Trump news: White House denies intelligence on Russian bounty threat and Reddit bans supporters's forum as Twitch suspends president's account
Administration officials and allies scramble defence following damning intelligence reports as states grapple with rising coronavirus infections
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Donald Trump has been made the subject of an arrest warrant by Iran over the US killing of the country’s top general Qassem Soleimani on 3 January, with Tehran appealing to Interpol for help in enforcing it.
The president has meanwhile insisted he was not briefed by intelligence officials over an alleged Russian plot to pay out bounties to Taliban-linked militia in exchange for targeting American and British soldiers in Afghanistan to sow unrest, after the president was accused of sitting on the report by his domestic political rivals.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany refused to say whether the president would respond, telling reporters that "there are some dissenting opinions within the intelligence community" about the veracity of the claims in the reports.
"This was not briefed up to the president because, in fact, it was not verified," she said,
But after GOP allies in the House met with the president's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Congressman Jim Banks – in a Twitter thread shared by the president – suggested that bounty plot was being actively investigated, and that The New York Times report about the intelligence was "the real scandal" – not the president's refusal to act on it. He suggested that "it's impossible to finish the investigation" because of media reports.
"The blood is on their hands," he said.
After an exodus of the president's supporters from the platform, Reddit has banned the popular r/The_Donald forum and Twitch temporarily suspended the president's account over crackdowns on hate speech on the platforms.
YouTube also closed the accounts of several prominent far-right personalities, as conservatives – migrating to platforms like Parler – accuse social media of censoring conservative voices, a conspiracy supported by the president.
As coronavirus cases continue to surge across the US, several states are racing to impose new lockdown restrictions after too-soon reopening efforts and a lack in comprehensive federal efforts to support Americans have caused dangerous spikes.
California joined Texas and Florida in closing bars in seven counties and the latter shut its beaches. “Caution was thrown to the wind and so we are where we are,” Republican governor Ron DeSantis commented.
Arizona also announced that all bars, clubs, movie theatres and gyms would close for at least 30 days after the state saw its largest case spike since the onset of the pandemic.
Follow live coverage as it happened
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Supreme Court blocks controversial Louisiana abortion law that would have closed clinics
Chief Justice John Roberts has sided with the court's liberal justices to block divisive new legislation that would have closed nearly every clinic in the southern state.
Danielle Zoellner has this breaking story.
Nancy Pelosi calls on intelligence chiefs to brief House on Russian bounty plot
The speaker is deftly turning up the heat on the administration here by writing to brand new (and questionably qualified) director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe and CIA chief Gina Haspel demanding answers on the assassination scheme reported by The New York Times over the weekend.
Fury as Trump tells African Americans to understand their history or 'you will go back to it again'
The president gave a largely underwhelming interview to Brian Kilmeade that aired on Fox Nation last night, with this craven stunt one of the few aspects to attract attention:
But he certainly had a disturbing message to impart to Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
Here's Greg Evans for Indy100.
Sacha Baron Cohen 'crashed far-right event disguised as bluegrass singer' in Washington State
The Ali G and Borat creator did what he does best over the weekend, tricking far-right group The Three Precenters at their March For Our Rights 3 rally into singing: “Dr Fauci, what we gonna do? Inject him with the Wuhan Flu… Hillary Clinton, what we gonna do? Lock her up like we used to do.”
Here's Roisin O'Connor's report.
US sees spike in fake mask exemption cards claiming to be from the ‘freedom to breathe agency
Cards for sale that claim to exempt people from wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic are fraudulent, federal officials have said.
The cards - featuring a red, white and blue eagle logo and approximately the size of a business card - say the bearer is exempt from ordinances requiring them to wear masks in public.
“Wearing a face mask posses [sic] a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you,” reads the card, which misspells “poses” and incorrectly names the Americans with Disabilities Act.
There’s also a warning that businesses or organisations can be reported to the Freedom to Breathe Agency, the group behind the cards. One version of the cards featured the Justice Department’s logo and listed a legitimate phone number where complaints about violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act can be submitted.
The cards were being sold online in boxes of at least 500 for $49.99 (£40.50).
Congressional hearing on police violence against protesters and journalists predictably pivots to attacks on 'radical left'
Journalists and protesters addressed members of the House Oversight Committee on Monday to detail the tactics used by police against crowds demonstrating against police violence.
Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan invited right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo, equating mass state-sanctioned violence with looters and being hit with a milkshake, and sought to confirm the validity of "antifa" as a violent organised group. Ngo – who was removed from libertarian publication Quilette after footage revealed him alongside right-wing Proud Boys rioters and has selectively edited footage of protests that have been amplified by conservatives – insisted his "message is a partisan one".
Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump
Donald Trump is wanted by Iran's prosecutor general for the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Tehran state news reported on Monday.
Tehran prosecutor general Ali Alghasi Mehr said arrest warrants were issued for 36 people, including the president and military officials.
The country also has requested "red notice" to Interpol.
Cuomo to Trump: Put on a mask
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that officials will rethink the next phase of reopening in New York City, which would include indoor dining, as coronavirus cases surge across the country.
Reddit bans 'r/The_Donald' forum and other groups over the platform's rules against harassment
One of the biggest online communities supporting Donald Trump has been shut down. Reddit's The_Donald subreddit, which had been used by more than 700,00 members, was among several subreddits that violated the company's policies against targeted harassment and hate speech.
Though many of the 2,000 groups that were banned were inactive, The_Donald was one of the most prolific. Moderators and other users left the forum in recent months over what they perceived as the company's infringements against free speech.
In a call to reporters, Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman said that "all communities on Reddit must abide by our content policy in good faith. We banned r/The_Donald because it has not done so, despite every opportunity."
Twitch suspends Donald Trump's stream account
Following Reddit's announcement that its popular r/The_Donald forum has been shuttered, streaming platform Twitch has suspended the president's account, which has been used for rallies and other events.
In a statement to Kotaku, the company said: "Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump's channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed."
The company noted two instances of hateful conduct on the channel, including the president's 2016 campaign statement that "rapists" from Mexico were entering the US and his recent Tulsa rally remarks accusing a hypothetical "tough hombre" of breaking into a woman's house.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies