Trump wildly claims he peacefully handed power to Biden in 2020: Live

Former president Donald Trump insisted he peacefully transferred power over to President Joe Biden when he left office in January 2021, despite conflicting reports of a chaotic time.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday, the former president said he would transfer power peacefully if elected and purported that he did previously.

“And I did that this time. And I’ll tell you what. The election was rigged, and we have plenty of evidence of it. But I did it anyway,” Mr Trump said.

However, Mr Trump refused to begin the transition of power for several weeks following the 2020 election because he continued to espouse that he actually won the election. Once the transition process began, there were reports that several Trump administration members were not cooperating with the Biden administration.

Memorably, the January 6 attack on the Capitol occurred in the middle of the transition.

Now, Mr Trump is being investigated by Special Counsel Jack Smith for his alleged part in January 6 and allegedly interfering in the 2020 election.

On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to rule on Mr Trump’s immunity defense.

Key Points

• Supreme Court rejects Jack Smith’s request to fast-track decision on Trump presidential ‘immunity’

• Trump team fires back at claims that ex-president ‘smells’

• Trump ‘personally pressured two Republican officials to not certify Michigan 2020 results’

• The Supreme Court could upend Trump’s campaign and reshape 2024

• Trump says he transferred power peacefully to Biden in 2020

Trump says he transferred power peacefully to Biden in 2020

Saturday 23 December 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

Former president Donald Trump insists that he peacefully transferred power over to President Joe Biden when he left office in January 2021 – though several reports contradict this statement.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday, the former president said he would “of course” transfer power peacefully if re-elected.

Story continues

He went on the claim that he did so in 2020.

“And I did that this time. And I’ll tell you what. The election was rigged, and we have plenty of evidence of it. But I did it anyway,” Mr Trump said.

However, Mr Trump refused to begin the transition of power for several weeks following the 2020 election because he continued to espouse that he actually won the election.

Even when Mr Trump was asked if he would commit peaceful transfer of power in November 2020, he said, “we’re going to have to see what happens” and refused to commit.

Then, once the transition process began, there were reports that several Trump administration members were not cooperating with the Biden administration.

Memorably, the January 6 attack on the Capitol occurred in the middle of the transition.

Trump team fires back at claims that ex-president ‘smells’

Saturday 23 December 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican representative, encouraged people to ‘wear a mask’ when they’re in the presence of former president Donald Trump due to his apparent odor.

Mr Kinzinger, a vocal critic of Mr Trump, took to his Twitter account this week to insinuate that the former president possesses a strong smell.

“I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor,” Mr Kinzinger wrote earlier this week.

“It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can,” he added.

The accusation garnered a lot of attention on the platform, with many mocking the former president for his alleged smell.

When reached for comment about the accusation, a spokesperson for Mr Trump returned the insult to Mr Kinzinger.

“Adam Kinzinger farted on live TV and is an unemployed fraud,” the spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Independent.

“He has disgraced his country and disrespects everyone around him because he is a sad individual who is mad about how his miserable life has turned out.”

Where is Donald Trump facing 14th Amendment challenges?

Saturday 23 December 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Lawsuits challenging Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on the 2024 presidential primary ballots have sprung up in several states.

Individuals and left-wing organisations have claimed that Mr Trump violated Section Three of the 14th Amendment – known as the insurrection clause – citing his involvement in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Section Three of the amendment prohibits those who take part in insurrections or aid enemies of the US government from taking office.

To date, such challenges have been brought in both federal district and state courts across at least 16 states.

Ariana Baio reports:

Donald Trump: Where is former president facing 14th Amendment challenges?

Watch: Donald Trump says he was ‘not a student of Hitler’

Saturday 23 December 2023 21:30 , Ariana Baio

Trump’s 2023 wrapped: 91 felony counts, four trials and one mugshot later

Saturday 23 December 2023 21:00 , Kelly Rissman

Former president Donald Trump has spent much of 2023 dealing with a mountain of legal battles across the country. Let’s unwrap the details of those legal challenges.

Read more here:

Trump’s 2023 wrapped: 91 felony counts, four trials and one mugshot later

Joe Rogan left red-faced as he incorrectly blames Trump gaffe on Biden

Saturday 23 December 2023 20:30 , Rachel Sharp

Joe Rogan has been left red-faced after he incorrectly blamed one of Donald Trump’s gaffes on President Joe Biden.

The controversial podcast host went on a rant on his show this week, mocking the Democratic president for making “no sense at all” and questioning his mental competence – a favorite pastime of conservative figures.

In the segment, during an interview with MMA fighter Bo Nickal, Rogan claimed that Mr Biden had recently incorrectly claimed that the US lost the Revolutionary War because “they didn’t have enough airports”.

As the two men cracked up laughing, Rogan even went as far as to say that Mr Biden should be “done” in his role as leader of the country for making the comments.

But, it turned out that the comments weren’t made by Mr Biden at all – but were actually said by former Republican president Mr Trump.

