ABC slammed for settling Trump ‘rape’ defamation case as Romney admits MAGA has won Republican party: Live
ABC News settles defamation suit ahead of trial as Donald Trump staffs up his incoming administration
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ABC News on Saturday agreed to a $15 million settlement stemming from Trump’s defamation suit involving a broadcast about E. Jean Carroll, who herself had successfully sued the president-elect for defamatory statements.
According to court documents, anchor George Stephanopoulos and the network were sued after Stephanopoulos wrongly said that the ex-president was found liable for rape at civil trial; he was actually found liable for sexual “abuse” for the incident dating back to 1996.
The decision by the network to reach a settlement with Trump was met with accusations of cowardice online from critics who argued that the company should have fought the lawsuit at trial.
Meanwhile, one of Donald Trump’s last remaining opponents in the GOP seems to have come to terms with the future of the Republican Party as a Trumpified political movement.
“MAGA is the Republican Party and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today,” Mitt Romney says in a new interview.
This weekend the president-elect also named several more picks for his administration on Saturday, including Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes to run an intelligence board, and staunch loyalist foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell as a presidential envoy for special missions.
U.S. in contact with Syrian rebels who overthrew Assad
The U.S. has been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that overthrew the regime of dictator Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Saturday.
The group, former al-Qaida affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been designated a foreign terror group by the U.S. since 2018.
“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said in Jordan on Saturday, adding, “our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”
New York governor hammers Biden on drones: ‘This has gone too far'
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones and aircraft spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.
The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour.
“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in the statement, calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reform drone policy and hand more authority over to states.
“Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our criitcal infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
Trump immigration plans could cut 3.3m workers from temporary authorization
Employers are worried Donald Trump’s immigration agenda could cut the workforce by millions of people if he follows through on slashing programs offering temporary work approval to immigrants in the country illegally or whose visas have expired.
The programs cover as many as 3.3 million people, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
“Though the numbers are small, these individuals play a key role in the success of a company like ours,” Nate Koetje, chief executive of an electrical contractor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
Elon Musk to join Trump at Army-Navy game
Elon Musk and Trump have been nearly inseparable since the election, and that looks set to continue at today’s Army-Navy football game.
Musk said on X he would be joining the president-elect in Maryland to take in the matchup.
Here’s more on the Trump-Musk friendship:
Nearly three dozen Trump donors picked to serve in administration
In Washington, a well-placed donation goes a long way.
The incoming Trump administration is set to be staffed with nearly three dozen individuals who donated to the Trump campaign or groups working to re-elect the Republican, according to a new CNN analysis.
Those donors include more well-known ones like Elon Musk, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the Trump effort, to others like Congress members Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz, who transferred money from their campaigns to support Trump.
Elon Musk spent over $250 million to help Trump get elected, new filings show
The FEC filings reveal big payments to his America PAC, the mysterious RBG PAC and other Republican candidates
Trump's Time person of the year comes with a unique fact-check
Donald Trump’s recent designation as Time magazine’s Person of the Year came with a unique addition: a lengthy post-interview fact-check.
The magazine said Friday no other Person of the Year has prompted a similar fact-check over the nearly 100 year history of the annual honor.
The fact-check probes 15 different statements made by the president-elect about immigration, vaccines, and crime.
Why Trump may not want DeSantis as Defense Secretary
Donald Trump is reportedly cooling on the idea of replacing his pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis’s name entered the picture as Hegseth faced a number of serious misconduct allegations, including rape and alcohol abuse, both of which he denies.
But Trump’s potential embrace of DeSantis for the position appears to have stalled, according to political reporter Maggie Haberman.
“What changed was a couple of things. One was… Trump could not find a single person in his orbit, or even really outside of it, who liked this idea of making Ron DeSantis — the governor of Florida — the Defense secretary choice,” she told CNN’s “AC360.”
Here’s more on the potential DeSantis nod:
Trump considers ally-turned-rival DeSantis to replace Hegseth as Pentagon chief
Florida governor is tipped to replace Hegseth for cabinet role, as the former Fox News host is plagued by scandals
Pressure builds to address mystery lights over Northeast
Officials are ratcheting up the pressure to respond to a series of mysterious lights spotted over New Jersey.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said Friday he had “personally witnessed” the lights.
Officials have said they are investigating the phenomenon, but have been unable to corroborate reports of unauthorized drones over New Jersey.
“Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” National Security Council John Kirby said earlier this week.
The Pentagon has said it doesn’t believe the lights are “coming from a foreign entity or adversary.”
More than a dozen Democrats to skip Trump inauguration
More than a dozen Democrats are reportedly planning to skip Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
Lawmakers told Axios their reasons ranged from anger over the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol to feeling unsafe around a mass of Trump supporters.
“For somebody who he said he’s going to lock me up, I don’t see the excitement in going to see his inauguration,” former Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said.
Trump made a controversial promise about the Middle East. But it might not be so far-fetched
What does the Middle East look like under Trump 2.0?
The president-elect is due to take office in just a few weeks, having frequently attacked Joe Biden — and later Kamala Harris — for supposedly having failed to stop the two bloody conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza from breaking out under their watch. On top of that, he also made two lofty promises while campaigning: that he would end the conflict in Ukraine quickly upon taking office; and that he would bring a “lasting peace” to the Middle East.
The latter promise was made during an interview with a Saudi news channel, Al-Arabiya, in October.
Read more:
Trump made a promise about the Middle East. It might not be so far-fetched
Trump has an ‘opportunity’ to curb Netanyahu where Biden failed, one top Saudi leader tells John Bowden. Others on the right tend to disagree — but they might have to fall in line if Trump truly intends to keep his promise about peace in the Middle East
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments