Trump news – live: Trump releases song with Jan 6 defendants as he slams ‘frivolous’ riot lawsuits

Donald Trump can be held liable for the actions of a violent mob that launched a deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, the US Department of Justice has determined.

The former president has responded to the ruling with an earnest statement in which he insists his speech that day “repeatedly called for peace, patriotism and respect for our men and women of law enforcement” and urged the courts to throw out any such “frivolous” legal challenges “in short order” before invoking presidential immunity in his defence.

Meanwhile, he joined a group of January 6 defendants on a song in which he recites the Pledge of Allegiance as currently jailed alleged rioters sing the national anthem.

The former commander-in-chief has reportedly been “soft banned” by Fox News after raging at his one-time ally Rupert Murdoch over the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case, filings from which include a deposition from the veteran executive in which he admits his regret that the network’s top personalities “endorsed” Mr Trump’s false election fraud claims in 2020.

Key Points

• Trump and the ‘J6 Prison Choir’ release a song together

• Trump urges courts to throw out ‘frivolous’ police lawsuits after Justice Department ruling

• Ex-president continues media vendettas after being ‘soft banned’ by Fox News

• Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence ‘too boring’ for CPAC, says Trump

• Biden mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘Isn’t she amazing?’

Trump and the ‘J6 Prison Choir’ release a song together as Capitol riot defendants get a platform at CPAC

19:28 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump has repeatedly praised the mob that stormed the halls of Congress, fuelled by the former president’s baseless narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

He has vowed to issue mass pardons for Capitol riot defendants, and now he has joined them on a song released on streaming platforms.

A group of defendants naming themselves “J6 Prison Choir” released a track titled “Justice for All” that features their rendition of the national anthem while the former president recites the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr Trump recorded his portion at Mar-a-Lago, while the J6 Prison Choir recorded their vocals by prison phone, according to Forbes, which first reported the track.

Meanwhile, a CPAC panel titled “True Stories of January 6: The Prosecuted Speak” provided a platform to a group of people who joined the Capitol riots.

CPAC’s main ballroom appears mostly empty during high-profile remarks

19:14 , Alex Woodward

The ballroom at CPAC – where the stars of the conference have been addressing what is one of the largest and most closely watched stages in right-wing politics – has been mostly empty over the last two days

The crowd for Mike Pompeo appeared smaller than the press box.

A sparsely occupied room stared back at Kimberly Guilfyole during her remarks.

Kimberly Guilfoyle met by half empty auditorium at CPAC

Pompeo tells CPAC to steer clear of ‘celebrity leaders’ who ‘refuse to acknowledge reality’

19:00 , Alex Woodward

Without mentioning Trump, Mike Pompeo told the CPAC audience to avoid “celebrity leaders” with “fragile egos” who ignore reality, accusing “the left” of embracing those officials.

“We can’t become the left, following celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics. Those with fragile egos who refuse to acknowledge reality,” he said.

He also told the crowd to face the reality that Republicans “lost three elections in a row” and lost the popular vote in seven of the eight last elections, which Trump refuses to ackowledge.

Trump secretary of state Mike Pompeo takes the stage at CPAC

18:41 , Alex Woodward

Former secretary of state during the Trump administration Mike Pompeo entered the half-full ballroom at CPAC with some relatively sobering reality to the supportive crowd in front of him: Republicans “lost three elections in a row” and lost the popular vote in seven of the eight last elections.

Earlier on Friday, Kimberly Guilfoyle falsely claimed that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. Nobody in the crowd appeared to push back against Pompeo.

Nikki Haley goes after Biden administration, ‘wokeness’ and ‘socialist’ Democrats

18:19 , Alex Woodward

2024 contender Nikki Haley said the thrust of her presidential campaign is her attempt to “stop America’s downward spiral towards socialism” with an agenda to make America “strong and proud not weak and woke.”

“The Democratic party is now a socialist party,” she said, pointing to Bernie Sanders, who is not Democrat, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has overwhelmingly won election to her New York district three times.

She condemned the Biden administration with a false claim that troops are forced to take “gender pronoun classes”; US military policy provides instruction for respecting trans service members.

“That disgusts me,” Ms Haley said.

“This woke self-loathing has swept our country,” she added. “Wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic hands down.”

2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley takes the stage at CPAC

18:04 , Alex Woodward

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and a 2024 candidate for the Republican nomination for president, is taking the stage at CPAC, where panelists and speakers appear resolutely devoted to Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda.

Don Jr attacks John Fetterman at CPAC: ‘Pennsylvania managed to elect a vegetable’

17:55 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump Jr targeted Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman in his remarks at CPAC, accusing the state’s voters of electing a “vegetable” after he was hospitalised with a stroke before entering office.

Fetterman defeated his father’s propped-up celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz in November elections.

Don Jr goes on Fetterman rant at CPAC: ‘Pennsylvania managed to elect a vegetable’

CPAC booted Nick Fuentes because ‘hateful racist rhetoric’ not welcome at conference despite ongoing anti-trans comments

17:35 , Alex Woodward

White nationalist, virulent antisemite and Kate West campaign booster Nick Fuentes was kicked out of CPAC on Thursday, a decision confirmed by CPAC chief Matt Schlapp in a statement on Friday morning.

Schlapp said that Fuentes’s “hateful, racist rhetoric and actions are not consistent” with CPAC’s mission.

Meanwhile, speaker after speaker at the right-wing conference in Maryland joked about trans people and expressed their support for stripping healthcare and support for trans youth.

He said CPAC is “concerned about the rise in antisemitic rhetoric (or Jew hatred) in our country and around the globe”.

On his Telegram account, Fuentes announced he would also be postponing a fourth edition of his competing America First Political Action Conference, which in previous years hosted far-right members of Congress Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Our venue for the rally got cancelled and they bounced us from the hotel,” he wrote. “This is a big part of why I postponed AFPAC IV— we get no play here in DC.”

In response to Schlapp’s statemen, he wrote that “CPAC is reserved for sexual gropers and groomers, not groypers,” referring to Fuentes’ far-right Christian nationalist group.

Full story: Marjorie Taylor Greene prompts CPAC crowd to boo Zelensky

17:30 , Alex Woodward

Far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green goaded CPAC’s audience into booing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

She falsely claimed that Zelensky wanted “our sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine,” prompting boos from the audience.

Footage of Zelensky discussing “sons and daughters” fighting in Europe have been taken wildly out of context as right-wing opponents of Ukraine aid use his remarks to justify their lack of support.

Marjorie Taylor Greene prompts CPAC crowd to boo Zelensky

Trump Jr rages at CPAC after bank dumps his news company

17:24 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump Jr raged at a decision from PNC Bank to stop doing business with his news aggegation app in CPAC remarks fuming at “canceled” conservatives.

The former president’s oldest son discussed his announcement during his wide-ranging, rambling remarks after he claimed on Thursday PNC Bank told him it will no longer be working with his news aggregation app.

“The Left doesn’t think you should be able to exist, much less thrive, in society,” he said on Twitter. “It should be illegal to discriminate based on political affiliation.”

He castigated the bank as “woke”.

‘Marjorie Taylor Greene’s CPAC speech was surprising in all the wrong ways'

17:15 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s Holly Baxter writes:

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s CPAC speech was surprising in all the wrong ways

Kimberly Guilfoyle claims the media is ‘destroying all our lives.’ Moments later she promoted her stream

17:07 , Alex Woodward

Panelists and speakers at CPAC waste no time blaming “mainstream” or “liberal” media outlets for what they see is the destruction of American life, but most of the speakers and personalities at the conference rely on media appearances and sympathetic press, podcasts, book deals and other opportunities for their incomes and campaigns.

During her remarks, former Fox News personality and Trump aide Kimberly Guilfoyle claimed that the media is participating in a leftist plot that is “destroying all our lives.” Moments later she promoted her streaming programme on Rumble.

GOP congressman suggests Bidens should be registered as foreign agents

16:47 , Alex Woodward

Panelists discussing “The Biden Crime Family” have suggested that – unlike Trump and his family and associates and business empire, some of which have been criminally prosecuted, with global business interests that continued while he was in the White House – President Joe Biden and his family should be scrutinised by federal agencies.

“Trump and Kushner, they have legitimate businesses,” House Oversight Committee chair and Kentucky Republican James Comer said.

The Bidens’ business, he said, “is influence peddling.”

”There’s a term for that – it’s called being a foreign agent,” he added

He suggested that the Justice Department should have indicted Hunter Biden and others as foreign agents.

Full story – Matt Gaetz takes CPAC victory lap over sex trafficking probe: ‘Vindication looks pretty good on me’

16:45 , Alex Woodward

For his CPAC appearance, Matt Gaetz took a victory lap to celebrate his own political survival while delivering a rambling tirade against his Democratic rivals.

The Independent’s John Bowden reports:

Matt Gaetz takes CPAC victory lap over sex trafficking probe

Just in – Nigel Farage backs Boris for saying ‘f*** the Americans’: ‘Biden hasn’t exactly been friendly to the UK’

15:56 , Alex Woodward

In remarks to The Independent on Friday, Nigel Farage defended former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s vulgar “f*** the Americans” outburst.

“He may well have said that, but that’s just Boris being Boris,” he told The Independent.

He claimed those remarks were justified because of the Biden administration’s stance on Northern Ireland.

Nigel Farage backs Boris for saying ‘f*** the Americans’

Crowd boos Zelensky after Marjorie Taylor Greene raises false claim that Ukraine president ‘wants our sons and daughters to go die’ there

16:05 , Alex Woodward

A CPAC crowd to booed Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky as Marjorie Taylor Greene repeated a debunked claim that Mr Zelensky said that American men and women would need to fight in the war.

“Zelensky ... wants our sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine,” she falsely claimed.

She also repeated her pledge to stop supporting US financial support to the country under Russian attack.

“I’m still committed to saying no money to Ukraine, and that country needs to find peace not war,” she added. “I will look at a camera and directly tell Zelensky you better leave your hands off our sons and daughters, because they’re not dying over there.”

Matt Gaetz: ‘I think vindication looks pretty good on me'

15:54 , Alex Woodward

Four-term far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who was under federal investigation connected to a sex trafficking probe, will not be charged by the Justice Department, the agency announced earlier this month.

His first words on the CPAC stage: “I think vindication looks pretty good on me.”

CPAC panel attacks trans athletes as conference singles out trans Americans

15:40 , Alex Woodward

Another morning panel targeting trans Americans features prominent anti-trans activists who have repeatedly misgendered trans women as they attack trans athletes and gender-affirming care.

The issues have been central to this year’s CPAC, with inflammatory remarks, jokes and threats to end healthcare for transgender Americans from the stage in nearly every panel and speech.

A panel on Friday features Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, which is advancing legislation across the US to end gender-affirming care for trans youth and ultimately seeks to end all forms of gender-affirming care.

Mr Schilling intentionally misgendered two prominent transgender activists as men in his remarks on the panel.

The panel also heard from Riley Gaines, an American swimmer who has repeatedly called trans swimmer Lia Thomas a “biological male”; Ms Thomas has been routinely attacked by her former competitiors, sports stars, politicians, activists, and even some of her teammates’ parents.

The panel also heard from Chloe Cole, who had detransitioned, has become a central figure in a right-wing campaign to end gender-affirming care, despite the vast majority of trans people maintaining their gender identity.

Watch: CPAC crowd boos Anthony Fauci during cable news compilation on Covid origins

15:30 , Alex Woodward

A crowd at CPAC jeered and shouted “lock him up” when footage of Dr Anthony Fauci appeared on screen during the event on Thursday.

CPAC crowd boos Anthony Fauci during cable news compilation on Covid origins

Marjorie Taylor Greene launches into anti-trans remarks at CPAC speech

15:16 , Alex Woodward

Far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told CPAC she plans to introduce a bill she is calling the Protect Children’s Innocence Act that would make it a felony to perform “anything to do with gender-affirming care” for minors.

She echoed other CPAC speakers in her remarks on Friday launching into what they have called “evil” healthcare and counseling support for young transgender people.

She called gender-affirming care a “new, disturbing ideology”.

Gender-affirming care can span several kinds of treatments, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and social transitioning support. Care standards from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and other leading medical groups do not recommend that affirming surgeries be performed on minors.

The American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, among others, have established clear clinical guidelines for treating young trans people.

Dozens of bills introduced in state legislatures across the US to restrict such care are supported and in many cases drafted by influential right-wing legal groups, conservative Christian organisations and fringe medical groups that have aligned with right-wing public officials to advance their agenda.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s largest professional association of pediatricians, recommends a “gender-affirming” and “nonjudgmental approach that helps children feel safe in a society that too often marginalizes or stigmatizes those seen as different.”

“The gender-affirming model strengthens family resiliency and takes the emphasis off heightened concerns over gender while allowing children the freedom to focus on academics, relationship-building and other typical developmental tasks,” according to the organisation.

Marjorie Taylor Greene tees up ‘big announcement’ before CPAC speech

15:04 , Alex Woodward

Far-right Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is due to speak at CPAC momentarily.

“You don’t want to miss my big announcement!!” she said on Thursday in advance of her remarks.

DeSantis sets $1 million goal for in-person donor events

15:02 , Alex Woodward

Ron DeSantis is setting a $1m goal to draw the potential 2024 presidential candidate to fundraising events, according to NBC News, speaking with three Republicans reportedly involved with efforts to raise cash for the Florida governor.

“If they’re going to already be in town, they’ll do it for $500,000,” on person told nbc News. “If you want him to go out there independently, it’s about $1 million.”

Organizers of one upcoming fundraising event for for the governor in a mid-size city have been told to collect $1m, according to a person familiar with the planning, NBC reported.

ICYMI: Libs of TikTok founder hailed as a ‘hero’ as panelists mock trans people

14:30 , Alex Woodward

With her Libs of TikTok accounts and attacks against LGBT+ people, teachers and doctors, Chaya Raichik has emerged as an influential right-wing media figure, making appearances on Tucker Carlson’s programming and Newsmax, with nearly 2 million followers on Twitter and a high-earning blog.

She also has dined with Donald Trump. And on Thursday, she stepped onto the CPAC stage shortly before noon on Thursday alongside several right-wing media personalities to criticise what they have characterised as an unfair liberal media.

Libs of TikTok has been inked to harassment and threats against drag performers, LGBT+ people and their advocates, particularly teachers, as well as doctors and hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to young trans people. Hours after five people were killed and several others were wounded inside a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub, Libs of TikTok drew negative attention to a drag performance in the state.

On Thursday at CPAC, she was hailed as a “hero” and “courageous” as panelists joked about trans people and pronouns.

She called a recent VICE profile previewing her CPAC appearance as an “insane hit piece”.

“Nothing I love more than to mock and clown the liberal media,” she said.

Panelist L Brent Bozell III, the founder of conservative watchdog group the Media Research Center, mocked trans people by joking that “if I ever transition I want to be Chaya.”

Brick suits, lawsuits, insults and pillows: The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC as Trump waits in the wings

14:21 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s John Bowden reports from inside the circus, where “diehard Trump loyalists were treated like celebrities” with “throngs of people approaching various Trumpworld figures like Kimberly Guilfoyle and others to hand their various trinkets and pamphlets to large, suited body men while their intended recipients gave half-promises to look into whatever was being shoved their way.”

The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC as Trump waits in the wings

CPAC speakers are silent on DeSantis. Trump reportedly has a five-point plan for attacking him

14:14 , Alex Woodward

Ron DeSantis and several other high-profile Republicans are sitting out CPAC this year, and the Florida governor will attend a retreat with the conservative political advocacy group Club for Growth in his home state, where several other GOP figures are expected to attend.

His name has largely been kept off the CPAC stage so far this week.

Trump, meanwhile, will be headlining CPAC once again with what he called a “monster speech” on Saturday that will reportedly take aim at “Ron DeSanctimonious”.

The former president will bring up the governor’s past support for changes to Social Security and Medicare, past support for US military support for Ukraine, and his “disloyalty to Trump” after he supported the governor’s campaign in 2018, according to Axios.

Axios also reports that Trump will try to cast his rival as a “lackey” to former House Speaker Paul Ryan and attack his response to Covid-19.

Earlier this week, the governor told Fox News that he views Trump’s attacks as “background noise”.

“He used to say how great of a governor I was. And then I win a big victory and all of a sudden, you know, he had different opinions. And so you could take that for what it’s worth,” he said.

Mike Lindell turns on Fox News despite using network to advertise his pillows

14:00 , Alex Woodward

Pillow salesman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell on Thursday spent a portion of his day at CPAC on Thursday shouting about Fox News – a television network on which MyPillow frequently advertises – and airing grievances about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to let one of that network’s hosts access footage from the January 6 Capitol riot.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports:

Mike Lindell is latest Trump ally to turn on Fox News despite advertising on network

White nationalist Nick Fuentes says he was kicked out of CPAC

13:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The man who visited Mar-a-Lago for dinner last year with Kanye West has claimed on Telegram that he has been kicked out of CPAC, which is hardly suprising given that he has long trolled the event for being insufficiently far-right for his taste and even set up his own parallel conference as a rebuke to CPAC.

White nationalist Nick Fuentes says he was kicked out of CPAC

Republicans hang James Comer out to dry after shocking Beau Biden remarks

13:00 , Alex Woodward

House Republicans hang Oversight chair James Comer out to dry after shocking Beau Biden remarks

Oversight Committee chairman James Comer drew outrage from the White House and veterans groups after he suggested that Beau Biden, the late Delaware attorney general and son of President Joe Biden, should have faced criminal charges over a Delaware political scandal in which he was found to have done nothing wrong.

House Republicans at CPAC declined to defend – or condemn – the congressman during Thursday’s events.

Several Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Ralph Norman, told The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg that they hadn’t seen Comer’s comments.

House Republicans hang James Comer out to dry after shocking Beau Biden remarks

‘Ted Cruz at CPAC: From presidential candidate to boorish podcast host’

12:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The Independent’s Richard Hall writes:

Ted Cruz at CPAC: From presidential candidate to boorish podcast host

Ted Cruz calls for Fauci to be prosecuted in CPAC rant on Covid

12:00 , Alex Woodward

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas slammed Dr Anthony Fauci for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic during a panel next to Senator JD Vance at CPAC on Thursday.

Cruz claimed that Dr Fauci “has done more damage than any bureaucreat in the history of our nation” and “would be prosecuted for lying under oath and he would go to jail for lying under oath.”

Ted Cruz calls for Fauci to be prosecuted in CPAC rant on Covid

CPAC roundup: Inadvertent neo-wokeness, hunting journalists, DNA tests for asylum seekers and the Guilfoyle grift

11:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Wish you were there? What, really? I was… OK well here’s a few choice highlights from the convention for those with a strong stomach.

I really think this tweet says it all.

Trump continues media vendettas after being ‘soft banned’ by Fox

11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Deep within the bowels of Mar-a-Lago, from behind a greasy keyboard and mounds of McDonald’s wrappers, Trump continues to rebuke Rupert Murdoch, now demanding that he apologise to his viewers. That’s really not likely to happen is it?

He also says it’s finally time to call out “fake news”, which is a war cry he has been personally issuing from the better part of a decade by this point but OK sure.

In another Truth Social post, he says that rumours suggest the “idiot” Paul Ryan, a former House speaker turned Fox board member, will be fired “like a dog” (ah, how nice to hear that one again) for wrongly, he says, insisting that the 2020 election was all “peaches and cream”.

Here’s more on Fox reportedly quietly withdrawing mention of Trump from the airwaves.

Trump ‘soft banned’ from Fox News amid uproar over coverage of election lies

Trump urges courts to throw out ‘frivolous’ police lawsuits after Justice Department ruling

10:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Back on Truth Social, Trump has responded to the Justice Department’s ruling that DC police officers can sue over the Capitol riot with an earnest statement in which he insists his speech that day “repeatedly called for peace, patriotism and respect for our men and women of law enforcement”, which is not how many will remember it.

He urges the courts to throw out any such “frivolous” legal challenges “in short order” and invoked presidential immunity, arguing that, without it, Joe Biden could be prosecuted over the Afghanistan withdrawal, illegal immigration from Mexico, the opioid epidemic and the “many other terrible crises that he has caused”.

Or, to put it in a slightly more unhinged format:

Here’s more on the Justice Department’s determination.

Trump can be sued by police over Jan 6, Justice Department says

DeSantis and Pence are too boring for CPAC, according to Trump

10:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump says he’s preparing a “monster speech” to cap off 2023’s CPAC conference at his Saturday appearance.

His potential 2024 GOP rivals, Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence, won’t be there. They’re too boring to make an appearance, accordingto the former president.

“The only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say. They’ve heard it all before, and don’t want to hear it again,” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

Trump says Pence and DeSantis too boring for CPAC as he’s preparing ‘monster’ speech

ICYMI: Fentanyl panic stories hit the stage at CPAC

09:00 , Alex Woodward

In a panel on US-Mexico border security and the import of fentanyl, Republican US Rep Mark Green revived a familiar and false trope about the synthetic opioid on CPAC panel on Thursday.

News outlets have repeatedly picked up local police warnings about dollar bills laced with fentanyl, and police agencies have repeatedly claimed that officers have experienced overdoses or faced some kind of exposure illness after coming in contact with the drug.

Multiple assessments from toxicologists, public health experts, drug policy researchers and law enforcement agencies’ own guidance when it comes to fentanyl have debunked those claims, which continue to make headlines despite their spurious contents.

“Pick up a dollar, and it’s got fentanyl on it, and you’re dead,” Mr Green said at CPAC on Thursday. That is false; it is not possible to experience such a reaction from merely touching the drug.

“Every American,” he claimed, “is at risk” from fentanyl.

ICYMI: Trump-era ICE director says he does not ‘give a s***’ about being sued over family separation policy

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican officials suddenly concerned with the mounting crisis facing people fleeing South American and Central American regimes at the US-Mexico border after Trump left the White House are calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Former ICE director Tom Homan – who said that Mr Mayorkas has “blood on his hands” for fentanyl deaths – repeatedly, falsely suggested that there were fewer acts of violence against people crossing the southern border under the Trump administration.

Human rights watchdogs uncovered “massive human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers” after Trump implemented the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy in 2019. Nearly 70,000 people were impacted by the policy, but fewer than 53,000 people – less than one percent – were granted relief.

Advocates and government agencies also uncovered chaos from the Trump-era Title 42 policy, which prevented people from seeking asylum under US and international accords, and a family separation policy that removed hundreds of children from their families at border crossings.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about the family separation. And I’m still being sued about that. I don’t give a s****,” he said.

Deaths from synthetic opioids soared under Trump’s presidency, from 28,659 annual overdose-related deaths in 2017 to more than 56,000 in his final full year in office in 2020. Deaths have continued to climb, with 71,238 in 2021, the most recent data from the CDC, which notes the increase was half of what it was a year earlier, when overdose deaths rose by 30 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

“No one did more, bottom line” on immigration than Trump, Mr Homan claimed. He said he offered to work for free because he is so “p***** off”.

Brick suits, lawsuits, insults and pillows: The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC

07:00 , John Bowden

While celebrations of Donald Trump and a rallying cry for 2024 were clearly a central part of day one of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), they were far from the only emotions in the air.

There was also a deep anger at the mainstream news press, which they argued was nothing more but a tool of the Democratic Party. There was frequent griping from many in attendance about the apparent blacklisting of election deniers by the biggest right-wing networks like Fox News and Newsmax.

Some, like podcaster and noted sidewalk-parker Sebastian Gorka were utterly hamfisted in their critiques. Mr Gorka was spotted yelling at The Bulwark’s Tim Miller that he was “f***ing fake news” and should “go to hell”, before he told The Independent’s correspondent minutes later that he should “get a real job”.

Experience day one of CPAC 2023 with John Bowden:

The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC as Trump waits in the wings

GOP congressman calls Mark Milley a ‘traitor’ and claims children are ‘not safe’ in school

06:00 , Alex Woodward

During a CPAC panel on Thursday, far-right congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina called Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mark Milley – a decorated service member and highest-ranking military officer in the nation’s armed forces – “a traitor”.

Moments earlier at his CPAC appearance alongside US Rep Scott Perry, Mr Norman dismissed Vice President Kamala Harris as “the giggler” as he mentioned the possibility of impeaching Joe Biden and lambasted the Biden administration and its response to the Chinese surveillance balloon.

Mr Perry said breaches into American airspace should be “met with maximum force” against China.

In his closing remarks on the panel, Mr Norman claimed that “our children are not safe” in America’s schools, amplifying right-wing moral panic involving teachers, LGBT+ rights and discussion of race and racism in classrooms and workplaces.

“What’s happening to them … is evil,” he said.

Trump can be sued by police over Jan 6, Justice Department says

04:00 , Alex Woodward

Attorneys for the Justice Department’s civil rights division determined that the realm of protected speech from the president “does not include incitement of imminent private violence” as a group of US Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers seek to hold Mr Trump accountable for the Capitol riot in a lawsuit.

An appeals court reviewing the lawsuit turned to the Justice Department for an opinion in December.

“Presidents may at times use strong rhetoric. And some who hear that rhetoric may overreact, or even respond with violence,” attorneys for the Justice Department said on Thursday.

“Just as denying First Amendment protection to incitement does not unduly chill speech in general, denying absolute immunity to incitement of imminent private violence should not unduly chill the President in the performance of his traditional function of speaking to the public on matters of public concern,” they added.

Trump can be sued by police over Jan 6, Justice Department says

America’s Frontline Doctors, the Covid denialist organisation sponsoring CPAC

03:00 , Alex Woodward

This year’s CPAC is sponsored by one of the “top purveyors” of Covid-19 misinformation, accotding to a member of Congress, and has been compared to a modern snake-oil salesman.

The group, called America’s Frontline Doctors , passes itself as any other medical organisation, but public health experts and critics say it has promoted pseudoscientific Covid cures like using horse dewormer, fostered anti-vaccine sentiment, and abused donor funds.

The Independent’s Josh Marcus reports:

What is America’s Frontline Doctors, the Covid denial organisation sponsoring CPAC?

House Republicans hang Oversight chair James Comer out to dry after shocking Beau Biden remarks

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Oversight Committee chairman James Comer drew outrage from the White House and veterans groups after he suggested that Beau Biden, the late Delaware attorney general and son of President Joe Biden, should have faced criminal charges over a Delaware political scandal in which he was found to have done nothing wrong.

House Republicans at CPAC declined to defend – or condemn – the congressman during Thursday’s events.

Several Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Ralph Norman, told The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg that they hadn’t seen Comer’s comments.

House Republicans hang James Comer out to dry after shocking Beau Biden remarks

‘In a really embarrassing CPAC speech, cool dads Ted Cruz and JD Vance tell it like it is'

00:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s Holly Baxter writes:

In a cringe CPAC speech, cool dads Ted Cruz and JD Vance tell it like it is

Trump and DeSantis to visit Iowa within days of one another

Thursday 2 March 2023 23:05 , Alex Woodward

On 10 March, Ron DeSantis is set to visit Iowa, long considered the benchmark for presidential candidates’ political viability with its “first in the nation” primary election status.

The Florida governor will visit Davenport and Des Moines to promote his new book, The Courage to Be Free, according to the Associated Press.

Three days later, Donald Trump will be there.

DeSantis will not be at this year’s CPAC; Trump is headlining on Saturday.

Underscoring the division over the GOP’s future, the governor is expected to attend a Club for Growth’s private retreat in Florida, where Mike Pence, Senator Tim Scott, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu are expectedto attend. None are on the CPAC schedule.

There’s been little if any mention of Fox at CPAC . Then the CEO of Newsmax brought up the lawsuit

Thursday 2 March 2023 22:30 , Alex Woodward

This year’s CPAC does not appear to have coverage sponsorship from Fox News, while competing outlet Newsmax is listed as a presenting sponsor and far-right streaming service Real America’s Voice is named as one of four participating sponsors.

There’s been little if any mention of Fox or the Dominion lawsuit against the network, including revelations that the network’s top stars, executives and producers privately rejected bogus claims of election fraud that were amplified on air.

Newsmax also was sued by Dominion over similar false claims about the voting machine company; the network retracted some of its reporting as part of a settlement in a separate suit.

At CPAC, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said that if the Fox case was in federal court it would be thrown out.

Here’s what the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News uncovered:

Fox News, the Murdochs and backstage Trump whispers: The damning Dominion revelations

Kimberly Guilfoyle poses with Mike Lindell

Thursday 2 March 2023 22:20 , Alex Woodward and John Bowden

A CPAC moment: Former Trump adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to Donald Trump Jr, posed with pillow salesman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.

Mr Lindell, who is scheduled to address the conference on Saturday three hours before the former president closes out the day’s events.

Ms Guilfoyle is scheduled to speak on Friday.

Sebastian Gorka rages at journalists at CPAC hallway

Thursday 2 March 2023 21:55 , Alex Woodward and John Bowden

Former Trump administration aide and current right-wing podcaster Sebastian Gorka raged at several reporters, including The Independent’s John Bowden, inside a CPAC hallway on Thursday.

He told political strategist Tim Miller of the Showtime series The Circus to “go to hell” and that he is “f****** fake news”.

He called The Independent’s Washington reporter a “coward,” “fake news” and to get a “real job”.

Mike Lindell is latest Trump ally to turn on Fox News despite using network to advertise his pillows

Thursday 2 March 2023 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Pillow salesman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell on Thursday spent a portion of his day at the CPAC shouting about Fox News – a television network on which he frequently advertises – and airing grievances about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to let one of that network’s hosts access footage from the January 6 Capitol riot.

Mike Lindell is latest Trump ally to turn on Fox News despite advertising on network

‘Ted Cruz at CPAC: From presidential candidate to boorish podcast host'

Thursday 2 March 2023 21:13 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s Richard Hall writes:

Ted Cruz at CPAC: From presidential candidate to boorish podcast host

Florida Senator Rick Scott takes the stage with a grim picture of America

Thursday 2 March 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

Florida Senator Rick Scott entered the CPAC stage to announce that President Joe Biden and “the US Senate, the news media, the Democratic party, academia, Hollywood, Wall Street and many of our big corporations” are “destroying the country.”

He mentioned some version of “destroy out country” roughly half a dozen times within his first minute on stage, then outlined Democratic officials’ “evil plan” bloated with right-wing grievances.

”My message to you is this. People in Washington who don’t like me, they’re not very fond of you either,” he said. “This is the time we have to rescue this country.”

He called for CPAC to get more “active,” echoing other attendees who have urged right-wing Americans to get more involved in local campaigns for school boards and other races to inject a CPAC agenda at the local level.

Full story: CPAC crowd boos Anthony Fauci during cable news compilation on Covid origins

Thursday 2 March 2023 20:30 , Alex Woodward

A crowd of attendees at CPAC jeered and shouted “lock him up” when an image of Dr Anthony Fauci appeared on screen during the event.

CPAC crowd boos Anthony Fauci during cable news compilation on Covid origins

Fentanyl panic stories hit the stage at CPAC

Thursday 2 March 2023 20:08 , Alex Woodward

In a panel on US-Mexico border security and the import of fentanyl, Republican US Rep Mark Green revived a familiar and false trope about the synthetic opioid.

News outlets have repeatedly picked up local police warnings about dollar bills laced with fentanyl, and police agencies have repeatedly claimed that officers have experienced overdoses or faced some kind of exposure illness after coming in contact with the drug.

Multiple assessments from toxicologists, public health experts, drug policy researchers and law enforcement agencies’ own guidance when it comes to fentanyl have debunked those claims, which continue to make headlines despite their spurious contents.

“Pick up a dollar, and it’s got fentanyl on it, and you’re dead,” Mr Green said at CPAC on Thursday. That is false; it is not possible to experience such a reaction from merely touching the drug.

“Every American,” he claimed, “is at risk” from fentanyl.

Full story: Trump can be sued by police over Jan 6, Justice Department says

Thursday 2 March 2023 20:00 , Alex Woodward

The Justice Department has asked a federal court to let a group of police officers and members of Congress proceed with a lawsuit seeking damages against former president Donald Trump for his role in inciting the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump can be sued by police over Jan 6, Justice Department says

Former ICE director says he does not ‘give a s***’ about being sued over family separations under Trump

Thursday 2 March 2023 19:54 , Alex Woodward

Republican officials suddenly concerned with the mounting crisis facing people fleeing South American and Central American regimes at the US-Mexico border after Trump left the White House are calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Former ICE director Tom Homan – who said that Mr Mayorkas has “blood on his hands” for fentanyl deaths – repeatedly, falsely suggested that there were fewer acts of violence against people crossing the southern border under the Trump administration.

Human rights watchdogs uncovered “massive human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers” after Trump implemented the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy in 2019. Nearly 70,000 people were impacted by the policy, but fewer than 53,000 people – less than one percent – were granted relief.

Advocates and government agencies also uncovered chaos from the Trump-era Title 42 policy, which prevented people from seeking asylum under US and international accords, and a family separation policy that removed hundreds of children from their families at border crossings.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about the family separation. And I’m still being sued about that. I don’t give a s****,” he said.

Deaths from synthetic opioids soared under Trump’s presidency, from 28,659 annual overdose-related deaths in 2017 to more than 56,000 in his final full year in office in 2020. Deaths have continued to climb, with 71,238 in 2021, the most recent data from the CDC, which notes the increase was half of what it was a year earlier, when overdose deaths rose by 30 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

“No one did more, bottom line” on immigration than Trump, Mr Homan claimed. He said he offered to work for free because he is so “p***** off”.

Ted Cruz on Pete Buttigieg: ‘What the hell else does this guy need to do to get fired?’

Thursday 2 March 2023 19:19 , Alex Woodward

Ted Cruz, who traveled to Cancun during his state’s chaotic winter storm crisis in 2021, claimed that Democratic officials do not care about the crisis unfolding in East Palestine, Ohio following a rail disaster and urgent environment and health concerns that followed.

The Texas senator claimed that because the area leans Republican, Democratic officials have effectively given up on its recovery.

“If you were a bunch of transgender tech workers, get the entire Biden cabinet down there to hold a sit in and feel their pain,” he said.

He also joined a chorus of criticism against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“What the hell else does this guy need to do to get fired?” he said.

Trump ‘soft banned’ from Fox News amid clash with Murdoch over election lies coverage

Thursday 2 March 2023 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s campaign team reportedly said he is being "soft banned" by Fox News, claiming the Murdoch family wants to "move on" from the former president.

The ban was first reported in Semafor, which cited four members of Mr Trump's "inner circle" on condition of anonymity.

Trump ‘soft banned’ from Fox News amid uproar over coverage of election lies

CPAC crowds boo video footage of Fauci as Ted Cruz and JD Vance amplify ‘lab leak’ theory

Thursday 2 March 2023 18:52 , Alex Woodward

CPAC crowds booed footage of news network hosts and Dr Anthony Fauci as senators Ted Cruz and JD Vance amplified a “lab leak” theory surrounding Covid-19’s origins.

Right-wing commentators and GOP officials have repeatedly amplified the theory and claimed that recent reports corroborate their claims, while the US government has “low confidence” in the theory, meaning that “the information used in the analysis is scant, questionable, fragmented, or that solid analytical conclusions cannot be inferred from the information.”

There is no consensus about its origin. Four of eight US intelligence agencies have leaned toward a natural origin for the virus, with “low confidence,” while two of them — the Department of Energy and the FBI — have “moderate confidence” in the lab theory.

Alabama senator attacks trans athletes in remarks against ‘the woke playbook'

Thursday 2 March 2023 18:43 , Alex Woodward

Another CPAC panel rejected transgender Americans and honest teachings on race, racism and LGBT+ people featured former college football turned Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who listed off a string of right-wing targets in a series of baseless statements against trans athletes and US education.

“All this woke, transgender athletes, CRT, 1619, they don’t teach reading, writing or arithmetic,” the senator said.

His remarks on a “Sacking the Woke Playbook” panel dismissed transgender girls and women as “biological boys” who he said should not be playing in any school sport at any age level.

He said that sports must be “protected” because “sports have built this country”.

The senator also falsely claimed that “half the kids when they graduate they can’t read their diploma” as he condemned “the progressives, the crazies” who are “trying to change family, change things that are our moral values”.

At least 150 bills across the US this year would specifically restrict the rights of trans people, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Where’s Ted Cruz?

Thursday 2 March 2023 18:15 , David Taintor

There seems to have been a last-minute schedule change at CPAC. Sen Ted Cruz was scheduled to host a segment of his “Verdict” podcast after Sen John Kennedy of Louisiana spoke. However, CPAC head Matt Schlapp and CPAC senior fellow Mercedes Schlapp filled in for a segment before the programme moved on to Sen Tommy Tuberville for a panel on “Sacking the Woke Playbook”.

It’s possible a schedule snafu caused the lineup change. CPAC’s schedule notes that “agenda times and sessions are subject to change”.

Trump can be sued by police and lawmakers over Jan 6 attack, Justice Department says

Thursday 2 March 2023 18:14 , Alex Woodward

Trump can be held liable for the actions of a violent mob that launched an attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, the US Department of Justice has determined.

Attorneys for the Justice Department’s civil rights division determined that the realm of protected speech from the president “does not include incitement of imminent private violence” as a group of US Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers seek to hold Mr Trump accountable for the Capitol riot in a lawsuit.

An appeals court reviewing the lawsuit turned to the Justice Department for an opinion in December.

“Presidents may at times use strong rhetoric. And some who hear that rhetoric may overreact, or even respond with violence,” attorneys for the Justice Department said on Thursday.

“Just as denying First Amendment protection to incitement does not unduly chill speech in general, denying absolute immunity to incitement of imminent private violence should not unduly chill the President in the performance of his traditional function of speaking to the public on matters of public concern,” they added.

Louisiana senator’s remarks list GOP priorities injected with his faux folksy aphorisms

Thursday 2 March 2023 17:51 , Alex Woodward

Republican US Senator John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana, making the first major solo speech at this year’s CPAC, listed off GOP priorities to defend America as a “star-spangled awesome” place to live

The senator – a former Democratic official and Oxford grad – has revved up his accent and use of folksy aphorisms in his time in Washington.

“I wonder how some people in Washington DC actually made it through the birth canal,” he said.

He revived a well-worn joke about kale aimed at American liberals (“Kale tastes like I wanna be fat”) and called the city of Chicago “the world’s largest outdoor shooting range”.

“The Washington elites … they may call us deplorables, they may think we are not real people, but we are real people and we need to get real mad,” he told the crowd. “So join with me, help me fight for America. We will win this fight if we just remember who we are as Americans.”

CPAC panelists joke about killings journalists

Thursday 2 March 2023 17:37 , Alex Woodward

In a panel titled “Don Lemon Is Past His Primetime,” right-wing media personalities criticised the CNN anchor and mocked what they characterised as an unfair liberal media and repeatedly joked about trans people.

Panelist L Brent Bozell III, the founder of conservative watchdog group the Media Research Center, said journalists have “never held a real job”.

Town Hall columnist Kurt Schlichter said journalists are “too dumb to do anything else” and “the enemy”.

“They want to be gatekeepers. They want to set the agenda,” he said.

At one point, he mentioned serving in the Gulf War – “when America won wars and the Pentagon knew which bathroom to use” – and recalled a service member asking if he can kill journalists.

“’Sir, if we have any reporters around, can I shoot ‘em?’” he said as panelists laughed.

“I would never advocate hunting the media for sport,” he added.

CPAC hosts hail Libs of TikTok founder as a ‘hero’ as panelists mock trans people

Thursday 2 March 2023 17:08 , Alex Woodward

With her Libs of TikTok accounts and attacks against LGBT+ people, teachers and doctors, Chaya Raichik has emerged as an influential right-wing media figure, making appearances on Tucker Carlson’s programming and Newsmax, with nearly 2 million followers on Twitter and a high-earning blog.

She also has dined with Donald Trump. And on Thursday, she stepped onto the CPAC stage shortly before noon on Thursday alongside several right-wing media personalities to criticise what they have characterised as an unfair liberal media.

Libs of TikTok has been inked to harassment and threats against drag performers, LGBT+ people and their advocates, particularly teachers, as well as doctors and hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to young trans people. Hours after five people were killed and several others were wounded inside a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub, Libs of TikTok drew negative attention to a drag performance in the state.

On Thursday at CPAC, she was hailed as a “hero” and “courageous” as panelists joked about trans people and pronouns.

She called a recent VICE profile previewing her CPAC appearance as an “insane hit piece”.

“Nothing I love more than to mock and clown the liberal media,” she said.

Panelist L Brent Bozell III, the founder of conservative watchdog group the Media Research Center, mocked trans people by joking that “if I ever transition I want to be Chaya.”

CPAC panelists target China over US farmland. How much do Chinese entities actually own?

Thursday 2 March 2023 16:43 , Alex Woodward

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn accused “the Chinese Community Party” of stealing American intellectual property, spying on Americans and their children, and owning thousands of acres of US farmland, suggesting that China is purposefully developing land near sensitive US military sites.

China owns roughly 384,000 acres of US agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the US Department of Agriculture. Roughly 195,000 acres, worth nearly $2bn when purchased, are owned by 85 Chinese investors, which could be individuals, companies or the government.

Another 189,000 of those acres, worth $235m, are owned by 62 US corporations with Chinese shareholders.

But of the 109 countries that own US agricultural land, China ranks eighteenth. Canada, easily in the No 1 spot, owns 12.8 million acres. China even falls behind the Cayman Islands, which owns 672,000 acres.

Chinese-linked entities acquired 32,000 acres in 2021, fewer than what was purchased in 2020, but 98 per cent more than combined growth between 2015 and 2019, according to Forbes.

Republican Scott Perry threatens to eliminate office space for agencies that don’t cooperate with GOP oversight

Thursday 2 March 2023 16:26 , Alex Woodward

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry at CPAC on Thursday threatened to eliminate federal office space for agencies if Biden administration officials don’t comply with oversight demands from House Republicans.

Scott Perry threatens to eliminate office space if officials don’t testify

Trump claims Pence and DeSantis are too boring for CPAC

Thursday 2 March 2023 16:12 , Alex Woodward

Trump criticised his vice president Mike Pence and potential 2024 rival Ron DeSantis or skipping this week’s CPAC.

“The only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say. They’ve heard it all before, and don’t want to hear it again,” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

Trump says Pence and DeSantis too boring for CPAC as he’s preparing ‘monster’ speech

GOP congressman calls Mark Milley a ‘traitor’ and claims children are ‘not safe’ in school

Thursday 2 March 2023 16:11 , Alex Woodward

Far-right congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina called Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mark Milley – a decorated service member and highest-ranking military officer in the nation’s armed forces – “a traitor”.

Moments earlier at his CPAC appearance alongside US Rep Scott Perry, Mr Norman dismissed Vice President Kamala Harris as “the giggler” as he mentioned the possibility of impeaching Joe Biden and lambasted the Biden administration and its response to the Chinese surveillance balloon.

Mr Perry said breaches into American airspace should be “met with maximum force” against China.

In his closing remarks on the panel, Mr Norman claimed that “our children are not safe” in America’s schools, amplifying right-wing moral panic involving teachers, LGBT+ rights and discussion of race and racism in classrooms and workplaces.

“What’s happening to them … is evil,” he said.

Trump says potential 2024 rivals aren’t at CPAC ‘because the crowds have no interest'

Thursday 2 March 2023 15:41 , Alex Woodward

The conference known for hoisting a golden Trump statue and platforming an array of far-right figures is reportedly losing interest from many potential 2024 contenders and high-profile Republican officials.

Not appearing at CPAC this week: potential GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence.

Donald Trump says he knows why:

“The only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

“They’ve heard it all before, and don’t want to hear it again,” he said. “But my speech, on Saturday night, is already a sold out ‘monster.’”

He said his speech will discuss “the fact that, obviously, our Country is going to ‘HELL,’ and how to fix it.”

Schlapp suggests House Republicans should impeach Biden cabinet

Thursday 2 March 2023 15:35 , Alex Woodward

Standing next to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan on the CPAC stage, Matt Schlapp asked the crowd whether they want to see Joe Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas impeached. The crowd cheered.

“Is this the most incompetent cabinet group we’ve ever seen?” he asked Mr Jordan. “This impeachment word … how do you handle all the wrongdoing?”

He later asked the crowd if they want House Republicans to impeach Mr Mayorkas.