Trump may avoid first televised court appearance as he considers waiving Georgia arraignment – live updates

Donald Trump may avoid what would have been his first ever televised court hearing as he is said to be considering waiving his arraignment in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.

Two sources told CBS News that the former president is mulling entering a plea on the charges and waiving his arraignment appearance, which is currently scheduled to take place in Fulton County on 6 September.

At least two of his 18 codefendants in the case – attorneys Ray Smith and Sidney Powell – have already waived their arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to all counts.

Meanwhile another defendant Harrison Floyd has finally been released from prison on bond after spending the weekend in Fulton County Jail.

As Mr Trump mulls his next steps in the case, he has continued to rail against his political rivals.

On Tuesday, he issued a sinister warning on Truth Social: “To the Democrats, I say, ‘be careful what you wish for’.”

On Monday, a trial date was set for 4 March 2024 in the federal 2020 election interference case – the day before the Super Tuesday primaries.

Key Points

• Mitch McConnell’s health struggles back in focus as he suffers second ‘freeze’ on camera

• VOICES: Mark Meadows’ years of scheming might finally catch up with him

• Jan 6 rioter held in criminal contempt after saying he was ‘very comfy’ in senator’s chair during insurrection

• Marjorie Taylor Greene unexpectedly joins Democrats in call for cameras in federal court

• Right wing social media accounts ignore Biden plans to mark 9/11 and spin into outrage over supposed snub

Chesebro and Powell formally ask for cases to be severed from Trump in Fulton County

16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Two of Donald Trump’s codefendants in his Georgia election subversion case have asked the judge to sever their trials from the rest of the accused – including the former president.

Lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro have both requested speedy trials in the case.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Two Trump codefendants ask judge to sever their trials from former president

Trump pleads ‘not guilty’ in Fulton County case, waves arraignment

16:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has entered a “not guilty” plea in the Fulton County 2020 election interference case in Georgia.

The former president has waived his right to an arraignment which was scheduled for Wednesday 6 September. So far lawyers Ray Smith, Ken Chesebro, and Sidney Powell have also entered pleas and will not appear as scheduled.

The other 15 defendants are yet to enter pleas.

This is his fifth arraignment and fifth not-guilty plea. He has shown up in person three times.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy? Highly principled libertarian or ruthlessly ambitious kook?

16:00 , Gustaf Kilander

More than a decade and a half after Vivek Ramaswamy was described as an intense “debater-extraordinaire” in The Harvard Crimson in December 2006, he took centre stage at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee as one of the top two candidates.

Depending on who you ask, the biotech entrepreneur came out of the 23 August showdown as either the winner or the candidate who took the most punches from his more senior colleagues.

Read more...

Highly principled libertarian or ruthlessly ambitious kook: Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

If he wins in 2024 election, Trump says he would have ‘no choice’ but to jail his political enemies

15:40 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has made a chilling threat to “lock up” his political enemies if he wins the 2024 presidential race.

In an interview with conservative media personality Glenn Beck on Tuesday, the former president was reminded about his statements during the 2016 race that he would “lock up” Democratic rival Hillary Clinton – but then decided against it when he entered the White House.

“You said in 2016, you know, ‘Lock her up.’ And then when you became president, you said, ‘We don’t do that in America. That’s just not the right thing to do,’” said Mr Beck.

“That’s what they’re doing. Do you regret not locking her up? And if you’re president again, will you lock people up?”

This time round, Mr Trump said that he would have “no choice” but to follow through with his threats.

Read more...

Trump says he would have ‘no choice’ but to jail rivals if he wins 2024 election

Fulton County to allow cellphones and laptops in court for ‘non-recording purposes’ at Trump trial

15:32 , Oliver O'Connell

The Superior Court of Fulton County will allow the use of cellphones and laptops for non-recording purposes for all parties and spectators for the duration of the State of Georgia v Donald John Trump et al.

Voices: Mark Meadows’ years of scheming might finally catch up with him

15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Mr Meadows’s attempt to move the case to federal court echoes his entire tenure in Washington. The former congressman, with his ambition often so naked since he rarely cloaked it in humility, often saw himself as a playmaker but wound up having his plans blow up in his face.

Read more...

Mark Meadows’ years of scheming might finally catch up with him

DA Fani Willis asks judge to advise Fulton County defendants on rights in speedy trial

15:20 , Oliver O'Connell

District Attorney Fani Willis has filed a motion asking Judge Scott McAfee to advise the 19 Fulton County defendants in the election interference case of the impact of a speedy trial demand on their procedural and evidentiary rights ahead of trial.

So far, two defendants — Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell — have asked for speedy trials. Mr Chesebro has been given a trial date of 23 October and Ms Willis has advised she would like all defendants who request speedy trial to be tried together.

NY AG: Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2bn

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2bn in one year and by hundreds of millions of dollars in other years over a decade, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is suing the former president and his business empire following a years-long fraud investigation.

Her motion for partial summary judgment estimates that Mr Trump had inflated his net worth by $812m to $2.2bn – roughly 17 to 39 per cent – each year from 2011 to 2021. The $2.2bn estimate came in 2014, according to the recently unsealed filing.

Alex Woodward has been following the case for The Independent.

Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2bn, AG says

Trump attacks DeSantis as Florida governor responds to Hurricane Idalia

14:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Shortly before Governor Ron DeSantis gave his morning update on the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, which slammed into the western shores of his state on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to lash out against him.

He accused the Florida governor of allegedly conspiring with a utility company in exchange for campaign donations and blamed him for the state of the insurance industry in a state blighted by hurricanes, storms, and flooding.

Here’s what the former president wrote:

So now it is learned that Governor Ron DeSanctimonious unnecessarily approved a 20% hike in Florida Electricity Rates, the largest in history (by far!), after taking a 9.5 Million Dollar Campaign Contribution from “money machine” Florida Power and Light, and subsidiaries. Next up to check out is the Insurance Industry, where DeSanctus gave up the store. His campaign and poll numbers have “CRASHED” to a point where it doesn’t much matter anymore, but what a shame for Florida!

After McConnell health issues resurface, Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks aging lawmakers

14:40 , Oliver O'Connell

After Mitch McConnell (R-KY) experienced another episode of suddenly freezing in front of the press, Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) launched an attack on lawmakers who remain in office for years.

Mr McConnell, 81, experienced an episode of “freezing” on Wednesday while answering questions from reporters. When asked if he planned to run for re-election he remained silent for approximately 30 seconds and stood motionless at the podium while noticeably gripping the sides of it.

A similar incident occurred last month which led people to question Mr McConnell’s health and call on lawmakers to enact term limits.

Ariana Baio reports on what Ms Greene had to say.

Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks aging lawmakers after Mitch McConnell freezes again

In just one day Trump posts a staggering 31 videos ranting at political opponents

14:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump on Wednesday went on a ranting spree, where he posted 31 angry videos in five hours targeting an array of people from president Joe Biden to his own attorney-general Bill Barr.

The former president began the series on Truth Social with a 42-second clip of him bragging about leading “with big numbers” in the Republican primary race.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports on what he posted next.

Trump posts a staggering 31 videos ranting at political opponents in one day

Right wing social media accounts ignore Biden plans to mark 9/11 and spin into outrage over supposed snub

14:00 , John Bowden

The right-wing outrage machine spun into action this week amid the realisation that Joe Biden would not be on the east coast for the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thereby making him the first president to not commemorate the attacks at one of the crash sites.

Mr Biden will, however, be marking the solemn memory of the attack: he is slated to meet with military families and other relatives of victims in Alaska, where the president will be stopping over on his way back from a trip to Asia.

The trip to Asia is no vacation, either; it coincides with the set dates of the G20 summit, scheduled to be held in India from 9 to 10 September. He will also be making a stop in Vietnam to meet with several high-ranking regional officials.

But none of that matters (or was even mentioned) on Twitter, where accounts and persons affiliated with the Trump-aligned right wing of the GOP preferred to imagine the scheduling inconvenience as a malicious effort to insult the families of 9/11 victims and, ultimately, the US itself. Those sharing the news with such editorialising included right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong.

“Biden doesn’t care about the victims of 9/11”, Mr Cheong theorised.

Read more:

Right wing social media spins into outrage over Biden’s 9/11 plans

Ted Cruz called out for pushing fake explanation for Mexico border photo

13:00 , John Bowden

Ted Cruz has just shared his second nonsense conspiracy theory on Twitter in as many weeks.

The Texas senator’s latest fixation for outrage is the US-Mexico border, where Republicans continue to argue that the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop illegal border crossings. Many of those crossings involve persons applying for asylum, which must be done on US soil.

Mr Cruz retweeted an image depicting a section of border fencing with several metal gateways opened, presumably allowing physical passage by any persons in the vicinity. The gates in question are floodgates, built as part of the border fencing under the Trump administration and opened seasonally to allow water to flow through during floods. The Washington Post first reported their existence in 2020.

Read more:

Ted Cruz called out for pushing fake explanation for Mexico border photo

Special counsel Jack Smith is asking Trump witnesses about Giuliani’s drinking, report says

12:00 , Graeme Massie

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors have questioned witnesses about the drinking habits of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to a report.

The questioning is an attempt to discover if the former president was knowingly taking legal advice from an inebriated attorney, reported Rolling Stone.

Federal investigators have asked witnesses if the former New York mayor was intoxicated on and after the 2020 election as Mr Trump allegedly tried to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden, sources told the magazine.

Read more:

Special counsel Jack Smith is asking Trump witnesses about Giuliani’s drinking

Trump threatens to ‘lock up’ rivals if he wins 2024 race

11:37 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has made a chilling threat to “lock up” his political rivals if he wins the 2024 presidential race.

In an interview with conservative media personality Glenn Beck, the former president was reminded about his statements during the 2016 race that he would “lock up” Hillary Clinton – but then decided against it when he entered the White House.

“You said in 2016, you know, ‘Lock her up.’ And then when you became president, you said, ‘We don’t do that in America. That’s just not the right thing to do,’” said Mr Beck.

“That’s what they’re doing. Do you regret not locking her up? And if you’re president again, will you lock people up?”

This time round, Mr Trump said he would have “no choice” but to follow through with his threats.

“Well, I’ll give you an example… The answer is you have no choice, because they’re doing it to us,” he said, adding that he “never hit Biden as hard as I could have”.

He continued: “I always had such great respect for the office of the president and the presidency … And then I heard he was trying to indict me, and it was him that was doing it.”

Video emerges of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Al Sharpton over his lack of political experience

11:00 , Gustaf Kilander

A video has emerged on social media of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Reverend Al Sharpton over his supposed lack of political experience.

Rev Sharpton appeared on a 2003 episode of Hardball on MSNBC as he was running in the 2004 Democratic primary.

“Last week on the show, we had Senator [John] Kerry and the week before we had Senator [John] Edwards. And my question for you is, of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?” the then-teenaged Mr Ramaswamy asked at the time.

“Well, you shouldn’t because I have the most political experience,” Rev Sharpton said. “I got involved in the political movement when I was 12 years old. And I’ve been involved in social policy for the last 30 years. So don’t confuse people that have a job with political experience.”

Read more:

Video emerges of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Al Sharpton over experience

Dana Perino, Ilia Calderón, and Stuart Varney to host debate 27 September debate on Fox Business

10:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Stuart Varney and Dana Perino of Fox News Media, as well as Ilia Calderón of Univision, will moderate the second Republican primary debate on 27 September, the networks have announced.

The debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California will be broadcast on Fox Business and Univision.

So far, seven candidates have qualified to take part, including Donald Trump, who has said he won’t appear.

Jesse Watters under fire for saying Trump’s mug shot boosted his popularity among Black Americans

09:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Jesse Watters, the Fox News host who succeeded Tucker Carlson in the network’s primetime evening slot, has again drawn criticism by praising Donald Trump’s recent mug shot, suggesting the image is only likely to increase the disgraced former president’s appeal to America’s Black community.

Mr Watters invited ridicule last week when he reacted to the shot of Mr Trump – taken at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, as he was booked following his fourth criminal indictment in as many months – by declaring: “I say this with an unblemished record of heterosexuality. He looks good and he looks hard.”

He also argued in an opening monologue to his show: “The mug shot turned Trump into a sympathetic character in Black America. Don’t underestimate the power of a famous mug shot.”

Mr Watters cited the case of celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, who befriended the hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg after being arrested, to support his contention that the notoriety that comes with a criminal case can lead a white felon to be embraced by the Black community.

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Fox host under fire for saying Trump’s mug shot will boost appeal to Black Americans

Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Two election workers in Georgia who sued Rudy Giuliani over baseless claims that fuelled threats of violence against them have been awarded a default judgment following the long-running defamation case against him.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who has also been criminally charged in connection with the former president’s attempts to upend the 2020 presidential election, is liable for defamation claims from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as well claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damages.

Mr Giuliani repeatedly sought to avoid further scrutiny in the case, and the judge overseeing the case previously reprimanded him for his “seemingly incongruous and certainly puzzling caveats” after he appeared to admit that he made false and defamatory statements about the two women in an effort to dodge the revelation of potentially damning evidence.

“Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery,” US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote on 30 August.

Read more:

Election workers who sued Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

Proud Boys sentencing hearings cancelled ‘due to emergency’

07:00 , Alex Woodward

Federal prison sentencing hearings for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and prominent member Ethan Nordean have been cancelled due to an unspecified emergency, the US Department of Justice has announced.

It was not immediately clear why the hearings were postponed, though it does not appear to involve the parties.

Tarrio, the former leader of the neo-fascist gang, was scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing in Washington DC at 10am ET on 30 August after Tarrio and three other members of the group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy earlier this year for their roles in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, among the most serious crimes facing the hundreds of people arrested in connection with the mob’s assault.

Prosecutors are seeking 33 years for Tarrio.

Tarrio, Nordean, Joe Biggs, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl were also found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding. Four of the men – all but Pezzola – were also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, civil disorder and destruction of government property.

Read more:

Proud Boys sentencing hearings cancelled ‘due to emergency’

Ex-Trump aide Navarro will stand trial on contempt charges

06:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Former Trump White House trade advisor Peter Navarro will stand trial next month for allegedly wilfully defying a congressional subpoena after a federal judge in Washington rejected arguments that he was properly following an executive privilege claim from former president Donald Trump.

In a ruling delivered aloud from the bench and first reported by Politico, Judge Amit Mehta said Mr Navarro’s claim to have been instructed by Mr Trump to invoke executive privilege during a 20 February 2022 phone call was not accurate.

Mr Navarro had argued that an assertion of executive privilege by Mr Trump over a subpoena from a House select subcommittee on the coronavirus response also applied to a subpoena he later received from the House January 6 select committee — the compulsory process he is charged with ignoring.

But Judge Mehta noted that binding case law on how to handle executive privilege claims states that such a claim has to be specific and cannot be a blanket assertion made to avoid responding to any questions at all. He also said Mr Navarro would have had to show up for his deposition and make particularised assertions in response to questions.

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Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro will stand trial on contempt charges

Hungary's Orbán urges US to 'call back Trump' to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview

05:00 , Bela Szandelszky, AP

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, said in a sprawling interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the only path to ending the war in Ukraine would be the reelection of Donald Trump to the presidency.

In the interview, posted Wednesday on Carlson’s page on X, formerly known as Twitter, Orbán praised Trump’s foreign policy while blasting the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and its approach to the war.

He said that Trump’s return to office would be “the only way out” of the conflict, and that any suggestion that Kyiv could win the war against Russia was “a lie.”

“The Russians are far stronger, far more numerous than the Ukrainians,” Orbán said. “Call back Trump. … Trump is the man who can save the Western world.”

Read more:

Hungary's Orbán urges US to 'call back Trump' to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview

Trump co-defendant finally posts bond after almost a week in notorious Georgia jail

04:15 , Rachel Sharp

A lone Donald Trump co-defendant who was jailed following his arrest in the Georgia election subversion case has finally posted bond.

Harrison Floyd, who was the director of “Black Voices for Trump” during his 2020 campaign, surrendered to authorities in Fulton County on 24 August where he was arrested for his part in the sweeping 41-count criminal indictment.

Mr Trump and the other dozen defendants who turned themselves in for arrest sailed in and out of the Fulton County Jail quickly after posting bond.

But Mr Floyd wasn’t so lucky.

Unlike the others, the inmate – under booking number 2313818 – did not have a pre-arranged bond, so was held inside the notorious jail until Tuesday, when his $100,000 consent bond order was approved by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

He was expected to be released by 9am Wednesday, 11Alive reported.

Read more:

Trump co-defendant finally posts bond after almost a week in notorious Georgia jail

DeSantis refuses to call out Trump’s silence on Hurricane Idalia

03:30 , Rachel Sharp

Ron DeSantis has refused to call out Donald Trump’s deafening silence over Hurricane Idalia – as the former president stays mum despite being a resident of the Sunshine State.

The Florida governor held an early morning press conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday where he warned residents that the category 4 hurricane would make landfall within around two hours, bringing with it “life-threatening” storm surges to the Big Bend region.

When asked in the briefing to comment on the fact that Mr Trump has not addressed the dangerous storm heading to the state that he calls home, Mr DeSantis quickly dismissed the question.

“Not my concern. My concern is protecting the people of Florida, being ready to go,” he said.

He continued to instead talk about the preparedness of the state for the hurricane: “In Florida, you just have to do this.”

Read more:

DeSantis refuses to call out Trump’s silence on Hurricane Idalia

Mitch McConnell freezes and appears unresponsive in second press conference incident

02:45 , John Bowden

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell once again froze, appeared unable to speak and did not seem to register that someone was speaking to him in a concerning moment that occurred on Wednesday at a press conference.

Video of the incident emerged Wednesday afternoon after the senator, 81, appeared to trail off in the middle of answering a question about whether he would run for reelection. In the video, an aide approaches him and asks him if he has heard the question while he stares off at the cameras, appearing distant or overwhelmed.

He was then briefly led away, before returning.

“Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today,” said a spokesman for the senator Wednesday afternoon.

An aide to the GOP leader also indicated that Mr McConnell would seek a physician’s counsel before attending another press conference.

Read more:

Mitch McConnell freezes and appears unresponsive in second press conference incident

Trump could be Republican nominee before voters know if he’ll be convicted

02:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump may be the Republican nominee for president before voters know if he’ll be convicted in any of the legal cases against him.

The New York Times reports that the former president may have the nomination locked down before the party “knows if he’s a felon”.

Mr Trump is displeased that DC federal Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on the issue of when the trial will take place in the special counsel’s case against him for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

He has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

The New York Times notes that the Republicans won’t have many choices if Mr Trump is convicted of several felonies.

Read more:

Trump could be Republican nominee before voters know if he’ll be convicted

Trump considering Ramaswamy for VP but says he’s ‘getting controversial’

01:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump is considering Vivek Ramaswamy as a possible choice for running mate, the former president told a conservative TV host.

Mr Trump was speaking to rightwing talk show host Glenn Beck when he made the comments about the tech entrepreneur and author of Woke Inc.

The ex-president said Mr Ramaswamy, 38, could be a “very good” choice for vice president, but warned him that he may need to pull back on some of his more controversial statements.

“He’s a very, very, very intelligent person. He’s got good energy, and he could be some form of something,” Mr Trump said on BlazeTV. “I tell you, I think he’d be very good.”

But he added: “He’s starting to get out there a little bit. He’s getting a little bit controversial”.

Read more:

Trump considering Ramaswamy for VP but says he’s ‘getting controversial’

White House hits back at claim Biden is too ‘tired’ to attend events before 10am: ‘Ridiculous assumption’

Thursday 31 August 2023 00:30 , Andrew Feinberg

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday pushed back aggressively when asked whether President Joe Biden’s age was causing the White House to delay the start of his daily schedule until closer to noon each day.

Ms Jean-Pierre was asked about claims made in a forthcoming book by journalist Franklin Foer, The Last Politician, about Mr Biden’s age impacting his ability to carry out the public-facing roles of the presidency.

In an excerpt from the book published by The Guardian, Foer writes that Mr Biden’s “advanced years were a hindrance, depriving him of the energy to cast a robust public presence or the ability to easily conjure a name”.

“It was striking that he took so few morning meetings or presided over so few public events before 10am. His public persona reflected physical decline and time’s dulling of mental faculties that no pill or exercise regime can resist ... in private, he would occasionally admit that he felt tired,” Foer adds, though he cites no source for Mr Biden’s alleged statement.

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White House hits back at claim Biden is too ‘tired’ to attend events before 10am

VOICES: Why Hurricane Idalia could derail the 2024 campaign

Thursday 31 August 2023 00:00 , Eric Garcia

It’s no secret at this point that Ron DeSantis’s image has taken a hit since he hit his peak in November 2022 after he cruised to a nearly 20-point re-election as Florida governor in an otherwise dim year from Republicans. His lacklustre performance on the presidential campaign trail has led to many people questioning whether he can go the distance against Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primary.

And it looks like he might literally be facing even rougher waters than he already has weathered. This last week, a white gunman killed shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville. In response, Mr DeSantis said that “the shooting, based on the manifesto that they discovered from the scumbag who did this, was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race.”

But when he attended a vigil in Jacksonville, a historically Republican city that recently elected a Democratic mayor, the residents of the city were not having it and they heckled the governor.

Read more:

Why Hurricane Idalia could derail the 2024 campaign

Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

Wednesday 30 August 2023 23:30 , Alex Woodward

Two election workers in Georgia who sued Rudy Giuliani over baseless claims that fuelled threats of violence against them have been awarded a default judgment following the long-running defamation case against him.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who has also been criminally charged in connection with the former president’s attempts to upend the 2020 presidential election, is liable for defamation claims from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as well as claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damages.

Read more:

Election workers who sued Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

VIDEO: Former Trump advisor Peter Navarro attempts to snatch 'Trump lost' sign from protester

Wednesday 30 August 2023 23:15 , The Independent

VIDEO: Trump has the moral compass of an 'axe murderer', says former Georgia Republican

Wednesday 30 August 2023 23:00 , The Independent

Trump sends message about Hurricane Idalia after posting 21 ranting videos in an hour

Wednesday 30 August 2023 22:45 , Gustaf Kilander

George Conway says justice system is dealing with ‘career criminal who has gone on a crime spree in multiple jurisdictions'

Wednesday 30 August 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Will Donald Trump go to prison?

Wednesday 30 August 2023 22:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in three separate jurisdictions. Nearly 100 felony criminal charges are leveled against the former president, who remains the odds-on favourite to win the 2024 Republican primary.

As his legal battles grow more complex by the day, a serious question has emerged: Whether Mr Trump will win the nomination and campaign for the general election as a convicted criminal.

That possibility, in turn, raises another, simpler question: Will the 45th President of the United States go to prison?

Between his 91 felony counts, Mr Trump faces a total of roughly seven centuries in total jail time, spread between dozens of various charges of differing seriousness. Obviously, Mr Trump is not going to be sealed inside a federal penitentiary for all eternity, but the increasingly wide range of actions for which he is now being prosecuted is slowly chipping away at the likelihood that he will evade the inside of a cell forever.

Here, we take a look at the four prosecutions Mr Trump currently faces, and how each affects his chances of campaigning behind bars next year:

Will Donald Trump go to prison?

Co-defendant asks judge to order disclosure of unindicted co-conspirators

Wednesday 30 August 2023 22:07 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump makes 50 Truth Social posts in an hour amid legal woes

Wednesday 30 August 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump made about 50 posts to his Truth Social account on Wednesday morning, mostly about his many legal cases.

“He’s totally not worried and everything is fine,” lawyer Ron Filipkowski wrote on X, previously known as Twitter, sarcastically.

Mitch McConnell’s health struggles back in focus as he suffers second ‘freeze’ on camera

Wednesday 30 August 2023 21:45 , Gustaf Kilander, John Bowden, and Oliver O’Connell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health struggles are back in focus after he suffered a second “freeze” on camera this summer.

He appeared unable to speak and did not seem to register that someone was speaking to him in a concerning moment that occurred on Wednesday at a press conference in Kentucky.

Video of the incident emerged after the senator, 81, appeared to trail off in the middle of answering a question about whether he would run for re-election. In the video, an aide approaches him and asks him if he has heard the question while he stares off at the cameras, appearing distant or overwhelmed.

He was then briefly led away, before returning.

The incident mirrored a moment that occurred just a few weeks ago in the halls of the US Senate when the GOP leader was led away by his Republican colleagues in the middle of a press conference after appearing unable to speak. In that situation he also returned a few minutes later, assuring reporters gruffly that he was fine.

Read more:

Mitch McConnell’s health struggles back in focus as he suffers second ‘freeze’

A fourth person has died in a problem-plagued jail in Atlanta over the span of a month

Wednesday 30 August 2023 21:30 , AP

A 34-year-old man who was being held at a problem-plagued jail in Atlanta died after he was taken to a hospital. He was the fourth person to die in Fulton County custody in the span of a month.

A jail officer doing dinner rounds found Samuel Lawrence unresponsive in his cell at about 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a news release. Lawrence was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead.

The Fulton County Jail has been in the national spotlight recently. It’s where former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him surrendered for booking last week on charges related to an alleged illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into jail conditions in the county, citing violence, filthy conditions and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects.

Read more:

A fourth person has died in a problem-plagued jail in Atlanta over the span of a month

VOICES: Mark Meadows’ years of scheming might finally catch up with him

Wednesday 30 August 2023 21:15 , Eric Garcia

In 2019, Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee as he was beginning his heel turn against former president Donald Trump. In response, then-congressman Mark Meadows brought Lynne Patton, a longtime aide to the Trump family, who was African-American, as a means to show the then-president was not racist.

When Rep Rashida Tlaib said Mr Meadows was using Ms Patton “as a prop” and called the act “alone racist in itself,” Mr Meadows took exception. The committee’s chairman, the late Elijah Cummings, noted he was friends with Mr Meadows and Mr Meadows and Ms Tlaib later hugged it out. It showed how Mr Meadows operated; through a combination of naked ambition, trying to play all sides and thinking of himself as clever when most saw him as scheming.

Now, Mr Meadows’ attempts might finally be catching up with him in Fulton County, Georgia, where he, Mr Trump and 17 other allies have been indicted for their sprawling attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

For years, Mr Meadows saw himself as a three-dimensional chess player, something he tried to do as Mr Trump’s chief of staff. He has once again tried a cleverly executed move in his attempt to move the case out of Fulton County to be heard in a federal court.

Read more:

Mark Meadows’ years of scheming might finally catch up with him

Jan 6 rioter held in criminal contempt after saying he was ‘very comfy’ in senator’s chair during insurrection

Wednesday 30 August 2023 21:00 , Kelly Rissman

A January 6 rioter told a judge that he “felt very comfy” sitting in a senator’s seat during the Capitol insurrection – before he was later held in criminal contempt of court and sentenced to five months in prison.

Brandon Fellows has been charged with entering a restricted building or grounds and violent entry or disorderly conduct over his part in the January 6 2021 riot.

As his trial drew to a close on Tuesday, Mr Fellows took the stand and was asked by the judge about the moment he plopped himself at the desk seat of Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley.

“I didn’t know it was a senator’s desk. It felt very comfy,” Mr Fellows reportedly told US District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Donald Trump appointee.

“We had to take the election back. It was stolen,” he added.

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Jan 6 rioter says he was ‘very comfy’ in senator’s chair during insurrection

Who is Enrique Tarrio? Ex-Proud Boys leader faces longest prison sentence yet for January 6

Wednesday 30 August 2023 20:30 , Alex Woodward

Two days before a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol, the now-former leader of a neo-fascist gang was arrested in Washington DC shortly after stepping off a plane from Miami.

Enrique Tarrio was wanted by police after he admitted to tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter flag outside a historically Black church in the nation’s capital during December riots connected to a protest supporting then-President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

On 6 January, 2021, Tarrio watched the insurrection unfold from a hotel in Baltimore.

Before his arrest two days earlier, Tarrio wrote to his lieutenant: “Whatever happens … make it a spectacle.”

Tarrio is now among four members of the self-described “Western chauvinist” gang facing decades in prison after they were found guilty in May of seditious conspiracy and other charges in connection with the mob’s assault. Tarrio’s verdict marked the first successful seditious conspiracy conviction against a January 6 defendant who was not physically at the Capitol that day.

