Trump phones mother of shot Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt
Additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home have been unsealed by a federal judge. They show that agents earlier obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago.
Elsewhere, a hardcore Trump supporter has won the Republican Senate primary in New Hampshire. Don Bolduc, who is a well-known 2020 election denier, beat back a mainstream competitor leaving the GOP leadership worried he could cost them a winnable seat because of his extreme views.
A report has revealed that there are now election deniers on the ballot in 27 states that could subvert the outcome of the 2024 race for the White House should they get into office.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has come out furiously in support of Mike Lindell, the 2020 election conspiracy theorist and CEO of MyPillow, who claimed Tuesday that the FBI seized his cell phone at a fast food restaurant in Minnesota.
The CEO said that he was returning from a hunting trip in Iowa when his car was surrounded at a Hardee’s drive-thru in his hometown of Mankato in southern Minnesota.
Trump supporter in clown wig arrested at Dairy Queen for threatening to ‘kill all Democrats’
A supporter of former President Donald Trump wearing a clown was arrested at a Dairy Queen in Pennsylvania on Saturday after threatening to “kill all the Democrats.”
The Murrysville Star reported Jan Stawovy, 61, was reportedly carrying three loaded handguns with 62 rounds of ammunition when he was arrested by police.
Trump supporter arrested at Dairy Queen after threatening to kill Democrats
The Pennsylvania resident was reportedly carrying loaded handguns
Oliver O’Connell14 September 2022 19:15
Voters in 27 states have election deniers on their ballots who could decide 2024 election
As primary races come to a close heading into November’s general elections, Americans in at least 27 states will see candidates on their ballots who have denied the outcome of the 2020 presidential race, according to a new report.
Voters in 27 states have election deniers on their ballots who could determine 2024
November ballots in more than half the US will include candidates running for governor, secretary of state and attorney general who have rejected 2020 election results
Oliver O’Connell14 September 2022 18:45
Additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit unsealed by judge
Federal agents investigating former president Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents subpoenaed more than six months of surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach, Florida mansion turned private club where the ex-president maintains his primary residence and office.
The CCTV footage from the storage room could play a significant role in any decision to charge Mr Trump or anyone in his employ with crimes stemming from his decision to keep documents with classification markings long after his time as president had come to a close.
Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit
The CCTV footage from the storage room could play a significant role in any decision to charge Mr Trump or anyone in his employ with crimes stemming from his decision to keep documents with classification markings long after his time as president had come to a close
Oliver O’Connell14 September 2022 18:15
Trump reclaims “Trumpiest” as a compliment
Donald Trump has reason to celebrate after last night’s primaries in New Hampshire, which saw his preferred candidates secure the nominations they were seeking in primaries high up the ballot.
Whether this will serve Mr Trump or his party well in November is another matter. Many Republicans are worried that right-wing candidates’ extremism will play badly with an electorate that mostly does not endorse 2020 election conspiracies or other hardcore political views – and in one of the swingiest states in the country, the wrong nominee could make all the difference.
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 17:45
Has John Durham’s FBI-Russia probe fallen apart?
Donald Trump and the right-wing commentariat have made much of special counsel John Durham’s probe into the origins of the investigation into Mr Trump’s Russian connections. But three years after Mr Durham was appointed and with no charges brought against a single major figure in the various conspiracy theories involved, the New York Times reports that the investigation is winding down:
Read the full piece below.
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 17:15
Guilty Capitol rioter could get longest sentence of any Jan 6 defendant yet
A January 6 rioter could spend decades behind bars after being convicted of seven felonies.
During a bench trial on Tuesday, Patrick McCaughey III, 25, was found guilty of nine charges including assaulting and impeding officers from using a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and engaging in physical violence with a deadly weapon.
McCaughey, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, was also charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, NBC reported.
If that sentencing is ultimately handed down, it would be twice as long as the strictest prison sentence given so far to any convicted rioter.
January 6 rioter guilty of seven felonies could get longest sentence yet
McCaughey was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 16:45
Analysis: Lindsey Graham shoots own party in foot
Writing for The Independent’s Inside Washington newsletter, Eric Garcia takes a look at how Lindsey Graham’s baffling decision to introduce a 15-week abortion ban into the Senate has scrambled his party’s midterm messaging:
Read the full analysis below.
Lindsey Graham just shot his own party in the foot with his proposed abortion ban
The Senator’s introduction of legislation to ban abortion after 15 weeks has left GOP members unable to capitalize on what should’ve been good news for their party
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 16:15
Mike Lindell describes “nice guys” who he says seized his phone
Speaking to a right-wing fellow traveller earlier this morning on The Lindell Reportan ersatz TV show on his own outlet, MyPillow CEO, conspiracy theorist and Trump fanatic Mike Lindell described the incident that saw FBI agents seize his phone – and described the officers who did so as “pretty nice guys”.
Mr Lindell has released details from the FBI search warrant for the phone that indicates the seizure relation to the investigation of Colorado county clerk and 2020 denier Tina Peters, who is accused of tampering with election equipment.
Read more on her case below.
New warrant issued for election-denying Colorado clerk
A new arrest warrant has been issued for Colorado’s election-denying clerk Tina Peters
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 15:45
Jen Psaki knocks Trump in MSNBC debut
Former Biden White House Secretary Jen Psaki made her first appearance as an MSNBC commentator, arguing that Democrats are becoming increasingly engaged in the midterms the more former President Donald Trump inserts himself into the race.
Ms Psaki appeared on Alex Wagner Tonight on Tuesday, with Ms Wagner saying that abortion is an “animating factor” ahead of the midterms, following the overturning of Roe v Wade in late June and the 15-week national abortion ban proposed by South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
“In these ways, these midterms may end up being a referendum on Republican power more so than Democratic power. Do you see it that way?” Ms Wagner asked Ms Psaki.
“Absolutely. And that is remarkable if you think about it. If you look back on the NBC poll in January, Democrats were not that into the midterms. They just weren’t that into it,” she said.
Gustaf Kilander has more:
Jen Psaki says Trump is handing the Democrats the midterms in first MSNBC appearance
‘The anger is among the members of the Democratic Party, which is the party in power, which is so rare for that to be the case’
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 15:15
Bolduc wins in New Hampshire
Don Bolduc, a retired US Army general and a proponent of the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, appears to have won New Hampshire’s Republican primary election.
His chief opponent, state senate president Chuck Morse, who was endorsed by Governor Chris Sununu and backed by more than $4.5m from Republican campaigns, conceded to Mr Bolduc on Wednesday.
Mr Bolduc is set to face incumbent Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan in November’s general election. Mr Trump has congratulated him on his victory:
The far-right candidate has amplified baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud, among a field of Republican candidates in state, local and federal elections who have stood by spurious legal arguments and conspiracy theories to reject the former president’s loss.
GOP candidate who backed Trump election lies set to win New Hampshire Senate primary
Don Bolduc, a retired US Army general and a proponent of the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, appears to have won New Hampshire’s Republican primary election.
Andrew Naughtie14 September 2022 14:45