Trump campaign hails hush money case decision a ‘decisive win’ after judge’s ruling: Latest updates
President-elect secures latest legal victory after nominating Pam Bondi to be next attorney general in place of scandal-plagued Matt Gaetz
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump‘s campaign team celebrated his hush money trial sentencing being indefinitely postponed by Justice Juan Merchan on Friday, calling it “a decisive win” in a “Witch Hunt” case.
After winning the presidential election, Justice Merchan, who presided over the case, agreed to adjourn sentencing and set new deadlines on Trump’s motion to dismiss the verdict.
In May, the president-elect was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan over his efforts to conceal a $130,000 payoff to the adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
On Thursday, the Republican announced that former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi – who represented him at his first impeachment trial in the Senate in 2019 – is his new pick to lead the Department of Justice following the withdrawal of ex-congressman Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz dropped out of the confirmation process after the House Ethics Committee came under pressure to release the findings of its investigation into allegations he had sex with a minor, which the politician has consistently denied.
The scandal had reportedly led Trump’s team to consider Gaetz “blackmail-able”, marking the end of his run for the top job.
Watch: Pete Hegseth corned on Capitol Hill over sexual assault allegation
This was what Trump’s nominee for defense secretary had to say yesterday when buttonholed by the press about the release of the police report into the complaint made against him by a woman he met at a conservative conference in Monterey, California, in 2017.
Inside Trump’s phone call to Gaetz that ended his attorney general nomination
Here’s James Liddell on the call that ended that Matt Gaetz’s hopes of leading the Justice Department.
Inside Trump’s phone call to Gaetz that ended his attorney general nomination
‘You don’t have the votes. These senators aren’t moving,’ president-elect is said to have told Gaetz hours before his withdrawal
RFK Jr hits out at media after audio emerges of him calling Trump a ‘bully’ and comparing him unfavorably to Adolf Hitler
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the incoming Trump administration’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is under fire after disparaging comments he made about the president-elect in 2016 on his radio show Ring of Fire re-emerged on Thursday.
During one broadcast, Kennedy read approvingly from an article that claimed the Trump coalition was made of a group of genuine Nazis buoyed by “a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travellers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things.”
“And, you know, he’s not like Hitler,” he added, arguing: “Hitler had like a plan, you know, Hitler was interested in policy...
“I don’t think Trump has any of that. He’s like non compos mentis. He’ll get in there and who knows what will happen.”
RFK Jr responded to that bombshell by lashing out at the media, telling The Daily Mail: “Like many Americans, I allowed myself to believe the mainstream media’s distorted, dystopian portrait of President Trump.
“I no longer hold this belief and now regret having made those statements.”
Here’s Josh Marcus with more on Kennedy’s original comments.
RFK Jr. once compared ‘bully’ Trump to Hitler and called him a ‘threat to democracy’
Trump nominee blames past criticisms on ‘mainstream media’
Trump goes to war with the press: multi-billion dollar lawsuits and commands to ‘kill’ media protections
The president-elect spent his campaign suing news organizations for billions of dollars.
In office, he could strip press freedoms and kill legislation that aims to protect sources, Alex Woodward reports.
Trump’s war on the press: legal threats and commands to ‘kill’ media protections
The president-elect spent his campaign suing news organizations for billions of dollars. In office, he could strip press freedoms and kill legislation that aims to protect sources, Alex Woodward reports
Trump’s new AG pick didn’t pursue lawsuit against Trump University – after he donated $25k to her campaign
The incoming Trump administration didn’t waste time on Thursday unveiling Pam Bondi as Matt Gaetz’s replacement.
She served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019, is both an experienced public official and a long-time Trump ally who served on his first impeachment defense team but is no stranger to controversy herself:
On CNN last night, Ana Navarro has this to say about her:
“I know Pam Bondi very well. Pam Bondi, like many other Republicans, is a mainstream Republican who turned MAGA.
“I will tell you, she is not an ogre. She is not a jerk. She is not a person who purposely wants to come across as being the kind of person that Matt Gaetz wants to come across as being.
“She has been an early loyalist of Donald Trump back in the 2016 primaries. She was a loyalist of him even though Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio were running. I think with Pam Bondi, he gets loyalty, which matters a lot to him.
“And she hasn’t committed statutory rape or been accused of it.”
Here’s Josh Marcus on what you need to know about her.
Trump’s AG didn’t sue Trump University after $25K donation
Former Florida official has lengthy record of high-profile prosecutions, as well multiple moments of ethical scrutiny
Can Gaetz return to Congress after failed attorney general bid?
Matt Gaetz responded to praise from Vice President-Elect JD Vance last night by hinting darkly that he might return in another form like some sort of ghastly extraterrestrial super-villain.
Here’s Josh Marcus on the prospect of him slipping seamlessly back into Congress.
Can Matt Gaetz return to Congress after failed attorney general bid?
If former Florida representative returns to Congress, that could mean release of House ethics inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations
Trump team believed Gaetz was too ‘blackmail-able’ to be attorney general, report says
Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the role on Thursday, saying his candidacy was “becoming a distraction” in light of the intense media coverage of the past investigations into his alleged drug use and sex with a minor, accusations he has consistently denied.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” he wrote on X.
It’s fair to say that Senate Democrat John Fetterman was not altogether surprised by the development:
This is what Trump had to say publicly in tribute to Gaetz yesterday:
However, behind the scenes, his team had reportedly been forced to conclude that their man was too “blackmail-able” for further consideration.
Here’s more on that from Gustaf Kilander.
Trump team believed Gaetz was too ‘blackmail-able’ to be attorney general: report
Former Florida Congressman may be up for major role in Trump’s second White House, avoiding Senate confirmation process
Donald Trump names Pam Bondi as new AG pick after controversial first choice Matt Gaetz withdraws
Good morning!
If you’re just catching up to the whirlwind events of yesterday, Donald Trump’s has announced that former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi is his new pick to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) following the departure of ex-congressman Matt Gaetz.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” the president-elect wrote in a statement on Thursday evening.
“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”
Gaetz was highly complimentary about Bondi’s choice (but then what else could he say?), although his praise was dwarfed by that of an excessively grovelling Lindsey Graham.
Republican senator Mike Rounds told CNN yesterday that Bondi would be subjected to the same scrutiny by Congress as Trump’s other cabinet picks but questions have already been raised on that point...
Here’s the full story from Mike Bedigan and Alex Woodward.
Trump names Pam Bondi as new AG pick after first choice Matt Gaetz withdraws
‘Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again,’ Trump wrote in a statement on Thursday evening
Trump cabinet latest: Who will get confirmed and who will work across the aisle?
Donald Trump is nearly done with his slate of initial Cabinet nominees as his incoming White House and broader administration begin to take shape.
And while a few notables are making headlines and could face real opposition to their respective confirmations, more are expected to sail smoothly through the Republican-controlled Senate.
Most reflect one of two schools of the Republican Party, now both totally subservient to Trump. Some are MAGA diehards, like Matt Gaetz and Kristi Noem. Others are more aligned with the party’s center, like Marco Rubio. Figures who fall into both camps may find opportunities for common ground with Democrats over the next four years — a valuable prospect if the opposition party is able to win control of one or both chambers of Congress in the future.
A number of Cabinet positions remain outstanding: Trump has yet to name his picks for Agriculture, HUD, Treasury and Labor. But his choices for the most prominent positions are now all named, and some are much more bipartisan — or more antagonistic — than a layperson might expect.
John Bowden reports.
Which Trump Cabinet picks will actually get confirmed?
From Fox News alumni to a retired professional wrestling performer, these are the most and least likely of Trump’s picks to survive the confirmation process
How much does Linda McMahon actually know about education?
While Trump’s pick for education secretary is relatively unknown in academic circles, she is famous in another: the WWE ring.
Former wrestling mogul and billionaire Linda McMahon has stunned educators by being unveiled as Trump’s choice to run the Department of Education – or, perhaps, to lead the operation to scrap it altogether.
But how much education experience does she actually have?
Rhian Lubin takes a look.
How much does Trump education pick Linda McMahon actually know about education?
Trump stunned educators by unveiling Linda McMahon as his choice to run the Department of Education
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