Trump news – live: Trump’s secret donation to Arizona election audit revealed as he sets off on campaign trail

Donald Trump reportedly made a secret $1m donation to a partisan-driven“audit” of Arizona’s election results in his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

According to The Guardian, it was Mr Trump who largedly bankrolled the discredited review of election results which the president hoped would support his baseless claims that the election was “stolen” from him and swing the outcome in his favour.

The revelation comes as it also emerged that Mr Trump’s attorney John Eastman is facing disciplinary charges and potential disbarment in California over his involvement in the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

This weekend, Mr Trump set to begin his 2024 presidential campaign trail this weekend with back-to-back appearances in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.

It comes at the end of a week where parent company Meta announced that it would reinstate his Facebook and Instagram accounts in the “coming weeks”.

Key points

• Meta to restore Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

• Trump mocks Meta in response to decision to reinstate him on Facebook

• Elaine Chao responds to barrage of racist attacks

• Prosecutor wants to keep grand jury report private, for now, as her office prepares charges

Saturday 28 January 2023 16:53 , Katy Clifton

Thanks for following our live updates, we are pausing our coverage for now but click here for more Donald Trump news in the meantime.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls on George Santos to resign: ‘That guy does not cut it’

Saturday 28 January 2023 14:00 , Alex Woodward

In an exclusive interview ahead of a profile of the South Carolina congresswoman, Nancy Mace told The Independent’s Washington bureau chief Eric Garcia that newly elected congressman George Santos has got to go.

“I mean, if you look at the allegations about his campaign finance, there are serious issues there,” she said.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls on George Santos to resign

‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: Florida teachers strip classroom shelves of books in response to DeSantis ban

Saturday 28 January 2023 13:00 , Alex Woodward

Ron DeSantis, who is expected in political circles to run for president in 2024, has frequently used the governor’s office as a bully pulpit to stoke national culture war issues targeting libraries, LGBT+ people and Black history.

The Independent’s senior US correspondent Richard Hall on the latest wave of school book removals in Florida and the governor’s efforts to steer control of public school education through his office:

Florida teachers strip classroom shelves of books in response to DeSantis ban

Trump claims he could solve Ukraine war in ‘24 hours’ and would build ‘impenetrable dome’ over US

Saturday 28 January 2023 12:00 , Alex Woodward

Days after claiming he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” the former president said he wants to build an “impenetrable dome” to protect the US from missile strikes.

Trump claims he could solve Ukraine war in ‘24 hours’ and would build ‘dome’ over US

ICYMI: John Eastman could lose his law license over Trump’s 2020 election lies

Saturday 28 January 2023 11:00 , Alex Woodward

John Eastman, who led Donald Trump’s legal bid to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, could be stripped of his licence to practise law after he was hit with 11 charges stemming from his efforts fuelled by the former president’s election lies.

The State Bar of California’s Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced the case against Mr Eastman on Thursday.

An 11-count complaint includes charges based on “allegations that Eastman engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states.”

California state bar seeking to strip John Eastman’s law licence over election lies

ICYMI: Trump claims that his Trump Organization can’t be sued because it doesn’t exist

Saturday 28 January 2023 10:00 , Alex Woodward

In a lengthy, wild response to the New York attorney general’s $250 lawsuit alleging widespread fraud across his business empire, attorneys for Donald Trump and his three eldest children have argued that the “Trump Organization” at the centre of her blockbuster case against them cannot be sued because it does not legally exist.

The filing argues that the “Trump Organization” is used by the defendants only for “branding and business purposes” and that “no entity as such exists for legal purposes”, an argument that is repeated dozens of times across a 300-page document.

Thousands of pages across 16 answers to Letitia James’s case were filed just before a midnight deadline on Thursday, as the former president, his children Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric and recently convicted chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and other associates and entities face a sweeping lawsuit alleging that Mr Trump falsely inflated the value of his net worth by billions of dollars. He’s alleged to have done so in an effort to gain tax benefits and other benefits from insurers and financial institutions.

Trump claims that his Trump Organization can’t be sued because it doesn’t exist

ICYMI: Pence takes ‘full responsibility’ for classified documents found at his home

Saturday 28 January 2023 09:00 , Alex Woodward

Former vice president Mike Pence said he takes “full responsibility” for the presence of documents with classification markings at his Carmel, Indiana home that were turned over to the FBI earlier this month.

Speaking at an event at Florida International University on Friday, Mr Pence said the documents “should not have been in my personal residence”.

“Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility, and I've directed my counsel to work with the National Archives with the Department of Justice, and with the Congress to fully cooperate in any investigation,” he said.

“Our national security depends on the proper handling of classified and sensitive materials, and I know that when errors are made, it's important that they be resolved swiftly and disclosed”.

Pence says he takes ‘full responsibility’ for classified documents found at his home

ICYMI: Ronna McDaniel re-elected as Republican National Committee chair

Saturday 28 January 2023 08:00 , Alex Woodward

Ronna McDaniel has been re-elected to lead the Republican National Committee following a challenge from Harmeet Dhillon and conspiracy theorist and pillow salesman Mike Lindell to lead the GOP conference.

Members of the conference voted 111-51 for Ms McDaniel. Mr Lindell got four votes.

Lee Zeldin, who led a close challenge for New York governor against Kathy Hochul last year, received one vote, though he was not on the ballot.

Ms Dhillion received support from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when he called for “new blood” to lead the GOP less than 24 hours before party members convened for a vote on Friday.

Trump, who picked Ms McDaniel for chair of the RNC following his 2016 victory, stayed out of the race.

Trump calls for ‘direct election’ of school principals by parents of schoolchildren

Saturday 28 January 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

In a video statement, the former president argued that parents should be able to elect and remove school principals, a far-reaching demand targeting the so-called “parental rights” movement that has sought a radical transformation of the nation’s school system.

Galvanised by Covid-19 guidelines, far-right activists have mounted anti-LGBT+ campaigns and efforts to remove “critical race theory” from classrooms, while Republican officials advance sweeping policies targeting libraries and curriculum discussing race and racism, gender and sexuality.

Mr Trump said he would implement “the direct election” of school principals by the parents of schoolchildren.

“The parents should be able to vote to fire them,” he said.

In a Twitter post sharing the video, Donald Trump Jr added that “it’s time to end wokeness in our schools”.

His father “wants to implement direct elections of school principals by the parents, as the ultimate form of local control,” he added.

Full story: Donald Trump’s Save America PAC secretly funded 2020 Arizona election ‘audit’

Saturday 28 January 2023 03:00 , Alex Woodward

A $1m donation to the group responsible for the sham “audit” of Arizona’s Maricopa County election results in 2020 came from Donald Trump’s Save America PAC, according to analysis of publicly available data by the watchdog group Documented.

The analysis was based on campaign finance disclosures, tax filings, and communications records obtained by another transparency group.

It contradicts statements made by the former president’s associates who denied he had anything to do with the effort to “audit” election results in Arizona’s most populous county.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports:

Donald Trump’s Save America PAC secretly funded Arizona 2020 election ‘audit’

Trump rages at Fox News as he blames the ‘radical left’ for DirecTV dropping Newsmax

Saturday 28 January 2023 01:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump was once dependent on Fox News for favourable coverage, but he has more recently experienced a more fractious relationship with the conservative broadcaster and preferred its upstart right-wing rivals like Newsmax and One America News.

But, on Wednesday, AT&T’s DirecTV announced that it would be dropping Newsmax from its lineup, just as it had previously ditched OAN.

On Friday, he once again lashed out at Fox News – which he labelled “FakeFoxNews” – and said the network is “not with me, and I’m not with them”.

Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax

Adam Kinzinger challenges Elon Musk for spreading Paul Pelosi lies as bodycam discredits conspiracies

Saturday 28 January 2023 00:00 , Alex Woodward

has called out Elon Musk for spreading bogus claims about the horrific hammer attack on Paul Pelosi after police bodycam footage was released on Friday.

In the aftermath of the assault, Mr Musk amplified a “deranged” conspiracy theory that the two men were romantically involved.

“There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” Mr Musk tweeted, before quietly deleting the post days later.

“You spread the big conspiracy,” Mr Kinzinger said on Friday.

Adam Kinzinger challenges Elon Musk for spreading Paul Pelosi lies

Trump congratulates Ronna McDaniel on RNC re-election

Friday 27 January 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump congratulated Ronna McDaniel after she won re-election to chair the Republican National Committee, a role that the former president helped her secure in 2016.

“Congratulations to Ronna McDaniel on her big WIN,” he wrote on his Truth Social on Friday. “Now we have to STOP THE DEMOCRATS FROM CHEATING IN ELECTIONS.”

His congratulatory message suggests he will keep pushing the GOP to adopt his baseless narrative of widespread voter fraud, a message that bombed Trump-backed candidates in midterm elections last year.

The movement of election-denying candidates failed to gain any significant ground, with victories in fewer than one in six races across the US in statewide roles that oversee election administration, including governor, secretary of state and attorney general – roles that will be critical in 2024 elections.

Capitol rioter charged with assaulting Brian Sicknick before his death sentenced to 80 months in prison

Friday 27 January 2023 22:36 , Alex Woodward

Julian Khater, who pleaded guilty to pepper spraying US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick on 6 January, 2021, has been sentenced to 80 months in prison, or eight years and six months, following statements from the officer’s family and his longtime partner.

“This defendant committed cowardly and premeditated assault on at least three uniformed officers,” Assistant US Attorney Gilead Light said on Friday.

Sicknick died one day after he was pepper sprayed and experiences a series of seizures; a coronor’s report attributed his death to natural causes.

Gladys Sicknick, his mother, asked Mr Khater in court whether he felt “like a tourist ... watching my son fighting for his life”.

“I was lucky to find a family who helped my heart to become better. And you, Mr Khater, snuffed all that out with a spray can of chemicals,” his sister-in-law Nicholle said. “You destroyed the hearts of every member of Brian’s family just because it suited your whims.”

In his remarks to the court, the 33-year-old defendant described his time in jail “long, agonizing, humbling.”

“I understand that to many people January 6 is not just a date in history, but a day that lives on in people’s minds and memories,” he said.

Full story: Trump claims he could solve Ukraine war in ‘24 hours’ and would build ‘impenetrable dome’ over US

Friday 27 January 2023 21:51 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump said he would build an “impenetrable dome” to protect the US from nuclear missile attacks as he also claimed he could end the Russian invasion of Ukraine “within 24 hours.”