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Who is Enrique Tarrio? Ex-Proud Boys leader faces longest January 6 prison sentence

Highly principled libertarian or ruthlessly ambitious kook: Who is the GOP’s new darling, Vivek Ramaswamy?

Wednesday 30 August 2023 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander

More than a decade and a half after Vivek Ramaswamy was described as an intense “debater-extraordinaire” in The Harvard Crimson in December 2006, he took centre stage at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee as one of the top two candidates.

Depending on who you ask, the biotech entrepreneur came out of the 23 August showdown as either the winner or the candidate who took the most punches from his more senior colleagues.

For part of his undergraduate career, Mr Ramaswamy headed the Harvard Political Union, a role in which he was referred to as simply “The Chairman”. In a moment of foresight, Mr Ramaswamy told The Crimson that “I consider myself a contrarian. I like to argue.”

“Harvard teaches you to be a better questioner… you can be heard even if you aren’t in the mainstream,” he told the school paper.

During the debate on 23 August, former Vice President Mike Pence attacked his age and inexperience, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, clearly frustrated at his lack of foreign policy knowledge, ranted at him about his policy of cutting aid to Ukraine and handing over large swathes of land to Russia.

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Highly principled libertarian or ruthlessly ambitious kook: Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Marjorie Taylor Greene unexpectedly joins Democrats in call for cameras in federal court

Wednesday 30 August 2023 19:30 , Kelly Rissman

In a surprise move, Georgia Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene agreed with Democrats in saying that cameras should be allowed in federal courtrooms.

“We need public cameras in federal courtrooms,” Ms Greene tweeted on Tuesday. “A man plead (sic) guilty to planning to murder me and was only sentenced 3 months! BLM rioters attacked police night after night all summer in 2020 and over 95% of them had their charges dropped! America needs to see what’s happening!!”

Although the Georgia Republican did not allude to former President Donald Trump, Democrats have been making the case for federal courtrooms to be televised in at least one of Mr Trump’s federal proceedings. He has been indicted federally twice: one related to his handling of classified documents and one related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene unexpectedly joins Democrats’ call for federal court cameras

Right wing social media accounts ignore Biden plans to mark 9/11 and spin into outrage over supposed snub

Wednesday 30 August 2023 19:00 , John Bowden

The right-wing outrage machine spun into action this week amid the realisation that Joe Biden would not be on the east coast for the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thereby making him the first president to not commemorate the attacks at one of the crash sites.

Mr Biden will, however, be marking the solemn memory of the attack: he is slated to meet with military families and other relatives of victims in Alaska, where the president will be stopping over on his way back from a trip to Asia.

The trip to Asia is no vacation, either; it coincides with the set dates of the G20 summit, scheduled to be held in India from 9 to 10 September. He will also be making a stop in Vietnam to meet with several high-ranking regional officials.

But none of that matters (or was even mentioned) on Twitter, where accounts and persons affiliated with the Trump-aligned right wing of the GOP preferred to imagine the scheduling inconvenience as a malicious effort to insult the families of 9/11 victims and, ultimately, the US itself. Those sharing the news with such editorialising included right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong.

“Biden doesn’t care about the victims of 9/11”, Mr Cheong theorised.

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Right wing social media spins into outrage over Biden’s 9/11 plans

Ted Cruz called out for pushing fake explanation for Mexico border photo

Wednesday 30 August 2023 18:30 , John Bowden

Ted Cruz has just shared his second nonsense conspiracy theory on Twitter in as many weeks.

The Texas senator’s latest fixation for outrage is the US-Mexico border, where Republicans continue to argue that the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop illegal border crossings. Many of those crossings involve persons applying for asylum, which must be done on US soil.

Mr Cruz retweeted an image depicting a section of border fencing with several metal gateways opened, presumably allowing physical passage by any persons in the vicinity. The gates in question are floodgates, built as part of the border fencing under the Trump administration and opened seasonally to allow water to flow through during floods. The Washington Post first reported their existence in 2020.

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Ted Cruz called out for pushing fake explanation for Mexico border photo

Special counsel Jack Smith is asking Trump witnesses about Giuliani’s drinking, report says

Wednesday 30 August 2023 18:00 , Graeme Massie

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors have questioned witnesses about the drinking habits of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to a report.

The questioning is an attempt to discover if the former president was knowingly taking legal advice from an inebriated attorney, reported Rolling Stone.

Federal investigators have asked witnesses if the former New York mayor was intoxicated on and after the 2020 election as Mr Trump allegedly tried to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden, sources told the magazine.

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Special counsel Jack Smith is asking Trump witnesses about Giuliani’s drinking

Video emerges of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Al Sharpton over his lack of political experience

Wednesday 30 August 2023 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

A video has emerged on social media of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Reverend Al Sharpton over his supposed lack of political experience.

Rev Sharpton appeared on a 2003 episode of Hardball on MSNBC as he was running in the 2004 Democratic primary.

“Last week on the show, we had Senator [John] Kerry and the week before we had Senator [John] Edwards. And my question for you is, of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?” the then-teenaged Mr Ramaswamy asked at the time.

“Well, you shouldn’t because I have the most political experience,” Rev Sharpton said. “I got involved in the political movement when I was 12 years old. And I’ve been involved in social policy for the last 30 years. So don’t confuse people that have a job with political experience.”

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Video emerges of 18-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy quizzing Al Sharpton over experience

Dana Perino, Ilia Calderón, and Stuart Varney to host debate 27 September debate on Fox Business

Wednesday 30 August 2023 17:21 , Gustaf Kilander

Stuart Varney and Dana Perino of Fox News Media, as well as Ilia Calderón of Univision, will moderate the second Republican primary debate on 27 September, the networks have announced.

The debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California will be broadcast on Fox Business and Univision.

So far, seven candidates have qualified to take part, including Donald Trump, who has said he won’t appear.

