Trump’s hush money trial sentencing postponed indefinitely after election victory: Live updates
President-elect secures latest legal victory after nominating Pam Bondi to be next attorney general in place of scandal-plagued Matt Gaetz
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 sentencing in his New York hush money trial has been indefinitely postponed by Judge Juan Merchan in the wake of his election win over Democrat Kamala Harris earlier this month.
The president-elect was found guilty on all 34 counts on May 30 after a seven-week trial in Manhattan over his efforts to conceal a $130,000 payoff to the adult film star Stormy Daniels in October 2016.
Judge Merchan agreed to adjourn sentencing on Friday while also setting new deadlines on Trump’s motion to dismiss the verdict.
On Thursday, the Republican announced that former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi – who represented him at his first impeachment trial in the Senate in 2019 – is his new pick to lead the Department of Justice following the withdrawal of ex-congressman Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz dropped out of the confirmation process yesterday saying his candidacy was “becoming a distraction” after the House Ethics Committee came under pressure to release the findings of its investigation into allegations he had sex with a minor, which the politician has consistently denied.
The scandal had reportedly led Trump’s team to consider Gaetz “blackmail-able”, marking the end of his run for the top job.
Bill O’Reilly claims Trump’s cabinet will have zero policy input: ‘Say ‘yes, sir’ or they’re not going to be OK’
Which Trump Cabinet picks will actually get confirmed — and who will work across the aisle?
Trump’s new AG pick didn’t pursue lawsuit against Trump University – after he donated $25k to her campaign
Trump team believed Gaetz was too ‘blackmail-able’ to be attorney general, says report
Gaetz teases ‘different post’ amid speculation he could replace Rubio in the Senate
As we saw a little earlier, the near-miss AG was hinting yesterday he might be back in some other capacity.
Rhian Lubin has more.
Matt Gaetz teases ‘different post’ amid speculation he could take Rubio’s Senate seat
Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s attorney general, posted a cryptic message suggesting he isn’t quite done yet with politics
Trump’s AG pick Pam Bondi rescued a dog from Hurricane Katrina. Its owners then sued her for ‘stealing’ it
Here’s a shaggy dog story about the former Florida attorney general, an adopted St Bernard and a bitter canine custody battle.
Trump’s attorney general pick was once caught up in a bizarre dog custody battle
President-elect’s latest nominee was once embroiled in a bizarre canine custody battle
Morning Joe hosts agreed to Trump meeting over fears of intern probe
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of MSNBC’s flagship morning show, allegedly met with the president-elect a week ago over fears that then-attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz would investigate the death of an intern in Scarborough’s office during his time as a Florida Republican congressman, according to a Puck News report.
Gustaf Kilander has more on this one.
Morning Joe hosts agreed to Trump meeting over fears of intern death probe: report
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough suffered a ratings nosedive after going on Mar-a-Lago pilgrimage
Milley blasts claim by Hegseth that women shouldn’t serve in combat
General Mark Milley, who served as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US military “must be and always should be” standards-based, as he called out the comments by Pete Hegseth.
A military veteran and former Fox News host, Hegseth was announced as the president-elect’s choice for secretary of defense last week in a move that caused consternation across the political aisle.
He served 13 years as a part-time member of the National Guard, culminating in the rank of major.
“It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” Hegseth said in an interview earlier this month.
He went on to add that he was “straight-up saying we should not have women in combat roles”.
Speaking at a national security innovation event hosted by the Pallas Foundation on Thursday, Milley, who served as the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, reacted to the comments thusly:
Here’s more from Mike Bedigan.
Ex-military chief blasts claim by Pete Hegseth that women shouldn’t serve in combat
Mark Milley, who served as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US military ‘must be and always should be’ standards-based
The ‘totally reasonable’ choice and the controversial MAGA loyalist: How Trump plans to shake-up the FBI
The president-elect is considering former special agent Mike Rogers to head up the FBI, with controversial MAGA loyalist Kash Patel as his deputy, according to a report.
Trump has made it clear he intends to shake up the bureau and fire the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, whom he himself nominated for the position during his first term in 2017 after getting rid of James Comey.
Rhian Lubin has the latest.
How Trump plans to shake-up the FBI with two top jobs
Trump has made it clear he intends to shake up the bureau
Melania and RFK Jr join forces to try to improve Trump’s diet: ‘Think fewer Big Macs and less KFC’
The president-elect’s penchant for fast food is no secret, with his customary 2,400-calorie McDonald’s order consisting of two Big Macs and two Fillet-O-Fish, washed down with a chocolate milkshake.
He even sported an apron and worked a short shift on the fryer at a branch of the Golden Arches last month while on the campaign trail.
Now, the incoming first lady and Trump’s pick as health and human services secretary are said to be “ganging up” on the president-elect in a bid to urge him to swap out his French fries for French beans.
Good luck with that.
Here’s James Liddell to peruse the menu.
Melania and RFK Jr join forces to try to improve Trump’s diet
Incoming first lady and Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary are apparently lobbying the president to make healthier choices
Trump still hasn’t signed papers to officially start transition
More than two weeks after the 2024 election, the White House says President-elect Donald Trump and his team still haven’t executed the legal documents required to officially start the transition process.
Trump is due to take the presidential oath of office on the Capitol steps in just under 60 days.
Yet, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday that the Trump-Vance team had “not yet entered into the agreements with the White House and the General Service Administration”, despite ongoing efforts to negotiate involving White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and his incoming Trump administration counterpart, Susie Wiles.
Last week, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said the Trump transition team was “breaking the law” by not signing the memoranda, which include required ethics agreements.
Could an admin error prevent all of this from coming to pass?
Here’s more from Andrew Feinberg.
Trump still hasn’t signed papers to officially start transition, White House says
Senator Elizabeth Warren said the Trump transition team was ‘breaking the law’ by not signing the memoranda, which include required ethics agreements
Watch: Pete Hegseth corned on Capitol Hill over sexual assault allegation
This was what Trump’s nominee for defense secretary had to say yesterday when buttonholed by the press about the release of the police report into the complaint made against him by a woman he met at a conservative conference in Monterey, California, in 2017.
Inside Trump’s phone call to Gaetz that ended his attorney general nomination
Here’s James Liddell on the call that ended that Matt Gaetz’s hopes of leading the Justice Department.
Inside Trump’s phone call to Gaetz that ended his attorney general nomination
‘You don’t have the votes. These senators aren’t moving,’ president-elect is said to have told Gaetz hours before his withdrawal
RFK Jr hits out at media after audio emerges of him calling Trump a ‘bully’ and comparing him unfavorably to Adolf Hitler
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the incoming Trump administration’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is under fire after disparaging comments he made about the president-elect in 2016 on his radio show Ring of Fire re-emerged on Thursday.
During one broadcast, Kennedy read approvingly from an article that claimed the Trump coalition was made of a group of genuine Nazis buoyed by “a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travellers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things.”
“And, you know, he’s not like Hitler,” he added, arguing: “Hitler had like a plan, you know, Hitler was interested in policy...
“I don’t think Trump has any of that. He’s like non compos mentis. He’ll get in there and who knows what will happen.”
RFK Jr responded to that bombshell by lashing out at the media, telling The Daily Mail: “Like many Americans, I allowed myself to believe the mainstream media’s distorted, dystopian portrait of President Trump.
“I no longer hold this belief and now regret having made those statements.”
Here’s Josh Marcus with more on Kennedy’s original comments.
RFK Jr. once compared ‘bully’ Trump to Hitler and called him a ‘threat to democracy’
Trump nominee blames past criticisms on ‘mainstream media’
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments