Trump news – latest: Trump defiant at post-indictment speeches as Florida judge he appointed set to keep case

Oliver O'Connell,Joe Sommerlad,Gustaf Kilander,Graeme Massie and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Former president Donald Trump gave defiant speeches at two Republican state conventions on Saturday in Georgia and North Carolina, just one day after he was indicted for keeping highly-classified information at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.

The 49-page, 38-count indictment was unsealed after Mr Trump released a series of social media posts revealing that he has been indicted by a grand jury under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

The former president has fumed online about the charges and lashed out at Mr Smith calling him a “deranged lunatic”. The special counsel for his part gave a brief explanation of the sweeping indictment and reiterated that in America, the law applies to everyone. It appears Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon will remain on the case unless she recuses herself.

Mr Trump repeated his attacks on Mr Smith onstage over the weekend and on Roger Stone’s radio show. He also told Politico he would not quit the 2024 primary race even if convicted.

Meanwhile, the Sunday morning political talk shows were stacked with both Mr Trump’s defenders and detractors, with notable appearances by Jim Jordan and Lindsey Graham, and a particularly devastating analysis by former attorney general Bill Barr.

Key Points

CNN to hold Chris Christie town hall tonight

10:40 , Rachel Sharp

CNN is slated to hold a town hall tonight with Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie.

Mr Christie, the former New Jersey governor and one-time Donald Trump ally turned critic, will join the network for the live event at 8pm ET on 12 June.

Last week, Mr Christie threw his hat into the race for the White House in what is being eyed as a longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

His appearance makes him the fourth Republican candidate to join CNN for a town hall after Mr Trump, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence have all made appearances.

Trump’s favourability rises in poll despite indictment

10:20 , Rachel Sharp

The popularity of Donald Trump rose among Americans despite him becoming the first president to be indicted twice, while Joe Biden’s favourability marked a decline, according to a latest poll

The poll suggested that the ex-president was consolidating more and more support from the people who believe his federal indictment was politically motivated at a time when he is running for the White House and is considered as the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Mr Trump emerged as the favourable choice of 31 per cent of people, marking a six per cent rise from April, a poll by ABC News and Ipsos conducted after his second indictment suggested.

Read the full story here:

Trump’s favourability rises in poll despite indictment

Jim Jordan rejects Trump’s statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified

10:00 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s most loyal champions in the House of Representatives battled a CNN reporter on Sunday over whether all the documents retained without the consent of the National Archives at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate were declassified.

Jim Jordan, chair of the House Oversight Committee, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union for an interview with Dana Bash. During the interview, the two disagreed over whether Mr Trump himself had admitted that some of the documents he retained were still classified, which statements cited by the Justice Department in his indictment suggest was the case.

John Bowden reports.

Jim Jordan rejects Trump statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified

Trump-appointed judge will stay on Mar-a-Lago documents case

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal judge appointed to the bench by Donald Trump and previously scrutinised for rulings that were solidly in Mr Trump’s favour was assigned to preside over his prosecution in a Florida court under normal procedures, denying the possibility that the case will be reassigned.

That was the explanation from the chief clerk of the court in a statement to The New York Times this weekend as many raised their eyebrows and speculated about the effect that Ms Cannon’s rulings could have in the upcoming criminal trial of the former president.

John Bowden has the story.

Trump-appointed judge will stay on Mar-a-Lago documents case unless she recuses

Kari Lake issues incendiary threat to Biden admin

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Kari Lake, the GOP nominee and election denier who lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, has issued an incendiary warning to the Biden administration over the indictment of Donald Trump.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Kari Lake called out over incendiary threat to Biden admin after Trump indictment

Jonathan Turley tells Fox News the Trump indictment is ‘extremely damning’

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News legal commentator Jonathan Turley didn’t hold back after the indictment charging former President Donald Trump with 37 counts was unsealed.

The indictment, unsealed on Friday afternoon, stems from Mr Trump’s allegedly unlawful retention of hundreds of documents at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago.

Trump aide Walt Nauta has also been charged after he was apparently spotted on surveillance footage moving boxes at the property. The ex-president stands accused of having moved classified documents from the White House at the end of his presidency despite not having the right to do so.

Mr Trump showed classified documents to others twice in 2021, the legal filing states.

Mr Turley, the Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, said on Fox News on Friday afternoon that “it is an extremely damning indictment”.

Jonathan Turley tells Fox News Trump indictment is ‘extremely damning’

Trump delivers defiant speech in North Carolina

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump delivered a defiant speech in North Carolina on Saturday night despite being indicted just days before, taking swipes at the Justice Department, the investigation that led to the indictment and even his Republican opponents.

Eric Garcia reports from Greensboro, North Carolina.

Trump delivers defiant speech after indictment in North Carolina

Trump attacks special counsel Jack Smith in post-indictment speech

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

During his first public remarks since the unsealing of the 49-page, 37-charge indictment against him, Donald Trump again lashed out at special counsel Jack Smith the lead prosecutor in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe.

Speaking at the state Republican Party convention in Columbus, Georgia, the former president and current presidential candidate gave a meandering stump speech weaving in his apparent incredulity regarding the charges levied against him.

As with all of his foes, political or judicial, Mr Trump has already veered into personal attacks against the individuals concerned on his social media platform Truth Social but relished his first opportunity to talk to a large, enraptured crowd of followers.

Read more...

Trump attacks special counsel Jack Smith in post-indictment speech with bizarre claim

Is Donald Trump going to prison?

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s what everyone wants to know.

Is Donald Trump going to prison?

Key takeaways from the Trump indictment

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The federal indictment against Donald Trump outlines 37 counts related to retaining classified information, willfully retaining national defence information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and more.

The indictment was unsealed on Friday (9 June) afternoon, revealing the Department of Justice’s findings after a nearly year-long investigation into Mr Trump retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Last August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized boxes of documents from Mr Trump’s home, some of which included top secret records detailing a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities, via a search warrant.

The search warrant was executed after the National Archives made multiple attempts to obtain classified documents that Mr Trump allegedly took with him when he left office in 2021.

The indictment lays out various allegations against Mr Trump and names his aide Walt Nauta as a co-conspirator.

Here are key points from the indictment:

Eight key takeaways from the Trump indictment

Lawyer says DoJ will ‘go for incarceration’ if Trump is convicted

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Department of Justice is likely to attempt to have former President Donald Trump incarcerated if he’s convicted following the indictment laying out 37 charges against him in relation to his handling of classified national defence information.

National security lawyer and George Washington University law professor Kel McClanahan said that the department will probably “want to go for incarceration” in the case of Mr Trump, according to Insider.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

DoJ to ‘go for incarceration’ if Trump is convicted, national security lawyer says

‘Such a two-bit criminal’

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has been mocked for praising an attorney who deleted 30,000 of Hillary Clinton’s emails, according to the unsealed indictment from special counsel Jack Smith.

As a candidate and president, Mr Trump repeatedly called for his 2016 presidential opponent to be locked up after she was found to have been “extremely careless” in using a private server for official communications as secretary of state.

Privately, he joked about how her lawyers had “done a great job” deleting the emails and in his telling, protecting her from scrutiny, according to the indictment.

Bevan Hurley has the story.

Trump mocked after indictment reveals he praised staffer who deleted Clinton emails

Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies

Monday 12 June 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies after leaving the White House, the 49-page and 37-count unsealed indictment against the former president has revealed.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies including CIA, DoD, and NSA

Florida man: Why prosecutors charged Trump in the Sunshine State

Sunday 11 June 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

It was anticipated that a federal investigation into Donald Trump’s retention of top-secret documents months after he left the White House would result in charges in Washington DC.

But the damning 37-count indictment, with more than two dozen counts of illegally withholding classified documents under the Espionage Act, was filed on 8 June in US District Court in Florida, his primary residence and the location of his notorious Mar-a-Lago resort property, where mounds of boxes with sensitive government documents were discovered by federal law enforcement.

Alex Woodward reports.

What a Florida grand jury and judge means for Trump’s indictment

Indictment: Trump described Pentagon ‘plan of attack’ and shared classified military map with fundraiser

Sunday 11 June 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump described a “plan of attack” devised by the Pentagon and shared a classified military map with a member of his political action committee who didn’t have a security clearance, the 37-count indictment against the former president shows.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Trump described Pentagon ‘plan of attack’ and shared classified military map

Former president’s indictment overshadows DeSantis in North Carolina

Sunday 11 June 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In another era, a Republican frontrunner facing his second indictment in three months would mean that primary voters would actively be shopping for other candidates to put up against a president as unpopular as President Joe Biden.

Instead, former president Donald Trump’s indictment, which he announced on Thursday evening and which was unsealed on Friday, calcified his support among Republican voters at the North Carolina Republican Convention in Greensboro. If anything, the 37-count indictment accusing Mr Trump of showing highly classified information to unauthorised persons on two separate occasions made Republicans in the Tar Heel State more likely to support him.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump indictment overshadows DeSantis in North Carolina

Boebert claims she’s considered a ‘security threat’ by Pentagon

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert has suggested that the Pentagon believes that she’s a “security threat”.

“Apparently the Pentagon thinks I’m a security threat because I oppose Biden’s plans for a woke military. Call me whatever you want, but I’m not backing down today or ever,” she tweeted on Saturday.

Gustaf Kilander has the story and the mocking responses she received.

Lauren Boebert claims Pentagon considers her a ‘security threat’

What are the differences between Trump’s indictment and the Clinton email probe?

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

As former President Donald Trump prepares for a momentous court appearance Tuesday on charges related to the hoarding of top-secret documents, Republican allies are amplifying, without evidence, claims that he is the target of a political prosecution.

To press their case, Trump’s backers are citing the Justice Department‘s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information. His supporters also are invoking a separate classified documents investigation concerning President Joe Biden to allege a two-tier system of justice that is punishing Trump, the undisputed early front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 White House nomination, for conduct that Democrats have engaged in.

“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump primary rival. “I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country.”

But those arguments overlook abundant factual and legal differences — chiefly relating to intent, state of mind and deliberate acts of obstruction — that limit the value of any such comparisons.

A look at the Clinton, Biden and Trump investigations and what separates them:

Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences

Water: Maggie Haberman calls Trump indictment ‘one of the most devastating’ she has ever read

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Lindsey Graham ties himself in knots trying to defend Trump

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again ally in the Senate issued a half-hearted defence of the former president on Sunday as Republicans across Washington issued varied responses to the federal indictment against the former president.

Sen Lindsey Graham was on ABC’s This Week, where he received a grilling by host George Stephanopoulos about the allegations in the Justice Department’s 37-count indictment, unsealed last week.

John Bowden reports.

Lindsey Graham ties himself in knots trying to defend Trump

Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies after leaving the White House, the 49-page and 37-count unsealed indictment against the former president has revealed.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies including CIA, DoD, and NSA

Trump to speak from golf club after Tuesday night

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump says he’ll speak from Bedminster, New Jersey at 815pm on Tuesday, just five hours after he becomes the first ever former US President arraigned on federal criminal charges.

Barr’s comments don’t go unnoticed by Trump

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:52 , Oliver O'Connell

In response to his attorney general’s comments on Fox News, former president Donald Trump posted on Truth Social:

Virtually everyone is saying that the Indictment is about Election Interference & should not have been brought, except Bill Barr, a “disgruntled former employee” & lazy Attorney General who was weak & totally ineffective. He doesn’t mean what he’s saying, it’s just MISINFORMATION. Barr’s doing it because he hates “TRUMP” for firing him. He was deathly afraid of the Radical Left when they said they would Impeach him. He knows the Indictment is Bull…. Turn off FoxNews when that “Gutless Pig” is on!

Watch: Bill Barr dismantles GOP talking points

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Bill Barr also told Fox News Sunday this morning that the entire classified documents case came about because of the reckless conduct of the former president, something he has said before.

However, he also noted: “There are two big lies that are out there right now. One is that: ‘oh, these other presidents took all these documents’ ... and the second thing is this idea that the president has complete authority to declare any document personal is facially ridiculous."

North Carolina Republicans rally around Trump after indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia reports from Greensboro, North Carolina:

Any thought that Donald Trump’s latest would dampen Republican primary voters’ enthusiasm for his candidacy was quickly dispelled by the overwhelming reception the former president received at the North Carolina Republican Convention.

Read more...

North Carolina Republicans rally around Trump after indictment

Barr: ‘If even half of it is true, he is toast’

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump administration attorney general Bill Barr gave a devastating analysis of the indictment against Donald Trump, his former boss, in an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

Mr Barr said that if even half of what is alleged in the 49-page, 37-count document is true, then the former president is “toast”.

Read more...

Bill Barr gives devastating analysis of Trump indictment on Fox News

Jim Jordan rejects Trump’s statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s most loyal champions in the House of Representatives battled a CNN reporter on Sunday over whether all the documents retained without the consent of the National Archives at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate were declassified.

Jim Jordan, chair of the House Oversight Committee, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union for an interview with Dana Bash.

John Bowden reports on what was said.

Jim Jordan rejects Trump statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified

Watch: Michael Cohen gives potential motive for Trump taking classified documents

Sunday 11 June 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Key takeaways from the Trump indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The federal indictment against Donald Trump outlines 37 counts related to retaining classified information, willfully retaining national defence information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and more.

The indictment was unsealed on Friday (9 June) afternoon, revealing the Department of Justice’s findings after a nearly year-long investigation into Mr Trump retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Last August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized boxes of documents from Mr Trump’s home, some of which included top secret records detailing a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities, via a search warrant.

The search warrant was executed after the National Archives made multiple attempts to obtain classified documents that Mr Trump allegedly took with him when he left office in 2021.

The indictment lays out various allegations against Mr Trump and names his aide Walt Nauta as a co-conspirator.

Here are key points from the indictment:

Eight key takeaways from the Trump indictment

Watch: Rep Goldman says Trump does not believe law applies to him

Sunday 11 June 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Pence struggles to send clear message on Trump indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Pence struggled to take a clear stance on troubles concerning former US president Donald Trump’s indictment in the classified documents case.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing 37 counts of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate.

These charges come less than three months after he was charged in New York with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Earlier this week, during an appearance on CNN, Mr Pence shared his views about Trump’s indictment.

Peony Hirwani reports.

Mike Pence struggles to send clear message on Trump indictment

Watch: Former AG Holder says idea of convicted felon as president ‘absurd’

Sunday 11 June 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Sen Coons says GOP must explain why Trump should be reelected given indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

GOP Congressman’s ‘scary as hell’ tweet seemingly calls for insurrection

Sunday 11 June 2023 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

GOP Representative Clay Higgins appeared to call for an insurrection following the announcement that Donald Trump would face a second set of indictments stemming from his possession of sensitive documents following his presidency.

After the announcement, Mr Higgins, a GOP congressman from Louisiana and a former law enforcement officer, issued a strange tweet responding to the news.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

GOP lawmaker’s tweet seemingly calls for ‘war’ after Trump indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch live as Trump supporters gather in Florida

What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing

Sunday 11 June 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump on Thursday broke another legal barrier when he became the first former US president ever to be federally indicted.

A federal grand jury indicted Mr Trump in the investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified documents. The indictment unsealed on Friday revealed 37 counts against the former president, including conspiracy to obstruct, willful retention of documents, and false statements.

He was already under indictment for his role in an alleged scheme to make a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the buildup to the 2016 election.

Now, Mr Trump is facing yet more legal headaches. In a post to Truth Social, he wrote that he has been summoned to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami to be arraigned next Tuesday at 3pm ET.

Here’s a rundown of what all the legal terminology means and how we might see Mr Trump’s case progress through the criminal justice system.

What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing

With indictment overshadowing 2024 race, DeSantis argues he's top Trump alternative

Sunday 11 June 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican White House candidate Ron DeSantis plowed ahead Saturday with efforts to portray himself as his party’s staunchest national conservative leader, even as the 2024 GOP race has been disrupted by drama surrounding the 37-count felony federal indictment for mishandling classified documents against former President Donald Trump.

The Florida governor sought to project strength amid the turmoil by campaigning in Oklahoma — one of more than a dozen states scheduled to hold its Republican primary on Super Tuesday, weeks after the earliest states vote.

Read more...

DeSantis argues he's top Trump alternative even as ex-president's indictment overshadows 2024 race

Watch: Sununu urges 2024 GOP candidates to ‘come out’ on seriousness of Trump indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 16:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Kimberly Guilfoyle posts chilling warning over Trump indictment

Sunday 11 June 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host and Trump adviser — and also fiancé to Donald Trump Jr — has joined the chorus of violent rhetoric that has erupted from the right following the indictment of the former president.

Known for her bombastic presentation style, Ms Guilfoyle is often one of the most vocal supporters of Donald Trump.

After the indictment of the former president on 37 charges relating to the trove of classified documents he retained following his time in office and refused to return to the federal government, Ms Guilfoyle did not hold back.

Read more...

Kimberly Guilfoyle posts chilling warning over Trump indictment

Trump remains defiant at North Carolina GOP convention

Sunday 11 June 2023 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump delivered a defiant speech in North Carolina on Saturday night despite being indicted just days before, taking swipes at the Justice Department, the investigation that led to the indictment and even his Republican opponents.

Mr Trump took the stage at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro for the North Carolina GOP Convention, where he received an overwhelming reception despite his increasing legal woes. The Independent first reported that the Justice Department was ready to seek an indictment agianst Mr Trump, who now faces 37 charges related to his improper handling of classified materials.

A federal grand jury under the supervision of special c ounsel Jack Smith indicted Mr Trump on on a slew of charges, including showing highly classified information to unauthorised people on two separate occasions.

Mr Trump proclaimed his innocence onstage in North Carolina, calling the indictment a plot by “the radical left Democrats” and their “lawless partisan prosecutors.”

Eric Garcia reports from North Carolina.

Trump delivers defiant speech after indictment in North Carolina

Trump attacks special counsel Jack Smith in post-indictment speech

Sunday 11 June 2023 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

During his first public remarks since the unsealing of the 49-page, 37-charge indictment against him, Donald Trump again lashed out at special counsel Jack Smith the lead prosecutor in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe.

Speaking at the state Republican Party convention in Columbus, Georgia, the former president and current presidential candidate gave a meandering stump speech weaving in his apparent incredulity regarding the charges levied against him.

As with all of his foes, political or judicial, Mr Trump has already veered into personal attacks against the individuals concerned on his social media platform Truth Social but relished his first opportunity to talk to a large, enraptured crowd of followers.

Read more...

Trump attacks special counsel Jack Smith in post-indictment speech with bizarre claim

Watch: Lindsey Graham believes espionage charges ‘completely wrong'

Sunday 11 June 2023 15:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Former FBI special agent says ‘the receipts are here’ in Trump case

Sunday 11 June 2023 15:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Kari Lake called out over incendiary threat to Biden admin over Trump indictment: ‘This will escalate’

Sunday 11 June 2023 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kari Lake, the GOP nominee and election denier who lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, has issued an incendiary warning to the Biden administration over the indictment of Donald Trump.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Kari Lake issues incendiary threat to Biden admin over Trump indictment

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