Trump news – live: White House was in on FBI Mar-a-Lago raid ex-president claims

Donald Trump wasted little time in turning the FBI raid on his property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida into a fundraising opportunity, texting and emailing supporters for donations and asking them to fight with him against the “radical left”.

It was Mr Trump himself who revealed that FBI agents had executed a search warrant at his home saying in a statement that his residence was “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents”.

Reaction from the Republican Party to the search of the former president’s residence has ranged from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy promising to investigate the FBI once his party retakes the chamber, to calls to defund the bureau by Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, and reported discontent from Rep Jim Jordan about the “absolute silence” from the party’s Senate leadership. Mitch McConnell is yet to comment and is visiting flood-damaged parts of Kentucky.

A delegation of House GOP members is set to dine with Mr Trump tonight at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Meanwhile, the White House says President Joe Biden was not told about the search of his predecessor’s home ahead of time and referred further questions to the Justice Department.

Key Points

• Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

• Documents pictured floating in toilets after Trump tried to flush them

• Trump fundraising machine jumps on FBI raid to drum up donations

• Report: Senate GOP leadership silence on raid angering Trump loyalists

• White House not informed prior to search of Trump’s home

• Report: FBI seized 10 boxes of evidence in raid on Mar-a-Lago

ICYMI: FBI seized 10 boxes of evidence in raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home - report

08:14 , Arpan Rai

About 10 boxes of material were seized by the FBI from Donald Trump’s home at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The late Monday search is related to the Justice Department’s investigation into how the former president handled sensitive documents at the end of his administration.

It is believed that the raid was likely approved by top law enforcement officials like Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden appointee, and FBI chief Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee.

Read the full report here:

FBI seized 10 boxes of evidence in raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home: report

Giuliani caught lying about inability to fly in attempt to delay grand jury appearance

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani was caught lying to Georgia prosecutors in an attempt to get out of travelling to Atlanta to appear before a grand jury that is investigating former president Donald Trump’s attempt to pressure Georgia officials into overturning Joe Biden’s 2020 election win there.

Last month, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office issued a subpoena for Mr Giuliani to appear before a special grand jury she convened earlier this year. The panel is probing whether Mr Trump or his associates broke Georgia law by pressuring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp to “find” enough non-existent votes to reverse the ex-president’s loss to Mr Biden.

Mr Giuliani was set to appear before the grand jury on 9 August, but in court documents, the ex-New York City mayor’s lawyers argued that a recent cardiac procedure left him unable to travel on the advice of his physicians.

Giuliani caught lying about being unable to fly in push to delay grand jury testimony

Trump’s ex-press secretary denies being source of flushed documents images

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has claimed that former president Donald Trump “did not handle classified documents properly” while in office – but has denied speculation that she was the source of images showing papers he had torn up floating in toilets.

Andrew Naughtie reports.

Trump’s ex-press secretary denies being source of toilet images showing flushed docs

How GOP plans to weaponise FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid for midterms

07:15 , Arpan Rai

There may not be a lot that is clear about the Florida raid — how many FBI agents carried it out, what materials were recovered and who signed off the order to carry out the raids at Mar-a-Lago.

But it is immediately clear that Republicans will seek to use it to their advantage.

Nobody was more dramatic in their description of what had happened than Donald Trump himself.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to a president of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” he claimed. “It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponisation of the justice system.”

In the first sign of Mr Trump’s supporters seizing on the issue, they have vowed to try and put pressure on both Joe Biden and attorney general Merrick Garland if they win control of the House in November.

House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who wants to take Nancy Pelosi’s job as speaker, vowed Republicans would establish their own hearings.

Read the full story by US chief correspondent Andrew Buncombe here:

How GOP plans to weaponise FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid for midterms

‘He didn’t have anything in the safe’ insist Trump’s adult kids

07:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump appeared on Fox News to blast the FBI for raiding Mar-a-Lago in search of documents that the former president took with him when he left the White House.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr took to Twitter to slam the measures taken by federal authorities.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump’s adult kids flood Fox News to insist on his innocence in FBI raid

Republican who voted for impeachment concedes to Trump-backed challenger

06:38 , Arpan Rai

Republican congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who voted for Donald Trump’s impeachment, has conceded a hard-fought primary battle to a challenger endorsed by the former president.

“Ever since I was first elected to this seat I have done my very best to serve my home region and our country,” Ms Herrera Beutler said in a statement released to the media on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old said: “Though my campaign came up short this time, I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished together for the place where I was raised and still call home.”

She was one of 10 Republicans in the House who backed impeaching Mr Trump for his role in the Jan 6 riots, and establishing a committee to investigate what happened that day and the events leading up to them.

Read the full story here:

Republican who voted for impeachment concedes to Trump-backed challenger

Hillary Clinton reacts after FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

If there’s anyone who can rightfully feel a sense of schadenfreude following the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, it is Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton reacts after FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate

Trump mocked for picking the FBI director who raided his home

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has been mocked online after he said he was subject to a search on his Mar-A-Lago address. The raid would have been approved by the very same FBI director he appointed.

The former US president issued a statement late on Monday night attacking FBI boss Christopher Wray and the US Justice Department for the raid, which he said had been “not necessary or appropriate” and noted that “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”

Gin o Spocchia has the story.

Trump mocked for picking the FBI director who raided him

GOP backs Trump’s 2024 election pitch after FBI raid

04:45 , Arpan Rai

A call for support made by Donald Trump in a campaign-style video on social media where he said “the best is yet to come” is now seeing resounding backing from many Republicans, who cannot wait for the former president’s expected third run for the White House.

“One thing I can tell you. I believed he was going to run before. I’m stronger in my belief now,” said South Carolina’s senator Lindsey Graham from Columbia, who said that he spoke with Mr Trump and is certain another campaign is coming.

Indiana GOP representative Jim Banks said that “the sooner he kicks off his campaign, the better”.

Mr Banks, who is also the chair of the Republican Study Committee, was among about a dozen Republican lawmakers who spent several hours on Tuesday evening with Mr Trump at his summer home in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The meal with the former president included steak, scallops, mashed potatoes, salad and a Trump cookie.

In the get-together, Mr Banks said that the group talked about the upcoming midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race.

Florida lawmaker calls for arrest of FBI agents

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Following the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida, state lawmaker Anthony Sabatini called for the arrest of federal agents and urged the state to “sever all ties” with the Department of Justice.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Florida lawmaker calls for arrest of FBI agents and to ‘sever ties with DOJ’

Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets upside down American flag amid GOP fury

04:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Multiple Republican elected officials criticised the FBI’s raid on former president Donald Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago on Monday evening.

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Mr Trump’s biggest defenders in Congress, tweeted an upside down American flag. She also wrote in all-caps “DEFUND THE FBI!”.

Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets upside down US flag after raid on Trump’s home

Michael Cohen posts grinning reaction to FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen joined the chorus celebrating the raids at former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence with a grinning selfie he posted on Twitter.

Stuti Mishra reports.

Ex-Trump fixer Michael Cohen posts grinning reaction to FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago

What happens next and will the scandal stop Trump running in 2024?

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has complained after the FBI staged a sudden, dramatic raid on his palatial Florida estate Mar-a-Lago on Monday evening.

The 45th US president, who lost the White House after just one term and left Washington DC in disgrace in January 2021 following the deadly Capitol riot, predictably denounced the agents’ actions as evidence of a Democratic Party-led conspiracy to stop him launching a fresh tilt at the presidency in 2024.

Here’s what you need to know about what could happen next.

What happens next after the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s home?

Everything you need to know about Mar-a-Lago, the one-time ‘Winter White House’

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mar-a-Lago itself, the property “currently under siege”, covers 62,500 square feet and boasts no fewer than 126 rooms.

Here’s everything you need to know about the property.

Everything you need to know about Donald Trump’s home Mar-a-Lago

Trump claims White House was in on FBI Mar-a-Lago raid: ‘Biden knew’

02:01 , Graeme Massie

Donald Trump says that Joe Biden “knew” that the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate was going to be raided by the FBI, a claim that the White House has already denied.

Mr Trump took to his Truth Social website on Tuesday night, the day after federal agents executed a search warrant at his sprawling estate in Palm Beach while he was in New York.

Trump claims White House was in on FBI Mar-a-Lago raid

Don Jr mocked for saying FBI raid is ‘ripping this country apart’

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump’s son was mocked on social media after he claimed that an FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago on Monday evening is “ripping the country apart.”

Donald Trump Jr mocked for saying FBI raid on his dad is ‘ripping this country apart’

Mary Trump says uncle is ‘panicked’ by FBI raid

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s niece, author and psychologist Mary Trump, appeared on cable news just hours after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, saying that her uncle is panicked by the actions of the federal authorities.

The FBI raided the home on Monday and Mr Trump “may have been told it was coming”, according to his niece, but she added that he wouldn’t have thought that the agency would really go through with it in the end.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

‘It’s coming fast and furious’: Mary Trump says uncle is ‘panicked’ by FBI raid

Trump may not be able to office again over classified documents, lawyer says

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump could be legally disqualified from holding office again if he is convicted of unlawfully taking or destroying government records from the White House, a Democrat elections lawyer has noted following the FBI’s raid of his property.

Shweta Sharma reports.

Trump could be ‘disqualified from holding office again over classified documents’

Why Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI

Wednesday 10 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that the raid appeared to be tied to Mr Trump’s removal of classified records from the White House.

Why Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was raided by the FBI

Obama ethics tsar says possible Garland knew about Mar-A-Lago search

Wednesday 10 August 2022 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Barack Obama’s former ethics tsar told The Independent that it is entirely likely that Attorney General Merrick Garland signed off on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s executing a search warrant on former president Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.

Eric Garcia reports.

Obama ethics tsar says it’s entirely possible Garland knew about Mar-A-Lago search

Trump ally Scott Perry says FBI have seized his phone following Mar-a-Lago raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 23:56 , Graeme Massie

Trump ally Representative Scott Perry says that the FBI seized his phone the day after agents raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The Republican congressman from Pennsylvania told Fox News that federal agents approached him on Tuesday with a warrant and demanded that he hand over the phone.

More details below.

Trump ally Scott Perry says FBI have seized his phone following Mar-a-Lago raid

Report: FBI seized 10 boxes of evidence in raid on Mar-a-Lago

Tuesday 9 August 2022 23:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI seized about 10 boxes of material from Donald Trump’s home at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The search was part of the Justice Department’s investigation into how the former president handled sensitive documents at the end of his administration.

Josh Marcus has the latest.

FBI seized 10 boxes of evidence in raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home: report

GOP rep confronted over double-standard in approach to Trump and Clinton

Tuesday 9 August 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN’s Pamela Brown confronted GOP Rep Mike Turner over his differing comments regarding classified information being at Hillary Clinton’s private residence, and it being at Donald Trump’s home.

She asked the lawmaker: “Secretary Clinton, you at the time indicated you were outraged by the way she handled classified information...so why don’t you share that same concert with Donald Trump?”

Mr Turner responded that in this instance “we don’t really know that these informations are classified.”

Watch below:

‘The president was not briefed’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House has weighed in on the FBI “raid” of former President Trump Mar-a-Lago residence, emphatically stating that President Biden did not receive any advance warning of the law enforcement activity.

“No. The president was not briefed, was not aware of it. No one at the White House was given a heads up. No, that did not happen,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during the daily briefing.

Andrew Feinberg reports from The White House.

White House breaks silence on Trump raid: ‘The president was not briefed’

Analysis: How the GOP plans to weaponise FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid for midterms

Tuesday 9 August 2022 22:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Buncombe writes:

Those who welcomed the raid and wanted to see the Department of Justice step up its pressure on Trump, amid several investigations into the events of January 6, may have considered the flashing lights a cause for celebration.

Yet as America and the world watched with open mouths as another twist in the saga of Donald J Trump played out, he, his family, and top officials in the Republican Party, saw in those flashing lights a convenient and timely means of attacking Joe Biden and the Democrats.

Read on:

How GOP plans to weaponise FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid for midterms

Senate GOP Whip demands FBI answers

Tuesday 9 August 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Whip Senator John Thune has commented on the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago:

“The FBI needs to provide answers as to why they raided the home of a former American president. Complete transparency is the only way to dispel the American people’s worst suspicions about the agency’s motives.

“Like every other American, I await their timely explanation. Delay is not an option.”

Trump allies in uproar

Tuesday 9 August 2022 22:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Allies of former president Donald Trump have reacted with fury to the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at the former president’s Palm Beach, Florida home as part of a criminal investigation into whether he unlawfully mishandled government records, including highly-classified documents.

According to a source familiar with the investigation, the search of Mr Trump’s residence at the Palm Beach mansion known as Mar-a-Lago was part of a long-running Justice Department’s probe into Mr Trump’s possession of documents that were required to be returned to the National Archives and Records Administration when he left office in January 2021.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reviews what we know so far and what the reaction has been from Trump loyalists.

Trump allies in uproar after FBI agents search Mar-a-Lago

Trump lawyer implies FBI would ‘plant information’ and ‘make stuff up’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 22:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump attorney Christina Bobb implies that the FBI could have planted something at Mar-a-Lago as she was “precluded from watching what they did”, but then suggests that the bureau would not bother and would just “make stuff up”.

Voices: The raid on Mar-a-Lago is the best thing that ever happened to the GOP

Tuesday 9 August 2022 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Noah Berlatsky asks if the apparent outrage at the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago is actually more performative.

Many of those who rushed to defend Trump are his rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination; others have denounced him in the past and have good reason to despise him. All of them have to know that Trump is a reckless narcissist and a threat to the party on multiple fronts. Indeed, lots of people in the GOP want Trump out of the way. They just don’t want their fingerprints on the knife.

Read more:

This FBI raid is the best thing that ever happened to the Republican Party

GOP senator calls for letting FBI search ‘play out'

Tuesday 9 August 2022 21:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a potential presidential contender in 2024, said that he believes the country needs to let the FBI’s investigation of former President Donald Trump “play out and see what happens.”

Mr Scott appeared on the programme CBS Mornings to promote his new book, America, A Redemption Story. But, predictably, the first part of the conversation on Tuesday morning was dominated by the news of the FBI’s search of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday.

Abe Asher reports.

GOP senator calls for letting FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property ‘play out’

Roger Stone speaks out about Trump raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 21:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Political operative and Trump-ally Roger Stone spoke to The Daily Mail on Monday evening about the raid on Mar-a-Lago.

“I know firsthand the violation that President Trump must feel tonight,” he said. “Just as Mueller’s prosecutors could have contacted my lawyers so that I could turn myself in voluntarily, they [instead] had 29 heavily armed FBI agents storm my home at 6am with CNN in tow.

“Now they have elected to utilise the optics and drama of a raid on the home of the former president of United States rather than file suit to obtain classified documents they allege he has.”

Mr Stone says he believed that Mr Trump’s attorneys had been in “active negotiations with the National Archives” over the documents the former president has taken with him to Florida at the end of his presidency.

“The lawyer handling those negotiations, Boris Epsteyn is an incompetent buffoon and his mishandling of those negotiations led to this raid,” he said.

“What documents are they so anxious to ensure they have control of so they never see the light of day? UFOs? The Kennedy Assassination? Debunking of the Russian collusion hoax?”

“How is it that Hillary Clinton uses bleach to destroy a hard drive that includes classified documents but there are no raids on her home for prosecution of her?” he added.

Mr Stone stated that he believed in political terms, such heavy-handed tactics are backfiring badly with the voters.

“Many particularly care for President Trump and are outraged are telling me that it’s time to clean house,” he concluded.

Trump raid is a ‘coup’ that will ‘enrage the country’, says distraught Fox News

Tuesday 9 August 2022 21:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News host Jesse Watters and his guest, Buck Sexton, decried the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago on Monday and portrayed the event as a brazen attempt by a weaponised Justice Department to thwart Donald Trump’s 2024 bid for office.

The pair made the comments on Mr Watters’s show, Jesse Watters Primetime, on Monday evening as news of the FBI raid broke via a statement from the former president. In his remarks, Mr Trump claimed that his residence was “occupied” by FBI agents.

John Bowden reports.

Distraught Fox News says Trump raid is a ‘coup’ that will ‘enrage the country’

McConnell refuses to answer question about Trump raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to answer a question about the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

He insisted he was only answering questions about the flooding damage in Kentucky that he spend today touring.

Dan Bongino unloads on FBI after Trump raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative political commentator Dan Bongino has apparently lost faith in his former law enforcement colleagues following the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Mr Bongino, 47, has a long career in law enforcement. Born in Queens, he served as a member of the New York City Police Department in the late 1990s prior to a long stint as a Secret Service agent that ended in 2011. But he was left irate yesterday after the FBI executed a search warrant at Mr Trump’s home.

Abe Asher reports.

Conservative Dan Bongino unloads on FBI after Trump raid: ‘Everyone has to go!’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Pushed further, Ms Jean-Pierre again says the White House will not comment on ongoing investigations and says that the administration was first made aware of the raid through public reports.

She adds that she will not comment on hypotheticals regarding the 2024 election or what may happen if the Republicans takeover Congress after the midterms later this year.

White House denies any ‘heads up’ about Mar-a-Lago, emphasises independence of DoJ

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at today’s briefing if President Joe Biden or anyone else at the White House had been aware of the FBI’s search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, or whether they had been briefed after it was executed.

Ms Jean-Pierre responded: “No. The president was not briefed … was not aware of it. No, no one at the White House was given a heads up. No, that did not happen.

Pressed further on the matter regarding the domestic political climate and the message such an operation against a former president sends to the rest of the world, the press secretary responded: “First off, and you’ve heard us say this many times at this podium. You’ve heard the President say this. The justice department conducts investigations independently, and we leave any law enforcement matters to them. It would not be appropriate for us to comment on any ongoing investigations.

“I can say that President Biden has been unequivocal since the campaign he believes in the rule of law, in the independence of … Justice Department investigations, that those investigations should be free from political influence. And he has held that commitment as president.

“I want to also remind you all of what he said on January 7 of 2021, when he then nominated Merrick Garland to be the Attorney General, and I quote: ‘We need to restore the honor the integrity of the independence of the Department of Justice in this nation that has been so badly damaged and so many former leaders of that department in both parties have so testified and that and stated that I want to be clear to those who lead this department who you will serve. You won’t work for me. You are not the President or the Vice President’s lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me it’s to the law, the Constitution, the people of this nation, to guarantee justice.’”

The Florida blogger who broke the the biggest story in US politics

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Recalling how he landed the story, Peter Schorsch told The Independent it began when he received a text from an old friend in Florida politics to say he was sitting on a “yuge” story – intentionally employing the former president’s speaking style.

He spoke with Bevan Hurley.

Meet the little-known Florida blogger who broke the Mar-a-Lago raid story

The investigations facing the former president

Tuesday 9 August 2022 20:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is under several congressional, civil and criminal investigations, which range from his business interests and allegations of tax fraud to his efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election and fuel violence at the US Capitol.

The former president, his family business, real estate interests and political allies are under scrutiny from federal investigators, state attorneys and members of Congress.

Here is a partial list of the key probes involving Mr Trump and where they currently stand following an unprecedented FBI raid at his Palm Beach, Florida home at Mar-a-Lago on 8 August.

Alex Woodwards reports.

Jan 6, Mar-a-Lago and a golf course: The investigations Donald Trump is facing

Trump fundraising machine jumps on FBI raid to drum up donations

Tuesday 9 August 2022 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

The Trump fundraising machine wasted little time before using the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago as a way of drumming up donations from the former president’s supporters.

“MAR-A-LAGO was RAIDED. The Radical Left is corrupt. Return power to the people! Will you fight with me?” read one message.

Report: Senate GOP leadership silence on raid angering Trump loyalists

Tuesday 9 August 2022 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Juliegrace Brufke of The Washington Examiner reports that there is discontent among House Republicans regarding their “absolute silence” on the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, she says citing a source on a GOP conference call referring to Rep Jim Jordan.

Per the source: “He didn’t name names, but I took him to mean McConnell and appropriate oversight committee rankers.”

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is in his home state seeing the damage from the flash-flooding that struck eastern Kentucky, following in President Joe Biden’s footsteps on Monday.

He is yet to comment on the FBI search of former President Trump’s residence.

‘Morning Joe’ appears to troll Trump with Goodfellas music

Tuesday 9 August 2022 19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Hours after the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, MSNBC’s Morning Joe delighted many viewers on Tuesday morning with a specific choice of music during a transition to a commercial break.

‘Morning Joe’ trolls Trump with Goodfellas music after segment on FBI raid

House GOP members set to dine with Trump tonight

Tuesday 9 August 2022 19:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump is hosting a dozen conservative House Republicans at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday night, just a day after the FBI search of his South Florida estate.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks is said to be leading the group to Mr Trump’s summer residence, Punchbowl News first reported and CBS News confirmed. The latter called it “a solidarity moment for DJT with House's right flank”.

From ‘lock her up’ to ‘defund the FBI’: Shifting takes from GOP on prosecuting politicians

Tuesday 9 August 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Throughout his presidential campaigns, and even after he took the White House, the crowds at Donald Trump’s rallies reverberated with a familiar refrain: “Lock her up!”

The chants, embraced and encouraged by Mr Trump and his allies, demanded the imprisonment of his then-political opponent, Hillary Clinton. Years later, the Republican party has an altogether different view on the prosecution of political figures.

Alex Woodward reports.

From ‘lock her up’ to ‘defund the FBI’: How the GOP changed course on prosecutions

House committee claims victory in battle for Trump’s tax returns

Tuesday 9 August 2022 18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Members of Congress on the House Ways and Means Committee announced a victory in their battle to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns on Tuesday, the culmination of a years-long battle in the war to prove longstanding allegations of fraud and wrongdoing that have dogged the president for years.

The Democrat-led committee announced on Twitter that a court’s decision meant that lawmakers would obtain Mr Trump’s financial records “immediately”.

John Bowden has the latest.

House committee claims victory in battle for Donald Trump’s tax returns

Pelosi on FBI raid: “No one is above the law"

Tuesday 9 August 2022 18:20 , Andrew Naughtie

Nancy Pelosi, who has just returned from a tense trip to Taiwan, appeared on the Today show this morning where she was asked about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.

Explaining that like others in Congress she knew little of the raid so far, the speaker insisted as she has before that Mr Trump is subject to the rule of law.

“No person is above the law,” she said. “Not even the president of the United States. Not even a former president of the United States.”

Worrying spike in “civil war” tweets

Tuesday 9 August 2022 18:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Tweets using the term “civil war” spiked dramatically after the FBI raid, according to analysis from the social media tracking firm Dataminr.

With Trump supporters gathering at Mar-a-Lago in protest at the raid and the Republican Party and right-wing media in a flap, the temperature of anti-government and anti-FBI discourse is still rising, with the Justice Department still remaining tight-lipped about what exactly the FBI’s agents were seeking – and what, if anything, they found.

Oliver O’Connell has more.

‘Civil war’ tweets spike after the Trump Mar-a-Lago FBI raid

Trump children protest their father’s innocence

Tuesday 9 August 2022 17:40 , Andrew Naughtie

After the news of the raid on Mar-a-Lago broke, Donald Trump’s oldest sons led the family effort to defend him.

Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump appeared on Fox News to blast the FBI, while Donald Trump Jr took to Twitter to slam the measures taken by federal authorities and frame the Biden administration as a sub-democratic regime.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander.

Trump’s adult kids flood Fox News to insist on his innocence in FBI raid

Pence slams FBI and DOJ for Mar-a-Lago raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Vice President Mike Pence has slammed the FBI raid against former President Donald Trump’s South Florida estate.

“I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump. No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history,” Mr Pence tweeted on Tuesday.

Gustaf Kilander reports on the former vice president’s full statement.

Mike Pence slams FBI and DOJ for Mar-a-Lago raid

Catch up: How the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid unfolded

Tuesday 9 August 2022 17:20 , Andrew Naughtie

The FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, was an unprecedented move. Agents raided the resort complex sometime early Monday evening, according to the former president, who released a statement as it occurred. The news rocked Washington, which has never seen this sort of law enforcement activity directed at a former president.

What with the ensuing blizzard of reaction and speculation, it hasn’t always been easy to keep hold of what’s actually known. But as the news trickled out over Monday evening and into Tuesday morning, it became clear who had the facts and who didn’t. John Bowden has this write-up.

The FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home: Who knew what and when?

House committee given go-ahead to seek Trump tax documents

Tuesday 9 August 2022 16:57 , Andrew Naughtie

The House Ways and Means Committee has spent years trying to get hold of Donald Trump’s tax returns, which the former president has long kept hidden on the pretext that he cannot release them while under audit (he could, and there is no evidence that any such audit is underway).

Now, the DC circuit court of appeals has held that the Trump team’s arguments against the committee’s request for the returns do not hold water.

Among its conclusions: “The Trump Parties contend that the Chairman’s Request exceeds Congress’s investigative powers. It does not.”

Read the full judgment below.

GOP Senator warns not to jump to conclusions about FBI probe

Tuesday 9 August 2022 16:40 , Andrew Naughtie

The GOP’s response to the Mar-a-Lago raid has been almost unanimously livid, but there are some Trump supporters in the ranks apparently prepared to hold fire for now. Among them is South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who has been talked about before as a potential presidential prospect. Here’s what he said on CBS earlier:

Trump begins raising money from FBI news

Tuesday 9 August 2022 16:20 , Andrew Naughtie

Following similar efforts from the Republican Party and various of its candidates across the country, Donald Trump has begun calling on donors to cough up money after his home was “violated” by the FBI:

Trump mocked for choosing FBI director who’s now investigating him

Tuesday 9 August 2022 16:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump has been mocked online after he said he was subject to a search on his Mar-A-Lago address. The raid would have been approved by the very same FBI director he appointed.

The former US president issued a statement late on Monday night attacking FBI boss Christopher Wray and the US Justice Department for the raid, which he said had been “not necessary or appropriate” and noted that “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”

Many Twitter users noted that Mr Trump himself had appointed Mr Wray as FBI director in June 2017 — a fact that directly challenged his allegations of an “attack by Radical Left Democrats”.

“The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago. Chris Wray is the Director of the FBI. Donald Trump appointed Chris Wray. My schadenfreude can’t take much more of this,” tweeted the anti-GOP campaign group The USA Singers.

Gino Spocchia has the story.

Trump mocked for picking the FBI director who raided him

Trump meeting with Republican members of Congress

Tuesday 9 August 2022 15:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Members of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative group of GOP lawmakers, are set to meet with Donald Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club on Tuesday night. The Washignton Post reports that the meeting is still on following the FBI’s raid of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. The dinner was previously scheduled but the topic of conversation will obviously now turn to the recent raid.

Mary Trump says uncle is ‘panicked’ by FBI raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 15:15 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump’s niece, author and psychologist Mary Trump, appeared on cable news just hours after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, saying that her uncle is panicked by the actions of the federal authorities.

The FBI raided the home on Monday and Mr Trump “may have been told it was coming”, according to his niece, but she added that he wouldn’t have thought that the agency would really go through with it in the end.

‘It’s coming fast and furious’: Mary Trump says uncle is ‘panicked’ by FBI raid

Right-winger’s attempted FBI clapback goes awry

Tuesday 9 August 2022 15:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Charlie Kirk, who as leader of Turning Point USA has helped stir up the anger of a particular segment of the Trumpist base, last night joined the effort to discredit the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid by drawing equivalences with other investigations that have seen allegations go uninvestigated.

The example he singled out, the decades of organised sexual abuse organised by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for the alleged benefit of powerful associates, was not a wise choice.

From “Lock Her Up” to “But Her Emails”

Tuesday 9 August 2022 14:40 , Andrew Naughtie

Hillary Clinton knows better than anyone what it’s like to be hounded by political opponents on the basis of suprious allegations – and it was of course Donald Trump (and the Republican party that enabled him) who stayed on her case throughout the 2016 election and beyond.

As Mr Trump’s presidency descended into a morass of scandals and controversies, the phrase “but her emails” became first a meme, then a political point of pride – and now, Ms Clinton itself is deploying it as a fundraising callout.

Betting markets peg Trump as second-favourite in next election

Tuesday 9 August 2022 14:20 , Andrew Naughtie

The news of the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago will not enhance Donald Trump’s image as the best possible Republican nominee to face Joe Biden in 2024 – and the betting markets are hardly all-in for his return to the White House.

In fact, new odds from Betfair put Mr Trump second in the running to succeed Joe Biden, coming in at 4/1 – with Florida governor Ron DeSantis pulling ahead at 10/3.

However, Mr Trump is considered far more likely to win a Republican presidential primary, at 5/4 against Mr DeSantis’s 17/8.

Here are the odds as they stand:

Betfair Exchange: To win the 2024 US electionRon DeSantis: 10/3Donald Trump: 4/1Joe Biden: 7/1Kamala Harris: 17/1Gavin Newsom: 18/1Pete Buttigieg: 25/1

Betfair Exchange: Republican nominee for the 2024 US electionDonald Trump: 5/4Ron DeSantis: 17/8Mike Pence: 15/1Nikki Haley: 27/1

GOP Congressman under Jan 6 pressure defends Trump

Tuesday 9 August 2022 14:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Among those hitting out at the FBI and Justice Department’s supposed political overreach in searching Mar-a-Lago is Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs, who was closely involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and sought a pardon after the 6 January Capitol riot.

Like the other members of Congress and Trump staff who sought them, Mr Biggs was not granted a pardon despite his request.

Anti-Herschel Walker ad features ex-wife recalling him putting a gun to her head

Tuesday 9 August 2022 13:40 , Andrew Naughtie

A new advertisement meant to dissuade Georgia voters from electing Herschel Walker as the Peach State’s next senator features the former football star’s ex-wife describing how the Republican Senate nominee once put a pistol to her head and threatened to pull the trigger.

Anti-Herschel Walker ad features ex-wife recalling him putting a gun to her head

Jan 6 committee speaking to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today

Tuesday 9 August 2022 13:30 , David Taintor

In one of the more high-profile interviews yet, the Jan 6 committee is reportedly meeting with former Secretary of State Mike Pomepo today, according to CNN.

As CNN notes, the committee has been increasingly interested in Donald Trump’s Cabinet and any potential conversations about invoking the 25th Amendment after the Capitol riot.

Democratic Congressman wants Trump to run – and lose

Tuesday 9 August 2022 13:00 , Andrew Naughtie

In a tweet from his official campaign account, Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin – one of the states key to Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory – has suggested that his party should relish the chance of running against a gravely damaged Donald Trump in 2024.

The House campaign arm of the Democratic Party has pursued a controversial strategy of boosting far-right GOP primary candidates in an effort to essentially choose what they consider to be the most beatable opponents. The strategy has gone down extremely badly with incumbent Democrats at both ends of the party’s ideological spectrum, and it’s hard to imagine many of the same sceptics embracing the idea of essentially gambling against another Trump presidency.

Senate candidate fundraising off FBI raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 12:40 , Andrew Naughtie

JD Vance, the Trump-anointed Ohio Senate candidate whom polls say is struggling to catch up with his Democratic opponent, has already put out a fundraising email calling for donations in the light of the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Mr Vance was one of Mr Trump’s most unsparing right-wing critics before the 2016 election, likening white working-class voters’ support for him to heroin addiction. Since then, however, he has embraced both Mr Trump and a variant of hardcore cultural nationalism now ascendant in the Republican Party.

“When we get power back”: Laura Ingraham nails colours to the mast

Tuesday 9 August 2022 12:20 , Andrew Naughtie

The days when Fox News branded itself as “fair and balanced” were a distant memory long before Donald Trump left office, but the scenes that played out on the network after the ex-president revealed the news of the FBI raid signalled that its leading hosts are no longer inclined to keep up any impression of separating themselves from Mr Trump and the Republican Party.

Here’s one example, from keystone weeknight host and opinionator Laura Ingraham:

Kevin McCarthy promises DoJ investigation

Tuesday 9 August 2022 11:59 , Andrew Naughtie

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has put out a furious statement reacting to the FBI raid and warning Attorney General Merrick Garland that he should expect to be investigated when Republicans retake control of the House of Representatives, as they are widely expected to after the midterm elections.

Among those hitting back at him is 6 January select committee member Adam Kinzinger, who needled the chair of his party’s caucus for refusing to co-operate with the probe into the ex-president’s incitement of a deadly attack on Congress:

His remarks naturally haven’t gone down well with Democrats either. Former Senator Doug Jones had this rejoinder, pointing out the hypocrisy at work:

Trump releases new campaign-esque video

Tuesday 9 August 2022 11:41 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump has this morning released a new campaign-style video on Truth Social, putting forward what looks much like an extended presidential ad while yet again passing up the chance to declare he is running for the presidency again in the next election.

The ad is built around the claim that America is in mortal peril thanks to the mismanagement of the Biden administration, which Mr Trump says is directly responsible for assorted catastrophes at home and abroad.

This is the same theme he riffed on in his first inauguration speech, where he lamented the “American carnage” that had supposedlyl laid much of the country to waste. The logical implication of this latest video is that in the four years he was president, the situation did not improve.

Tuesday 9 August 2022 11:20 , Andrew Naughtie

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham claimed that former president Donald Trump “did not handle classified documents properly” while in office.

Ms Grisham, who left the administration after the events of 6 January 2021, told CNN: “I sat in an airplane with him, watched him go through documents — throw some away, rip some up, and put some in his pocket.

“Because I remember specifically thinking, ‘I wonder why those go in his pocket.’ So I think this is going to be really interesting.”

Read more from Alisha Rahaman Sarkar.

Trump’s ex-press secretary claims she often saw him mishandling classified documents

Book reveals Trump complained his generals were not ‘totally loyal’ like Hitler’s

Tuesday 9 August 2022 10:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Kelly, that he wanted the US’s top generals including retired military figures to show him absolute, unquestioning loyalty while specifically pointing to Nazi Germany as an example.

In a bizarre exchange described by reporters for The New Yorker and The New York Times in an upcoming book Mr Trump is said to have asked his top aide, who himself was a four-star general in charge of US Southern Command, “[W]hy can’t you be like the German generals?”

A bewildered Mr Kelly reportedly responded, “Which generals?” to which Mr Trump supposedly shot back, “The German generals in World War II.”

John Bowden reports on what was said next.

Trump complained his generals were not ‘totally loyal’ like Hitler’s, book reveals

Alex Jones’ texts turned over to Jan 6 committee

Tuesday 9 August 2022 10:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A trove of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ text messages spanning a two-year period has reportedly been turned over to the House January 6 select committee.

According to CNN, the text messages are from the same cache revealed last week during Mr Jones’ defamation trial in Travis County, Texas, by attorneys representing parents of children killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Alex Jones’ Jan 6 texts turned over to House select committee, report says

Obama ethics tsar says it’s entirely possible that Garland knew about Mar-A-Lago search

Tuesday 9 August 2022 09:55 , Arpan Rai

The former ethics tsar for ex-president Barack Obama has told The Independent that it is entirely likely that Attorney General Merrick Garland signed off on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s execution of a search warrant on Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

The FBI searched Mr Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, which the ex-president immediately criticised, saying the agency “even broke into my safe”.

Norman Eisen, who served in the Obama administration as a special counsel on ethics and government reform, spoke to The Independent and said Mr Garland likely knew about the search.

“I don’t believe that FBI agents and prosecutors would have taken such a momentous step without consulting with the Attorney General,” he said. “We’ll see if that’s true, but I would be astonished if a search warrant on the premises of a former president - the first one in American history - took place without the Attorney General being notified.”

Read the full story here:

Obama ethics tsar says it’s entirely possible Garland knew about Mar-A-Lago search

Liz Cheney says she would find it ‘very difficult’ to support a DeSantis presidential run

Tuesday 9 August 2022 09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“I think that Ron DeSantis has lined himself up almost entirely with Donald Trump, and I think that’s very dangerous,” Ms Cheney said.

John Bowden reports.

Liz Cheney says she would find it ‘very difficult’ to support DeSantis for president

Why has FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence

Tuesday 9 August 2022 09:10 , Arpan Rai

The former president’s son Eric Trump said the raids at Mar-a-Lago were in connection with the search concerning boxes of documents that his father brought with him from the White House.

Donald Trump has been cooperating with the National Archives on the matter for months, he told Sean Hannity on Fox News.

“The purpose of the raid, from what they said, was because the National Archives wanted to, you know, corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession,” he said.

A source familiar with the matter also confirmed to Reuters that the raid appeared to be tied to Mr Trump’s removal of classified records from the White House.

Read the full story here:

Why Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was raided by the FBI

Eric Trump says his father ‘always kept press clippings'

Tuesday 9 August 2022 08:58 , Arpan Rai

Defending his father amid FBI searches, Eric Trump has said that the former president always kept press clippings and the boxes under question were taken out by Donald Trump as he exited the White House to make space for Joe Biden’s administration.

The National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Mr Trump had any documents in his possession, his son Eric Trump said.

“My father always kept press clippings. He had boxes, when he moved out of the White House,” he told Fox News on Monday night on being asked how the documents ended up at the residence-turned-club Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

The boxes were among the things that were taken out of the White House during “six hours” on inauguration day, he said.

This comes at a time the Justice Department is investigating the potential mishandling of classified information from the Trump administration. Additionally, the National Archives and Records Administration said it discovered 15 boxes of records from Mar-a-Lago containing classified information earlier this year.

Mr Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, according to the National Archives which has asked the Justice Department to investigate this amid several cases already mounting for the former Republican leader and US president.

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges to just 257 votes behind pro-impeachment Republican

Tuesday 9 August 2022 08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Kent, the former green beret endorsed by Donald Trump, has surged to just 257 votes behind the Republican congresswoman he is trying to oust.

After the first votes were counted in Tuesday’s primary, Mr Kent, 42, was some way behind the incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, as well as Democratic candidate Marie Perez in the race for Washington’s third congressional district.

But as the count has continued, with more results being released, Mr Kent has seen his numbers soar.

Joe Kent surges to just 257 votes behind Republican who backed impeachment

Photos show Trump apparently ripped up handwritten notes and attempted to flush down toilet

Tuesday 9 August 2022 08:24 , Arpan Rai

Freshly revealed photographs show former president Donald Trump attempted to flush down ripped up handwritten notes down the toilet on two occasions, reported CNN.

The new images will appear in the forthcoming book “Confidence Man” of New York Times reporter and CNN contributor Maggie Haberman and were shared by her on Twitter.

Mr Trump reportedly flushed papers down the toilet at the White House periodically, which were later discovered only by repairmen summoned to fix the clogged toilets.

The photos of documents shared on Monday appear to be written in Mr Trump’s handwriting in black marker as the torn paper is seen inside the toilet. The other photo, provided by a source under the earlier Trump administration, is from an overseas trip and also shows a piece of paper in a toilet seat.

The former president has rejected the allegations of dumping papers in the toilet and said that the reporting of the practice was fabricated.

Trump tried to flush documents down White House toilet, new photos show

Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘defund the FBI’ after raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home

Tuesday 9 August 2022 07:42 , Arpan Rai

Several Republican officials have slammed the FBI’s raid on former president Donald Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago on Monday evening.

Mr Trump released a statement criticising the raid at his estate in Florida, which reportedly happened while he was in New York.

“It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections,” he said.

In response, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Mr Trump’s biggest defender in Congress, tweeted it was enough reason to not fund the agency, tweeting simply, “DEFUND THE FBI!”

Read the full story here:

Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets ‘defund the FBI’ after raid on Trump’s home

Minority Republican leader warns attorney general to ‘clear your calendar’ after FBI search

Tuesday 9 August 2022 07:04 , Arpan Rai

House minority leader and Republican member Kevin McCarthy has warned the attorney general with political retaliation after Donald Trump’s house-turned-club Mar-a-Lago was searched by the FBI on Monday.

“I’ve seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicisation. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned,” said Mr McCarthy, a likely candidate to become the house speaker if Republicans retake the house.

Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar, he warned in a tweet.

However, the statement received flak in Washington from former justice department officials and congressional aides who pointed out that attorney generals have to testify before Congress annually as part of regular oversight hearings.

Giuliani won’t testify Tuesday in Georgia election probe, says lawyer

Tuesday 9 August 2022 06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rudy Giuliani will not appear as scheduled Tuesday before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia, his lawyer said.

A judge last month had ordered Giuliani, a Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, to appear before the special grand jury on Tuesday.

Lawyer: Giuliani won't testify Tuesday in Ga. election probe

‘Love letters’ from Kim Jong-un in boxes recovered from Trump’s house

Tuesday 9 August 2022 06:19 , Arpan Rai

Archive officials said the National Archives and Records Administration recovered 15 boxes of documents and other items from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last month, stating that the material should have been turned over to the agency when he left the White House, reported The Washington Post on Monday.

The retrieval of boxes from the Florida resort owned by the former president has sparked fresh concerns about his compliance with the Presidential Records Act under which the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties are required.

In the boxes recovered, officials founds items like Mr Trump’s correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, described as “love letters” by the former president, and a letter left for Mr Trump by his predecessor Barack Obama, two people familiar with the matter said, according to the report.

Mike Pompeo says FBI warrant against ex-Potus ‘dangerous'

Tuesday 9 August 2022 05:52 , Arpan Rai

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the “apparent political weaponisation” of the Justice Department and FBI is shameful as he reacted to the search at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“Executing a warrant against ex-POTUS is dangerous. The apparent political weaponization of DOJ/FBI is shameful. AG must explain why 250 yrs of practice was upended w/ this raid,” Mr Pompeo, a top official in the Trump administration, said.

He added that when he served on Benghazi Committee “where we proved Hillary possessed classified info, they didn’t raid her home”.

White House denies having information on FBI search at Trump’s house

Tuesday 9 August 2022 05:37 , Arpan Rai

The White House has denied having an information on the FBI search at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“No advance knowledge — some [in the White House] learned from old media, some from social media,” a senior White House official, unauthorised to speak publicly on the issue told the CBS news.

Protesters swarm Trump’s Mar-a-Lago after FBI raid

Tuesday 9 August 2022 05:15 , Arpan Rai

Protestors backing Donald Trump swarmed his Palm Beach, Florida resort against the FBI’s raid of his property earlier in the day after news of the investigation broke on Monday evening.

Photos and videos showed Mr Trump’s supporters reaching at the resort and new home of the former president and many fans claimed “thousands” were planning to show up.

Mr Trump’s supporters arrived on-scene late on Monday are unlikely to hear directly from their leader, but that has not stopped the crowd from growing as midnight approached.

Dozens of people were seen before midnight on Monday, though the mood could hardly be described as angry as loudspeakers blared dance music. Amid this, supporters reached the premises of FBI raid by car on the pitch-black scene where lights were hastily being set up.

Read the full story here:

Protesters descend upon Trump’s Mar-a-Lago after FBI raid

Trump loves to save newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, says daughter-in-law

Tuesday 9 August 2022 04:45 , Arpan Rai

Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump said that the former president likes to collect things and documents that he was permitted to take from the White House.

Talking to Fox News, Lara Trump said: “Look, my father-in-law as anybody knows who’s been around him a lot loves to save things like newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, photographs, documents that he had every authority to take from the White House.”

“And you know, again, he’s been cooperating every single step of the way with the people that have questioned any of this,” Ms Trump said, hours after the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club at Palm Beach house was raided by the FBI.

Trump ally accused of attempting to illegally seize Michigan voting machines

Tuesday 9 August 2022 04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Michigan’s Democratic attorney general has called for a special prosecutor to investigate her Donald Trump-backed Republican rival after state police reportedly found evidence that he helped orchestrate attempts to illegally seize and gain access to voting equipment, an effort fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Trump ally accused of attempting to illegally seize voting equipment in Michigan

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

Tuesday 9 August 2022 04:04 , Graeme Massie

ICYMI: Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home at his Mar-a-Lago club, the ex-president said in a statement Monday evening.

Mr Trump said his Florida residence was “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents” who, among other things, “broke into” a safe belonging to the ex-president.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home searched by FBI, former president says

Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians

Tuesday 9 August 2022 03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Paul Manafort, the chairman of former president Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has admitted sharing confidential campaign polling data with a suspected Russian intelligence officer at the same time Moscow was interfering in the 2016 election on Mr Trump’s behalf.

In an interview with Insider, Mr Manafort — who was later convicted of tax evasion but received a pardon from the ex-president — said he shared the data, which the Department of the Treasury described as “sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy”, with suspected Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik in hopes of financial gain for himself, not to aid Russia’s efforts to help Mr Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians

Trump’s full statement following FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago home: ‘They even broke into my safe’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 03:01 , Graeme Massie

Former president Donald Trump released a statement on his Truth Social platform revealing that FBI agents had carried out a search of his home at Mar-a-Lago.

Read the full statement here:

Trump’s full statement following FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago home

Trump’s 108-minute CPAC speech is branded ‘unapologetic fascism’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has been accused of spewing “unapologetic fascism” and “blood-and-soil rhetoric” in his rambling speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas over the weekend.

The former president pushed the notion from the stage in Dallas on Saturday that the US has been decimated since he left the White House in January of last year. He claimed that crime is out of control and that unemployment was skyrocketing - despite official figures showing that it’s at its lowest level in half a century.

His dark remarks drew outcry on social media.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Trump’s 108-minute CPAC speech is branded ‘unapologetic fascism’

MRG calls for FBI to be defunded

Tuesday 9 August 2022 02:07 , Graeme Massie

Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for the FBI to be “defunded” in the wake of the agency’s raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges past Republican who voted for impeachment

Tuesday 9 August 2022 01:55 , Graeme Massie

Former green beret Joe Kent has surged past a Republican who voted for Donald Trump’s impeachment - in a hotly-contested battle for a congressional seat.

Almost a week after voters in Washington’s third congressional district went to the polls, it was revealed that Mr Kent had now passed Jaime Herrera Beutler, and now led her by 813 votes.

Andrew Buncombe has the story.

Trump-backed Joe Kent surges past Republican who voted for impeachment

Rachel Maddow under fire for gushing praise of Tucker Carlson

Tuesday 9 August 2022 01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Maddow’s gushing praise of Tucker Carlson in a new interview has sparked a social media backlash, with some accusing her of giving a “giant middle finger” to her liberal fan base.

The MSNBC host told Vanity Fair of her admiration for the Fox News rival, who has openly promoted white supremacist ideology, spread misinformation that the January 6 insurrection was organised by the FBI, and just last week claimed that Derek Chauvin didn’t murder George Floyd.

“Tucker’s doing great right now,” Ms Maddow told the outlet.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Rachel Maddow under fire for gushing praise of Tucker Carlson

Trump’s former adviser Stephen Miller calls FBI aid ‘abomination’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 01:23 , Graeme Massie

Mr Miller appeared on Fox News and attacked the raid by FBI agents at Mr Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Trump’s former fixer says he enjoyed seeing FBI raid Mar-a-Lago.

Tuesday 9 August 2022 01:14 , Graeme Massie

Michael Cohen took to Twitter to mock the former president’s issues as FBI agents raided his Florida mansion.

“The look on your face when you learn that the (FBI) just raided Mar-a-Lardo and #TFG is sh***ing a brick!!!” tweeted Mr Cohen on monday along with a picture of him sitting in a car making a thumbs up pose.

Trump raid took place on anniversary of Nixon resignation

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:58 , Graeme Massie

The FBI’s raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida took place on the anniversary of Richard Nixon’s 1974 resignation from the Oval Office.

Don Jr claims raid on father’s home is ‘ripping this country apart'

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:49 , Graeme Massie

“Biden’s out of control DOJ is ripping this country apart with how they’re openly targeting their political enemies. This is what you see happen in 3rd World Banana Republics!!!” he tweeted after the raid took place.

Trump was ‘doing great and irreparable harm’ to US said top general in undelivered resignation letter

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mark Milley, the four-star US army general whom former president Donald Trump picked to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drafted a resignation letter to Mr Trump accusing him of “doing great and irreparable harm” to the United States in an undelivered resignation letter. It was written just days after the then-president ordered a violent crackdown on protesters near the White House so he could participate in a photo opportunity.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Mark Milley said Trump ‘doing great and irreparable harm’ to US in draft resignation

Fox News claims FBI raid will 'enrage the country’

Tuesday 9 August 2022 00:21 , Graeme Massie

The wild claim was made by host Jesse Watters as he appeared on the right-wing network.

Donald Trump vows to campaign against Joe Manchin in West Virginia

Monday 8 August 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump tore into US Senator Joe Manchin during his speech from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, vowing to campaign against the West Virginia Democrat who he claimed was “devastating” the state by signing onto the Democrats’ budget and climate deal.

“I’ll go down and campaign against him as hard as anybody can,” said Mr Trump, eliciting one of his biggest rounds of applause of the night.

Josh Marcus reported on the news over the weekend for The Independent.

Donald Trump vows during CPAC to campaign ‘as hard as anybody’ against Joe Manchin

Trump didn’t want ‘wounded’ soldiers in military parade spectacle

Monday 8 August 2022 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump once ordered US military officials to exclude combat-wounded soldiers from the Soviet-style military parade he wanted held during his term in the White House, according to a new book by two veteran Washington reporters.

In an excerpt from their forthcoming chronicle of Mr Trump’s presidency, The Divider, journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser reveal that Mr Trump got the idea for a military parade when he witnessed Bastille Day festivities during a 2017 visit to France.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump didn’t want ‘wounded’ soldiers in military parade: ‘Doesn’t look good for me’

Russian state TV calls for Trump support and to ‘not be shy about it’

Monday 8 August 2022 22:12 , Oliver O'Connell

A pundit on Russian state television called on Russians and their government to declare openly their political support for Donald Trump in an eye-opening moment that comes as Mr Trump and his wing of the GOP have taken a softer stance towards Moscow amid the invasion of Ukraine.

The comments made by Igor Korotchenko, a pundit and editor-in-chief of National Defense, came during a panel discussion on Russia’s Channel 1 News, a state-run broadcaster. They were highlighted first by Julia Davis, founder of Russia Media Monitor.

“We should support Trump and not be shy about it,” he said. “We should support US politicians, like Trump, and other healthy conservative European powers who advocate for the normalisation of relations between Russia and the West.”

John Bowden reports.

Russian state TV calls for Trump support and to ‘not be shy about it’

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