Trump news – today: Anthony Pratt audio shows comments on Melania and classified info
Pratt #Pratt
Donald Trump rallied in New Hampshire on Monday, and compared himself to South African civil rights icon Nelson Mandela as he faces several criminal investigations into his conduct.
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone reported that Mr Trump plans to fully withdraw the US from Nato should he take power in 2025.
The ex-president’s apparent comments about Melania Trump and classified government information have also come to light in newly-leaked audio.
A trove of secret recordings of Australian Billionaire Anthony Pratt speaking about his interactions with Mr Trump was obtained by 60 Minutes Australia in a joint investigation with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and also shared with The New York Times.
In one clip, the Mar-a-Lago member claims Mr Trump told Melania to walk around the Palm Beach club in a bikini to show his friends “what they were missing”.
Key Points
Trump fined $5,000 after post maligning court staffer found on campaign website
Fulton County: Former Trump lawyer pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
New York court employee arrested after ‘yelling out’ for Trump during fraud trial
Trump files appeal to gag order imposed by judge in federal election interference trial
‘Sounds like a plan’: Trump trolled for saying he’s ‘willing to go to jail for sake of democracy’
Judge Chutkan grants in part special counsel request for Trump gag order
Trump backs Jesus Christ for House Speaker
23:50 , Mike Bedigan
Liz Cheney: Trump and his supporters are fuelling domestic threats against lawmakers during House Speaker chaos
22:26 , John Bowden
While Republican lawmakers scramble to vote for a new House Speaker three weeks after ousting Kevin McCarthy and repeatedly failing to rally around a successor, Liz Cheney is pinning the blame on the former speaker.
Mr McCarthy was “looking the other way in the face of the kind of assault on our democracy that we’ve seen from Donald Trump and his allies in the House, including Jim Jordan,” she told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Mr Jordan was among the most prolific and vocal Republican lawmakers supporting efforts to overturn 2020 election results. He repeatedly failed this week to rally support among his GOP colleagues for House Speaker.
Domestic threats against lawmakers during the chaos are “absolutely being driven by Donald Trump and, unfortunately, some of his supporters,” she told CBS Face the Nation.
Rolling Stone: Trump planning US withdrawal from NATO if he wins in 2024
22:11 , John Bowden
A new report from Rolling Stone has revealed that Donald Trump is already working with allies on the far right on plans to withdraw the US from Nato should he be elected president in 2024.
Long thought to be a goal of Mr Trump’s, a US withdrawal from the anti-Russia alliance would be a massive blow to regional security across Europe and to some extent in the Middle East and Africa as well. It would also empower both Russia and China at a time when the two eastern powers are competing with the US on a number of strategic and economic issues.
Read more at Rolling Stone.
Key revelations from leaked audio of Australian billionaire bragging about what Trump told him
21:32 , John Bowden
Donald Trump is once again at the centre of explosive leaked audio — this time after an Australian billionaire and member of his Mar-a-Lago club gabbed about his extensive conversations with the former president.
Anthony Pratt, a businessman and chairman of Visy Industries, was heard on the tapes describing how Mr Trump would objectify his own wife and brag about his access to world leaders and US national security secrets as he sought to impress his friends and colleagues in the business world. Audio of Mr Pratt making those remarks was published by 60 Minutes Australia over the weekend.
Take a look at what Mr Pratt is alleging:
Key revelations from leaked audio of Australian billionaire bragging about Trump talk
Voices: For Trump, power means getting away with crimes – and boasting about it
21:16 , John Bowden
“The latest revelations from an Australian businessman reflect once again what the former president really cares about – the power to commit crimes and hurt people and never be held accountable,” writes Noah Berlatsky for The Independent.
For Trump, power means getting away with crimes – and boasting about it
Trump heckled by protester chanting ‘lock him up’ ahead of rally
20:32 , John Bowden
Donald Trump was greeted by a protester chanting “lock him up” as he arrived in New Hampshire to file for the state’s Republican primary ahead of a rally with supporters this afternoon.
The ex-president was seen greeting supporters as he stepped out of a black vehicle, surrounding by Secret Service agents. A man was heard chanting “lock him up! Donald Trump!” into a megaphone for a few seconds before journalists were shooed away by handlers with the Trump campaign.
Watch the moment here:
Trump heckled by protester chanting ‘lock him up’ ahead of rally
ICYMI: Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
18:51 , John Bowden
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case has agreed to temporarily lift a narrow gag order on the former president.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan had put the order in place to limit Mr Trump’s public statements about the federal criminal case, in which he is accused of illegally attempting to undo his 2020 loss.
The Friday ruling allows Mr Trump’s lawyers time to prove why his comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.
The Independent’s Mike Bedigan has more:
Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
Liz Cheney keeps 2024 rumours alive in CNN interview
18:31 , John Bowden
One of the GOP’s most prominent Trump critics could enter the race against him for the Republican nomination in 2024.
In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, she described Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, as “the single most dangerous threat that we face” and pledged to spend the next year “helping to elect serious people, helping to elect sane people” from both parties. And she wouldn’t rule out running against him.
Who is Anthony Pratt? Trump alleged to have told Australian sensitive information
17:53 , John Bowden
Who is this Mar-a-Lago club member claiming that Donald Trump blabbed about US state secrets?
Mr Trump claims that he never disclosed highly classified information about American nuclear-powered submarines and their weaponry to Anthony Pratt, the wealthy Australian whose leaked audio sparked a firestorm over the weekend.
Get to know the latest ally of the former president whose remarks make him the latest in a growing list of people who have said that Mr Trump was careless with sensitive information.
Who is Anthony Pratt? Trump alleged to have told Australian sensitive information
Trumpworld rallies behind Byron Donalds
17:08 , John Bowden
Supporters of Donald Trump are mobilising behind Rep Byron Donalds, a second-term member of the House, as he runs for the speakership this week.
Republicans are now in their third week of total disfunction and chaos as their caucus, which controls the chamber through a single-digit majority, seems unable to settle on a candidate for Speaker of the House. Democrats remain united behind Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of their caucus.
Over the weekend, Mr Donalds’s candidacy was endorsed by fellow Florida Republicans such as Carlos Gimenez and Cory Mills.
But he faces numerous rivals also seeking the nomination, including Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip whose candidacy is supported by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Republican caucus is meeting today for a candidate forum as they prepare for a third attempt at finding a replacement for Mr McCarthy who can reach 218 votes — the magic number needed to vote in a Speaker given the current standings of the GOP and Democrats in the lower chamber.
Trump wanted Melania to don bikini in Mar-a-Lago for his friends, leaked audio reveals
16:48 , John Bowden
A newly leaked audio clip has revealed that Donald Trump allegedly told Melania to walk around Mar-a-Lago in a bikini to show his friends “what they were missing”.
It’s part of the explosive claims being made by Anthony Pratt, an Australian businessman and Mar-a-Lago club member, in new audio obtained by 60 Minutes Australia and The New York Times.
Read more:
Trump allegedly wanted Melania to don bikini in Mar-a-Lago for friends
Trump to make New Hampshire appearance today
15:57 , John Bowden
Donald Trump will be in New Hampshire today as he officially files to run in the state’s GOP primary.
He is set to host a rally this afternoon in Derry after submitting his filing at the state house. He is the far-and-away favourite to win the state’s primary election as of today, with his closest rivals trailing him by significant margins in all available polling.
Trump initiates feud with Australian billionaire over leaked audio
15:34 , John Bowden
Donald Trump branded Australian businessman Anthony Pratt “a red haired weirdo” in a Truth Social posting late Sunday evening after news outlets including The New York Times obtained audio of Mr Pratt making bold claims about his conversations with the former president.
In the audio, published over the weekend, Mr Pratt describes how the former president supposedly shared with him sensitive information including details about US nuclear submarine capabilities, candid descriptions of his calls with foreign leaders, and other secrets. It’s far from the first time Mr Trump has been credibly accused of having done so.
“The Failing New York Times story, leaked by Deranged Jack Smith and the Biden “Political Opponent Abuser” DOJ, about a red haired weirdo from Australia, named Anthony Pratt, is Fake News,” wrote Mr Trump in response.
Read more:
Trump brands Anthony Pratt ‘a red haired weirdo’ over leaked audio
ICYMI: Trump’s fraud trial will resume on Tuesday
14:00 , Alex Woodward
The fourth week of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial will be delayed by at least one day due to Covid-19 exposures. The trial will pause on Monday and resume on Tuesday at the earliest, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The trial is expected to hear testimony this week from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, a star witness for Ms James’s team. His testimony was delayed last week following an unrelated medical procedure.
Last week, Mr Trump was fined $5,000 for violating Judge Arthur Engoron’s gag order that blocked all parties from disparaging court staff. Though he deleted a post on his Truth Social insulting a court clerk, which initially prompted the gag order, Mr Trump had kept a copy of the post on his website.
Liz Cheney: Trump and his supporters are fuelling domestic threats against lawmakers during House Speaker chaos
13:00 , Alex Woodward
While Republican lawmakers scramble to vote for a new House Speaker three weeks after ousting Kevin McCarthy and repeatedly failing to rally around a successor, Liz Cheney is pinning the blame on the former speaker.
Mr McCarthy was “looking the other way in the face of the kind of assault on our democracy that we’ve seen from Donald Trump and his allies in the House, including Jim Jordan,” she told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Mr Jordan was among the most prolific and vocal Republican lawmakers supporting efforts to overturn 2020 election results. He repeatedly failed this week to rally support among his GOP colleagues for House Speaker.
Domestic threats against lawmakers during the chaos are “absolutely being driven by Donald Trump and, unfortunately, some of his supporters,” she told CBS Face the Nation.
Trump, GOP candidates and Republican lawmakers don’t want Gaza refugees in the US
12:00 , Alex Woodward
House Republicans and GOP candidates for the 2024 presidential nomination want the US to deny entry to Palestinians fleeing the crisis in Gaza, but decades-long international agreements have already complicated the resettlement process for many Palestinians, and the US does not intend to change course.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes and are sheltering in the south of Gaza while others are stranded in its north following a barrage of Israeli strikes and a “complete siege” that has cut off food, water and fuel.
A group of House Republicans have introduced legislation to block them from coming into the US, and Donald Trump and other candidates for the Republican nomination in 2024 have pledge to reject them.
Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates reject Gaza refugees
Liz Cheney could enter the race against Trump
11:00 , Alex Woodward
One of the GOP’s most prominent Trump critics could enter the race against him for the Republican nomination in 2024.
In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union on 22 October, she described Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, as “the single most dangerous threat that we face” and pledged to spend the next year “helping to elect serious people, helping to elect sane people” from both parties.
She said she has not ruled out entering the race.
Liz Cheney admits she has not ruled out running for president
ICYMI: Trump distances himself from Sidney Powell after guilty pleas in Georgia
09:00 , Alex Woodward
Sidney Powell is the latest Trumpworld figure to be publicly rejected by Donald Trump after she pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Georgia in a case with the former president at its centre.
This week’s surprise guilty pleas from Ms Powell and Kenneth Chesebro – the architect of a fraudulent scheme to replace state electors with Trump loyalists – appeared to have caught the former president off-guard, as two of the biggest names yet from his former inner circle agreed to cooperate with Fulton County prosecutors and testify in upcoming trials.
Their new roles as cooperating witnesses in Georgia’s sweeping criminal case targeting Mr Trump and a dozen others could pose a significant legal threat to the former president as he enters several criminal and civil proceedings while he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination.
More on Trump’s latest legal peril:
Trump distances himself from Sidney Powell after guilty pleas in Georgia
ICYMI: Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
07:00 , Alex Woodward
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case has agreed to temporarily lift a narrow gag order on the former president.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan had put the order in place to limit Mr Trump’s public statements about the federal criminal case, in which he is accused of illegally attempting to undo his 2020 loss.
The Friday ruling allows Mr Trump’s lawyers time to prove why his comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.
The Independent’s Mike Bedigan has more:
Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
GOP scrambles for House speaker as candidate deadline passes: ‘I don’t care, just pick someone’
03:00 , Alex Woodward
A fresh batch of Republicans in the House of Representatives put themselves forward for speaker as the noon deadline to enter the race passed on Sunday.
Frustrations are growing, even among leading Republicans, as the branch of Congress enters its third week without a Speaker of the House and in a state of legislative paralysis.
The Independent’s Ariana Baio has more on the chaos, just weeks away from another government shutdown:
GOP scrambles for House speaker as candidate deadline passes
Liz Cheney: Trump and his supporters are fuelling domestic threats against lawmakers during House Speaker chaos
02:00 , Alex Woodward
While Republican lawmakers scramble to vote for a new House Speaker three weeks after ousting Kevin McCarthy and repeatedly failing to rally around a successor, Liz Cheney is pinning the blame on the former speaker.
Mr McCarthy was “looking the other way in the face of the kind of assault on our democracy that we’ve seen from Donald Trump and his allies in the House, including Jim Jordan,” she told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Mr Jordan was among the most prolific and vocal Republican lawmakers supporting efforts to overturn 2020 election results. He repeatedly failed this week to rally support among his GOP colleagues for House Speaker.
Domestic threats against lawmakers during the chaos are “absolutely being driven by Donald Trump and, unfortunately, some of his supporters,” she told CBS Face the Nation.
Trump, GOP candidates and Republican lawmakers don’t want Gaza refugees in the US
Monday 23 October 2023 00:00 , Alex Woodward
House Republicans and GOP candidates for the 2024 presidential nomination want the US to deny entry to Palestinians fleeing the crisis in Gaza, but decades-long international agreements have already complicated the resettlement process for many Palestinians, and the US does not intend to change course.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes and are sheltering in the south of Gaza while others are stranded in its north following a barrage of Israeli strikes and a “complete siege” that has cut off food, water and fuel.
A group of House Republicans have introduced legislation to block them from coming into the US, and Donald Trump and other candidates for the Republican nomination in 2024 have pledge to reject them.
Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates reject Gaza refugees
Just in: Trump’s fraud trial faces one-day delay
Sunday 22 October 2023 23:08 , Alex Woodward
The fourth week of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial will be delayed by at least one day due to Covid-19 exposures. The trial will pause on Monday and resume on Tuesday, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The trial is expected to hear testimony this week from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, a star witness for Ms James’s team. His testimony was delayed last week following an unrelated medical procedure.
Last week, Mr Trump was fined $5,000 for violating Judge Arthur Engoron’s gag order that blocked all parties from disparaging court staff. Though he deleted a post on his Truth Social insulting a court clerk, which initially prompted the gag order, Mr Trump had kept a copy of the post on his website.
Liz Cheney could enter the race against Trump
Sunday 22 October 2023 22:00 , Alex Woodward
One of the GOP’s most prominent Trump critics could enter the race against him for the Republican nomination in 2024.
In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union on 22 October, she described Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, as “the single most dangerous threat that we face” and pledged to spend the next year “helping to elect serious people, helping to elect sane people” from both parties.
She said she has not ruled out entering the race.
Liz Cheney admits she has not ruled out running for president
Trump distances himself from Sidney Powell after guilty pleas in Georgia
Sunday 22 October 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward
Sidney Powell is the latest Trumpworld figure to be publicly rejected by Donald Trump after she pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Georgia in a case with the former president at its centre.
This week’s surprise guilty pleas from Ms Powell and Kenneth Chesebro – the architect of a fraudulent scheme to replace state electors with Trump loyalists – appeared to have caught the former president off-guard, as two of the biggest names yet from his former inner circle agreed to cooperate with Fulton County prosecutors and testify in upcoming trials.
Their new roles as cooperating witnesses in Georgia’s sweeping criminal case targeting Mr Trump and a dozen others could pose a significant legal threat to the former president as he enters several criminal and civil proceedings while he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination.
Trump distances himself from Sidney Powell after guilty pleas in Georgia
ICYMI: Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
Sunday 22 October 2023 20:00 , Alex Woodward
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case has agreed to temporarily lift a narrow gag order on the former president.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan had put the order in place to limit Mr Trump’s public statements about the federal criminal case, in which he is accused of illegally attempting to undo his 2020 loss.
The Friday ruling allows Mr Trump’s lawyers time to prove why his comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.
The Independent’s Mike Bedigan has more:
Judge agrees to temporarily lift gag order in Trump’s 2020 election interference case
ICYMI: Ivanka Trump seeks to avoid testifying in her father’s New York fraud trial
Saturday 21 October 2023 18:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Ivanka Trump has asked the judge in her father’s New York civil fraud trial to quash a subpoena to compel her to testify in court.
The filing late on Thursday states that Ms Trump should not be put on the witness stand because she is no longer a defendant in the case concerning the dealings of the Trump Organization and also is no longer a New York City resident. She now resides in Miami, Florida, with her husband, Jared Kushner, and their children and has distanced herself from her father’s business and political ambitions since he left the White House in January 2021.
In making their argument, lawyers for Donald Trump’s elder daughter note that an intermediate appellate court dismissed her as a co-defendant in the case against the former president under the statute of limitations in June. Further, they say, New York Attorney General Letitia James missed the chance for her testimony because her office did not depose her,
Ivanka Trump seeks to avoid testifying in her father’s New York fraud trial
Law professor and former prosecutor says Chesebro guilty plea is ‘very bad news for Trump’
Saturday 21 October 2023 17:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Randall Eliason, white collar crime professor at George Washington University Law School and former federal prosecutor, weighed in on the importance of the guilty plea by Donald Trump’s Fulton County co-defendant and former lawyer Kenneth Chesebro.
He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “A few important points about Chesebro’s guilty plea: it’s a felony; Trump is a named co-conspirator in the same charge; these fake elector allegations are also central to Jack Smith’s DC case; unlike Powell, Chesebro should be a very credible witness.”
He adds: “Very bad news for Trump.”
Chris Christie roasts Trump over GOP speaker debacle
Saturday 21 October 2023 16:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Former New Jersey Governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie mocked Donald Trump on Twitter on Friday afternoon following the third failure of Trump-endorsed Jim Jordan to win enough party votes to become Speaker of the House.
Mr Christie wrote: “This is what winning looks like with @realDonaldTrump.
“House Republicans in crisis. Trump’s handpicked candidate to be speaker defeated three times by his own party.
“Cherry on top? Trump spent the last three days in courtrooms and on golf courses. This is what his campaign is now.”
Anti-Trump group Republicans against Trump poked fun too:
Trump fined $5,000 after post maligning court staffer found on campaign website
Saturday 21 October 2023 16:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted.
Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt, for now, but reserved the right to do so — and possibly even put him in jail — if he continued to violate a gag order barring parties in the case from personal attacks on court staff.
Engoron said in a written ruling that he is “way beyond the ‘warning’ stage,” but decided on a nominal fine because Trump’s lawyers said the website’s retention of the post was inadvertent and was a “first-time violation.”
Earlier, an incensed Engoron said the failure to delete the post from the website was a “blatant violation” of his 3 October order, which required Trump to delete the offending message.
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise blamed the “very large machine” of Trump’s presidential campaign for allowing his deleted social media post to remain on his website, calling it an unintentional oversight.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, wasn’t in court Friday. He’d returned to the trial on Tuesday and Wednesday after attending the first three days in early October but skipped the rest of the week.
Another day, another round of votes, another meeting in the House basement. And nothing is fixed.
Saturday 21 October 2023 15:15 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Garcia writes from the Capitol:
For the longest time, the hard-right faction has refused whatever Republican leadership was begging them to take.
The radicals would spit out what the GOP would offer and ultimately, the Republicans would give them whatever they wanted as a means to acquire power or pass legislation. If that didn’t work, the House Republicans would eventually relent and ask the Democrats to bail them out.
The roles are now reversed in that the hard right wants power and they are on bended knee asking for establishment Republicans — by no means moderate but who still understand governing to recognize the radicals would be a disaster for governance — to give them power.
Read the full article…
Trump on trial: Friday in court at former president’s New York fraud trial
Saturday 21 October 2023 14:30 , Oliver O’Connell
In addition to Donald Trump — though not present in court — receiving a stern rebuke, $5,000 fine and threat of jail time from Judge Arthur Engoron, the civil fraud trial of the former president proceeded with further testimony at the New York Superior Court in Lower Manhattan, closing out week three.
David McArdle of Cushman & Wakefield, who conducted multiple appraisals for the Trump Organization, concluded his testimony early in the day having been on the stand for much of Thursday.
Next up on the witness stand was Raymond Flores, formerly a vice president of acquisitions and development for the Trump Organization. He was questioned by Andrew Amer of the New York Attorney General’s Office.
Mr Flores says he was involved in reviewing Trump’s statement of financial condition for 2020. At the heart of the case is the NYAG’s contention that these documents were falsified to boost Mr Trump’s net worth and used to gain more favourable financing terms.
While he confirms that he worked on Trump’s 2020 statement, Mr Flores says he doesn’t remember much about it, or if he worked on the statement for 2021. He also says he doesn’t remember a call Amer asked about where valuation methods were discussed.
Amer then turned to work Mr Flores performed involving Trump’s golf courses. However, the former Trump employee repeatedly says he doesn’t recall discussing valuation methods the company used for these properties while he was employed at the company.
Mr Flores was also asked about the 2020 valuation of the Niketown building on 57th Street in Manhattan of which Trump owns a ground lease.
He continues to say that he does not recall.
Court resumes at 10am on Monday.
Mar-A-Lago: ‘The most expensive house, probably, in the world’ claims Trump
Saturday 21 October 2023 13:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump likes to toss around eye-watering sums when estimating the value of his Florida private club Mar-a-Lago — often in the same sentence.
“The house is worth a billion, a billion and a half, $750m,” Mr Trump said in meandering remarks outside his civil fraud trial in New York on Tuesday.
It was “the most expensive house, probably, in the world,” he added.
The true value of Mar-a-Lago has been a hotly contested subject ever since Mr Trump was ruled to have fraudulently inflated the value of his commercial and residential properties from New York to Florida in order to deceive banks and officials to claim favourable tax and insurance rates.
According to public Palm Beach property records, Mar-a-Lago was valued at $37m as of 1 January 2023, up from $31m a year before.
Bevan Hurley reports.
Trump calls Mar-A-Lago ‘the most expensive house, probably, in the world’
ICYMI: New York court employee arrested after ‘yelling out’ for Trump
Saturday 21 October 2023 12:45 , Oliver O’Connell
A woman identified as an employee of New York’s court system was arrested after approaching the front of a courtroom and calling out for Donald Trump during the 12th day of a civil trial alleging the former president and his business empire fraudulently inflated his net worth and assets for years.
The woman, whose name had not yet been released, “disrupted” the hearing on 18 October after approaching the defence table where Mr Trump was seated with his attorneys, according to a statement from a New York courts spokesperson shared with The Independent.
She began “yelling out to Mr Trump indicating she wanted to assist him,” according to the statement.
Alex Woodward has the story.
New York court employee arrested after ‘yelling out’ for Trump during fraud trial
Texas city settles ‘Trump Train’ lawsuit
Saturday 21 October 2023 11:45 , Oliver O’Connell
A 2021 lawsuit involving a “Trump Train” of motorists swarming a Biden campaign bus during the 2020 elections has been settled by the San Marcos city of Texas.
The lawsuit was filed against the City of San Marcos over the handling of the incident which the complainants said was harassment, intimidation, and heckling of Biden-Harris campaign supporters.
Campaign staff, volunteers, and former state senator Wendy Davis filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the city for not providing assistance or a police escort when their bus became encircled by a pro-Trump caravan on Interstate 35.
The legal action contended that, during the highway encounter, San Marcos Police Department personnel responded with laughter and jest when asked for assistance.
Shweta Sharma has the details.
‘Trump Train’ lawsuit finally settled
After Biden wartime trip, Trump says he too ‘may’ also visit Israel
Saturday 21 October 2023 10:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump has now suggested that he could also travel to Israel following President Joe Biden’s historic wartime visit on Wednesday.
The former president spoke to reporters during a break in his New York civil fraud trial on Wednesday – a case that threatens to topple his business empire in the Big Apple and land him with $250m in financial penalties.
“If I was president, Israel would not have been attacked. It was visually attacked. It would not have been attacked,” he said.
“Ukraine would not have been attacked. You take a look at what’s going on throughout the world. The world right now is a mess, it’s a mess. And it’s a very sad day.”
When asked if he plans to head to Israel, Mr Trump replied: “I may. I may go, I may go.”
Rachel Sharp has the story.
ICYMI: Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
Saturday 21 October 2023 09:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Sidney Powell, charged in connection with a sweeping criminal case tied to Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, has pleaded guilty under an arrangement with prosecutors ahead of a closely watched trial set to begin in coming days.
Ms Powell – among Trump-linked attorneys who launched a spurious, failed legal campaign to overturn election results – was accused of playing a central role in an effort to seize voting machines in the volatile aftermath of the 2020 presidential election in January 2021.
A trial for Ms Powell and Kenneth Chesebro was set to begin on 20 October.
Alex Woodward reports.
Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
NY fraud trial: Trump attorney forced to apologise for being rude to female lawyers
Saturday 21 October 2023 08:00 , Oliver O’Connell
An attorney for Donald Trump has been forced to apologise to two female lawyers for his “disrespectful” behaviour in court during the former president’s high-profile civil fraud trial.
Chris Kise was chastised by New York Superior Court Judge Arthur Engoron on Thursday, following a heated and partially audible exchange during a sidebar in proceedings.
According to Law360, Mr Kise “brushed off” the judge’s principal law clerk Allison Greenfield, and questioned the intelligence of the attorney general’s counsel Colleen Faherty.
Sources familiar with the sidebar said Mr Kise told Ms Greenfield that he only wished to speak to the judge – not her – and said he “wasn’t surprised” that Ms Faherty was not able to “connect the dots” on an issue they were discussing, Law360 reported.
Such off-the-record sidebars usually take place out of earshot of other members of the courtroom, however Ms Faherty reportedly told Mr Kise to “be more respectful” loud enough for those inside the room to hear.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Trump attorney forced to apologise for being rude to female lawyers
‘Not above the law’: DoJ calls to dismiss Trump’s bid for immunity
Saturday 21 October 2023 06:45 , Oliver O’Connell
US prosecutors told a federal judge that Donald Trump is “not above the law” as they urged the dismissal of the former president’s efforts to have charges of conspiring to subvert the 2020 presidential election rejected.”
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team submitted a 54-page filing after Trump’s legal team moved to request the dismissal of four felony charges against him in Washington, DC, arguing that he should enjoy presidential “immunity”.
“The defendant is not above the law. He is subject to the federal criminal laws like more than 330 million other Americans, including members of Congress, federal judges, and everyday citizens,” wrote assistant special counsel James Pearce.
The filing argued that legal principles, historical evidence and compelling policy considerations support the idea that once former presidents exit office, they become liable to federal criminal prosecution just like other Americans.
Continued…
Full Story: Trump-allied attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
Saturday 21 October 2023 04:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the so-called “alternate” elector plot to overturn 2020 presidential election results in states that Donald Trump lost, has reached a plea deal with prosecutors in a sprawling Georgia case accusing the former president of joining a criminal enterprise to subvert the state’s election outcome.
The Trump-allied attorney was set to be tried separately from 16 other defendants in the case along with Sidney Powell, who reached a plea deal with Fulton County prosecutors on 19 October, just one day before jury selection.
Mr Chesebro entered a plea in a Fulton County courtroom in Atlanta on 20 October.
He has pleaded guilty to one felony: conspiracy to commit filing false documents, the fraudulent electoral college certification for Georgia’s election results performed in coordination with Mr Trump’s campaign, according to prosecutors.
Alex Woodward reports.
Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
Profile: Jim Jordan — Trump’s ousted choice for Speaker of the House
Saturday 21 October 2023 03:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Early in the morning of 6 October, former president Donald Trump threw his support behind Rep Jim Jordan in the race to become speaker of the House. The endorsement was not entirely surprising given Mr Jordan, an Ohio congressman, occupied the same lane in the House of Representatives that Mr Trump has as a presidential candidate and president – as an expression of conservatives who were dissatisfied with Republican leadership and a candidate who channelled their rage.
Mr Jordan is now out as the nominated speaker of the House Republicans after losing an internal ballot by a large margin. According to Rep Kat Cammack, Mr Jordan lost by 112 votes to 86.
This comes after Mr Jordan lost further support on the third ballot of the full house. On the first vote, 20 Republicans voted against Mr Jordan, 22 did so on the second, and 25 on the third. Mr McCarthy took 15 rounds of voting before he managed to get across the line in January.
Acting Speaker Rep Patrick McHenry said on Friday afternoon said Republicans will return on Monday for a candidate forum following the removal of Mr Jordan.
The “election process” will then begin on Tuesday morning, he added.
Continued…
Who is Jim Jordan, Trump’s ousted choice for Speaker of the House?
Trump fined and threatened with jail time for ‘blatant’ violation of gag order
Saturday 21 October 2023 02:45 , Oliver O’Connell
The judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial hit the former president with a $5,000 fine after threatening to throw him in jail for breaking the gag order in the case.
Back on 3 October, Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a gag order on Mr Trump after he made a post on his Truth Social site doxing and disparaging his law clerk.
Mr Trump was ordered to delete the post and was placed under a limited gag order over any future related posts or comments.
Under the order, the former president is banned from “posting, emailing or speaking publicly” about any members of the judge’s court staff.
Read Marth McHardy’s full report.
Trump continues to dominate GOP primary as he settles into new role: Defendant
Saturday 21 October 2023 01:45 , AP
After turns as a real estate magnate, a New York tabloid mainstay, a reality TV star and president of the United States, Donald Trump is settling into a new role: defendant.
The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination spent two days this week in a Manhattan courtroom where a civil fraud trial is unfolding. Trump is accused of grossly inflating his net worth and the value of marquee assets on paperwork used to secure financing and make deals.
In the courtroom, Trump is often subdued, sitting between his lawyers and staring straight ahead with a scowl as he studiously ignores his adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James. But when he steps into the hallway where a phalanx of TV cameras awaits, Trump transforms into his familiar political persona, eager to spin the proceedings in his favour.
“If I wasn’t here, probably — maybe — people wouldn’t see the facts the way they are,” Trump said during one of his swings before the cameras on Wednesday.
Trump, who also attended portions of the civil trial earlier this month, is under no legal obligation to attend the proceedings. But in a preview of how he’ll likely approach the more serious criminal trials that will begin in the coming months, Trump uses the appearances as an extension of his presidential campaign, betting he can shape perceptions and portray himself as a political leader under attack.
Read more…
Trump dominates GOP primary and settles into new role: Defendant
Ivanka Trump seeks to avoid testifying in her father’s New York fraud trial
Saturday 21 October 2023 00:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Ivanka Trump has asked the judge in her father’s New York civil fraud trial to quash a subpoena to compel her to testify in court.
The filing late on Thursday states that Ms Trump should not be put on the witness stand because she is no longer a defendant in the case concerning the dealings of the Trump Organization and also is no longer a New York City resident. She now resides in Miami, Florida, with her husband, Jared Kushner, and their children and has distanced herself from her father’s business and political ambitions since he left the White House in January 2021.
In making their argument, lawyers for Donald Trump’s elder daughter note that an intermediate appellate court dismissed her as a co-defendant in the case against the former president under the statute of limitations in June. Further, they say, New York Attorney General Letitia James missed their chance for her testimony because they did not depose her,
Continued…
Ivanka Trump seeks to avoid testifying in her father’s New York fraud trial
Saturday 21 October 2023 00:15 , Oliver O’Connell
Watch: McCarthy ‘concerned where we go’ after party dumps Jim Jordan
Friday 20 October 2023 23:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke to reporters after Republican lawmakers voted to move on from Rep Jim Jordan’s Speaker candidacy: “I’ve never seen this amount of damage done to just a few people for their own personalities, for their own fear of what’s going through…I’m concerned about where we go from here.”
Law professor and former prosecutor says Chesebro guilty plea is ‘very bad news for Trump’
Friday 20 October 2023 23:15 , Oliver O’Connell
Randall Eliason, white collar crime professor at George Washington University Law School and former federal prosecutor, weighed in on the importance of the guilty plea by Donald Trump’s Fulton County co-defendant and former lawyer Kenneth Chesebro.
He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “A few important points about Chesebro’s guilty plea: it’s a felony; Trump is a named co-conspirator in the same charge; these fake elector allegations are also central to Jack Smith’s DC case; unlike Powell, Chesebro should be a very credible witness.”
He adds: “Very bad news for Trump.”
Friday 20 October 2023 23:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump asks for stay pending appeal of limited gag order in DC election interference case
Friday 20 October 2023 22:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump has asked for a stay pending an appeal of the limited gag order issued by Judge Tanya Chutkan in the federal election interference case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
You can read the 33-page filing by Trump attorney John Lauro here, and here is our reporting on the gag order:
Judge issues partial gag order against Trump in federal Jan 6 case
Chris Christie mocks Trump over GOP speaker debacle
Friday 20 October 2023 22:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Former New Jersey Governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie mocked Donald Trump on Twitter on Friday afternoon following the third failure of Trump-endorsed Jim Jordan to win enough party votes to become Speaker of the House.
Mr Christie wrote: “This is what winning looks like with @realDonaldTrump.
“House Republicans in crisis. Trump’s handpicked candidate to be speaker defeated three times by his own party.
“Cherry on top? Trump spent the last three days in courtrooms and on golf courses. This is what his campaign is now.”
Another day, another round of votes, another meeting in the House basement. And nothing is fixed.
Friday 20 October 2023 22:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
For the longest time, the hard-right faction has refused whatever Republican leadership was begging them to take.
The radicals would spit out what the GOP would offer and ultimately, the Republicans would give them whatever they wanted as a means to acquire power or pass legislation. If that didn’t work, the House Republicans would eventually relent and ask the Democrats to bail them out.
The roles are now reversed in that the hard right wants power and they are on bended knee asking for establishment Republicans — by no means moderate but who still understand governing to recognize the radicals would be a disaster for governance — to give them power.
Read the full article…
Full story: House GOP dumps Jim Jordan as speaker nominee to consider other candidates
Friday 20 October 2023 21:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report from Capitol Hill:
House Republicans have cast aside Ohio congressman Jim Jordan as the party’s pick to be the next Speaker of the House after he failed to gain support from a majority of the chamber on three separate ballots this past week.
Mr Jordan, a right-wing firebrand whose history of bomb-throwing and obstruction made his brand too toxic for a critical mass of moderate Republicans to stomach him as a replacement for former speaker Kevin McCarthy, lost a secret ballot election during a GOP conference meeting on Friday.
His candidacy for the speakership had been opposed by more than a dozen members on a first vote in the House chamber on Tuesday, with the ranks of his opponents growing on two subsequent roll-call votes, even as members who voted against him — and their staffers and family members — received abuse and death threats from people claiming to support Mr Jordan.
Earlier in the day, Mr Jordan once again failed to win a majority of the votes to become speaker of the House, with three Republicans from swing districts voting against him.
Continued…
House GOP dumps Jim Jordan as speaker nominee to consider other candidates
Trump on trial: Today in court at former president’s New York fraud trial
Friday 20 October 2023 21:19 , Oliver O’Connell
In addition to Donald Trump — though not present in court — receiving a stern rebuke, $5,000 fine and threat of jail time from Judge Arthur Engoron, the civil fraud trial of the former president proceeded with further testimony at the New York Superior Court in Lower Manhattan, closing out week three.
David McArdle of Cushman & Wakefield, who conducted multiple appraisals for the Trump Organization, concluded his testimony early in the day having been on the stand for much of Thursday.
Next up on the witness stand was Raymond Flores, formerly a vice president of acquisitions and development for the Trump Organization. He was questioned by Andrew Amer of the New York Attorney General’s Office.
Mr Flores says he was involved in reviewing Trump’s statement of financial condition for 2020. At the heart of the case is the NYAG’s contention that these documents were falsified to boost Mr Trump’s net worth and used to gain more favourable financing terms.
While he confirms that he worked on Trump’s 2020 statement, Mr Flores says he doesn’t remember much about it, or if he worked on the statement for 2021. He also says he doesn’t remember a call Amer asked about where valuation methods were discussed.
Amer then turned to work Mr Flores performed involving Trump’s golf courses. However, the former Trump employee repeatedly says he doesn’t recall discussing valuation methods the company used for these properties while he was employed at the company.
Mr Flores was also asked about the 2020 valuation of the Niketown building on 57th Street in Manhattan of which Trump owns a ground lease.
He continues to say that he does not recall.
Court resumes at 10am on Monday.
Trump dominates GOP primary and settles into new role: Defendant
Friday 20 October 2023 21:00 , AP
After turns as a real estate magnate, a New York tabloid mainstay, a reality TV star and president of the United States, Donald Trump is settling into a new role: defendant.
The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination spent two days this week in a Manhattan courtroom where a civil fraud trial is unfolding. Trump is accused of grossly inflating his net worth and the value of marquee assets on paperwork used to secure financing and make deals.
In the courtroom, Trump is often subdued, sitting between his lawyers and staring straight ahead with a scowl as he studiously ignores his adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James. But when he steps into the hallway where a phalanx of TV cameras awaits, Trump transforms into his familiar political persona, eager to spin the proceedings in his favour.
“If I wasn’t here, probably — maybe — people wouldn’t see the facts the way they are,” Trump said during one of his swings before the cameras on Wednesday.
Trump, who also attended portions of the civil trial earlier this month, is under no legal obligation to attend the proceedings. But in a preview of how he’ll likely approach the more serious criminal trials that will begin in the coming months, Trump uses the appearances as an extension of his presidential campaign, betting he can shape perceptions and portray himself as a political leader under attack.
Continued…
Trump dominates GOP primary and settles into new role: Defendant
Fox News analyst showers praise on Biden’s Israel speech
Friday 20 October 2023 20:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Fox News political analyst Brit Hume has lavished praise on Joe Biden for his speech on Thursday evening where he pledged his support for Israel amid growing tensions between the country and militant group Hamas.
“I think it may be remembered as one of the best, if not the best speeches (sic) of his presidency,” Mr Hume said during Fox’s special coverage of the president’s address. “He was firm, he was unequivocal, he was strong, as he has been — particularly in recent days before he went to Israel, and while he was over there.”
During his prime-time address, Mr Biden asserted the United States’s vital role in global security and pledged his support for both Israel and Ukraine.
He also called for a $100bn package to help both Israel and Ukraine defend themselves and to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza
Martha McHardy has the full story here.
Read Judge Engoron’s order fining Trump for violating gag order
Friday 20 October 2023 20:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Breaking: Trump fined $5,000 after post maligning court staffer found on campaign website
Friday 20 October 2023 20:30 , AP
Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted.
Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt, for now, but reserved the right to do so — and possibly even put him in jail — if he continued to violate a gag order barring parties in the case from personal attacks on court staff.
Engoron said in a written ruling that he is “way beyond the ‘warning’ stage,” but decided on a nominal fine because Trump’s lawyers said the website’s retention of the post was inadvertent and was a “first-time violation.”
Earlier, an incensed Engoron said the failure to delete the post from the website was a “blatant violation” of his 3 October order, which required Trump to delete the offending message.
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise blamed the “very large machine” of Trump’s presidential campaign for allowing his deleted social media post to remain on his website, calling it an unintentional oversight.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, wasn’t in court Friday. He’d returned to the trial on Tuesday and Wednesday after attending the first three days in early October but skipped the rest of the week.
Which 25 Republicans took down Jim Jordan on third speaker vote?
Friday 20 October 2023 20:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Rep Jim Jordan lost further support on the third ballot in his bid for House speaker, with the number of Republicans voting against him increasing to 25.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy took to the floor of the House on Friday to nominate Mr Jordan as his replacement as the third vote on his speakership bid got underway.
“Jim Jordan is an effective legislator. To legislate is about more than the name on the bill,” he said. “It’s about reaching compromise and working long hours. Behind the scenes to get the job done.”
Mr Jordan held a short press conference on Friday morning, lasting only about 10 minutes and taking few questions from reporters.
“Between the first one and the second vote, you all said we’re gonna lose 10, 15 votes,” Mr Jordan told the press. “We picked up a few we lost a few. I think the ones we lost can come back. So look, there’s been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before.”
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC:
Who are the 25 Republicans who took down Jim Jordan on third ballot?
Ivanka Trump tries to avoid testifying at father’s fraud trial
Friday 20 October 2023 19:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Ivanka Trump has asked the judge in her father’s New York civil fraud trial to quash a subpoena to compel her testimony in court.
The filing late on Thursday states that Ms Trump is no longer a defendant in the case, nor is she a New York City resident.
Lawyers for Donald Trump’s eldest daughter note that an intermediate appellate court dismissed her as a co-defendant in the case against the former president under the statute of limitations in June.
Further, New York State Attorney General Letitia James did not depose Ms Trump, who has distanced herself from her father’s business and political ambitions since he left the White House in January 2021.
She now resides in Miami, Florida with her husband Jared Kushner and their children.
“Trial subpoenas are not a means for parties to get discovery, which they failed to obtain during pretrial proceedings,” Ms Trump’s attorney, Bennet Moskowitz, wrote in the 12-page filing.
“The NYAG, which never deposed Ms Trump, is effectively trying to force her back into this case from which she was dismissed by a unanimous decision of the Appellate Division, First Department. Ms. Trump is not a party in this action. Nor is Ms Trump a New York resident. It is black-letter law that, given those two facts, Ms Trump is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court,” he added.
During the first three weeks of trial testimony and evidence, Ms Trump’s penthouse in her father’s property Trump Park Avenue was brought up.
In 2011, she signed a rental agreement with an option to buy a penthouse at the property. , In her memoir, The Trump Card, she claimed she “didn’t benefit from an insider price” and paid market value for the property.
The New York attorney general’s case states that Ms Trump had an option to buy the penthouse for $8.5m, but the Trump Organization’s financial statements valued the unit at $20.82m.
Trump ‘not above the law’ says DOJ in call to dismiss his bid for immunity
Friday 20 October 2023 19:30 , Oliver O’Connell
US prosecutors told a federal judge that Donald Trump is “not above the law” as they urged the dismissal of the former president’s efforts to have charges of conspiring to subvert the 2020 presidential election rejected.”
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team submitted a 54-page filing after Trump’s legal team moved to request the dismissal of four felony charges against him in Washington, DC, arguing that he should enjoy presidential “immunity”.
“The defendant is not above the law. He is subject to the federal criminal laws like more than 330 million other Americans, including members of Congress, federal judges, and everyday citizens,” wrote assistant special counsel James Pearce.
Shweta Sharma reports:
DoJ calls to dismiss Trump’s bid for immunity: ‘Not above the law’
Earlier: Trump threatened with jail time for ‘blatant’ violation of gag order
Friday 20 October 2023 19:16 , Oliver O’Connell
The judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial has threatened to throw the former president in jail for breaking the gag order in the case.
Back on 3 October, Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a gag order on Mr Trump after he made a post on his Truth Social site doxing and disparaging his law clerk.
Mr Trump was ordered to delete the post and was placed under a limited gag order over any future related posts or comments.
Under the order, the former president is banned from “posting, emailing or speaking publicly” about any members of the judge’s court staff.
While the former president complied by deleting the post from Truth Social, Meidas Touch reported on Thursday that he kept a screenshot of the identical post up on his website – meaning he possibly violated the gag order.
Read Martha McHardy’s full report.
Jim Jordan out of race to be speaker
Friday 20 October 2023 19:11 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump-endorsed Rep Jim Jordan is out of the race to be Speaker of the House after three failed floor votes. Republican lawmakers held a secret ballot which the Ohio congressman lost 112-86.
A candidate forum will now be held at 6.30pm on Monday.
There has been no Speaker for 17 days.
Trump fraud trial lawyer forced to apologise for being rude to female lawyers
Friday 20 October 2023 18:50 , Oliver O’Connell
An attorney for Donald Trump has been forced to apologise to two female lawyers for his “disrespectful” behaviour in court during the former president’s high-profile civil fraud trial.
Chris Kise was chastised by New York Superior Court Judge Arthur Engoron on Thursday, following a heated and partially audible exchange during a sidebar in proceedings.
According to Law360, Mr Kise “brushed off” the judge’s principal law clerk Allison Greenfield, and questioned the intelligence of the attorney general’s counsel Colleen Faherty.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Trump attorney forced to apologise for being rude to female lawyers
Trump-backed Jim Jordan continues to lose votes in third bid for House speaker
Friday 20 October 2023 18:30 , Oliver O’Connell
The Independent’s Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill:
Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH) failed once again in his attempt to become speaker of the House on Friday, after he staged a third vote with 25 Republicans voting against him.
Mr Jordan said in an early morning press conference on Friday morning that he would continue his pursuit of the speakership.
“There’s been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before,” he told reporters before the vote. “We all know that. I just know that we need to get the speaker as soon as possible.”
But Mr Jordan lost the votes of Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and Tom Kean (R-NJ). Many of the Republicans who defected voted instead for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. In addition, some Republicans were absent and missed the vote, lowering the threshold of votes needed to block him.
Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC) told The Independent the House should have as many votes as it takes to make Mr Jordan speaker.
Continue reading…
Jim Jordan continues to lose votes in third bid for House speaker
Full story: Trump-allied attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
Friday 20 October 2023 18:05 , Oliver O’Connell
Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the so-called “alternate” elector plot to overturn 2020 presidential election results in states that Donald Trump lost, has reached a plea deal with prosecutors in a sprawling Georgia case accusing the former president of joining a criminal enterprise to subvert the state’s election outcome.
The Trump-allied attorney was set to be tried separately from 16 other defendants in the case along with Sidney Powell, who reached a plea deal with Fulton County prosecutors on 19 October, just one day before jury selection.
Mr Chesebro entered a plea in a Fulton County courtroom in Atlanta just after midday.
Alex Woodward has the story.
Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case
Friday 20 October 2023 18:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Chesebro is the third co-defendant to plead guilty after Sidney Powell and Scott Hall.