Trump news – live: Ex-president shrugs off potential 2024 challenge from Mike Pence

‘Any of my fellow Republicans wanna speak out now’

Trump is writing a book on how presidency was stolen from him

Donald Trump has laughed off the news that Mike Pence might run for president in 2024, shrugging that he “wouldn’t be concerned with that” even as his former deputy stumps for a rival candidate in Georgia.

Mr Pence has kept his public appearances mostly low-key since the end of the Trump administration, but has lately increased his presence on the campaign trail while insisting he was right not to try and overthrow Joe Biden’s victory on 6 January 2021.

Meanwhile, Kellyanne Conway, one of Donald Trump’s longest-standing political confidants and White House aides, has revealed that the ex-president offered her a blanket pardon after the 2020 election.

In her new memoir Here’s the Deal, Ms Conway writes that she asked the president why he thought she needed a pardon at all.

“Because they go after everyone, honey. It doesn’t matter,” Mr Trump allegedly said. Ms Conway claims she “politely declined” the offer.

Key Points

• GOP candidates prepare for primaries
• Giuliani meets with Jan 6 committee
• Michigan official claims Trump called for her execution

[23 May 2022 17:36 · John Bowden]

Mo Brooks claims ‘honest mistake’ for mailers touting Trump endorsement

Mo Brooks’s campaign in Alabama is claiming an “honest mistake” after a state news site obtained two mailers from the candidate that were received by voters in recent days touting an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who pulled his support for Brooks after the candidate called on voters to move on from complaints about the 2020 election.

Mr Trump’s Save America PAC issued a statement about the issue on Monday, writing: “Can’t do that, Mo!”, in a press release.

Mr Brooks’s campaign responded to the Alabama Political Reporter: “No mail would be or has been approved to go out with old or inaccurate information. The only letters using the endorsement were approved way before anything changed. Either the mail-house messed up sending an old mailer or USPS messed up delivering something that was supposed to be delivered months ago. Either way, it’s an honest mistake that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

[23 May 2022 18:30 · John Bowden]

Pence breaks with Trump in Georgia primary

Mike Pence is joining the effort aimed at halting Donald Trump’s attempts to oust Georgia’s governor and install David Perdue, the state’s former US senator who has maintained that victory was “stolen” from Mr Trump in the state in 2020.

The former vice president is on the ground in the state on the eve of Georgia’s primary elections stumping for incumbent Brian Kemp, who earned Mr Trump’s ire in 2020 by refusing to call on the state legislature to launch an investigation into the 2020 election or overturn the state’s results.

Mr Perdue’s campaign appears to be trailing the incumbent by a significant margin and as a result Tuesday could represent the first major defeat of the former president in the 2022 election season.

[23 May 2022 19:13 · David Taintor]

House Ethics Committee investigating cryptocurrency and sex allegations against Madison Cawthorn

Andrew Feinberg reports on the latest headache for Rep Madison Cawthorn, who lost his primary election last week:

[23 May 2022 21:00 · John Bowden]

Kellyanne Conway flames Trump critic husband as ‘sinister’ and ‘cheating by tweeting’ in new memoir

Former White House counselor and Trump campaign 2016 manager Kellyanne Conway tore into her husband, Washington DC attorney and commentator George Conway, in her upcoming memoir. Here’s The Deal is set to release tomorrow.

In it, she blames Mr Conway for his frequent sniping at Mr Trump from Twitter and other venues, which she said often came while they were in close proximity to one another.

"I had two men in my life,” she writes in one section. “One was my husband. One was my boss, who happened to be president of the United States. One of those men was defending me. And it wasn’t George Conway. It was Donald Trump."

Read more from The Independent’s Josh Marcus:

[23 May 2022 22:00 · John Bowden]

Washington DC sues Facebook over tactic used by 2016 Trump campaign’s data firm

Washington DC’s attorney general is suing Facebook over the mass-gathering of data by Cambridge Analytica, the data firm which was contracted by the Trump campaign in 2016 for its digital efforts.

The lawsuit was announced on Monday.

“This lawsuit is not only warranted, but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions,” DC attorney general Karl Racine said in a statement.

Read more from The Independent’s Nathan Place:

[23 May 2022 23:00 · John Bowden]

Ted Cruz complains about Pete Davidson getting ‘all these hot women’

Ted Cruz has a truly nauseating complaint about departing Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson: The latter is too successful at dating.

Mr Davidson is currently dating Kim Kardashian, ex-wife of Kanye West.

Read more in The Independent from Bevan Hurley:

[24 May 2022 00:00 · John Bowden]

Secret Service spent $1.75m at Trump-owned properties, watchdog says

Donald Trump’s choice to frequently stay at his own properties while president resulted in a windfall for his company, according to Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington.

The group, through Freedom of Information Act requests, learned that the Secret Service spent more than $1.75 million at Trump properties to protect the president over the course of four years.

Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:

[24 May 2022 01:00 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Madison Cawthorn faces ethics probe

Less than a week after losing his Republican primary in North Carolina’s 11th district, Madison Cawthorn is now facing a new scandal.

The House Ethics Committee says it is investigating the freshman, lame-duck congressman for allegedly promoting a cryptocurrency in which he had a business interest as well as for an alleged relationship with a male staffer - whom he has described as his third cousin.

Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:

[24 May 2022 03:00 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Mike Pence could challenge Trump in 2024

Former Vice President Mike Pence is making his presence felt in Georgia, on the eve of the state’s primary, on behalf of Gov Brian Kemp. Mr Kemp is likely to prevail on Tuesday against a Trump-backed primary challenger.

The move is a sign that Mr Pence is getting bolder with his public break from Donald Trump and his efforts to make a name for himself in the party. Now, in an interview with The New York Times, Mr Pence is refusing to rule out a primary bid against his old boss.

Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:

[24 May 2022 04:30 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Kellyanne Conway eviscerates Jared Kushner

Kellyanne Conway is holding nothing back in her new memoir, due out Tuesday, which examines her work for the 2016 Trump campaign and later Trump presidency.

And one of her top targets for criticism is Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, whom she faulted for not hesitating to work on numerous projects despite having little to no experience in the matters at hand. Mr Kushner worked on a number of projects for his father from 2017-2021, including Middle East peace efforts.

“There was no subject he considered beyond his expertise. Criminal justice reform. Middle East peace. The southern and northern borders. Veterans and opioids. Big Tech and small business,” Ms Conway wrote.

“If Martian attacks had come across the radar, he would have happily added them to his ever-bulging portfolio,” she added.

Read more in The Independent from Maroosha Muzaffar: