Trump’s election win certified by Congress as he fights onto stop hush-money sentencing before inauguration
President-elect tries to stave off hush money conviction sentencing as Congress meets to formally recognize his November victory over Kamala Harris, four years on from attempted insurrection by his supporters
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.Donald Trump‘s 2024 election win over Kamala Harris was certified in a joint session of Congress Monday in just 28 minutes with Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the process and formalizing her own defeat as the roll-call of Electoral College votes by states was read out.
A senior adviser told CNN that the president-elect would watch the certification with a mindset of “pure vindication.”
Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, in which supporters of Trump stormed Congress before then-vice president Mike Pence presided over the same, though delayed, session.
Meanwhile, Trump fought on to stave off the sentencing for his criminal hush-money case conviction, currently scheduled for January 10, just ten days before his inauguration and the start of this second term in the White House.
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected a motion by Trump’s legal team to stay the scheduled sentencing date, demanding “this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.” Merchan noted there was nothing new in the argument that he hadn’t already previously dismissed.
The former president has separately sued the judge in a state appeals court, claiming that the judge overstepped his jurisdiction when he denied Trump’s presidential “immunity” defense by allowing the sentencing date to move forward without a decision from appellate judges.
Finally, President Joe Biden has moved to ban new offshore oil and gas development along most US coastlines, a decision that Trump, who vowed to boost domestic energy production, may find difficult to reverse. The president-elect has accused Biden of complicating the transition process.
When egos collide: Trump could be next after angry Musk turns on Farage
Trump has two years to cause real chaos and harm and only these people will be able to stop him
Musk gets good news a day after Italian PM visits Trump as Rome announces potential $1.6bn SpaceX deal
Biden set to give two final speeches as he looks to secure legacy before Trump’s return
Susie Wiles expects no ‘drama’ in Trump’s West Wing
Donald Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles plans to take a no-nonsense unified approach to running the West Wing of the White House to prevent the mistakes of her boss’s first administration from plaguing his second.
Wiles, 67, is sometimes referred to as the “ice maiden” – a nickname Trump bestowed upon her due to her cool composition and ability to wrangle Trumpworld into an organized fashion. She exercised that attitude in an exclusive interview with Axios about her plans for the White House.
Ariana Baio reports.
Susie Wiles expects no ‘drama’ in the West Wing when she takes over as chief of staff
Wiles, 67, has reportedly received the nickname ‘ice maiden’ from Donald Trump and served as his campaign co-chair in 2024
Four years after Jan 6 Capitol riot, Trump’s 2024 win made official as Harris presides over election certification
Exactly four years after a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters perpetrated the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol since Major General Robert Ross ordered British soldiers to set it ablaze more than two centuries before, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a joint session of Congress to give Trump the peaceful transfer of power she was denied after the 2020 election.
Andrew Feinberg and Richard Hall report from Washington, D.C.
Trump’s election victory certified without incident four years after riot
The joint session to certify the 2024 election went off without interruptions as Vice President Kamala Harris made her defeat at the hands of Donald Trump official
Full story: Giuliani held in contempt and hit with sanctions for defying court orders in defamation case
Rudy Giuliani has been found in contempt of court after repeatedly defying court orders and blowing deadlines as a pair of election workers he defamed seek to recover tens of millions of dollars he owes for his false claims in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
A two-day contempt hearing in federal court in Manhattan sought to determine whether the former New York City mayor had willfully evaded discovery requests and ignored questions about his properties in a lengthy legal battle for control of his assets.
Alex Woodward reports from the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Giuliani held in contempt and hit with sanctions for defying court orders
Trump’s former attorney blew deadlines and evaded document requests to ‘run out the clock,’ judge says
Biden signs RFK Stadium land bill into law, a step toward potential Commanders stadium in Washington
President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that transfers the land that includes the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to city control, the next step to potentially pave the way for the NFL‘s Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital.
Giving the District of Columbia control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise’s former home.
Read on...
Biden signs RFK Stadium land bill into law, a step toward potential Commanders stadium in Washington
President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill that transfers the land that includes the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to city control
Trump could pardon nearly 1,600 January 6 rioters — but will he?
Donald Trump has said pardoning his supporters who took part in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol four years ago will be one of the top priorities as he starts his new administration.
But how quickly will the pardons begin, and how far will Trump go?
Nearly 1,600 people have been charged with or convicted of crimes linked to the riot, according to the Department of Justice.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump could pardon nearly 1600 January 6 rioters. Will he really do it?
Trump has suggested he might even pardon those who attacked police officers
IN FOCUS: Trump has two years to cause real chaos and harm and only these people will be able to stop him
Alex Hannaford asks who, if anyone, can stop Donald Trump from wreaking serious havoc in his second term?
Only these people will be able to stop Trump from two years of chaos and harm
The American system is known for its checks and balances so even the most powerful president doesn’t have absolute control, but looking at Trump’s appointments as well as plans like Project 2025, Alex Hannaford asks who, if anyone, can stop him from wreaking serious havoc in his second term?
Journalist’s X account reportedly restricted after debunking Elon Musk sock puppet rumors
A reporter who ended online speculation that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk was posing as an ardent fan has reportedly been temporarily banned from the social media site, and links to her story have been restricted.
In one of the latest dramas surrounding Musk, suspicions arose that a poster on X named Adrian Dittman, who sounds like Musk and regularly defends him, might have been the South African-born billionaire himself, using a so-called “sock-puppet” account.
However, Jacqueline Sweet, a reporter at the Spectator, determined that Dittman is actually a real person living in Fiji.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Reporter restricted on X after debunking Elon Musk sock puppet rumors
The original post with Jacqueline Sweet’s story link had 1.5 million views
Why your social security payment is set to go up
Joe Biden has signed into law a measure that will boost Social Security payments for current and former public employees, including teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs.
Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act – which is set to impact around three million people across the country – rights a decades-old disparity. However, it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.
“I’m proud to be the first president in more than 20 years to expand Social Security benefits. Workers who dedicated their lives to their communities deserve to retire with dignity and security,” Biden wrote on X on Sunday.
Read on...
Your social security payment is set to go up thanks to Biden. Here’s why
Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity
Full story: Trump sues Judge Merchan to stop hush money sentencing as he tosses last-ditch request to delay
The Manhattan judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial has rejected the president-elect’s last-ditch attempt to delay a sentencing set for January 10.
In an order on Monday, New York Justice Juan Merchan found Trump’s arguments to be, “for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.”
A separate filing from Manhattan prosecutors blamed the former president for his ongoing attempts to delay proceedings and postpone his sentencing, which was initially set for July — two months after a jury unanimously convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Alex Woodward reports from New York.
Trump sues to stop hush money sentencing as he tosses last-ditch request to delay
The president-elect will be sentenced January 10 after a jury’s unanimous conviction for falsifying records
Bidens pay their respects to victims of New Orleans attack
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have paid their respects to the victims of the New Year terror attack in New Orleans.
The Bidens are also scheduled to meet with the families of victims of the deadly truck-ramming attack that killed 14 people early on January 1.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments