Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence

Oliver O'Connell and Joe Sommerlad

Former president Donald Trump called on Congress to investigate the multiple investigations into him on the local, state and federal level in a series of posts on Truth Social.

Mr Trump made the early morning posts the day after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have given the former president’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews with him since the end of his presidency.

Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process.

In other news, South Carolina rep Nancy Mace has emerged as a possible running mate for the twice-indicted former president, according to some reports.

Key Points

Trump team handed over interview tapes to federal prosecutors

10:26 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump’s legal team handed over tapes of the former president’s interviews to special counsel Jack Smith as part of the investigation into the classified documents he held onto after leaving office, it has emerged.

In a court filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors began turning over evidence to Mr Trump’s legal team as the case against him heads to trial.

The filing reveals that investigators collected recordings of the former president giving multiple interviews.

Sources told CNN those recordings were initially given to federal prosecutors by Mr Trump’s own team.

Documents show prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews in documents case

09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors have given former president Donald Trump’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews of him since the end of his presidency.

Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process, in which the government reveals what evidence it intends to use against a criminal defendant at trial.

Andrew Feinberg has details.

New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show

Will Hurd launches long-shot bid for White House

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

He’s a former Texas House Republican, in case you’re wondering...

Will Hurd launches long-shot bid for White House

Trump calls on GOP lawmakers to help him wriggle out of federal charges

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump called on Congress to probe the multiple investigations into him on the local, state and federal level in a series of posts on Truth Social.

Mr Trump made the early morning posts the day after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Eric Garcia has the story.

Trump calls on Congress to help him wriggle out of federal charges

Boebert hits back at Greene after being called ‘a little b****’

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert has hit back after fellow conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly called her a “little b****” on the House floor and accused her of copying her articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden.

Ms Boebert told CNN, “I’m not in middle school”.

😬

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert a ‘little b****’ on House floor: report

DeSantis picks up backing from 15 South Carolina lawmakers

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is rolling out endorsements from 15 South Carolina lawmakers, hoping their support for his Republican presidential campaign will help him make his case to voters in the first-in-the-South primary state.

The endorsements, shared first on Thursday with The Associated Press ahead of DeSantis’ town hall in North Augusta, come from 11 state House members and four state senators from across the state, with a heavy concentration in South Carolina’s conservative Upstate. It’s a show of force for DeSantis in a state that current Republican front-runner Donald Trump won handily in the 2016 primary and where he has maintained popularity.

Read more...

Florida Gov. DeSantis picks up backing from 15 South Carolina lawmakers as he makes campaign swing

Bret Baier hits back at Trump conspiracy theorist after Trump interview

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Fox News’s star journalists found himself battling his own viewers after an appearance by former President Donald Trump on his show that many independent observers said was damaging for the ex-president’s credibility.

Bret Baier won compliments from his colleagues in the media this week for the no-ground-given interview with the ex-president, which aired in two parts over Tuesday and Wednesday. But the reaction from the twice-indicted ex-president’s fanbase was less enthusiastic.

John Bowden reports.

Fox News’s Bret Baier battles conspiracy theorists after Trump interview

Georgia poll workers attacked by Trump are cleared of false 2020 election fraud claims

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

workers falsely accused of participating in wild claims of election fraud by Donald Trump, have had their names officially cleared.

Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss had their lives turned upside down by conspiracy theorists beholden to the former president’s lies about vote counting at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now, the state’s election board has dismissed its yearslong investigation into the allegations, more than two years after Mr Trump falsely claimed that Ms Freeman and Ms Moss were part of a conspiracy to rob him of the 2020 election.

Continued...

Georgia poll workers attacked by Trump cleared of false 2020 election fraud claims

In case that echoes Trump’s, FBI analyst sentenced to four years over classified papers

Friday 23 June 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A former FBI analyst has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of illegally retaining classified documents in a case that bears similarities to the legal battle faced by former president Donald Trump.

Kendra Kingsbury, 50, worked as an analyst for the FBI for 12 years and held top secret security clearance when she was accused of taking classified documents out of the secure workspace and storing them in her Kansas City home.

Read on...

FBI analyst sentenced to four years over classified paper case that echoes Trump’s

Awkward: Fox host tells Trump his plan to execute drug offenders would include people he pardoned

Thursday 22 June 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“Huh?” Mr Trump said after a pause.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Trump stumbles when confronted by Fox host over demands to execute drug offenders

Kari Lake ‘couch-surfing like a bum’ at Mar-a-Lago, ex-Trump lawyer says

Thursday 22 June 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

As far-right congresswomen Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene turn on each other in DC, another feud within the MAGA-sphere has deepened, with former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis claiming failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is “couch-surfing” at Mar-a-Lago.

Graig Graziosi has the full story.

Kari Lake ‘couch-surfing like a bum’ at Mar-a-Lago, ex-Trump lawyer says

ICYMI: Attorneys spar in John Eastman case

Thursday 22 June 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A lawyer representing attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping former President Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election, spotlighted Wednesday legal debates surrounding the tallying electoral votes in a defense of Eastman’s advice to the former president that could get him disbarred.

Eastman, a former law school dean, is facing 11 disciplinary charges in the State Bar Court of California stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy aimed at having then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

Prosecutors have depicted Eastman as a rogue attorney and Trump enabler who fabricated a baseless theory and made false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the results of the election.

Read on...

Attorneys spar in case of ex-Trump adviser who devised strategy to keep former president in power

Why are Republican lawmakers accusing Joe Biden and Hunter Biden of bribery?

Thursday 22 June 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The increasing legal jeopardy facing former president Donald Trump, and news of the plea agreement between the Department of Justice and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, has led Republicans in Congress to make increasingly outlandish accusations against the 46th president and his family, even as evidence to support their claims continues to be lacking.

Andrew Feinberg explains what is going on.

Why are Republicans accusing Joe and Hunter Biden of bribery?

Voices: Kevin McCarthy has turned the House of Representatives into a circus to keep power

Thursday 22 June 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

But bringing [right-wing lawmakers] into the fold always had a cost and Mr McCarthy is now paying the price. With a potential Republican-created economic crisis off the table, Mr McCarthy now faces a House GOP conference that has turned into a full-blown circus, with the California Republican alternating between being a ringmaster orchestrating the spectacle and being stuck in the arena as a lion licks its chops.

Read more...

Kevin McCarthy has turned the House of Representatives into a circus to keep power

ICYMI: Boebert wanted to impeach Biden, but McCarthy had other plans

Thursday 22 June 2023 21:55 , Oliver O'Connell

A surprise effort by hard-right House Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden has been sidelined for now, but the ability of GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert to force the issue to a House vote demonstrates the ever-escalating challenge Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling his Republican majority.

The impeachment resolution, which charges Biden with “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, angered GOP colleagues who were caught off guard by the unscripted move. Even though it was not expected to pass Thursday, the vote would have been politically tough for GOP lawmakers and a potentially embarrassing spectacle for McCarthy, splitting his party.

Here’s what happened next:

GOP's Boebert wanted to impeach Biden, but House Speaker McCarthy had other plans

DeSantis hits back at Newsom with claims he watched people use fentanyl in San Francisco

Thursday 22 June 2023 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida governor and 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis continued his long-running rivalry with California governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, claiming on Fox News that Californians are fleeing the state for Florida.

Josh Marcus reports from San Francisco.

DeSantis hits back at Gavin Newsom on Fox and claims he watched fentanyl use in SF

‘Trump in heels’ loses election bid

Thursday 22 June 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A Virginia Republican who describes herself as “Trump in heels” has lost her latest election bid in the state.

Incumbent state Senator Amanda Chase was narrowly defeated by Glen Sturtevant in the GOP’s Virginia state Senate primary.

The race was called earlier this week for Mr Sturtevant, who previously served in the Virginia Senate until 2020, by The Associated Press. The race was required after redistricting in the state.

Graeme Massie reports.

Virginia Republican who describes herself as ‘Trump in heels’ loses election bid

Bret Baier hits back at conspiracy theorist over Trump interview and debate moderating role

Thursday 22 June 2023 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Fox News’s star journalists found himself battling his own viewers after an appearance by former President Donald Trump on his show that many independent observers said was damaging for the ex-president’s credibility.

Bret Baier won compliments from his colleagues in the media this week for the no-ground-given interview with the ex-president, which aired in two parts over Tuesday and Wednesday. But the reaction from the twice-indicted ex-president’s fanbase was less enthusiastic.

John Bowden reports.

Fox News’s Bret Baier battles conspiracy theorists after Trump interview

DeSantis dodges question on support for Trump in 2024 and bashes former president over Covid record attacks

Thursday 22 June 2023 20:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dodged a question as to whether he would support Donald Trump should he win the 2024 Republican nomination, instead addressing the former president’s attacks on him over his record during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The governor began by saying: “When you are saying that Cuomo did better on Covid than Florida did, you are revealing yourself to just be full of it. Nobody believes that.”

He continued: “And you know why? And you know why I know that? Because I remember in 2020 and 2021, when he was praising Florida for being open, saying we did it much better than New York and Michigan and everyone was coming to Florida and that we were one of the great governors in the United States. And he used to say that all the time.

“Now, all of a sudden, his tune is changing. And I would just tell people, do you find it credible? Do you honestly find it credible? Would you have rather been in New York during Covid under Cuomo regime, or would you rather have been in the free state of Florida?”

He concluded: “And I probably can count the number of Republicans on my hand in the nation who would have rather been under Cuomo in New York. And we know that. And so these are just frivolous criticisms.”

Mr DeSantis added that the former president was just “saying things that are false”.

Watch below:

New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back boxes

Thursday 22 June 2023 20:35 , Oliver O'Connell

The group Republican Accountability has released a new advertisement slamming former president Donald Trump’s excuse that he was too “busy” to return boxes of classified documents to the US government.

Mr Trump has claimed, first in a rally at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey last week and then again during a Fox News interview earlier this week, that he failed to return the documents because they were mixed up with his personal belongings and he hadn’t had a chance to go through them yet when the federal government called.

Abe Asher has the story.

New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back classified documents

Trump attacks DeSantis as ‘Lockdown Ron’

Thursday 22 June 2023 20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is attacking Ron DeSantis over his record as governor during the Covid-19 pandemic, characterising him as “Lockdown Ron” and a “BIG LOCKDOWN MAN” early on.

Here’s his latest video:

Nancy Mace as Donald Trump’s new running mate? Here’s what we know...

Thursday 22 June 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace, who once said that Donald Trump’s “entire legacy was wiped out” by the Capitol riot (prompting him to back her primary opponent Katie Arrington last year out of spite) improbably finds herself being touted as the former president’s next running mate after reinventing herself as his arch-defender.

Joe Sommerlad reports for The Independent.

Could Nancy Mace be Donald Trump’s unlikely next running mate?

Georgia poll workers attacked by Trump are cleared of false 2020 election fraud claims

Thursday 22 June 2023 19:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Almost three years after the 2020 election, the mother and daughter poll workers falsely accused of participating in wild claims of election fraud by Donald Trump, have had their names officially cleared.

Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss had their lives turned upside down by conspiracy theorists beholden to the former president’s lies about vote counting at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now, the state’s election board has dismissed its yearslong investigation into the allegations, more than two years after Mr Trump falsely claimed that Ms Freeman and Ms Moss were part of a conspiracy to rob him of the 2020 election.

Read more...

Georgia poll workers attacked by Trump cleared of false 2020 election fraud claims

Trump’s special counsel looked as comfortable as ‘a monk in a strip club’ in front of committee, says Fox News guest

Thursday 22 June 2023 19:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump’s special counsel John Durham was described by a Fox News analyst as looking “about as comfortable as a Benedictine monk in a strip club” while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Read more...

Fox guest: Trump special counsel looked like ‘a monk in a strip club’

E Jean Carroll attorneys say Trump is wrong about $5m sex abuse-defamation jury award

Thursday 22 June 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump’s claim that a jury sided with him when it agreed he didn’t rape an advice columnist in a luxury Manhattan department store in the 1990s was an erroneous interpretation of the jury’s $5m award and its finding that he sexually abused her, her lawyers said Thursday.

The lawyers urged a federal judge to reject a request by Trump’s attorneys that he lower the amount for sexual abuse and defamation awarded to the writer, E Jean Carroll, to less than $1m or let another jury hear evidence about damages and make its own determination.

In doing so, the attorneys said Trump’s lawyers had unjustly tried to mischaracterize the May verdict, which resulted from a two-week trial. Trump did not attend the trial, though extensive excerpts of his recorded October deposition were shown to jurors.

AP

Watch: New ad ridicules Trump’s ‘too busy’ excuse about Mar-a-Lago boxes

Thursday 22 June 2023 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Mar-a-Lago papers prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews, documents show

Thursday 22 June 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors have given former president Donald Trump’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews of him since the end of his presidency.

Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process, in which the government reveals what evidence it intends to use against a criminal defendant at trial.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews, documents show

Trump pleads for help from GOP lawmakers

Thursday 22 June 2023 18:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump called on Congress to investigate the multiple investigations into him on the local, state and federal level in a series of posts on Truth Social.

Mr Trump made the early morning posts the day after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Eric Garcia has the full story.

Trump calls on Congress to help him wriggle out of federal charges

Lauren Boebert hits back at Marjorie Taylor Greene after being called ‘a little b****’

Thursday 22 June 2023 18:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly tore into her fellow conservative Lauren Boebert on the House floor on Wednesday, calling the Colorado rep a “little b****” and accusing her of copying articles of impeachment against Joe Biden.

Ms Boebert quickly pushed back, telling CNN, “I’m not in middle school”.

Josh Marcus reports.

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert a ‘little b****’ on House floor: report

Voices: The unsavory truth behind the Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert drama

Thursday 22 June 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Skylar Baker-Johnson writes:

Watching Marjorie Taylor Greene call her fellow far-right Republican Congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, a “little b****” presumably felt how other gay men feel when watching a Real Housewives episode. I can only assume because I do not watch reality TV. I don’t need to. I write about politics for a living — it’s basically the same thing.

Yet, in true soap opera fashion, they let a man come between them – Kevin McCarthy.

Read more...

The unsavory truth behind the Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert drama

Wall Street Journal defends Alito op-ed, blasting ProPublica

Thursday 22 June 2023 17:55 , Oliver O'Connell

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has defended the newspaper’s decision to publish a defensive column from US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who dismissed allegations of wrongdoing detailed in an investigative news outlet before it had even published its story.

The conservative justice – who authored the court’s landmark opinion overturning Roe v Wade one year ago – failed to disclose private jet travel and a luxury fishing trip with a hedge fund billionaire who would later repeatedly ask the nation’s highest court to intervene on his behalf, according to ProPublica’s findings published on 21 June.

ProPublica, which has published several investigative pieces outlining alleged ethical lapses among members of the court, had yet to publish its report before The Wall Street Journal ran his column with the blunt and accusatory headline “ProPublica Misleads Its Readers”.

Alex Woodward has the full story.

WSJ defends Alito op-ed, blasting ProPublica’s report as ‘political assault’

Nancy Mace tipped as Trump’s next running mate

Thursday 22 June 2023 17:35 , Joe Sommerlad

South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace, who was once snubbed by Donald Trump in favour of her primary opponent Katie Arrington and who commented that his political legacy had been “wiped out” by the Capitol riot, appears to have reinvented herself as one of the former president’s most ardent supporters and is now being tipped by Trumpworld insiders as his next running mate, according to Insider.

Speaking to Politico recently, she declared: “We can’t afford four more years of Joe Biden. I’m willing to bury the hatchet to save the country, and I know President Trump is too.”

She has since come out swinging in support of Mr Trump after his indictment on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents, of which the clip below is a fairly typical example.

On Wednesday, Ms Mace ducked a question from CNN’s Poppy Harlow on whether she would continue to support Mr Trump as the Republican nominee if he were to be convicted over the documents case.

“That’s a lo- that’s a loaded question this early in the morning… I haven’t had my coffee yet today,” she sidestepped, adding when pushed:” That’s not a reality yet! That’s not a reality today. And I’m willing to entertain it today. But thank you.”

“The fact that Nancy has been a constant and consistent presence in defence of President Trump has not gone unnoticed,” Trump advisor Chris LaCivita told Politico.

Uh huh.

Could Nancy Mace be Trump’s running mate? (Getty/EPA)
Could Nancy Mace be Trump’s running mate? (Getty/EPA)

Santos reveals names of two $500,000 bond cosigners

Thursday 22 June 2023 17:21 , Oliver O'Connell

The names of two people who worked together to pay bond for embattled Congressman George Santos have been released, minutes ahead of a judge’s order.

John Bowden has the details.

Santos reveals names of two $500,000 bond cosigners ahead of court-ordered release

DeSantis picks up backing from 15 South Carolina lawmakers

Thursday 22 June 2023 17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is rolling out endorsements from 15 South Carolina lawmakers, hoping their support for his Republican presidential campaign will help him make his case to voters in the first-in-the-South primary state.

The endorsements, shared first on Thursday with The Associated Press ahead of DeSantis’ town hall in North Augusta, come from 11 state House members and four state senators from across the state, with a heavy concentration in South Carolina’s conservative Upstate. It’s a show of force for DeSantis in a state that current Republican front-runner Donald Trump won handily in the 2016 primary and where he has maintained popularity.

Read more...

Florida Gov. DeSantis picks up backing from 15 South Carolina lawmakers as he makes campaign swing

Attorneys spar in case of John Eastman who devised strategy to keep former president in power

Thursday 22 June 2023 16:55 , Oliver O'Connell

A lawyer representing attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping former President Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election, spotlighted Wednesday legal debates surrounding the tallying electoral votes in a defense of Eastman’s advice to the former president that could get him disbarred.

Eastman, a former law school dean, is facing 11 disciplinary charges in the State Bar Court of California stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy aimed at having then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

Prosecutors have depicted Eastman as a rogue attorney and Trump enabler who fabricated a baseless theory and made false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the results of the election.

Read more...

Attorneys spar in case of ex-Trump adviser who devised strategy to keep former president in power

Don Jr baselessly suggests conspiracy in ‘sketchy’ Titanic sub rescue mission

Thursday 22 June 2023 16:35 , Oliver O'Connell

As a search for five tourists believed to be stranded at the bottom of the ocean continued into Thursday, the son of former President Donald Trump is weighing in about the situation.

Mr Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., commented on Truth Social that the entire situation was “insane and sketchy” and baselessly predicted that “external factors” that had not yet been publicly disclosed were contributing to the inability of rescue teams to find the craft.

John Bowden reports.

Donald Trump Jr suggests conspiracy in ‘sketchy’ Titanic sub rescue mission

Thursday 22 June 2023 16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Full story: Trump calls on Congress to help him wriggle out of federal charges

Thursday 22 June 2023 16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump called on Congress to investigate the multiple investigations into him on the local, state and federal level in a series of posts on Truth Social.

Mr Trump made the early morning posts the day after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Eric Garcia has the details.

Trump calls on Congress to help him wriggle out of federal charges

Thursday 22 June 2023 16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews, documents show

Thursday 22 June 2023 15:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors have given former president Donald Trump’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews of him since the end of his presidency.

Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process, in which the government reveals what evidence it intends to use against a criminal defendant at trial.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest from Washington, DC.

Prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews, documents show

Voices: Hunter Biden’s case throws a wrench in Republican rhetoric about ‘two-tiered’ justice

Thursday 22 June 2023 15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s Eric Garcia’s take on the latest involving the president’s son, whose intention to plead guilty on tax charges blows a huge hole in the GOP’s current insistence that a “weaponised” justice system is being used to pursue their beloved Donald Trump and no one else.

Hunter Biden’s case throws a wrench in Republican rhetoric about ‘two-tiered’ justice

Trump spends morning on Truth Social tour of allegations against him and pleads with congress for help

Thursday 22 June 2023 15:14 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a grey, drizzling morning at Bedminster, so former president Donald Trump takes a moment to give his reasons why all of the investigations and charges against him are false and why he is the victim of political persecution.

Donald Trump. Not happy. (Getty)
Donald Trump. Not happy. (Getty)

He begins:

The Radical Left Investigations of me now, Federal, State, and City, are a SCAM and continuation, tightly coordinated with each jurisdiction and run by the now fully exposed as being corrupt and shameless, DOJ & FBI. The Boxes Hoax, where I come under the NON CRIMINAL Presidential Records Act and have done NOTHING WRONG, has exposed Biden, who is not protected by the PRA because he was not President. He has literally thousands of Boxes, numerous in Chinatown, & containing really bad “STUFF!”

Just days ago Mr Trump effectively admitted to obstruction of justice during an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News. Nevertheless, he continues:

Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes, where I have no doubt that information is being secretly “planted” by the scoundrels in charge, the Perfect Phone Calls (Atlanta), the illegal DOJ/Pomerantz/Manhattan D.A. Hoax, where virtually EVERYONE agrees THERE IS NO CASE, and the NYSAG SCAM, where I have proven beyond a doubt that there is no case, but have a hostile Judge who should not be on this case!

The former president now appears to believe the FBI secretly “planted” information in his “perfectly legal boxes”, or at least is pretending to as part of his shifting defence of the charges against him. Also, “scoundrels” is not a word he uses often. What next? “Rapscallions”?

My New York State A.G. Case (she ran on “I will get Trump”), which should never have been brought except for ELECTION INTERFERENCE, should rightfully be in the Commercial Division, in front of another Judge, rather than the Trump HATER that refuses to let go of it because he wants to do a number on “TRUMP.” It is all part of the same Witch Hunt, run out of D.C. by the DOJ, just as they ran the now fully debunked & discredited CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fiasco. Mark Pomerantz “played” in this one also!

He concludes this particular spate of posts with a plea for congressional Republicans to help him. Here it is in its all-caps glory:

CONGRESS, PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE POLITICAL WITCH HUNTS AGAINST ME CURRENTLY BEING BROUGHT BY THE CORRUPT DOJ AND FBI, WHO ARE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL. THIS CONTINUING SAGA IS RETRIBUTION AGAINST ME FOR WINNING AND, EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY TO THEM, ELECTION INTERFERENCE REGARDING THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IT WILL BE THERE UPDATED FORM OF RIGGING OUR MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION. LOOK AT THE POLLS - THEY CAN’T BEAT ME (MAGA!) AT THE BALLOT BOX, THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN IS TO CHEAT. STOP THEM NOW!

Former Texas lawmaker latest to join GOP primary race

Thursday 22 June 2023 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Texas Representative Will Hurd has launched a long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

The ex-CIA officer was strongly critical of then-President Donald Trump while serving in the US House before leaving at the end of his final term in January 2021.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Will Hurd launches long-shot bid for White House

Hunter Biden plea agreement in tax, gun case set for July court date

Thursday 22 June 2023 14:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The president’s son will go before a judge next month to formally strike a plea agreement with prosecutors on tax and gun charges that will likely spare him time behind bars, according to court documents posted on Wednesday.

US district judge Maryellen Noreika must still approve the plea agreement that was reached following a lengthy federal investigation. It calls for the younger Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanour counts of failing to pay taxes. He also must commit to court-imposed conditions that will spare him full prosecution on a felony gun charge.

The hearing is scheduled for 26 July as a combined initial appearance and plea agreement.

Here’s more.

Hunter Biden plea agreement in tax, gun case set for July court date

Trump defence team receives first batch of evidence from prosecutors in classified documents case

Thursday 22 June 2023 14:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Special counsel Jack Smith has begun producing evidence in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case to defendant Donald Trump, CNN reports citing a Wednesday evening court filing.

The filing appears to hint that investigators collected multiple recordings of the former president for the case, and not just the interview the former president gave at Bedminster for Mark Meadows’s memoir.

Prosecutors in the filing used the plural “interviews” to describe recordings of Mr Trump which were conducted by investigators with the former president’s consent. They have now been turned over to his defence team.

Other than the Bedminster tap where Trump speaks about a secret military document it is not known what the significance of the other recordings might be in terms of their content.

This latest update to the court indicates that the Justice Department still intends to move swiftly toward a trial.

The first batch of evidence “includes the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government at the trial of this case,” the special counsel’s office wrote.

It also includes materials collected via subpoenas and search warrants; memos detailing other witness interviews given through mid-May in the investigation; and copies of the surveillance footage investigators obtained in the probe.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges against him and Judge Aileen Cannon has set a trial date for 14 August in Florida.

Capitol rioter who shocked officer with stun gun shouts ‘Trump won!’ at sentencing

Thursday 22 June 2023 14:15 , Joe Sommerlad

A California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the US Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.

Daniel “DJ” Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of the courtroom where US district judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months behind bars for his role in the 6 January 2021 attack.

Only two other Jan 6 defendants have received longer prison terms so far after hundreds of sentencings for Capitol riot cases.

The judge said Rodriguez, 40, was “a one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property” at the Capitol.

“You showed up in D spoiling for a fight,” Judge Jackson said. “You can’t blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.”

Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone’s body camera captured him screaming out in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun while he was surrounded by a mob.

Here’s more.

Capitol rioter filmed shocking officer with stun gun shouts ‘Trump won!’

AOC and Squad boycotting Indian PM Narendra Modi’s address to Congress

Thursday 22 June 2023 13:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is joining her fellow progressives in the “Squad” and planning to boycott Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday.

“I encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance, and freedom of the press to join me in doing the same,” the New York Democrat wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, arguing Congress shouldn’t extend such an honour to “individuals with deeply troubling human rights records – particularly for individuals whom our own State Department has concluded are engaged in systematic human rights abuses of religious minorities and caste-oppressed minorities”.

The progressive legislator was referring to the nationalist, Hindu-centric agenda of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been accused of discriminating against India’s sizeable Muslim minority.

Mr Modi was accused of being complicit in sectarian violence in which over 1,000 Muslims were killed in 2002 while he was chief minister of Gujarat. Mr Modi allegedly stood by as Hindu mobs terrorised the state’s Muslim population in retaliatory violence after a group of Hindu pilgrims were killed but was later cleared by a team appointed by the Indian Supreme Court.

Josh Marcus has more.

AOC and Squad boycotting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s address to Congress

Ron DeSantis hits out at Gavin Newsom on Fox News

Thursday 22 June 2023 13:15 , Joe Sommerlad

“For decades in this country, people have beaten a path to California. It’s a beautiful state, great topography, all kinds of diversity in terms of the different communities you can live in, and yet they never lost population until their current governor took office...”

Meaow! That’s Florida governor Ron DeSantis hitting out at his California counterpart Gavin Newsom in surprisingly catty fashion.

Josh Marcus has more.

DeSantis hits back at Gavin Newsom on Fox and claims he watched fentanyl use in SF

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Boebert a ‘little b****’ in House of Representatives

Thursday 22 June 2023 12:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Speaking of Ms Boebert, she was seen being accosted by Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on the House floor during Wednesday’s proceedings, with the latter, normally understood to be an ally, apparently calling the Colorado representative a “little b****” and accusing her of copying her own articles of impeachment against President Biden.

C-SPAN cameras captured the two MAGA Republicans having what appeared to be a heated conversation after Ms Boebert laid the groundwork to force a procedural vote on her impeachment articles in the coming days.

Josh Marcus has more.

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert a ‘little b****’ on House floor: report

Lauren Boebert wanted to impeach Joe Biden but Kevin McCarthy had other plans

Thursday 22 June 2023 12:15 , Joe Sommerlad

A surprise effort by hard-right House Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden has been sidelined for now, but the ability of the likes of Lauren Boebert to force the issue to a House vote demonstrates the ever-escalating challenge House speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling his Republican majority.

Here’s more on yesterday’s political theatre from Washington.

GOP's Boebert wanted to impeach Biden, but House Speaker McCarthy had other plans

John Durham branded ‘partisan hack’ in grilling by Congress over Russia probe

Thursday 22 June 2023 11:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The special counsel who investigated the FBI’s probe of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign found himself at the center of a heated political fight as he appeared before a congressional committee on Wednesday, with Democrats denouncing his inquiry and Republicans arguing that its findings helped prove an anti-Trump bias within law enforcement.

John Durham, the Justice Department special counsel who recently completed his report, testified before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing that unfolded against the backdrop of a 37-count indictment of Mr Trump on charges he illegally retained classified documents.

Despite roughly six hours of testimony, the hearing broke little new ground. Under questioning from Republicans, he repeated many of the strongest findings of condemnation in his report and also faced criticism from Democrats over a four-year investigation that produced just one conviction and fell short of Trump’s claims that it would expose “the crime of the century”.

John Durham (AP)
John Durham (AP)

While California representative Ted Lieu dismissed Mr Durham as “a partisan hack”, GOP Trump loyalists like Jim Jordan claimed that reading him the report had given him the jitters.

“They’re never going to stop. Seven years of attacking Trump is scary enough, but what’s more frightening, any one of us could be next,” he complained hysterically.

Here’s an overview of what Mr Durham’s 306-page dossier contained for those asleep at the back.

What did the Durham probe uncover?

Nancy Mace tipped as Trump’s next running mate

Thursday 22 June 2023 11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace, who was once snubbed by Donald Trump in favour of her primary opponent Katie Arrington and who commented that his political legacy had been “wiped out” by the Capitol riot, appears to have reinvented herself as one of the former president’s most ardent supporters and is now being tipped by Trumpworld insiders as his next running mate, according to Insider.

Speaking to Politico recently, she declared: “We can’t afford four more years of Joe Biden. I’m willing to bury the hatchet to save the country, and I know President Trump is too.”

She has since come out swinging in support of Mr Trump after his indictment on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents, of which the clip below is a fairly typical example.

On Wednesday, Ms Mace ducked a question from CNN’s Poppy Harlow on whether she would continue to support Mr Trump as the Republican nominee if he were to be convicted over the documents case.

“That’s a lo- that’s a loaded question this early in the morning… I haven’t had my coffee yet today,” she sidestepped, adding when pushed:” That’s not a reality yet! That’s not a reality today. And I’m willing to entertain it today. But thank you.”

“The fact that Nancy has been a constant and consistent presence in defence of President Trump has not gone unnoticed,” Trump advisor Chris LaCivita told Politico.

Uh huh.

Nancy Mace (Getty/EPA)
Nancy Mace (Getty/EPA)

What happens when your expert witness is barred for not being an expert? John Eastman found out

Thursday 22 June 2023 10:45 , Oliver O’Connell

A judge in California barred an expert witness from testifying in the disbarment trial of John Eastman, the former attorney for former president Donald Trump, since the witness was not an expert, The Daily Beast reported.

Mr Eastman is facing a potential disbarment for his involvement in a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. He attempted to call a man named Joseph Fried, an accountant who wrote an eBook that questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election results, as a witness.

But California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland vetoed the attempt.

Eric Garcia reports.

John Eastman’s expert witness in disbarment hearing is barred for not being an expert

Trump drops below 50 per cent among Republican voters in new poll

Thursday 22 June 2023 10:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump’s grasp over the GOP primary base appears to be slipping after the news of his second criminal indictment broke this month.

But a new CNN poll shows that even an active prosecution for alleged criminal retention of classified materials hasn’t undone Mr Trump’s lead over his rivals just yet.

John Bowden reports.

Trump drops below 50 per cent among GOP in new CNN poll following second indictment

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