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Trump calls Biden ‘lying machine’ and ‘fact checker’s dream’ as CNN debate looms: Live

Republican preparing for first head-to-head encounter with Joe Biden later this week before CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash

Trump suggests Biden will come to the debate ‘jacked up’ after getting ‘a shot in the a**’

Donald Trump has baselessly claimed that Joe Biden should be thrilled there are no fact-checkers in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election, and branded the president a “lying machine”.

The former president is also being ridiculed after claiming hysterically in a fundraising email to supporters that he was “tortured” at his Georgia arraignment last August while taking the opportunity to sell coffee cups bearing the very same image.

On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s recent New York hush money trial, partially lifted the gag order imposed on the defendant, empowering him to resume attacking key witnesses like Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen.

Meanwhile, sources close to the Republican presidential contender suggested he may name his 2024 running mate ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate, having previously said he would announce who would join him on the GOP ticket at the party’s convention in Milwaukee next month.

Trump and his conservative media allies have continued to suggest in advance that the CNN debate will not be a fair fight, arguing without evidence that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will be biased and that Biden will be using performance-enhancing medication.

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Trump mocked for claiming he was ‘tortured’ when Georgia mugshot taken

Even for the ever-blustering Donald Trump, this is insane.

He’s been complaining to his supporters in his latest fundraising email that he was “tortured” during his arraignment at Fulton County jail in Georgia last summer, a processing formality at which his infamous mugshot photo was taken, an image he has continued to profit from handsomely ever since.

Trump actually has an interesting relationship with that word, disrespecting people who have literally been tortured while incarcerated, like the late John McCain and Alexei Navalny, while claiming that his allies like Paul Manafort or Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh are the real victims of “torture” whenever they have suffered repercussions or scrutiny that they have not enjoyed.

Joe Sommerlad26 June 2024 09:00
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Ex-Trump lawyer accuses classified docs judge of ‘playing right into the defense’s hands’

A former Trump lawyer argued this week that the judge in the classified documents case is “playing right into the defense’s hands” by essentially slow-walking the proceedings.

Michael van der Veen, who defended the former president at his second impeachment trial following the January 6, 2021, insurrection, said during an appearance on CNN on Monday night that Judge Aileen Cannon is taking “longer than is possibly necessary,” showing a bias towards the man who appointed her to the federal bench. Other legal observers have also noted that some of Cannon’s rulings appear to favor Trump.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Ex-Trump lawyer accuses Mar-a-Lago judge of ‘playing right into the defense’s hands’

Michael van der Veen says ‘to continue to give people time to supplement the arguments and supplement evidence isn’t doing the justice any good’

Oliver O'Connell26 June 2024 07:15
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New photos show highly guarded secrets’ in messy boxes at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

Special counsel Jack Smith has defended federal law enforcement’s handling of documents discovered at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, sharing images in a new court filing that show how the former president stashed “top secret” materials and government “secrets” in a cluttered collection of clothing, Christmas ornaments, newspapers and photographs of himself.

The former president has argued that the charges in his classified documents case should be dropped on grounds that investigators failed to preserve evidence in the order in which they were found.

Alex Woodward has the details.

New photos show ‘highly guarded secrets’ in messy boxes at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

‘Classified’ documents were shoved in boxes with old shirts and next to crates of Diet Coke, special counsel says

Oliver O'Connell26 June 2024 05:15
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‘He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather’: Hillary Clinton warns of Trump’s debate stage chaos

Hillary Clinton said Donald Trump’s meanadering statements make him “nearly impossible” to debate as she issues stark warnings and analysis ahead of Thursday’s first presidental debate for the 2024 election.

President Joe Biden is set to square off with his Republican rival, Trump, on Thursday night in Atlanta. Clinton - who lost to Trump in the 2016 election - provided her view on the upcoming debate in a Tueday New York Times op-ed.

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Hillary Clinton previews Trump-Biden debate: ‘He starts with nonsense’

Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump, saying ‘expectations for him are so low that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential’

Oliver O'Connell26 June 2024 03:15
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Trump military aides say they’ve given him detailed plan for Ukraine

Donald Trump has been presented with a plan to bring an end to the war in Ukraine by two key advisers that would require Kyiv to sit down for peace talks with Russia or receive no further US weapons.

The strategy, which would only be actionable in the event that the Republican presidential contender beats Joe Biden to the White House in November, would conversely see Moscow threatened with increased American support for Ukraine if it refused to participate in the negotiations.

Joe Sommerlad has the details.

Trump military aides give him plan to pressure Ukraine into peace talks with Putin

Proposal would see US use leverage to force Kyiv and Moscow to negotiate

Oliver O'Connell26 June 2024 02:15
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‘This is what a sold out crowd actually looks like’”: Cheney trolls Trump with Taylor Swift video

Former Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney used a video of a Taylor Swift concert to mock former President Donald Trump’s rally attendance.

Read on...

Liz Cheney trolls Trump with Taylor Swift video: ‘What a sold out crowd looks like’

The former House Republican Conference chair was ousted from GOP leadership and House seat for her anti-Trump views

Oliver O'Connell26 June 2024 01:15
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Classified documents case: Will Trump face another gag order?

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s classified documents case snapped at prosecutors twice within 20 minutes during a hearing on whether to put a limited gag order on the former president for his false claims that have fueled threats against officials.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office has repeatedly warned that Trump’s rhetoric and bogus statements about the FBI’s use of deadly force has opened the door for harassment against the officials prosecuting him.

During a tense hearing in Florida on Monday, federal prosecutor David Harbach argued that merely redacting officer names from court documents is not enough to protect them.

Alex Woodward reports.

Will Trump face another gag order? His Mar-a-Lago judge isn’t convinced

Judge Cannon is skeptical Trump needs to be reined in after he falsely claimed the FBI was ‘ready to take me out’

Oliver O'Connell25 June 2024 23:15
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Watch: Trump voter explains why former president no longer has his support

Oliver O'Connell25 June 2024 22:45
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CNN cuts interview with Trump spokesperson after she calls debate ‘hostile environment'

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt abruptly ended a live interview with Donald Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt after she repeatedly attacked the host’s coworkers and Thursday’s debate.

“President Trump is well prepared ahead of Thursday’s debate. Unlike Joe Biden, he doesn’t have to hide away and have his advisors tell him what to say. President Trump knows what he wants to say,” Leavitt told Hunt about the former president’s strategy.

Leavitt argued the CNN debate would be a “hostile environment” for Trump, saying that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have been “biased” in their coverage of the former president.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

CNN takes Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt off the air during interview

Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the former president is ‘knowingly going into a hostile environment on this very network’

Oliver O'Connell25 June 2024 22:15
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What happened the last time Trump and Biden faced off in 2020?

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are gearing up for their first 2024 Presidential Debate on Thursday 27th June. The last time the two ran against each other in 2020 their debates proved they would not be pulling any punches to get at their opponent. Some iconic quotes from 2020 debates will never be forgotten; such as Trump claiming he "knows more about wind' than his opponent, and the moment Biden finally told Trump to "just shut up!"; this time around viewers are anxious to see what antics Thursday's debate will have.

Oliver O'Connell25 June 2024 22:05

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