Trump news – live: Trump attorney admits ‘misrepresentation’ as she is censured for 2020 election fraud lies

Donald Trump’s attorney Jenna Ellis has admitted that she “misrepresented” what happened during the 2020 election as a Colorado court censured her for peddling the former president’s fraud lies.

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel censured Ms Ellis on Wednesday for misconduct after she made multiple false statements on TV and on Twitter about the presidential election.

Ms Ellis, who acted as an adviser to Mr Trump as he tried to overturn the election in his favour, had admitted last month to making 10 “misrepresentations” to the public, including claiming the election was stolen from Mr Trump.

This comes as Mr Trump praised Fox News host Tucker Carlson for airing footage of the January 6 Capitol riot falsely depicting it as a peaceful process.

His praise suggested he has chosen to ignore the fact that Carlson said he “passionately” hates the former president.

New messages revealed in a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems show that Carlson texted a Fox News staffer two days before the Capitol riot reading: “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.”

Key points

• Attorney Jenna Ellis admits ‘misrepresenting’ election fraud lies

• Trump ignores Tucker Carlson’s texts saying he ‘passionately hates’ him

• Ivanka Trump throws brothers and father under bus in New York fraud suit

• Trump’s new nicknames for Ron DeSantis revealed

• Trump ‘strongly’ considering Kari Lake as running mate

• Trump says criminal charges won’t derail his 2024 bid

GOP lawmaker says FBI wrongly sought surveillance info about him

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A Republican lawmaker on Thursday accused the FBI of wrongly searching for his name in foreign surveillance data, underscoring the challenges ahead for U.S. officials trying to persuade Congress to renew their authorities to collect huge swaths of communications.

Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., did not say why the FBI may have searched his name in information collected under a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702, and a spokesman for the lawmaker did not respond to a request for further clarification.

At a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, LaHood pressed FBI Director Chris Wray to acknowledge that his agency and others had at times violated the rules on the use of data collected through electronic snooping.

Read on:

Lawmaker says FBI wrongly sought surveillance info about him

Freshly-censured Trump lawyer called out for mocking Mitch McConnell fall

21:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s newly-censured lawyer Jenna Ellis has been called out for mocking Mitch McConnell with a tumbling tortoise video.

The Senate minority leader was hospitalised on Wednesday night after falling and injuring himself at a private dinner at a Washington DC hotel.

Graeme Massie reports.

Censured Trump lawyer called out for mocking McConnell fall with tortoise video

Voices: Tucker Carlson’s rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP

21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ahmed Baba writes:

There is no better indication of the deep divides within the Republican Party than their reaction to Tucker Carlson’s depiction of January 6 on Fox News. After Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) handed the Fox host over 40,000 hours of Capitol footage, Carlson aired some of the footage seeking to depict the insurrection as peaceful. This caused a firestorm not only from pro-democracy liberals but from within the GOP itself. Ultimately, this is resulting in an internal debate of whether or not the party will continue to embrace the Big Lie and Donald Trump.

Read on:

Tucker Carlson’s rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP

The Trumpworld attorneys facing professional sanctions over spurious lawsuits and election lies

21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Several members of the legal team that advanced Donald Trump’s bogus claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him are facing professional sanctions and ethics violations for their spurious attempts to overturn the results.

Attorneys for the now-former president repeatedly and falsely asserted that the election was fraudulent while pushing lawsuits to subvert the outcome in states that he lost.

Alex Woodward filed this report.

The Trumpworld attorneys facing professional sanctions for spreading election lies

Trump mocked over plan to release $99 book of 150 private letters

20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump plans to share 150 private letters in a new book set to be published on 25 April.

“I wonder if he’ll publish letters from any of his special prosecutors?” wondered a person on Twitter.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

‘His grifting is endless’: Trump mocked over plan to release $99 book of 150 letters

Watch: Biden blesses himself at prospect of Trump being president again

20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Political pressure behind Fox programming evident in court records

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News executives were sometimes actively involved in politics rather than just reporting on it or offering opinions, court documents show.

Read on:

Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming

McConnell suffered concussion after fall

19:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suffered concussion after he experienced a fall on Wednesday evening and will remain hospitalised for a few days, according to his spokesman.

The top Republican fell during a private dinner on Wednesday, according to David Popp, Mr McConnell’s communications director.

Eric Garcia has the latest.

McConnell suffered concussion after fall, will remain in hospital for ‘a few days’

Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was ‘Antifa’ plot to ‘force Trump from office’

19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Tucker Carlson has now said the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in 2020 were an “Antifa” plot.

On his show late on Wednesday, the Fox News host said that Antifa had “descended on Washington, DC to force the sitting president out of office”, referring to the 2020 protests. “But it was Trump, so that’s cool,” he said.

Carlson has made problematic comments on the BLM movement in the past as well.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports on his latest comments.

Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was ‘Antifa’ plot to ‘force Trump from office’

Dominion lawsuit: All the embarrassing things Tucker Carlson has said about Trump

18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the most interesting aspects of the Dominion lawsuit has been what it has revealed about Tucker Carlson’s off-camera attitude towards Donald Trump, despite having regularly defended him on air throughout his presidency and its aftermath.

Joe Sommerlad reports.

What has Tucker Carlson said about Trump?

ICYMI: Trump cries foul on Biden docs in all-caps post

18:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Late on Wednesday night, former president Donald Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the investigation into the Biden documents and the probe of his own alleged presidential records malfeasance through his favourite medium... An all-caps post on Truth Social:

Former Trump official launches PAC for DeSantis 2024 run

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A former White House official who helped implement Donald Trump‘s hardline immigration policies is breaking ranks with the former president and instead encouraging Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to pursue the presidency in 2024.

Read on:

Former Trump official launches PAC urging DeSantis to run

Jenna Eliis censured over election lies

17:10 , Oliver O'Connell

A former Donald Trump attorney has been censured by a Colorado judge after she admitted misrepresenting evidence while the former president attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Jenna Ellis’s lawyer had filed a stipulation earlier last month accepting 10 such “misrepresentations” in the aftermath of the 2020 election, including repeating the claim of the election being stolen from Mr Trump.

Namita Singh has the story.

Ex-Trump lawyer censured over election lies she admits were ‘misrepresentations’

Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and backstage Trump whispers: The damning Dominion revelations

16:00 , Joe Sommerlad and Alex Woodward

The right-wing media giant Fox News is facing a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based manufacturer of voting machines, over the network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election and Donald Trump’s bogus claims that the contest was “rigged”.

In a 192-page court filing published on 16 February containing private messages from many of the network’s biggest stars, Dominion argues: “From the top down, Fox knew ‘the Dominion stuff’ was ‘total bs’.”

“Yet despite knowing the truth – or at minimum, recklessly disregarding that truth – Fox spread and endorsed these ‘outlandish voter fraud claims’ about Dominion even as it internally recognised the lies as ‘crazy’, ‘absurd’ and ‘shockingly reckless’,” the filing said.

Attorneys for Fox, however, have argued that Dominion has mischaracterised the record and “the facts by cherry-picking soundbites” and “omitting key context”, and has accused the company of seeking a “staggering” figure in damages aimed at winning headlines, silencing protected speech and enriching its owner, Staple Street Capital Partners, and its investors.

Read more:

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

Lawsuit against Fox shows the news behind the Trump news

15:30 , AP

Fresh revelations flowing from a major defamation lawsuit are shedding light on what was happening inside Fox News following the 2020 presidential election. Here are some things to know about the case.

THE CASE

Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the company engaged in fraud that doomed President Donald Trump‘s re-election campaign while knowing they were untrue. Fox contends that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the president and is supported legally by libel standards. The case is scheduled for trial next month.

ELECTION DISCONNECT

Dominion has produced evidence that prominent people at Fox knew the fraud allegations were untrue, even as they and the president’s allies were given airtime to repeat them. Fox’s Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he did not believe the fraud claims “for one second,” but he wanted to give accusers the chance to produce evidence. Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, questioned under oath, agreed the 2020 presidential election was free and fair: “The election was not stolen,” he said. Murdoch also said he was aware some Fox commentators — Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro and Hannity — at times endorsed false claims, but he did nothing to stop them.

Read more:

Lawsuit against Fox shows the news behind the Trump news

Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming

15:00 , AP

In May 2018, the nation’s top Republicans needed help. So they called on the founder of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch.

President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were trying to stop West Virginia Republicans from nominating Don Blankenship, who had been convicted of violating mine safety standards during a lethal accident in one of his coal mines, to challenge the state’s incumbent senator, Democrat Joe Manchin.

“Both Trump and McConnell are appealing for help to beat unelectable former mine owner who served time,” Murdoch wrote to executives at Fox News, according to court records released this week. “Anything during day helpful, but Sean (Hannity) and Laura (Ingraham) dumping on him hard might save the day.”

Murdoch’s prodding, revealed in court documents that are part of a defamation lawsuit by a voting systems company, is one example showing how Fox became actively involved in politics instead of simply reporting or offering opinions about it. The revelations pose a challenge to the credibility of the most watched cable news network in the U.S. at the outset of a new election season in which Trump is again a leading player, having declared his third run for the White House.

Read more:

Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming

Ex-Trump attorney censured over election lies as she admits claims were ‘misrepresentations’

14:30 , Namita Singh

A former Donald Trump attorney has been censured by a Colorado judge after she admitted misrepresenting evidence while the former president attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Jenna Ellis’s lawyer had filed a stipulation earlier last month accepting 10 such “misrepresentations” in the aftermath of the 2020 election, including repeating the claim of the election being stolen from Mr Trump.

“Respondent made these misrepresentations on Twitter and on various television programs, including Fox Business, MSNBC, Fox News, and Newsmax,” Colorado’s top disciplinary judge Bryon M Large wrote in a six-page opinion on Wednesday.

“The parties agree that by making these misrepresentations, Respondent violated [a state attorney rule of conduct], which provides that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,” he said.

Read more:

Ex-Trump lawyer censured over election lies she admits were ‘misrepresentations’

GOP aide who accused Matt Schlapp of sexual misconduct comes forward ahead of $9.4m case

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

A man who had previously anonymously accused the powerful head of the American Conservative Union of sexual harassment has now come forward.

Carlton Huffman, a longtime GOP aide, did so in an interview with The Washington Post this week after a judge ruled that he must do so in order to proceed with a $9.6m lawsuit against Mr Schlapp. He plans to file an amended suit, according to the Post, removing the barrier to pursuing legal action.

“I’m not backing away,” he told the newspaper.

“Matt Schlapp did what he did, and he needs to be held accountable,” said Mr Huffman, who added: “I’m not going to drop this.”

Read the story here:

GOP aide who accused CPAC chief of sexual misconduct comes forward

Mitch McConnell hospitalised after fall in hotel

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Mitch McConnell has been hospitalised after a fall in a hotel in Washington DC.

The Senate Republican leader was attending a private dinnner at a hotel on Wednesday evening when he tripped and fell, his spokesperson said.

The 81-year-old was taken to hospital where he is receiving treatment.

No further details have been revealed about his condition.

The accident comes days after the Kentucky lawmaker became one of the most vocal members of the GOP to condemn Tucker Carlson for his attempt to misrepresent the January 6 Capitol riot on his Fox News’ show.

VOICES: Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

“Tucker Carlson has long portrayed himself as a Trump true-believer. Based on new documents, though, his enthusiasm for Trump appears to have been a lie – or, at the very least, greatly exaggerated.

“In new January 2021 texts released as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, Carlson declared that he “passionately” hated Donald Trump. He fantasized about the day when Trump, defeated by Joe Biden, would become irrelevant. “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson said in text messages, according to legal filings. “I truly can’t wait.”

“These texts, and other materials, show that Carlson and other Fox News hosts were leery of Trump’s claims about voter fraud, and did not believe the election rigged. But they feared that if they told the truth they would lose viewers to other right-wing networks like Newsmax. So they lied, and reassured their viewers that Trump was the rightful victor in 2020 in hopes of retaining their market share.”

Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:

Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

Does Tucker Carlson hate Trump?

12:30 , Rachel Sharp

Fox News host Tucker Carlson told a colleague that he “passionately” hated Donald Trump, according to bombshell new text messages released as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against the network.

New court filings on Tuesday revealed a message Carlson sent to a Fox News employee just two days before the January 6 Capitol riot.

“We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait,” he wrote.

“I hate him passionately, I blew up at Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can’t handle much more of this.”

The messages are the latest to emerge showing how the coverage and opinions presented by Fox News and its personalities on air was directly at odds with what they said and thought behind the scenes.

How Rupert Murdoch’s relationship with Jared Kushner boosted Trump’s campaign

12:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A defamation lawsuit against Fox News alleges a tight relationship between right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump’s campaign while the now-former president’s allies and attorneys frequently appeared on the network to promote his baseless narrative that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.

Court documents with uncovered emails and sworn depositions in the case have revealed Mr Murdoch providing Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, with what allegedly amounted to campaign advice, magnifying the network’s intially-reluctant alliance with the former president.

Mr Murdoch, the executive chairman of the Fox Corporation, admitted in a sworn deposition that he gave Mr Kushner a preview of a campaign advert from then-candidate Joe Biden’s campaign and appeared to offer him debate strategy to pass along to Mr Trump.

“Do you think it is appropriate for someone in your position to give a heads up to the opposing campaign about what the ad of the opposing campaign will show before it is public?” an attorney for voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems asked Mr Murdoch, according to court filings.

“I was trying to help Mr Kushner,” Mr Murdoch said. “He’s a friend of mine.”

How Rupert Murdoch’s relationship with Jared Kushner boosted Trump’s campaign

Trump attorney Jenna Ellis admits ‘misrepresenting’ election lies

11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump’s attorney Jenna Ellis has admitted that she “misrepresented” what happened during the 2020 election as a Colorado court censured her for peddling the former president’s fraud lies.

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel censured Ms Ellis on Wednesday for misconduct after she made multiple false statements on TV and on Twitter about the presidential election.

“The public censure in this matter reinforces that even if engaged in political speech, there is a line attorneys cannot cross, particularly when they are speaking in a representative capacity,” the office said in a statement.

Ms Ellis, who acted as an adviser to Mr Trump as he tried to overturn the election in his favour, had admitted last month to making 10 “misrepresentations” to the public, including claiming the election was stolen from Mr Trump.

ICYMI: Fox News refuses to air advert revealing how stars rejected Trump election fraud claims

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News reportedly rejected a television advert from a progressive advocacy group and political action committee that highlighted recently uncovered reactions from the network’s top stars and executives to Donald Trump’s bogus election fraud claims and conspiracy theories surrounding a voting machine company that is suing the network for defamation.

Alex Woodward reports.

Fox News refuses to air ad with bombshell Trump election fraud texts

Voices: Trump’s new Jan 6 song is as bad as you’d expect. It’s also dangerous

10:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Ahmed Baba writes:

On Friday at midnight, Donald Trump dropped a new song with the J6 Prison Choir. No, that’s not an Onion headline. That just happened. Who needs SNL when we have reality?

According to Forbes staff writer Zach Everson, Trump, in partnership with former Trump Admin official Kash Patel and former Fox News Host Ed Henry, collaborated with January 6 insurrectionists awaiting trial in a DC jail.

I’ll save you time. The song is as bad as you’d expect.

Read on:

Trump’s new Jan 6 song is as bad as you’d expect. It’s also dangerous

Dominion lawsuit: All the embarrassing things Tucker Carlson has said about Trump

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Dominion Voting Machines case filings find Tucker Carlson bemoaning the criticism he has personally received from viewers over the network’s correct decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night and calling Trump lawyer and regular guest Sidney Powell a “f***ing b****” and accusing her of lying.

But one of their most interesting aspects has been what Dominion’s submissions reveal about Mr Carlson’s attitude towards Mr Trump himself, whom he regularly defended on air throughout his presidency and its aftermath.

Here’s what he said:

What has Tucker Carlson said about Trump?

Voices: Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Noah Berlatsky writes:

I think it’s a mistake, though, to see Carlson solely as a man who knows better, but who is driven by the nonpartisan lure of money. He has an extensive history of hateful statements and of mangling of the truth. Dominion has found evidence of Tucker deceiving his audience in order to secure his bottom line. But that doesn’t mean he’s solely motivated by his bottom line, or that he never believes the ugly ideology he presents on air.

Read on:

Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

ICYMI: Trump posts Jan 6 rant ignoring Tucker Carlson’s texts saying he ‘passionately hates’ him

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump avoided addressing the revelation that Fox News host Tucker Carlson once wrote that he “passionately” hates the former president as he praised Mr Carlson over his misleading coverage of the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump ignores Tucker’s texts saying he ‘hates’ him in Truth Social Jan 6 rant

White House condemns ‘false’ Fox News coverage of ‘violent’ Jan 6 attack

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House has condemned Fox News’s recent coverage of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, saying that host Tucker Carlson “is not credible”.

“We agree with the chief of the Capitol Police and the wide range of bipartisan lawmakers who have condemned this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law – which cost police officers their lives,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Independent.

Gustaf Kilander has the story from Washington, DC.

White House condemns ‘false’ Tucker Carlson coverage of ‘violent’ Jan 6 attack

Former Fox News star furiously calls out her old network over Jan 6 'lies’

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson is joining the pile-on against her old network after its star opinion host Tucker Carlson predictably used exclusive access to security footage from January 6 to falsely depict the attack on Congress as a peaceful protest.

Ms Carlson, who bears no relation to her former colleague, furiously denounced the network and criticised the channel’s journalists for covering Mr Carlson’s remarks and the resulting backlash as if they are somehow detached from the situation.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Former Fox News star furiously calls out network over Tucker Carlson’s Jan 6 ‘lies’

Tucker Carlson said he ‘passionately’ hated Donald Trump

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Tucker Carlson said he “passionately” hated Donald Trump and fantasised in 2021 about the day he would no longer have to cover his fellow conservative, according to new messages released as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Mr Carlson told an unknown Fox News employee just two days before the January 6 Capitol riot, according to the court documents. “I truly can’t wait.”

“I hate him passionately,” he added.

Tucker Carlson said he ‘passionately’ hated Trump, new Fox News lawsuit filings show

Watch: Jamie Raskin says Trump’s Big Lie ‘now has to stretch all the way over Jan 6'

00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump reportedly workshopping lewd new DeSantis nickname

Wednesday 8 March 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has reportedly been testing out new nicknames for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to challenge him for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Joe Sommerlad reports on the former president’s efforts.

Trump reportedly workshopping lewd new nickname for Ron DeSantis

How Rupert Murdoch’s relationship with Jared Kushner boosted Trump’s campaign

Wednesday 8 March 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A defamation lawsuit against Fox News alleges a tight relationship between right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump’s campaign while the now-former president’s allies and attorneys frequently appeared on the network to promote his baseless narrative that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.

Court documents with uncovered emails and sworn depositions in the case have revealed Mr Murdoch providing Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, with what allegedly amounted to campaign advice, magnifying the network’s intially-reluctant alliance with the former president.

Mr Murdoch, the executive chairman of the Fox Corporation, admitted in a sworn deposition that he gave Mr Kushner a preview of a campaign advert from then-candidate Joe Biden’s campaign and appeared to offer him debate strategy to pass along to Mr Trump.

“Do you think it is appropriate for someone in your position to give a heads up to the opposing campaign about what the ad of the opposing campaign will show before it is public?” an attorney for voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems asked Mr Murdoch, according to court filings.

“I was trying to help Mr Kushner,” Mr Murdoch said. “He’s a friend of mine.”

How Rupert Murdoch’s relationship with Jared Kushner boosted Trump’s campaign

Trump complains nothing done about ‘Biden crime family’ in post about election interference

Wednesday 8 March 2023 22:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump has complained that nothing has been done about the “BIDEN CRIME FAMILY” even as city, state, and federal prosecutors “practice good ol’ ELECTION INTERFERENCE”.

Here’s what he wrote on Truth Social: “City, State, and Federal (DOJ) Prosecutors throughout the Country are practicing good ol’ ELECTION INTERFERENCE, at a level that our Country has never seen before. They want to take out the undisputed leader of the Republican Party. The bigger the lead I take, the more CRAZY they become. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY DO NOTHING ABOUT THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY!”

The damning Dominion revelations: Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and backstage Trump whispers

Wednesday 8 March 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Here is a brief overview of some of the claims in several bombshell Dominion Voting Systems v Fox News court documents, which collect sworn depositions and internal messages from prominent Fox News personalities like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and owner Rupert Murdoch discussing coverage of the 2020 election’s aftermath.

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

In rant about TikTok, Trump claims to have been right about everything (again)

Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

In his latest claim to have been “right about everything”, former president Donald Trump has waded into the debate about the future of TikTok.

He posted on Truth Social: “Has anybody noticed that everyone wants to go after, and destroy, TIKTOK due to China influence and National Security. When I wanted to disable TIKTOK 3 years ago, I was met with opposition from RINOS to Democrats to everyone else. They actually went to court in an effort to stop me. Now they realize I was right, and have changed their tune. Sadly, I’ve been right about everything!”

Capitol Police chief accuses Tucker Carlson of pushing agenda with ‘cherry-picked’ Jan 6 footage

Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Capitol Police chief says Carlson using ‘cherry-picked’ Jan 6 footage

Watch: Trump vows to fight ballot harvesting with... ballot harvesting

Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Bannon wanted Fox anchor Bartiromo to run for Senate, new texts reveal

Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Steve Bannon worked to console Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election and urged her to run for Sen Chuck Schumer’s seat in New York.

The messages between Mr Bannon and Bartiromo was made public this week as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

Abe Asher has the details.

Steve Bannon wanted Maria Bartiromo to run for Senate, new texts reveal

Dominion lawsuit: All the embarrassing things Tucker Carlson has said about Trump

Wednesday 8 March 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

In a lawsuit that has produced a wealth of revelations about the internal working of the Fox News network, some of the most interesting parts have been the unfiltered opinions of the on-air talent about the 2020 election and former president Donald Trump.

Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights from Tucker Carlson regarding Mr Trump.

What has Tucker Carlson said about Trump?

Jimmy Kimmel has quite an item on his bucket list

Wednesday 8 March 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In an interview with Rolling Stone ahead of hosting the Oscars this Sunday, TV talkshow host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel was asked whether there was something he really wanted to do when his current contract with ABC for Jimmy Kimmel Live! ends in 2026.

Here’s how the interview wrapped up:

I know Jimmy Kimmel Live! takes up a lot of your time, but is there something you really want to do after? Anything on your bucket list?

Yes, there is one thing on my bucket list that I want to do. It just popped into my head when you asked the question. I want to visit Donald Trump in prison and interview him from jail.

Read the full interview in Rolling Stone.

Gretchen Carlson calls out former network over Jan 6 ‘lies’

Wednesday 8 March 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson is joining the pile-on against her old network after its star opinion host Tucker Carlson predictably used exclusive access to security footage from January 6 to falsely depict the attack on Congress as a peaceful protest.

Ms Carlson, who bears no relation to her former colleague, furiously denounced the network and criticised the channel’s journalists for covering Mr Carlson’s remarks and the resulting backlash as if they are somehow unattached from the situation.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Former Fox News star furiously calls out network over Tucker Carlson’s Jan 6 ‘lies’

Watch: Bannon echoes Trump call to charge Jan 6 committee with treason

Wednesday 8 March 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

“Trump demands January 6 Committee members are tried for treason...I think I am in total 100 percent agreement with that,” says Steve Bannon.

Voices: Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

Wednesday 8 March 2023 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Noah Berlatsky writes:

I think it’s a mistake, though, to see Carlson solely as a man who knows better, but who is driven by the nonpartisan lure of money. He has an extensive history of hateful statements and of mangling of the truth. Dominion has found evidence of Tucker deceiving his audience in order to secure his bottom line. But that doesn’t mean he’s solely motivated by his bottom line, or that he never believes the ugly ideology he presents on air.

Read on:

Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Donald Trump. But that’s not all

Ivanka Trump distances herself from family in New York fraud suit

Wednesday 8 March 2023 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of former president Donald Trump, has asked for a delay in bringing the $250m fraud lawsuit filed against her, her brothers, her father and their family’s eponymous real estate company to trial.

Her lawyers say a defence arguing that she wasn’t responsible for fraudulent financial statements issued by the company will take more time to prepare.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Ivanka Trump throws brothers and father under bus in New York fraud suit

ICYMI: Hope Hicks meets with NY prosecutors

Wednesday 8 March 2023 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks met Monday with Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating hush-money payments made on the ex-president’s behalf — the latest member of the Republican’s inner circle to be questioned in the renewed probe.

Hicks and her lawyer, Robert Trout, spent several hours inside the Manhattan district attorney’s office and, afterward, were seen walking to a waiting SUV. They didn’t say anything to reporters as they got into the vehicle.

Read on:

Hope Hicks meets with NY prosecutors investigating Trump

Trump calls for Jan 6 prisoners to ‘go free’ after Tucker Carlson’s ‘peaceful' depiction of riot

Wednesday 8 March 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has used the January 6 insurrection surveillance footage released to Fox News host Tucker Carlson to call for Capitol riot prisoners to “go free”.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to ‘go free’

Trump reportedly workshopping lewd new nickname for DeSantis

Wednesday 8 March 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has reportedly been testing out new nicknames for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to challenge him for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

One is reportedly a little below the belt, even by Trump’s standards.

Trump reportedly workshopping lewd new nickname for Ron DeSantis

Trump ignores Tucker Carlson’s texts saying he ‘passionately hates’ him

Wednesday 8 March 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump avoided addressing the revelation that Fox News host Tucker Carlson once wrote that he “passionately” hates Mr Trump as the former president praised Mr Carlson over his misleading coverage of the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Gustaf Kilander has the latest from Washington, DC.

Trump ignores Tucker’s texts saying he ‘hates’ him in Truth Social Jan 6 rant

What did Trump think of Tucker Carlson’s second Jan 6 footage show?

Wednesday 8 March 2023 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Unsurprisingly, he loved it, again calling for the release of everyone charged for their role in the storming of the Capitol, despite the well-documented evidence of their crimes and, in many cases, guilty pleas.

Murdoch thought Fox hosts may have gone ‘too far’ in coverage of Trump’s election lies

Wednesday 8 March 2023 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rupert Murdoch thought Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham went “too far” in backing Donald Trump’s election lies on the right-wing channel, bombshell new legal filings reveal.

Mr Murdoch also said that he believed that the 2020 election was free and fair and not stolen from Mr Trump, documents reveal.

Graeme Massie has the details.

Murdoch thought Fox hosts may have gone ‘too far’ in covering Trump’s election lies

...as it’s revealed he ‘passionately’ hated Donald Trump

Wednesday 8 March 2023 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Tucker Carlson said he “passionately” hated Donald Trump and fantasised in 2021 about the day he would no longer have to cover his fellow conservative, according to new messages released as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Mr Carlson told an unknown Fox News employee just two days before the January 6 Capitol riot, according to the court documents. “I truly can’t wait.”

“I hate him passionately,” he added.

The Independent has contacted Fox News for comment.

Tucker Carlson said he ‘passionately’ hated Trump, new Fox News lawsuit filings show

Tucker Carlson offers little new in second part of Jan 6 video ‘scoop’

Wednesday 8 March 2023 14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday hit back at senators from both parties who’ve condemned his attempts to whitewash the January 6 attack on the Capitol with selectively-released video excerpts of Capitol surveillance footage from the day of the attack.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Tucker Carlson attacks critics but offers little new in second part of Jan 6 ‘scoop’

Trump ‘strongly’ considering Kari Lake as running mate

Wednesday 8 March 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump is said to be “strongly” considering picking conspiracy theorist and failed Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake as his running mate, according to a report by Axios.

The former president announced his 2024 bid in November but is yet to reveal who he hopes to join him as vice presidential candidate.

He is said to be looking at a short list of female candidates which he hopes will help him gain more votes from white suburban women.

Ms Lake was endorsed by Mr Trump in her failed run for Arizona governor in the November midterms.

She has consistently sided with the former president in peddling the lie that the 2020 election was stolen – and also tried to falsely claim she lost the gubernatorial race due to fraud.

Ivanka Trump distances herself from family in New York fraud suit

Wednesday 8 March 2023 13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of former president Donald Trump, has asked for a delay in bringing the $250m fraud lawsuit filed against her, her brothers, her father and their family’s eponymous real estate company to trial.

Her lawyers say a defence arguing that she wasn’t responsible for fraudulent financial statements issued by the company will take more time to prepare.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Ivanka Trump throws brothers and father under bus in New York fraud suit

Hope Hicks meets with NY prosecutors

Wednesday 8 March 2023 13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks met Monday with Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating hush-money payments made on the ex-president’s behalf — the latest member of the Republican’s inner circle to be questioned in the renewed probe.

Hicks and her lawyer, Robert Trout, spent several hours inside the Manhattan district attorney’s office and, afterward, were seen walking to a waiting SUV. They didn’t say anything to reporters as they got into the vehicle.

Read on:

Hope Hicks meets with NY prosecutors investigating Trump

Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to ‘go free’

Wednesday 8 March 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has used the January 6 insurrection surveillance footage released to Fox News host Tucker Carlson to call for Capitol riot prisoners to “go free”.

The decision by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to release around 40,000 hours of security footage from the attack on the Capitol has been blasted by critics.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on Tuesday that Monday night’s broadcast by Mr Carlson was “one of the most shameful hours of television”.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to ‘go free’

New texts reveal Tucker Carlson ‘hates’ Trump

Wednesday 8 March 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Fox News host Tucker Carlson told a colleague that he “passionately” hated Donald Trump, according to bombshell new text messages released as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against the network.

New court filings on Tuesday revealed a message Carlson sent to a Fox News employee just two days before the January 6 Capitol riot.

“We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait,” he wrote.

“I hate him passionately, I blew up at Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can’t handle much more of this.”

The messages are the latest to emerge showing how the coverage and opinions presented by Fox News and its personalities on air was directly at odds with what they said and thought behind the scenes.

Top 5 takeaways from CPAC as the GOP gears up for 2024

Wednesday 8 March 2023 11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The latest Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington DC proved that former President Donald Trump remains firmly in control of the Republican Party going into the 2024 election.

The latest CPAC gathering was the first in the nation’s capital since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The gathering has long been a cattle call for potential Republican presidential nominees and other rising stars in the party. And it sets the tone for what conservatives will likely focus on in the next election.

Eric Garcia reports on what the top takeaways were.

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

Trump’s new nicknames for Ron DeSantis revealed

Wednesday 8 March 2023 11:01 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump has reportedly been trying out some new nicknames for Ron DeSantis as he eyes the Florida governor as his key Republican rival in the 2024 White House race.

The former president – who is known for giving his political foes derogatory monikors – is said to be mulling possibilities including Ron DisHonest”, “Tiny D” and “Ron DeEstablishment” for Mr DeSantis, Bloomberg News reported.

But, Mr Trump’s favourite still continues to be “Ron DeSanctimonious” – a name he tried and tested at a rally in November.

Last month, a report said that he was also said to be considering the name “Meatball Ron” – something he quickly took to Truth Social to deny.

While Mr DeSantis is yet to announce his bid for the presidential race, Mr Trump is “strongly” considering picking conspiracy theorist and failed Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake as his running mate, according to Axios.

DOJ reaches 1,000 January 6 arrests more than two years after Capitol attack

Wednesday 8 March 2023 10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

At least 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the US Capitol more than two years after a mob fuelled by Donald Trump’s false election claims breached the halls of Congress to forcibly disrupt the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

The US Department of Justice notes that roughly one-third of all defendants are charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement, including more than 100 people charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious injury to an officer.

Roughly 140 officers with the US Capitol Police and Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department were injured in the attack.

Alex Woodward reports on the latest figures.

More than 1,000 people arrested in connection with January 6