Advertisement

Trump news – live: Ex-president to address Wisconsin rally tonight as Milwaukee chosen for 2024 GOP convention

Former President Donald Trump is set to address one of his “Save America” rallies in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Friday night, the same day that the Republican National Committee selected nearby Milwaukee as its choice of venue for the party’s 2024 convention.

With an eye on retaking Wisconsin in the next presidential election after Mr Trump’s shock victory in the state in 2016, which made him the first Republican to win there since Ronald Reagan in 1984. President Joe Biden won the state back for the Democratic Party in 2020.

In related news, attorneys representing Mr Trump are reportedly in contact with the Department of Justice in hopes of shielding conversations with his former advisers from the criminal probe into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Earlier, investigators leading the federal probe filed a lawsuit against former White House adviser Peter Navarro to recover emails relevant to its investigation into Mr Trump’s role.

The probe has also subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy Patrick Philbin. The counsel’s office is thought to have been crucial in refusing to let the former president politicise the executive branch’s legal apparatus to secure a second term.

Key points

Voices: Kyrsten Sinema changed her mind — but now Bernie Sanders is an issue

Saturday 6 August 2022 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Joe Manchin was seen giving Sinema the hard sell earlier this week, and he looked like he was enjoying it. Her sudden decision to sign on to the latest bill was surprising and encouraging. Yet it’s hardly the end of the Democrats’ problems.

Kyrsten Sinema changed her mind — but now Bernie Sanders is an issue

GOP picks Milwaukee to host 2024 convention

Saturday 6 August 2022 14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Republican National Committee announced that it will host its 2024 convention in Milwaukee as the party hopes to retake Wisconsin in the next presidential election.

The RNC released a statement saying its committee members picked the city unanimously.

Republicans pick Milwaukee to host their 2024 convention

Sinema gives her nod to Democrats’ big bill

Saturday 6 August 2022 13:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Sen Joe Manchin sealed the deal reviving President Joe Biden’s big economic, health care and climate bill. But it was another Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who intently, quietly and deliberately shaped the final product.

Sinema gives her nod, and influence, to Democrats' big bill

‘Widespread’ job growth sees US unemployment rate drop to 3.5 per cent

Saturday 6 August 2022 13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The US unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent last month as the US economy added 528,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday.

Despite persistent inflation, the Department of Labor said job growth in the US was “widespread” in July, with “leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care” sectors all adding jobs.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

US unemployment rate drops to 3.5 per cent amid ‘widespread’ job growth

Trump-backed challenger gains in Washington US House count

Saturday 6 August 2022 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep Dan Newhouse was maintaining his lead Friday among other Republicans in Washington state’s primary, but fellow Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler saw her advantage against an opponent endorsed by former President Donald Trump shrink in recent vote updates.

Both drew interparty challenges due to their vote to impeach Trump following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Democrat Marie Perez was the top vote-getter in the 3rd Congressional District in southwestern Washington, with 31 per cent of the vote. Herrera Beutler, who had about 24 per cent on Tuesday night, dropped to just over 23 per cent by Thursday night, less than 2,000 votes ahead of Joe Kent – a former Green Beret endorsed by Trump.

Trump-backed challenger gains in Washington U.S. House count

CPAC mocked for ‘silent disco’ booth featuring fake Jan 6 prisoner

Saturday 6 August 2022 11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the booths at CPAC in Dallas, Texas, featured a “silent disco” with a man pretending to be a January 6 prisoner crying in a cell.

Freelance journalist Laura Jedeed shared on Twitter that it was “the most astonishing thing I have ever seen”.

“At this CPAC booth you receive a silent disco headset that plays harrowing testimony from people arrested for participating in” the Capitol riot on January 6, she added. “Instead of dancing, you stand around and watch this guy cry.”

Gustaf Kilander reports.

CPAC mocked for ‘silent disco’ booth featuring fake Jan 6 prisoner crying in a cell

Dems change some tax provisions as they ready economic bill

Saturday 6 August 2022 09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrats pared part of their proposed minimum tax on huge corporations and made other changes in their giant economic bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday, as they drove toward delivering a campaign-season victory to President Joe Biden on his domestic agenda.

In an unusual peek at closed-door bargaining, Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats dropped a proposed tax boost on hedge fund executives after pivotal centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., said she would otherwise vote “no.”

Here’s how the bargaining played out:

Dems change some tax provisions as they ready economic bill

Meta stays quiet on election misinformation efforts ahead of midterms

Saturday 6 August 2022 07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

designed to thwart voting misinformation or foreign interference in U.S. elections as the November midterm vote approaches.

It’s a sharp departure from the social media giant’s multibillion-dollar efforts to enhance the accuracy of posts about U.S. elections and regain trust from lawmakers and the public after their outrage over learning the company had exploited people’s data and allowed falsehoods to overrun its site during the 2016 campaign.

The pivot is raising alarm about Meta’s priorities and about how some might exploit the world’s most popular social media platforms to spread misleading claims, launch fake accounts and rile up partisan extremists.

Meta mum on election misinformation efforts as midterms loom

Jon Stewart claps back after Tucker Carlson mocks his height

Saturday 6 August 2022 05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Comedian Jon Stewart has struck back after Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked his height and called him “demented”.

Mr Carlson targeted the former Daily Show host on his programme on Thursday night, saying that he looks like a “mental patient”.

“He’s shrieking and dishevelled and very short. Really short, too short to date. Was he always that short? What happened? Where’s he been in the last seven years? If you know, let us know. We want answers,” he added sarcastically.

Gustaf Kilander reports on what Jon Stewart said in response.

Jon Stewart claps back after Tucker Carlson mocks his height and calls him ‘demented’

Trump-endorsed election denier Kari Lake wins the GOP Arizona gubernatorial nomination

Saturday 6 August 2022 03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Donald Trump-endorsed candidate was confirmed to have won the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary on Friday, meaning that all of Mr Trump’s preferred candidates in the state won their contests.

Former news anchor Kari Lake beat Karrin Taylor Robson, whom former vice president Mike Pence and current Republican Governor Doug Ducey had endorsed.

Ms Lake has been one of the most prominent parroters of Mr Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Despite her victory, Ms Lake still claimed there was voter fraud in her race.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump-endorsed Kari Lake wins the Republican nomination for governor in Arizona

Hungary’s Orban wows Republicans: ‘Less drag queens, more Chuck Norris!’

Saturday 6 August 2022 02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s David Harding reports on Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas on Thursday.

‘Less drag queens, more Chuck Norris!’: Hungary’s Orban wows Republicans

Walker protégé faces Trump ally in Wisconsin race

Saturday 6 August 2022 01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican hopes to reclaim a crucial governor’s seat in swing-state Wisconsin this year long appeared to rest on Rebecca Kleefisch, a former TV news anchor who spent eight years as former Gov. Scott Walker’s heir apparent and vowed to continue his sharply conservative policies. Then a wealthy construction company owner jumped in, dumped $12m of his own money into the race, and won Donald Trump’s backing.

Now Tim Michels is in a competitive race against Kleefisch heading into Tuesday’s primary to decide who will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November.

The contest is part of a deepening proxy fight between Trump and his estranged former vice president, Mike Pence, who has thrown his support to Kleefisch.

Trump ally takes on Walker protégé in Wis. governor's race

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with DoJ over Jan 6 probe

Saturday 6 August 2022 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys representing former president Donald Trump are reportedly in contact with the Justice Department in hopes of shielding conversations with his former advisers from the criminal probe into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

According to CNN, Mr Trump’s lawyers have had “direct communication” with prosecutors with the Washington, DC US Attorney’s office who are working under Thomas Windom, the federal prosecutor overseeing cases related to January 6.

Andrew Feinberg has the story for The Independent.

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with Justice Department over January 6 probe

Indicted Colorado clerk lost election loses election, recount confirms

Saturday 6 August 2022 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A recount has confirmed that an indicted Colorado county clerk who alleged voting fraud lost the primary election she ran in last month in her attempt to win the post of running the state’s elections, officials announced Thursday.

The results barely changed, with Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters picking up 13 more votes in the recount of the votes cast in the June 28 election to determine the Republican candidate for secretary of state.

Recount confirms that indicted Colorado clerk lost election

Dick Cheney calls Trump greatest threat US ever faced in campaign ad for daughter Liz

Friday 5 August 2022 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Vice President Dick Cheney came out swinging against Donald Trump and the “MAGA” wing of the GOP in an ad released by his daughter, Congresswoman Liz Cheney as she faces the toughest election of her political career.

Mr Cheney held nothing back in his criticism of the former president, who he blamed for leading a violent attempt to overthrow the lawful US government and labeled the greatest threat to the United States in the more than two-century history of the republic.

John Bowden reports.

Dick Cheney calls Trump greatest threat US ever faced in campaign ad for daughter Liz

Democrats could strip Iowa of opening spot in 2024 campaign

Friday 5 August 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrats are poised to strip Iowa from leading off their presidential nominating process starting in 2024, part of a broader effort allowing less overwhelmingly white states to go early and better reflect the party’s deeply diverse electorate.

The Democratic National Committee‘s rule-making arm had planned to recommend on Friday which states should be the first four to vote, while considering adding a fifth prior to Super Tuesday, when a large number of states hold primary elections. But it delayed the decision until after November’s election, lest it become a distraction affecting Democrats in key congressional races.

Democrats could strip Iowa of opening spot in 2024 campaign

Sinema gives her nod to Democrats’ big bill

Friday 5 August 2022 22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Sen. Joe Manchin sealed the deal reviving President Joe Biden’s big economic, health care and climate bill. But it was another Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who intently, quietly and deliberately shaped the final product.

Sinema gives her nod, and influence, to Democrats' big bill

CPAC mocked for ‘silent disco’ booth featuring fake Jan 6 prisoner

Friday 5 August 2022 21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the booths at CPAC in Dallas, Texas, featured a “silent disco” with a man pretending to be a January 6 prisoner crying in a cell.

Freelance journalist Laura Jedeed shared on Twitter that it was “the most astonishing thing I have ever seen”.

He was allowed a visit from Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene... which somehow made it even more bizarre.

Gustaf Kilander has more details on the spectacle.

CPAC mocked for ‘silent disco’ booth featuring fake Jan 6 prisoner crying in a cell

Florida begins rule-changing process to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth

Friday 5 August 2022 21:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida’s Board of Medicine has voted to consider a new standard of care for transgender youth in the state in conflict with major medical associations, federal guidance and urgent demands from LGBT+ advocates and health providers, in a move that critics have called a political attack against trans people by Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration.

On 5 August, the board agreed to a request from Florida’s chief health official to reject what he falsely called “experimental” treatments that lack “quality evidence” after the state issued widely debunked guidance against affirming medical care, including “social” transitioning measures like changing pronouns or wearing different clothes.

Alex Woodward reports.

Florida begins rule-changing process to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth

Voices: Kyrsten Sinema changed her mind — but now Bernie Sanders is an issue

Friday 5 August 2022 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Joe Manchin was seen giving Sinema the hard sell earlier this week, and he looked like he was enjoying it. Her sudden decision to sign on to the latest bill was surprising and encouraging. Yet it’s hardly the end of the Democrats’ problems.

Kyrsten Sinema changed her mind — but now Bernie Sanders is an issue

Biden has not ruled out firing embattled DHS inspector general

Friday 5 August 2022 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden has not ruled out firing the Department of Homeland Security watchdog who reportedly shut down efforts to recover Secret Service text messages sought by the House January 6 select committee, according to sources familiar with the Biden administration’s internal processes and discussions.

The Independent has learned that the White House is reviewing recently reported information about the conduct of DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, an appointee of former president Donald Trump, including a 2013 Justice Department inspector general’s report which calls into question whether he misled Congress during his confirmation process in 2019.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Biden has not ruled out firing embattled DHS inspector general over missing texts

Mastriano may pull out of Jan 6 testimony

Friday 5 August 2022 21:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Doug Mastriano, the GOP’s Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee, is threatening to pull out of a scheduled interview with the January 6 select committee.

In a letter sent to the House committee on 5 August, Tim Parlatore, representing Mr Mastriano, said his client would not testify unless his lawyer can record the session.

The select panel is sure to reject that condition, according to Politico.

According to the letter, Mr Mastriano “has legitimate concerns that your committee may attempt to influence the outcome of the Pennsylvania state elections through the dissemination of disinformation,” and that his move was to minimise the “risk of election interference.”

As a Trump ally who supported the efforts to contest the 2020 results in Pennsylvania, Mr Mastriano gained the support of both the former president and Rudy Giuliani in the competitive Republican gubernatorial primary.

Originally subpoenaed for documents and testimony on 15 February, Mr Mastriano only complied a few weeks after he won the 17 May primary for his party’s nomination for governor.

Billed as voluntary testimony by his lawyer, just three months later, his lawyers notes in the letter that the committee is “now demanding” that Mr Mastriano sits for a compelled deposition.

Read more on Politico.

Meta quietly rolling back voter misinformation safeguards as midterms loom

Friday 5 August 2022 20:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Facebook owner Meta is quietly curtailing some of the safeguards designed to thwart voting misinformation or foreign interference in U.S. elections as the November midterm vote approaches.

It’s a sharp departure from the social media giant’s multibillion-dollar efforts to enhance the accuracy of posts about U.S. elections and regain trust from lawmakers and the public after their outrage over learning the company had exploited people’s data and allowed falsehoods to overrun its site during the 2016 campaign.

The pivot is raising alarm about Meta’s priorities and about how some might exploit the world’s most popular social media platforms to spread misleading claims, launch fake accounts and rile up partisan extremists.

Meta mum on election misinformation efforts as midterms loom

GOP picks Milwaukee as host city for 2024 convention

Friday 5 August 2022 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Republican National Committee announced that it will host its 2024 convention in Milwaukee as the party hopes to retake Wisconsin in that year’s presidential election.

The RNC released a statement saying its committee members picked the city unanimously.

Republicans pick Milwaukee to host their 2024 convention

Democrats reach deal with Sinema to pass Inflation Reduction Act

Friday 5 August 2022 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced on Thursday night that she reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on passing Democrats’ $430bn climate and health care legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

Ms Sinema was the last holdout among Democratic senators on the agreement, struck last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin.

Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.

Democrats finally reach deal with Sinema to help pass sweeping climate bill

‘Widespread’ job growth: US unemployment rate drops to 3.5 per cent

Friday 5 August 2022 19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The US unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent last month as the US economy added 528,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday.

Despite persistent inflation, the Department of Labor said job growth in the US was “widespread” in July, with “leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care” sectors all adding jobs.

Such impressive job growth will further intensify the debate as to whether the US is slipping into a recession amid the growing consensus that the economy is running out of steam following the post-pandemic lockdown boom. Many economists believe a strong jobs market is preventing that from happening.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

US unemployment rate drops to 3.5 per cent amid ‘widespread’ job growth

Biden feels ‘very well’, but still testing positive for Covid

Friday 5 August 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden will continue working from the White House residence after again testing positive for Covid-19 test on Friday, the White House has said.

In a memorandum released by the White House press office, Physician to the President Dr Kevin O’Connor said Mr Biden “continues to feel well” despite continuing to exhibit rebound positivity after the Paxlovid treatment he underwent after initially testing positive for the coronavirus last month.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest on the president’s condition.

Biden still testing Covid positive but ‘continues to feel very well’

House to return on 12 August for IRA vote

Friday 5 August 2022 19:09 , Oliver O'Connell

The House of Representatives will return on 12 August to give final passage to the Senate reconciliation Inflation Reduction Act bill, per majority leader Steny Hoyer.

GOP picks Milwaukee for 2024 convention

Friday 5 August 2022 18:20 , Andrew Naughtie

Few states so obsess Donald Trump as Wisconsin, which the former president won in 2016 but lost in 2020. Mr Trump has lately been fixating on what he claims is evidence that the state’s vote for Joe Biden was compromised, and is insisting that Republicans in the state legislature somehow have the power to formally overturn the election.

There is no sign of that happening, and Mr Trump will be appearing in Wisconsin tonight with primary challengers tackling Republicans who decline to do his bidding. And just in time for his visit, the Republican Party is announcing that it will hold its 2024 presidential convention in the state’s largest city, Milwaukee.

Watch: Cheney on Pence

Friday 5 August 2022 17:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Liz Cheney has given an interview to CNN in which she celebrates Mike Pence’s actions on 6 January 2021, calling him nothing less than “a hero” for safeguarding the certification of the 2020 election.

Ms Cheney’s primary on 16 August puts her up against a candidate endorsed by both Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy, but Mr Pence has not so far endorsed anyone.

Jan 6 performance art at CPAC

Friday 5 August 2022 17:02 , Andrew Naughtie

The prison experiences of 6 January riot defendants have become something of a minor cause celebre on part of the American right, at least the part intent on radically reframing the Capitol attack and its significance.

This is being taken to a new extreme at CPAC, where a performance art installation features a fictional rioter in a red Trump hat weeping in jail.

Trump-backed candidate drops president from ads post-primary

Friday 5 August 2022 16:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Blake Masters won Arizona’s GOP Senate primary on Tuesday with Donald Trump’s blessing – but with the state more competitive than ever, he is already rebranding himself to appeal to a wider electorate. In a new ad, his wife celebrates that “He’s in it because he loves his country so much, and he loves this state so much” – before Mr Masters’ new tagline appears: “A true independent for Arizona”.

Neither Mr Trump nor the Republican Party are mentioned at any point.

Mr Masters was hit by an unedifying story late in his primary campaign when reporters resurfaced online posts in which he had floated the conspiracy theory that the US was manipulated into joining the Second World War by shadowy Jewish elites. He was endorsed in his campaign by the founder of an infamous neo-Nazi website – an endorsement he rejected.

Georgia: Herschel Walker claims to have initiated debates he long avoided

Friday 5 August 2022 15:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Herschel Walker, the Trump-backed Republican Senate candidate in Georgia, has worried many in the GOP with his variously erratic and controversial public appearances, which combined with his history of personal scandals have left many observers worrying he could cost them a winnable seat.

Having avoided taking part in any debates during the Republican primary, Mr Walker has since agreed to debate his rival, Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Bizarrely, he claims that the debates were his idea and that Mr Walker is somehow wary of talking to him in front of Georgia voters, when in fact it was Mr Warnock who spent weeks challenging Mr Walker to accept his invitation.

Trump-backed Kari Lake wins AZ governor’s primary

Friday 5 August 2022 15:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Former president Donald Trump’s preferred candidate in Arizona won the Republican gubernatorial primary, meaning that all of Mr Trump’s preferred candidates in the state won their contests on Tuesday.

Kari Lake, a former news anchor, triumphed over Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by former vice president Mike Pence and current Republican Governor Doug Ducey.

Ms Lake has been one of the most prominent parroters of Mr Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Despite her victory, Ms Lake still claimed there was voter fraud in her race. “We out-voted the fraud, we didn’t listen to what the fake news had to say,” she said on Wednesday.

Eric Garcia reports:

Trump-endorsed Kari Lake wins the Republican nomination for governor in Arizona

Why Viktor Orban’s CPAC speech matters

Friday 5 August 2022 14:30 , Andrew Naughtie

It was only last week that Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban was condemned in his home country and abroad for a speech in which he declared that Europeans “do not want to become peoples of mixed-race.” And this week, he appeared as planned at CPAC in Dallas to address a roomful of American conservatives.

In a 30-minute speech, Mr Orban told the annual gathering of American conservatives that he was “the leader of a country that is under the siege of progressive liberals, day-by-day”.

“Now the West is at war with itself. We have seen what kind of a future the globalist ruling class has to offer. We have a different kind of future in mind. The globalists can all go to hell, I have come to Texas,” he said, before calling for children to be protected from “gender ideology”.

Richard Hall has the story.

Fresh from furore over ‘Nazi’ speech, Viktor Orban receives rousing welcome at CPAC

Watch: Dick Cheney brands Trump a threat to the republic

Friday 5 August 2022 13:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Dick Cheney, who rarely appears in public these days, has made a rare intervention in the Wyoming congressional primary, where his daughter Liz is fighting for her political survival. And he hasn’t gone easy on the former president.

"There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump," says the former vice president in a deeply chilling clip released yesterday. The primary is on 16 August, and Ms Cheney is widely expected to lose it to Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman.

ICYMI: “Coup memo” author wanted to challenge Senate results

Friday 5 August 2022 13:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The ex-law professor who hatched former president Donald Trump’s failed plan to keep Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden continued arguing for Republicans loyal to Mr Trump to press on with searches for alleged election fraud after Mr Trump’s term ended.

According to the New York Times, former Chapman University law professor John Eastman sent an email to Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani on 20 January 2021 — the day Mr Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States — advocating that Republicans challenge the results of the recent Georgia special elections in which Peach State voters had elected two Democratic senators.

“A lot of us have now staked our reputations on the claims of election fraud, and this would be a way to gather proof,” Mr Eastman wrote, according to the Times. “If we get proof of fraud on Jan. 5, it will likely also demonstrate the fraud on Nov. 3, thereby vindicating President Trump’s claims and serving as a strong bulwark against Senate impeachment trial”.

Andrew Feinberg has more.

Trump ‘coup memo’ lawyer also wanted to challenge Senate election results

Kari Lake (finally) wins Arizona primary

Friday 5 August 2022 12:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Trump-backed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a former critic of the president who has since joined the anti-LGBT culture war and embraced election fraud conspiracy theories, has been declared the winner of her GOP primary after days of vote-counting.

Ms Lake joins several other extreme Republican figures on the Arizona ballot. Among the others are Senate candidate Blake Masters, who has been in hot water for a history of racist online posts, and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem, a hardcore 2020 election denier.

Read more:

Trump ally Kari Lake wins GOP primary for Arizona governor

Sarah Palin returns to CPAC

Friday 5 August 2022 11:30 , Andrew Naughtie

After a few years in the political wilderness aside from a few bizarre public appearances, Sarah Palin is back, running in the special election to fill Alaska’s open seat in the House of Representatives. She enjoys Donald Trump’s endorsement in that race, where the three-way runoff election will be held on 16 August.

Here’s Ms Palin speaking at CPAC yesterday on the matter of “unconstitutional” threats to the future of the US:

ICYMI: Ivanka and Donald Jr deposed in New York

Friday 5 August 2022 10:49 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to testify to the New York Attorney General’s probe into his business and tax affairs – but he isn’t the first member of his family to be deposed.

After their efforts to fend off a subpoena failed, the ex-president’s children Ivanka and Donald Jr have recently been separately questioned. While Mr Trump Jr deposed last Thursday, his sister’s deposition took place on Wednesday, CNN reported. Their depositions were initially scheduled for 15 July, but were postponed after their mother Ivana Trump – the former president’s first wife – died.

Read more from Namita Singh.

Ivanka and Don Jr depose in New York’s Trump Organization probe, report says

Lincoln Project jumps on CPAC extremism

Friday 5 August 2022 10:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The Lincoln Project, a group formed by anti-Trump Republicans to rail against the former president and his agenda, has fallen out of favour somewhat since its halcyon days in the early phase of the 2020 election cycle, but it continues to put out videos laying bare the worst tendencies of the modern Trump-led Republican Party.

Its latest one, produced on a quick turnaround, riffs on CPAC’s decision to host Hungarian premier Viktor Orban.

Explainer: What if the Jan 6 committee issues a criminal referral for Trump?

Friday 5 August 2022 09:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Speculation continues to swirl regarding whether Donald Trump would face criminal charges resulting from the Jan 6 attack after it became clear that the select committee was laying out a case to prove his various wrongdoings.

Attention has turned in recent weeks to the committee’s chair and vice chair, who have appeared to take the opposite positions from a majority of their respective parties regarding whether the committee itself would formally call for Donald Trump’s prosecution.

John Bowden reports:

What would happen if the Jan 6 committee issues a criminal referral for Donald Trump?

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with Justice Department over January 6 probe

Friday 5 August 2022 08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys representing former president Donald Trump are reportedly in contact with the Justice Department in hopes of shielding conversations with his former advisers from the criminal probe into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

According to CNN, Mr Trump’s lawyers have had “direct communication” with prosecutors with the Washington, DC US Attorney’s office who are working under Thomas Windom, the federal prosecutor overseeing cases related to January 6.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with Justice Department over January 6 probe

Democrats sue to keep Greens off North Carolina ballot

Friday 5 August 2022 07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

North Carolina Democrats, accused by the Green Party of meddling in its petitioning process to qualify candidates for the November ballot, have asked a state court to overturn a unanimous elections board vote granting the Green Party official recognition despite allegations of fraud.

Democrats sue to keep Green Party off North Carolina ballot

Watch: Dick Cheney calls Trump ‘coward’ and ‘greatest ever threat to our Republic’

Friday 5 August 2022 06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump expected to testify soon in NY civil investigation

Friday 5 August 2022 06:15 , Arpan Rai

Donald Trump could be questioned under oath in the long-running investigation by the New York attorney general into his dealings as the real estate mogul.

Top top law officer Letitia James’ office said in May that it was closing in on the end of its probe and investigators have amassed substantial evidence that could support legal action against Trump, his company or both.

Mr Trump’s deposition could be a critical moment in the probe as the former president’s company was alleged to have misled banks and tax authorities about the cost of his prized assets like golf courses and skyscrapers.

His testimony has been dubbed as one of the few remaining pieces, the attorney general’s office said.

Eastman wanted to challenge Senate election results in Georgia after Jan 6 failure

Friday 5 August 2022 05:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The ex-law professor who hatched former president Donald Trump’s failed plan to keep Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden continued arguing for Republicans loyal to Mr Trump to press on with searches for alleged election fraud after Mr Trump’s term ended.

According to the New York Times, former Chapman University law professor John Eastman sent an email to Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani on 20 January 2021 — the day Mr Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States — advocating that Republicans challenge the results of the recent Georgia special elections in which Peach State voters had elected two Democratic senators.

Andrew Feinberg has the story from Washington, DC.

Trump ‘coup memo’ lawyer also wanted to challenge Senate election results

Trump ally and ex-journalist Kari Lake wins GOP primary for Arizona governor

Friday 5 August 2022 05:20 , Arpan Rai

Donald Trump’s ally and former news anchor Kari Lake won the Republican primary for Arizona governor yesterday, advancing the Republicans in the general election sprint.

“Arizonans who have been forgotten by the establishment just delivered a political earthquake,” the ex-journalist, who walked away from her journalism career and was welcomed warmly by Mr Trump and his supporters, said in a statement after the race was called.

The Republican candidate’s victory works against the GOP establishment which picked lawyer and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson in a bid to overcome the tumultuous Trump era.

Ms Lake had said that she would not have approved of Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 presidential elections and backed false claims of election fraud as she campaigned.

She is set to face Democratic secretary of state Katie Hobbs in the November election, who said that the “race for governor isn’t about Democrats or Republicans but a choice between sanity and chaos”.

White House lawyers subpoenaed by Jan 6 probe grand jury

Friday 5 August 2022 04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal grand jury investigating efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election has subpoenaed the White House counsel under then-President Donald Trump and his top deputy, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The subpoenas to Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin suggest an intensifying Justice Department investigation into the events surrounding the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when Trump loyalists stormed the building in hopes of halting the certification of election results. They also suggest that prosecutors regard close advisers to Trump as potentially vital witnesses.

Trump White House lawyers subpoenaed by 1/6 probe grand jury

No regrets for GOP rep who lost primary after voting for Trump impeachment

Friday 5 August 2022 03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Rep Peter Meijer said he had no regrets about voting to impeach former President Donald Trump days after he was defeated for re-nomination in his congressional primary in Michigan.

“I would rather lose office with my character intact than stay reelected having made sacrifices of the soul,” Mr Meijer said on the Sirius XM programme Julie Mason Mornings.

Abe Asher reports.

GOP representative who lost primary after voting for Trump impeachment has no regrets

Wisconsin: Michels goes after Kleefisch in governor’s race

Friday 5 August 2022 02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Tim Michels is on the attack in the waning days of Wisconsin’s tight GOP governor’s primary, with an ad this week faulting his rival for not initially backing Donald Trump in 2016 – even as it emerged Thursday that Michels himself did not vote in that primary.

Michels launched the attack ad against Rebecca Kleefisch days after he said that running negative ads is “just bad policy” and that politicians who do it are “losing.”

The ad faults Kleefisch for not endorsing Trump in the 2016 primary and brands her “the ultimate Madison insider.” Kleefisch, who is backed by former Vice President Mike Pence, is a former two-term lieutenant governor. Michels co-owns the state’s largest construction company, Michels Corp.

Michels goes after Kleefisch in Wisconsin governor's race

DeSantis suspends state attorney for refusing to prosecute trans people and abortion providers

Friday 5 August 2022 01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended a twice-elected state attorney for his refusal to prosecute abortion providers, doctors and families who provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth, and transgender people who use bathrooms that match their gender.

In a press conference surrounded by law enforcement on 4 August, the governor also accused 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Andrew Warren of failing to prosecute people accused of crimes to the fullest extent of his authority, reflecting what the governor called “incompetence and willful defiance of his duties.”

Alex Woodward reports.

DeSantis suspends prosecutor who refused to criminalise abortion and transgender care

GOP candidate for Illinois governor said Holocaust ‘doesn’t even compare’ to abortion

Friday 5 August 2022 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Republican nominee for governor of Illinois is under fire after a 2017 video resurfaced of him saying that the Holocaust “doesn’t even compare” to the issue of abortion.

In the video published on Facebook, current Illinois state senator Darren Bailey said that “the attempted extermination of the Jews of World War II doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion”.

Abe Asher reports.

Illinois governor candidate said Holocaust ‘doesn’t compare’ to abortion in 2017 clip

Biden and GOP spar over impact of economic plan

Friday 5 August 2022 00:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrats call it the “Inflation Reduction Act.” Republicans say it’s a “tax and spending spree.” And everyone has a study they say proves it.

Recent bipartisan action in Congress on matters ranging from producing computer chips to expanding NATO isn’t extending to the latest economic package from Democrats, which is generating a battle of dueling statistics and projections over whether it would help or hurt the economy.

Biden, Republicans spar over impact of Dems' economic plan

Dick Cheney says Trump a ‘coward’ in ad for daughter Liz

Friday 5 August 2022 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Vice President Dick Cheney excoriated Donald Trump in a new campaign video for his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, calling the former president a “coward” and saying there has never been anyone who is a “greater threat to our republic.”

The video was released Thursday by Rep. Cheney’s reelection campaign, two weeks before a Republican primary election in Wyoming that the three-term congresswoman is bracing to lose.

Dick Cheney calls Trump a 'coward' in ad for daughter Liz

Hannity: Did you ever think we would have a lawless President like we do now?

Thursday 4 August 2022 23:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Without irony, Sean Hannity asks the crowd at CPAC in Dallas if they ever thought the US would have a “lawless president” as it does now.

The Republican Accountability Project was quick to retort...

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with DoJ over Jan 6 probe

Thursday 4 August 2022 22:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys representing former president Donald Trump are reportedly in contact with the Justice Department in hopes of shielding conversations with his former advisers from the criminal probe into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Andrew Feinberg in Washington, DC, is following this breaking story.

Trump lawyers reportedly in contact with Justice Department over January 6 probe

Alex Jones ordered to pay more than $4m compensatory damages to Sandy Hook family

Thursday 4 August 2022 22:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay more than $4m in compensatory damages to the family of a Sandy Hook victim.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son Jesse was among the 20 students and six adults killed in the mass shooting, sued Jones and his media company for the claims he has made that the massacre was a “false flag” operation and that the victims did not actually exist.

They had asked for $150m in compensatory damages and another trial to determine punitive damages is now expected to take place on Friday.

Graeme Massie reports:

Alex Jones ordered to pay more than $4m compensatory damages to Sandy Hook family

Fresh from furore over ‘Nazi’ speech, Viktor Orban welcomed at CPAC in Dallas

Thursday 4 August 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A little over a week ago, Hungary’s prime minister delivered a speech about immigration in which he declared that Europeans “do not want to become peoples of mixed-race.”

The comments by Viktor Orban, the 59-year-old far-right leader, prompted outrage in his own country and across Europe for their explicit racism, and led to the resignation of his close adviser of 20 years, who described the speech as “pure Nazi text.”

But Mr Orban’s use of white supremacist rhetoric did little to dampen the enthusiasm of American conservatives for his visit to the United States this week.

Richard Hall reports for The Independent.

Fresh from furore over ‘Nazi’ speech, Viktor Orban receives rousing welcome at CPAC

White House rejects suggestion Biden has ample free time during Covid recovery

Thursday 4 August 2022 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

White House spokesperson John Kirby rejected the premise of a question from Fox News‘ Peter Doocy after the reporter suggested that President Joe Biden has “a lot of free time” this week as he recovers from a bout of Covid.