The one-term president released a video saying that foreign powers were now openly “using the nuclear word all the time” because “they have no respect for our leadership.”

He added that “it is a word you are never allowed to use” and insisted it had never been said when he was in the White House.

The former president told his followers in the Friday video about the serious impact of any future global conflict.

“World War Three would be a catastrophe unlike any other. This would make World War One and World War Two look like very small battles,” he added.

Trump claims he could solve Ukraine war in ‘24 hours’ and would build ‘dome’ over US

Mike Pence says he takes ‘full responsibility’ for classified documents found at his home

Friday 27 January 2023 21:16 , Alex Woodward

Former vice president Mike Pence said he takes “full responsibility” for the presence of documents with classification markings at his Carmel, Indiana home that were turned over to the FBI earlier this month.

Speaking at an event at Florida International University, Mr Pence said the documents “should not have been in my personal residence”.

“Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility, and I've directed my counsel to work with the National Archives with the Department of Justice, and with the Congress to fully cooperate in any investigation,” he said.

“Our national security depends on the proper handling of classified and sensitive materials, and I know that when errors are made, it's important that they be resolved swiftly and disclosed”.

Pence says he takes ‘full responsibility’ for classified documents found at his home

Trump argues that parents should be able to fire and elect school principals

Friday 27 January 2023 20:51 , Alex Woodward

In a video statement, the former president argued that parents should be able to elect and remove school principals, a far-reaching demand targeting the so-called “parental rights” movement that has sought a radical transformation of the nation’s school system.

Galvanised by Covid-19 guidelines, far-right activists have mounted anti-LGBT+ campaigns and efforts to remove “critical race theory” from classrooms, while Republican officials advance sweeping policies targeting libraries and curriculum discussing race and racism, gender and sexuality.

Mr Trump said he would implement “the direct election” of school principals by the parents of schoolchildren.

“The parents should be able to vote to fire them,” he said.

In a Twitter post sharing the video, Donald Trump Jr added that “it’s time to end wokeness in our schools”.

His father “wants to implement direct elections of school principals by the parents, as the ultimate form of local control,” he added.

Trump releases string of short, disconnected video statements on crime, Biden, classified documents and Russia probe

Friday 27 January 2023 20:37 , Alex Woodward

Across nine brief videos posted simultaneously on his Truth Social account, Trump has issued statements about combatting crime, protests in Atlanta, the classified documents cases and Russia’s war in Ukraine, among other issues.

He suggested building an “impenetrable dome” to protect the US from missile attacks.

“World War III ... would make World War I and World War II look like very small battles,” he said.

In another video, he addressed the indictment facing former FBI officials Charles McGonigal, who is accused of violating US sanctions on Russia.

“May he rot in hell,” Mr Trump said.

In one video, he said “patriots” jailed for crimes connected to the attack on the US Capitol are being “destroyed” by the criminal justice system; in another, he called Joe Biden’s possession of sensitive documents that were discovered at his office and home a “disgrace to our country” that constitutes election interference.

“They created this document mess for themselves,” he said in yet another video. “By being so totally deranged about me, and I did absolutely nothing wrong. It’s really incredible to watch, isn’t it?”

Just in: Ronna McDaniel re-elected as Republican National Committee chair

Friday 27 January 2023 20:27 , Alex Woodward

Ronna McDaniel has been re-elected to lead the Republican National Committee following a challenge from Harmeet Dhillon and conspiracy theorist and pillow salesman Mike Lindell to lead the GOP conference.

Members of the conference voted 111-51 for Ms McDaniel. Mr Lindell got four votes.

Lee Zeldin, who led a close challenge for New York governor against Kathy Hochul last year, received one vote, though he was not on the ballot.

Ms Dhillion received support from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when he called for “new blood” to lead the GOP less than 24 hours before party members convened for a vote on Friday.

Trump, who picked Ms McDaniel for chair of the RNC following his 2016 victory, stayed out of the race.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace says there’s a difference between Trump and Biden documents

Friday 27 January 2023 19:05 , Alex Woodward

Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina underscored the difference between the investigation into documents found in locations associated with President Joe Biden and documents located at former president Donald Trump’s home.

“It’s hard to say what’s apples to apples or apples to oranges because we don’t actually know the content of the documents that are classified,” Ms Mace told The Independent, adding that it’s hard to know how bad it is or if it’s “a nothing burger.”

“So, unless you have that clearance and have the ability to actually see what was in those boxes, it’s really hard to say that’s the first thing and that’s, that’s the first thing,” she said.

GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace says there’s a difference between Trump and Biden docs

Coming soon: Capitol rioters who assaulted officer Brian Sicknick to be sentenced

Friday 27 January 2023 18:17 , Alex Woodward

Two men who pleaded guilty for their roles in the Capitol attack will be sentenced in Washington DC on Friday.

George Tanios pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and Julian Khater pleaded guilty to assaulting officers, including US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the attack.

Sicknick’s partner has sued Trump for fuelling the riot where he was attacked, and his family members refused to shake hands with congressional Republicans during a Congressional Medal of Honor ceremony.

Girlfriend of fallen Jan 6 police officer sues Trump over ‘incindiary’ election lies

Donald Trump Jr ridiculed as he falls for parody Twitter account calling for Aretha Franklin ban

Friday 27 January 2023 18:00 , Alex Woodward

The former president’s oldest son has been ridiculed after seemingly falling for a parody Twitter account that called for Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman” to be banned, a bogus claim that has consumed right-wing media for days.

Don Jr falls for parody Twitter account calling for Aretha Franklin ban

Just in: Paul Pelosi bodycam footage shows moment intruder hits 82-year-old with hammer

Friday 27 January 2023 17:30 , Alex Woodward

Graphic police bodycam footage showing a brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi has been released by a court in California.

The video footage and a 911 call made by the husband of Nancy Pelosi during the home invasion on 28 October was authorised for release by the San Francisco Superior Court after a submission by several media outlets.

Paul Pelosi bodycam video shows moment intruder attacks 82-year-old

Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress trial is postponed. Again

Friday 27 January 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

A federal judge has delayed the contempt of Congress trial for Donald Trump’s former adviser Peter Navarro, likely for months, as the court determines how executive privilege could impact the case as it heads to a jury.

US District Judge Amit Mehta grilled federal prosecutors on Friday over previous determinations that aides to a president can be immune from congressional subpoenas, according to CNN.

The trial was scheduled to begin on Monday.

Mr Navarro was charged with contempt over his refusal to cooperate with the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack.

Mr Navarro has not yet presented any evidence that the former president invoked executive privilege when he was subpoenaed for documents and testimony by the panel.

Trump claims that his Trump Organization can’t be sued because it doesn’t exist

Friday 27 January 2023 16:30 , Alex Woodward

In a lengthy, wild response to the New York attorney general’s $250 lawsuit alleging widespread fraud across his business empire, attorneys for Donald Trump and his three eldest children have argued that the “Trump Organization” at the centre of her blockbuster case against them cannot be sued because it does not legally exist.

The filing argues that the “Trump Organization” is used by the defendants only for “branding and business purposes” and that “no entity as such exists for legal purposes”, an argument that is repeated dozens of times across a 300-page document.

Trump claims that his Trump Organization can’t be sued because it doesn’t exist

Charges dropped against Ashli Babbitt’s mother following January 6 anniversary protest

Friday 27 January 2023 16:00 , Alex Woodward

Prosecutors in Washingont DC have dropped the charges against the mother of Ashli Babbitt following her arrest for blocking traffic near the US Capitol on the two-year anniversary of her daughter’s fatal shooting by a Capitol police officer.

Micki Witthoeft was released the same day of her arrest. Prosecutors said on Thursday that they declined to advance the case.

A Capitol police officer fatally shot Babbitt as she attempted to breach the doors to the House chamber inside the Capitol on 6 January, 2021, as she joined a crowd that broke into the building as Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 election.

Federal prosecutors closed their investigation into the killing without filing any charges against the officer, and an internal Capitol Police probe found that the officer’s use of force was reasonable. Babbitt’s death however has galvanised Trump supporters and far-right advocates who have depicted her as a martyr while demanding the criminal prosecution of the officer who fired the fatal shot.

Arizona’s Republican lawmakers shield themselves from public records law

Friday 27 January 2023 15:30 , Alex Woodward

GOP lawmakers in Arizona – at the centre of antidemocratic efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and reverse Joe Biden’s victory – have adopted new rules to exempt themselves from public records laws and authorised the erasure of all emails sent by lawmakers and their staff after 90 days.

Rules in the state’s House also will allow members and their staff to immediately delete all texts, calendars and “communications on online platforms”.

The moves from the state’s Republican-controlled state legislature come after media outlets obtained correspondence related to the GOP’s partisan-driven “audit” of the 2020 results and emails from the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas urging lawmakers to reject Trump’s defeat.

Trump calls John Bolton ‘one of the dumbest people in government’, ‘moron’ and ‘unhinged warmonger'

Friday 27 January 2023 15:02 , Alex Woodward

The former president has called his former national security adviser John Bolton “one of the dumbest people in government” and a “total” and “unhinged warmonger” in a searing post on his Truth Social account.

Mr Bolton, who said he would consider entering the 2024 presidential race, “was one of those very stupid voices that got us into the Middle East quicksand,” Trump said.

“Seven Trillion Dollars, & Millions of deaths later, NOTHING!” he wrote.

“The good news is that I won big negotiations with this moron by my side,” Trump added. “When I brought him into a room with hostile foreign leaders, they thought I was going to war, CONCEEDED ALL!”

Trump to hold back to back campaign events this weekend

Friday 27 January 2023 14:30 , Rachel Sharp

This weekend, the former president is set to begin his 2024 presidential campaign trail this weekend with back-to-back appearances in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.

First, he will speak at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting in Salem before heading to South Carolina.

It comes at the end of a week where parent company Meta announced that it would reinstate his Facebook and Instagram accounts in the “coming weeks”.

Inside the presidential scramble to check for classified documents

Friday 27 January 2023 14:00 , Alex Woodward

After attorneys for former vice president Mike Pence discovered “a small number of documents bearing classified markings” at his Indiana home, people all over Washington have been asking if other former officeholders might be harbouring classified contraband from their time in power.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg is checking in with all of them. Read what aides for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have to say:

Trump, Biden, Pence - who else? The presidential scramble for classified documents

California state bar seeking to strip John Eastman’s law license over Trump 2020 election lies

Friday 27 January 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

The man behind a widely condemned memo that advanced a bogus legal theory to overturn the 2020 presidential election could be stripped of his ability to practise law in California.

John Eastman was hit with 11 charges by the State Bar of California in a Notice of Disciplinary Charges, stemming from his efforts to “plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states.”

California state bar seeking to strip John Eastman’s law license over election lies

Trump’s secret donation to Arizona election audit revealed

Friday 27 January 2023 12:53 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump made a secret $1m donation to an election audit in Arizona as part of his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, it has been revealed.

According to The Guardian, it was Mr Trump who largedly bankrolled the discredited audit which the president hoped would support his baseless claims that the election was “stolen” from him and swing the outcome in his favour.

The money was traced by watchdog group Documented from the former president to his Save America Pac, onto an allied conservative group and then a shell company.

From there, the money was handed over to the individuals involved in the audit, the paper reported.

ICYMI: Trump orders House ‘weaponisation’ panel to probe his grievances in video rant

Friday 27 January 2023 09:00 , Alex Woodward

In a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump called a new GOP-controlled House Judicary subommittee, which will be chaired by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, a “rare chance to expose the breathtaking corruption of the security state, the media and the Washington swamp”.

He then launched into a list of “questions” which the panel should “hopefully ... be asking”.

Trump orders House ‘weaponisation’ panel to probe his grievances in video rant

Elaine Chao: Trump’s attacks say ‘a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans"

Friday 27 January 2023 08:00 , Alex Woodward

For months, the former president has unleashed a string of thinly veiled racist comments about his former transportation secretary, the wife of his party’s Senate leader, to relative silence from other GOP officials.

Days after his latest abuse, Elaine Chao issued a rare rebuke of her former boss:

Elaine Chao responds to Trump’s barrage of racist attacks

Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office

Friday 27 January 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independent’s John Bowden explains how a wave of ethics complaints and mounting legal issues could complicate things for embattled congressman George Santos:

Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office

ICYMI: National Archives asks former presidents to double check for unauthorised records

Friday 27 January 2023 06:00 , Alex Woodward

The National Archives and Records Administration has asked representatives of former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Reagan administration to search their personal papers and collections for any records that should have been deposited with the Archives under the Presidential Records Act.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington:

National Archives asks former presidents to check for unauthorised records

Trump pilloried as ‘4-year-old cheat’ over golf tournament claims: ‘Guy can’t even con right anymore’

Friday 27 January 2023 05:00 , Alex Woodward

Sportswriter and author Rick Reilly has criticised Donald Trump as a “cheat” after the golf-loving former president claimed victory in a competitive tournament earlier this week – despite missing the first day.

It’s not the first time that the former Sports Illustrated journalist has accused rump of cheating. He had made similar claims in his book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.

“To say ‘Donald Trump cheats’ is like saying ‘Michael Phelps swims’,” he wrote in his 2019 book.

“He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching and he cheats when they aren’t. He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that’s how he plays golf … if you’re playing golf with him, he’s going to cheat,” he wrote.

Trump pilloried as ‘4-year-old cheat’ over golf tournament claims

ICYMI: Trump invokes another racist attack on his transportation secretary, baselessly linking her to Biden documents

Friday 27 January 2023 04:00 , Alex Woodward

Elaine Chao issued a rare rebuke against the former president this week after his latest attack, which baselessly roped her into allegations involving Joe Biden’s classified documents case.

Trump baselessly links Elaine Chao to Biden documents in racist attack

Meta lays out special rules that will apply to Donald Trump when he returns to Facebook and Instagram

Friday 27 January 2023 03:00 , Alex Woodward

When, or if, Donald Trump returns to Facebook or Instagram, he will be held to new “guardrails” that are intended to stop him acting the same way in the future.

What’s more, those rules will also be applied to other public figures.

They were announced in a blog post by Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg.

He said the former president would be subject to Facebook and Instagram’s Community Standards in the same way that any other user of the site would be. In the past, Meta and other social media platforms have been accused of treating public figures and lucrative users of the site differently from normal users.

Andrew Griffin explains:

The special rules that Meta will apply to Donald Trump when he comes back to Facebook

Classified documents found in Pence’s home include briefings for foreign trips: report

Friday 27 January 2023 02:00 , Alex Woodward

Background briefings prepared for Mike Pence’s official international tours were reportedly among the 12 classified documents recovered from the former vice president home.

Classified documents found in Pence’s home include foreign trip briefings

ICYMI: Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax

Friday 27 January 2023 01:00 , Alex Woodward

On Wednesday, US telecoms giant AT&T announced that it would be dropping Newsmax from its DirecTV service, just as it had previously ditched conspiracy theory-promoting right-wing network One America News.

Trump wasn’t thrilled.

Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax

Eric Garcia: Why Adam Schiff and Katie Porter won’t wait for Feinstein as they jump into California’s Senate race

Friday 27 January 2023 00:00 , Alex Woodward

After Adam Schiff announced his entry into the California Senate race to replace Dianne Feinstein, The Independent’s Washington chief Eric Garcia writes that while the state has become a hotbed for anti-Trump sentiment, voters might want be looking for a more pugnacious Democrat:

Adam Schiff and Katie Porter won’t wait for Feinstein in California’s Senate race

House Republican gifts hand grenades to lawmakers

Thursday 26 January 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican congressman Cory Mills passed out green grenades branded with a silver GOP logo to his fellow House lawmakers on Thursday.

“I am honored to be a part of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees,” he wrote in an attached letter to his colleagues. “In that spirit, it is my pleasure to give you a 40mm grenade, made for a MK19 grenade launcher. These are manufactured in the Sunshine State and first developed in the Vietnam War.”

The Trump-endorsed congressman is among a new class of House lawmakers who denied that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. He flipped a Florida House seat by defeating Stephanie Murphy, who sat on the House select committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

He also bragged in his campaign that he “sold tear gas used on Black Lives Matter protesters.”

Full story: California state bar seeking to strip John Eastman’s law license over Trump 2020 election lies

Thursday 26 January 2023 22:42 , Alex Woodward

John Eastman, who led Donald Trump’s legal bid to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, could be stripped of his license to practise law after he was hit with 11 charges stemming from his efforts fuelled by the former president’s election lies.

Mr Eastman – who also was subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol – has been under investigation by the state bar since last March.

His speech on 6 January as part of Mr Trump’s “Stop the Steal”-themed rally on the Ellipse was a contributing factor to the charges against him, according to the complaint, which pointed to his unfounded remarks about election fraud before a mob violently breached the halls of Congress.

“Eastman knew, or should have known, that the factual premise for his proposals – that massive fraud was at play – was false, and that Trump had lost his bid for re-election,” according to an accompanying statement from the state bar.

Mr Eastman was behind a shocking memo that articulated a widely condemned strategy that would give Mike Pence a pathway to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election, pointing to a clause in the US Constitution that is now central to a massive US Supreme Court case.

His extreme reading of the so-called “independent state legislature” theory has animated bogus right-wing efforts to overturn democratic election results.

California state bar seeking to strip John Eastman’s law license over election lies

John Eastman was ‘grossly negligent’ or knowingly advanced bogus legal arguments as he pushed 2020 election strategy, officials find

Thursday 26 January 2023 22:01 , Alex Woodward

In the filing from California bar officials, Trump attorney John Eastman is charged with knowlingly advancing a bogus legal avenue to overturn the 2020 election, and he “continued to work with Trump and others to promote the idea that the outcome of the election was in question and had been stolen from Trump as the result of fraud, disregard of state election law, and misconduct by election officials”.

According to the filing, he violated his obligation as an attorney as he provided “legal advice, formulated legal strategies, and engaged in litigation based on, and made public statements propounding, allegations of election fraud that he knew, or was grossly negligent in not knowing, were false”.

It continues, saying that Mr Eastman also misinterpreted other legal analysis or was “grossly negligent in not knowing” they were “fundamentally flawed” as he pressed the bogus idea that the vice president could “disregard or delay the counting of electoral votes” – an argument “that he knew, or was grossly negligent in not knowing, was contrary to and unsupported by the historical record and established legal authority and precedent.”

“No reasonable attorney with expertise in constitutional or election law would have concluded that the Vice President was legally authorized to take the actions respondent proposed,” according to the filing.

Just in: John Eastman faces disbarment for promoting Trump’s election lies

Thursday 26 January 2023 21:44 , Alex Woodward

John Eastman, who led Trumpworld’s legal bid to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, could be stripped of his license to practise law after he was hit with 11 charges stemming from his efforts fuelled by Trump’s election lies.

The State Bar of California’s Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced the case against Mr Eastman on Thursday.

An 11-count complaint includes charges based on “allegations that Eastman engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states.”

“Specific charges allege that Eastman made false and misleading statements regarding purported election fraud ... that contributed to provoking a crowd to assault and breach the Capitol to intimidate then-Vice President Pence and prevent the electoral count from proceeding,” according to a statement.

The Office of Chief Trial Counsel intends to seek Mr Eastman’s disbarment before the state bar court.

Biden on GOP tax plans: ‘This ain’t your father’s Republican Party'

Thursday 26 January 2023 21:30 , Alex Woodward

In remarks on the economy from Virginia on Thursday, the president criticised Republican lawmakers’ plan to impose a national sales tax on food, clothing and cars while defunding the Internal Revenue Service, a plan that opponents have argued would disproportionately impact taxes on lower-income households and allow wealthier Americans to avoid paying them.

“This ain’t your father’s Republican Party,” Mr Biden said. “This is a different breed of cat.”

He said the plan from House Republcians would “cut taxes for billionaires who pay virtually only 3 percent of their income” and “impose a 30 per cent national sales tax on everything from food, clothing, school supplies, housing, cars – whole deal.”

Georgia congressman Buddy Carter introduced a bill earlier this month that would eliminate income, payroll, estate and gift taxes, and instead impose a 23 per cent national sales tax. It would also effectively abolish the IRS.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy does not appear to support the plan, and it would be a dead on arrival in the Democratically controlled Senate, but it speaks to the priorities of an emboldened GOP-controlled House after 2022 midterms.

Full story: National Archives asks former presidents to double check for unauthorised records

Thursday 26 January 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

The National Archives and Records Administration has asked representatives of former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Reagan administration to search their personal papers and collections for any records that should have been deposited with the Archives under the Presidential Records Act.

National Archives asks former presidents to check for unauthorised records

One of three US Marines charges with Capitol riot crimes makes first court appearance

Thursday 26 January 2023 20:30 , Alex Woodward

US Marine Dodge Hellonen made a first appearance in US District Court on Thursday after he was arrested along with two other active-duty Marines on charges connected to the Capitol attack.

More from The Independent’s Bevan Hurley on their cases:

Three active duty US Marines charged over Jan 6 riot

Investigation reveals Durham probe has failed to show evidence of Trump’s allegations of a ‘deep state’ plot against him

Thursday 26 January 2023 20:00 , Alex Woodward

After former Attorney General William Bar appointed John Durham to investigate allegations that the Russia investigation stemmed from federal law enforcement officials targeting Trump, the special counsel’s work – coming to an end nearly four years later – hasn’t uncovered anything close to a so-called deep state plot against the former president, according to an investigation from The New York Times.

A monthslong review “found that the main thrust of the Durham inquiry was marked by some of the very same flaws — including a strained justification for opening it and its role in fueling partisan conspiracy theories that would never be charged in court — that Trump allies claim characterized the Russia investigation,” according to the newspaper.

Among the findings: Mr Durham used Russian intelligence memos that officials suspected contained misinformation in an attempt to access emails from an aide to George Soros, which ultimately yielded no evidence that was cited in any case, according to the report.

The probe was “roiled by internal dissent and ethics disputes,” according to the newspaper.

DeSantis wants change in RNC leadership

Thursday 26 January 2023 19:15 , Alex Woodward

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called for a change in leadership at the Republican National Committee, as current chair Ronna McDaniel – who was tapped by Trump – seeks another term leading the GOP’s governing body heading into 2024 elections.

“I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” he told right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

He said party leadership oversaw “three substandard election cycles in a row – ‘18, ‘20, and ‘22, and I would say of all three of those ‘22 was the worst.”

Mr DeSantis suggested Harmeet Dhillon for the role, pointing out support for removing RNC headquarters from Washington DC.

“Why would you want to have your headquarters in the most Democrat city in America?” Mr DeSantis said.

Full story: Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax

Thursday 26 January 2023 18:45 , Alex Woodward

While Trump was once dependent on Fox News for favourable coverage, he has more recently experienced a more fractious relationship with the conservative broadcaster and preferred its upstart right-wing rivals like Newsmax and One America News Network.

But, on Wednesday, US telecoms giant AT&T announced that it would be dropping Newsmax from its DirecTV service, just as it had previously ditched OAN. The move provoked a furious reaction from the former president and former host of The Apprentice.

Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax

Proud Boys trial on seditious conspiracy charges abruptly canceled and will resume Monday

Thursday 26 January 2023 18:30 , Alex Woodward

The 10th day of proceedings in the trial for five members of the far-right gang the Proud Boys, including former leader Enrique Tarrio, was canceled on Thursday morning with no apparent reason given.

The cancellation comes one day after defendants – who are charged with seditious conspiracy after breaching the halls of Congress on 6 January, 2021 – suggested that they would subpoena Donald Trump.

Proceedings will resume on 30 January.

National Archives asks former presidents and vice presidents to sweep for documents

Thursday 26 January 2023 18:15 , Alex Woodward

The National Archives is formally asking former presidents and vice presidents to perform a sweep of their personal records for any classified documents and related records following the discovery of sensitive materials at the homes of Trump, Pence and Biden over the last several months.

A letter reviewed by CNN was sent to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents from the last six administrations requesting that they check and re-check files to ensure that materials thought to be personal do not “inadvertantly” contain records that are required by law to be in the archives agency’s possession.

“The responsibility to comply with the [Presidential Records Act] does not diminish after the end of an administration,” the letter states, according to CNN.

Trump, Biden, Pence – who else? Inside the presidential scramble to check for classified documents

Thursday 26 January 2023 18:00 , Alex Woodward

After attorneys for former vice president Mike Pence discovered “a small number of documents bearing classified markings” at his Indiana home at the end of the Trump-Pence administration, people all over Washington have been asking if other former officeholders might be harbouring classified contraband from their time in power.

Experts tell The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg that Joe Biden is unlikely to face any legal repercussions as a result of the document discoveries:

Trump, Biden, Pence - who else? The presidential scramble for classified documents

Trump orders House ‘weaponisation’ panel to probe his grievances in video rant

Thursday 26 January 2023 17:45 , Alex Woodward

Trump has demanded that a new House Judiciary subcommittee focus its investigative work on a series of his long-held grievances and oft-told lies about investigations into his conduct.

In a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Mr Trump called the new panel, which will be chaired by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, a “rare chance to expose the breathtaking corruption of the security state, the media and the Washington swamp”.

He then launched into a list of “questions” which the panel should “hopefully ... be asking”.

Trump orders House ‘weaponisation’ panel to probe his grievances in video rant

Former Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli testifies to DC grand jury

Thursday 26 January 2023 17:30 , Alex Woodward

A federal grand jury is hearing from former Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli as federal prosecutors investigate attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election under a probe directed by special counsel Jack Smith.

“Yep,” Mr Cuccinelli told CNN when asked if was there to testify to the grand jury. He told reporters he didn’t know what he would be testifying about.

Mr Cuccunilli was among Trump-era officials who also testified to the House select committee that investigated the attack on the US Capitol.

House Oversight Committee schedules interview with Archives official over Biden documents

Thursday 26 January 2023 17:15 , Alex Woodward

The new House Oversight Committee under Republican control of the chamber has scheduled a transcribed interview with Gary Stern, general counsel for the National Archives, according to Politico.

Republican congressman and Oversight chair James Comer had requested an interview, scheduled for 2pm on 31 January, in a letter that also pushed for documents and communications between the archives agency and the White House, Justice Department and attorneys for Joe Biden regarding classified files discovered at the president’s affiliated think tank in Washington.

The Treasury Department, meanwhile, has denied the same committee’s initial request for suspicious activity reports for Hunter Biden and other Biden family associates and their related companies, according to CNN. The cabinet agency has asked the committee for a more specific request.

77 Democrats demand Biden end Trump-era Title 42 border policy

Thursday 26 January 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez led a group of more than 70 Democratic lawmakers demanding Joe Biden reverse a Trump-era policy that has blocked people seeking asylum from the US-Mexico border under a public health order.

“We write to express our great concern over the new asylum restrictions announced by your administration,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House.

“While we applaud the creation of new legal pathways for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans modeled off the existing parole programs for Venezuelans, it is disappointing that these pathways come at the expense of the legal right to seek asylum at the southern border,” they added, noting that the right to seek asylum is “enshrined in domestic and international law”.

“Instead of issuing a new asylum transit ban and expanding Title 42, we encourage your administration to stand by your commitment to restore and protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees,” the lawmakers wrote to Mr Biden.

The Title 42 order “circumvents domestic law and international law,” they wrote, pointing to human rights groups’ research finding thousands of violent attacks against people seeking asylum who were automatically expelled to the Mexico side of the border.

A recently announced Biden administration plan expands the Trump-era order while capping entry to migrants from four impacted countries. Up to 30,000 migrants would be accepted under a “parole” programme if they have a financial sponsor in the US.

The lawmakers said the creation of legal pathways for those migrants is a positive development, but said that the policies “cannot displace existing asylum laws”. Requirements for passports, financial support and air travel would leave behind those most vulnerable, they said.

Last month, border authorities wrestled reported an average of roughly 7,000 daily encounters with migrants at the US-Mexico border, a figure that has reportedly dipped in recent weeks.

The US Supreme Court has put a temporary hold on the termination of Title 42 as courts review a lawsuit filed by Republican officials in 19 states to keep the policy in place.

Trump blames the ‘Radical Left’ after DirecTV drops right-wing network from its lineup

Thursday 26 January 2023 16:30 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump erupted after news that DirecTV dropped right-wing cable network Newsmax from its programming, a move that the former president – who has relied on favourable coverage across networks like Newsmax and One America News Network to advance his agenda – called “disgusting”.

He blamed “the Radical Left” for taking over “the mind and soul” of DirecTV’s parent AT&T.

The distributor also dropped One American News from its lineup last year.

“This is a big blow to the Republican Party, and to America itself,” Trump said on his Truth Social account.

“For DIRECTV to drop very popular NEWSMAX, without explanation, will not be accepted,” he said. “I, for one, will be dropping all association with AT&T and DIRECTV, and I have plenty. This is just one of many reasons why we must WIN IN 2024!!!””

Newsmax still offers a free feed on its website and programming on YouTube. It is also carried by Roku and other cable carriers.

But over the last few years, Newsmax began asking providers to change the model that includes annual license fees, with some smaller carriers also refusing to carry the network under such terms.

DirecTV said it had hoped to “continue to offer the network” but the channel’s demands for carriage fee increases would have led to “significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base,” according to a statement.

Rick Scott is running for re-election

Thursday 26 January 2023 16:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida – who had served as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and sought to oust Mitch McConnell from Senate leadership after the GOP’s midterm performance – is running for re-election.

“Our work is not done yet and that is why I am running for re-election,” he said a statement on his campaign website. “We must rescue our great country from the destruction the Democrats have caused and keep working to make Florida the best state to live, work and raise a family.”

The statement from the senator – among lawmakers who voted to reject 2020 election results – suggests he’s still promoting his “11-Point Plan to Rescue America”, a controversial GOP agenda that drew widespread condemnation for his improbable tax plans and attacks on LGBT+ people and immigration, among other so-called culture war issues.

Just in: Adam Schiff enters US Senate race

Thursday 26 January 2023 15:26 , Alex Woodward

California US Rep Adam Schiff has announced his candidacy for US Senate, joining a field of Democrats to replace Dianne Feinstein.

Mr Schiff, a frequent target of ridicule and outrage from the former president and Republican officials, led the House impeachment of the former president in 2020, chaired the House intelligence committee, and served on the House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol.

That committee ultimately voted to refer Trump to the Justice Department for criminal charges after a months-long investigation finding that he fuelled the mob in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently announced he has blocked Mr Schiff from serving on the House intelligence committee.

“We’re in the fight of our lives for the future of our country,” Mr Schiff said in a statement on Thursday.

“Our democracy is under assault from MAGA extremists, who care only about gaining power and keeping it,” he said. “And our economy is simply not working for millions of Americans, who are working harder than ever just to get by.”

He said that “the fight for our democracy and working families is part of the same struggle” and warned that democracy’s failure to serve Americans fuels antidemocratic agendas.

“They’ll look for alternatives, like a dangerous demagogue who promises that he alone can fix it,” he said, a referencing to the former president’s infamous claim from 2016.