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2 days ago

Trump live updates: President-elect slams ‘deranged’ special counsel after damning 2020 election report

Damning report says president-elect used 'knowingly false claims of election fraud' in bid to cling onto power after 2020 election defeat

Alexander Butler
Tuesday 14 January 2025 08:19 GMT
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Senator says there will be ‘shock and awe’ on day one of Trump presidency

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Donald Trump has hit out at US special counsel Jack Smith after a landmark report found the US president-elect tried to criminally overturn the 2020 US election.

Mr Smith said Trump “inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence” in the January 6 riots and knowingly spread a false narrative about fraud in the 2020 election.

He also claimed Trump would have been convicted for the role he played had he not been re-elected by voters in a landslide victory last year.

“Deranged Jack Smith... is a lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the Election, which I won in a landslide,” Trump said.

Mr Smith defended his investigation, saying: “The claim from Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable.”

President-elect Trump has consistently criticised Mr Smith and allies have suggested the special counsel should now face criminal charges for pursuing the case against him.

3 days ago

Dozens of Congress members outperformed the stock market in 2024. Here’s who gained the most - and why

The stock market had a record-breaking run last year, but members of Congress still managed to outperform it with their portfolios making staggering gains in industries where they wield legislative power and influence, such as tech and energy.

More than 20 members made almost double the S&P500 average gain of 24.9 percent last year. The top five performers — Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Roger Williams (R-TX), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) — increased the value of their portfolio value by more than 100 percent, according to a new report.

Richard Hall and Eric Garcia report.

These members of Congress saw the biggest rise in their stock portfolios in 2024

A report into the stock performance of members of Congress comes as legislation aimed at banning the practice has stalled

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 19:30
3 days ago

Melania Trump packed and ready for the move back to White House

Incoming first lady Melania Trump says she’s packed and ready to move back into the White House, where son Barron will have a bedroom, and she plans to revive her Be Best children’s initiative.

Trump also said in a taped interview broadcast Monday on Fox News’ Fox & Friends that an upcoming documentary on her life that is set to be distributed by Amazon Prime Video later this year was her idea based on the reception to the memoir she released last year.

“So I had an idea to, to make a movie, to make a film about my life,” she said. “My life is incredible. It’s incredibly busy. And, I told my agent, you know, I have this idea, so please, you know, go out and, make a deal for me.”

Read on...

Melania Trump says she's packed and ready for the move back into the White House

Melania Trump says she's packed and ready for the move back into the White House next week

AP13 January 2025 19:10
3 days ago

Pete Hegseth will face tough questions at Senate confirmation — including these...

Pete Hegseth is preparing to face a panel of bipartisan senators on Tuesday who will grill him over allegations from his past and his credentials at the first of the Senate confirmation hearings.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Hegseth for one of the most senior jobs in the administration: secretary of defense.

But since Trump announced his unorthodox choice to head the Pentagon, serious questions have surrounded the 44-year-old Fox News host.

Rhian Lubin reports.

The tough questions Pete Hegseth will face at his Senate confirmation hearing

Since Trump announced his unorthodox choice to head up the Pentagon, there have been serious questions hanging over the 44-year-old Fox News host

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:50
3 days ago

Trump transition team ‘under active discussion’ about California wildfire visit

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:36
3 days ago

Melania Trump says she doesn’t always ‘agree with what my husband is saying or doing’

Soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump insisted on Monday that she is “independent” and will stand up to her husband, saying she doesn’t always “agree with what Donald is saying” and she is more than “just the wife of the president.”

Justin Barangoa reports.

Melania Trump tells Fox she doesn’t always ‘agree with what my husband is saying ’

‘Some people, they see me as just the wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent,’ the incoming first lady declared on Fox News.

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:30
3 days ago

Full story: DOJ can publish Jack Smith report on Trump’s election interference case, judge rules

Alex Woodward reports:

After a last-minute legal battle, Jack Smith’s final report on his criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election is one step closer to becoming public.

On Monday, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected arguments from Trump and his now-former co-defendants in the classified documents case who have tried to stop the Department of Justice from releasing the entire report.

Her decision clears the way for Attorney General Merrick Garland to partially publicly release Smith’s report once her initial three-day injunction expires at midnight Monday — less than a week before Trump returns to the White House.

Read on...

Justice Department can publish Jack Smith report on Trump’s Jan. 6 case, judge rules

The special counsel resigned after submitting his two-volume report days before Trump returns to office

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2025 18:25
3 days ago

Senate Energy Democrats call for Burgum confirmation hearing postponement

Senate Energy Committee Democrats are calling on Republican Chair Mike Lee to postpone Doug Burgum’s confirmation hearing to be interior secretary, which is scheduled for tomorrow. They say the committee still doesn’t have key documents it needs to proceed.

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:18
3 days ago

Don Lemon rails against Obama for cozying up to Trump at Carter’s funeral

Former CNN host Don Lemon slammed former President Barack Obama for having a laugh with President-elect Donald Trump during the funeral of the late President Jimmy Carter.

Lemon was speaking on his YouTube program when he initially aimed his ire at Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for a segment on Friday, during which they discussed how to act around the incoming commander-in-chief.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Don Lemon rails against Obama for cozying up to Trump at Carter’s funeral

‘Barack Obama is a classy guy. But these are the very same MAGA people who have called ... Michelle Obama a man,’ Lemon says

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:10
3 days ago

Watch: Melania Trump explains why she is making a documentary about her life

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 18:00
3 days ago

Trump executive orders will be ‘shock and awe’ in scale, says GOP senator

“Shock and awe” is what the public can expect from President-elect Donald Trump’s first day in office when he issues a “blizzard” of executive orders set to re-shape U.S. policy on the economy and immigration.

Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming invoked the antagonistic military-strategy phrase while describing a preview of January 20, when Trump is sworn in.

Ariana Baio reports.

GOP senator promises ‘shock and awe’ from Trump executive orders

Trump is planning to issue 100 executive orders on his first day in office

Oliver O'Connell13 January 2025 17:50

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