Mr Doocy asked Mr Kirby in a press briefing on Thursday why Mr Biden has not scheduled a call with Chinese president Xi Jinping considering that, as he believed, Mr Biden had plenty of available time while in isolation.

“He doesn’t have free time,” Mr Kirby responded. “He’s been working all the way through his illness, quite frankly, Peter, so it’s a little bit insulting.”

Read more:

White House rejects idea Biden has ample free time during Covid recovery

Schumer sets Senate vote for major climate and healthcare bill for Saturday

Thursday 4 August 2022 21:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday that there would be a vote on a motion to proceed on the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ climate and spending bill, on Saturday, teeing up the process for a vote on the legislation.

Mr Schumer announced the vote despite the fact that the Senate Parliamentarian has yet to finish subjecting the legislation to the Byrd Bath process to determine whether any part of the Inflation Reduction Act constitutes “extraneous matter.”

Eric Garcia has the latest from Capitol Hill.

Schumer announces Senate vote for major climate and healthcare bill on Saturday

DHS will stop wiping phones after controversy over missing Jan 6 texts

Thursday 4 August 2022 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday that it would immediately work to ensure that electronic devices from officials will not be cleared of data before being backed up on external servers.

The directive, if implemented correctly, will bring the department in line with federal records laws which very plainly state that communications between federal officials discussing official policies on government devices must be preserved. In general, officials are prohibited from having such discussions at all on personal devices.

John Bowden has the story.

Homeland Security will stop wiping phones after controversy over missing Jan 6 texts

ICYMI: Ivanka Trump and Donald Jr deposed in NY probe

Thursday 4 August 2022 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr have reportedly been deposed in the New York attorney general’s civil investigation into the Trump Organisation’s finances.

While Mr Trump Jr was deposed last Thursday, his sister’s deposition took place on Wednesday, CNN reported. According to the report, Mr Trump Jr did not assert his fifth amendment rights and responded to questions. The details of the questions posed to him and his answers have not yet been made public.

The former president is expected to testify later this month.

Namita Singh has the story.

Ivanka and Don Jr depose in New York’s Trump Organization probe, report says

Two anti-Trump Republicans made full time hosts of ‘The View'

Thursday 4 August 2022 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

ABC‘s “The View” has named two Republicans — Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro — as regular panelists on the daytime talk show, and neither are fans of former President Donald Trump.

Farah Griffin fills the chair left empty when Meghan McCain quit last summer after four years on the show. Farah Griffin is a communications strategist who worked as a spokesperson at the Pentagon and for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during the last administration.

Navarro, a familiar face as a frequent guest host at “The View” since 2015, was officially named as an addition to the show’s group of five hosts.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, Ana Navarro join 'The View' as cohosts

Trump expected to testify in coming days in New York AG probe in real estate business

Thursday 4 August 2022 19:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump is expected to be questioned under oath in the coming days in the New York attorney general’s long-running investigation into his dealings as a real estate mogul.

The deposition could be a critical moment in the investigation of allegations that the Republican billionaire’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks and tax authorities about the value of prized assets like golf courses and skyscrapers.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in May that it was nearing the end of its probe and that investigators have amassed substantial evidence that could support legal action against Trump, his company or both.

Read more:

Trump testimony expected soon in NY civil investigation

Josh Hawley explains why he voted against Finland and Sweden joining Nato

Thursday 4 August 2022 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve a treaty to add Sweden and Finland to Nato, amidst Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. There was only one dissenting voice. Josh Hawley of Missouri was the only senator from either party to oppose the treaty, which passed 95-1.

On Wednesday, Mr Hawley, who is said to be harbouring presidential ambitions in 2024, appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News programme to explain his vote.

Abe Asher reports.

Josh Hawley tells Tucker Carlson why he voted against Finland and Sweden joining Nato

Judge refuses to delay Oath Keepers’ trial over Jan 6 hearings

Thursday 4 August 2022 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Members of the far-right Oath Keepers‘ extremist group charged in the 6 January 202 attack on the US Capitol will face jurors this fall after a judge on Tuesday denied defense attorneys’ bid to delay the high-profile trial until next year.

Lawyers for Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, and other associates of the antigovernment group argued a trial beginning in September would be tainted by publicity surrounding recent Jan. 6 House committee hearings and that attorneys still have too much evidence to sort through.

But US District Judge Amit Mehta said he is confident the court will find a fair jury for the Oath Keepers’ case in Washington next month and that he’s obligated to oversee a speedy trial for the defendants, who have been locked up for months. Moving the trial would also “wreak havoc” on the court’s calendar, which is filled with trials into next year, he said.

Judge won't delay Oath Keepers' trial over Jan. 6 hearings

ICYMI: DoJ suing Peter Navarro

Thursday 4 August 2022 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

More than 18 months after the Trump administration’s last day in office, the US government is still trying to recover federal records from one of former president Donald Trump’s closest advisers.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against ex-White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy director Peter Navarro, alleging that Mr Navarro has refused to turn over emails sent and recieved from his personal email account that have been determined to be presidential records — and thus the property of the United States.

Mr Navarro, who in June was indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House January 6 select committee, was found to have conducted government business on his personal ProtonMail email account by investigators working for the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Department of Justice sues ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro to recover White House emails

Report: John Eastman wanted to challenge Senate results too

Thursday 4 August 2022 17:50 , Andrew Naughtie

The ex-law professor who hatched former president Donald Trump’s failed plan to keep Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden continued arguing for Republicans loyal to Mr Trump to press on with searches for alleged election fraud after Mr Trump’s term ended.

According to the New York Times, former Chapman University law professor John Eastman sent an email to Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani on 2the day Mr Biden was sworn in as president advocating that Republicans challenge the results of the recent Georgia special elections in which Peach State voters had elected two Democratic senators.

“A lot of us have now staked our reputations on the claims of election fraud, and this would be a way to gather proof,” Mr Eastman wrote, according to the Times. “If we get proof of fraud on Jan. 5, it will likely also demonstrate the fraud on Nov. 3, thereby vindicating President Trump’s claims and serving as a strong bulwark against Senate impeachment trial”.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump ‘coup memo’ lawyer also wanted to challenge Senate election results

Georgia: Herschel Walker finally agrees to debate Raphael Warnock

Thursday 4 August 2022 17:20 , Andrew Naughtie

Republicans are worried that Herschel Walker could lose them the Georgia Senate race, what with his consistently erratic public behaviour and a litany of personal scandals (including past domestic violence allegations). He refused to debate his rivals in the GOP primary, and initially refused to go on stage with incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock – bizarrely claiming on Fox News that the senator had offered to debate him because there were things he did not want to discuss.

But now, it seems the situation has changed, and Mr Warnock has agreed to debate on 14 October. Here’s more from The Hill.

Rusty Bowers defiant after primary loss

Thursday 4 August 2022 16:50 , Andrew Naughtie

The Arizona legislator who recently testified to the House January 6 select committee about ex-president Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election has no regrets about his actions despite losing Tuesday’s primary election to a Trump-endorsed challenger.

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers lost his Republican primary for a state Senate seat in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix by a nearly two-to-one margin, bringing his political career to an apparent end due to the Grand Canyon State’s legislative term limits.

But Mr Bowers told the Associated Press he would not change anything about his conduct over the last year and a half.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he said. “I’d do it 50 times in a row.”

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Jan 6 witness defiant after losing primary: ‘I would do it again in a heartbeat’

A Jan 6 link at the Alex Jones trial

Thursday 4 August 2022 16:21 , Andrew Naughtie

InfoWars shock jock and far-right agitator Alex Jones is in court facing a defamation lawsuit from the parents of a child killed at Sandy Hook – but his case has taken on a wider significance thanks to an error by his attorney, who accidentally shared a digital copy of Mr Jones’s phone that included every text message he sent and received in the last two years.

The news from the courtroom today is that the texts include “intimate messages” to Trump confidante and Republican machinator Roger Stone – and that the plaintiffs’ legal team intend to turn them over to law enforcement and the Jan 6 select committee, possibly as soon as today.

Dispatch: Why is Mitch McConnell lowering expectations for the midterms?

Thursday 4 August 2022 16:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Writing for The Independent’s Inside Washington newsletter, Eric Garcia examines why Mitch McConnell is trying to damp down any expectation that his party will take control of the Senate in November:

In critical Senate races across the country, Republican candidates are struggling to pull away from their opponents, or even polling well behind them. Among the standouts are Herschel Walker in Georgia, JD Vance in Ohio and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. All three were endorsed in their primaries by Donald Trump, who either cleared the field for them or gave their campaigns a much-needed boost. But each of them have come with serious baggage.

On Tuesday, another Trump-backed candidate, venture capitalist Blake Masters, won the Republican primary to challenge Senator Mark Kelly in Arizona. Masters has repeated many of Trump’s lies about the election being stolen and has a history of making racist remarks. An endorsement from the founder of a neo-Nazi website (which Masters rejected) did not do anything for his image.

Read the full dispatch below.

Mitch McConnell is suddenly trying to lower expectations for the midterms. Why?

Did John Kelly eavesdrop on Donald Trump?

Thursday 4 August 2022 15:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump reportedly issued an order banning White House advisers from listening to his telephone conversations after he was informed that his second chief of staff, John Kelly, had done so during his tenure as the then-president’s top aide.

According to the New York Post, Jared Kushner writes in his upcoming memoir Breaking History that Mr Trump was “unaware that the former Marine Corps general-turned-White House chief of staff was listening to his phone calls” — a standard practice in previous administrations — until after he replaced Mr Kelly in late 2018.

The Post also reported that Mr Kushner, who was a senior adviser in Mr Trump’s White House and is also his son-in-law, reveals how Mr Kelly’s replacement, ex-South Carolina congressman turned Office of Management and Budget boss Mick Mulvaney, informed Mr Trump that Mr Kelly had listened in on his calls just before his last day.

Andrew Feinberg has this report.

Trump’s WH chief of staff John Kelly listened to all of his calls, Kushner claims

Vanquished anti-Trump Republican appears with extreme candidate he blamed Democrats for backing

Thursday 4 August 2022 15:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Congressman Peter Meijer was one of only 10 house Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump after the 6 January insurrection, but the Democrats nonetheless contributed to the primary campaign waged against him by a MAGA-leaning extremist from within the GOP.

Mr Meijer and many anti-Trump commentators have been scathing in their response to the news that the Democratic Party would make such a bet on a notionally beatable far-right candidate – but the defeated congressman’s umbrage seems to have its limit, as he introduced his former challenger at an event just yesterday.

Jan 6 rioter blames riot on Trump rally

Thursday 4 August 2022 14:45 , Andrew Naughtie

A Trump supporter who participated in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol has filed a letter seeking leniency in his sentencing – and his message to the judge essentially pins the blame for the lethal events of that day onto the former president: