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Trump news – live: Trump says DeSantis to blame for Disney becoming ‘woke’, as he praises Erdogan victory

Texas Republicans ignored the pleas from former President Donald Trump and impeached their own state Attorney General Ken Paxton on charges of corruption.

Mr Paxton, who was impeached by a bipartisan vote of 121-23, said after Sunday’s ballot that he has “full confidence” as his fate is to be decided in a trial in the state senate, where some of his allies, including his wife state Senator Angela Paxton, will serve as jurors.

The state attorney general was immediately suspended following his impeachment on 20 articles, including bribery and abuse of public trust.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Trump called Mr Paxton “one of the most hard-working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States” and said that the Republican speaker of the Texas statehouse was a “RINO”.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Mr Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan have shared a recording of the former president speaking to a witness with Mr Trump’s legal team, according to CBS News.

The witness hasn’t been identified, a document made public by the prosecutorial office on Friday stated.

Key points

  • Diverse Republican presidential primary field sees an opening in 2024 with voters of color

  • Trump leads DeSantis among California Republicans

  • Government tries to claw back money so Jan. 6 rioters don't profit from online appeals

  • Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists

  • Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service over Memorial Day weekend

Trump slams Disney and DeSantis: ‘A Woke and Disgusting shadow of its former self'

20:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump slammed both Disney and Ron DeSantis on Truth Social on Sunday.

“Disney has become a Woke and Disgusting shadow of its former self, with people actually hating it. Must go back to what it once was, or the ‘market’ will do irreparable damage,” he wrote.

“This all happened during the Governorship of ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious. Instead of complaining now, for publicity reasons only, he should have stopped it long ago. Would have been easy to do - Still is!”

Trump congratulates Erdogan: ‘He is a friend’

20:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday after the leader claimed victory in Sunday’s runoff election.

“Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his big and well deserved victory in Turkey. I know him well, he is a friend, and have learned firsthand how much he loves his Country and the great people of Turkey, which he has lifted to a new level of prominence and respect!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Republican presidential candidates of color largely support DeSantis’ positions

20:00 , AP

The NAACP recently issued a travel advisory for the state of Florida under DeSantis’ leadership, warning of open hostility “toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” The notice calls out new policies enacted by the governor that include blocking public schools from teaching students about systemic racism and defunding programs aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Republican presidential candidates of color largely support DeSantis’ positions.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said the GOP’s policies are far more important than the racial and ethnic diversity of their presidential candidates. He noted there also were four Republican candidates of color in 2016, the year Trump won the White House after exploiting tensions over race and immigration.

“White nationalists, insurrectionists and white supremacists seem to find comfort in the (Republican) Party,” Morial said. “I think we’re beyond the politics of just the face of a person of color by itself appealing to people of color. What do you stand for?”

As GOP field expands, Trump is getting what he wants

19:15 , Gustaf Kilander

As each candidate enters the Republican race for president, Ron DeSantis is becoming less and less likely to snag the nomination from Donald Trump as the anti-Trump vote within the party is given more opportunities to splinter, according to The New York Times.

2024 may very well end up looking like 2016 when Mr Trump came out victorious in the broad GOP primary as the non-Trump vote was shared among several candidates.

Mr Trump’s base, more than 30 per cent of the GOP, remains devoted to the former president.

Dave Carney, a New Hampshire GOP strategist, told The Times that it’s a “gigantic problem” for Mr DeSantis.

“Whatever percentage” the lower-level candidates receive “makes it difficult for the second-place guy to win because there’s just not the available vote,” he said.

GOP may have opportunity in 2024 to weaken Democrats’ grip on African Americans and Latinos

18:30 , AP

The Republicans’ increasingly diverse leadership, backed by evolving politics on issues such as immigration, suggest the GOP may have a real opportunity in 2024 to further weaken the Democrats’ grip on African Americans and Latinos. Those groups have been among the most loyal segments of the Democratic coalition since Republican leaders fought against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Republican presidential contenders of 2024 walk a fine line when addressing race with the GOP’s overwhelmingly white primary electorate.

In most cases, the diverse candidates in the Republican field play down the significance of their racial heritage. They all deny the existence of systemic racism in the United States even while discussing their own personal experience with racial discrimination. They oppose policies around policing, voting rights and education that are specifically designed to benefit disadvantaged communities and combat structural racism.

Diverse Republican presidential primary field sees an opening in 2024 with voters of color

17:45 , AP

During Donald Trump‘s first visit as president to Chicago, a frequent target in his attacks on urban violence, he disparaged the nation’s third largest city as a haven for criminals and a national embarrassment.

At a recent town hall, Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy sat alongside ex-convicts on the city’s South Side and promised to defend Trump’s “America First” agenda. In return, the little-known White House hopeful, a child of Indian immigrants, found a flicker of acceptance in a room full of Black and brown voters.

The audience nodded when Ramaswamy said that “anti-Black racism is on the rise,” even if they took issue with his promise to eliminate affirmative action and fight “woke” policies.

“America First applies to all Americans — not just the few that Republicans talk to,” he said.

Race has emerged as a central issue — and a delicate one — in the 2024 presidential contest as the GOP’s primary field so far features four candidates of color, making it among the most racially diverse ever.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the first Black senator in the South since Reconstruction, entered the contest earlier in the month. He joined Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador who is of Indian descent, and Larry Elder, an African American raised in Los Angeles’ South Central neighborhood who came to national attention as a candidate in the failed effort two years ago to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who is of Cuban descent, says he may enter the race in the coming days.

Most of the candidates of color are considered underdogs in a field currently dominated by Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Read more:

Diverse Republican presidential primary field sees an opening in 2024 with voters of color

Trump leads DeSantis among California Republicans

17:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump is leading his main rival for the GOP presidential nomintation, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, among Republicans in California.

The former president have the support of 44 per cent of Republicans in the state, while Mr DeSantis has 26 per cent, according to a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

Three months ago, Mr DeSantis led Mr Trump among likely GOP primary voters in the state by eight percantage points.

Poll director Mark DiCamillo told the Los Angeles Times: “Trump dominates the news, and I think he enjoys that, and I think he gets the sense when he is dominating the news, he’s probably expanding his messaging to his base.”

“I think this poll pretty much proves that. Even when the news isn’t necessarily great, he’s able to give his own opinion about why things are the way they are, and the Republican base pretty much believes him,” he added.

Among California’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, there are still millions of Republican voters.

Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux on new Watergate series White House Plumbers: ‘It’s absurd and ridiculous’

16:15 , Louis Chilton

When White House Plumbers was first announced in late 2019, Donald Trump was still in office. As a series of legal battles involving the twice-impeached president continues to intensify, the significance of Watergate has only sharpened.

Read more:

Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux on their ‘absurd’ new series White House Plumbers

Government tries to claw back money so Jan. 6 rioters don't profit from online appeals

15:30 , AP

Less than two months after he pleaded guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol, Texas resident Daniel Goodwyn appeared on Tucker Carlson‘s then-Fox News show and promoted a website where supporters could donate money to Goodwyn and other rioters whom the site called “political prisoners.”

The Justice Department now wants Goodwyn to give up more than $25,000 he raised — a clawback that is part of a growing effort by the government to prevent rioters from being able to personally profit from participating in the attack that shook the foundations of American democracy.

An Associated Press review of court records shows that prosecutors in the more than 1,000 of the Jan. 6, 2021, criminal cases are increasingly asking judges to impose fines on top of prison sentences to offset donations from supporters of the Capitol rioters.

Dozens of defendants have set up online fundraising appeals for help with legal fees, and prosecutors acknowledge there’s nothing wrong with asking for help for attorney expenses. But the Justice Department has, in some cases, questioned where the money is really going because many of those charged have had government-funded legal representation.

Read more:

Government tries to claw back money so Jan. 6 rioters don't profit from online appeals

Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists

14:45 , AP

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will give a graduation speech at her alma mater, an elite Colorado liberal arts college, amid questions about her political future and insistence that Donald Trump never become president again.

At Colorado College’s commencement on Sunday, the Wyoming Republican is expected to touch on themes similar to those she has promoted since leaving office in January: Addressing her work on the House January 6 Select Committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol insurrection and standing up to the threat she believes Trump poses to democracy.

Cheney’s busy speaking schedule and subject matter have fueled speculation about whether she may enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Declared or potential candidates ranging from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have calibrated their remarks about Trump, aiming to counter his attacks without alienating the supporters that won him the White House seven years ago.

Read more:

Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists

'There’s nothing pleasurable about Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump’

14:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who briefly served with Mr DeSantis in the House of Representatives, said she took no enjoyment from watching Mr Trump and Mr DeSantis bicker.

“There’s nothing pleasurable about Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump,” she told The Independent. “The hell that he’s wreaked on us in our state has been devastating to education, to health care, women’s reproductive decisions.”

Ms Wasserman Schultz said she hoped Mr DeSantis’ run would be the beginning of the end of his political career.

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service over Memorial Day weekend

13:00 , Gustaf Kilander

In a Twitter spat between spokespeople for the top two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the military service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be used as a cudgel against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tweeted on Saturday: “Ron ‘Dee-Santis’ has run for 4 different offices in the past 7 years. That’s not someone who’s in it for the country, it’s someone who’s in it for himself.”

The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account then responded, saying that “the Trump campaign said @RonDeSantis is ‘not someone who’s in it for the country.’”

“Here’s our response,” they added, sharing images of Mr DeSantis in his Navy uniform and from his time serving in Iraq, a clear dig at former President Donald Trump, who avoided joining the military by claiming that he had medical issues that prevented him from serving.

Ms Harrington then replied by only posting an image of the transportation secretary in his military gear, seemingly in an attempt to denigrate the service of both Mr Buttigieg and Mr DeSantis.

Read more:

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service

DeSantis struggles to gain support from Florida delegation

12:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

When Mr DeSantis departed Washington after winning the governor’s mansion in 2018, he did so with few friends other than Mr Trump, whose support among the Florida delegation remained strong enough that the Florida governor’s much-hyped visit to the Capitol earlier this year ended with multiple Florida congresspersons walking out of a meeting with him to declare that they were endorsing the former president once again.

One of those members was Representative Byron Donalds, a second-term congressman who represents the Sunshine State’s 19th District.

Mr Donalds, who in the past has been a close ally of the Florida governor, said in a statement that he was backing the twice-impeached ex-president over his own state’s governor.

“There is only one leader at this time in our nation’s history who can seize this moment and deliver what we need — to get us back on track, provide strength and resolve, and Make America Great Again,” he said.

DeSantis had reputation as an awkward loner

11:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

After he was sworn into Congress in January 2013, he quickly became one of the most conservative members of an avowedly conservative House Republican Conference. After he won a second term in the 2014 midterms, he became a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of far-right Republicans that would become such a thorn in the side of then-House Speaker John Boehner that the Ohio Republican chose to resign rather than suffer the indignity of being forced out for forging one too many compromises with Mr Obama.

The Florida Republican compiled as conservative a voting record as any member of the House GOP, but despite arriving on the scene at a time when his brand of hard-right conservatism was becoming more and more en-vogue in the House, he never became as well-known as some of his equally conservative colleagues, such as Reps Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Mark Meadows (R-NC) or Justin Amash (R-MI).

One possible reason for that — his reputation as an awkward loner — appears to have already hampered his chances against Mr Trump.

DeSantis found a way to capitalise on anti-Obama sentiment

10:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

Mr DeSantis’ reinvention as a woke-battling colossus standing astride the Sunshine State could not be a starker contrast to how he conducted himself during the five years he spent in Washington while representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

The future governor won his first House election in 2012, just two years after the Tea Party movement that arose after Barack Obama’s inauguration helped the GOP retake control of the chamber from the Nancy Pelosi-led Democratic caucus.

As he geared up to run in that election, Mr DeSantis found a way to capitalise on the anti-Obama sentiment within the GOP by calling his first book Dreams from Our Founding Fathers ­— a title that positioned it as a response of sorts to Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir, Dreams from My Father.

GOP political strategists says governor’s reputation is a carefully manufactured façade

09:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

Mr DeSantis gained his support — and a national profile — by winning the hearts and minds of some former Trump boosters through his wholehearted rejection of any and all restrictions or mandates meant to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and he has kept his core support among some GOP diehards by using a compliant state legislative majority to enact a laundry list of conservative priorities and use resulting culture war battles to raise his profile even further.

A Republican media strategist who worked on Mr Trump’s 2020 campaign, Giancarlo Sopo, told The Independent he believes Mr DeSantis is “the obvious choice” to lead the GOP in next year’s election because of what he described as the Florida governor’s role in enacting “the boldest conservative agenda this country has seen since Ronald Reagan” and Mr DeSantis’ “unique ability to demoralize and defeat the left”.

Yet Mr Sopo’s confidence in Mr DeSantis’ abilities wasn’t shared by many Florida GOP veterans contacted by The Independent.

None of the Florida-based operatives would speak on the record for fear of alienating the governor, who has earned a reputation for vindictiveness during his five years in Tallahassee.

But the consensus opinion among the GOP political strategists, many of whom have had a hand in national campaigns of years past, was that the governor’s reputation as a lib-triggering prizefighter is a carefully manufactured façade — a recent invention that is a fabrication formed by a coterie of combative press aides and sympathetic media outlets.

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

08:00 , Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

The second-term Florida governor, who for months has sojourned through the traditional primary battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire while hawking his manifesto-cum-memoir The Courage to be Free, was once seen as a formidable obstacle to the twice-impeached ex-president’s dream of reclaiming his place in the White House.

But in the weeks since Mr Trump found himself on the wrong end of an indictment from a New York grand jury, the Florida governor has seen his standing in the polls tumble while his fellow Floridian has surged to a commanding lead among GOP primary voters.

Still, Mr DeSantis has launched a presidential presidential campaign that has support from a decent chunk of his party and a formidable war chest transferred from his successful re-election run last year. On 24 May, Mr DeSantis filed paperwork declaring his candidacy.

Read more:

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused of threatening colleagues as his impeachment hearing begins

07:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been accused of threatening colleagues with political blowback if they vote for his impeachment.

State Representative Charlie Geren, who like Mr Paxton is a member of the Republican Party, said that “several members of this House while on the floor of this House, doing the state business, received telephone calls from general Paxton personally, threatening them with political consequences in their next election,” according to The Texas Tribune.

Mr Geren made the claim during the opening remarks in the impeachment hearing in the Texas statehouse. The 73-year-old rejected Mr Paxton’s claims that the impeachment is a witch hunt and that the whistleblowers behind a lawsuit against him are “political” appointees.

Mr Geren, who sits on the House General Investigative Committee, repeated what the panel said in the articles of impeachment filed against Mr Paxton, that the committee wouldn’t have probed the issue if he hadn’t made the request that the legislature greenlight a settlement worth $3.3m to the former members of staff.

“We are here today because the attorney general asked the state Legislature to fund a multimillion-dollar settlement,” Mr Geren said. “There was no investigation prior to this time. We wanted to look further into the reasons behind that.”

Read more:

Ken Paxton accused of threatening colleagues as his impeachment hearing begins

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service over Memorial Day weekend

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

In a Twitter spat between spokespeople for the top two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the military service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be used as a cudgel against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tweeted on Saturday: “Ron ‘Dee-Santis’ has run for 4 different offices in the past 7 years. That’s not someone who’s in it for the country, it’s someone who’s in it for himself.”

The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account then responded, saying that “the Trump campaign said @RonDeSantis is ‘not someone who’s in it for the country.’”

“Here’s our response,” they added, sharing images of Mr DeSantis in his Navy uniform and from his time serving in Iraq, a clear dig at former President Donald Trump, who avoided joining the military by claiming that he had medical issues that prevented him from serving.

Ms Harrington then replied by only posting an image of the transportation secretary in his military gear, seemingly in an attempt to denigrate the service of both Mr Buttigieg and Mr DeSantis.

Read more:

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service

Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger celebrates 100th birthday, still active in global affairs

05:00 , AP

Former diplomat and presidential advisor Henry Kissinger marks his 100th birthday on Saturday, outlasting many of his political contemporaries who guided the United States through one of its most tumultuous periods including the presidency of Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War.

Born in Germany on May 27, 1923, Kissinger remains known for his key role in American foreign policy of the 1960s and 1970s including eventual attempts to pull the U.S. out of Vietnam, but not before he became inextricably linked to many of the conflict’s most disputed actions.

David Kissinger, writing in The Washington Post on Thursday, said his father’s centenary “might have an air of inevitability for anyone familiar with his force of character and love of historical symbolism. Not only has he outlived most of his peers, eminent detractors and students, but he has also remained indefatigably active throughout his 90s.”

The elder Kissinger will celebrate this week with visits to New York, London and his hometown of Fürth, Germany, David Kissinger wrote.

In recent years Kissinger has continued to hold sway over Washington’s power brokers as an elder statesman. He has provided advice to Republican and Democratic presidents, including the White House during the Trump administration, while maintaining an international consulting business through which he delivers speeches in the German accent he has not lost since fleeing the Nazi regime with his family when he was a teenager.

Read more:

Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger celebrates 100th birthday, still active in global affairs

DeSantis fights back – kind of

04:00 , AP

Although the Florida governor has largely avoided confrontation with Trump, he has managed to throw a few jabs back.

As prosecutors prepared an indictment against Donald Trump in New York, DeSantis criticized the investigation but also said, “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”

In a Piers Morgan interview that aired a few days later, he laughed off a question about the nicknames Trump was using for him.

“I don’t know how to spell DeSanctimonious. I don’t really know what it means, but I kind of like it. It’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. I mean, so we’ll go with that. That’s fine. You can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner,” DeSantis said.

On Wednesday, after launching his campaign, DeSantis avoided referencing Trump by name but made a subtle dig at him over national Republican election losses.

“We must end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years,” DeSantis said on Twitter Spaces. “The tired dogmas of the past are inadequate for a vibrant future. We must look forward, not backwards.”

Trumps escalates DeSantis attacks

03:00 , AP

In recent months, Trump has dramatically intensified his criticism of DeSantis, taking particular umbrage as what he sees as the governor’s ungratefulness.

“DeSantis got elected because of me. You remember he had nothing. He was dead. He was leaving the race. He came over and he begged me, begged me for an endorsement,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in February. “He said, ‘If you endorse me, I’ll win.’ And there were tears coming down from his eyes.”

Trump’s campaign resurrected the 2018 DeSantis ad to remind viewers of Trump’s help in the governor’s political rise.

“Isn’t it time DeSantis remembers how he got to where he is?” the ad says.

Trump has also shared a photo suggesting impropriety when DeSantis was a teacher two decades ago, despite no evidence of that; said DeSantis needed a personality transplant; and aired an ad accusing DeSantis of “sticking his fingers where they don’t belong” — a reference to a Daily Beast report that the governor once ate chocolate pudding with his fingers.

On Wednesday, after DeSantis’ presidential announcement on Twitter Spaces was plagued by glitches, Trump posted a video on Truth Social of a “Ron” rocket falling over and exploding.

Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case

02:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan have shared a recording of the former president speaking to a witness with Mr Trump’s legal team.

The witness hasn’t been identified, a document made public by the prosecutorial office on Friday stated, according to CBS News.

The document is known as an automatic discovery form and outlines the charges that a defendant is facing and also provides an overview of the evidence gathered against Mr Trump that’s set to be put forward at trial or at a preliminary hearing.

Both Mr Trump’s lawyers and the press had made several requests that an automatic discovery form be made public after Mr Trump’s 4 April arrest.

Mr Trump, the first ex-president in US history to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money case. The 34 instances are alleged to have taken place between 14 February and 5 December 2017 during Mr Trump’s first year in the White House.

Read more:

Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case

DeSantis becomes DeSanctimonious

01:30 , AP

As DeSantis’ national profile began to rise, so did chatter about his potential as a 2024 presidential prospect — and the former president noticed.

“If I faced him, I’d beat him like I would beat everyone else,” Trump said of DeSantis in October 2021, while saying that he didn’t expect the governor to challenge him.

Days before the 2022 midterm election, Trump unveiled his new nickname for the governor: Ron DeSanctimonious. He then visited Miami for a rally to support U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio — but not DeSantis, who was holding a separate campaign event that same day for his own reelection.

In the days following DeSantis’ reelection victory, Trump put out a statement knocking him as an “average REPUBLICAN governor with great Public Relations” and criticizing him for not ruling out a 2024 presidential bid.

“He says, ‘I’m only focused on the governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” Trump said.

DeSantis, asked to comment on Trump’s remarks at a press conference, said being the target of attacks was simply part of the job.

“What you learn is all that’s just noise,” DeSantis said.

Trump floated DeSantis as running mate in 2021

Sunday 28 May 2023 00:45 , AP

Trump and DeSantis remained publicly supportive of each other in early 2021 — so much so that Trump even floated the Florida governor as a possible 2024 running mate.

“A lot of people like that,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in April 2021. “You know, I’m just saying what I read and what you read. They love that ticket. But certainly Ron would be considered. He is a great guy.”

Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit

Sunday 28 May 2023 00:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump Jr has shared a seemingly AI-generated clip of Ron DeSantis edited into the role of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in The Office in a clip in which the character is mocked for wearing a woman’s suit.

“Imagine when next time it’s not an obvious spoof from The Office but an attempt to depict itself as legitimate and much more nefarious,” CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted.

“Don Jr among others has shared this video. I don’t think any of us are ready for this next election online,” Alex Thompson of Axios said.

Democratic consultant Tim Hogan added that “Folks, we simply are not ready for the 2024 GOP primary memes”.

“Rhonda Santis is a perfect drag name, just saying,” Mr Hogan tweeted.

Read more:

Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit

2020: Trump jokes about firing DeSantis if he loses Florida

Saturday 27 May 2023 23:30 , AP

At a campaign event ahead of the 2020 election, Trump praised DeSantis and called him a friend but also joked that he would blame the governor if he did not win Florida.

“I’ll fire him somehow. I’m going to fire him. I will find a way,” he said.

Trump ended up winning Florida in 2020 by 3.4 percentage points — a bigger margin of victory than in 2016.

Trump and DeSantis: Early Covid-19 response

Saturday 27 May 2023 23:00 , AP

In the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump applauded DeSantis for how he had handled governing the response to the virus.

“He’s done a lot of things right. And he’s been truly — I mean, he cares so much about health care. He cares so much about the cost of prescription drugs. He’s been a fantastic governor for Florida. They’re very happy with him,” Trump said at a press conference.

DeSantis initially resisted issuing a statewide stay-at-home order but reversed course and issued it after facing pressure from Trump and White House advisers.

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service over Memorial Day weekend

Saturday 27 May 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

In a Twitter spat between spokespeople for the top two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the military service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be used as a cudgel against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tweeted on Saturday: “Ron ‘Dee-Santis’ has run for 4 different offices in the past 7 years. That’s not someone who’s in it for the country, it’s someone who’s in it for himself.”

The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account then responded, saying that “the Trump campaign said @RonDeSantis is ‘not someone who’s in it for the country.’”

“Here’s our response,” they added, sharing images of Mr DeSantis in his Navy uniform and from his time serving in Iraq, a clear dig at former President Donald Trump, who avoided joining the military by claiming that he had medical issues that prevented him from serving.

Ms Harrington then replied by only posting an image of the transportation secretary in his military gear, seemingly in an attempt to denigrate the service of both Mr Buttigieg and Mr DeSantis.

Read more:

Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service

Trump and DeSantis: Welcome to Florida Mr President

Saturday 27 May 2023 22:00 , AP

In 2019, Trump changed his residency from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and held a “homecoming rally” with Gov. DeSantis near Miami.

“Welcome home to Florida,” DeSantis told him.

Trump quipped that DeSantis “better not be more popular in Florida than me” after extended cheers for the governor. He went on to suggest to the crowd that DeSantis should wear jackets less frequently so people know he’s not fat.

Trump and DeSantis: DeSantis thanks Trump in 2018 victory speech

Saturday 27 May 2023 21:30 , AP

After narrowly winning his 2018 race, DeSantis singled out Trump in his victory speech as he recognized the many people who had supported his campaign.

“I’d like to thank our president for standing by me when it wasn’t necessarily the smart thing to do,” DeSantis said. “Mr. President, I look forward to working with you to advance Florida’s priorities. I think you’re going to get tired of me calling you asking you for things for Florida, but I look forward to that, and I think we’ll have a great partnership.”

VIDEO: Report: Trump workers moved document boxes before DOJ Mar-a-Lago visit

Saturday 27 May 2023 21:00 , The Independent

Trump and DeSantis: That ad with DeSantis building a wall out of his kids’ blocks

Saturday 27 May 2023 20:30 , AP

One of the most memorable moments of DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign was an ad with his children in which he shows voters just how devoted he is to Trump.

“Build the wall,” he says to daughter Madison as she stacks cardboard brick blocks.

Holding son Mason in his lap, DeSantis pretend-reads to him from Trump’s “The Art of the Deal”: “Then Mr. Trump said, ‘You’re fired.’ I love that part.”

Another scene shows DeSantis holding a Trump campaign sign in front of Madison in a high chair: “Make America Great Again,” DeSantis reads.

Trump and DeSantis: Tweet of support before gubernatorial campaign

Saturday 27 May 2023 20:00 , AP

Before DeSantis entered the Florida governor’s race in 2018, he asked Trump to send out a tweet touting him as a good candidate.

Trump obliged.

“Congressman Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard Law, who would make a GREAT Governor of Florida. He loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!” Trump tweeted in December 2017.

VIDEO: Larry Elder runs against Trump for President

Saturday 27 May 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump and DeSantis: The Russia Probe

Saturday 27 May 2023 19:00 , AP

Early in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, then-congressman DeSantis stepped up to the president’s defense to offer his support.

“Whatever (Mueller) ends up doing, it does not have legitimacy, when you have all this evidence of tainted and political bias and the disparate treatment between Hillary Clinton and then how they are treating Trump associates,” DeSantis told Fox News commentator Lou Dobbs in one such TV hit in December 2017.

Friends to foes: How Trump and DeSantis’ relationship has deteriorated over the years

Saturday 27 May 2023 18:30 , AP

It wasn’t always this way.

Before Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were leading rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, they were allies.

Trump gave DeSantis’ gubernatorial bid an early boost by tweeting his support even before DeSantis formally entered the race. In his 2018 victory speech, DeSantis made sure to thank the president, saying, “I think we’ll have a great partnership.”

Here’s how DeSantis and Trump’s relationship has evolved — and broken down — as the two face off to take on Democrat Joe Biden:

‘UNITE BEHIND THE REPUBLICAN TICKET’

During the 2016 presidential campaign, then-congressman DeSantis said he wouldn’t make an endorsement in the crowded field but would support the eventual nominee.

When that ended up being Trump, DeSantis issued a statement calling on fellow Republicans to back the celebrity businessman.

“It is now clear that Donald Trump will accumulate the delegates necessary to be nominated by the Republican Party,” DeSantis said in a statement, according to NPR.

“If we want to defeat Hillary Clinton and have a chance to change the trajectory of our country, we need to unite behind the Republican ticket this November.”

Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton

Saturday 27 May 2023 18:00 , AP

Texas’ GOP-led House of Representatives was set to hold historic impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday as the scandal-plagued Republican called on supporters to protest a vote that could lead to his ouster.

The House scheduled an afternoon start for debate on whether to impeach and suspend Paxton from office over allegations of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust — just some of the accusations that have trailed Texas’ top lawyer for most of his three terms.

The hearing sets up what could be a remarkably sudden downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral defeat of President Donald Trump. Only two officials in Texas’ nearly 200-year history have been impeached.

Paxton, 60, has called the impeachment proceedings “political theater” based on “hearsay and gossip, parroting long-disproven claims,” and an attempt to disenfranchise voters who re-elected him in November. On Friday he asked supporters “to peacefully come let their voices be heard at the Capitol tomorrow.”

Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial. Until this week his fellow Republicans have taken a muted stance on the allegations.

Read more:

Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton

Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case

Saturday 27 May 2023 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan have shared a recording of the former president speaking to a witness with Mr Trump’s legal team.

The witness hasn’t been identified, a document made public by the prosecutorial office on Friday stated, according to CBS News.

The document is known as an automatic discovery form and outlines the charges that a defendant is facing and also provides an overview of the evidence gathered against Mr Trump that’s set to be put forward at trial or at a preliminary hearing.

Both Mr Trump’s lawyers and the press had made several requests that an automatic discovery form be made public after Mr Trump’s 4 April arrest.

Mr Trump, the first ex-president in US history to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money case. The 34 instances are alleged to have taken place between 14 February and 5 December 2017 during Mr Trump’s first year in the White House.

Read more:

Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case

Special counsel Durham to testify before Congress next month about his report on Trump-Russia probe

Saturday 27 May 2023 17:00 , AP

Former special counsel John Durham is scheduled to testify before a House committee next month about his recently completed report on the FBI‘s investigation of Donald Trump‘s 2016 presidential campaign.

Durham is due to appear on June 20 in a closed-door session with the House intelligence committee and will testify publicly the following day before the House Judiciary Committee, according to a person who discussed the dates on the condition of anonymity because they had not been publicly announced.

Durham was appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate possible government mistakes and misconduct in the investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

His report concluded that the FBI acted too hastily and without sufficient justification to launch a full investigation in 2016. But many of the errors that it identified were also flagged in an earlier 2019 report by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

Durham’s four-year investigation produced just three criminal prosecutions — one that resulted in a guilty plea from an FBI lawyer and a sentence of probation, and two others that ended with acquittals before a jury.

Read more:

Special counsel Durham to testify before Congress next month on Trump-Russia probe

DeSantis accuses Trump of ‘moving to the left’ as he tells ex-president: ‘You’ve changed’

Saturday 27 May 2023 16:30 , Graeme Massie

Ron DeSantis has slammed his 2024 Republican Rival Donald Trump, claiming he “is a different guy” than when he first ran for president.

The former president is leading all other Republican candidates for the party’s presidential nomination, with Mr DeSantis running in second place, according to polls.

The Florida governor officially launched his own bid earlier this week in a chaotic Twitter Spaces event with billionaire Elon Musk.

And Mr DeSantis told radio host Matt Murphy that he was running to the right of Mr Trump and portrayed himself as more conservative, according to USA Today.

“It seems like he’s running to the left and I have always been somebody that’s just been moored in conservative principles,” said Mr DeSantis.

Read more:

DeSantis accuses Trump of ‘moving left’ as he tells ex-president: ‘You’ve changed’

Is the Mar-a-Lago classified papers investigation reaching its conclusions?

Saturday 27 May 2023 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday asked for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of winding down.

Read more...

Trump lawyers seek meeting with Garland as Mar-a-Lago investigation shows signs of winding down

Aide: North Dakota Gov. Burgum running for GOP presidential nomination

Saturday 27 May 2023 15:30 , AP

Two-term North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former computer software entrepreneur, is running for the Republican presidential nomination, a political aide familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Friday, putting him in an already crowded field dominated by ex-President Donald Trump,

The aide said Burgum plans to launch his campaign with a June 7 event in Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota. The aide was speaking on the condition of anonymity because the event had not been publicized yet.

The 66-year-old Burgum is jumping into a field that includes fellow Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, seen by some Republicans as the strongest alternative to Trump. Other candidates include former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.

The eventual GOP nominee is expected to face Democratic President Joe Biden in November 2024.

Read more:

Aide: North Dakota Gov. Burgum running for GOP presidential nomination

Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case

Saturday 27 May 2023 14:58 , Gustaf Kilander

Prosecutors in Mr Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan have shared a recording of the former president speaking to a witness with Mr Trump’s legal team, according to CBS News.

The witness hasn’t been identified, a document made public by the prosecutorial office on Friday stated.

The document is known as an automatic discovery form and outlines the charges that a defendant is facing and also provides an overview of the evidence gathered against Mr Trump that’s set to be put forward at trial or at a preliminary hearing.

Both Mr Trump’s lawyers and the press had made several requests that an automatic discovery form be made public after Mr Trump’s 4 April arrest.

Mr Trump, the first ex-president in US history to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money case. The 34 instances are alleged to have taken place between 14 February and 5 December 2017 during Mr Trump’s first year in the White House.

Don Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Saturday 27 May 2023 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Harsh words. Perhaps even worthy of Succession?

Donald Trump Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Can DeSantis beat Trump? Florida political veterans have their doubts...

Saturday 27 May 2023 14:15 , Oliver O'Connell

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report.

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Club for Growth ad hits Trump on social security

Saturday 27 May 2023 13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative advocacy group Club for Growth has attacked Donald Trump over his plan for social security in an ad released on Thursday.

“The Trump plan for Social Security is no practice swing,” the voiceover says, along with footage of the former president golfing. “His plan, same as Joe Biden’s, would club seniors with automatic benefit cuts, 23 percent in 10 years or less, putting your retirement in a rough spot.”

“With Donald Trump, it’s par for the course,” it continues. “Another plan that cheats people out of what they earned, people who worked for it but won’t get it, if Trump’s plan sinks 23 per cent of their savings. Tell Donald Trump, stop cheating seniors.”

The golfing theme of the ad is timed for this weekend’s LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC.

Watch below:

GOP 2024 field to grow as North Dakota governor set to join race, AP reports

Saturday 27 May 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Two-term North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former computer software entrepreneur, is running for the Republican presidential nomination, a political aide familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Friday, putting him in an already crowded field dominated by ex-President Donald Trump,

The aide said Burgum plans to launch his campaign with a 7 June event in Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota. The aide was speaking on the condition of anonymity because the event had not been publicised yet.

Read more...

Aide: North Dakota Gov. Burgum running for GOP presidential nomination

Watch: Trump says of a possible DeSantis debate ‘unless it gets close why would anyone debate’

Saturday 27 May 2023 10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Forbes CEO doesn’t think 2024 GOP nominee will face Biden

Saturday 27 May 2023 08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Steve Forbes the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media told Jacqui Heinrich on Fox News this morning that he doesn’t think Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party nominee in 2024 based on new polls about the economy.

Asked whom he thought could step in, Mr Forbes said he thinks there could be a replay of 2020 and fearing a takeover by Bernie Sanders as the nominee, Democrats might instead look to California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, or Vice President Kamala Harris instead.

Watch:

ICYMI: Report says Trump staff moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Two members of Donald Trump’s staff moved boxes of documents just a day before the Department of Justice visited Mar-a-Lago, according to a report.

The files were moved the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the private club in Florida’s Palm Beach. The timing of the move is considered by the authorities to be suspicious and a sign that obstruction may have taken place, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Trump and his associates are alleged to have conducted a “dress rehearsal” for moving the sensitive files even before getting a subpoena in May last year, The Post noted, citing anonymous sources.

Gustaf Kilander is following the story.

Trump staff moved documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit, report says

Don Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Saturday 27 May 2023 04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Harsh words. Perhaps even worthy of Succession?

Donald Trump Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Can DeSantis beat Trump? Florida political veterans have their doubts...

Saturday 27 May 2023 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report.

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Is the Mar-a-Lago classified papers investigation reaching its conclusions?

Saturday 27 May 2023 01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday asked for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of winding down.

Read more...

Trump lawyers seek meeting with Garland as Mar-a-Lago investigation shows signs of winding down

New Hampshire Republican switches from DeSantis to Trump after disastrous Twitter launch

Saturday 27 May 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A New Hampshire state representative switched her loyalties from Ron DeSantis to Donald Trump following the Florida governor’s glitch-filled presidential campaign launch announcement.

Rep Sandra Panek was included in a list of more than 50 Granite State lawmakers backing the Florida governor for president earlier this month.

“After being less than impressed with Ron DeSantis’s official announcement last night, I am hereby switching my endorsement to President Donald J Trump,” Ms Panek said in a statement.

“We can’t expect someone to run the country if they can’t properly run their own campaign launch.

“The stakes are simply too great in 2024 to take a chance on someone as unreliable as DeSantis – we need a proven winner like President Trump to take back the White House and Make America Great Again.”

Wisconsin fake electors trial set to start just before 2024 election

Friday 26 May 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A jury trial in a lawsuit seeking $2.4m in damages from Republicans who attempted to cast Wisconsin‘s 10 electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost is scheduled to begin just two months before the 2024 presidential election.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Wednesday scheduled the trial to begin on 3 September 2024, and last one month.

Read more...

Wisconsin trial over fake electors set to start just before 2024 presidential election

Trump lawyers ignite speculation of further indictment with letter to Garland

Friday 26 May 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A recent letter by Donald Trump’s lawyers requesting a meeting with US attorney general Merrick Garland has sparked speculation that a fresh indictment could be looming against the former president.

Arpan Rai reports.

Trump lawyers ignite speculation that former president could be indicted yet again

Trump to return to Georgia ahead of possible indictment over 2020 election

Friday 26 May 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump will address the 2023 Georgia Republican Party State Convention on 10 June.

The former president’s return to the state comes ahead of a possible indictment relating to the Fulton County grand jury investigation into whether he and others broke the law trying to overturn his 2020 loss in the state.

District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated that any charges could come in August, after she first told local law enforcement that she intended to announce charging decisions between 11 July and 1 September.

She has since sent a letter Thursday sent a letter to county Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville indicating that she plans to have much of her staff work remotely for most days during the first three weeks of August. Ms Willis asked that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during part of that time which seems to narrow that window.

Prosecutor suggests any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August

John Durham to testify before House Judiciary Committee, report says

Friday 26 May 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News reports that Special Counsel John Durham will testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee about his report into the FBI and Department of Justice’s handling of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation.

The hearing will happen on Wednesday 21 June, a source told the network.

On the Tuesday of that week, Mr Durham will appear before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door briefing.

John Durham (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
John Durham (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Fox News announces Trump town hall

Friday 26 May 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News has announced a town hall with Donald Trump on 1 June – the former president’s second town hall since entering the 2024 race.

GOP 2024 field to grow as North Dakota governor set to join race, AP reports

Friday 26 May 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Two-term North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former computer software entrepreneur, is running for the Republican presidential nomination, a political aide familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Friday, putting him in an already crowded field dominated by ex-President Donald Trump,

The aide said Burgum plans to launch his campaign with a 7 June event in Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota. The aide was speaking on the condition of anonymity because the event had not been publicised yet.

Read more...

Aide: North Dakota Gov. Burgum running for GOP presidential nomination

Club for Growth ad hits Trump on social security

Friday 26 May 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative advocacy group Club for Growth has attacked Donald Trump over his plan for social security in an ad released on Thursday.

“The Trump plan for Social Security is no practice swing,” the voiceover says, along with footage of the former president golfing. “His plan, same as Joe Biden’s, would club seniors with automatic benefit cuts, 23 percent in 10 years or less, putting your retirement in a rough spot.”

“With Donald Trump, it’s par for the course,” it continues. “Another plan that cheats people out of what they earned, people who worked for it but won’t get it, if Trump’s plan sinks 23 per cent of their savings. Tell Donald Trump, stop cheating seniors.”

The golfing theme of the ad is timed for this weekend’s LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC.

Watch below:

Watch: Trump says of a possible DeSantis debate ‘unless it gets close why would anyone debate’

Friday 26 May 2023 19:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Forbes CEO doesn’t think 2024 GOP nominee will face Biden

Friday 26 May 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Steve Forbes the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media told Jacqui Heinrich on Fox News this morning that he doesn’t think Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party nominee in 2024 based on new polls about the economy.

Asked whom he thought could step in, Mr Forbes said he thinks there could be a replay of 2020 and fearing a takeover by Bernie Sanders as the nominee, Democrats might instead look to California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, or Vice President Kamala Harris instead.

Watch:

ICYMI: Report says Trump staff moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit

Friday 26 May 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Two members of Donald Trump’s staff moved boxes of documents just a day before the Department of Justice visited Mar-a-Lago, according to a report.

The files were moved the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the private club in Florida’s Palm Beach. The timing of the move is considered by the authorities to be suspicious and a sign that obstruction may have taken place, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Trump and his associates are alleged to have conducted a “dress rehearsal” for moving the sensitive files even before getting a subpoena in May last year, The Post noted, citing anonymous sources.

Seems kind of a big deal, right?

Gustaf Kilander is following the story.

Trump staff moved documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit, report says

Don Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Friday 26 May 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Harsh words. Perhaps even worthy of Succession?

Donald Trump Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Can DeSantis beat Trump? Florida political veterans have their doubts...

Friday 26 May 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report.

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Is the Mar-a-Lago classified papers investigation reaching its conclusions?

Friday 26 May 2023 17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday asked for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of winding down.

Read more...

Trump lawyers seek meeting with Garland as Mar-a-Lago investigation shows signs of winding down

Friday 26 May 2023 17:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Mehta has given out the five longest January 6 sentences and this afternoon will sentence Kenneth Harrelson.

Jan 6 Oath Keeper defendant sentenced to 8.5 years

Friday 26 May 2023 17:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Oath Keepers defendant Jessica Watkins has been sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for her role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Watkins apologised emotionally to the judge this morning saying she was “ashamed” of her actions.

“Your role in those events is more than that of just a foot soldier,” Judge Amit Mehta said, while acknowledging the military veteran’s compelling background.

Watkins was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but found guilty on numerous other counts.

Wisconsin fake electors trial set to start just before 2024 election

Friday 26 May 2023 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A jury trial in a lawsuit seeking $2.4m in damages from Republicans who attempted to cast Wisconsin‘s 10 electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost is scheduled to begin just two months before the 2024 presidential election.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Wednesday scheduled the trial to begin on 3 September 2024, and last one month.

Read more...

Wisconsin trial over fake electors set to start just before 2024 presidential election

Trump lawyers ignite speculation of further indictment with letter to Garland

Friday 26 May 2023 16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A recent letter by Donald Trump’s lawyers requesting a meeting with US attorney general Merrick Garland has sparked speculation that a fresh indictment could be looming against the former president.

Arpan Rai reports.

Trump lawyers ignite speculation that former president could be indicted yet again

Trump to return to Georgia ahead of possible indictment over 2020 election

Friday 26 May 2023 15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump will address the 2023 Georgia Republican Party State Convention on 10 June.

The former president’s return to the state comes ahead of a possible indictment relating to the Fulton County grand jury investigation into whether he and others broke the law trying to overturn his 2020 loss in the state.

District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated that any charges could come in August, after she first told local law enforcement that she intended to announce charging decisions between 11 July and 1 September.

She has since sent a letter Thursday sent a letter to county Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville indicating that she plans to have much of her staff work remotely for most days during the first three weeks of August. Ms Willis asked that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during part of that time which seems to narrow that window.

Prosecutor suggests any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August

Judge to sentence two more Oath Keepers members after founder gets 18 years

Friday 26 May 2023 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Two members of the Oath Keepers who stormed the US Capitol in a military-style formation will be sentenced today, a day after the far-right extremist group’s founder received an 18-year prison term for seditious conspiracy and other charges in the January 6, 2021 attack.

US District Judge Amit Mehta will sentence Army veterans Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson after handing Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes the longest prison sentence so far in more than 1,000 criminal cases brought in the January 6 riot.

Read more...

Judge to sentence 2 Oath Keepers members after handing down punishment for group's founder

DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected in 2024

Friday 26 May 2023 15:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he would “aggressively” use presidential pardons to free people who’ve been charged or convicted of crimes – including former President Donald Trump.

Speaking during an interview with hosts Buck Sexton and Clay Travis, Mr DeSantis claimed that the Department of Justice has been “weaponised” under the Biden Administration. He cited a laundry list of GOP grievances about federal law enforcement targeting conservative activists and other GOP figures who have allegedly violated federal laws.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected

John Durham to testify before House Judiciary Committee, report says

Friday 26 May 2023 14:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News reports that Special Counsel John Durham will testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee about his report into the FBI and Department of Justice’s handling of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation.

The hearing will happen on Wednesday 21 June, a source told the network.

On the Tuesday of that week, Mr Durham will appear before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door briefing.

Donald Trump Jr spectacularly fails at attempt to insult Ron DeSantis

Friday 26 May 2023 14:15 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump Jr called his father a “mortician” in an apparent slip of tongue while attempting to ridicule Ron DeSantis’s glitch-ridden 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter.

Former president Donald Trump’s eldest son was mocking Mr DeSantis for his troubled campaign launch on Twitter Spaces, which was marred by technical glitches.

He played an audio clip of what he claimed was “8 minutes of silence” during Mr DeSantis’s campaign launch and echoed his father’s description of it as a “DeSaster”.

Read the story here:

Donald Trump Jr says his father has the ‘charisma of a mortician’

Fox News announces Trump town hall

Friday 26 May 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

Fox News has announced a town hall with Donald Trump on 1 June – the former president’s second town hall since entering the 2024 race.

Report: Trump employees moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit

Friday 26 May 2023 13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Two members of Donald Trump’s staff moved boxes of documents just a day before the Department of Justice visited Mar-a-Lago, according to a report.

The files were moved the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the private club in Florida’s Palm Beach. The timing of the move is suspicious and a sign that obstruction may have taken place, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Trump and his associates are alleged to have conducted a “dress rehearsal” for moving the sensitive files even before getting a subpoena in May last year, The Post noted, citing anonymous sources.

Gustaf Kilander is following the story.

Trump staff moved documents at Mar-a-Lago day before DoJ visit, report says

New Hampshire Republican switches from DeSantis to Trump after disastrous Twitter launch

Friday 26 May 2023 12:45 , Rachel Sharp

A New Hampshire state representative switched her loyalties from Ron DeSantis to Donald Trump following the Florida governor’s glitch-filled presidential campaign launch announcement.

Rep Sandra Panek was included in a list of more than 50 Granite State lawmakers backing the Florida governor for president earlier this month.

“After being less than impressed with Ron DeSantis’s official announcement last night, I am hereby switching my endorsement to President Donald J Trump,” Ms Panek said in a statement.

“We can’t expect someone to run the country if they can’t properly run their own campaign launch.

“The stakes are simply too great in 2024 to take a chance on someone as unreliable as DeSantis – we need a proven winner like President Trump to take back the White House and Make America Great Again.”

IRS agent who claimed Hunter Biden case was ‘slow-walked’ won’t talk to Democratic-led Senate panel

Friday 26 May 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

An Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator who has accused Justice Department officials of slow-walking a long-running probe into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s tax affairs has cut off communication with a key congressional committee amid questions about the veracity of his claims and his motivations for coming forward.

The special agent, Gary Shapley, is a veteran of the IRS criminal investigations department who on Thursday revealed his identity in an interview with CBS News.

Andrew Feinberg filed this report from Washington, DC.

Agent who says Hunter Biden case ‘slow-walked’ won’t talk to Senate

WATCH: Donald Trump Jr accidentally says father has ‘charisma of a mortician’

Friday 26 May 2023 11:45 , Rachel Sharp

Leader of the Oath Keepers sentenced to 18 years in prison for January 6 sedition

Friday 26 May 2023 11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports on the damning words of Judge Mehta:

US District Judge Amit Mehta told the court on 25 May that seditious conspiracy “is among the most serious crimes an individual American can commit” and an “offense against the people of the country.”

“What we cannot have, we absolutely cannot have, is a group of citizens who because they didn’t like the outcome … were then prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution. That’s what you did,” he told Rhodes. “You are not a political prisoner, Mr Rhodes.”

For decades, Rhodes wanted American democracy to “devolve into violence,” Judge Mehta said.

“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy and the very fabric of this country,” he added. “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.”

Read more...

Oath Keepers leader sentenced to 18 years in prison for January 6 sedition

Musk insists DeSantis’s disastrous Twitter launch was a success

Friday 26 May 2023 10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Elon Musk has rushed to defend Ron DeSantis’ launch after the Twitter Spaces event was marred by glitches and technical issues.

In a tweet, the Twitter boss insisted that the audio-only event was a success, calling it the “top story on Earth” – despite the biggest talking point from the night being the technical problems plunging it into chaos.

Joe Sommerlad reports.

Elon Musk rushes to defend Ron DeSantis’s disastrous Twitter launch

How did a question about Ukraine turn into a rambling answer about trans rights and climate change?

Friday 26 May 2023 10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports on how the Florida governor failed to answer a direct question about Russia’s war on Ukraine during an interview with Trey Gowdy on Fox News.

DeSantis dodges Ukraine question with bizarre answer about trans rights

DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected in 2024

Friday 26 May 2023 09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he would “aggressively” use presidential pardons to free people who’ve been charged or convicted of crimes – including former President Donald Trump.

Speaking during an interview with hosts Buck Sexton and Clay Travis, Mr DeSantis claimed that the Department of Justice has been “weaponised” under the Biden Administration. He cited a laundry list of GOP grievances about federal law enforcement targeting conservative activists and other GOP figures who have allegedly violated federal laws.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected

Trump lawyers ignite speculation of further indictment with letter to Garland

Friday 26 May 2023 08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A recent letter by Donald Trump’s lawyers requesting a meeting with US attorney general Merrick Garland has sparked speculation that a fresh indictment could be looming against the former president.

Arpan Rai reports.

Trump lawyers ignite speculation that former president could be indicted yet again

Fury in Trump’s inner circle as Fox News host seems to back DeSantis

Friday 26 May 2023 07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Members of Donald Trump’s inner circle called out Fox News host Mark Levin on Twitter for tweeting the link to Ron DeSantis’ campaign and accused the conservative commentator of fundraising for the Florida governor.

On Wednesday (24 May) evening, Levin tweeted the link hours after Mr DeSantis announced he would be joining the race for 2024 president.

Immediately, several Trump allies and supporters began criticising Levin for tweeting the link, believing it was an endorsement of Mr DeSantis.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump’s inner circle furious as Fox News host seemingly backs Ron DeSantis

Capitol rioter who put his feet on Pelosi’s desk receives four-year sentence

Friday 26 May 2023 05:45 , Oliver O'Connell

An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the US Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison - after a judge dismissed his claim of being a passive participant in the mob.

Richard “Bigo” Barnett became one of the faces of the January 6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and US District Judge Christopher Cooper said in announcing that sentence that Barnett seemed at times to enjoy the notoriety.

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Capitol rioter who put his feet on Pelosi’s desk is shut down by judge at sentencing

Steve Bannon trial set for May 2024

Friday 26 May 2023 04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Steve Bannon, the conservative strategist and longtime all of Donald Trump, will stand trial next May on charges that he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S. southern border, a judge said Thursday.

Bannon’s trial in the “We Build the Wall” case will start May 27, 2024, right after the former president is scheduled to stand trial in the same Manhattan courtroom in an unrelated criminal case.

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Steve Bannon’s trial in ‘We Build the Wall’ scheme set for May 2024

How Trump-DeSantis’ relationship deteriorated

Friday 26 May 2023 03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

It wasn’t always this way.

Before Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were leading rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, they were allies.

Trump gave DeSantis’ gubernatorial bid an early boost by tweeting his support even before DeSantis formally entered the race. In his 2018 victory speech, DeSantis made sure to thank the president, saying, “I think we’ll have a great partnership.”

Here’s how DeSantis and Trump’s relationship has evolved — and broken down — as the two face-off to take on Democrat Joe Biden:

Friends to foes: How Trump and DeSantis' relationship has deteriorated over the years

Can DeSantis beat Trump? These political veterans aren’t so sure...

Friday 26 May 2023 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report.

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Trump and DeSantis' rivalry intensifies

Friday 26 May 2023 01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis ’ entry into the 2024 White House race against former President Donald Trump sets up a clash of the Republican Party’s two leading figures as the Florida governor attempts to topple a man who has dominated the GOP for the last seven years.

Trump, who has established himself as the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination, has spent the months since he launched his own campaign working to hobble the once-ascendant DeSantis, whom he and his team have long viewed as his most serious challenger. DeSantis so far has tried to remain above the fray, ignoring Trump’s escalating attacks on everything from his record to his personality.

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Trump and DeSantis' rivalry intensifies as Florida governor formally enters 2024 presidential race

Trump dubs DeSantis 2024 launch ‘DISASTER’

Friday 26 May 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump mocked the disastrous Twitter Spaces launch of Ron DeSantis’s bid for the White House as he made a bizarre joke about Kim Jong-un.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Trump dubs DeSantis 2024 launch ‘DISASTER’ and crack bizarre joke about ‘red button’

Wisconsin fake electors trial set to start just before 2024 election

Thursday 25 May 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A jury trial in a lawsuit seeking $2.4 million in damages from Republicans who attempted to cast Wisconsin‘s 10 electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost is scheduled to begin just two months before the 2024 presidential election.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Wednesday scheduled the trial to begin on Sept. 3, 2024, and last one month.

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Wisconsin trial over fake electors set to start just before 2024 presidential election

Trump calls E Jean Carroll a stalker

Thursday 25 May 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump appears to have defamed E Jean Carroll again after calling her a “stalker” for a decade-old social media post in which she called herself a “massive fan” of The Apprentice.

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Trump calls E Jean Carroll a stalker over 2012 Facebook comment

Trump says he understood Bill Barr not pursuing Bidens, now claims double standard

Thursday 25 May 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In his latest missal from Truth Social, Donald Trump claims he “was sort of OK” with his Attorney General Bill Barr being reticent to pursue an investigation of allegations against Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.

The former president then complains: “Now Biden thugs want to indict me, for NOTHING!”

Here’s the full post:

A very interesting situation is taking place. While I was in office, Bill Barr, as Attorney General, was very slow & unenthusiastic about going after Joe & Hunter Biden regarding their possible criminal activity. Much was being reported in the Media. It was hard getting him to move, but I always felt he believed you just don’t go after Presidents, V.P.’s, & Presidential Candidates very cavalierly. I understood that, & was sort of OK with it. Now Biden thugs want to indict me, for NOTHING!

Trump lambasts DeSantis with new videos

Thursday 25 May 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“When the Ron DeSanctimonious facts come out, you will see that he is better than most Democrat governors, but very average, at best, compared to Republican governors!” says former president Donald Trump in a newly released video attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his Covid-19 record.

Mr Trump adds in a second video that Mr DeSantis is only governor because of him.

Capitol rioter who put his feet on Pelosi’s desk gets four-year sentence

Thursday 25 May 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the US Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison - after a judge dismissed his claim of being a passive participant in the mob.

Read more...

Capitol rioter who put his feet on Pelosi’s desk is shut down by judge at sentencing

Exclusive: IRS agent who claimed Hunter Biden case was ‘slow-walked’ won’t talk to Democratic-led Senate panel

Thursday 25 May 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

An Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator who has accused Justice Department officials of show-walking a long-running probe into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s tax affairs has cut off communication with a key congressional committee amid questions about the veracity of his claims and his motivations for coming forward.

The special agent, Gary Shapley, is a veteran of the IRS criminal investigations department who on Thursday revealed his identity in an interview with CBS News.

Andrew Feinberg filed this exclusive report for The Independent from Washington, DC.

Agent who says Hunter Biden case ‘slow-walked’ won’t talk to Senate

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website