Trump’s bizarre 2020 Oval Office meeting ‘focus of questioning’ for special counsel – live updates
Special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election is honing in on a bizarre Oval Office meeting which took place during the last days of his administration, according to a report.
CNN reported that investigators have questioned multiple witnesses about the December 2020 meeting which included former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.
While the months-long investigation appears to be heating up, Mr Trump’s co-defendant in his federal criminal case appeared in court on Thursday. Longtime aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges of assisting Mr Trump in concealing classified documents from the government.
This came nearly a month after Mr Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment accusing him of unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice.
Meanwhile, an unredacted affidavit revealed that surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago allegedly shows dozens of boxes were moved in the days before investigators from the Department of Justice visited to retrieve records.
Mr Trump campaigned in Iowa on Friday and will head to Nevada to rally with potential primary voters on Saturday.
Key Points
First GOP debate next month faces threats of boycott as lower-polling candidates scramble to qualify
Trump visits Dairy Queen in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Trump speaks in Iowa: ‘We must redouble our efforts to ensure anyone who comes to America shares our values'
Federal prosecutors seek year in prison for Trump supporter willing to die during insurrection
Trump’s ex-press secretary says there’s ‘no way’ White House cocaine is Hunter Biden’s
Comment: What bringing Trump back would mean for Ukraine – and conflict in the rest of the world
22:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Mary Dejevsky writes:
Joe Biden’s visit to the UK this weekend, when he will meet the prime minister and the king, could serve as a welcome reminder about where political power – and responsibility – currently resides on both sides of the Atlantic.
I say this, because some of the recent running on arguably the most urgent international issue of the day has been made by someone who has no power whatever, but eyes a return. Step forward (as if he needed any invitation to do so) Donald Trump, who spoke at some length this week about wanting a peaceful outcome in Ukraine, even if this entailed territorial concessions on the part of Kyiv.
Read on...
What bringing Trump back would mean for Ukraine – and the rest of us | Mary Dejevsky
Full story: Iowa GOP sets date for 2024 caucus
21:30 , Oliver O'Connell
The official kick-off date for the 2024 presidential nominee selection season has been chosen by the state party.
Iowa Republican Party sets date for 2024 caucus
Who’s ahead nationally in the GOP primary polls?
21:17 , Oliver O'Connell
According to the latest aggregated data from FiveThirtyEight.com the current average polling nationally in the Republican Party primary is as follows:
Trump: 52%
DeSantis: 23.3%
Pence: 6.5%
Ramaswamy: 3.9%
Haley: 3.9%
Scott: 3.7%
Christie: 2.6%
Hutchinson: 1.3%
Burgum: 0.2%
Suarez: 0%
Newsom urges DoJ to investigate Florida over ‘unconscionable’ transportation of migrants
21:00 , Oliver O'Connell
California Gov Gavin Newsom has called on the Department of Justice to investigate Florida’s transportation of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year.
Mr Newsom, a Democrat and regular antagonist of Gov Ron DeSantis (R-FL), sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the DOJ to investigate the transportation of migrants that Mr DeSantis touted ahead of his re-election campaign.
Eric Garcia reports.
Newsom urges DoJ to investigate ‘unconscionable’ transportation of migrants
Caitlyn Jenner slams homophobic DeSantis ad
20:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Desantis is tanking and @FoxNews let me on A WEEK after this weird video release to give my response. Who in the hell thinks DJT is THE “pioneer for radical genders ideology”, like Desantis says?! That’s insane! The ad is insane! The campaign is a disaster! pic.twitter.com/MxsBNls50d
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) July 7, 2023
Trump vows to keep ‘communists and markers’ out of the US
20:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump fumbled his words while speaking at his largest campaign event in Iowa on Friday.
The former president appeared in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state that hosts the first caucus in approximately just over five months.
Speaking about immigration, Mr Trump was relaying a campaign promise to deny entry to leftist ideologues when he accidentally referred to them as “communists and markers” rather than Marxists.
Read more:
Trump vows to keep ‘communists and markers’ out of the US in latest gaffe
Biden heads to Europe with a king and a war on his agenda
20:10 , Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend four days in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The first stop is London, where Biden will meet with King Charles III for the first time since his ascension to the throne. After that is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.
The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.
His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would “showcase the president’s leadership on the world stage.”
A look at Biden’s agenda and the issues he will face:
Biden is heading to Europe. A king and a war are on his agenda
Trump hits out DeSantis fundraising and teases about debate participation
19:50 , Oliver O'Connell
Three more post-lunch Truth Social missals from Donald Trump on the 2024 campaign trail today, both attacking Ron DeSantis.
In the first, the former president claims DeSantis’s donors have fled “do [sic] to his terrible, and still falling, poll numbers”.
Ron DeSanctimonious is desperately trying to get out of the Presidential race, while at the same time saving face for 2028, where he has been greatly damaged. Jeff Roe, Ron’s boss despite having a terrible record of winning, is spending money like a wild man gone bad. Much of the money being used was raised for his Gubernatorial race, and transferred over (illegally?) because his Presidential donors have largely fled do to his terrible, and still falling, poll numbers. Ron is just wasting time!
In the second, he says that DeSantis’s top political strategist believes the Florida governor should drop out of the race and then teases that he may — or may not — take part in the Republican Party primary debates.
Steve Cortes, the Ron DeSanctimonious top political strategist, thinks that Ron should get out NOW, while the getting is still good. He also said (thank you Steve!) that Donald J. Trump is the best Presidential debater ever, and can’t be beaten at the debate game. Well, based on that, maybe I should enter the debates - But, then again, when you have a 40 to 50 point lead over the field, maybe I shouldn’t???
He adds that he would rather go head-to-head with Mr DeSantis.
Despite Fake News protestations to the contrary, I do better one on one against Ron DeSanctimonious than I do with a field of candidates, large or small. Personally, I don’t think it matters. MAGA!!!
Trump feels need to point out that obvious cardboard cutout of him is cardboard cutout
19:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday afternoon to make it clear that a photo circulating of January 6 defendant Taylor Taranto standing with a cardboard cutout of the former president was indeed a cardboard cutout and not actually him.
He wrote:
This picture is a “cardboard cutout” of me put out by the Fake News Media and probably supplied to them by Deranged Jack Smith and the Department of Injustice for purposes of Election Interference. Weaponization of “Justice” is the new way that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics will CHEAT in the 2024 Presidential Election. WE WILL STOP THEM!!!
Mr Trump linked to a Gateway Pundit article that features the photo prominently at the top. It appears to come from one of Mr Taranto’s social media accounts and is clearly him at an event, holding a glass of red wine and standing with a cardboard cutout of the former president.
Here’s some of our recent coverage of Mr Taranto and how Mr Trump and former President Barack Obama fit into the bizarre case that stretches well beyond the January 6 Capitol riot.
Man arrested near Obama home threatened other prominent lawmakers, officials say
Christie says Trump took secret documents so he could keep pretending he was president
19:00 , Oliver O'Connell
While Mr Trump’s former secretary of defence Mark Esper said he thought the former president may have kept the documents to further his own financial well-being in some way, Mr Christie had his own theory to put forward...
Chris Christie says Trump took documents so he could keep pretending he was president
Iowa GOP sets date for 2024 caucus
18:26 , Oliver O'Connell
Iowa Republicans have voted to hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses on 15 January 2024.