‘Donald Trump’s army’: Proud Boys members face decades in prison for January 6 sedition

Wednesday 30 August 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

Aformer ringleader and three members of a neo-fascist gang that one member called the “foot soldiers for the right” were convicted on treason-related charges for plotting to unleash a violent assault in the halls of Congress.

More than two years after the attack, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other men connected to the far-right group – known for their black-and-yellow outfits – appeared in a federal courtroom in prison-orange jumpsuits to face what could be the longest sentences yet in connection with the violent siege.

On 4 May, following a four-month trial and six days of jury deliberation, Tarrio and three of four other Proud Boys associates on trial alongside him were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, among other charges.

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Proud Boys members face decades in prison for January 6 sedition

Jesse Watters under fire for saying Trump’s mug shot boosted his popularity among Black Americans

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Jesse Watters, the Fox News host who succeeded Tucker Carlson in the network’s primetime evening slot, has again drawn criticism by praising Donald Trump’s recent mug shot, suggesting the image is only likely to increase the disgraced former president’s appeal to America’s Black community.

Mr Watters invited ridicule last week when he reacted to the shot of Mr Trump – taken at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, as he was booked following his fourth criminal indictment in as many months – by declaring: “I say this with an unblemished record of heterosexuality. He looks good and he looks hard.”

He also argued in an opening monologue to his show: “The mug shot turned Trump into a sympathetic character in Black America. Don’t underestimate the power of a famous mug shot.”

Mr Watters cited the case of celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, who befriended the hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg after being arrested, to support his contention that the notoriety that comes with a criminal case can lead a white felon to be embraced by the Black community.

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Fox host under fire for saying Trump’s mug shot will boost appeal to Black Americans

Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:18 , Alex Woodward

Two election workers in Georgia who sued Rudy Giuliani over baseless claims that fuelled threats of violence against them have been awarded a default judgment following the long-running defamation case against him.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, who has also been criminally charged in connection with the former president’s attempts to upend the 2020 presidential election, is liable for defamation claims from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as well claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damages.

Mr Giuliani repeatedly sought to avoid further scrutiny in the case, and the judge overseeing the case previously reprimanded him for his “seemingly incongruous and certainly puzzling caveats” after he appeared to admit that he made false and defamatory statements about the two women in an effort to dodge the revelation of potentially damning evidence.

“Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery,” US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote on 30 August.

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Election workers who sued Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case

Proud Boys sentencing hearings cancelled ‘due to emergency’

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:10 , Alex Woodward

Federal prison sentencing hearings for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and prominent member Ethan Nordean have been cancelled due to an unspecified emergency, the US Department of Justice has announced.

It was not immediately clear why the hearings were postponed, though it does not appear to involve the parties.

Tarrio, the former leader of the neo-fascist gang, was scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing in Washington DC at 10am ET on 30 August after Tarrio and three other members of the group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy earlier this year for their roles in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, among the most serious crimes facing the hundreds of people arrested in connection with the mob’s assault.

Prosecutors are seeking 33 years for Tarrio.

Tarrio, Nordean, Joe Biggs, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl were also found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding. Four of the men – all but Pezzola – were also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, civil disorder and destruction of government property.

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Proud Boys sentencing hearings cancelled ‘due to emergency’

Ex-Trump aide Navarro will stand trial on contempt charges

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:52 , Andrew Feinberg

Former Trump White House trade advisor Peter Navarro will stand trial next month for allegedly wilfully defying a congressional subpoena after a federal judge in Washington rejected arguments that he was properly following an executive privilege claim from former president Donald Trump.

In a ruling delivered aloud from the bench and first reported by Politico, Judge Amit Mehta said Mr Navarro’s claim to have been instructed by Mr Trump to invoke executive privilege during a 20 February 2022 phone call was not accurate.

Mr Navarro had argued that an assertion of executive privilege by Mr Trump over a subpoena from a House select subcommittee on the coronavirus response also applied to a subpoena he later received from the House January 6 select committee — the compulsory process he is charged with ignoring.

But Judge Mehta noted that binding case law on how to handle executive privilege claims states that such a claim has to be specific and cannot be a blanket assertion made to avoid responding to any questions at all. He also said Mr Navarro would have had to show up for his deposition and make particularised assertions in response to questions.

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Ex-Trump aide Navarro will stand trial on contempt charges

Hungary's Orbán urges US to 'call back Trump' to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:50 , Bela Szandelszky, AP

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, said in a sprawling interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the only path to ending the war in Ukraine would be the reelection of Donald Trump to the presidency.

In the interview, posted Wednesday on Carlson’s page on X, formerly known as Twitter, Orbán praised Trump’s foreign policy while blasting the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and its approach to the war.

He said that Trump’s return to office would be “the only way out” of the conflict, and that any suggestion that Kyiv could win the war against Russia was “a lie.”

“The Russians are far stronger, far more numerous than the Ukrainians,” Orbán said. “Call back Trump. … Trump is the man who can save the Western world.”

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Hungary's Orbán urges US to 'call back Trump' to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview

Trump co-defendant finally posts bond after almost a week in notorious Georgia jail

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:30 , Rachel Sharp

A lone Donald Trump co-defendant who was jailed following his arrest in the Georgia election subversion case has finally posted bond.

Harrison Floyd, who was the director of “Black Voices for Trump” during his 2020 campaign, surrendered to authorities in Fulton County on 24 August where he was arrested for his part in the sweeping 41-count criminal indictment.

Mr Trump and the other dozen defendants who turned themselves in for arrest sailed in and out of the Fulton County Jail quickly after posting bond.

But Mr Floyd wasn’t so lucky.

Unlike the others, the inmate – under booking number 2313818 – did not have a pre-arranged bond, so was held inside the notorious jail until Tuesday, when his $100,000 consent bond order was approved by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

He was expected to be released by 9am Wednesday, 11Alive reported.

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Trump co-defendant finally posts bond after almost a week in notorious Georgia jail

Trump considers waiving Georgia election case arraignment to avoid first televised court hearing

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:10 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump may avoid what would have been his first-ever televised court hearing as he is said to be considering waiving his right to arraignment in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.

Two sources told CBS News that the former president is mulling entering a plea on the charges and waiving his arraignment appearance slated for next week.

The arraignment for both Mr Trump and the 18 allies now charged as his co-defendants is currently scheduled to take place in Fulton County on 6 September.

The judge has already ruled that cameras are allowed in the courtroom, paving the way for a potentially historic moment where Mr Trump’s criminal court appearance will be broadcast live to the world for the very first time.

At least two of his co-defendants in the case – former Trump campaign attorneys Ray Smith and Sidney Powell – have already waived their arraignments and entered pleas of not guilty to all counts.

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Trump may not appear at arraignment in Georgia election case

DeSantis refuses to call out Trump’s silence on Hurricane Idalia

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:50 , Rachel Sharp

Ron DeSantis has refused to call out Donald Trump’s deafening silence over Hurricane Idalia – as the former president stays mum despite being a resident of the Sunshine State.

The Florida governor held an early morning press conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday where he warned residents that the category 4 hurricane would make landfall within around two hours, bringing with it “life-threatening” storm surges to the Big Bend region.

When asked in the briefing to comment on the fact that Mr Trump has not addressed the dangerous storm heading to the state that he calls home, Mr DeSantis quickly dismissed the question.

“Not my concern. My concern is protecting the people of Florida, being ready to go,” he said.

He continued to instead talk about the preparedness of the state for the hurricane: “In Florida, you just have to do this.”

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DeSantis refuses to call out Trump’s silence on Hurricane Idalia

Voices: Why stormy weather this week could make or break Ron DeSantis

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia explains why this could be a crucial week for the Florida governor and his White House ambitions.

Why stormy weather this week could make or break Ron DeSantis

Christie becomes first GOP candidate to use Trump’s mugshot in attack ad

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Less than a week after former President Donald Trump had his mugshot taken in the Fulton County jail, one of his primary opponents is using it in an attack ad.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has included the mugshot in his latest campaign ad, drawing attention to the Republican frontrunner’s indictment in Georgia over election interference allegations.

The spot was produced by the Tell It Like It Is PAC, a third-party group supporting Mr Christie’s bid for the presidency, according to NBC News.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

Chris Christie becomes first GOP candidate to use Trump’s mugshot in attack ad

Ramaswamy accused of racist dog whistle over Haley’s ‘real’ name

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Vivek Ramaswamy has been accused of employing a racist dog whistle by using former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley’s maiden name on his website.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, once the director of strategic communications in Donald Trump’s White House and now a TV pundit, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: “Of course, Vivek is referring to Nikki Haley by her maiden name – Namrata Randhawa – on his website.”

“Reminder: Nikki is her name on her birth certificate & this is a dog whistle. Crazy to see it coming from a fellow Indian American,” she added.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Vivek Ramaswamy accused of racist dog whistle over Nikki Haley’s ‘real’ name

When is Trump on trial? All the court dates you need to know...

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:30 , Ariana Baio

Donald Trump’s 2024 calendar is quickly booking up with court dates corresponding to his plentiful criminal indictments and civil lawsuits.

The ex-president and his legal team are preparing for a busy year ahead as they attempt to juggle the many trial dates while Mr Trump continues his campaign for 2024 president.

So far, Mr Trump has been criminally indicted four times – two of which are on the federal level and two are on the state level. This is on top of two civil lawsuits the ex-president is involved in New York City.

Though Mr Trump’s legal team has continuously pushed judges to delay trial dates until after the 2024 election, nearly all of the dates for his criminal indictments have been set for next spring.

Here are the trial dates for Mr Trump thus far.

When is Donald Trump going on trial?

Don Jr complains people are selling merch with dad’s mug shot instead of supporting ‘the cause’

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump, Jr, said he doesn’t “feel right” about people making money off his father’s Georgia mug shot, even as the Trump campaign has raised millions since the former president’s latest indictment.

“I don’t feel right about profiting from it. I guess other people have made very good livings doing the MAGA merch, even if none of the money goes towards the campaign or the cause,” the former president’s eldest son said during a recent episode of his web show Triggered.

“I can’t do that. I wouldn’t feel right doing it,” he added. “I’d probably actually get killed in the press doing it, thinking about that now.”

Josh Marcus reports.

Donald Trump Jr complains that people are selling merch with dad’s mug shot

‘Be careful what you wish for’: Trump threatens Democrats and ‘Crooked Joe’ over criminal cases

Wednesday 30 August 2023 12:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump has again hit out at Democrats over his four criminal indictments, suggesting that they were brought as part of a sprawling conspiracy somehow coordinated by President Joe Biden.

Read on...

Trump gives sinister warning to Democrats and ‘Crooked Joe’ over criminal cases

All of Trump’s criminal charges and lawsuits - and where they currently stand

Wednesday 30 August 2023 12:15 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump has never been more vulnerable.

Without the privileges and prestige of the presidency to protect him, Mr Trump is facing serious lawsuits and criminal indictments across New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington.

Federal officials, local prosecutors, and individuals are going after him for everything from his private conduct to his political maneuvering during the 2020 election. If even just one of these efforts are successful, the US could see its first-ever former president in prison.

Here, The Independent explains each major case:

Tracking Trump’s criminal charges and lawsuits - and where they stand

Raskin: Trump is ‘disqualified’ from the presidency

Wednesday 30 August 2023 11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that former president Donald Trump is “disqualified” from seeking the presidency.

Host Dana Bash quoted former Arkansas governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson saying that the 14th amendment of the US Constitution disqualified the former president.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Jamie Raskin says Trump is ‘disqualified’ from the presidency