Donald Trump and his children Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump have filed an appeal in their fight against the New York attorney general’s attempt to depose them as part of a civil investigation into the Trump Organization. Their lawyers argue that a lower court erred by denying the Trumps’ request to quash their subpoenas for testimony.
Meanwhile, adult entertainer Stormy Daniels said she would rather serve time behind bars than pay the legal fees she owes Donald Trump after her defamation lawsuit against the former president failed — “I will go to jail before I pay a penny,” she tweeted.
The former president began his week with a bizarre phone interview on Fox Business in the course of which he referred to Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats as “the n-word”, dismissed climate change as “a thing called weather”, and insisted he would continue running on the supposed theft of the 2020 election despite the host’s suggestion it could hurt Republicans at the polls.
His excitable Monday morning comes after an event in Florida over the weekend during which he appeared to promise a return to the White House.
Following his remarks, Republican US Rep Liz Cheney warned that the ex-president could face criminal penalties over attacks on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, telling NBC that the House select committee investigating the assault is considering whether to recommend criminal punishment for the “kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with President Trump”.
Key points
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Stormy Daniels refuses court order to pay Trump’s legal bills
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‘Cowboys for Trump’ founder convicted of Jan 6 misdemeanour charge
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Trump’s chief of staff was on call planning march to Capitol: report
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Secret Service confirms Pence spent Jan 6 at underground Senate loading dock
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Trump lawyers claim judge abused discretion in forcing testimony
Eric Trump mocked over Biden bike comments
19:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Trump was quickly ridiculed after he criticised Joe Biden for going for a bike ride while spending the weekend at his beach house in Delaware amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Eric Trump ridiculed for trying to mock Biden for riding a bike
Gunman with AK-47 filmed aiming at Texas border patrol helicopter
18:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Unnerving footage from a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter appears to show a man in Mexico pointing a gun directly at the aircraft.
The video, which was obtained by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, shows an aerial view of Starr County, Texas as the copter flies over it. At one point, the camera zooms into a red vehicle on the Mexico side of the border, where a man is standing outside the passenger door with a rifle in his hands. Suddenly, he hoists it up and aims straight at the camera.
Nathan Place reports.
Gunman with AK-47 filmed aiming at Texas border patrol helicopter
‘The most VEEP thing we’ve seen in at least a few weeks’
18:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Kamala Harris has once again been mocked by Republicans and meme-creators for repeating the same expression four times in quick succession.
The vice president, who was speaking on Monday in Sunset, Louisiana, repeated the same phrase, “the significance of the passage of time”, four times in a row.
Gino Spocchia reports.
Kamala Harris repeats same expression four times in speech loop
Lindsey Graham ridiculed for storming off after ranting at Ketanji Brown Jackson
18:00 , Oliver O’Connell
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham used his time meant to question Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday to air a litany of grievances before storming off in a huff, drawing mockery from attorneys and political figures.
His actions were described as “simply bizarre”.
Lindsey Graham mocked for storming off after ranting at Ketanji Brown Jackson
Jimmy Kimmel rips ‘Cancun Karen’ Ted Cruz for airport meltdown
17:22 , Oliver O’Connell
Jimmy Kimmel has mocked Ted Cruz after the Texas senator was apparently involved in a confrontation at a Montana airport.
In the 21 March edition of his late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! the comedian joked about the incident in which it is alleged that Cruz became “angry and confrontational” with airport staff at a check-in desk.
Kimmel wisecracked: “He should stay out of airports, right?” and then called him “Cancun Karen”, a reference to when Cruz went on holiday to Mexico during an energy crisis in February 2021, when millions of Texans were left without power and water amid freezing temperatures.
Sam Moore reports.
Jimmy Kimmel mocks Ted Cruz’s alleged airport meltdown
‘Cowboys for Trump’ founder convicted of Jan 6 misdemeanour charge
16:53 , Oliver O’Connell
“Cowboys for Trump” founder Couy Griffin has been found guilty of a misdemeanor charge stemming from the January 6 capitol riot.
Footage presented in Judge Trevor McFadden’s courtroom showed Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, climbing a bike ramp as he made his way to the capitol.
Griffin faces up to a year in prison for trespassing on restricting capitol grounds, though McFadden acquitted him on a separate charge of disorderly conduct.
Abe Asher reports.
Cowboys for Trump founder convicted in Capitol riot trial
Stormy Daniels refuses court order to pay Trump’s legal bills
16:45 , Oliver O’Connell
After losing her defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump, adult film star Stormy Daniels is refusing a federal court’s order for her to pay the former president’s legal bills.
“I will go to jail before I pay a penny,” Ms Daniels vowed on Twitter.
The pledge comes after a stinging defeat in the actress’ years-long legal battle against Mr Trump.
Nathan Place has the story.
Stormy Daniels refuses court order to pay Trump’s legal bills
Secret Service confirms Pence spent Jan 6 at underground Senate loading dock
16:28 , Oliver O’Connell
Vice President Mike Pence was taken to an underground Senate loading dock after rioters breached the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He spent four to five hours there under guard with his wife and daughter, the Secret Service confirmed on Monday for the first time.
Pence spent Jan 6 at underground Senate loading dock, Secret Service confirms
Kid Rock says Trump asked him for help with North Korea and Isis
16:05 , Oliver O’Connell
Kid Rock says Trump asked him for help with North Korea and Isis
Trump dismisses climate change and sea level rise — what does that mean for Mar-a-Lago?
15:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Low-lying southern Florida, where Mar-a-Lago is located, is already impacted by rising tides and storm surges, writes Louise Boyle.
Trump claims sea level rise means more homes by the ocean. Let’s look at Mar-a-Lago
Eric Trump mocked for criticising Biden for riding a bike
15:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Former President Donald Trump’s second son Eric is facing ridicule for criticising President Joe Biden for riding a bike at the weekend on a visit to his beach home in Delaware.
He claimed that his father would have been making speeches in front of fighter jets as a show of strength while Russia’s war against Ukraine rages.
People were quick to remind Mr Trump that his father was on the golf course 307 days of his presidency — approximately one-fifth of it — and often during international crises.
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Kid Rock: Hollywood is full of ‘closeted’ Trump supporters
15:17 , Oliver O’Connell
Pro-Trump musician Kid Rock has claimed there are “a ton” of prominent people in Hollywood who are “closeted” supporters of the former president.
Kid Rock, known offstage as Robert James Richie, was speaking during an interview with far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night.
Io Dodds reports.
Hollywood is full of ‘closeted’ Trump supporters, claims Kid Rock to Tucker Carlson
Voices: Trump was right, Merkel was wrong
15:00 , Oliver O’Connell
In 2018, the-then US president said that the Germans were getting over-reliant on Russia for energy, and weren’t spending enough on their own defence, writes Sean O’Grady.
Trump was right, Merkel wrong – it’s made it harder to save Ukraine | Sean O’Grady
DC police investigating claim trucker convoy hit pedestrian
14:50 , Oliver O’Connell
The Washington, DC Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations that a member of the so-called People’s Convoy protesting Covid-19 public health measures struck a pedestrian.
The incident is reported to have taken place on Sunday as the convoy made its way through downtown DC.
Nathan Place reports for The Independent.
Police investigate claims DC convoy hit a pedestrian
Trump lawyers claim judge abused discretion in forcing testimony
14:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump’s lawyers say a New York judge abused his discretion with a decision last month requiring the former president to answer questions under oath in a civil investigation into his business practices.
In papers filed Monday in a state appeals court, Trump’s lawyers said Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron failed to properly weigh constitutional and ethical concerns that they’d raised about New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation.
Lawyers for Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., want the appellate division of the state’s trial court to overturn Engoron’s Feb. 17 ruling and invalidate James’ subpoenas seeking their testimony.
Trump lawyers: Judge abused discretion in forcing testimony
Stormy Daniels says she will go to jail rather than pay Trump legal fees
14:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Stormy Daniels said she would rather serve time behind bars than pay the legal fees she owes Donald Trump after her defamation lawsuit against the former president failed.
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The adult entertainer is required to pay Mr Trump almost $300,000 in attorneys’ fees after a federal appeals court rejected her bid to overturn a lower court’s decision.
In a tweet, she said: “I will go to jail before I pay a penny.”
Mr Trump celebrated his win, releasing a statement on Monday in which he denied ever having had an affair with Ms Daniels and claiming that the ruling was a “total and complete victory and vindication for, and of me”.
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Chris Christie says Trump Putin comments ‘wrong’ and ‘dangerous’
14:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Former Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has condemned Donald Trump for his comments praising Vladimir Putin at the start of the Ukraine invasion.
“Do we want to send admiring words to someone [Putin] who as we speak this morning is directing the slaughter of women and children in the Ukraine without any conscience?” Mr Christie asked during a New Hampshire speech on Monday.
Jade Bremner reports.
Chris Christie calls Trumps comments praising Putin ‘dangerous’
Biden causes uproar with use of phrase ‘new world order’
14:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Joe Biden caused a stir on Monday during a gathering of business leaders at the White House when he alluded to a coming “new world order” in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, apparently not stopping to consider the awkward legacy of the phrase.
Addressing the Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting, which included the bosses of General Motors, Apple and Amazon, Mr Biden concluded his remarks by saying: “Now is a time when things are shifting. We’re going to – there’s going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it. And we’ve got to unite the rest of the free world in doing it.”
The phrase quickly began trending on Twitter, with commentators wasting no time in gloating over what they saw as the president’s presumably accidental invocation of a well-worn conspiracy theory claiming that an elite globalist cabal operating from the shadows is plotting to carve up the world and impose totalitarian rule.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
What is the ‘New World Order’ and why has Joe Biden caused uproar by mentioning it?
ICYMI: Trump ignores his own social media platform
13:30 , Andrew Naughtie
The launch of Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social was supposed to be a major event in social media, finally presenting conservatives with a place to gather where their speech wouldn’t be censored (although the site’s terms and conditions contain clauses banning various things).
However, the app’s troubled launch has been followed by flaccid signups and engagement. And now, it is clear that the president himself has little or no inclination to join in; in fact, he has yet to post on Truth Social at all.
Nathan Place has the story.
Trump hasn’t posted on his own social media app since its launch
Flailing pro-Trump congressman targets Mitch McConnell
12:36 , Andrew Naughtie
Mo Brooks, the Alabama Congressman who is struggling to retain Donald Trump’s endorsement in his Senate run, has picked up a new line of attack in his campaign, promising to “fire” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell if he’s elected.
Mr McConnell has become one of Mr Trump’s most hated enemies, largely because he has refused to sign up to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and declined to take the side of those trying to rewrite the history of the 2021 insurrection.
Since Mr Trump called him a “disappointment” in a recent interview, Mr Brooks has also boasted of his participation in the rally that preceded the 6 January riot.
Read more:
Pro-Trump Mo Brooks says he will ‘fire’ Mitch McConnell if he’s elected to Senate
ICYMI: Giuliani tells bizarre story in which Trump threatened to bomb Moscow
12:28 , Andrew Naughtie
Rudy Giuliani, whose dealings in Ukraine on behalf of Donald Trump played a major part in the ex-president’s first impeachment, recently appeared on right-wing pro-Trump network Newsmax to discuss the Russian assault on the country – and offered a truly weird story in which Mr Trump threatened to bomb the “gold bubbles” of Moscow’s churches.
The clip speaks for itself, so take a look below.
Giuliani says Trump threatened to blow up Russia’s churches in Putin call
Will Trump really end up facing criminal charges?
12:05 , Andrew Naughtie
One of the greatest hopes for those who want to see Donald Trump kept away from the presidency is that at least one of the multiple legal cases in which he’s embroiled will result in a criminal indictment and a guilty verdict. However, writing in The Atlantic, Paul Rosenzweig, who served as a senior counsel in the investigation that led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment, has another, less optimistic perspective:
I don’t see it happening. Please don’t misunderstand; I am as convinced as anyone of the criminality of Trump’s conduct, and nothing would please me more than to see him get his deserved comeuppance. He should, and very well may, be indicted in one or more of these jurisdictions. And the civil suits against him may have legs.
But years of experience prosecuting fraught political cases (and defending others) has taught me that the criminal law is a blunt tool for achieving justice and a poor means of resolving political issues. In my judgment, the chances that Trump will be convicted of any crime are slim to none. And though I am no political analyst, my guess is that a failure to convict will only embolden him and his followers.
Read his full argument below.
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Bannon chides Trumpist Senate candidate over Ohio debate incident
11:30 , Andrew Naughtie
Ohio US Senate candidate Josh Mandel, who has run an extremely caustic right-wing campaign in a crowded primary field, has been roundly criticised for a literal face-off with another candidate at a debate last week. The encounter ended with Mr Mandel calling his rival a “p***y” before the two had to be separated – and it seems to have been too much even for some of the most hardcore right-wingers out there.
Mr Mandel found himself being chastised by none other than Steve Bannon, who has a well-earned reputation for far-right incitement.
“Keep the content as hot as you can. Say, you made this money but to tone down the personal animosity so that people can actually hear these debates and hear what people have to say. If you disagree with the guy, chop him up then. Would you commit to not having these things throw down to some type of physical confrontation?”
Read more via Mediaite below.
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ICYMI: Could Sarah Palin be on her way to Congress?
10:55 , Andrew Naughtie
The unexpected death of veteran Alaska Congressman Don Young has opened up the Last Frontier’s only congressional seat, and one of the state’s few nationally known political names has piped up to say she might throw her hat in the ring.
Former governor Sarah Palin, who pioneered Trump-style populist politics during her 2008 vice presidential campaign and then saw her political celebrity decline in the years that followed, said she would be “humbled and honoured” to fill the seat, and that she would do so in a heartbeat.
She previously threatened to run against incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski, doing so via an unhinged video shot outside her own home.
Read more:
Sarah Palin outlines congressional run to replace late Don Young
Adam Kinzinger doesn’t want Tucker Carlson to forget why he skipped his show
10:31 , Johanna Chisholm
Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger has been on a tweeting tear the past 24 hours. And his target is none other than Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson, a host who the Republican politician has taken a liking to calling out for his seeming pro-Putin/Russia stance in recent weeks.
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Earlier this month, the Illinois Republican declined an invitation to appear on Mr Carlson’s show because he believed the the TV host to be guilty of pushing a narrative that the US, and not Russia, was to blame for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a video posted on Mr Kinzinger’s Twitter account, he expanded on that point further, saying that Mr Carlson’s “insistence that the west was provoking war with Putin, his spreading lies about biolabs, and his continued spewing of conspiracy theories are nothing but complete evil. His show is full of Russian propaganda and not news”.
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Mr Kinzinger is one of a few Republican politicians who are raising the alarms over the content aired on Mr Carlson’s nightly show.
Last week, the 52-year-old TV host took to the airwaves to decry that Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul had slandered him by accusing him of spreading Russian disinformation on his show. There was no evidence provided by the Fox News host, but he alleged in his diatribe that the Texas congressman called Mr Carlson’s program “an organ of disinformation”.
Pro-Trump Congressman faces attacks from Trump supporters
10:00 , Andrew Naughtie
Donald Trump is reportedly considering withdrawing his endorsement from Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks, a right-winger who spoke at Mr Trump’s “stop the steal” rally on 6 January but who has since said the GOP should start running on issues other than the supposed theft of the 2020 election.
Mr Trump did not take kindly to that suggestion, calling Mr Brooks a “disappointment”. The congressman promptly cut an ad boasting of his role in the events of 6 January 2021, but it seems there are now outside efforts underway to encourage the president to cut ties:
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“A national security liability”: fallout from Trump’s “n-word” nuclear comments continues
09:20 , Andrew Naughtie
Donald Trump’s phone-in with Fox Business yesterday morning was shocking for various reasons, but top of the list was his proposition that if re-elected he would start threatening Russia with nuclear weapons.
Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu, a strident Trump critic, had this to say about the president’s words:
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A Trump-Putin flashback…
08:40 , Andrew Naughtie
Aaron Rupar has spotted an old Donald Trump tweet – archived for posterity – dating from his doings in Moscow in 2013.
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The trip to Moscow for Miss Universe plays a major part in the Trump-Russia story, with former attorney turned enemy (and convicted felon) Michael Cohen making various claims about what happened. In an interview given to MSNBC at he time, Mr Trump said Vladimir Putin had “done a very brilliant job” as president and had “put himself really at the forefront of the world as a leader in a short period of time”.
Indiana governor vetoes transgender girls sports ban
07:52 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Indiana’s governor Eric Holcomb on Monday vetoed a bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports.
The Republican leader hinted at support for the bill last month but on Monday vetoed it, stating that the legislation “falls short” of providing a consistent statewide policy for “fairness in K-12 sports”.
Critics of the transgender sports bill argued it was a bigoted response to a problem that doesn’t exist, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana saying it planned a lawsuit against what it called “hateful legislation”.
ICYMI | Liz Cheney says there could be criminal penalties for Trump
07:17 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Congresswoman Liz Cheney has said that former president Donald Trump could face criminal penalties over the 6 January riots at the US Capitol.
She told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that the investigating committee is considering whether to recommend criminal punishment for the “kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with President Trump”.
Rep Cheney, a Republican who is vice-chair of the committee, referenced Mr Trump’s refusal to “tell the mob to go home after he had provoked that attack on the Capitol”.
Trump hasn’t posted on his own social media app
06:44 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Donald Trump hasn’t posted on Truth Social, his social media app, since 15 February, when he made his first post on the platform.
Mr Trump, who was banned from Twitter after the 6 January Capitol riot, founded the app with the help of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). On 15 February, the ex-president posted on it for the first time. “Get Ready!” he wrote.
“Your favourite President will see you very soon!”Truth Social users have not seen him active on the platform since then. The app went live on 21 February, but Mr Trump did not post on that day either.
Nathan Place has more.
Trump hasn’t posted on his own social media app since its launch
Montana airport calls police on Ted Cruz
05:51 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Staff at Montana airport called on a security officer to deal with Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz after he missed his flight and allegedly became frustrated with employees.
Mr Cruz missed his flight out of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on Sunday, according to the Reddit user who shared a short video clip of the interaction.
The Reddit user said Mr Cruz was “accosting airline employees… after missing his flight” and that “law enforcement had to be called when he wouldn’t calm down”.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Montana airport calls police on Ted Cruz after he misses check-in window
Hollywood is full of ‘closeted’ Trump supporters, claims Kid Rock
05:16 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Pro-Trump musician Kid Rock has claimed there are “a ton” of prominent people in Hollywood who are “closeted” supporters of the former president.
Kid Rock, known offstage as Robert James Richie, was speaking during an interview with far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night.
Asked by Mr Carlson whether there were others in showbiz who shared his views, Mr Ritchie said that during the 2020 election Trump aides would often privately name “Hollywood people” who were “in the closet”.
Io Dodds reports.
Hollywood is full of ‘closeted’ Trump supporters, claims Kid Rock to Tucker Carlson
‘Cowboys for Trump’ founder faces Capitol riot criminal trial
04:32 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner who founded a group called “Cowboys for Trump”, faced trial on Monday on charges related to the 6 January Capitol riots.
A federal judge in the district of Columbia began the trial for Mr Griffin, who is charged with breaching a restricted area protected by the US Secret Service and engaging in disorderly conduct in that area.
The 48-year-old man was photographed at the Capitol during the riot and does not deny that he entered a barricaded area.
Donald Trump moved the Supreme Court to the right. What happens now?
04:00 , Alex Woodward
After Donald Trump’s contentious Supreme Court nominations and hearings, Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are hoping for a speedy, thoughtful round of hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The Trump justices have shifted the balance of the court significantly to the right. By comparison, Judge Jackson would replace Justice Stephen Breyer, the longest-serving liberal on the court, and maintain the court’s current ideological balance, albeit adding valuable perspective from a former public defender with criminal defense experience, a first on the court in decades.
Here’s what to watch:
How the White House has prepared for attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson
Trump, his children file appeal to stop depositions
03:41 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former president Donald Trump and two of his children have filed an appeal in a bid to stop an attempt by New York attorney general Letitia James to make them sit for depositions as part of a civil investigation into the Trump Organization.
In their appeal filed Monday, the former president and his children Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr argued that if the attorney general Letitia James wants their testimony, she should bring them before a state grand jury, where witnesses can receive certain immunities.
Trumps’ attorneys wrote that statutory protections can easily be “eviscerated if the same agency involved in the criminal investigation simply opens up a ‘civil’ investigation into the very same matters”, according to a CNN report.
Don Young – Dean of the House – will lie in state next week
03:00 , Alex Woodward
Alaska congressman Don Young, the longest-serving member of the House, died at age 88 last week.
He will lie in state in National Statuary Hall on Tuesday, 29 March, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Alaska congressman Don Young dies on flight
Twitter suspends ‘satire’ account for misgendering Biden administration’s assistant health secretary
02:00 , Alex Woodward
US Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine – the first openly transgender four-star officer in any of the US – is a frequent target among transphobic and anti-LGBT+ right-wing figures. She was recently honoured by USA Today as one of the publication’s women of the year.
Twitter suspended the account of right-wing satire website the Babylon Bee for posting “The Babylon Bee’s Man Of The Year is Rachel Levine.”
CEO Seth Dillon suggested he won’t deleted the post to gain access to the account.
“They could, of course, delete the tweet themselves. But they won’t. It’s not enough for them to just wipe it out. They want us to bend the knee and admit that we engaged in hateful conduct,” he said on Twitter.
Last week, Twitter flagged a similar post from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – whose state is seeking to prosecute gender-affirming healthcare for minors as “child abuse” – but the platform left the post up with a warning label.
Trump’s PAC has more cash than both parties combined – but he’s not spending much of it
01:00 , Alex Woodward
Trump’s Save America PAC amassed $110m by the end of February after collecting $m that month but spending just $1.2m, according to FEC filings.
His PAC war chest is bigger than those of the Democratic and Republican national committees combined.
So far, Trump seems to be keeping the money for himself, with no new donations or independent expenditures backing Trump-endorsed candidates, according to Politico.
But the filings “reveal substantial payments to two law firms representing high-profile witnesses” sought by the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack.
‘A thing called weather’
00:00 , Alex Woodward
In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Donald Trump – asked whether he believes the climate crisis is happening – said in his “opinion” there’s “a thing called weather.”
“The climate’s always been changing,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Florida – home of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort – is at the centre of the nation’s sea-level rise.
Even with conservative projections of sea level rise, water could be sloshing over his home’s manicured lawns from the intracoastal waterway in the next 30 years, according to Climate Central’s coastal risk screening tool based on the latest NOAA data.
Trump claims sea level rise means more homes by the ocean. Let’s look at Mar-a-Lago
Giuliani says Trump threatened to blow up Russia’s churches in Putin call
Monday 21 March 2022 23:15 , Alex Woodward
In an interview with right-wing cable network Newsmax, Rudy Giuliani claimed that Trump once threatened Putin with a campaign of church bombings.
Giuliani says Trump threatened to blow up Russia’s churches in Putin call
Trump says Putin is ‘constantly using the n-word’ – as in ‘nuclear’
Monday 21 March 2022 22:40 , Alex Woodward
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said Vladimir Putin keeps using the “n-word” – as in “nuclear” – and claimed that the Russian president is a “different” man than the one he interacted with during his time in the White House.
“I listen to him constantly using the n-word, that’s the n-word, and he’s constantly using it, the nuclear word,” he said on Monday.
Trump says Putin is using the ‘n-word’ as in ‘nuclear’ as he claims he’s ‘different’
New York AG responds to Trump attempts to refuse subpoenas in Trump Organization probe
Monday 21 March 2022 22:00 , Alex Woodward
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is presiding over a sweeping civil investigation into the Trump family business, said she is undeterred by their latest attempt to delay or overturn a subpoena request for their testimony.
“Despite continuous efforts to impede this investigation, no one can stop our pursuit of justice, no matter how powerful they are,” she said in a statement. “We will continue to follow the facts without fear or favor.”
New Mexico residents sue to remove county commissioner from office over Jan 6 participation
Monday 21 March 2022 21:30 , Alex Woodward
New Mexico county commissioner Couy Griffin should be removed from office and disqualified from holding future office under the 14th Amendment after participating in the events surrounding the Capitol attack, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of residents.
Griffin – founder of Cowboys for Trump – is currently on trial for two misdemeanor charges (entering a restricted area at the Capitol and disruptive or disorderly conduct) related to the assault. He is not accused of entering the building.
Noah Bookbinder, president of watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Griffin “has used his public platform to spread the false narrative that the election was stolen from Donald Trump and to defend the attack on our Capitol,” and that “his actions on January 6th were part of and contributed to an insurrection, and his tenure in government continues to be a threat to our democracy.”
“It’s time for Couy Griffin to be removed from office,” he said.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband tearful as she delivers opening remarks while daughter looks on smiling
Monday 21 March 2022 21:09 , Alex Woodward
As Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered her opening statement during her Senate confirmation hearings for the US Supreme Court, her husband Dr Patrick Jackson was understandably emotional behind her.
The Independent’s John Bowden in Washington has more on the historic moment:
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband tearful as she delivers opening remarks
Pro-Trump Senate hopeful Mo Brooks says he will ‘fire’ Mitch McConnell if he’s elected
Monday 21 March 2022 20:28 , Alex Woodward
Alabama US Rep Mo Brooks, who is in a three-way primary for the Republican nomination to replace retiring Senator Richard Shelby, accused Mitch McConnell of being a “weak-kneed, debt junkie” in a new campaign advert.
His ad arrives just days after Trump said he might withdraw his endorsement of Brooks, who said the former president is in “a war for the heart and soul of the Republican Party” against the GOP Senate leader.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley has more on the Senate hopeful’s attempts to bring Trump back in his favour and the GOP’s battle over insufficient deference to the ex-president.
Pro-Trump Mo Brooks says he will ‘fire’ Mitch McConnell if he’s elected to Senate
Ketanji Brown Jackson vows transparency and to serve ‘without fear or favour’
Monday 21 March 2022 20:02 , Alex Woodward
Ketanji Brown Jackson closed the first day of her confirmation hearings with a pledge to remain transparent and serve without “fear or favour” if she is confirmed as the 116th US Supreme Court justice.
“If I am confirmed, I commit to you that I will work productively to support and defend the Constitution, and this grand experiment of American democracy that has endured over these past 246 years,” she said at the opening of her remarks.
“I evaluate the facts and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me without fear or favour consistent my judicial oath,” she said.
More follows from The Independent’s Eric Garcia in Washington:
Ketanji Brown Jackson vows transparency and to serve ‘without fear or favour’
Montana airport calls police on Ted Cruz after he misses check-in window
Monday 21 March 2022 19:45 , Alex Woodward
After Senator Ted Cruz missed his flight out of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on Sunday, a clip of his interaction with airport staff and police who had to step in went viral after the clip was shared on Reddit.
The Independent’s Gustaf Kilander has more:
Montana airport calls police on Ted Cruz after he misses check-in window
Is Trump even using his new social media platform?
Monday 21 March 2022 19:30 , Alex Woodward
On Trump’s Twitter clone Truth Social (on which this reporter is still waiting to be able to create an account), the former president doesn’t appear to have posted anything since it launched last month, according to pollster Frank Luntz:
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Trump has more campaign cash than both parties combined
Monday 21 March 2022 19:15 , Alex Woodward
Trump’s Save America PAC has more than $110m cash on hand, according to FEC filings.
That’s more than both the national Republican and Democratic party committees, combined.
Kenneth Vogel with The New York Times reports:
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Breaking news: Biden warns US companies of ‘evolving intelligence’ indicating potential Russian cyberattack
Monday 21 March 2022 19:08 , Alex Woodward
The White House is urging US companies to beef up their cybersecurity efforts amid what it calls “evolving intelligence” indicating that Russia is considering the possibility of directing cyberattacks against the US.
Biden warns US companies of potential Russian cyberattack
Meanwhile, in the Senate…
Monday 21 March 2022 18:50 , Andrew Naughtie
Opening remarks are underway in the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, and several of the Judiciary Committee’s GOP members have used their time mainly to complain about Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings in 2018, when the now-justice was accused of sexual assault.
Here, Ted Cruz offers Ms Brown Jackson a reassurance that she won’t be treated similarly “frivolously”, though his version of events is rather different than that many others recall.
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You can follow Ms Brown Jackson’s first appearance on our Supreme Court live blog.
Chris Christie: Trump’s remarks about Putin are ‘dangerous’
Monday 21 March 2022 18:29 , Alex Woodward
Chris Christie – who tells Fox News he could announce a decision by the end of the year about whether to run in 2024 – condemned Trump’s remarks referring to Putin as “genius” and “savvy” in a speech in New Hampshire.
“Do we want to send admiring words to someone [Putin] who as we speak this morning is directing the slaughter of women and children in the Ukraine without any conscience?” he said, according to Fox News.
Trump’s “remarks are dangerous,” he told the network. “They’re not just wrong, they’re dangerous.”
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Trouble in Missouri as GOP candidate accused of serious domestic abuse
Monday 21 March 2022 18:20 , Andrew Naughtie
Eric Greitens, a former Missouri governor now running for the GOP nomination in the state’s US Senate race, has been accused of extremely serious domestic abuse by his ex-wife.
In a sworn affadavit filed as part of a child custody case, Sheena Greitens alleges that her ex-husband threatened to destroy her reputation and meted out physical and psychological abuse to both her and their children, including their 3-year-old son.
She also claims that his behaviour was so alarming that “multiple people” besides her “were worried enough to intervene to limit Eric’s access to firearms”.
Read more below:
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Marjorie Taylor Greene wants you to know she doesn’t support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Monday 21 March 2022 17:50 , Andrew Naughtie
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has come under fire recently for espousing a litany of controversial and false remarks about the current conflict, took to her Twitter account Monday to share a video posted by Time magazine back in January that explains how the Azov battalion, a white supremacist militia in Ukraine, uses Facebook to recruit new members.
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“We should be asking many questions about who is receiving funding and weapons from America before blindly sending it,” Ms Greene writes in her caption of the video.
This tweet came after Sunday night, when the Republican representative took to her Twitter account to again engage in spreading false narratives about Ukraine, including one that mirrors Russian propaganda about the de-Nazification of Ukraine.
“We should not spend billions of American’s hard earned tax dollars on lethal aid to be given to possible Nazi militias that are torturing innocent people, especially children and women,” Ms Greene’s tweet reads.
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Hardcore Trump ally kicks off re-election campaign
Monday 21 March 2022 17:20 , Andrew Naughtie
Matt Gaetz, the far-right Florida congressman known for his anti-woke pro-Trump style, his general disgust with Democrats and the “deep state” and his entanglement in a sex trafficking investigation, has announced he will indeed be running for re-election this year.
“It’s choose your fighter time,” he declared to a crowd in Fort Walton Beach this weekend. “I’m your Florida man. I’m ready to take the fight to Washington and I hope you’ll fight with me.”
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Trump on nuclear deterrence: the n-word
Monday 21 March 2022 16:50 , Andrew Naughtie
Donald Trump’s musings on Vladimir Putin this morning ranged from the revisionist to the bizarre, but one one of the more worrying moments (given he could conceivably become president again) came when he was asked to discuss Mr Putin’s threats of nuclear force.
Speaking of the US’s nuclear-armed submarine fleet, he proposed: “And you should say, ‘Look, if you mention that word one more time, we’re going to send them over, and we’re gonna be coasting back and forth up and down your coast’.”
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Trump pressed on whether to run on 2020 “fraud” lie
Monday 21 March 2022 16:19 , Andrew Naughtie
Donald Trump’s Fox Business interview this morning saw something unusual: a Fox host, Stuart Varney, suggesting that he stop talking about the fictional “theft” of the 2020 election if he wanted the GOP to succeed in 2022 and 2024.
The ex-president, who still talks about what’s known as the “big lie” whenever he can, did not agree:
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Trump on climate: “just weather”
Monday 21 March 2022 16:10 , Andrew Naughtie
In a phone interview with Fox News this morning, Donald Trump delivered a characteristically offbeat assessment of the realities of climate change.
“Nobody is more into the climate than I am,” Mr Trump said, calling the Green New Deal a “hoax”. Pressed on whether the climate is changing because of human activity, he responded:
In my opinion, you have a thing called weather and you go up and you go down. If you look into the 1920s they were talking about global freezing. Okay, in other words, if globe was going to freeze, and then they go global warming then they couldn’t use that because the temperatures were actually quite cool, and many different things so that now they just talk about climate change. The climate has always been changing.
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Trump claims ‘no one is more into climate than me’ before dismissing crisis
Cowboys for Trump founder abandons plan to ride horse to Capitol riot trial
Monday 21 March 2022 15:33 , Johanna Chisholm
The founder of Cowboys for Trump decided to walk, not ride, to court for his trial on charges that he illegally entered the US Capitol grounds on the day a pro-Trump mob disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, who is set to be the second person tried on charges stemming from the U.S. Capitol riot, arrived outside US District Court in Washington DC on Monday on foot, dressed in a stetson and suit, after driving into the capital with a horse-trailer on the back of his truck.
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The New Mexico elected official told NBC News his choice to leave the saddle at home for his first appearance in court was a decision he arrived at out of respect for the court and to avoid creating a “spectacle”.
Read the full story from The Independent’s Megan Sheets and Morgan Lee below.
Cowboys for Trump founder abandons plan to ride horse to Capitol riot trial
Justice Thomas misses oral arguments due to illness
Monday 21 March 2022 15:06 , Johanna Chisholm
Justice Clarence Thomas was absent from Supreme Court oral arguments on Monday due to illness.
“Justice Thomas is unable to be present today but will participate in consideration and decision of the cases on the basis of the briefs and the transcripts of oral argument,” Chief Justice John Roberts said, The Hill reported.
The longest-serving member of the US Supreme Court, and the oldest conservative judge on the bench, was hospitalized with an infection on Friday after experiencing flulike symptoms, the court said in a statement.
His illness, they added, was not related to Covid.
Trump mocks Lindsey Graham as a ‘progressive’
Monday 21 March 2022 14:33 , Johanna Chisholm
Once a friend, now a foe. Donald Trump appears to be turning on a select group of Republican politicians who were once deemed as friendly to the former president’s administration.
At a fundraising dinner over the weekend in Florida, Mr Trump mocked longtime supporter Lindsey Graham by labelling him a “progressive”.
“There are a couple of senators. And we have our progressive senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham,” Mr Trump said on Friday during the Lincoln Day fundraising dinner organised by the Palm Beach County Republican Party at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Read the full story from The Independent’s Gustaf Kilander below.
Trump mocks Lindsey Graham as a ‘progressive’
Sen. Dick Durbin calls out Josh Hawley’s attacks against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
Monday 21 March 2022 14:02 , Johanna Chisholm
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin didn’t hold back when he was asked to comment on Republican Senator Josh Hawley’s attacks against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week.
During an interview with the Illinois senator on the ABC program This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked him what he thought about Mr Hawley’s tweets that called into question Ms Jackson’s record on sex offenders, which have since been debunked by independent fact-checkers the ABC host adds.
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“He’s wrong. He’s inaccurate and unfair in his analysis,” Mr Durbin said in response, adding that Mr Hawley, “was a man who was fist-bumping the murderous mob that descended on the Capitol on January 6th of the last year. He doesn’t have the credibility he thinks he does”.
Watch the full video excerpt below.
Video ‘Putin’s name will have a stain in history forever for this’: Durbin
ICYMI: Biden is right to investigate Putin’s war crimes. He should investigate American war crimes too
Monday 21 March 2022 13:32 , Johanna Chisholm
If the US is to have a shred of moral credibility in calling out war crimes in Ukraine, it must also allow international bodies to evaluate the prolific war crimes of the American military, writes The Independent’s Josh Marcus in an opinion piece.
Much as Vladimir Putin alone holds much of the power to end the war in Ukraine, only the US really has the power to allow the American military to be investigated. One of the perks of being a superpower is you get to decide which rules apply to you. But if we want to live in a world where such arbitrary and hypocritical uses of power are a thing of the past — in Ukraine, Afghanistan, or anywhere else — Americans must move beyond half-hearted commitments to international justice.
Josh Marcus, writing in Biden is right to investigate Putin’s war crimes. He should investigate American war crimes too
Read the full voices contribution from The Independent’s Josh Marcus below.
Biden is right to slam Putin’s war crimes. He should investigate US war crimes too
How the White House has prepared for attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson
Monday 21 March 2022 13:04 , Johanna Chisholm
On Monday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin the intense vetting process as she seeks to not only become the first Black woman to sit on the nation’s highest court but also the first public defender.
The Senate Judiciary Committee begins confirmation hearings for Ms Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court and while Republicans sitting on the committee may be gearing up to grill her over her public record, Democratic heavyweights are readying to counter.
The White House has prepared for any attacks that the judge might be soft on crime, by heralding her law enforcement credentials. And Democratic strategists, like Karen Finney, told The Independent how Republicans’ attacks on Ms Jackson’s high-qualified record can be viewed as an attempt to minimize her many contributions and “put her in a box”.
“I think from the beginning, one of the things that is among the many things that make Judge Jackson, just a remarkable nominee for the Supreme Court is the fact that she has experience in the legal system from different perspectives,” said Ms Finney.
Read the full story from The Independent’s Eric Garcia below.
How the White House has prepared for attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson
Alabama Senate hopeful Mo Brooks calls for McConnell’s sacking
Monday 21 March 2022 12:33 , Johanna Chisholm
Alabama Senate hopeful Mo Brooks is joining the ranks of Republican candidates who are calling on Mitch McConnell to be removed from his position as Senate GOP leader.
“America can’t afford a senate leader who is a weak-kneed, debt junkie, open-border RINO Republican and who, worse yet, sells out America for special interest group cash,” Mr Brooks says in a recently released online ad campaign.
There are currently two other Republican candidates who have publicly voiced their support for removing the Kentucky Republican from his post and they include Eric Greitans, who’s running in Missouri, and Kelly Tshibaka, running in Alaska.
Mr Brooks says in the 90-second ad that there’s a “battle” happening in America right now, and RINOs – Republican in name only – are not well suited to that confrontation.
“That’s the battle in America right now. McConnell versus Trump in a war for the heart and soul of the Republican party,” Mr Brooks says, underscoring how he and the two other Republican candidates who have called on Mr McConnell’s firing are closely aligning themselves with Donald Trump and his routine admonishment of the senate minority leader.
At the close of the video, Mr Brooks asks not only his opponents in the Alabama senate race, Katie Britt and Mike Durant, but all Republicans to join him in signing a pledge to oust the Kentucky Republican by heading to a website with an aptly named domain: www.firemcconnell.com.
How is Trump’s fundraising looking?
Monday 21 March 2022 11:54 , Andrew Naughtie
Every successive US presidential election is more extravagantly funded than the last – and courtesy of CATargetBot, which gathers and republishes FEC filings from campaign groups, we can take a glimpse at the balance held by Donald Trump’s Save America PAC.
Based on its cash-in-hand stash of $110,397,144.72 – with relatively puny unpaid bills – it looks to be in rude health.
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