court he is inclined to partially unseal the FBI Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit.

He instructs the Justice Department to file a redacted affidavit by 12 noon on Thursday at 12 noon 25 August and to be prepared to explain the redactions.

The federal judge appears to agree with the media organisations, that whether a redacted version of the affidavit is “meaningful” isn’t for the government to decide.

The argument put forward by the Justice Department is that redactions would be so many that the document would be meaningless.

Voices: Against all odds, its looking like Democrats will do well in midterms

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia, Senior Washington Correspondent for The Independent, writes:

Most political prognosticators start from the assumption that midterm elections are generally bad for the president’s party, all the more so when that party also controls both the House and Senate. Donald Trump in 2018, Barack Obama in 2010, George W Bush in 2006 and Bill Clinton in 1994 all saw their parties lose the majority in at least the House, if not the Senate, while they were in the White House.

It’s a hard pattern to break – but a few recent results have some Democrats thinking that the current midterm election cycle might turn out to be rather less of a disaster.

Read more:

Against all odds, it looks like Democrats will do well in the midterms

Media group lawyer: ‘public interest could not be greater'

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:07 , Oliver O'Connell

“The public interest could not be greater,” says Chuck Tobin, the lawyer representing the media groups who have called for the unsealing of the Mar-a-Lago FBI search warrant affidavit.

He further described the search as “one of the most significant events in the nation’s history”.

Bannon calls Pence ‘a disgusting coward’ for defending FBI

Thursday 18 August 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump administration adviser Steve Bannon railed against former vice president Mike Pence on Wednesday after the latter defended the FBI from attacks and criticisms in response to the FBI executing a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Bannon made the remarks on his War Room: Pandemic podcast. On Wednesday, Mr Pence admonished conservatives and told them not to attack the FBI. Mr Pence also criticised the Justice Department for the search of former president Donald Trump’s home and said it was politically motivated.

Eric Garcia has the story.

Steve Bannon calls Pence ‘coward’ for defending FBI from attacks after Trump raid

Thursday 18 August 2022 18:55 , Oliver O'Connell

With the hearing underway, The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg notes that ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne filed a pro se motion on the warrant docket. The motion largely references his self-published book about the 2020 election.

Thursday 18 August 2022 18:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Further, the Justice Department argues that the probable cause affidavit describes possible “evidence of obstruction” that investigators might find on the grounds of Mar-a-Lago. This would be an additional crime that the search warrant revealed was already under investigation.

CNN reports that Mr Bratt argues that future witnesses may not want to provide information should the affidavit be unsealed. He also notes that the document contains “substantial grand jury information” relating to the subpoena and subsequent removal of national security documents from Mar-a-Lago in June.

DoJ: Mar-a-Lago investigation in 'early stages’

Thursday 18 August 2022 18:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Jay Bratt, a lawyer for the Department of Justice’s national security division, argues that the “detailed” and “lengthy” affidavit should not be unsealed as it would provide a “roadmap to the investigation” including pointing toward possible next steps in the probe which is still in its “early stages”.

He argues that public interest in criminal investigations being allowed to proceed unimpeded is greater than the public interest in transparency.

Releasing the full affidavit could jeopardise “several witnesses”.