Trump news - live: Trump confused aides with wait staff among bizarre revelations from new book

Donald Trump took to Truth Social to predict that “war” could be on the horizon after unusual leaks were discovered on Nord Stream I and II, two natural gas pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany.

“Everyone is talking about the big hurricane barreling into Florida, as they should be, but perhaps a far more important event in the longer term was the announcement that the Nord Stream I & II Pipelines out of Russia ... has been SABOTAGED,” Trump posted on Wednesday morning. “This could lead to major escalation, or War!”

Meanwhile, the January 6 House select committee has postponed Wednesday’s supposed final public hearing in light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida. Documentary footage of Trump-ally Roger Stone predicting violence and abuse of power after the 2020 election was to be shown.

Among the excerpts published from a new book on the former president by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times are the bizarre revelations that Mr Trump mistook diverse congressional staffers for wait staff and that he was close to firing daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner by tweet.

Key points

• Donald Trump predicts Nord Stream ‘war'

• January 6 committee hearing postponed due to Hurricane Ian

• Ron DeSantis privately calls Trump a ‘moron’ and vents about him running for president

• Capitol rioter sentenced to seven years in prison for role in Michael Fanone taser attack

• Trump bid to dodge suit from rape accuser E Jean Carroll heads to DC court

• Trump mistook ‘diverse’ congressional staffers for waitstaff

Lara Trump sparks anger after sharing video of son driving toy car outside in hurricane

23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Lara Trump has sparked anger and concern after posting a video of her five-year-old son driving his toy car outside in the midst of heavy rain from Hurricane Ian.

The 39-year-old TV producer, who lives in Florida with her husband Eric Trump, shared the video to her Instagram on Wednesday of the couple’s son Eric Luke Trump. Trump and her spouse also share three-year-old daughter Carolina Dorothy Trump.

Amber Raiken reports.

Lara Trump sparks anger after sharing video of son outside during Hurricane Ian

Democrat believes Trump called her impersonating a journalist after insulting her dead husband

23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Another bizarre tale about the former president from Maggie Haberman’s latest book involves him allegedly calling a Democratic lawmaker while pretending to be a journalist...

Graig Graziosi reports.

Democrat believes Trump called her impersonating a journalist, book claims

Top takeaways from new book on Jan 6 probe

22:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Virginia GOP congressman Denver Riggleman appeared on CBS News’ 60 Minutes this week to promote his book on the January 6 select committee investigation.

Mr Riggleman, who served as a staffer for the probe but left its employ in April, wrote The Breach prior to the committee drawing together its findings. Nevertheless, he observed how the investigation functioned.

Andrew Feinberg has three key takeaways from the book:

Top takeaways from Denver Riggleman’s book on the January 6 investigation

Family of Capitol rioter called DC police office attacked on Jan 6 a ‘piece of s***t’

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A Washington DC police officer who was tasered as he defended the US Capitol on January 6 has said the mother of the rioter involved in the attack called him a “piece of s***” after her son was sentenced.

Speaking on CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight after Kyle Young was sentenced on Tuesday, Michael Fanone recounted how he was insulted by the rioter’s mother when leaving the court.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Family of Jan 6 rioter called DC police officer a ‘piece of s***t’ at sentencing

White House struggles to explain why Biden called on deceased congresswoman at event

21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House struggled to respond on Wednesday after Joe Biden committed an embarrassing error at an anti-hunger event on Wednesday and appeared to forget the recent death of an Indiana congresswoman.

The president was speaking at the White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health when he called out the name of Jackie Walorski, a Republican member of the House who died in a car crash earlier this year. Speaking as if he was searching for her in the was in the room, Mr Biden then suggested that she must have missed the event.

John Bowden reports on the cringeworthy gaffe.

White House struggles to explain why Biden called out for deceased congresswoman

Florida official appointed by DeSantis resigns after KKK costume photo emerges

21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A county commissioner in Florida appointed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has abruptly resigned following the circulation of a photograph allegedly showing him wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood.

Jeffery Moore was appointed to the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners in July, serving as the only Republican on the five-member board in the state’s only predominantly Black county for less than two months before his resignation last week.

He also has ended his campaign for the position in the lead up to November’s general election.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Florida official abruptly resigns after KKK costume photo emerges

Trump meeting with PM May included an odd hypothetical question

20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump’s initial meeting with then-UK prime minister Theresa May included a bizarre query about how Ms May would react if her daughter were to be violated by multiple assailants who sported body art.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Trump asked Theresa May about hypothetical rape of her daughter, book reveals

‘Go wild’: Trump put Giuliani in charge of his legal team because no one else would help overturn election

20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump reportedly tapped Rudy Giuliani to lead his legal team because nobody else wanted to go as far to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book about the former president.

Eric Garcia reports.

Giuliani led Trump’s legal team because no one else would overturn election:

Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for helicopter hog hunting contest

19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest eyebrow raising campaign video features the Georgia congresswoman discussing the threat of invasive hogs in Texas while also seeming to compare the feral animals attacking farmers’ fields to Democrats.

Johanna Chisholm has the story.

Greene mocked for hog hunting contest as she’s seen slaying animals with rifle

Capitol rioter sentenced to seven years in prison for role in taser attack on Michael Fanone

19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A January 6 rioter who supplied the taser used to attack a police officer during the Capitol attack will spend years behind bars.

Kyle Young, 38, was sentenced to seven years in prison during a tense hearing on Tuesday. Young, who brought his 16-year-old son to Washington DC from Redfield, Iowa, for the insurrection, had pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers in May.

Andrea Blanco reports on Young’s actions that day and what happened in court.

Jan 6 rioter sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting officer

Trump one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape lawsuit

18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal appeals has tipped the balance in Donald Trump’s favour in a long-running defamation suit from writer E Jean Carroll, who accused the former president of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.

On Tuesday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in a split decision that Mr Trump was a government employee when denied the rape accusation and accused Ms Carroll of inventing it to sell books, a determination that’s key to his claim that he’s protected under federal law shielding government employees from liability related to their duties of office.

Josh Marcus has the details.

Trump moves one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape lawsuit with court ruling

Why was the final Jan 6 committee hearing postponed?

18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The House January 6 select committee will postpone the hearing scheduled for Wednesday on account of Hurricane Ian, The Independent has learned.

A source with knowledge of the panel’s internal deliberations said the postponement of what would be the committee’s ninth public session will allow one of the nine select committee members, Representative Stephanie Murphy, to tend to any matters that arise in her Florida district due to the approaching storm.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Why the final Jan 6 committee hearing was postponed

Chelsea Clinton says her family was ‘reason that Fox News was created’

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton says her famed political family was “the reason” why Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News was created.

She made the statement in an interview with Variety.

Chelsea Clinton says her family is ‘the reason that Fox News was created’

Trump wanted to bomb Mexican drug labs, according to new book

17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump seriously weighed the idea of having drug labs in Mexico bombed after one of his top health officials suggested they be controlled by putting “lead to target” on the facilities to stem the flow of the substances across the southern border.

The one-term president reportedly floated the idea “several times” to high-ranking officials in his White House, according to New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman’s new book, Confidence Man, The Washington Post first reported.

Johanna Chisholm has the story.

Trump repeatedly asked to bomb Mexican drug labs, new book reveals

Trump asks to head up group to negotiate with Putin

16:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump offered up his services to “head up a group” to help international leaders resolve the geopolitical quagmire that has opened after the discovery of gas leaks in major Russian gas pipelines to Europe.

On Tuesday, Sweden’s Maritime Authority said it had issued a warning after the learning of leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after another one was found on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project.

Joanna Chisholm reports.

Trump asks to head up group to negotiate with Putin in response to Nord Stream leaks

Trump mistook ‘diverse’ congressional staffers for waitstaff

16:14 , Oliver O'Connell

One of Donald Trump’s first White House dinners attended by leaders of Congress turned into an awkward affair with the president insulting a group of congressional staffers and clashing publicly with Nancy Pelosi, according to a new book.

The revelations come from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman in her upcoming look into the Trump White House, Confidence Man. The book releases 4 October; exerpts detailing this incident were obtained and published Wednesday by Rolling Stone.

John Bowden reports.

Trump mistook ‘diverse’ congressional staffers for waitstaff at White House gala

Can the January 6 committee close out with a bang?

15:54 , Oliver O'Connell

With today’s public hearing postponed as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, how will the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack pull together all of its stunning revelations in a rescheduled finale?

Jan 6 hearings revealed details of Trump ‘coup’. Can committee close out with a bang?

Oath Keepers lawyer had contact with Trump aide Andrew Giuliani prior to Jan 6

15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

A member of the Oath Keepers extremist organisation, who served as the group’s lawyer and is facing charges related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, had contact with a then-TrumpWhite House aide in the weeks leading up to the attack.

According to The Breach, a new book by ex-GOP congressman turned January 6 select committee staffer Denver Riggleman, Oath Keepers attorney Kelly SoRelle exchanged text messages with Andrew Giuliani, a Trump White House official, in the days between the November 2020 election and the pro-Trump riot on January 6.

The book also claims that Ms SoRelle unsuccessfully attempted to text a landline phone number belonging to the White House switchboard in late December 2020.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Oath Keepers lawyer had contact with Trump White House aide Andrew Giuliani

Golf magazine trolled after ranking Trump as best presidential golfer

15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A golf magazine was mocked for awarding the top position to Donald Trump in a list ranking American presidents by their handicap.

Golf Digest awarded the 45th president the top score of 2.8, while allotting current president Joe Biden the number two slot with a 6.7 score.

John F Kennedy bagged third place with a score of 7 and 27th American president William Howard Taft was left with the lowest number of 20, according to a tweet by the magazine.

The ratings trigged backlash against the magazine, with people on social media claiming the handicap numbers were “fake”.

Read the full report from Alisha Rahaman Sarkar here:

Golf magazine trolled after ranking Trump as best presidential golfer

Congresswoman claims Trump called pretending to be reporter, new book claims

14:59 , Johanna Chisholm

Rep Debbie Dingell, whose widow, John Dingell, served in her Michigan congressional seat before her and holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress, claims that Donald Trump once tried to call her under the guise of a Washington Post reporter.

The allegation was first reported by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who shared an excerpt of her reporting from her upcoming book with The Washington Post and described the incident as such:

“Rep. Debbie Dingell got a call on her cell phone after she said she was voting to impeach Trump in 2019. Trump excoriated her recently deceased, popular husband at a rally, and she condemned it,” tweeted Ms Haberman, while sharing a link to the Post story.

“The next day, she got a call on her cell from someone claiming to be a Washington Post reporter whose name she didn’t know. The more he talked, she couldn’t shake the sense that it was President Trump. The quotes never appeared in a story,” she closes.

Trump nearly fired Ivanka and Jared via tweet

14:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump, known for having a flare for the dramatics when it came to dismissing employees working in his administration, reportedly nearly fired his own blood via his previously preferred social media platform of choice: Twitter.

According to CNN, who received an early copy of New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book, the then-president was seconds away from firing off a tweet that would’ve alerted his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, that they were no longer employed in the White House.

Joanna Chisholm has the story.

Donald Trump nearly fired Ivanka and Jared via tweet

What has Trump said about Jan 6?

14:20 , Oliver O'Connell

What Donald Trump has said about the January 6 riot

Donald Trump nearly fired Ivanka and Jared via tweet, new book reveals

14:00 , Johanna Chisholm

Former President Donald Trump, known for having a flare for the dramatics when it came to dismissing employees working in his administration, reportedly nearly fired his own blood via his previously preferred social media platform of choice: Twitter.

According to CNN, who received an early copy of New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book, the then-president was seconds away from firing off a tweet that would’ve alerted his daugter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, that they were no longer employed in the White House.

Both Ivanka and Kushner were working as senior White House aides and the former president - who reportedly grew tired of his son-in-law’s presence and described him as sounding “like a child” - only decided not to fire them from the fury of his thumbs because his then-chief of staff John Kelly and then-White House counsel Don McGahn warned against it.

Mr Kelly reportedly stopped the president from firing off a tweet that would’ve promptly signalled the departure of the couple from Trump’s White House, warning that the news would be best delivered through an in-person conversation.

That conversation, Ms Haberman writes, never happened. Ivanka and Mr Kushner remained employed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue until their boss and relative departed in 2021.

Trump asks to head up group to negotiate with Putin in response to Nord Stream leaks

13:45 , Johanna Chisholm

Donald Trump offered up his services to “head up a group” to help international leaders resolve the geopolitical quagmire that has opened after the discovery of gas leaks in major Russian gas pipelines to Europe.

On Tuesday, Sweden’s Maritime Authority said it had issued a warning after the learning of leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after another one was found on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project.

While the cause of the leaks remains unexplained, European leaders began floating the idea that Russian interference could be to blame.

The former US president took those accusations one step further and predicted that the knock-on effects of the natural gas leaks could lead to “war” and later offered up his own expertise to negotiate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and European leaders so as to prevent any unnecessary ratcheting up.

Read the full report from The Independent’s Johanna Chisholm here:

Trump asks to head up group to negotiate with Putin in response to Nord Stream leaks

DeSantis privately calls Trump a ‘moron’

13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has privately vented to staffers that Donald Trump, a likely contender for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, is a “moron” and has no business running for the Oval Office for a second time.

The revelations about the inside murmurings from the Republican governor arrive from a deeply reported Vanity Fair profile, which tracks the firebrand Florida politician’s rise from a controversial figure in the GOP to a likely challenger in the 2024 presidential election.

Though the governor has been mum publicly about any animus he holds towards the former president, behind closed doors it’s apparently a different story.

Johanna Chisholm reports.

DeSantis privately calls Trump a ‘moron’ and vents about him running for president

What has Mike Pence said about the January 6 riot?

13:05 , Johanna Chisholm

Two men who have been central to the work of the January 6 committee are, of course, former president Donald Trump and his estranged former vice president Mike Pence.

But what has Mr Pence said so far about the events of that day?

What Mike Pence has said about the January 6 riot

Trump claims Russian invasion of Ukraine would ‘not have happened if I were President'

12:43 , Johanna Chisholm

Following up on his earlier predictions of “war” in relation to the unexplained Nord Stream pipelines leaks, Donald Trump went on to proclaim that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia would “not have happened if I were President”.

“U.S. “Leadership” should remain “cool, calm, and dry” on the SABOTAGE of the Nord Stream Pipelines. This is a big event that should not entail a big solution, at least not yet,” the former president posted on Truth Social on Wednesday morning.

“The Russia/Ukraine catastrophe should NEVER have happened, and would definitely not have happened if I were President. Do not make matters worse with the pipeline blowup. Be strategic, be smart (brilliant!), get a negotiated deal done NOW. Both sides need and want it. The entire World is at stake,” Mr Trump said, before offering up that he would “head up a group”.

Trump seriously considered bombing drug labs in Mexico, new book reveals

12:20 , Johanna Chisholm

Former president Donald Trump reportedly seriously weighed the idea to have drug labs in Mexico bombed after one of his top health officials came into the Oval Office and said that the facilities should be controlled by putting “lead to target” to stem the flow of the substances into the country, according to a book excerpt, first reported by The Washington Post.

The revelation about the exchange between Mr Trump and the health official, who was dressed in military uniform, arrives from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book.

According to the veteran White House reporter, the former president raised the prospect “several times” and even took the idea to his “stunned” defense secretary, Mark Esper, about whether the United States could indeed bomb the labs.

Officials who briefed the reporter told Ms Haberman that the senior health official, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, often wore his dress uniform for meetings with the then-president, which reportedly confused him.

“The response from White House aides was not to try to change Trump’s view, but to consider asking Giroir not to wear his uniform to the Oval Office anymore,” Ms Haberman writes in Confidence Man.

Two dozen cell phones handed over by Secret Service in missing texts probe

12:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The US Secret Service recently handed over two dozen phones to investigators with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) as part of the investigation into missing text messages from January 6.

NBC News reported on Tuesday that the agency had done so “shortly after” a letter was sent on 19 July from the OIG’s office demanding their confiscation. The letter reportedly followed OIG Joseph Cuffari’s launch of a formal criminal investigation into the matter.