This is the earliest start to the presidential nominating process since 2012, when caucusgoers gathered on 3 January.
The State Central Committee of the Iowa GOP met today and voted unanimously for the date.
Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann issued the following statement in response: “The Republican Party of Iowa is proud to announce that we will officially hold our 2024 First-in-the-Nation Caucus on January 15, 2024.
“After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats’ plans to derail the Iowa Caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honour our half-century-old promises to the other carve-out states.
“We remain committed to maintaining Iowa’s cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024.”
Raskin says he's not running for open US Senate seat
18:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Maryland Rep Jamie Raskin, a congressman from the suburbs of the nation’s capital, announced Friday he will not run for the US Senate seat that is opening with the retirement of Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee who is in his fourth term, had been weighing a run for the rarely open Senate seat but said in a statement on Friday evening that he would instead seek reelection in the House.
Raskin announced in April that he had completed chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a 90 per cent prognosis of no relapse and that his cancer was in remission. It was the second time Raskin had been diagnosed with cancer. He previously battled colorectal cancer in 2010.
Raskin, 60, played a leading role in recent years as House Democrats twice impeached then-President Donald Trump and investigated Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection. He was the lead impeachment manager when the House impeached Trump one week after the attack.
So far, Rep David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks have announced candidacies for the Democratic primary for the Senate seat. Montgomery County council member Will Jawando also is running.
‘What the hell is a Blizzard?’
17:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Remember the controversy when Trump and Sarah Palin ate New York pizza slices with knives and forks?
Same vibe right here:
Trump inadvertently reveals he’s never been to a Dairy Queen in viral video
17:23 , Oliver O'Connell
A source passes along a photo of one of the hats at the Iowa farmers for trump event, which has a label saying it was made in Bangladesh. A spox hasn’t responded about it yet. pic.twitter.com/3cR2XOqm7P
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 7, 2023
Judge rules Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent
17:00 , Oliver O'Connell
A District of Columbia federal judge on Thursday said former president Donald Trump can be made to give evidence in a deposition as part of a lawsuit against the Department of Justice by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok.
Andrew Feinberg has the details.
Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent, judge says
Trump underlines size and seriousness of allegations against him
16:40 , Oliver O'Connell
In complaining about the $9m cost of the investigations into his actions relating to the 2020 election and his hoarding of classified documents, former president Donald Trump managed to score something of an own-goal by comparing them to the probe into the discovery of a small number of classified papers in the possession of Joe Biden.
If Special Counsel Jack Smith has racked up costs of $9m it is simply because of the sprawling nature of the investigation, across multiple states, and that it is two-pronged (the documents and the alleged 2020 election interference).
One of Trump’s latest posts highlights how serious allegations are against him, versus the limited nature of the Biden probe:
Deranged Jack Smith, the wacko prosecutor that Corrupt Joe Biden and his Thugs stuck on me during the political campaign in which Biden is losing “BIG” (an absolute No, No!), just announced that he has spent over 9 million dollars, already, on this continuing Witch Hunt. Biden’s Special Prosecutor, by comparison, has spent almost nothing. Prosecutorial Misconduct for purposes of Election Interference!
It may not be the point he was trying to make, but it’s the most self-evident conclusion from the figures released by the Justice Department.
16:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Smith has also been digging into efforts by Trump and his allies to undo President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Since Smith’s appointment, he has cast a broad net in demanding interviews and testimony related to fundraising, Trump’s rally that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and communications between Trump associates and election officials in battleground states.
In December, Smith subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies who were involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election.
The Justice Department also released details on Friday about spending on the investigation led by former Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur into the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware and at an office in Washington. Hur’s team spent about $600,000 and another $570,000 was spent in Justice Department support expenses in the first roughly two months of that probe.
In comparison, Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to tilt the outcome of the election in his favor cost roughly $32 million, according to Justice Department documents. The Mueller investigation resulted in roughly three dozen criminal charges, including convictions of a half-dozen Trump associates.
Meanwhile, Special Counsel John Durham’s recently concluded four-year investigation into possible government mistakes and misconduct in the probe into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign cost more than $9 million. Durham’s report, released in May, said that the FBI rushed into its Russia investigation and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence. Durham’s investigation led to prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only two criminal cases they took to trial.
AP
Jack Smith’s investigations involving Trump have cost more than $9m
16:10 , Oliver O'Connell
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of former President Donald Trump’s retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election have cost more than $9 million over the first several months, according to documents released Friday.
The special counsel’s office spent more than $5.4 million on things like employees’ salaries, travel and transportation, rent, supplies and materials from Smith’s appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 through the end of March, Justice Department statement of expenditures show.
Justice Department agencies spent another $3.8 million to support the special counsel. Those expenses include the cost of the protective details for the special counsel’s office as well as hours worked by agents and analysts on the probes.
Trump was indicted last month on 37 felony counts alleging he illegally kept classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and refused government demands to give them back. Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside the former president — have both pleaded not guilty.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and slammed the prosecution as an attempt to hurt his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024.
AP
DeSantis confronted with lagging poll numbers on Fox News
15:50 , Oliver O'Connell
A host at the usually Ron DeSantis-friendly Fox News asked the Florida governor about his low poll numbers as former President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican primary polls.
Mr DeSantis is currently the runner-up in the GOP polling, but he’s behind Mr Trump by a substantial margin with recent polls showing Trump leading by 27 percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Watch the clip here:
Fox News host doesn’t hold back on Ron DeSantis’ poll numbers
Trump slams DeSantis, declaring himself ‘most pro-farmer president’ ever
15:46 , Oliver O'Connell
Campaigning in Iowa, former President Donald Trump attacked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an enemy of corn-based ethanol in his largest campaign event in the leadoff caucus state in nearly four months.
Trump, appearing Friday in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state, criticized his top 2024 Republican presidential rival for voting as a member of Congress to oppose the federal mandate for the fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing.
Trump declared himself “the most pro-farmer president that you’ve ever had” at the event, which was aimed at promoting his administration’s agricultural record and touting his oversight of clawbacks of regulations on farmers. “I fought for Iowa ethanol like no president in history,” he said.
On a rainy Friday, Trump spoke to more than 1,000 Iowans and Nebraskans packed into the event hall inside Mid-America Center, with hundreds more huddled under umbrellas in line outside the arena.
As a congressman from Florida, DeSantis co-sponsored a bill in 2017 that would have immediately ended the renewable fuel standard, a position consistent with fiscal conservatives who see such mandates as government overreach.
“Iowa also needs to know that Ron DeSanctus totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally,” Trump said, intentionally mispronouncing his rival’s name as he routinely does. “He’s been fighting it for years. Don’t forget, as a congressman he was voting against it, and fighting for years to kill every single job.”
DeSantis’ campaign described the attack as a distortion. “As president, Governor Ron DeSantis will be a champion for farmers and use every tool available to open new markets,” campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said in an emailed statement
AP
Voices: The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene looks worse for them than it does for her
15:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
Ms Greene’s trash-talking members of the Freedom Caucus might have sealed her fate with the bomb-throwers – Mr Harris said her calling Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) a “little bitch” tickled many in and out of the Beltway. But the real divide is much deeper and shows how in the end, Ms Greene could be more effective at enacting a conservative agenda while the Freedom Caucus would prefer to simply complain and remain ideologically pure.
Read on...
The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene is worse for them than for her
What you need to know as the GOP gears up to investigate the Hunter Biden case
15:10 , Oliver O'Connell
The Republican chairmen of three key House committees are joining forces to probe the Justice Department’s handling of charges against Hunter Biden after making sweeping claims about misconduct at the agency.
Leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees opened a joint investigation into the federal case into President Joe Biden‘s youngest son days after it was announced last month that he will plead guilty to the misdemeanour tax offences as part of an agreement with the Justice Department.
Here’s what you need to know about the emerging investigation:
Top Republicans are gearing up to investigate the Hunter Biden case. Here's what to know.
Judge rules Don Jr can be subpoenaed in Trump Organization case
14:50 , Oliver O'Connell
A judge allowed for Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to introduce one of the former president’s sons as a witness in his case against the Trump Organization, according to his attorneys.
Mr Cohen’s team had asked to use testimony from Donald Trump Jr in his case, as he served as a Trump Organization executive vice president.
Kelly Rissman reports.
More bad news for Trump as judge rules his son can be subpoenaed in Cohen case
Watch: Trump tells crowd he will deny entry to all ‘markers'
14:21 , Oliver O'Connell
Except Sharpies?
Trump: I will also order our government to deny entry to all communists and markers. pic.twitter.com/ESaYG1SvRa
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 7, 2023
Ethics board recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred for ‘destructive’ attempts to undermine 2020 results
14:00 , Alex Woodward
A disciplinary committee in Washington DC has recommended Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in the nation’s capital for his spurious efforts to overturn the results for the 2020 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump.
Mr Giuliani had “no factual basis, and consequently no legitimate legal grounds” to challenge the results of the election in states that Mr Trump lost, while his “frivolous” pursuit to undermine the outcome and disenfranchise voters “seriously undermined the administration of justice,” according to the committee’s report.
Read more:
Disciplinary committee recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred
Chris Christie says Trump took secret documents so he could keep pretending he was president
13:00 , Independent Staff
Republican presdential hopeful Chris Christie took aim at his rival Donald Trump over the latter’s legal troubles - suggesting Mr Trump had held on to classfied documents because “he wants to pretend he’s still president”.
Mr Christie made the comments in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, in which a number of people who have had working relationships with Mr Trump weighed in on his legal issues.
The former president, who is running for a second term in the White House, has been indicted on 37 federal charges related to the mishandling of classified documents – some of which pertain to matters of national security. Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has previously described the case against him as “a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation”.
Read more:
Chris Christie says Trump took documents so he could keep pretending he was president
Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent, judge says
12:00 , Andrew Feinberg
A District of Columbia federal judge on Thursday said former president Donald Trump can be made to give evidence in a deposition as part of a lawsuit against the Department of Justice by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok.
Mr Strzok, who served as the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and supervised parts of the probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, filed a lawsuit against the department in August 2019, a year after he was fired from his position following what he described as “unrelenting pressure from President Trump and his political allies in Congress and the media” including “constant tweets and other disparaging statements by the President, as well as direct appeals from the President to then- Attorney General Jefferson Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray” to have him terminated.
While the government has said Mr Trump’s public statements had no bearing on the decision, Mr Strzok had sought to depose the ex-president as part of the discovery process.
Read more:
Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent, judge says
Trump goes to Iowa Dairy Queen
11:00 , Gustaf Kilander
President Trump at a Dairy Queen in Council Bluffs, IA handing out some frosty Blizzards! pic.twitter.com/8gu303tUQo
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) July 7, 2023
Trump reverts to rhetoric about ‘forgotten’ people, echoes ‘silent majority’ phrase popularized by Nixon
10:00 , Gustaf Kilander
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "The great silent majority is rising like never before, and under our leadership, the forgotten man and woman will be forgotten NO LONGER!" #MAGA pic.twitter.com/QumpWsQp5D
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 7, 2023
Trump claims he saved small businesses by cutting regulations
09:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Q: "What are you going to do for small businesses?"
Trump: “We cut regulations” pic.twitter.com/ch0minTR9S— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 7, 2023
First GOP debate next month faces threats of boycott as lower-polling candidates scramble to qualify
08:00 , Jill Colvin
Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
“If the outcome of all of these machinations is a very limited field and no Trump in the first debate, it’s hard to see how that can be successful,” Hutchinson said in an interview. Still, he said he was confident he will make it to the stage, even though he said he has only received contributions from “over” 5,000 donors.
“We’re not there yet. We’ve got a ways to go. And we fully intend to get there,” he said.
Read more:
First GOP debate next month faces threats of boycott as lower-polling candidates scramble to qualify
Trump speaks in Iowa: ‘We must redouble our efforts to ensure anyone who comes to America shares our values'
07:00 , Gustaf Kilander
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "As the horrific riots in France have proven, we must redouble our efforts to ensure anyone who comes to America shares our values and assimilates into our culture. We don't want people coming into our country that hate us." pic.twitter.com/ZTsRe6XFIZ
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) July 7, 2023
QAnon’s leader died in a dirt bike crash. Now his followers are pushing conspiracy that he’s still alive
06:00 , Rachel Sharp
QAnon’s conspiracy theories are both bizarre and baseless: from the claim that Democrats are running a sex-trafficking ring through a pizza parlour, to the theory that Donald Trump is leading the fight against a cabal of paedophiles, and the story that JFK is returning from the dead more than 50 years after his assassination.
Now, the cult’s latest wild conspiracy centres around the death of its own leader.
Michael Protzman, the 60-year-old QAnon leader, died on 30 June after suffering “multiple blunt force injuries” in a dirt bike accident.
Protzman, who was known to his followers as Negative 48, was driving a dirt bike at the Meadow Valley Motocross track in Millville, Minnesota, when he crashed.
Around a week later he died from his injuries at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the clinic confirmed to VICE News.
Read more:
QAnon leader dies – but followers push conspiracy theory he’s still alive
VOICES: What putting Trump back in the White House would mean for Ukraine – and conflict in the rest of the world
05:00 , Mary Dejevsky
Joe Biden’s visit to the UK this weekend, when he will meet the prime minister and the King, could serve as a welcome reminder about where political power – and responsibility – currently resides on both sides of the Atlantic.
I say this, because some of the recent running on arguably the most urgent international issue of the day has been made by someone who has no power whatever, but eyes a return. Step forward (as if he needed any invitation to do so) Donald Trump, who spoke at some length this week about wanting a peaceful outcome in Ukraine, even if this entailed territorial concessions on the part of Kyiv.
“I think the biggest thing that the U.S. should be doing right now is making peace,” he said, “getting Russia and Ukraine together and making peace. You can do it.” Suggesting that Russia’s President had been somewhat weakened by the mercenary-led mutiny last month, Trump said: “This is the time to do it, to get the two parties together to force peace.”
Read more:
What bringing Trump back would mean for Ukraine – and the rest of us | Mary Dejevsky
Lincoln Project blasts Trump’s promises: ‘Biden’s administration proves they are the antithesis of their predecessors’
04:15 , Gustaf Kilander
Biden’s administration proves they are the antithesis of their predecessors. Instead of hollow talk and tweets, they plan and execute and America is better for it. pic.twitter.com/S4YajQwB2e
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 7, 2023
AOC endorses Joe Biden ahead of 2024 election
03:30 , Eric Garcia
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the most outspoken progressives within the Democratic Party, announced her support for President Joe Biden’s re-election in 2024.
The self-described democratic socialist supported Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. But in an interview with Pod Save America, a podcast run by former speechwriters and aides to former president Barack Obama, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said she would support Mr Biden, given his competitors in the Democratic primary are vaccine conspiracy theorists Robert F Kennedy Jr and author Marianne Williamson.
Read more:
AOC endorses Joe Biden ahead of 2024 election
Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations involving Trump have cost more than $9 million
02:45 , AP
Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s investigations of President Donald Trump‘s retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election have cost more than $9 million over the first several months, according to documents released Friday.
The special counsel’s office spent more than $5.4 million on things like employees’ salaries, travel and transportation, rent, supplies and materials from Smith’s appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 through the end of March, Justice Department statement of expenditures show.
Justice Department agencies spent another $3.8 million to support the special counsel. Those expenses include the cost of the protective details for the special counsel’s office as well as hours worked by agents and analysts on the probes.
Read more:
Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations involving Trump have cost more than $9 million
VOICES: The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene looks worse for them than it does for her
02:00 , Eric Garcia
When friends of The Independent’s Inside Washington newsletter Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers over at Politico scooped that Rep Andy Harris (R-MD) said the hard-right House Freedom Caucus had booted out Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, my mind went back to the nascent days of this rambunctious group of conservatives.
Back in 2015, they had just claimed the scalp of House Speaker John Boehner and were making their demands known to Paul Ryan before they would vote to give him the gavel. But some Republicans weren’t impressed, including one House GOP chief of staff who said: “These guys would rather sit around Tortilla Coast eating their boogers than govern. No matter who comes up, they don’t care, it’s totally insane,” in reference to the Tex-Mex restaurant on Capitol Hill where the Freedom Caucus used to meet.
Ms Greene’s trash-talking members of the Freedom Caucus might have sealed her fate with the bomb-throwers – Mr Harris said her calling Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) a “little bitch” tickled many in and out of the Beltway. But the real divide is much deeper and shows how in the end, Ms Greene could be more effective at enacting a conservative agenda while the Freedom Caucus would prefer to simply complain and remain ideologically pure.
The Freedom Caucus has largely dined out on their bringing Mr Boehner to his knees. In addition, many of their founding members rose through the ranks to either join the Trump administration or become high-ranking Republicans in their own right.
Read more:
The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene is worse for them than for her
Ethics board recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred for ‘destructive’ attempts to undermine 2020 results
01:15 , Alex Woodward
A disciplinary committee in Washington DC has recommended Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in the nation’s capital for his spurious efforts to overturn the results for the 2020 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump.
Mr Giuliani had “no factual basis, and consequently no legitimate legal grounds” to challenge the results of the election in states that Mr Trump lost, while his “frivolous” pursuit to undermine the outcome and disenfranchise voters “seriously undermined the administration of justice,” according to the committee’s report.
Read more:
Disciplinary committee recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred
Chris Christie says Trump took secret documents so he could keep pretending he was president
Saturday 8 July 2023 00:45 , Independent Staff
Republican presdential hopeful Chris Christie took aim at his rival Donald Trump over the latter’s legal troubles - suggesting Mr Trump had held on to classfied documents because “he wants to pretend he’s still president”.
Mr Christie made the comments in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, in which a number of people who have had working relationships with Mr Trump weighed in on his legal issues.
The former president, who is running for a second term in the White House, has been indicted on 37 federal charges related to the mishandling of classified documents – some of which pertain to matters of national security. Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has previously described the case against him as “a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation”.
Read more:
Chris Christie says Trump took documents so he could keep pretending he was president
Fox News host doesn’t hold back on Ron DeSantis’ poll numbers
Saturday 8 July 2023 00:15 , Gustaf Kilander
A host at the usually Ron DeSantis-friendly Fox News asked the Florida governor about his low poll numbers as former President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican primary polls.
Mr DeSantis is currently the runner-up in the GOP polling, but he’s behind Mr Trump by a substantial margin with recent polls showing Trump leading by 27 percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
“Why do you think despite those successes so far, it hasn’t been reflected in your polling for your 2024 run for president of the United States?” host Will Cain asked Mr DeSantis on Fox News Tonight on Thursday evening.
“And while Donald Trump is above 50 per cent – in some of these polls, 60 per cent – your numbers are somewhere between 20 per cent and 10 per cent. And they’ve stayed there for about two months. Why is it in your estimation the numbers have not reflected your success in Florida?” he added.
Read more:
Fox News host doesn’t hold back on Ron DeSantis’ poll numbers
Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent, judge says
Friday 7 July 2023 23:45 , Andrew Feinberg
A District of Columbia federal judge on Thursday said former president Donald Trump can be made to give evidence in a deposition as part of a lawsuit against the Department of Justice by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok.
Mr Strzok, who served as the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and supervised parts of the probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, filed a lawsuit against the department in August 2019, a year after he was fired from his position following what he described as “unrelenting pressure from President Trump and his political allies in Congress and the media” including “constant tweets and other disparaging statements by the President, as well as direct appeals from the President to then- Attorney General Jefferson Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray” to have him terminated.
While the government has said Mr Trump’s public statements had no bearing on the decision, Mr Strzok had sought to depose the ex-president as part of the discovery process.
Read more:
Trump can give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent, judge says
Trump makes bizarre abortion claims as he rallies on Iowa
Friday 7 July 2023 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander
The Democrats are the radicals because they are willing to kill a baby at 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 months, and even after birth! - President Donald Trump
Watch our coverage of President Trump speaking in Council Bluffs, IA, here: https://t.co/l1ATg1Ha1z pic.twitter.com/ELUTCloWDL— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) July 7, 2023
Pence ‘confident’ of making it onto debate stage
Friday 7 July 2023 23:15 , AP
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who launched his campaign on June 7, has not yet released a tally of donors, but his campaign said it had raised “well into five digits” in the weeks since his announcement.
“Getting in late made it more difficult, but we’re confident we’ll get there,” said Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley.
As part of that effort, the campaign focused on direct mail, aided by the list it has rented from Pence’s nonprofit, Advancing American Freedom. That group had well over 40,000 donors, and Pence aides are hopeful those donors will also give to the former vice president’s campaign.
He’s also been holding a series of fundraisers, including one in Boston next week that will be hosted by top Massachusetts Republican donor Bob Reynolds, the CEO of Putnam Investments.
Trump says ‘America isn’t respected anywhere’ even as global opinions of US improving under Biden polls show
Friday 7 July 2023 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander
"We can't say 'Keep America Great' because America right now is not respected anywhere."
President Donald J. Trump Holds MAGA Rally in Council Bluffs, IA pic.twitter.com/JjIp7iBHsd— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) July 7, 2023
While Mr Trump says the US isn’t respected around the world, global opinion of the US is improving.
“In the third year of his presidency, U.S. President Joe Biden receives mostly positive reviews from publics around the world. Across 23 countries in a new Pew Research Center survey, a median of 54% express confidence in Biden, while 39% say they lack confidence in him,” the centre wrote on 27 June. “Similarly, overall views of the United States are largely positive: A median of 59% give the U.S. a favorable rating, including around seven-in-ten or more in Poland, Israel, South Korea, Nigeria, Japan and Kenya. Hungary is the only country surveyed where fewer than half see the U.S. favorably.”
VIDEO: Chris Christie Shares A New Theory On Why President Trump Kept Classified Documents
Friday 7 July 2023 22:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Refusing to give up on 2020 lies, Trump says American elections are 'in bad shape’
Friday 7 July 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander
“We need our borders and we need our elections, the rest of it will happen. We need great strong borders and we need great elections and fair elections.”
Same day voting, only paper ballots, Voter ID! pic.twitter.com/eqeIUqSBYX— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) July 7, 2023
40,000 individual donors needed to appear on GOP primary debate stage
Friday 7 July 2023 22:15 , AP
The Republican National Committee has said that, in order to participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21.
Candidates will also have to sign a pledge “agreeing to support the eventual party nominee,” according to an RNC press release, and one agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.
“Our criteria is very clear, we are ensuring quality polls are used to determine which candidates make the debate stage and we are confident that there will be enough polls for our candidates to qualify,” said RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn.
The candidates who say they have qualified so far include Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative radio host Larry Elder, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, appear unlikely to make the cutoffs.
Trump doubles down on anti-immigration rhetoric: ‘We gotta get them all out'
Friday 7 July 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander
“Who the hell wants an open border for the world to spill in, for them to dump every person who’s mentally ill, or a convicted killer, or convict, into our Country? We gotta get them all out, we’re gonna get em’ out.” pic.twitter.com/9neWLRFy2Y
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) July 7, 2023
First GOP debate next month faces threats of boycott as lower-polling candidates scramble to qualify
Friday 7 July 2023 21:45 , AP
Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
“If the outcome of all of these machinations is a very limited field and no Trump in the first debate, it’s hard to see how that can be successful,” Hutchinson said in an interview. Still, he said he was confident he will make it to the stage, even though he said he has only received contributions from “over” 5,000 donors.
“We’re not there yet. We’ve got a ways to go. And we fully intend to get there,” he said.
Trump visits Dairy Queen in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Friday 7 July 2023 21:33 , Gustaf Kilander
HAPPENING NOW at Dairy Queen in Council Bluffs, Iowa…. pic.twitter.com/YFcDl9UITc
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) July 7, 2023
Trump speaks in Iowa: ‘We must redouble our efforts to ensure anyone who comes to America shares our values'
Friday 7 July 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "As the horrific riots in France have proven, we must redouble our efforts to ensure anyone who comes to America shares our values and assimilates into our culture. We don't want people coming into our country that hate us." pic.twitter.com/ZTsRe6XFIZ
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) July 7, 2023
VIDEO: Cillian Murphy & ‘Peaky Blinders’ Denounce New DeSantis Campaign Video
Friday 7 July 2023 21:15 , Gustaf Kilander
Lack of support for ethanol may not be disqualifying in Iowa
Friday 7 July 2023 20:45 , AP
Trump campaigned in the Des Moines area last month, meeting with GOP state lawmakers, influential conservative pastors, campaign volunteers and a suburban Republican breakfast club. That visit came about a week before he was indicted on federal charges stemming from classified records he kept at his Florida home.
Before Friday, his last large event in Iowa was in March, when he spoke to more than 1,500 people at a theater in Davenport and also went after DeSantis on ethanol. He was due to hold an outdoor event in May in Des Moines with about 5,000 attendees expected, but his campaign called it off because of bad weather.
Although caucus campaigns have become more focused on national party priorities over the past two decades, some candidates have continued to portray support for ethanol — specifically the federal mandate that the nation’s fuel supply contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels — as a litmus test in Iowa.
As a congressman from Florida, DeSantis co-sponsored a bill in 2017 that would have immediately ended the renewable fuel standard, a position consistent with fiscal conservatives who see such mandates as government overreach.
As a candidate, Trump has promoted the executive order he signed as president increasing the retail sale of fuel containing 15% ethanol.
Recent history, however, suggests a lack of support for ethanol may not be disqualifying. In 2016, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who opposes the mandate, won Iowa’s Republican caucuses, handing Trump an early defeat in his ultimately successful White House campaign.
At Iowa event, Trump plans to go after DeSantis over ethanol
Friday 7 July 2023 20:15 , AP
Former President Donald Trump plans to headline his largest Iowa campaign event in nearly four months with a speech to thousands at an arena in the western part of the state.
Trump will use his appearance in Council Bluffs on Friday to attack his top GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for opposing the federal mandate for ethanol, a renewable fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing.
“DeSantis has problematic policy positions that hurt farmers and demonize ethanol,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Associated Press ahead of Trump’s visit. “President Trump plans to highlight that.”
The large Republican presidential field has spent a lot of time over the last few months in Iowa, the leadoff GOP caucus state. In June, more than a half dozen candidates, including DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, attended Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser that kicked off a busy summer campaign season.
VIDEO: DOJ says in court docs Trump revealed the Obamas' address. Is that true?
Friday 7 July 2023 19:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Federal prosecutors seek year in prison for Trump supporter willing to die during insurrection
Friday 7 July 2023 19:15 , Gustaf Kilander
"cops on one side, and the patriots on the other!”
“these guys are in deep doo-doo!”https://t.co/yDW4zi7Nan pic.twitter.com/MxpTZMMpqS— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) July 7, 2023
VIDEO: Trump aide appears in federal court
Friday 7 July 2023 18:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump’s ex-press secretary says there’s ‘no way’ White House cocaine is Hunter Biden’s
Friday 7 July 2023 18:15 , Andrew Feinberg
One of former president Donald Trump’s ex-spokespersons has poured cold water on the idea that a small bag of cocaine found in the West Wing belonged to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Kayleigh McEnany, who served as White House Press Secretary in 2020 and 2021 before signing on as a Fox News host, said on Thursday that the offending narcotic could not have belonged to the younger Mr Biden because he and the rest of the First Family departed from the White House last Friday, two days before the drugs were found near a lower-level entrance to the West Wing.
Read more:
Trump’s ex-press sec’y says there’s ‘no way’ White House cocaine is Hunter Biden’s
Special counsel zeroing in on ‘unhinged’ Oval Office meeting when Trump hosted conspiracy theorists – report
Friday 7 July 2023 17:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar
The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has indicated their ongoing attention on an eventful meeting that occurred in the Oval Office during the closing days of the Trump administration, a report said.
In that meeting, former president Donald Trump considered a series of extraordinary proposals to maintain his hold on power.
Several sources told the CNN that investigators questioned multiple witnesses – both in front of the grand jury and during interviews – about the bizarre meeting. The investigation has been ongoing for several months, the report said.
Some witnesses have been asked about the meeting earlier, while others, including Rudy Giuliani, have faced inquiries more recently, it was reported.
Sources told CNN that Mr Giuliani willingly participated in interviews with investigators for two consecutive days last month. During these interviews, a variety of subjects were discussed, including the contentious meeting in December 2020 that Mr Giuliani attended.
Read more:
Special counsel zeroing in on bizarre 2020 Oval Office meeting, report says
Cillian Murphy responds to ‘homophobic’ video shared by Ron DeSantis campaign
Friday 7 July 2023 17:15 , Peony Hirwani
The team behind Peaky Blinders has denounced the “homophobic” video shared by Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign.
The video, which was posted last week, slams DeSantis’s rival 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump for vowing to “protect our LGBTQ citizens”.
The video includes clips of the former president that featured him appearing to embrace the LGBT+ community in the wake of the 2016 mass shooting at gay nightclub Pulse.
The second part of the video shifts to DeSantis and his own comments and policies on drag acts and transgender rights.
In the second half, the video appears to portray the Florida governor as masculine, with his image spliced with images of muscular, shirtless men and several Hollywood and British actors, including Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy.
Read more:
Cillian Murphy responds to ‘homophobic’ video shared by Ron DeSantis campaign
Ex-Biden chief of staff boosts employment record and takes dig at ‘but Trump’ Twitter
Friday 7 July 2023 16:45 , Gustaf Kilander
The longest stretch on record of unemployment below 4%. Take that “but trump…” twitter. https://t.co/HgILkH5sJB
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) July 7, 2023
Deputy White House Press Secretary avoids question about Trump’s Truth Social posts
Friday 7 July 2023 16:15 , Gustaf Kilander
Deputy Press Sec. Andrew Bates sidesteps a question about Trump's Truth Social post claiming the cocaine found at the White House belonged to Hunter Biden and President Joe Biden.
“I don't have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act,” Bates says. pic.twitter.com/CxIRbrD9BE— The Recount (@therecount) July 6, 2023
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from House Freedom Caucus following fight with Lauren Boebert
Friday 7 July 2023 15:45 , John Bowden
Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the House’s most vocal conservative culture warriors, is now feeling the sting of the far-right’s backlash after a perceived betrayal on her part.
The Georgia congresswoman and ally of Donald Trump was booted out of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus last month, a member told Politico on Thursday, as a rift grows between her and some of the most conservative members of her party.
At issue are two instances — Ms Greene’s vote to support a debt ceiling deal reached between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House, which conservatives complained was insufficient in its cuts of federal programs, and her recent spat with Rep Lauren Boebert, another member of the caucus.
The Colorado-hailing Ms Boebert recently revealed to reporters that Ms Greene had called her a “little b****” during a dispute in a bathroom off of the House floor amid their growing dispute this spring — a confrontation that was the main reason cited by Rep Andy Harris in his explanation to Politico on Thursday.
Read more:
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus
QAnon’s leader died in a dirt bike crash. Now his followers are pushing conspiracy that he’s still alive
Friday 7 July 2023 15:15 , Rachel Sharp
QAnon’s conspiracy theories are both bizarre and baseless: from the claim that Democrats are running a sex-trafficking ring through a pizza parlour, to the theory that Donald Trump is leading the fight against a cabal of paedophiles, and the story that JFK is returning from the dead more than 50 years after his assassination.
Now, the cult’s latest wild conspiracy centres around the death of its own leader.
Michael Protzman, the 60-year-old QAnon leader, died on 30 June after suffering “multiple blunt force injuries” in a dirt bike accident.
Protzman, who was known to his followers as Negative 48, was driving a dirt bike at the Meadow Valley Motocross track in Millville, Minnesota, when he crashed.
Around a week later he died from his injuries at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the clinic confirmed to VICE News.
Read more:
QAnon leader dies – but followers push conspiracy theory he’s still alive
VOICES: What putting Trump back in the White House would mean for Ukraine – and conflict in the rest of the world
Friday 7 July 2023 14:45 , Mary Dejevsky
Joe Biden’s visit to the UK this weekend, when he will meet the prime minister and the King, could serve as a welcome reminder about where political power – and responsibility – currently resides on both sides of the Atlantic.
I say this, because some of the recent running on arguably the most urgent international issue of the day has been made by someone who has no power whatever, but eyes a return. Step forward (as if he needed any invitation to do so) Donald Trump, who spoke at some length this week about wanting a peaceful outcome in Ukraine, even if this entailed territorial concessions on the part of Kyiv.
“I think the biggest thing that the U.S. should be doing right now is making peace,” he said, “getting Russia and Ukraine together and making peace. You can do it.” Suggesting that Russia’s President had been somewhat weakened by the mercenary-led mutiny last month, Trump said: “This is the time to do it, to get the two parties together to force peace.”
Read more:
What bringing Trump back would mean for Ukraine – and the rest of us | Mary Dejevsky
WATCH: Chris Christie reveals why he thinks Trump took secret documents
Friday 7 July 2023 14:15 , Rachel Sharp
Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joins CNN's @jaketapper to explain his theory on why former President Donald Trump wanted to keep classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home. Watch: pic.twitter.com/n4db72uiED
— CNN (@CNN) July 6, 2023
Earlier: Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case
Friday 7 July 2023 13:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Nearly a month after former president Donald Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment that he and his longtime aide Walt Nauta are facing for allegedly unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice, the ex-president’s co-defendant has pleaded not guilty to charges of having assisted Mr Trump in concealing classified documents from the government.
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case
NBC: White House cocaine found in different place to previously reported
Friday 7 July 2023 13:15 , Oliver O'Connell
NBC News reports that multiple officials involved in the White House cocaine inquiry now say the bag of powder was found in a cubby near the West Executive entrance, not the formal West Wing lobby as was previously reported.
Investigators expect to be done with the investigation by Monday, according to two sources familiar with the process. The inquiry was previously expected to take a couple of weeks.
The area in which the cocaine was found is also heavily transited by people as it is an entrance near where some vehicles, like the vice president’s limo or SUV park.
It is one floor below the main West Wing offices and the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area.
How can the spike in turnout from younger voters in recent elections be repeated?
Friday 7 July 2023 12:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Gustaf Kilander learns from elections coordinator Ruby Belle Booth that there’s an ‘opportunity between now and 2024 to make sure that every single young person has the information and resources they need to get registered to vote and to cast their ballot’.
This is what’s needed for high young voter turnout in 2024
Pence changes his tune on whether he would pardon Trump
Friday 7 July 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Former Vice President Mike Pence is now taking a more vocal stand to defend his former boss, even as the ex-president continues to belittle and dismiss his former running-mate’s bid for the GOP nomination – and runs for it himself.
Mr Pence was speaking in Sioux City, Iowa, on Wednesday when he addressed the issue of pardoning Donald Trump — a question he had been outright avoiding for weeks.
Read more...
Mike Pence changes his tune on whether he would pardon Trump
Florida will make Republican candidates sign loyalty pledge
Friday 7 July 2023 11:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Florida is joining the national Republican Party in the bid to enforce unity and loyalty among the party’s 2024 field of candidates.
Politico reported on Thursday that candidates seeking to appear on the ballot in the Sunshine State, site of a winner-take-all primary where 125 delegates are at stake, will be required to pledge their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee, in the event that they lose.
John Bowden explains what’s behind this unprecedented move.
Florida will make GOP candidates sign loyalty pledge to back eventual nominee
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from House Freedom Caucus following fight with Lauren Boebert
Friday 7 July 2023 11:15 , Rachel Sharp
Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the House’s most vocal conservative culture warriors, is now feeling the sting of the far-right’s backlash after a perceived betrayal on her part.
The Georgia congresswoman and ally of Donald Trump was booted out of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus last month, a member told Politico on Thursday, as a rift grows between her and some of the most conservative members of her party.
At issue are two instances — Ms Greene’s vote to support a debt ceiling deal reached between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House, which conservatives complained was insufficient in its cuts of federal programs, and her recent spat with Rep Lauren Boebert, another member of the caucus.
Read more here:
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus
ICYMI: Prosecutors knew Trump was hiding more documents thanks to Mar-a-Lago CCTV tapes
Friday 7 July 2023 10:45 , Rachel Sharp
Federal investigators knew Donald Trump was most likely concealing classified documents among the myriad boxes of presidential records and other paraphernalia stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate, because of surveillance footage obtained by subpoena, according to a less redacted version of the affidavit used to secure a search warrant for his property last year.
Andrew Feinberg has the details.
Prosecutors knew Trump was hiding more documents thanks to Mar-a-Lago CCTV tapes
Voices: Why Friday is a crucial test for Joe Biden and ‘Bidenomics’
Friday 7 July 2023 09:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia explains why today’s jobs report is so crucial for Joe Biden’s decision to put “Bidemonics” at the centre of his 2024 reelection campaign.
Why Friday is a crucial test for Joe Biden and ‘Bidenomics’
South Dakota governor slams Ben & Jerry’s for July 4 call to return ‘stolen indigenous land’
Friday 7 July 2023 08:45 , Oliver O'Connell
...including Mount Rushmore.
Kelly Rissman reports on why Governor Kristi Noem is particularly angry at the suggestion.
South Dakota governor slams Ben & Jerry’s call to return ‘stolen indigenous land’
Ex-Trump supporter jailed for her role on Jan 6 says she was ‘brainwashed’: ‘It’s a cult’
Friday 7 July 2023 07:03 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Pam Hemphill, who received a two-month sentence in federal prison for her involvement in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, says she was “brainwashed”.
In an interview with CNN, the 70-year-old said she was a part of “the Trump cult”.
Earlier, Ms Hemphill, the self-proclaimed citizen journalist said that “You don’t see it as a cult when you’re in it.” She told the Daily Beast. “You don’t recognise it.”
Chris Christie says Trump took secret documents so he could keep pretending he was president
Friday 7 July 2023 06:29 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Chris Christie said that former president Donald Trump retained classified documents after leaving the White House because he wanted to keep feeling like a president.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Christie stated that the former president’s actions as being driven purely by ego.
He said Mr Trump yearned to sustain the facade of being president. “Look at what I still possess, look at what I still know,” he said, referring to Mr Trump’s retention of classified documents.
“I think he could not and still cannot to this day deal with the fact that he’s the only person outside the state of Delaware to ever lose to Joe Biden, and he wants to pretend he’s still president.
“He wanted to continue to pretend he was president and show these things to people and say, ‘Look what I still have, look what I still know,’” Mr Christie added.
Pence mocked for saying ‘I don’t really buy into the rich need to pay their fair share’
Friday 7 July 2023 06:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been mocked for saying the quiet part out loud about taxing the rich, during a campaign stop.
“I don’t really buy into the rich need to pay their fair share,” he told an audience of potential Republican primary voters.
Mr Pence appeared alongside Iowa Republican Representative Randy Feenstra at the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars, Iowa, on Wednesday when he was asked by an attendee about billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos avoiding taxes while ordinary people are “stuck footing the bill”.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Pence mocked for saying ‘I don’t really buy the rich need to pay their fair share’
Trump can be deposed in ex-FBI agent's lawsuit, judge says
Friday 7 July 2023 05:55 , Maroosha Muzaffar
A federal judge yesterday ruled that Donald Trump can be subjected to a deposition in the lawsuit filed by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok against the Justice Department.
Mr Strzok alleges that his termination following the Russia investigation was a result of the former president’s personal vendetta against him.
Additionally, the ex-FBI agent claims that the Justice Department unlawfully disclosed text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who is also pursuing legal action.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson approved the request to depose Mr Trump, considering the deposition’s limited scope and the former President’s apparent availability for other ongoing civil litigation, as indicated by his schedule.
Mr Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Watch: Christie reacts to Trump calling special counsel ‘crackhead'
Friday 7 July 2023 05:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Chris Christie reacts to Trump saying that Jack Smith looks like a crackhead:
"This is what makes Donald Trump an unacceptable nominee for our party because he says things like this without any regard for truth or falsity...What does that do to help anyone other than him?" pic.twitter.com/cwKhzKt9aG— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) July 6, 2023
Special counsel zeroing in on bizarre 2020 Oval Office meeting when Trump hosted conspiracy theorists, report says
Friday 7 July 2023 05:29 , Maroosha Muzaffar
The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has indicated their ongoing attention on an eventful meeting that occurred in the Oval Office during the closing days of the Trump administration, it was reported.
According to CNN, investigators have questioned multiple witnesses — both in front of the grand jury and during interviews about the bizarre Oval Office meeting.
The investigation has been ongoing for several months, the report said.
Some witnesses have been asked about the meeting earlier, while others, including Rudy Giuliani, have faced inquiries more recently, it was reported.
Kari Lake a ‘shameless, ruthless demagogue’ according to Trump adviser
Friday 7 July 2023 04:45 , Oliver O'Connell
So maybe not the running mate she hopes to be?
Trump adviser says former president “sees through” VP-hopeful Kari Lake’s strategy
Earlier: Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case
Friday 7 July 2023 03:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Nearly a month after former president Donald Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment that he and his longtime aide Walt Nauta are facing for allegedly unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice, the ex-president’s co-defendant has pleaded not guilty to charges of having assisted Mr Trump in concealing classified documents from the government.
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case
Could a ‘fake’ same-sex couple force SCOTUS to revisit recent decision?
Friday 7 July 2023 02:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Does it matter if a piece of evidence, or an anecdote, or a sworn statement in a legal fight that makes it to the US Supreme Court turns out to be fake?
What if someone’s identity and statements they never made were involved without their knowledge, by attorneys who now accuse them of lying?
Alex Woodward explains what is happening.
Can the Supreme Court revisit the LGBT+ rights case over a ‘fake’ same-sex couple?
DeSantis doubles down on ‘homophobic’ anti-Trump ad
Friday 7 July 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Florida Governor and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has doubled down on an ad widely blasted as homophobic.
The ad slammed his main rival for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump, for his past comments in support of the LGBT+ community.
Mr DeSantis said on Wednesday that Mr Trump’s comments were “totally fair game” amidst accusations of homophobia from Republicans and Democrats.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
DeSantis doubles down on ‘homophobic’ anti-Trump ad: ‘Totally fair game’
Australian minister calls Donald Trump Jr a ‘big baby’
Thursday 6 July 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell
A senior Australian official has pushed back against claims that Donald Trump Jr would not be attending a speaking engagement in the country because of visa issues linked to cancel culture – reportedly referring to him as a “big baby”.
The former president’s eldest son had been due to speak in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne beginning later this week, but event organisers Turning Point Australia announced the “landmark” tour had been delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Read on...
Australian minister calls Donald Trump Jr a ‘big baby’ for cancelling trip down under
Trump issues statement again proclaiming innocence
Thursday 6 July 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell
The Trump 2024 campaign released the following statement from former president Donald Trump this evening, again proclaiming his innocence.
Vital caselaw, of which there is much, further confirms that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) is the only statute which applies to Presidents and their records. These cases build on the Clinton Socks case in making it clear that Presidents have complete latitude and authority when it comes to documents, as well as that the PRA has no criminal enforcement mechanism. Deranged Jack Smith knows this, but refuses to even mention the words "Presidential Records Act" in his Scam Indictment of Biden's Political Opponent (who is leading by a lot) in the middle of a Campaign-a No, No!
The same Department of Justice that is now going after "President Trump," just a few years ago argued on behalf of the President for a wide and complete application of the PRA in many cases, and won in front of Democrat-appointed judges such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who ruled totally in favor of the President.
These facts decisively and without question explain why the current weaponized DOJ corruptly failed to mention the PRA in their contrived indictment against me and are also just some of the key reasons why that "case" should be summarily dropped, with a strong rebuke of the extensive prosecutorial misconduct that has been committed by Merrick Garland, Deranged Jack Smith, Lisa Monaco, and many other Trump haters within the DOJ and FBI.
Thank you!
The twice-indicted Mr Trump then followed up the statement with a post on Truth Social, reiterating many of the same points with his usual all-caps emphasis and namecalling.
Deranged Jack Smith purposefully omitted the Presidential Records Act from his sham Indictment, even though he knows that the PRA is the only law that applies to this subject. Nor does he mention the Clinton Socks Case, or any of the many others cases that are exactly on point, and completely vindicate me. He should be ashamed of himself but, more importantly, he, the DOJ, and the FBI, should be sanctioned for PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT and Grand Jury Abuse. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!
Watch: Former Arizona House speaker reveals FBI interviewed him for 2020 election probe
Thursday 6 July 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Bowers: That's a great question. I'm hesitant to talk about any subpoenas but I have been interviewed by the FBI. pic.twitter.com/fcIxjSxkz3
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 6, 2023
Prosecutors knew Trump was hiding more documents leading to search of Mar-a-Lago
Thursday 6 July 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Federal investigators knew Donald Trump was most likely concealing classified documents among the myriad boxes of presidential records and other paraphernalia stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate, because of surveillance footage obtained by subpoena, according to a less redacted version of the affidavit used to secure a search warrant for his property last year.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Prosecutors knew Trump was hiding more documents thanks to Mar-a-Lago CCTV tapes
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus
Thursday 6 July 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the House’s most vocal conservative culture warriors, is now feeling the sting of the far-right’s backlash after a perceived betrayal on her part.
The Georgia congresswoman and ally of Donald Trump was booted out of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus last month, a member told Politico on Thursday, as a rift grows between her and some of the most conservative members of her party.
John Bowden explains what happened.
Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus
Nauta risks years in prison if he doesn’t cooperate with prosecutors, former US Attorney says
Thursday 6 July 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Former US Attorney Joyce Vance joined Andrea Mitchell this afternoon on MSNBC to discuss the latest in the Trump classified document indictment following the unsealing of additional portions of the warrant the FBI used to search Mar-a-Largo.
Ms Vance gave a blunt assessment of what lies ahead for Trump aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta. She told Mitchell: “There will be an enormous amount of pressure on Walt Nauta to cooperate with the government. If he does not, it’s almost a certainty that he will go to prison for years — he is part of the obstruction of justice in this case, and those penalties are very significant.”
She added that the evidence collated in the case by the Justice Department is “thorough, detailed and overwhelming”.
You can watch the segment here on MSNBC.
ICYMI: Trump launches hysterical rant about cocaine found in the White House
Thursday 6 July 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Former President Donald Trump launched an unhinged rant after cocaine was found at the White House.
Read more...
Trump launches hysterical rant about cocaine found in the White House
How can the spike in turnout from younger voters in recent elections be repeated?
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell
Gustaf Kilander learns from elections coordinator Ruby Belle Booth that there’s an ‘opportunity between now and 2024 to make sure that every single young person has the information and resources they need to get registered to vote and to cast their ballot’.
This is what’s needed for high young voter turnout in 2024
Watch: Christie reacts to Trump calling special counsel ‘crackhead'
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:31 , Oliver O'Connell
Chris Christie reacts to Trump saying that Jack Smith looks like a crackhead:
"This is what makes Donald Trump an unacceptable nominee for our party because he says things like this without any regard for truth or falsity...What does that do to help anyone other than him?" pic.twitter.com/cwKhzKt9aG— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) July 6, 2023
...Trump campaign not impressed
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump 2024 campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung was not impressed by the DeSantis fundraising haul, tweeting:
DeSanctimonious' fundraising numbers comparison is as fake as his high heeled boots. Pres. Trump raised $28.3M in his first two quarters as an announced candidate, and $35M in this most-recent quarter.
The extremely high average donation the DeSanctus camp will show indicates they’ve shot their wad with big donors, have zero traction with the Republican grassroots, and are politically dead.
Ouch.
DeSanctimonious' fundraising numbers comparison is as fake as his high heeled boots. Pres. Trump raised $28.3M in his first two quarters as an announced candidate, and $35M in this most-recent quarter.
The extremely high average donation the DeSanctus camp will show indicates… https://t.co/snghmF1ybm— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) July 6, 2023
DeSantis campaign rakes in $20m in six weeks
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell
Fox News reports Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brought in an impressive $20m in fundraising during the first six weeks of his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
In addition, Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting the DeSantis presidential run, also announced that it has hauled in $130m in fundraising since the committee launched in early March.
By comparison, the Trump campaign announced yesterday it had brought in $35m between April and June. Mr DeSantis brought in his $20m in half that time, though $8.2m came in the first 24 hours of his campaign launch.
However, regarding the PAC total, Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times reports that this includes $82.5m transferred from the DeSantis state-level political committee, and they had already raised $30m by early April. Which means less than $20m since then.
Let's break down the $130 million DeSantis super PAC haul.
Yes, it's a huge sum. But money mostly accounted for.
His PAC transferred $82.5 million. The super PAC announced it had raised $30 million by 4/3. (https://t.co/P8PFdG4EIX).
So that is less than $20 million since then. https://t.co/7pShDijLZv— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) July 6, 2023
Voices: Why Friday is a crucial test for Joe Biden and ‘Bidenomics’
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:11 , Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia explains why tomorrow’s jobs report is so crucial for Joe Biden’s decision to put “Bidemonics” at the centre of his 2024 reelection campaign.
Why Friday is a crucial test for Joe Biden and ‘Bidenomics’
Trump 2024 fundraising doubles to $35m despite legal quagmire
Thursday 6 July 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s increasingly serious legal problems are translating into a cash boom for his third presidential campaign, a staffer told Politico this week.
The campaign is due to release official fundraising numbers by the end of the month, per an upcoming Federal Election Commission (FEC) deadline. But a campaign official familiar with the matter provided the eye-popping sum to Politico: $34m, a haul that puts him firmly on top of the GOP primary field, dollars-wise, and depicts a campaign picking up steam as Mr Trump apparently solidifies his support base within the GOP primary voter population.
Read more...
Trump fundraising doubles to $35m amid growing legal woes, report says
DoJ moves to block Trump deposition after ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok sues over firing
Thursday 6 July 2023 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell
Per ABC News:
A week after FBI director Christopher Wray was deposed in a lawsuit over the firing of veteran agent Peter Strzok, the Justice Department is now asking a federal judge to — once and for all — block former President Donald Trump from being deposed in the suit.
"[T]he deposition of former President Trump is not appropriate," Justice Department attorneys wrote in a motion to fully quash a subpoena to Trump.
Strzok filed suit against the Justice Department and the FBI in 2019, claiming his First Amendment rights were violated when he was wrongfully terminated the year before over private text messages with then-FBI attorney Lisa Page reflecting anti-Trump sentiments.
Here’s our earlier reporting on the case:
DoJ wins request to block Trump deposition in lawsuit from former FBI agents
Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website
