Trump news – live: QAnon followers salute ex-president at North Carolina rally as he rages at Letitia James

Donald Trump tore into New York Attorney General Letitia James at his campaign-style rally in North Carolina on Friday night, days after she filed a $250m lawsuit against the former president and his business empire for a host of allegedly fraudulent business practices.

Ahead of the rally, Mr Trump appeared to fall further into the world of QAnon after he reposted a video on his own Truth Social network containing images and slogans associated with the fringe conspiracy.

Mr Trump has previously denied having knowledge of the sprawling conspiracy theory but has amplified Q-supporting influencers and followers on his social media platform. At his rally, supporters raised their fingers in an apparent salute, continuing a trend at his events that security staff have tried to stop from happening.

His attorneys, meanwhile, have been ordered to say one way or the other whether they actually believe the FBI planted incriminating evidence in the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago – or whether the former president is merely bluffing to save face.

Key points

• Trump opens rally with crude insults about New York attorney general after she sues him

• Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ before warning of ‘great anger’ in US over criminal probes

• Trump promises to deport 'millions' if reelected

• New York AG suing Trump for ‘numerous acts of fraud'

• Trump claims he can declassify top secret documents just ‘by thinking about it’

January 6 rioter who pursued Eugene Goodman found guilty on all counts in Capitol riot case

16:00 , Alex Woodward

Doug Jensen, a January 6 rioter who stormed the US Capitol wearing a QAnon T-shirt while chasing after the lauded US Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, was found guilty on Friday of all seven counts he was facing.

The Iowa man was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol building, according to the government.

Federal prosecutors said he “would not be stopped on January 6 until he got what he came for: to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”

These are the 20 properties in Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

15:00 , Alex Woodward

The New York attorney general lawsuit against Trump follows a three-year civil investigation into at least 23 of his properties and assets, from his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida to his namesake tower in Manhattan and golf courses in Scotland.

Her office found that at least 11 of his annual financial statements included more than 200 false and misleading asset valuations.

“The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year,” according to the lawsuit.

Here’s a look at the 20 of those properties and the myriad schemes allegedly used to fraudulently boost his financial state.

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Watch: Trump calls New York Attorney General ‘crazy, radical, leftist nutjob’ during rally

14:30 , Alex Woodward

After a three-year investigation into widespread allegations of fraud and dubious business practices within his real estate empire, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this week a sweeping lawsuit targeting Trump, his three adult children and associates within his Trump Organization.

During his campaign-style rally in North Carolina on Friday night, Trump called her a “raging maniac” and “leftist nutjob.”

ICYMI: Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

12:40 , Josh Marcus

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump are reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from the twice-impeached ex-president’s White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

According to CNN, Mr Trump’s lawyers have aggressively asserted executive and attorney-client privilege to block some witnesses, such as ex-White House aide and attorney Eric Herschmann, from complying with subpoenas to appear before the grand jury.

A trio of Trump lawyers were at a Washington, DC courthouse on Thursday, reportedly to present arguments on the matter to a federal judge.

After Evan Corcoran, Tim Parlatore and John Rowley were seen exiting the courthouse, Mr Palatore told reporters he was “representing a client” there but did not elaborate further.

Andrew Feinberg has the details for The Independent.

Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Donald Trump favourite Elton John plays Biden White House

11:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump may love Elton John, but Elton John is not a huge fan of Donald Trump, having turned down an invitation to perform at the 2016 inauguration.

Today, the “Rocket Man” legend played a concert on the lawn of the White House on Friday for Joe Biden, while Mr Trump gave a rally in North Carolina.

Here’s more on the strange relationship between Mr Trump and Sir Elton.

Elton John's unlikely recurring role in Trump’s presidency

Kushner pays $3.25m to settle illegal tenant fee accusations

10:40 , Josh Marcus

A property management company owned by the family of former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has agreed to pay a $3.25 million civil penalty and restitution to settle a 2019 lawsuit in Maryland over allegations of charging tenants illegal fees and failing to maintain properties, Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Friday.

Frosh announced that his office’s Consumer Protection Division has reached a settlement with Westminster Management, LLC, a New Jersey-based corporation, and the 25 companies that own or owned 17 residential communities managed by Westminster Management in Maryland.

The settlement addresses charges that Westminster and the property owners violated the Consumer Protection Act.

Full story here.

Maryland announces settlement with Kushner-owned company

The 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing now that he’s left office

09:40 , Josh Marcus

Lawsuits and investigations hung over Donald Trump throughout his business career, then his presidency, and have continued on through to his current post-presidency phase.

Most recently, there’s the bombshell $250m lawsuit from New York attorney general Letitia James against Mr Trump and three of his children for a host of allegedly fraudulent business practices. But there are plenty more.

Mr Trump has reportedly faced an estimated 4,000 cases in his lifetime, plus two (unsuccessful) impeachments, two (successful) divorces, six bankruptcies, and 26 sexual misconduct allegations. Things haven only gotten worse now that he’s a private citizen again, without the backing of the Justice Department.

Here’s a rundown of all the legal trouble facing the former president.

Here are all 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing

Is the MAGA fundraising machine slowing down?

08:40 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump’s super PAC raised only $40 in the month of August, in a sign that his name doesn’t have the fundraising pull it once did.

Along with the low August numbers, the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC only raised $351,000 in July and nothing in June. By comparison, in the final fundraising quarter of last year, the super PAC raised $4m to $5m.

Even in April and May, it raised $864,000. Among the merchandise Mr Trump’s political action committees are selling include his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s memoir of his time working in the Trump White House, Trump wine glasses, a rally speech signed by the former president and the opportunity have their name engraved on the “donor wall”.

The numbers come as Save America political action committee foots the bill for Mr Trump’s legal fees. Last month, it spent $3.8m on legal fees, the most it had spent on such fees for a month the entire 2022 campaign cycle, with $3m going to Critton, Luttier & Coleman, a law firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump’s Super PAC raised just $40 in August despite selling branded trinkets

What has Donald Trump said about the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation so far?

07:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is becoming increasingly hostile against the federal investigation into his handling of White House documents after leaving office.

In an in-depth interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, he railed against the search, federal agencies, and made numerous false or exagerrated claims.

Here’s some of our reporting on what he said.

Trump says he balked at settling New York tax fraud probe

Trump says he can declassify secret papers just ‘by thinking about it’

Trump says National Archives has ‘a radical left group of people running that thing’

VIDEO: White House switchboard connected call to Capitol rioter, Jan 6 staff claims

06:40 , Josh Marcus

Former January 6 committee staffer Denver Riggleman claims that the White House called one of the Capitol rioters while the insurrection ongoing.

“The American people need to know that there are link connections that need be explored more,” the former Republican House member and advisor to the January 6 inquiry told 60 Minutes on Friday.

New York Attorney General latest target after Trump is MLB

05:40 , Josh Marcus

Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, clearly has no problem taking on powerful entities.

Earlier this week, she filed a bombshell $250m lawsuit against Donald Trump and his family-owned company, accusing the Trump Organization of a host of fraudulent business practices.

NY attorney general files $250m lawsuit against Trump and three of his children

On Friday, she urged Major League Baseball and Apple TV to allow a Yankees game to be aired on cable as well, so New Yorkers could watch Aaron Judge potentially break a homerun record.

Donald Trump continues teasing 2024 run

04:40 , Josh Marcus

The former president has spent nearly his whole time since leaving office running a shadow campaign for the 2024 presidential race.

He’s not slowing down now.

This week, Mr Trump linked on social media to a text on the website American Thinker with the headline “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee” before linking to a CNN report stating that “Trump fields calls from Republican allies to speed up 2024 bid after FBI raid”.

He then shared a story from Townhall.com which said, “The Washington Establishment Fears A Second Term Trump”.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: ‘History is calling’

Donald Trump achieving new heights of humility

03:40 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump on Friday re-shared a social media post in which he was declared to be “second” only to the man Christians believe to have been the son of God.

Using his own Truth Social platform (he remains banned from Twitter and Facebook), Mr Trump “re-truthed” a post by another Truth Social user which read: “Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest”.

The admission that he would be “second” behind anyone is a notable example of humility from the twice-impeached ex-president, who frequently boasts of being the greatest chief executive in American history and describes his own accomplishments using similar superlatives.

Andrew Feinberg has the full story.

Trump shares Truth Social photo declaring himself second only to Jesus

Donald Trump accidentally roasts political allies as ugly

02:36 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is a famously image-conscious fellow, and his rally in North Carolina on Friday was proof.

Towards the end of his speech, as he shouted out various North Carolina candidates he was endorsing, he joked that he didn’t like supporting good-looking politicians.

“Usually I don’t like endorsing handsome people, but I have no choice,” he said of Bo Hines, a former college football player who is running for the House of Representatives.

Trump references Cayler Ellingson killing in North Carolina speech

02:26 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s speech in North Carolina briefly mentioned Cayler Ellingson, a North Dakota teen who was killed in September during a political argument.

Here’s our report on what happened, courtesy of Shweta Sharma.

Man admits to killing teenager over ‘links to extreme right political group’

Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ before warning of ‘great anger’ in US over criminal probes

02:16 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump scoffed at the suggestion that he and his supporters are dangerous at his most recent political rally in North Carolina on Friday, in response president Biden’s recent pro-democracy speech in which he criticised the Maga movement as extreme.

Mr Trump, who is the subject of multiple criminal investigations in Washington DC and Georgia, accused the Biden administration of taking FBI resources “away from fighting crime and using them for partisan political investigations” in hopes of “falsely label[ing]” his “Make America Great Again” movement.

“They want to call us domestic terrorists,” Mr Trump told the crowd. “Can you believe it? I’m not a terrorist”.

Continuing, Mr Trump said there is now “great anger” in the US because of the multiple investigations into his conduct and the conduct of his supporters, as well as the ongoing FBI efforts to bring to justice anyone who broke laws during the January 6 2021 riot he incited.

Andrew Feinberg has the full story.

Trump says he’s ‘not a terrorist’ and warns of ‘great anger’ over criminal probes

Donald Trump tells crowd America is ‘not great anymore'

02:06 , Josh Marcus

In classic fashion, Donald Trump is vacilitating in this rally between inflated claims about his perfect record in the White House and apocalyptic predictions that America is dying.

“For some reason, it’s just not great anymore,” Mr Trump said of America during his rally on Friday in North Carolina.

Here’s a clip.

Donald Trump reiterates false claims that death penalty for dealers will stop drug crime

01:56 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is continuing to call for a death penalty for drug dealers, supporting his proposal with false claims that such a policy would dramatically reduce crime.

“If you do the death penalty for drug dealers, you will cut crime by more than 80 per cent in this country, immediately,” Mr Trump told the North Carolina crowd on Friday.

As Alex Woodward and Josh Marcus reported for The Independent, not only is this not true, but it goes against Mr Trump’s own past bills on criminal justice.

Trump says death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers is ‘very humane’

Trump opens rally with crude insults about New York attorney general after she sues him

01:46 , Josh Marcus

Former president Donald Trump was not 10 minutes into his remarks at a rally meant to boost Republican candidates in North Carolina when he turned his attention to a candidate who will appear on a ballot 437 miles away in the state he once called home.

Instead of extolling the virtuest of the GOP ticket in this year’s midterm elections, the twice-impeached ex-president launched into an extended tirade about the New York State attorney general who on Wednesday filed a $250m lawsuit against him, his three eldest children and a host of companies, organisations and persons associated with his eponymous real estate and licensing business, following a three-year civil investigation into allegations of fraud.

“There’s no better example of the left’s chilling obsession with targeting political opponents than the baseless, abusive and depraved lawsuit against me, my family, my company, by the racist Attorney General of New York State. Leticia ‘Peekaboo’ James,” said Mr Trump, who employed a bizarre and heretofore unexplained nickname for the Empire State’s chief law enforcement officer.

Read Andrew Feinberg’s full report.

Trump opens rally with crude rant about New York attorney general after she sues him

Donald Trump insists he’s not a ‘terrorist’ in oblique reply to Biden speech

01:36 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump took a belated jab at Joe Biden during his speech on Friday in North Carolina.

“They want to call us domestic terrorists,” Mr Trump told the crowd. “Can you believe it? I’m not a terrorist.”

The remark was an apparent response to Mr Biden’s high-profile speech earlier this month where he described the Make America Great Again movement as a form of extremism.

“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” Mr Biden said at a speech in Philadelphia, adding that the man he defeated nearly two years ago — former president Donald Trump — and his “Maga Republican” allies “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic”.

Mr Biden stressed that “not every Republican” subscribes to the “extreme ideology” of Mr Trump and his acolytes, but he warned that the GOP today is largely “dominated, driven and intimidated” by Mr Trump and “the Maga Republicans,” referring to Mr Trump’s and his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

Biden warns of Trump and GOP extremism threatening ‘foundations of our republic’

Donald Trump encourages GOP turnout in November while continuing election falsehoods

01:26 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is sounding a little different than he has at past rallies.

Make no mistake, he’s still falsely claiming to have won the 2020 election.

“I ran twice. I won twice, getting many millions more votes,” told the crowd in North Carolina.

But he’s also encouraging GOP voters to turn out in November.

“You must vote Republican” in “overwhelming numbers,” Mr Trump told the rally.

“We have to swamp ‘em,” he continued. “The best way we can stop them from cheating—becuas they’re cheaters, dirty rotten cheaters—is to swamp them.”

Previously, during the 2020 election, he rankled top Republicans by saying voters shouldn’t bother with the tight Georgia Senate race, where a pair of Democrats won.

Trump staff defensive over claims of poor turnout at Georgia rally

Trump rails against ‘racist’ New York attorney general lawsuit

01:02 , Josh Marcus

Predictably, Donald Trump is hammering New York attorney general Letitia James for the massive fraud lawsuit she filed this week against the former president and the Trump Organization.

He told the crowd at a Friday rally in North Carolina the suit from “this crazy radical nutjob James” was “racist” and an “appalling and malicious abuse of power.”

“There’s never been a president that’s gone through the crap I’ve gone through,” Mr Trump complained during his speech.

Donald Trump takes the stage in North Carolina

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:52 , Josh Marcus

The former president has taken the stage, after a lengthy wait at his Friday rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.

We’ll be following all the latest from his campaign-style speech.

Trump’s weird theory about Biden and ‘Phantom of the Opera’

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:40 , Josh Marcus

Ahead of Donald Trump’s rally in North Carolina on Friday, he played a track from the musical Phantom of the Opera for the crowd.

The former president has a deep, somewhat strange attachment to the Broadway show.

He even thinks its recent closure is related to the Biden administration.

Andrew Feinberg has more.

Trump bizarrely tries to pin ‘Phantom of the Opera’ closure on Biden administration

Follow our man on the ground for the latest from the Trump rally

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:20 , Josh Marcus

The Independent’s Eric Michael Garcia is on the ground in North Carolina for today’s Trump rally.

Right now, per Eric, the crowd is watching a Fox News clip about the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Follow @EricMGarcia for the latest.

South Korean president calls US lawmakers ‘idiots’ on hot mic

Saturday 24 September 2022 00:13 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is a man who famously values his image.

He probably wouldn’t like the reviews of America coming out of the top levels of South Korea right now.

The president of South Korea was been caught on camera calling US lawmakers “idiots” and saying that they could possibly embarrass US President Joe Biden if they don’t approve funding for global public health initiatives.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story.

South Korean president calls US lawmakers ‘idiots’ on hot mic

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

Friday 23 September 2022 23:25 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Tump alleged that during his negotiations with the Taliban as US president he used a satellite image of a Taliban leader’s house to threaten the terrorist group.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News this week, Mr Trump said he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the designated terrorist group.

Gino Spocchia reports:

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

Five key takeaways from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024

Friday 23 September 2022 22:55 , Gino Spocchia

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a massive civil suit on Wednesday accusing Donald Trump and his adult children of artificially inflating the value of multiple business entities. The suit seeks to bar them from doing business in New York state, where the family made their bones for decades.

The extent and the detail of Mr Trump’s actions, with the assistance of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were not known until now.

Eric Garcia breaks down the main takeaways from this new effort by state officials in New York to make Mr Trump answer for longstanding allegations of fraud:

Five major allegations from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump

ICYMI: Gaetz wanted Trump pardon

Friday 23 September 2022 22:15 , Gino Spocchia

Following reports on Friday that Matt Gaetz will likely not face charges over an investigation into him by the Department of Justice, another report only last week revealed that the pro-Trump congressman had expressed a desire for the former president to issue a preemptive pardon before leaving office.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander with the details:

Gaetz wanted Trump to give him pre-emptive pardon over sex investigation, report says

Trump PAC raises $40 in August

Friday 23 September 2022 21:45 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump’s super PAC raised only $40 in the month of August, in a sign that his name doesn’t have the fundraising pull it once did.

Along with the low August numbers, the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC only raised $351,000 in July and nothing in June. By comparison, in the final fundraising quarter of last year, the super PAC raised $4m to $5m.

As Eric Garcia explains, the numbers come as the Save America political action committee foots the bill for Mr Trump’s legal fees, which last month came to a reported $3.8m are are likely to grow.

Trump’s Super PAC raised just $40 in August despite selling branded trinkets

Latest behind-the-scenes efforts in Trump legal case

Friday 23 September 2022 21:33 , Andrew Feinberg

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump are reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from the twice-impeached ex-president’s White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump lawyers fighting to keep January 6 testimony from grand jury, report says

Trump keeps ‘Truth’-ing

Friday 23 September 2022 21:32 , David Taintor

In his latest peculiar post on Truth Social, Donald Trump shared an image from a supporter celebrating the former president as second “only” to Jesus.

ICYMI: Trump faced criticism for QAnon symbols at rally

Friday 23 September 2022 21:05 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump came under fire earlier this week following a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he played a song associated with QAnon, wore a “Q” shaped pin, and referred to QAnon beliefs and slogans.

“This is the week when Trump became Qanon,” wrote one analyst of the rally in support of Republican Senate candidate JD Vance. “This isn’t a political statement; it just is, however disturbing.”

It remains to be seen if QAnon will again feature in North Carolina this evening.

Gustaf Kilander has the details:

Trump under fire for QAnon display at Ohio rally: ‘He has gone completely insane’

Gates open at Wilmington International Airport

Friday 23 September 2022 20:25 , Gino Spocchia

Gates at the Aero Center at Wilmington International Airport, where Mr Trump is holding a rally tonight, were due to open at 2pm local time, ahead of his 7pm time slot.

According to The Carolina Journal, North Carolina Lt Governor Mark Robinson, Rep David Rouzer, local GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, and Bo Hines, a Republican congressional candidate, are due to speak.

While the rally is in support of Ted Budd, the Republican senate candidate for the state, most of the attention will likely be on the twice-impeached former president.

Ted Budd adopting controversy – and Trump

Friday 23 September 2022 19:45 , Gino Spocchia

Ahead of November’s elections, Republican candidates up and down the US are distancing themselves from controversial policies and people — namely, abortion and former president Donald Trump — as Election Day approaches.

Not Ted Budd, the North Carolina Republican Senate nominee, who the Associated Press reports “is leaning into support for abortion restrictions and amity with the former Republican president as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the Southern swing state.”

Continue reading here:

Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

How AOC was responsible for the NY investigation into Trump

Friday 23 September 2022 19:05 , Gino Spocchia

On Wednesday, when New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her $250m civil lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, she specifically cited former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s testimony in 2019, when he revealed that the former president fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.

The question that triggered Mr Cohen’s response came in 2019 from Ms James’s fellow New Yorker, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg report:

How AOC inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

QAnon memes go further on Trump’s Truth Social

Friday 23 September 2022 18:25 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Trump has again been accused of falling further into the world of QAnon after he shared multiple images nodding to the conspiracy theoryin a video.

The QAnon memes appeared in a minute-long montage shared by the former president on his own Truth Social media platform on Thursday night.

Gino Spocchia has more:

Trump falls deeper into QAnon with post about ‘santanists’

Meta to consider Trump Facebook account

Friday 23 September 2022 17:45 , Gino Spocchia

Meta executive Nick Clegg says he will make the final call on whether to reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook account when his suspension from the social media platform runs out next year.

Mr Clegg, the company’s head of global affairs, told an event in Washington DC that allowing the one-term president to potentially return to Facebook is “a decision I oversee and I drive”.

Graeme Massie has the details:

Facebook executive Nick Clegg will make decision on whether to reinstate Trump

Biden preparing for Florida rally

Friday 23 September 2022 17:05 , Gino Spocchia

Joe Biden will be holding a rally in Florida next week, in an effort at building momentumm ahead of the next presidential election om 2024.

Donald Trump or the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis. are tipped to run.

Mr Biden lost the state by three points in 2020.

Trump was called ‘orange Jesus’ on January 6

Friday 23 September 2022 16:25 , Gino Spocchia

Liz Cheney has said that one House Republican who objected to the 2020 presidential election results called former president Donald Trump “orange Jesus” in the hours before January 6.

Eric Garcia has more:

Liz Cheney says pro-Trump colleague muttered: ‘The things we do for the Orange Jesus’

Capitol rioter sentenced to four years in prison

Friday 23 September 2022 15:45 , Gino Spocchia

A Capitol rioter who dressed up as Adolf Hitler for January – and whose case has been championed by former president Donald Trump – has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for participating in the attack.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of New Jersey, is a former Army reservist who was convicted in May after trying — and failing — to convince a jury he was unaware that Congress was in session at the Capitol.

Graig Graziosi has more:

Capitol rioter who dressed as Hitler sentenced to four years in federal prison

Looking back at Trump’s migrant policies

Friday 23 September 2022 15:05 , Gino Spocchia

Following Donald Trump’s most recent comments about deprorting migrants if he runs for president in 2024 and wins, here’s a reminder of what happened when his administration separated children arriving at the southern border from their families.

Speaking at the opening of a regular Human Rights Council session in Geneva in 2018, a top UN human rights official said the Trump administration policy was “unconscionable”.

“The thought that any state would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein at the time.

Read more here:

Trump's policy of breaking up migrant families is 'unconscionable', says UN human rights chief

Declassified documents reveal Nixon radiation exposure in 1976

Friday 23 September 2022 14:35 , Gino Spocchia

Newly declassified documents have revealed that former president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat were exposed to radiation during their visit to the Soviet Union in July 1959 during the Cold War.

The state department was informed of the incident 17 years later in 1976, when a member of Nixon’s secret service team, James Golden, revealed detection equipment known as Radiac Dosimeters, had “measured significant levels of radiation” in and around the vice president’s sleeping quarters at Spaso House.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Richard Nixon was ‘exposed to massive dosages of radiation’ during 1959 Moscow trip

Trump made satellite image threat to Taliban co-founder

Friday 23 September 2022 13:55 , Gino Spocchia

Donald Tump has alleged that during his negotiations with the Taliban as US president he used a satellite image of a Taliban leader’s house to threaten the terrorist group.

The small – but eye-opening detail – came in a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News this week.

Mr Trump said he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the designated terrorist group which eventually led to the withdrawn from, and take-over of, Afghanistan.

Gino Spocchia has more:

Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Friday 23 September 2022 13:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has made some very eyebrow-raising claims about his supposed authority to declassify documents that were found by FBI agents at Mar-a-Lago.

But notably, his attorneys have not actually followed up and made that claim in legal filings on his behalf, showing the disfunction that defines Mr Trump’s inner team and legal counsel.

Let’s take a look at what a president can actually declassify — and what, if anything, it has to do with a former president who has left office.

Read more in The Independent:

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn’t Trump in cuffs?

Friday 23 September 2022 12:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

New York’s attorney general isn’t arresting former President Donald Trump even though she says her three-year investigation uncovered potential crimes in the way he ran his real estate empire.

Read the full piece by Associated Press here:

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Five key takeaways from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024

Friday 23 September 2022 11:15 , John Bowden

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a massive civil suit on Wednesday accusing Donald Trump and his adult children of artificially inflating the value of multiple business entities. The suit seeks to bar them from doing business in New York state, where the family made their bones for decades.

The extent and the detail of Mr Trump’s actions, with the assistance of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were not known until now.

Eric Garcia breaks down the main takeaways from this new effort by state officials in New York to make Mr Trump answer for longstanding allegations of fraud.

Five major allegations from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump

Ted Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

Friday 23 September 2022 10:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Ted Budd is leaning into his support for abortion restrictions and his allegiance to former president Donald Trump as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the southern swing state, Associated Press reports:

Budd embraces Trump, abortion opposition in NC Senate race

203 Republicans try to vote down bill to make it harder to overthrow election

Friday 23 September 2022 09:15 , John Bowden

More than 200 Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a bill aimed at preventing Congress from interfering in the election certification process, a clear show of fealty to the de facto leader of their party who asked them to do so just two years ago.

Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming co-sponsored the legislation with Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren. Both members sit on the House select committee to investigate riot at the US Capitol on January 6. It passed, thanks to the chamber’s Democratic majority. Companion legislation in the Senate also has some bipartisan support.

But only 11 Republicans voted to pass the final legislation in the House.

Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

203 Republicans try to vote down bill to make it harder to overthrow election

ICYMI: Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Friday 23 September 2022 08:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The Brooklyn federal judge in charge of reviewing the 11,000 documents which the FBI seized from former president Donald Trump’s home during an 8 August search has ordered the ex-president’s legal team to say whether they believe agents planted evidence to incriminate the former president.

Read the full story by Andrew Feinberg here:

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Trump-backed Joe Kent has ‘good hair’ but ‘bad ideas’, says Democratic challenger

Friday 23 September 2022 08:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent has nice hair but bad ideas, his Democratic opponent has said, alleging the former Green Beret is too extreme for Washington state.

Read the full story by Andrew Buncombe here:

Trump-backed Joe Kent has ‘good hair’ but ‘bad ideas’, says Democratic challenger

Book reveals bizarre business practices at Trump Organization, including once getting paid with gold bars

Friday 23 September 2022 07:49 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A forthcoming book by a New York Times journalist, Maggie Haberman, claims that Donald Trump’s unusual business practices include once being paid with gold bars, CNN reported.

Haberman’s book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” will be released on 4 October.

According to the book excerpts seen by CNN, Mr Trump told aides that he didn’t know what to do with the gold bars once they had been delivered. He ultimately directed a senior official from the Trump Organization to wheel the bars up to his apartment in Trump Tower.

Trump claims ‘most’ FBI agents voted for him despite accusing agency of bias

Friday 23 September 2022 07:15 , John Bowden

Mr Trump’s back-and-forth support for law enforcement continues, as he claimed on Fox News this week that “most of the people within the FBI” — outside of “top groups” — “probably voted for Trump”.

It’s a somewhat bizarre claim given that just a few weeks ago, Republican House Minority Whip Steve Scalise was on the same network claiming that “rogue” FBI agents may have been behind the raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The former president’s latest claim was part of a rambling, off-the-rails interview with Sean Hannity, his first face-to-face sitdown interview since FBI agents raided his home for classified materials.

Read more from Andrew Feinberg:

Trump claims ‘most’ FBI agents voted for him despite accusing agency of bias

Trump promises to deport 'millions' if reelected

Friday 23 September 2022 06:56 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Former president Donald Trump said that he would deport millions of immigrants if he were re-elected in 2024.

During an interview with Fox News, when the host Sean Hannity asked him “if you were to win and became president… how long do you believe you could get things back to where you had it when you left?” the former president said: “Very quickly, except for one thing: millions of people are in our country now that shouldn’t be here. Many of them are prisoners, criminals.”

When the host asked him “would you deport them?” he responded: “The bad ones I would deport. Millions and millions of people have... they’re poisoning our country. They’re poisoning – I’d like to be nice about it.”

Explainer: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Friday 23 September 2022 06:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

In the weeks since the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and seized about 100 documents with classification markings, the former president has insisted he had declassified the information. Presidents do have broad authority to declassify material, experts say, but there is a detailed process unlike what Trump described.

Read the full piece on how declassification works here:

EXPLAINER: Declassification in spotlight during Trump probe

Bank directors urge firing of Trump official in ethics probe

Friday 23 September 2022 05:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Senior officials from the Inter-American Development Bank on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend firing a former Trump official as president of the Washington-based institution, it was reported.

Associated Press said that the move came after an investigation conducted at the bank board’s request determined that Mauricio Claver-Carone violated ethics rules by favouring a top aide with whom he had a romantic relationship.

A person familiar with the vote, said that the ultimate decision to fire Mr Claver-Carone now is with the finance officials who sit on the Board of Governors representing all 48 of the bank’s member nations.

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Friday 23 September 2022 05:15 , John Bowden

New York’s attorney general says her three-year investigation of former President Donald Trump uncovered potential crimes in the way he ran his real estate empire, including allegations of bank and insurance fraud. So why isn’t Trump being prosecuted?

The state’s law is complicated. Letitia James, the attorney general, is bound by restrictions on what criminal investigations she can actually launch herself without partnering with local prosecutors. And those investigations have yet to bear fruit against Mr Trump himself, though his CFO Allen Weisselberg last month plead guilty to felony charges.

Read more about the intricacies of the New York investigations in The Independent:

NY probe found potential crimes. Why isn't Trump in cuffs?

Trump flinging paper towels at Puerto Rico residents resurfaces as Biden pledges full support after hurricane

Friday 23 September 2022 04:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Videos of Donald Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Rico residents in October 2017 have resurfaced on social media, as president Joe Biden pledged full support for the island, which has once again been struck by a natural disaster.

Read the full story by Gustaf Kilander here:

Trump flinging paper towels in Puerto Rico resurfaces as Biden pledges support

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer in January 6 panel interview

Friday 23 September 2022 04:15 , John Bowden

Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is set to give unprecedented testimony to the Jan 6 panel regarding her role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Her involvement in the pro-Trump scheme has cast a massive shadow on the work of the Supreme Court, which already faced historic concerns about its legitimacy from the American public.

There are several questions that Ms Thomas is in a unique position to answer, both regarding her own activities as well as those of White House staff in the weeks leading up to the attack as well as the day of January 6 itself.

Read more from John Bowden:

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer in January 6 panel interview

Trump's legal woes mount without protection of presidency

Friday 23 September 2022 03:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s growing storm of legal battles illustrates just how much protection he was being afforded as president — and how that all has come to an end.

Mr Trump’s own attorneys have illustrated that fact as they have refused to support their own client’s argument that any of the documents seized by FBI agents were declassified (so far).

Read more in The Independent about the evolving nature of Donald Trump’s post-presidential legal defences:

Trump's legal woes mount without protection of presidency

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

Friday 23 September 2022 02:15 , John Bowden

As New York’s attorney general announces a massive civil lawsuit aimed at holding Donald Trump accountable for allegedly fraudulent business practices, the spotlight is returning to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her questioning of a former Trump ally that led to this week’s news.

In 2019, Mr Cohen testified against his former boss before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. At the time, Ms Ocasio-Cortez asked questions about whether Mr Trump ever provided inflated assets to an insurance company.

Letitia James acknowledged Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s role this week, declaring: “I will remind everyone that this investigation only started after Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, his former lawyer, testified before Congress and shed light on this misconduct.”

Read more in The Independent:

How AOC inadvertently sparked the New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit

Pro-Trump host Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court

Friday 23 September 2022 01:15 , John Bowden

The second defamation trial of Alex Jones got off to a rocky start this week as the beleaguered Infowars host continues to face comeuppance for abetting years’ worth of right-wing harassment at the families of slain elementary schoolers.

The courtroom in Connecticut descended into chaos on Thursday as the far-right conspiracy theorist took the stand in his defamation case and refused to acknowledge any responsibility for causing a decade of harassment to the victims’ families.

“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.

Read more from Rachel Sharp:

Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: 'History is calling Donald Trump'

Friday 23 September 2022 00:15 , John Bowden

Amid a torrent of criminal investigations and lawsuits blaming him for fraudulent business practices, Donald Trump is trying to gin up support for a 2024 run.

That’s how the ex-president spent his day on Thursday, as he turned to his Truth Social platform to get the word out among his closest fans.

In one pair of posts, Mr Trump linked to a text on the website American Thinker with the headline “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee” before linking to a CNN report stating that “Trump fields calls from Republican allies to speed up 2024 bid after FBI raid”.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: ‘History is calling’

Mike Lindell under investigation over identity theft and damage to computer connected to voting machine

Thursday 22 September 2022 23:45 , John Bowden

Mike Lindell’s efforts to aid Donald Trump and the campaign to overturn the 2020 election may have finally gotten him into trouble.

NBC News reported on Wednesday that the hybrid pillow vendor and political operative is under federal investigation for a number of serious crimes related to his efforts to prove that widespread voter fraud or other election-related shenanigans cost Donald Trump the election in 2020.

Read more from John Bowden:

Mike Lindell under investigation over damaging voting machine computer

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Thursday 22 September 2022 23:15 , John Bowden

The Brooklyn federal judge in charge of reviewing the 11,000 documents which the FBI seized from former president Donald Trump’s home during an 8 August search has ordered the ex-president’s legal team to declare one way or the other whether they believe agents planted evidence to incriminate the former president.

The baseless accusations have floated for weeks, shared by the president himself and his closest allies. They’ve sparked conspiracies among his fans of a FBI-led political campaign to destroy Mr Trump, and led to an increase in violent threats targeting the agency.

In an order released on Thursday, the special master called for by Mr Trump’s team gave those attorneys until 30 September to say whether any of the items on the 11-page inventory provided by the department are described incorrectly.

Read more in The Independent:

Trump lawyers ordered to say whether they believe FBI planted evidence

Trump to host fundraiser for right-wing GOP candidate

Thursday 22 September 2022 22:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump will host a fundraiser next month for Dan Cox, the Republican nominee for governor in Maryland, at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Mr Cox has bought in to the former president’s falsehoods about the 2020 election and was not endorsed for the nomination (or, so far, for the office at all) by Maryland’s incumbent retiring GOP governor, Larry Hogan. His victory in the GOP primary was one instance in which Democrats successfully boosted, through tactical campaign spending, an election denier against a more moderate opponent in a Republican-on-Republican matchup.

Read more at The Hill from Julia Manchester.

Trump flinging paper towels at Puerto Rico residents resurfaces as Biden pledges full support after hurricane

Thursday 22 September 2022 22:15 , John Bowden

Donald Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Rico residents in October 2017 resurfaced on social media overnight Wednesday as President Joe Biden pledged full support for the island, which was once again struck by a natural disaster.

Twitter users were quick to contrast the Democratic president’s response with the resistance to aiding the island that some conservatives showed during the Trump administration as well at the ex-president’s own tone deaf photo op during which he threw rolls of paper towels at waiting residents.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

Trump flinging paper towels in Puerto Rico resurfaces as Biden pledges support

Capitol rioter who dressed as Hitler and was defended by Trump sentenced to four years in federal prison

Thursday 22 September 2022 21:45 , John Bowden

A Capitol rioter who dressed up as Adolf Hitler and whose case has been championed by former President Donald Trump has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for participating in the attack.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 32, was convicted in May after trying — and failing — to convince a jury he was unaware that Congress was in session at the Capitol.

Naval investigators spoke to 34 of his former co-workers during a probe. They told investigators he held “extremist or radical views pertaining to Jewish people, minorities, and women,” with some saying they were “afraid” of him.

Read more about this rioter, whose cause has been personally supported by Donald Trump, in The Independent:

Capitol rioter who dressed as Hitler sentenced to four years in federal prison

Jamie Raskin unloads on GOP congressman for obsessing over ‘poor schmuck’ Ray Epps

Thursday 22 September 2022 21:15 , John Bowden

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin on Wednesday smacked down one of his Republican colleagues after he was asked to respond to a repeatedly debunked conspiracy theory regarding an alleged agent provocateur who has become a central figure in Trumpworld claims about the January 6 riot.

Rep Thomas Massie, a darling of the far right, was pressing Mr Raskin on a long-debunked tale about Ray Epps, a man whom Trump supporters have latched onto as a supposed government agent who they claim provoked others to violence during the attack. The conspiracy has allowed many on the far right, including Mr Massie, to shift blame from their own actions leading up to the riot.

“He's just trying to survive and he's on your side. You don't have many voters left — you might want to try to hang on to them without demonising and vilifying your own people,” Mr Raskin told his Republican rival.

Read more in The Independent:

Jamie Raskin unloads on GOP congressman for obsessing over ‘poor schmuck’ Ray Epps

Trump-backed Republican House candidate misrepresented military service

Thursday 22 September 2022 20:40 , John Bowden

A Trump-backed Republican campaigning for an Ohio congressional seat has some explaining to do after it was revealed he has misrepresented his time in the military.

JR Majewski, who is running for Ohio's 9th Congressional District seat, was at Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday in Youngstown, Ohio, where he received a shout-out from the ex-president himself. But now he’s taking new criticism after it was revealed that he released a statement claiming to have a desire to go “back” to Afghanistan and serve personally — despite having never been deployed to the country. He’s also never been in combat.

Read more in The Independent from Graig Graziosi:

Trump-backed Republican House candidate misrepresented military service

The 20 properties in Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Thursday 22 September 2022 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s real estate empire engaged in an “astounding” level of fraud and deceptive business practises over more than a decade, during which the former president and his associates “grossly and fraudulently” inflated the value of his properties to obtain tax, loan and insurance incentives while boosting his financial ambitions, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward combed through the 222-page document. These are the properties and assets that the office of the attorney general alleges were central to a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Mr Trump and his business allies.

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Nick Clegg will make the call on Trump’s potential Facebook reinstatement

Thursday 22 September 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Meta executive Nick Clegg says he will make the final call on whether to reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook account when his suspension from the social media platform runs out next year.

Mr Clegg, the company’s head of Global Affairs, told an event in Washington DC that allowing the one-term president to potentially return to Facebook is “a decision I oversee and I drive.”

Graeme Massie reports.

Facebook exec Nick Clegg will make the call on whether to reinstate Trump

‘Radical left’ running National Archives, according to former president

Thursday 22 September 2022 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump has said that the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara) is run by a “radical left group”.

The former president’s comments came during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.

“You know, Nara is a radical left group of people running that thing and when you send documents over there, I would say there’s a very good chance a lot of those documents will never be seen again,” he added.

However, he did not elaborate on what he meant by the statement.

Trump says National Archives has ‘a radical left group of people running that thing’

‘History is calling Donald Trump’: Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run

Thursday 22 September 2022 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has fired off a stream of Truth Social posts about a possible 2024 run for the White House.

Mr Trump linked to a text on the website American Thinker with the headline “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee” before linking to a CNN report stating “Trump fields calls from Republican allies to speed up 2024 bid after FBI raid”.

He then shared a story from Townhall.com saying “The Washington Establishment Fears A Second Term Trump”.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump fires off torrent of Truth Social posts about 2024 run: ‘History is calling’

Trump says bank shouldn’t have relied on his numbers

Thursday 22 September 2022 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed banks for lending money based on bogus valuations after he was sued for “numerous acts of fraud”.

Trump says banks shouldn’t have relied on his numbers for tax valuations

Jan 6 rioter who testified for House panel sentenced to probation

Thursday 22 September 2022 17:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Stephen Ayres, a former Donald Trump supporter, who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol and testified before the January 6 committee, was sentenced to 24 months probation and 100 hours of community service on Thursday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building in June.

During a virtual sentencing hearing, Ayres was emotional and expressed remorse for his participation in Capitol riot.

He told Judge John Bates that he wanted to apologise to “the court and the American people.”

“I went down there that day not with the intention to cause any violence or anything like that,” Ayres said.

“But I did get caught up on all the stuff online, on Facebook, which ultimately I felt like was steering me in the wrong direction.”

When in doubt, or backed into a corner, reach for an old classic

Thursday 22 September 2022 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Truly one of the most bizarre moments of the Sean Hannity interview with Donald Trump was when the former president said this:

There’s also a lot of speculation because of what they did, the severity of the FBI coming and raiding Mar-a-Lago. Were they looking for the Hillary Clinton emails that were deleted but they are around someplace? They may have thought that it was in there!

Combined with his claim that he could declassify documents just by thinking about them, it really is quite staggering that anyone could say such things while keeping a straight face.

Trump bizarrely suggests FBI looked for Hillary Clinton’s emails at Mar-a-Lago

Trump claims FBI took his last will and testament from Mar-a-Lago

Thursday 22 September 2022 17:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump claimed the FBI agents who executed a court-authorised search of his Palm Beach, Florida home took his last will and testament in addition to the 100 classified documents found in his office and a nearby storage room.

“They took a lot. I think they took my will. I found out yesterday,” said the twice-impeached ex-president during an appearance on Fox News’ host Sean Hannity’s eponymous nightly programme.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump claims FBI took his last will and testament in Mar-a-Lago search

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer and the Jan 6 committee must ask

Thursday 22 September 2022 17:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Members of the January 6 committee announced this week that Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had agreed to testify under oath.

John Bowden looks at what questions must be answered by Ms Thomas.

Three key questions Ginni Thomas must answer in January 6 panel interview

Trump believes he can declassify top secret documents just ‘by thinking about it'

Thursday 22 September 2022 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Little known fact, apparently the presidency gives you magical telekinetic powers...

Trump says he can declassify secret papers just ‘by thinking about it’

Trump says he balked at paying even ‘small amount’ to settle New York tax fraud probe

Thursday 22 September 2022 16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday said he rejected an offer to settle the three-year investigation into whether his eponymous real estate company committed massive amounts of tax fraud because paying “even a small amount” would be akin to admitting guilt.

Andrew Feinberg reports on what the former president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.

Trump says he balked at settling New York tax fraud probe

The 20 properties in Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

Thursday 22 September 2022 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s real estate empire engaged in an “astounding” level of fraud and deceptive business practises over more than a decade, during which the former president and his associates “grossly and fraudulently” inflated the value of his properties to obtain tax, loan and insurance incentives while boosting his financial ambitions, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward combed through the 222-page document. These are the properties and assets that the office of the attorney general alleges were central to a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Mr Trump and his business allies.

These are the 20 properties in Donald Trump’s alleged fraud scheme

‘Senator Cruz voted against this’: White House trolls Ted Cruz for boasting about new highway

Thursday 22 September 2022 15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House Twitter account called out Ted Cruz after he praised a new highway project that he actually voted against.

The US Senator from Texas has seemingly been trying to take credit for the “Ports to Plains” project, leading to the White House trolling the Republican politician.

Graeme Massie reports on the senator’s hypocrisy.

White House twitter account trolls Ted Cruz for boasting about new highway

Appeals court says DoJ can use classified documents in criminal probe of Trump

Thursday 22 September 2022 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Florida federal judge’s order which effectively barred the Department of Justice from using classified documents found at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home to further a criminal investigation into him and his associates.

Andrew Feinberg reports on Wednesday night’s ruling.

Appeals court says DOJ can use classified documents in Trump criminal probe

Mike Lindell being investigated about link to alleged Colorado election security breach

Thursday 22 September 2022 14:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Lindell, the founder of My Pillow and ally to former President Donald Trump, is under federal investigation for identity theft and for conspiring to damage a protected computer connected to a suspected voting equipment security breach in Colorado, NBC News reports.

Details of the investigation were confirmed on Wednesday after his attorneys uploaded a copy of a search and seizure warrant approved by US Magistrate Judge Tony Leung for Minnesota federal court on 7 September.

Judge Leung approved the warrant based on probable cause that Mr Lindell and other possible co-conspirators may have violated federal laws prohibiting identity fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and causing intentional damage to a protected computer.

Mr Lindell’s attorneys uploaded the warrant as part of their lawsuit against the Justice Department to demand the return of his cell phone, which FBI agents seized on 13 September while he was ordering fast food at a drive-through window.

Read more below:

Lindell sues to recover cellphone seized by FBI agents

Virginia Thomas agrees to voluntary interview with Jan 6 committee

Thursday 22 September 2022 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative activist Virginia Thomas, the wife of right-wing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to a voluntary interview with the January 6 committee.

Mark Paoletta, a lawyer for Ms Thomas said that she is “eager to answer the committee’s questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election.”

Graeme Massie reports.

Virginia Thomas agrees to voluntary interview with Jan 6 committee