Donald Trump vows to stay in the 2024 race if he faces criminal charges
A federal judge ordered Donald Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran to give evidence before a grand jury regarding conversations he had with the former president relating to the trove of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. The ruling attorney-client privilege the pair would have otherwise been protected by.
Meanwhile, Law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are preparing for the possibility that Mr Trump may be indicated as early as next week in relation to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, according to NBC News.
New York prosecutors are expected to reach a decision soon as to whether Mr Trump should face criminal charges. In a sign that his campaign was worried about a possible indictment, they released a statement attacking the Manhattan DA’s office.
Meanwhile on social media, Mr Trump triumphantly returned to Facebook and posted no less than eight videos to his Truth Social account on Friday. Earlier, YouTube announced an end to his ban from the platform. The video-sharing site and all other social media sites de-platformed the former president in the aftermath of the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 for inciting violence.
Law enforcement agencies planning security for possible Trump indictment
The network cites five senior officials familiar with the preparations.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 10:45
Brett Kavanaugh’s former roommate could decide Trump’s fate
The new chief judge at the District Court in Washington, DC who will oversee the special counsel investigations into former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice was once a roommate of Trump Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh while they were at law school.
Judge James Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, has been lauded by both Republican and Democratic presidents in the past.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 09:15
Ron DeSantis watched Guantanamo prisoner being tortured
A former detainee of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has claimed that Florida governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis witnessed him being tortured during the time he was stationed there.
Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni citizen who was held for 14 years on the US Naval base in Cuba, told The Independents in an extraordinary interview that he was brutally force-fed by camp staff during a hunger strike in 2006, and that Mr DeSantis was present for at least one of those sessions.
Richard Hall reports for The Independents.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 07:45
Pence says Buttigieg ‘can’t take a joke’ as he doubles down on homophobic comments
Former Vice President Mike Pence has doubled down on the homophobic comments he made about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during his speech at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 06:15
How Trump’s team plans to launch a ‘smear campaign’ against Manhattan DA
Two of Mr Trump’s political allies told The New York Times that his campaign is preparing for a “political war” if or when DA Alvin Bragg’s office indicts the former president over the hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 04:45
Trump revels in his achievements for farmers and makes it awkward
Donald Trump posted another video (the seventh today) reveling in his achievements for farmers in battling China and doing away with death taxes on farms.
It wouldn’t be a Trump video without some level of awkward phrasing or bizarre overemphasis — watch below as he makes a point of telling farmers wondering about estate planning: “If you don’t love your children so much — and there are some people who don’t and maybe deservedly so — it won’t matter, because frankly, you don’t have to leave them anything.”
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 03:15
Different styles on display in Trump v DeSantis
While DeSantis has taken a cloistered approach, Trump has been maximizing his interactions with voters and the press as he begins to visit early voting states — an effort that aides says is part of a larger push to contrast Trump’s strengths with DeSantis’ perceived weaknesses.
Trump vs. DeSantis: Rivals’ very different styles on display
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a leading Republican presidential prospect who has emerged as a potent force in national politics while avoiding the personal connections, intimate moments and unscripted questions that have long fueled successful White House bids
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 02:15
Ex-editor of Jewish newspaper arrested for role in Capitol riot
A former editor of a top orthodox Jewish newspaper has been arrested in connection with the Jan 6 insurrection.
An affidavit by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Elliot Resnick, 39, was chief editor of The Jewish Press when he joined the crowd of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6 2021, reported the Associated Press.
Sravasti Dasgupta reports.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 01:15
Two dozen Trump aids and Mar-a-Lago staff subpoenaed in Mar-a-Lago papers probe
At least two dozen people close to Donald Trump, ranging from inner circle aides to staff members at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, have been subpoenaed as part of the special counsel investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, CNN reports .
“They’re casting an extremely wide net – anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” an anonymous source familiar with the investigation told the broadcaster.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 18, 2023 00:15
Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric surrounds potential indictments and 2024 campaign
Big problems, doom, World War… Alex Woodwards reports on the former president’s dark visions.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 23:15