Mitch McConnell explains why he will still support Donald Trump
Ali Alexander, the organiser of several “Stop the Steal” rallies protesting the 2020 election, will cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation of the 2021 Capitol riot, his lawyer says.
Meanwhile, the US State Department says Donald Trump and other White House officials left office without providing a record of the gifts they received from foreign governments.
In other news, Mitch McConnell says he will be voting for Mr Trump in 2024 if the former president runs for another term, saying it is his “obligation” to support the party’s nominee.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s legal woes continue as New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a motion to hold him in contempt for not complying with a court order to turn over documents in her ongoing civil probe. Her office wants him to pay $10,000 per day until he turns over the documents.
In a statement, Mr Trump slammed Ms James for an “absolute violation” of his civil rights and called her an “operative for the Democrat Party in a political prosecution” of him.
Meanwhile, investigators in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal probe into Mr Trump’s business dealings are reviewing “evidence not previously explored”.
In other legal news, a North Carolina man became the second member of the extremist group Proud Boys to plead guilty to conspiracy regarding the Capitol riot. He will cooperate with prosecutors against other members of the group.
New York AG forces real estate firm to testify in Trump probe
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a motion to compel Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate company, to testify in her investigation of Donald Trump’s financial dealings. Until now, the firm had been refusing to comply with her office’s subpoenas.
“There should be no doubt that information about Cushman’s appraisal work for the Trump Organization is relevant to our efforts and that Cushman — like any other party — cannot defy a lawful subpoena because no one is above the law,” Ms James said in a statement on Friday.
Nathan Place9 April 2022 15:00
McConnell explains why he would support Trump in 2024 despite loathing him
Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are all but sworn enemies. Their mutual antipathy dates back years, and deepened even further when Mr McConnell first refused to say the 2020 election was stolen and then condemned the president for his role in inciting the 6 January insurrection (though he voted to acquit him at his impeachment trial).
And yet, Mr McConnell has said he will be voting for Mr Trump in 2024 if the former president runs for another term, as is widely expected.
“Well as the Republican leader of the Senate, it should not be a front-page headline that I’ll support the Republican nominee for president,” he said in an interview with Axios’s Jonathan Swan. “I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party.”
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 14:30
Ali Alexander plans to cooperate with Justice Department
Ali Alexander, the organiser of several “Stop the Steal” rallies protesting the 2020 election, will cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation of the Capitol riot, reports say.
The activist’s lawyer told The New York Times he plans to take “a cooperative posture.”
Nathan Place9 April 2022 14:29
Missing: White House gift records for Trump and Pence
The State Department says it is unable to compile a complete and accurate accounting of gifts presented to former President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials by foreign governments during Trump’s final year in office, citing missing data from the White House.
In a report to be published in the Federal Register next week, the department says the Executive Office of the President did not submit information about gifts received by Trump and his family from foreign leaders in 2020. It also says the General Services Administration didn’t submit information about gifts given to former Vice President Mike Pence and White House staffers that year.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 13:45
Proud Boys member pleads guilty to plan to storm Capitol, will cooperate against others
A North Carolina man on Friday became the second member of the extremist group Proud Boys to plead guilty to conspiring with other group members to stop Congress from formally certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Charles Donohoe, 34, pleaded guilty during an appearance in federal court in Washington to charges of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting or impeding federal officers. His plea agreement includes a provision to cooperate in the ongoing Justice Department cases against other Proud Boys members.
Federal sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of about six to seven years, although terms of his sentence will be up to a federal judge.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 13:00
Don Jr ‘texted Mark Meadows’ about plan to ‘control’ 2020 election results
In the days immediately after the 2020 election, Donald Trump Jr, openly discussed with a top White House official a detailed plan to “control” who was declared the final winner of the presidential contest, according to text messages uncovered by the congressional 6 January investigation.
“We have operational control,” Mr Trump told then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows two days after the election, as final vote tallies were still being certified by individual states.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 11:30
How white nationalists are using gaming to recruit for terror
Experts are warning that far-right agitators are using online gaming platforms to spread hate and recruit a new generation of converts. Supercharged by the rise of gaming and social isolation during the pandemic, extremism academics say more needs to be done to police these platforms for grooming hate. Io Dodds reports.
How ‘supercharged’ white nationalists are using gaming to recruit for terror
Experts are warning that far-right agitators are using online gaming platforms to spread hate and recruit a new generation of converts. Supercharged by the rise of gaming and social isolation during the pandemic, extremism academics say more needs to be done to police these platforms for grooming hate. Io Dodds reports
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 10:00
Hundreds to blockade West Virginia coal plant tied to Joe Manchin
The West Virginia Rising coalition intends to hold the non-violent protest at the Grant Town Coal Waste Power Plant on Saturday, 9th April, dubbing it “The Coal Baron Blockade”.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 08:30
Don Jr called out for claiming image of Mickey Mouse is sexually explicit
Donald Trump Jr has been slammed for claiming a years-old image of Mickey and Minnie Mouse is sexually explicit.
Mr Trump shared the Disney image to his Instagram of the two cartoon characters embracing, which some have interpreted as displaying a hidden penis.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 07:00
Missing: White House gift records for Trump and Pence
The State Department says it is unable to compile a complete and accurate accounting of gifts presented to former President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials by foreign governments during Trump’s final year in office, citing missing data from the White House.
In a report to be published in the Federal Register next week, the department says the Executive Office of the President did not submit information about gifts received by Trump and his family from foreign leaders in 2020. It also says the General Services Administration didn’t submit information about gifts given to former Vice President Mike Pence and White House staffers that year.
Oliver O’Connell9 April 2022 05:30