Trump news – live: Trump fights court order for Mark Meadows to testify in Jan 6 probe as indictment delayed

Donald Trump is fighting back against a court order that requires Mark Meadows and other former aides to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

Earlier this month, US Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that former chief of staff Mr Meadows and other top aides including Dan Scavino and Stephen Miller must give testimony to the panel – rejecting Mr Trump’s claims of executive privilege.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump’s team appealed the decision.

This came the same day that it emerged that the Manhattan grand jury investigating Mr Trump’s supposed role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels is set to go on a month-long break, delaying a potential criminal indictment of the former president.

The jury now won’t hear any evidence in the proceedings for several weeks because of an already-scheduled hiatus.

While it’s possible that the schedule may change, any indictment of Mr Trump will now come late next month at the soonest.

Key Points

• Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe

• Trump calls top rival ‘Ron ‘Kill Social Security’ DeSanctimonious’ as he boasts about polling

• Trump reverses course and praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him

• Fox News contributor slams Trump’s ‘horrific’ interview with Sean Hannity

• Stormy Daniels may soon seal Trump’s fate. How did a porn star become one of the most powerful people in politics?

Trump claims China wouldn’t have sent balloon and Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if he was still president

10:00 , Ariana Baio

Mr Trump assured Sean Hannity of Fox News that “[China] wouldn’t have done it… Just like Putin would have never gone into Ukraine.”

“I don’t like people who say ‘oh they fear me’ like a schmuck. I don’t want to say it. But did they fear me? I suspect they did,” Mr Trump said.

The former president’s claim comes nearly two months after the Pentagon revealed Chinese spy balloons entered US airspace three times during his presidency.

The Defence Department said in a statement in early February that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration was able to retroactively identify the presence of Chinese balloons in US airspace during Trump’s term after the US ”[enhanced] our surveillance of our territorial airspace.”

Trump reverses course and praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him

09:00 , Gustaf Kilander

In an all-caps rant on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump said he had “gained such respect” for the grand jury reviewing hush money payments allegedly made on his behalf during the 2016 campaign to women claiming they had previously had affairs with the then-candidate.

“I HAVE GAINED SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE,” Mr Trump wrote on Wednesday morning.

“THE EVIDENCE IS SO OVERWHELMING IN MY FAVOR, & SO RIDICULOUSLY BAD FOR THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & HATEFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THAT THE GRAND JURY IS SAYING, HOLD ON, WE ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP, WHICH MOST GRAND JURIES ARE BRANDED AS BEING, WE ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE AGAINST A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE OR AGAINST LARGE NUMBERS OF LEGAL SCHOLARS ALL SAYING THERE IS NO CASE HERE. DROP THIS SICK WITCH HUNT, NOW!” he added.

Trump shares story calling DeSantis book tour ‘amateur hour'

08:00 , Gustaf Kilander

In a Truth Social post, Mr Trump shares an article by The Daily Beast reporting that Ron DeSanstis’s book tour looked like “amateur hour,” according to a GOP strategist.

The Daily Beast quoted Republican observers saying that the pre-campaign of the Florida Governor appeared to be “out over its skis”.

“There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen,” one source told the outlet.

“Word is they quietly rescheduled some stuff… but it definitely feels like he’s peeled some back,” a Republican consultant in Florida told The Daily Beast about the book tour. “I think the soft launch is having an effect. I think it’s gone poorly, I hear nothing but they are unhappy.”

“People need to remember, when you peak too soon, that’s a problem. And DeSantis peaked too soon,” a campaign strategist said.

VIDEO: Donald Trump slams US government for Putin's nuclear escalation

07:00 , The Independent

Fox Business shares poll showing majority of Americans think Trump shouldn’t be president again

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Most Americans don’t want Mr Trump to be president again and most think the investigations into him are fair.

The poll was shown on Fox Business.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll includes responses from 1,300 adults and shows that 61 per cent of Americans don’t want him to be president again while 38 per cent says they do.

A majority of Americans disagree with Mr Trump as 56 per cent say that the investigations into him are fair and not a “witch hunt” – 41 per cent take the opposing view, according to NPR.

There’s a massive partisan divide – about 90 per cent of Democrats think the probs are fair, while 80 per cent of Republicans think they’re a witch hunt.

Among independents, 51 per cent think they’re fair, while 47 per cent do not.

Trump supporter pulls knife on woman with toddlers outside Manhattan court amid hush money probe

05:00 , Rachel Sharp

A Donald Trump supporter has been arrested for pulling a knife on a woman with small children outside Manhattan Criminal Court – where the former president could soon appear to face charges.

Angelica Rucker, 39, was holding a sign that read “I’m With Trump Are You?” outside the courthouse at around 3.30pm on Monday afternoon when she got into an argument with two passers-by, a spokesperson for New York Courts told The Independent.

One of the passers-by was with two small children at the time – one of them in a stroller.

As the verbal argument continued, Ms Rucker allegedly pulled a knife from her right side belt hip area and “began menacing” one of the individuals with the knife, the spokesperson said.

At that point, court officers – who had converged on the area to investigate the commotion – drew their firearms and ordered the 39-year-old to drop the knife.

Read more:

Trump supporter pulls knife on woman with toddlers outside Manhattan court

Trump posts Truth Social message threatening ‘war’ over indictment

04:15 , Eric Garcia

Former president Donald Trump suggested that his supporters their political opponents “a war” if the former president is indicted.

The former president re-posted right-wing columnist Wayne Allyn Root on Truth Social that included a link to his column entitled “Democrats Want to Indict & Arrest President Trump. They Want a War? Let’s Give it to Them.”

The article suggests that Republican district attorneys and attorneys general indict everyone from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former president Barack Obama, Hunter Biden, Anthony Fauci, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, former attorney general Eric Holder, Mark Zuckerberg, President Joe Bide, Vice President Kamala Harris and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Read more:

Trump posts Truth Social message threatening ‘war’ over indictment

Manhattan grand jury will take extended break in Trump hush money probe

03:45 , Eric Garcia

The grand jury in Manhattan that is looking into former president Donald Trump’s alleged payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels is expected to take a monthlong break, someone familiar with the proceedings told Politico.

The source familiar told Politico that the break was previously planned. The break would likely mean that any potential indictment of Mr Trump would likely be delayed.

This comes after Mr Trump posted last Saturday on Truth Social that he would be indicted as early as that Tuesday, but it ultimately did not happen. The former president has urged his supporters to protest any potential indictment and he has vehemently denied the affair with Ms Daniels, which allegedly happened months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

Read more:

Manhattan grand jury will take extended break in Trump hush money probe

Trump campaign questions how much DeSantis pre-campaign travel will cost taxpayers

03:15 , Gustaf Kilander

'Nobody should be untouchable because they have money or power'

02:53 , Io Dodds

Do you think Trump should get indicted, asks one of Stormy Daniels' OnlyFans subscribers?

Though noting that she is "not a lawyer", she says: "I think he should be held accountable for anything he has done wrong, and I am happy to turn over any and all evidence and speak my truth.

"I have proof of everything I said. I have phone records, eyewitnesses... if what he did was illegal, he should be held accountable. I don't think that anybody should be untouchable just because they have money or because they're in power."

Asked if she would be willing to testify, she said: “Absolutely. I've made it very clear. I am not afraid and I will not back down.”

With that, the live stream is over.

‘I’m just making orange juice out of oranges’

02:49 , Io Dodds

Going public about her alleged rendezvous with Donald Trump has derailed her career rather than boosting it, Stormy Daniels says.

Speaking in a live stream on her OnlyFans page, says she was respected and successful as a porn performer and director before the news came out.

Suddenly, she says, everything was about Trump, and now she goes back and forth on a daily basis on whether she regrets making her allegations public.

She is unapologetic about having used the furore to her advantage since then, such as by embarking on a cross-country patriotic stripping tour and writing a memoir called Full Disclosure.

She describes those ventures as simply making the best of a bad situation by "making orange juice out of oranges" (a reference to Mr Trump’s tangerine tan).

"I’m getting blasted for making more money right now," she says. "I’ve always done this. Everybody that has a business, you know to take the opportunity. Isn’t that what America is about?

"I just saw that Trump’s actually doing the same thing. He has segued into, you know, all the stuff going on right now, to help further his career and capitalise on it and raise money.

"That’s actually kind of brilliant. Like, he’s doing the same thing that I am doing. Why is it okay for him and it’s not okay for me?"

VIDEO: Trump claims China wouldn't send spy balloon over US during his presidency

02:45 , The Independent

‘I think Michael Cohen has changed'

02:26 , Io Dodds

Asked her opinion about Mr Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, Ms Daniels says: "I used to really hate him, but I do understand where he is coming from. He was just doing his job, he was trying to be loyal.

"He has apologised to me. I think he has changed. He’s trying to do the right thing. That’s all of it."

Porn star Stormy Daniels now talking about Trump on OnlyFans

02:23 , Io Dodds

Porn star Stormy Daniels is now giving a live stream on her OnlyFans page.

After a preamble teasing subscribers by answering non-Trumpy questions such as her favourite sex position and favourite lubricant, she is addressing various rumours about her relationship with Donald Trump.

First off, she says, she was not paid for (allegedly) having sex with the real estate tycoon. Though she did go to his sprawling hotel room, she says, there was no compensation for the encounter.

"There's no judgement for the girls that do that, and the guys that do it... I got a lot of hate from girls that do work in the [sex] industry saying that I broke the, you know, hooker-client privilege."

She says that coming into the meeting, "there was no talk about sex, no red flags, no discussion of money, no flirting".

She then reiterates the account she has previously given of the years since then, in which she attempted to tell the press at various points before signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Mr Trump has denied her claims.

Former Republican Strategist says Christie can be ‘useful in taking down Trump'

02:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Republican Strategist Steve Schmidt, who woked on John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, has said that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie can be “useful in taking down Trump”.

“Chris Christie wants to be the leader of the Republican party for the purposes of taking out Trump. It’s not particularly noble, but it may be useful,” he said.

Trump claims China wouldn’t send spy balloon over US during his presidency, contradicting US intelligence

01:45 , Ariana Baio

Donald Trump has again claimed that China wouldn’t have sent a spy balloon over the United States during his presidency, despite the US air force revealing that they had.

In an interview with Sean Hannity, Mr Trump was asked how he would have handled the discovery of the Chinese spy balloon, which traversed across the country before being shot down in February over the Atlantic Ocean.

“I wouldn’t have done anything with the balloon because it wouldn’t have happened under me,” the former president claimed.

Read more:

Trump again claims China didn’t send spy balloon over US in his presidency

VIDEO: Former President Trump's legal woes

01:15 , The Independent

Trump goes after DeSantis on medicare and and social security

Thursday 30 March 2023 00:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump criticised Ron DeSantis in a post on Truth Social, saying that “people are beginning to find out that Ron DeSanctimonious wanted to destroy Social Security and raise its minimum age to at least 70 — and he fought very hard to do it. He also had strong plans for cutting Medicare and still does”.

“You know, when they have policy in their head, they never change, they may say they change, but they always go back t it,” Mr Trump said in a video shared on the platform.

Trump claims DeSantis is being ‘crushed’ in polls and that ‘RINOs’ are ‘beside themselves'

Thursday 30 March 2023 00:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump went after Ron DeSantis in a video posted on Truth Social.

“Ron DeSanctimonious is being CRUSHED in the polls, all of them,” Mr Trump wrote in a post outlining his comments. “Many GLOBALISTS are having second thoughts. RINO’S Karl Rove, Pauline Ryan and Jeb, ‘Low Energy’ Bush, are beside themselves. They have rarely witnessed a CRATERING of this magnitude. Maybe they should have told Ron that trying to destroy Social Security and Medicare, three times, is not a good thing to do.”

Trump shares story calling DeSantis book tour ‘amateur hour'

Wednesday 29 March 2023 23:45 , Gustaf Kilander

In a Truth Social post, Mr Trump shares an article by The Daily Beast reporting that Ron DeSanstis’s book tour looked like “amateur hour,” according to a GOP strategist.

The Daily Beast quoted Republican observers saying that the pre-campaign of the Florida Governor appeared to be “out over its skis”.

“There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen,” one source told the outlet.

“Word is they quietly rescheduled some stuff… but it definitely feels like he’s peeled some back,” a Republican consultant in Florida told The Daily Beast about the book tour. “I think the soft launch is having an effect. I think it’s gone poorly, I hear nothing but they are unhappy.”

“People need to remember, when you peak too soon, that’s a problem. And DeSantis peaked too soon,” a campaign strategist said.

Trump grand jury poised to take pre-planned hiatus from case

Wednesday 29 March 2023 23:15 , AP

The Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money paid on Donald Trump’s behalf is scheduled to consider other matters next week before taking a previously scheduled two-week hiatus, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. That means a vote on whether or not to indict the former president likely wouldn’t come until late April at the earliest.

The break, which was scheduled in advance when the panel was convened in January, coincides with Passover, Easter and spring break for the New York City public school system.

The person who confirmed the grand jury’s schedule was not authorized to speak publicly about secretive grand jury proceedings and did so on condition of anonymity.

Read more:

Trump grand jury poised to take pre-planned hiatus from case

VIDEO: Chris Christie Says ‘No way’ to Backing Trump as He Mulls 2024 Presidential Run

Wednesday 29 March 2023 22:45 , The Independent

Fox Business shares poll showing majority of Americans think Trump shouldn’t be president again

Wednesday 29 March 2023 22:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Most Americans don’t want Mr Trump to be president again and most think the investigations into him are fair.

The poll was shown on Fox Business.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll includes responses from 1,300 adults and shows that 61 per cent of Americans don’t want him to be president again while 38 per cent says they do.

A majority of Americans disagree with Mr Trump as 56 per cent say that the investigations into him are fair and not a “witch hunt” – 41 per cent take the opposing view, according to NPR.

There’s a massive partisan divide – about 90 per cent of Democrats think the probs are fair, while 80 per cent of Republicans think they’re a witch hunt.

Among independents, 51 per cent think they’re fair, while 47 per cent do not.

Capitol Riot: FBI informant testifies for Proud Boys defense

Wednesday 29 March 2023 21:45 , AP

An FBI informant who marched to the U.S. Capitol with fellow Proud Boys members on Jan. 6 testified on Wednesday that he didn’t know of any plans for the far-right extremist group to invade the building and didn’t think they inspired the violence that day.

The informant, who identified himself in court only as “Aaron,” was a defense witness at the trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants charged with seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 presidential election.

The informant was communicating with his FBI handler as a mob of Trump supporters breached police barricades at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Proud Boys “did not do it, nor inspire,” the informant texted his handler. “The crowd did as herd mentality. Not organized.”

The handler’s response was redacted from a screenshot that a defense attorney showed to jurors.

Read more:

Capitol Riot: FBI informant testifies for Proud Boys defense

Stormy Daniels destroys critic with three word response after being attacked for sex with married Trump

Wednesday 29 March 2023 21:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Porn actor Stormy Daniels hit back at critics on Twitter amid the ongoing investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into the hush money payment she received from former President Donald Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen in 2016.

Ms Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. She was paid off to keep quiet about the supposed extramarital activity.

Mr Trump insulted Ms Daniels during his Saturday rally in Waco, Texas, rejecting all allegations of an affair.

“Sex with Stormy Daniels is traumatic enough. Hasn’t President Trump been punished enough?” one Twitter user said.

Read more:

Stormy Daniels destroys critic after she’s attacked for sex with married Trump

Trump supporter pulls knife on woman with toddlers outside Manhattan court amid hush money probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 20:45 , Rachel Sharp

A Donald Trump supporter has been arrested for pulling a knife on a woman with small children outside Manhattan Criminal Court – where the former president could soon appear to face charges.

Angelica Rucker, 39, was holding a sign that read “I’m With Trump Are You?” outside the courthouse at around 3.30pm on Monday afternoon when she got into an argument with two passers-by, a spokesperson for New York Courts told The Independent.

One of the passers-by was with two small children at the time – one of them in a stroller.

As the verbal argument continued, Ms Rucker allegedly pulled a knife from her right side belt hip area and “began menacing” one of the individuals with the knife, the spokesperson said.

At that point, court officers – who had converged on the area to investigate the commotion – drew their firearms and ordered the 39-year-old to drop the knife.

Read more:

Trump supporter pulls knife on woman with toddlers outside Manhattan court

Trump posts Truth Social message threatening ‘war’ over indictment

Wednesday 29 March 2023 20:15 , Eric Garcia

Former president Donald Trump suggested that his supporters their political opponents “a war” if the former president is indicted.

The former president re-posted right-wing columnist Wayne Allyn Root on Truth Social that included a link to his column entitled “Democrats Want to Indict & Arrest President Trump. They Want a War? Let’s Give it to Them.”

The article suggests that Republican district attorneys and attorneys general indict everyone from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former president Barack Obama, Hunter Biden, Anthony Fauci, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, former attorney general Eric Holder, Mark Zuckerberg, President Joe Bide, Vice President Kamala Harris and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Read more:

Trump posts Truth Social message threatening ‘war’ over indictment

VIDEO: Is Trump's indictment ruling taking too long?

Wednesday 29 March 2023 19:45 , The Independent

Biden and administration officials set to visit states expected to be close in 2024

Wednesday 29 March 2023 19:15 , AP

Biden has said he intends to run for a second term but has yet to formally launch his reelection campaign.

His effort to highlight legislative victories could also give him an opportunity to present voters with images of an administration focused on governing as Trump braces for a possible indictment.

Trump is being investigated over payments during his 2016 campaign to two women who alleged affairs or sexual encounters with him. The ex-president denies being involved with either of the women — porn actor Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal.

Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020. Among the other states that Biden and administration officials will be visiting in the weeks ahead are Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin — crucial battlegrounds that Biden won in 2020 and states expected to be competitive again in 2024.

Biden: GOP policies would surrender tech economy to China

Wednesday 29 March 2023 18:45 , AP

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Republicans’ ideas for cutting the budget could undermine U.S. manufacturing and help China dominate the world economy.

Speaking at a semiconductor maker in North Carolina to highlight his own policies, Biden is trying to shape public sentiment as he faces off with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about whether the federal government should raise its legal borrowing capacity.

McCarthy sent a letter Tuesday saying that talks should start about possible spending cuts in return for the debt limit increase. Biden has said Republicans need to put forth their own budget plan before negotiations start. Without an agreement, the federal government could default on its financial obligations.

The president tried to ratchet up pressure on Tuesday by saying that the GOP demands on the budget would only empower China, the country’s key geopolitical rival. Being tough on China has been a core part of the identity of former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in 2024, and his Make America Great Again movement. The Democratic president said their objections to his policies would instead strengthen China.

Can Donald Trump still be elected president if he’s indicted?

Wednesday 29 March 2023 18:15 , John Bowden

Former president Donald Trump could be nearing an indictment in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s grand jury investigation into a hush payment made to a porn star by Mr Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen in 2016.

The investigation entered a new phase in recent weeks, and now Mr Bragg’s office has contacted the president’s lawyers to offer an opportunity for voluntary testimony, a sign that multiple sources close to the investigation told The New York Times means that an indictment or multiple indictments are likely in the works. Mr Trump himself predicted on 18 March that he would be arrested the following week on Tuesday 21 March, which did not come to pass. The grand jury’s proceedings were called off on Wednesday 22 March and pushed back again the following day, delaying any eventual indictment.

Read more:

Could Trump still be elected president if he’s charged?

Manhattan grand jury will take extended break in Trump hush money probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 18:00 , Eric Garcia

The grand jury in Manhattan that is looking into former president Donald Trump’s alleged payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels is expected to take a monthlong break, someone familiar with the proceedings told Politico.

The source familiar told Politico that the break was previously planned. The break would likely mean that any potential indictment of Mr Trump would likely be delayed.

This comes after Mr Trump posted last Saturday on Truth Social that he would be indicted as early as that Tuesday, but it ultimately did not happen. The former president has urged his supporters to protest any potential indictment and he has vehemently denied the affair with Ms Daniels, which allegedly happened months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

Read more:

Manhattan grand jury will take extended break in Trump hush money probe

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Wednesday 29 March 2023 17:45 , John Bowden

Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for two years, and is already itching to go back.

But one figure from his first run for president has refused to go away, and may end up being a major headache for him as he pursues a third White House bid.

We’re talking, of course, about adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known by her real name, Stephanie Clifford. Ms Daniels made headlines in 2018 when she came forward with an allegation that she had been in a romantic extramarital relationship with the president in 2006, and had been threatened and later bribed to keep her mouth shut.

At the time, the basis of her claim took on an interesting angle thanks to a lawsuit she filed against then-President Donald Trump. Alleging that the hush agreement was invalid because Mr Trump had not signed it, she sued him and triggered what would become a years-long investigation into whether the scheme was legal at all points.

Read more:

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Stormy Daniels may soon seal Trump’s fate. How did a porn star become one of the most powerful people in politics?

Wednesday 29 March 2023 17:15 , Io Dodds

One busy weekday night in May 2018, a Pittsburgh strip club dancer named Scarlet went to the bar for fries and ran into something unusual: a young man carrying a political non-fiction book conspicuously under his arm.

The book was Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, about the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, and the man – Isaac – was hoping that one of the other strippers would sign it for him.

“I’m not much of a strip club guy, but I had to come see this,” Isaac told The Pitt News as he waited in line behind a man carrying several bright red Trump hats.

These men were among the hundreds drawn to see porn performer Stormy Daniels as she danced across the country on her “Make America Horny Again” tour, closely followed by a political tempest over her alleged history with the serving president of the United States.

Read more:

How Stormy Daniels became one of the most powerful people in politics

Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 16:45 , Andrew Feinberg

The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.

Mr Pence had sought an order precluding him from testifying before the grand jury entirely, and in papers filed with the court he had claimed immunity under the US Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, citing his role as President of the Senate during Congress’ quadrennial certification of electoral votes.

Read more:

Judge orders Pence to give evidence

‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 16:15 , Eric Garcia

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.

Mr Comer, along with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, sent a letter to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to compel him to testify before Congress.

The three chairmen sent the letter to Mr Bragg after Mr Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this month that he would be indicted within a few days.

Mr Bragg’s office is currently investigating Mr Trump allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a supposed sexual liaison, which Mr Trump denies.

Read more:

AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Dominion wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and other Fox News figures to testify in $1.6bn case

Wednesday 29 March 2023 15:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Dominion Voting Systems wants to put Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, and other Fox News executives on the witness stand to testify in its $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against the right-wing network.

The voting machines manufacturer also wants to call Fox News president Jay Wallace, chief executive Suzanne Scott, hosts Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo to testify at trial, it said in a court filing on Monday, according to CNN.

Delaware Superior Court judge Eric Davis is expected to make a summary judgement ruling in favour of either side or to go forward with a trial.

Dominion has accused Fox of airing false allegations that the company was engaged in voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election even though many at the network doubted the claims were true. Fox said it was lawfully reporting on newsworthy developments.

Read more:

Dominion wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and other Fox News figures to testify

Trump calls top rival ‘Ron ‘Kill Social Security’ DeSanctimonious’ as he boasts about polling

Wednesday 29 March 2023 15:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to boast about his polling figures and take a shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“New Polling just out: I (WE!) lead Ron “Kill Social Security” DeSanctimonious, 61 to 19, and lead Joe Biden, by far the worst President in the history of the United States, by 7. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he wrote.

He then went on to yet again push the lie that he won the 2020 election.

“Don’t forget, we WON the second Election by far more Votes than we WON the first. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” he said.

Obama takes aim at Rupert Murdoch for ‘polarisation of society’

Wednesday 29 March 2023 14:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Barack Obama has blamed media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s media empire for creating polarisation in Western societies and for making people “angry and resentful”.

The former president was speaking during an event at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre on Tuesday.

“Here’s the good news about the US, though. We’re not quite as polarised as we seem. 60 to 65 per cent of the country, let’s call it 70 per cent, does occupy a reality-based world,” he said.

“And that’s true within the Republicans.”

Mr Obama said there was “one other factor that’s led to this polarisation”.

Read more:

Obama takes aim at Rupert Murdoch for ‘polarisation of society’

Trump reverses course and praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him

Wednesday 29 March 2023 14:15 , Gustaf Kilander

In an all-caps rant on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump said he had “gained such respect” for the grand jury reviewing hush money payments allegedly made on his behalf during the 2016 campaign to women claiming they had previously had affairs with the then-candidate.

“I HAVE GAINED SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE,” Mr Trump wrote on Wednesday morning. “THE EVIDENCE IS SO OVERWHELMING IN MY FAVOR, & SO RIDICULOUSLY BAD FOR THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & HATEFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THAT THE GRAND JURY IS SAYING, HOLD ON, WE ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP, WHICH MOST GRAND JURIES ARE BRANDED AS BEING, WE ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE AGAINST A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE OR AGAINST LARGE NUMBERS OF LEGAL SCHOLARS ALL SAYING THERE IS NO CASE HERE. DROP THIS SICK WITCH HUNT, NOW!”

Read more:

Trump praises NYC grand jury claiming without evidence it doesn’t want to charge him

Fox News contributor slams Trump’s ‘horrific’ interview with Sean Hannity

Wednesday 29 March 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

A Fox News contributor has slammed Donald Trump’s “horrific” interview with Sean Hannity after the former president returned to the right-wing network on Monday night.

Former Republican Rep Jason Chaffetz said he watched Mr Trump’s interview and thought it was “the worst interview I’ve seen the president do”.

“I thought he was absolutely horrific,” he said. “He’s a former president of the United States. Act like it. He didn’t in that interview.”

During Monday night’s interview, Mr Trump repeatedly dodged questions about the Manhattan probe investigating the Stormy Daniels hush money payments. He also continued to lash out at Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy

Wednesday 29 March 2023 13:15 , John Bowden

Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.

He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.

“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.

“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”

Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.

The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.

DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump 'chaos' candidacy

Judge orders Pence to give testimony

Wednesday 29 March 2023 12:45 , John Bowden

The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.

Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.

Andrew Feinberg has more:

Judge orders Pence to give evidence

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 12:15 , John Bowden

The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.

That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Wednesday 29 March 2023 10:45 , John Bowden

Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for two years, and is already itching to go back.

But one figure from his first run for president has refused to go away, and may end up being a major headache for him as he pursues a third White House bid.

We’re talking, of course, about adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known by her real name, Stephanie Clifford. Ms Daniels made headlines in 2018 when she came forward with an allegation that she had been in a romantic extramarital relationship with the president in 2006, and had been threatened and later bribed to keep her mouth shut.

At the time, the basis of her claim took on an interesting angle thanks to a lawsuit she filed against then-President Donald Trump. Alleging that the hush agreement was invalid because Mr Trump had not signed it, she sued him and triggered what would become a years-long investigation into whether the scheme was legal at all points.

Read more:

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Trump claims DeSantis would be “working in a pizza parlour” without his endorsement

Wednesday 29 March 2023 09:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has claimed that Ron DeSantis would be "working in a pizza parlour" if it weren't for his endorsement during the 2018 gubernatorial race.

The former president, who has declared that he will stand for a second non-consecutive term in 2024, made the remarks in an interview with Sean Hannity on Monday night.

The pair have stepped up attacks on one another ahead of next year's election, but Mr DeSantis has not formally announced his intention to run.

Watch this video report from The Independent:

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, documents show

Wednesday 29 March 2023 08:45 , John Bowden

Ivana Trump was under an FBI counterintelligence inquiry on allegations surrounding her ties to her home country Czechoslovakia, a trove of secret documents has revealed.

The FBI “recommended a preliminary inquiry be opened on Ivana Trump” based on information received from a confidential source in 1989, according to 190 pages of classified documents released by the law enforcement agency on Monday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from Bloomberg News.

Read more:

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, documents show

Alvin Bragg rips ‘baseless accusations’ as House Republicans demand he be hauled to Congress

Wednesday 29 March 2023 07:45 , John Bowden

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has fired back at “baseless accusations” after House Republicans threatened to haul the New York City prosecutor before Congress to explain a potential indictment against Donald Trump.

Republicans have rallied in Donald Trump’s defence after the one-term president predicted that he will be arrested on Tuesday. A trio of House committee chairs threatened to call Mr Bragg to testify before Congress.

“We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law,” a spokesperson for Mr Bragg told Fox News. “"In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth. Our skilled, honest and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work.”

Read more:

House Republicans demand Alvin Bragg be hauled to Congress over Trump indictment

‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 06:45 , John Bowden

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.

“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”

Read more:

AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting

Wednesday 29 March 2023 05:45 , John Bowden

Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, once considered to be a political ally of Donald Trump’s, has come out swinging against the former US president in a new interview that touched on Mr Trump’s meeting with disgraced rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

The comments were made during an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, due to air in the coming days on the streaming service Fox Nation. Excerpts were released on Monday by Fox News.

Speaking with Morgan, Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Trump “should be rebuked and condemned” for his meeting with Fuentes, who regularly rants about the Jewish people and is known for his denial of the Holocaust.

Read more:

One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting

Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 04:45 , John Bowden

The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.

Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.

Andrew Feinberg has more:

Judge orders Pence to give evidence

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

Wednesday 29 March 2023 03:45 , John Bowden

The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.

That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy

Wednesday 29 March 2023 02:45 , AP

Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.

He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.

“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.

“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”

Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.

The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.

DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump 'chaos' candidacy

Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent indictment rhetoric

Wednesday 29 March 2023 01:45 , John Bowden

Alex Jones, the InfoWars broadcaster and conspiracy theorist, said he believes that former President Donald Trump may be assassinated by the so-called deep state.

Mr Jones, who lost a defamation lawsuit after spreading disinformation about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, has said that if it appears as if Mr Trump may win the 2024 election, deep state operatives may take him out by blowing up his plane or shooting him.

The host was speaking on Sunday after Mr Trump had held his first 2024 rally on Saturday in Waco, Texas on the 30th anniversary of the deadly standoff by federal authorities and a religious cult leading to the deaths of 86 people, and spawning conspiracy theorists among Americans with anti-government sentiments.

It was one of the most lethal battles against law enforcement in US history, and Mr Trump spent a significant part of his speech railing against those investigating him for various alleged offences.

Read more:

Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent rhetoric

Trump says mail in ballots used to ‘cheat’ – days after urging supporters to ‘change our thinking’ on voting method

Wednesday 29 March 2023 00:45 , John Bowden

Former president Donald Trump has returned to his old position that mail-in ballots are used to “cheat” after he had previously told his supporters that they needed to “change our thinking” about the voting practice.

The former president criticised the use of mail-in ballots on his networking platform Truth Social.

“The Democrats used Covid inspired Mail In Ballots to CHEAT,” he said. “Even Jimmy Carter’s Commission said that Mail In Ballots will lead to massive cheating, which they they have. France, and others, gave up on them — MASSIVE FRAUD. Now they are using PROSECUTORS to CHEAT — No shame. They are the lowest of the low!”

The former president repeatedly criticised mail-in votig throughout the 2020 presidential election, despite the fact he voted by mail himself. Republicans have historically preferred using mail-in ballots, but Mr Trump’s critiques have led to many more Republicans opposing the practice.

Read more:

Trump gives contradictory statements on mail-in ballots days apart

Trump goes all in against trans rights

Tuesday 28 March 2023 23:45 , John Bowden

Former US president Donald Trump smeared rights for transgender Americans as “insanity” and pledged to “revoke every Biden policy promoting the disfigurement of our youth” over the weekend.

At the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign on Saturday in Waco, Texas, Trump doubled down on a vow he made last month to revoke his successor’s policies on gender-affirming care for transgender children.

Trump said that he would “keep men out of women’s sports” if re-elected president, after he last year misgendered transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

Read more:

Trump attacks transgender rights and says he will ban ‘disfigurement of our youth’

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Tuesday 28 March 2023 23:15 , John Bowden

Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for two years, and is already itching to go back.

But one figure from his first run for president has refused to go away, and may end up being a major headache for him as he pursues a third White House bid.

We’re talking, of course, about adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known by her real name, Stephanie Clifford. Ms Daniels made headlines in 2018 when she came forward with an allegation that she had been in a romantic extramarital relationship with the president in 2006, and had been threatened and later bribed to keep her mouth shut.

At the time, the basis of her claim took on an interesting angle thanks to a lawsuit she filed against then-President Donald Trump. Alleging that the hush agreement was invalid because Mr Trump had not signed it, she sued him and triggered what would become a years-long investigation into whether the scheme was legal at all points.

Read more:

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:45 , John Bowden

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.

“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”

Read more:

AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Trump rails against ‘demonic forces’ and pitches 2024 race as ‘the final battle’ at Waco rally

Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump railed against “demonic forces” and pitched the 2024 presidential race as “the final battle” at the first rally of his third campaign for the White House in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.

Mr Trump opened the rally by playing a song recorded by a choir of men imprisoned for their involvement in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He then launched into a speech that echoed the same incendiary language he used in the run-up to that day.

“If we don’t win this election in 2024, I truly believe our country is doomed,” he said, hitting out at “demonic forces” who are “destroying the country.”

“Either the Deep State destroys America or we destroy the Deep State,” the former president warned his followers.

Read more:

Trump rails against ‘demonic forces’ and calls 2024 ‘the final battle’ at Waco rally

Stormy Daniels destroys critic with three word response after being attacked for sex with married Trump

Tuesday 28 March 2023 21:48 , John Bowden

Porn actor Stormy Daniels hit back at critics on Twitter amid the ongoing investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into the hush money payment she received from former President Donald Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen in 2016.

Ms Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. She was paid off to keep quiet about the supposed extramarital activity.

Mr Trump insulted Ms Daniels during his Saturday rally in Waco, Texas, rejecting all allegations of an affair.

“Sex with Stormy Daniels is traumatic enough. Hasn’t President Trump been punished enough?” one Twitter user said.

“I think he needs another spanking,” Ms Daniels responded.

Read more:

Stormy Daniels destroys critic after she’s attacked for sex with married Trump

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

Tuesday 28 March 2023 20:29 , John Bowden

The grand jury looking at evidence related to Donald Trump’s hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is no longer expected to vote on whether or not to indict the former president this week.

That news was first reported by local NBC affiliate WNBC, which cited three sources who indicated that the grand jury would not meet on Wednesday and was not expected to hear matters related to this investigation on Thursday. That makes the prospect of a decision one way or the other regarding the former president’s fate highly unlikely before the members return next week.

No indictment vote for Trump expected this week in Manhattan grand jury probe

FBI fully prepared after Trump’s ‘death and destruction’ post, lawmaker says

Tuesday 28 March 2023 20:15 , John Bowden

US senator Mark Warner said on Sunday he was briefed by the FBI on Donald Trump‘s rhetoric after the former president verbally lashed out at a New York prosecutor overseeing a grand jury investigation into alleged hush-money payments.

“I have been briefed by the FBI. They say they are fully prepared,” Warner, a Democrat and the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN on Sunday. “They have seen no specific threats but the level of rhetoric on some of these right-wing sites has increased.”

Mr Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against New York prosecutors who are leading investigations into the alleged payment of hush-money to porn star Stormy Daniels.

On Friday Mr Trump warned in a Truth Social post of “potential death and destruction” if he is charged in the case.

He also shared a composite picture showing him wielding a baseball bat next to the head of Mr Bragg, a post widely seen as a dangerous call to violence against a prosecutor. The post was later deleted.

Trump warns of ‘potential death and destruction’ if indicted in hush money probe

Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting his imminent arrest

Tuesday 28 March 2023 19:45 , John Bowden

Following his campaign rally in Waco, Texas, Donald Trump said he believes prosecutors in New York City have “already dropped” a case against him, one week after his false prediction of his imminent arrest generated a media firestorm, a rush of Republican support and a surge in donations to his campaign.

Speaking to reporters on 25 March, the former president said he thinks the office of New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg is no longer investigating Mr Trump’s alleged hush money payment to an adult film star in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.

“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” he said, according to Axios. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”

A New York grand jury continues to hear witnesses and evidence in that case. Mr Trump and his aides have blamed “leaks” and “rumours” for his claims, though the former president appeared to be the only source for publicly announcing them, and his team has clarified that he did not receive any indications from prosecutors that would be imminently charged.

Read more:

Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting arrest

Judge orders Pence to give evidence in January 6 probe

Tuesday 28 March 2023 19:09 , John Bowden

The top federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered former vice president Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury regarding his interactions with former president Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a sealed opinion first reported by CNN, Chief Judge James Boasberg reportedly ordered Mr Pence to give evidence in response to any questions from Special Counsel Jack Smith that could elicit answers about illegal acts committed by the ex-president.

Judge Boasberg’s order also reportedly allowed Mr Pence to decline to answer any question that touched on his actions during the certification, but did not preclude him from discussing his interactions with Mr Trump in the lead-up to it.

Andrew Feinberg has more:

Judge orders Pence to give evidence

Trump’s own lawyer says violent Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised'

Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:46 , John Bowden

Trump’s own lawyer calls violent Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised’

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer refused to defend his client’s social media post attacking New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg who is overseeing proceedings on the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

Joe Tacopina condemned Mr Trump’s Truth Social post in which the former president was seen wielding a baseball bat next to a photo of Mr Bragg’s head.

Mr Tacopina was asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press on Sunday if he would “advise a client to personally attack a prosecutor like this”.

Read more:

Trump’s own lawyer calls Truth Social post attacking Alvin Bragg ‘ill advised’

Majority of Americans think Trump investigations are fair

Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:03 , John Bowden

Most Americans think the investigations into former President Donald Trump are fair, according to a new poll.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll includes responses from 1,300 adults and shows that around 60 per cent of Americans don’t want him to be president again.

A majority of Americans disagree with Mr Trump as 56 per cent say that the investigations are fair and not a “witch hunt” – 41 per cent take the opposing view, according to NPR.

There’s a massive partisan divide – about 90 per cent of Democrats think the probs are fair, while 80 per cent of Republicans think they’re a witch hunt.

Among independents, 51 per cent think they’re fair, while 47 per cent do not.

‘Of all the things that Donald Trump has done and accomplished in his life, it’s just constant chaos'

Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:30 , AP

DeSantis’ allies privately scoffed at recent reports of anonymous concerns over the direction of his campaign, noting there is no campaign. The 44-year-old governor isn’t expected to launch his White House bid for at least two more months. And the first presidential primary contest is roughly 10 months away.

For now, DeSantis’ team, headquartered here on the front edge of Florida’s Panhandle, believes he holds a position of strength among Republican voters. And as Trump fights to undermine DeSantis, his strongest Republican rival, the Florida governor’s growing coalition is eager to highlight the contrast between the two men.

On one side stands Trump, a twice-impeached former president carrying a new level of turmoil into the 2024 presidential contest. On the other is DeSantis, a big-state governor coming off a commanding reelection, who is a far more disciplined messenger and hyperfocused on enacting conservative policies.

“Of all the things that Donald Trump has done and accomplished in his life, it’s just constant chaos. And I think the American people are just tired of it,” said Florida state Rep. Spencer Roach, a former Trump supporter who thinks DeSantis would be “a very formidable presidential candidate.”

DeSantis team welcomes contrast with Trump ‘chaos’ candidacy

Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:00 , AP

Jim McKee is standing at the end of a line that snakes through five aisles of fiction inside the Books-A-Million store in Florida’s capital city.

He is smiling because in a matter of minutes, the book he’s holding will be signed by its author, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who McKee believes should be the nation’s next president. But as a former Donald Trump loyalist, the 44-year-old Tallahassee attorney almost whispers when he first says it out loud.

“Personally, I’d rather see DeSantis win the Republican primary than Trump,” McKee says softly, having to repeat himself to be heard. His voice soon grows louder.

“Trump has upset so many people,” McKee says. “DeSantis is more palatable. He has a good story to tell.”

Indeed, conversations throughout Tallahassee’s book stores, conference rooms, state house offices and sports bars reveal that DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence as Trump’s legal woes mount. The former president faces a possible indictment in New York over his role in a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from going public about an extramarital sexual encounter, which he denies.

The optimism around DeSantis comes even as an unlikely collection of establishment-minded Republican officials and Make America Great Again influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for the national stage. DeSantis has stumbled at times under the weight of intensifying national scrutiny as he builds out his political organization and introduces himself to voters in key primary states.

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, report claims

Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:30 , Shweta Sharma, Andrew Feinberg

Ivana Trump was under an FBI counterintelligence inquiry on allegations surrounding her ties to her home country Czechoslovakia, a trove of secret documents has revealed.

The FBI “recommended a preliminary inquiry be opened on Ivana Trump” based on information received from a confidential source in 1989, according to 190 pages of classified documents released by the law enforcement agency on Monday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from Bloomberg News.

One passage in the trove of documents noted that it was “unknown” whether the allegations against her “stem[med] from jealousies of her wealth and fame” but said the probe was nonetheless “continuing”.

Born Ivana Zelníčková in 1949 in what was then Czechoslovakia, she left the then-communist country in 1971 after marrying an Austrian ski instructor who she divorced a year later after obtaining Austrian citizenship, eventually making her way to California, then New York, where she earned a living as a model.

Read more:

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was under FBI investigation, report claims

Trump offers rambling defence for post showing him wielding baseball bat next to Alvin Bragg’s head

Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:00 , Stuti Mishra

Donald Trump offered a bizarre and rambling response when he was asked about a controversial Truth Social post showing him wielding a baseball bat next to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s head.

Mr Trump’s defence has come as his social media shows an increase in inflammatory rhetoric against the investigation on a hush money payment that could lead to charges being brought against him, but which the twice-impeached president now claims have been dropped.

In a Fox News interview on Monday, the former president claimed the two photos in the post were unrelated.

Fox host Sean Hannity began by questioning Mr Trump about the post, which was later taken down, and the criticism it generated.

“Why open yourself up to criticism?” Hannity asked.

Read more:

Trump offers rambling defence of post of him wielding bat next to Alvin Bragg’s head

Trump says Ron DeSantis would be working in a pizza parlour if it wasn’t for him

Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:30 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump has bragged about how his “great” endorsement for Ron DeSantis during the 2018 gubernatorial race had helped the Florida governor, without which he would be “working in a pizza parlour”.

Both Republican leaders have stepped up attacks on each other in the run up to the 2024 presidential election, though Mr DeSantis is yet to officially declare that he will run for president.

Mr Trump, who had earlier come up with a nickname for Mr DeSantis using his Italian-American heritage, gave a detailed account of how he allegedly helped the Florida governor.

Mr Trump’s fresh remarks in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Monday night have come after Mr DeSantis’s own sass-infused comments about the investigation on the hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels.

“The question I’m asked the most about you of late is Ron DeSantis. This is the question – what happened? I thought they were friends,” said Hannity.

Read more:

Trump says Ron DeSantis would be working in a pizza parlour if it wasn’t for him

Trump escalates rhetoric against Manhattan DA

Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:00 , AP

Trump raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday. He has since used the absence of an indictment to claim, furnishing no evidence, that the investigation is somehow faltering.

The Republican former president has also escalated his rhetoric, warning that “potential death & destruction” would accompany any indictment. He also posted a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. On Thursday, Trump referred to Bragg, Manhattan’s first Black D.A., as an “animal.”

In a memo to staff Friday, Bragg thanked the nearly 1,600 people for persevering in the face of “additional press attention and security around our office“ and said their safety remains the top priority.

“We will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, which is what each of you does every single day,” Bragg wrote.

Since then, former federal prosecutors in New York City have rallied to Bragg’s defense, signing a letter that condemned the verbal attacks.

“As former prosecutors, we denounce efforts to intimidate the Manhattan District Attorney and we call upon all to support and protect prosecutorial independence and the rule of law,” he said.

‘I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David'

Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:40 , AP

Among the witnesses the grand jury has already heard from is Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer who has said he orchestrated the payoffs. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges arising from the payments and has become a potentially major witness for state prosecutors.

Pecker is seen as relevant to the investigation because his company, American Media Inc., secretly assisted Trump’s campaign by paying $150,000 to McDougal in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then suppressed McDougal’s story until after the election, a dubious journalism practice known as “catch-and-kill.”

Cohen made recordings of a conversation in which he and Trump spoke about the arrangement to pay McDougal through the tabloid publisher.

At one point in the recording, Cohen told Trump, “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David,” a reference to Pecker.

Cohen told Trump that he had already spoken with the Trump Organization’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, on “how to set the whole thing up.”

Trump then said: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Cohen also signed an agreement to buy the nondisclosure part of McDougal’s contract with AMI for $125,000 through a company he formed called Resolution Consultants LLC, but a few months later Pecker told Cohen that the deal was off and Cohen never paid the $125,000, according to court documents from Cohen’s criminal case.

Separately, Cohen has admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels to keep her from telling her story to the Enquirer or some other media.

Trump has said that he personally, not his company, reimbursed Cohen.

Federal prosecutors revealed in 2018 that they had agreed not to bring criminal charges against AMI. Pecker has since stepped down as CEO.

In Trump probe, key witness returns, no indictment vote yet

Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:22 , AP

A pivotal figure in the hush money payment investigation of Donald Trump returned on Monday to the building where a grand jury has been meeting for months, a repeat appearance suggesting his testimony could be key as prosecutors push toward potential criminal charges.

There was still no word on when the panel might vote on a possible indictment of the former president.

David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and the former chief executive of the parent company of The National Enquirer, was back as the grand jury heard testimony in the probe for the first time since last Monday, when a witness favorable to the ex-president appeared.

The grand jury is now back on the Trump matter, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secretive proceedings. The ex-president is being investigated over payments during his 2016 campaign to two women who alleged affairs or sexual encounters with him.

Trump denies being involved with either of the women, porn actor Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, and claims he’s the victim of “extortion.”

Trump grand jury back at work this week in Manhattan

Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:00 , John Bowden

The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments returned on Monday to hear more evidence, with still no word on when it might be asked to vote on a possible indictment.

It was the first time the panel was hearing testimony in the Trump probe since last Monday, when a witness favorable to the ex-president appeared before the grand jury. The jurors did not meet at all on Wednesday, one of the days when they ordinarily convene, and heard other matters on Thursday. The members typically do not meet on Tuesdays or Fridays.

The grand jury is now back on Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secretive proceedings. It was not immediately clear whether an additional witness might be called before the panel.

Trump raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday. He has since used the absence of an indictment to claim, furnishing no evidence, that the investigation is somehow faltering.

Read more:

In Trump probe, Manhattan grand jury is back at work

Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting his imminent arrest

Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:30 , John Bowden

Following his campaign rally in Waco, Texas, Donald Trump said he believes prosecutors in New York City have “already dropped” a case against him, one week after his false prediction of his imminent arrest generated a media firestorm, a rush of Republican support and a surge in donations to his campaign.

Speaking to reporters on 25 March, the former president said he thinks the office of New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg is no longer investigating Mr Trump’s alleged hush money payment to an adult film star in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.

“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” he said, according to Axios. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”

A New York grand jury continues to hear witnesses and evidence in that case. Mr Trump and his aides have blamed “leaks” and “rumours” for his claims, though the former president appeared to be the only source for publicly announcing them, and his team has clarified that he did not receive any indications from prosecutors that would be imminently charged.

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Trump claims Manhattan DA ‘already dropped’ case after falsely predicting arrest

Has Trump been arrested? The former president’s moving indictment timeline

Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:00 , John Bowden

Workers began erecting barricades around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse last week, bracing for a potential, unprecedented moment: Donald Trump arriving to face charges in a hush money probe, making him the first president in US history to face criminal charges.

In an all-caps warning on his Truth Social account on 18 March, the former president predicted his own arrest and called on his supporters to protest what he called the “corrupt and highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office.”

A Trump spokesperson later clarified the former president’s team has been given “no notification” of an impending arrest or indictment beside “illegal leaks,” though Mr Trump was the only person to have announced his imminent arrest, which he said would take place on 21 March.

A grand jury in New York City has met on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays since January to consider evidence involving the former president’s role involving a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels that prosecutors at the New York County district attorney’s office reportedly allege was an illegal campaign expenditure.

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Alex Jones peddles Trump assassination conspiracy as MAGA ramps up violent rhetoric

‘Completely inappropriate’: AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

Tuesday 28 March 2023 22:44 , John Bowden

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not having Republican House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer’s attempts to interfere with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former president Donald Trump.

“I think what the chairman is attempting to do is completely inappropriate,” she told The Independent. “It breaks total precedent and then, frankly, isn’t really grounded in much logical or historical precedent and I think hammering that home is going to be ... a matter of continued importance.”

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AOC calls out Oversight chairman’s attempt to interfere with Trump probe

One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting

Tuesday 28 March 2023 11:30 , John Bowden

Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, once considered to be a political ally of Donald Trump’s, has come out swinging against the former US president in a new interview that touched on Mr Trump’s meeting with disgraced rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

The comments were made during an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, due to air in the coming days on the streaming service Fox Nation. Excerpts were released on Monday by Fox News.

Speaking with Morgan, Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Trump “should be rebuked and condemned” for his meeting with Fuentes, who regularly rants about the Jewish people and is known for his denial of the Holocaust.

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One-time ally Netanyahu criticises Trump over Nick Fuentes meeting