Bill Barr warns that a Trump presidency would be ‘chaotic’

Saturday 23 December 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

Former attorney general Bill Barr raised concerns that another Donald Trump presidency would be chaotic and not accomplish much.

While speaking with Neil Cavuto on Fox News on Sunday, Mr Barr said that Mr Trump’s style of governing should be of concern.

“You know his style of governance, his continuing to pander to anger and frustration versus a constructive approach to solving our problems is going to be chaotic and not going to accomplish very much,” Mr Barr said.

He predicted Mr Trump would be a “lame duck president.”

The former president has vocally said if he were to be elected again he would use his power to open investigations or go after the people who are currently investigating him. He said this would include his political opponents like President Joe Biden.

Biden says ‘no question’ Trump supported insurrection on Jan 6

Saturday 23 December 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden is confident that former president Donald Trump supported an insurrection.

Shortly after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Mr Trump is ineligible for the presidency, Mr Biden told reporters in Milwaukee that there was “no question” Mr Trump supported the January 6 insurrection.

“It’s self-evident,” Mr Biden said.

“You saw it all. Now whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision. But he certainly supported an insurrection. There’s no question about it. None. Zero.”

The Supreme Court could upend Trump’s campaign and reshape 2024

Saturday 23 December 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

The US Supreme Court could determine whether Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for crimes connected to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and whether his name can be removed from ballots because of them.

Those two major constitutional questions before the nation’s highest court – where three of the nine justices were appointed by the former president – arrive in the middle of the 2024 race for the presidency, and could have resounding impacts beyond Mr Trump’s campaign.

Those questions underscore the massive role that courtrooms have played in Mr Trump’s brutal campaign for the White House in 2024, a campaign that frames the 91 criminal charges, fraud lawsuits and sexual abuse and defamation claims against him as evidence of a conspiracy to keep him away from the presidency. Mr Trump has promised vengeance against his political enemies if he wins another White House term.

Alex Woodward reports:

The Supreme Court could upend Trump’s campaign and reshape 2024

New poll shows Haley squeezing Trump’s lead in New Hampshire

Saturday 23 December 2023 18:30 , Kelly Rissman

The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has tightened the gap between her and the prominent frontrunner in New Hampshire, according to a 21 December poll from American Research Group.

The poll indicated that 33 per cent of likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters support the former president while 29 per cent support Ms Haley, meaning she has closed in on him within four percentage points.

In response to the recent poll, Mr Trump took to Truth Social, blasting it as a “scam.”

He wrote, “FAKE NEW HAMPSHIRE POLL WAS RELEASED ON BIRDBRAIN. JUST ANOTHER SCAM! RATINGS CHALLENGED FOXNEWS WILL PLAY IT TO THE HILT. SUNUNU NOW ONE OF THE LEAST POPULAR GOVERNORS IN U.S. REAL POLL TO FOLLOW.”

The poll also indicated that Chris Christie has pulled ahead of Ron DeSantis in the state, boasting 13 per cent compared to the Florida Republican’s mere 6 per cent.

Trump has spent months attacking ‘bird brain’ Nikki Haley. Now he’s mulling her for VP

Saturday 23 December 2023 18:00 , Rachel Sharp

After spending months lashing out at his closest Republican rival in the 2024 race, Donald Trump is now said to be considering her as his second in command if he retakes the White House.

Multiple insiders told Politico and CBS News that the former president has been asking allies what they think about him picking Nikki Haley as vice president if he secures the GOP nomination.

“What do you think of Nikki?” Mr Trump has reportedly asked.

The suggestion, however, has been widely panned by his inner circle, with the sources saying that Mr Trump’s allies and advisors are trying to warn him off the idea – arguing that Ms Haley does not fit with his Maga base.

Mr Trump’s eldest son Don Jr recently said in a Newsmax interview that he will “go to great lengths to make sure” a Trump-Haley ticket doesn’t emerge.

Meanwhile, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said this week on his podcast that he plans to “advocate against” the union “as strongly as I could”.

Trump purports Jack Smith’s case is politically motivated

Saturday 23 December 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

As he has before, Donald Trump is once again suggesting the case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith is politically motivated and would not have happened if he was not running for president.

“This sick puppies team of Lowlife and Radical Left Thugs could have brought this “case” 3 years ago, and it would be long over by now,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

“No, they waited until right in the middle of my very successful campaign for President.  If I were polling poorly, like everyone else against me is (including Crooked Joe Biden!), or, for some reason, I decided not to run, they never would have even brought this ridiculous and disgraceful lawsuit,” he added.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined to rule on Mr Trump’s “presidential immunity” claim in Mr Smiths’ case.

Mr Smith had asked the court to decide as to bypass the much longer process of going through lower courts.

Trump now claims he ‘knows nothing about Hitler’

Saturday 23 December 2023 17:00 , Kelly Rissman

After Donald Trump made a series of shocking comments which drew comparisons to Adolf Hitler, he has now claimed that he knows “nothing about” the Nazi leader.

Over the past few weeks, the 2024 GOP frontrunner has been accused of pulling phrases from Hitler’s playbook.

In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt on Friday, the former president addressed the scandal, claiming that his remarks did not stem from the former German dictator and asserting that he “is not a student of” the Nazi leader.

“First of all, I know nothing about Hitler. I’m not a student of Hitler. I never read his works,” Mr Trump said.

“They say that he said something about blood. He didn’t say it the way I said it, either, by the way. It’s a very different kind of a statement. What I’m saying when I talk about people coming into our country is they are destroying our country,” he continued.

PREMIUM: Defeating Trump in court will be dangerously destabilising to American democracy

Saturday 23 December 2023 16:30 , Jon Sopel

If I was back in my old Washington newsroom, I would obviously be pitching to the bureau chief that I should be deployed immediately to Aspen or Vail – or maybe Beaver Creek – to test the mood of locals on the fabulous ski slopes of the Rocky Mountains. After all, the Colorado ruling to strike Donald Trump’s name off the ballot is momentous. But I suspect my former boss would have seen straight through my ruse and said: “Forget it, pal. The story is here in Washington.”

And it is.

What the ruling this week has done is put the Supreme Court of the United States on the ballot in 2024 – and slap, bang in the middle of the most high-stakes political controversy imaginable. This will make their 2000 adjudication on Gore versus Bush in Florida look like the settlement of a minor playground squabble. It is exactly what the justices were hoping to avoid.

Jon Sopel writes:

Defeating Trump in court will be dangerously destabilising to America | Jon Sopel

California official seeks to boot Trump from ballot after landmark Colorado ruling

Saturday 23 December 2023 16:00 , John Bowden

The dam has officially broken following the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot in that state.

A Democratic state official in California is now calling for the former president to be stripped of ballot access in that state too, citing the Colorado court’s finding that Mr Trump had participated in an insurrection via his support and tangential leadership of the mob that attacked the US Capitol on January 6, attempting to halt the election certification process.

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis sent a letter to the secretary of state urging her to make a similar determination in the days ahead; California’s deadline for certifying ballots for the upcoming 2024 primary is this coming week.

“[T]he Colorado Supreme Court held in Anderson v. Griswold… that Trump’s insurrection disqualifies him under section three of the Fourteenth Amendment to stand for presidential re-election. Because the candidate is ineligible, the court ruled, it would be a ‘wrongful act’ for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on that state’s presidential primary ballot.”

Ms Kounalakis added in an interview with local news affiliate KCRA 3 that the final decision lay in the hands of the secretary of state’s office. Shirley Weber, the California secretary of state, did not respond to requests for comment from the news outlet on Wednesday.

Lincoln Project releases ad mocking Trump’s phone calls

Saturday 23 December 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

Amid allegations that former president Donald Trump made a phone call pressuring two Michigan officials to decertify 2020 election results, The Lincoln Project has released an ad compiling Mr Trump’s infamous phone calls.

The video begins with a clip of Mr Trump telling a crowd of supporters, “you can do a lot with a telephone” before featuring several phone calls that have landed the former president in trouble.

It features the phone call Mr Trump made to Ukrainian President Voldomyer Zelensky that led to his impeachment and the phone call Mr Trump made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January 2021 asking him to find more votes.

Trump reportedly pressured Michigan officials to decertify election results

Saturday 23 December 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

A phone recording, obtained by The Detroit News allegedly reveals that former president Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican officials in Michigan to not certify election results.

In a 17 November 2020 phone call, the then-president told the officials Monica Palmer and William Hartmann – both members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers – that they would look “terrible” if they certified the results.

He reportedly told Ms Palmer and Mr Hartmann that his team would “take care” of them, saying that “we can’t let these people take our country away from us”.

RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native, was also on the call and reportedly told the officials: “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”

The paper reported that both officials left the canvassers’ meeting without signing Wayne County’s official statement of votes, and the following day unsuccessfully tried to rescind their votes in favour of certification.

Both officials claimed in legal affidavits that they had been pressured into voting.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told the newspaper that the ex-president’s actions “were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election”.

“President Trump and the American people have the constitutional right to free and fair elections,” added Mr Cheung.

The newspaper stated that neither Ms Palmer nor Ms McDaniel disputed a summary of the call when contacted for comment.

WATCH: Lara Trump mulls running as Trump’s VP

Saturday 23 December 2023 14:40 , Rachel Sharp

Trump gloats as Supreme Court hands him rare legal win

Saturday 23 December 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp

The US Supreme Court has declined to decide on Donald Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution in the federal 2020 election interference case.

On Friday, the justices announced they have chosen not to hear the case for now – even after Special Counsel Jack Smith urged them to urgently rule on the issue.

The case will now proceed to an appeals court and will likely come back to the highest US court in the coming months.

The former president gloated about his rare legal win on Truth Social:

“The Supreme Court has unanimously rejected Deranged Jack Smith’s desperate attempt to short circuit our Great Constitution. Crooked Joe Biden and his henchmen waited three years to bring this sham case, and now they have tried and failed to rush this Witch Hunt through the courts.

“Of course I am entitled to Presidential Immunity. I was President, it was my right and duty to investigate, and speak on, the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election. Looking forward to the very important arguments on Presidential Immunity in front of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Make America Great Again!”

Supreme Court rejects Jack Smith’s request to fast-track decision on Trump presidential ‘immunity’

Saturday 23 December 2023 14:00 , Alex Woodward

The US Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on Donald Trump’s “presidential immunity” defence until an appeals court reviews the case.

The refusal on Friday from the nation’s highest court follows a request from special counsel Jack Smith to make a swift and “definitive” ruling on whether the former president can claim “immunity” from prosecution for crimes allegedly committed while in office.

A federal grand jury indictment charges Mr Trump for his alleged attempts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including his failure to stop a mob of his supporters from breaking into the US Capitol to stop the certification of the results on January 6.

The federal judge overseeing the case has rejected Mr Trump’s arguments, and Mr Trump has vowed to appeal.

The Supreme Court’s response tells the parties that the justices won’t get involved in the case, for now.

Fox News host mocks viewers for sending him hate mail over his refusal to deny 2020 election

Saturday 23 December 2023 13:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Fox News host Neil Cavuto took a few minutes on his show “Your World” to respond to hate mail from viewers on Thursday.

A few viewers were particularly disgruntled about Mr Cavuto’s refusal to reject the results of the 2020 election.

“Sad to watch an intelligent man proudly display his ignorance when Neil Cavuto insists with moral certitude that the 2020 election rigging absolutely did not occur,” a viewer named Kevin wrote to Mr Cavuto.

Former President Donald Trump and several of his associates are facing an array of legal headaches stemming from their false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, from felony charges to blockbuster payouts. In April, Fox News also reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, avoiding a trial that would examine the network’s coverage of false claims that 2020 election was rigged.

“So, Neil Cavuto, the Omnipotent One, has concluded that the last election wasn’t stolen,” JJ, another viewer, wrote. “Says who, fat head?”

How Obama, Trump, and Biden have used clemency

Saturday 23 December 2023 12:00 , Gustaf Kilander

By the time he left office in early 2017, President Barack Obama had issued 1,715 commutations and 212 pardons, with most of those granted clemency having been convicted of drug violations. Many of them had received long and at times mandatory sentences amidst the war on drugs – a term popularized by President Richard Nixon during a press conference in the summer of 1971.

Former President Donald Trump granted clemency to 237 people, most of whom had a personal connection to him or served a political purpose. Only 25 of the pardons and commutations issued by Mr Trump went through the regular process at the Department of Justice, the rest were the result of personal connections and lobbying efforts.

Mr Biden’s pardon of simple marijuana offences on federal lands and in Washington, DC has so far helped at least 6,500 people. It’s the largest number of people to receive a presidential pardon since President Jimmy Carter pardoned more than 200,000 people for evading the draft for the Vietnam war.

Former president’s attorneys suggests special counsel has ‘partisan interest’

Saturday 23 December 2023 11:00 , Alex Woodward

The former president’s attorneys suggested that the special counsel has a “partisan interest” to keep Mr Trump restrained by his criminal prosecutions during the 2024 election.

But multiple delays in the federal election interference case — which is scheduled to go to trial in March 2024 — could prevent it from moving forward until after the presidential election. Should Mr Trump win the election, he has suggested he would order the US Department of Justice to shut it down.

‘This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy’

Saturday 23 December 2023 10:00 , Alex Woodward

Mr Trump’s growing legal problems include four criminal prosecutions and lawsuits that threaten his business and campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

His campaign has vowed to go to the Supreme Court to fight a Colorado ruling that bars him from appearing on the state’s 2024 ballots under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits candidates who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump’s attorneys told the Supreme Court to reject the special counsel’s request and accused prosecutors of trying to “bypass” their appeal.

His attorneys argued that the special counsel “identifies no compelling reason for the extraordinary haste he proposes.”

“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy … whether a president may be criminally prosecuted for his official acts,” they wrote. “The ‘paramount public importance’ of that question … calls for it to be resolved in a cautious, deliberative manner – not at breakneck speed.”

Phillip on Trump disqualification: ‘Isn’t it ironic?’

Saturday 23 December 2023 09:00 , Joe Sommerlad

CNN’s Abby Phillip channels Alanis Morissette as she reflects on the Republican’s habit of demanding everybody else be dismissed coming back to bite him.

MTG calls for red states to remove Biden from ballot

Saturday 23 December 2023 08:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Very much what you’d expect from the Georgia Republican here.

Lincoln Project: ‘If you thought Trump’s first term was miserable, his second will be so much worse’

Saturday 23 December 2023 07:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the Republican group’s latest anti-Trump attack ad, warning of a more radical administration fuelled by a desire for retribution should he win next year’s election.

Rudy Giuliani tries bizarre new supplement marketing technique in the face of $148m verdict

Saturday 23 December 2023 06:00 , Io Dodds

Rudy Giuliani is promoting unapproved dietary supplements as he scrambles to pay $148m in damages to a pair of election workers whom he defamed.

A US federal judge on Wednesday ordered Mr Giuiliani to “immediately” produce the money before he has a chance to conceal his true assets, saying he had been an “uncooperative litigant”.

The former New York City mayor and Trump campaign lawyer was found to have defamed Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss when he groundlessly accused them of helping to rig the 2020 presidential election.

In livestreams on Tuesday and Wednesday night, Mr Giuliani showed his followers how to make Christmas tree ornaments out of bottles of Balance of Nature dietary pills, urging them to help him “fight the traitors” by buying some.

“Balance of Nature should be taken every single day to make sure you get your vegetables and your fruits,” he said. “I expect you to have these in Christmas stockings for all those that you love, okay?”

He did not mention that the supplements were temporarily taken off the market last month by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which said they had been wrongly advertised as helping to prevent or mitigate diseases such as cancer and Covid-19 without having been approved for that purpose.

Trump’s projection spins ‘insurrectionist’ accusations back at Biden

Saturday 23 December 2023 05:00 , Alex Woodward

President Joe Biden said there is “no question” that Donald Trump was responsible for fuelling an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. “It’s self-evident. You saw it all,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“I’m not an insurrectionist,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social the next day. “Crooked Joe Biden is!!!”

He didn’t elaborate, but it’s the latest attempt from the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 to spin, or project, accusations against him towards those doing the accusing.

It’s a rhetorical device he has weaponised for years, and the projected accusations have only become more severe as the several criminal prosecutions and campaign-threatening lawsuits against him develop.

While the president, Democratic officials and democratic advocates warn against his increasingly fascist rhetoric and his promises of a violent agenda of retribution, Mr Trump has claimed that it’s Mr Biden, actually, who poses a “threat to democracy”.

It’s a claim spread across his marathon rallies and on his social media. It’s echoed by his allies and supporters. And it only comes after Mr Trump faces criminal charges for his own attempts to overturn the results of millions of Americans’ votes in the 2020 presidential election, and the growing list of lawsuits threatening to remove him from 2024 ballots because of it.

Ron DeSantis refuses to join Vivek Ramaswamy’s Trump ballot protest

Saturday 23 December 2023 04:15 , Io Dodds

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has pointedly refused to join his Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy in boycotting next year’s presidential election in Colorado.

Mr Ramaswamy, who is vying with Mr DeSantis for the GOP nomination in 2024, suggested on Wednesday that candidates should withdraw from the ballot unless Donald Trump is also allowed to run.

One day earlier, the Colorado Supreme Court had disqualified Mr Trump from seeking office because his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result had constituted an “insurrection”.

“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot unless and until Trump’s name is restored,” Mr Ramaswamy said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. He also “demanded” that other Republicans should do the same.

Asked by the conservative broadcaster Newsmax on Wednesday whether he would follow suit, Mr DeSantis said: “No, I think that’s just playing into the Left.”

He added: “I think the case will get overturned by the [US] Supreme Court.

“I’ve qualified for all the ballots, I’m competing in all the states, and I’m going to accumulate the delegates necessary. That’s the whole name of the game in this situation.

“But I do anticipate that that decision was political and will get reversed.”

The 14th Amendment to the US constitution, adopted in 1868 in the wake of the US Civil War, forbids any candidate from holding office if they have “engaged in an insurrection”.

Trump team fires back at claims that ex-president ‘smells’

Saturday 23 December 2023 03:30 , Ariana Baio

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican representative, encouraged people to ‘wear a mask’ when they’re in the presence of former president Donald Trump due to his apparent odor.

Mr Kinzinger, a vocal critic of Mr Trump, took to his Twitter account this week to insinuate that the former president possesses a strong smell.

“I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor,” Mr Kinzinger wrote earlier this week.

“It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can,” he added.

The accusation garnered a lot of attention on the platform, with many mocking the former president for his alleged smell.

When reached for comment about the accusation, a spokesperson for Mr Trump returned the insult to Mr Kinzinger.

“Adam Kinzinger farted on live TV and is an unemployed fraud,” the spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Independent.

“He has disgraced his country and disrespects everyone around him because he is a sad individual who is mad about how his miserable life has turned out.”

The Supreme Court could upend Trump’s campaign and reshape 2024

Saturday 23 December 2023 02:45 , Alex Woodward

The US Supreme Court could determine whether Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for crimes connected to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and whether his name can be removed from ballots because of them.

Those two major constitutional questions before the nation’s highest court – where three of the nine justices were appointed by the former president – arrive in the middle of the 2024 race for the presidency, and could have resounding impacts beyond Mr Trump’s campaign.

The Supreme Court is considering whether Mr Trump has “presidential immunity” from charges connected to his attempts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including his failure to stop a mob of his supporters from breaking into the halls of Congress to stop the certification of the results.

His campaign also pledged to go to the Supreme Court following a Colorado ruling that bars him from appearing on 2024 ballots under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits candidates who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.

Those questions underscore the massive role that courtrooms have played in Mr Trump’s brutal campaign for the White House in 2024, a campaign that frames the 91 criminal charges, fraud lawsuits and sexual abuse and defamation claims against him as evidence of a conspiracy to keep him away from the presidency. Mr Trump has promised vengeance against his political enemies if he wins another White House term.

Seth Meyers breaks down Trump’s lifelong ‘support for dictators’

Saturday 23 December 2023 02:00 , Amelia Neath

Late Night host Seth Meyers delved into all the times Donald Trump has shown “admiration for dictators” in his show on Thursday night – following the former president’s recent declaration that he would be a dictator on “day one” of a possible second term and his recent anti-immigration comments echoing Adolf Hitler.

In a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Mr Trump was asked if he would ever “abuse power” if he returns to the White House in 2024.

The former president replied: “Except for day one.”

While many GOP lawmakers defended his remarks, putting them down to one of Trump’s many “Trump-isms”, Mr Meyers decided to take a closer look at the times the former president has shown his appreciation for history’s most disturbing dictators.

“He used to be pro-choice, now he’s anti-abortion. He used to be for gun control, now he’s against it. But the one thing he’s been consistent on his entire life is his support for dictators,” Mr Meyers said on his show on Thursday.

Mr Meyers showed viewers a copy of an interview in a 1990 Playboy magazine, where Mr Trump revealed his admiration for China’s massacre of pro-democracy student protestors the previous year.

“When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength,” Mr Trump said at the time.

“That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak.”

Trump personally pressured two GOP officials to not certify election, says report

Saturday 23 December 2023 01:15 , Graeme Massie, Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican officials in Michigan to not certify the 2020 presidential election result in the state, according to a report.

In a 17 November 2020 phone call, the then-president told the officials Monica Palmer and William Hartmann – both members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers – that they would look “terrible” if they certified the results.

According to The Detroit News, which obtained audio of the call, Mr Trump went on to tell the officials: “We’ve got to fight for our country.”

Mr Trump also reportedly told Ms Palmer and Mr Hartmann that his team would “take care” of them, saying that “we can’t let these people take our country away from us”.

RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native, was also on the call and reportedly told the officials: “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”

Mr Trump added: “We’ll take care of that.”

The paper reported that both officials left the canvassers meeting without signing Wayne County’s official statement of votes, and the following day unsuccessfully tried to rescind their votes in favour of certification.

Both officials claimed in legal affidavits that they had been pressured into voting.

VIDEO: Trump told Wayne County canvassers not to certify 2020 presidential election

Saturday 23 December 2023 00:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Rudy Giuliani owes millions in damages — but how much is his net worth?

Friday 22 December 2023 23:45 , Graig Graziosi, Alex Woodward, Gustaf Kilander

It may be “the end of Rudy Giuliani,” according to the former New York mayor and Trump attorney’s lawyer Joseph Sibley.

That’s because a federal jury ruled that he owes nearly $150m to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss after he defamed them, falsely claiming they had been committing voter fraud to aid Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The women described being harassed, receiving death threats, and having to flee their homes due to the conspiracy theories pushed by Mr Giuliani.

Before the ruling, Mr Sibley said awarding the women tens of millions would be “the civil equivalence of a death penalty” for Mr Giuliani.

But how much is the former New York mayor actually worth?

How Obama, Trump, and Biden have used clemency

Friday 22 December 2023 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander

By the time he left office in early 2017, President Barack Obama had issued 1,715 commutations and 212 pardons, with most of those granted clemency having been convicted of drug violations. Many of them had received long and at times mandatory sentences amidst the war on drugs – a term popularized by President Richard Nixon during a press conference in the summer of 1971.

Former President Donald Trump granted clemency to 237 people, most of whom had a personal connection to him or served a political purpose. Only 25 of the pardons and commutations issued by Mr Trump went through the regular process at the Department of Justice, the rest were the result of personal connections and lobbying efforts.

Mr Biden’s pardon of simple marijuana offences on federal lands and in Washington, DC has so far helped at least 6,500 people. It’s the largest number of people to receive a presidential pardon since President Jimmy Carter pardoned more than 200,000 people for evading the draft for the Vietnam war.

Biden pardons thousands of people convicted of marijuana offences

Friday 22 December 2023 22:15 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of people convicted of marijuana offences in Washington DC and on federal lands.

He’s also set to commute the sentences of 11 non-violent drug offenders “serving disproportionately long sentences”.

Mr Biden made the announcement in a statement on Friday morning, saying that “America was founded on the principle of equal justice under law”.

“Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect this core value that makes our communities safer and stronger,” he added. “That is why today I am announcing additional steps I am taking to make the promise of equal justice a reality.”

The president said that if the offenders receiving the commuted sentences had faced justice today, “all of them would have been eligible to receive significantly lower sentences”.

Fox News host mocks viewers for sending him hate mail over his refusal to deny 2020 election

Friday 22 December 2023 21:45 , Katie Hawkinson

Fox News host Neil Cavuto took a few minutes on his show “Your World” to respond to hate mail from viewers on Thursday.

A few viewers were particularly disgruntled about Mr Cavuto’s refusal to reject the results of the 2020 election.

“Sad to watch an intelligent man proudly display his ignorance when Neil Cavuto insists with moral certitude that the 2020 election rigging absolutely did not occur,” a viewer named Kevin wrote to Mr Cavuto.

Former President Donald Trump and several of his associates are facing an array of legal headaches stemming from their false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, from felony charges to blockbuster payouts. In April, Fox News also reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, avoiding a trial that would examine the network’s coverage of false claims that 2020 election was rigged.

“So, Neil Cavuto, the Omnipotent One, has concluded that the last election wasn’t stolen,” JJ, another viewer, wrote. “Says who, fat head?”

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Fox News host mocks viewers for sending hate mail over refusal to deny 2020 election

VIDEO: Desantis: Trump’s Indictment ‘Distorted’ Primary

Friday 22 December 2023 21:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Former president’s attorneys suggests special counsel has ‘partisan interest’

Friday 22 December 2023 20:45 , Alex Woodward

The former president’s attorneys suggested that the special counsel has a “partisan interest” to keep Mr Trump restrained by his criminal prosecutions during the 2024 election.

But multiple delays in the federal election interference case — which is scheduled to go to trial in March 2024 — could prevent it from moving forward until after the presidential election. Should Mr Trump win the election, he has suggested he would order the US Department of Justice to shut it down.

‘This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy’

Friday 22 December 2023 20:15 , Alex Woodward

Mr Trump’s growing legal problems include four criminal prosecutions and lawsuits that threaten his business and campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

His campaign has vowed to go to the Supreme Court to fight a Colorado ruling that bars him from appearing on the state’s 2024 ballots under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits candidates who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump’s attorneys told the Supreme Court to reject the special counsel’s request and accused prosecutors of trying to “bypass” their appeal.

His attorneys argued that the special counsel “identifies no compelling reason for the extraordinary haste he proposes.”

“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy … whether a president may be criminally prosecuted for his official acts,” they wrote. “The ‘paramount public importance’ of that question … calls for it to be resolved in a cautious, deliberative manner – not at breakneck speed.”

Supreme Court rejects Jack Smith’s request to fast-track decision on Trump presidential ‘immunity’

Friday 22 December 2023 19:43 , Alex Woodward

The US Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on Donald Trump’s “presidential immunity” defence until an appeals court reviews the case.

The refusal on Friday from the nation’s highest court follows a request from special counsel Jack Smith to make a swift and “definitive” ruling on whether the former president can claim “immunity” from prosecution for crimes allegedly committed while in office.

A federal grand jury indictment charges Mr Trump for his alleged attempts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including his failure to stop a mob of his supporters from breaking into the US Capitol to stop the certification of the results on January 6.

The federal judge overseeing the case has rejected Mr Trump’s arguments, and Mr Trump has vowed to appeal.

The Supreme Court’s response tells the parties that the justices won’t get involved in the case, for now.

Recap: Trump’s spins anti-democratic accusations against him towards Biden

Friday 22 December 2023 19:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Alex Woodward with a look at Trump’s recent sparring with Biden, which has seen him engage in playground tactics and insist that it is really the president, not him, who is the sinister authoritarian despite his run of distinctly Hitlerian public statements.

Trump has always enjoyed projecting his own corruption onto his enemies but surely only the most conspiracy-brained could be taken by this one.

Trump’s projection spins ‘insurrectionist’ accusations back at Biden

Recap: Trump team fires back at claims that ex-president ‘smells’

Friday 22 December 2023 19:00 , Joe Sommerlad

You read that right folks. Adam Kinzinger, former Republican representative, has encouraged people to “wear a mask” when they are in the presence of the former president due to his alleged odour.

Kinzinger, a vocal critic of Trump, took to his X account this week to insinuate that his enemy possesses a strong smell.

“I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odour,” Kinzinger wrote earlier this week.

“It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can.”

When reached for comment about the accusation after it blew up on social media, a spokesperson for Trump returned the insult.

“Adam Kinzinger farted on live TV and is an unemployed fraud,” the spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Independent.

“He has disgraced his country and disrespects everyone around him because he is a sad individual who is mad about how his miserable life has turned out.”

Ariana Baio has more.

Trump team fires back at claims that ex-president ‘smells’

Recap: Trump ‘personally pressured two Republican officials to not certify Michigan 2020 results’

Friday 22 December 2023 18:30 , Joe Sommerlad

In case you missed it, there’s been a fresh scandal in Trumpworld.

Shocking, I know.

It appears that the Republican presidential front-runner personally pressured two GOP officials in Michigan not to certify the state’s 2020 election results, according to a new report.

The then-president told the officials, both members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, in a 17 November 2020 phone call that they would look “terrible” if they carried out their duty.

According to The Detroit News, which obtained audio of the call, Mr Trump went on to tell the pair: “We’ve got to fight for our country.”

Trump also reportedly told the officials, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, that his team would “take care” of them and insisted: “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native, was also on the call and reportedly told the officials: “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it… We will get you attorneys.”

“We’ll take care of that,” Trump added.

Graeme Massie has the full story.

Trump personally pressured two GOP officials to not certify election, says report

Phillip on Trump disqualification: ‘Isn’t it ironic?’

Friday 22 December 2023 18:00 , Joe Sommerlad

CNN’s Abby Phillip channels Alanis Morissette as she reflects on the Republican’s habit of demanding everybody else be dismissed coming back to bite him.

Lincoln Project: ‘If you thought Trump’s first term was miserable, his second will be so much worse’

Friday 22 December 2023 17:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the Republican group’s latest anti-Trump attack ad, warning of a more radical administration fuelled by a desire for retribution should he win next year’s election.

Trump rages about New Hampshire poll: ‘Just another scam!’

Friday 22 December 2023 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Our man is currently very cross indeed about a Granite State survey circulating that shows Nikki Haley just four percentage points behind him.

This appears to be the one he’s fuming about.

He’s otherwise spent most of the morning “truthing” favourable polls on Truth Social, as well as reposting some nonsense from Newt Gingrich, the Ghost of Christmas Past himself, about Colorado being “the new Venezuela”.

MTG calls for red states to remove Biden from ballot

Friday 22 December 2023 16:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Very much what you’d expect from the Georgia Republican here.

US Supreme Court could rule 9-0 in 14th Amendment case, says ex-Trump lawyer

Friday 22 December 2023 16:00 , Joe Sommerlad

“I think this case will be handled quickly. I think it could be 9-0 in the Supreme Court for Trump,” Ty Cobb has insisted in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.

“I do believe it could be 9-0, because I think the law is clear.”

He continued: “The real key issue in this case is — is Trump an officer in the United States in the context in which that term is used in the Article 3 of the 14th Amendment. And in 2010, Chief Justice [John] Roberts explained in free enterprise that people don’t vote for officers of the United States.

“The Supreme Court though will not hesitate to move quickly on this; they know what the stakes are. They know what their responsibility is. And they can delay some of these Colorado dates to the extent that they feel they’re obligated to or have to.”

Dukes of Hazzard star probed after calling for Biden’s public hanging

Friday 22 December 2023 15:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The US Secret Service has reportedly opened a preliminary investigation into former Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville star John Schneider after he allegedly called for President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden to be “publicly hung”.

Deadline first published a screenshot of a since-delete, which appeared late on Wednesday seemingly from the 63-year-old’s account – just hours after Schneider came second in the season 10 finale of The Masked Singer while dressed as a doughnut.

The post read: “Mr President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is…? Sincerely, John Schneider.”

The post came as a response to the president’s own post warning that Trump “poses many threats to our country” and places American democracy at risk.

The actor has since denied threatening the president, responding to Deadline with a statement declaring: “Seriously, folks? This is my final comment on this. I neither said nor implied any such thing. Despite headlines claiming otherwise, in my post, I absolutely did not call for an act of violence or threaten a US president as many other celebrities have done in the past.”

Here’s more.

Dukes of Hazzard star probed after calling for Biden’s public hanging

Indy Voices: ‘The ultimate gift guide for Republican politicians this Christmas’

Friday 22 December 2023 15:00 , Joe Sommerlad

As conservatives resume their annual complaints about the non-existent “war on Christmas”, Jay Black offers his suggestions for what the Republican presidential contenders might like to find beneath their trees this holiday season.

The ultimate gift guide for Republican politicians this Christmas

Trump seeks to delay E Jean Carroll civil trial

Friday 22 December 2023 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Team Trump filed a motion yesterday asking a federal appeals court to delay his defamation case against the former magazine columnist E Jean Carroll, which is currently set for 16 January, as his schedule becomes ever-more complicated.

The 90-day stay would allow his attorneys more time to consider their next moves, which could include attempting to involve the US Supreme Court, already ruling on his “presidential immunity” defence and likely to become involved in the Colorado affair once Trump appeals.

“The requested stays are necessary and appropriate to give President Trump an opportunity to fully litigate his entitlement to present an immunity defence in the underlying proceedings, including pursuing the appeal in the Supreme Court if necessary,” his attorneys wrote.

“The significance of these issues is illustrated by, among other things, last week’s filings with the Supreme Court by special counsel Jack Smith regarding President Trump’s presidential immunity appeal arising from a criminal case in the District of Columbia.

“That case is stayed pending resolution of the appeal, as this case should be, and the possibility that the Supreme Court may soon address President Trump’s immunity further supports the requested stays.”