John Bowden has the details.

Secret Service handed over two dozen cell phones in missing texts probe

Trump warns of ‘war’ after unexplained leaks in Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany

11:59 , Johanna Chisholm

Donald Trump took to Truth Social early in the morning on Wednesday to post about Hurricane Ian - upgraded to a Category 4 - which expected to make landfall in Florida by early afternoon.

The former president, who once suggested “nuking” hurricanes to prevent them from hitting America, claimed that the “more important event” was the recent news that Nord Stream I and II pipelines are experiencing unexplained leaks, something he floated was a potential lead up to “war”.

“Everyone is talking about the big hurricane barreling into Florida, as they should be, but perhaps a far more important event in the longer term was the announcement that the Nord Stream I & II Pipelines out of Russia (which I brought to the World’s attention as President when I explained how crippling reliance on it could be for Germany and other parts of Europe. Everybody laughed at the time, but they are not laughing anymore!) has been SABOTAGED. This could lead to major escalation, or War!

Jan 6 committee hearing postponed due to Hurricane Ian

11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The House January 6 select committee will postpone the hearing scheduled for Wednesday on account of Hurricane Ian, The Independent has learned.

A source with knowledge of the panel’s internal deliberations said the postponement of what would be the committee’s ninth public session will allow one of the nine select committee members, Representative Stephanie Murphy, to tend to any matters that arise in her Florida district due to the approaching storm.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

January 6 committee hearing postponed due to Hurricane Ian

Watch: Jan 6 committee adviser says someone at White House called Capitol rioter

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump wanted to bomb Mexican drug labs, new book reveals

22:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump seriously weighed the idea of having drug labs in Mexico bombed after one of his top health officials suggested they be controlled by putting “lead to target” on the facilities to stem the flow of the substances across the southern border.

The one-term president reportedly floated the idea “several times” to high-ranking officials in his White House, according to New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman’s new book, Confidence Man, The Washington Post first reported.

Trump repeatedly asked to bomb Mexican drug labs, new book reveals

Trump moves one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape lawsuit

10:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal appeals has tipped the balance in Donald Trump’s favour in a long-running defamation suit from writer E Jean Carroll, who accused the former president of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.

On Tuesday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in a split decision that Mr Trump was a government employee when denied the rape accusation and accused Ms Carroll of inventing it to sell books, a determination that’s key to his claim that he’s protected under federal law shielding government employees from liability related to their duties of office.

The 2-to-1 decision, however, avoided passing judgment on whether Mr Trump’s comments were themselves defamatory, and instead asked a Washington, DC, appeals court to weigh in on whether such remarks from a government employee were protected under district law.

Josh Marcus looks at where the case stands now.

Trump moves one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape lawsuit with court ruling

Watch: Trump blames banks over tax valuations

09:00 , Oliver O'Connell

McConnell backs post-January 6 revisions to elections law

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will “proudly support” legislation to overhaul rules for certifying presidential elections, bolstering a bipartisan effort to revise a 19th century law and avoid another Jan. 6 insurrection.

The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which, along with the Constitution, governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners. The changes in the certification process are in response to unsuccessful efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.

McConnell made the remarks just before a committee vote on the legislation. He said he would back the bill as long as a bipartisan agreement on the language is not significantly changed.

Read more:

McConnell backs post-Jan. 6 revisions to elections law

07:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kellyanne Conway mocked for blaming overdose deaths on marijuana

06:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kellyanne Conway has been ridiculed on social media after seemingly linking the rise in overdose deaths to marijuana.

Speaking on Fox News on Monday, the former Trump adviser attempted to take a jab at Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman for hanging a marijuana flag in the state capitol. Her remarks received backlash from political commentators and Twitter users who argued marijuana use was not a contributing factor in the opioid epidemic.

Andre Blanco has the story.

Kellyanne Conway mocked for blaming overdose deaths on marijuana

Doug Mastriano once said women should be charged with murder for violating proposed abortion ban

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Count Doug Mastriano among those Republicans with hardline stances on abortion who will now have to reckon with the reality of their proposals.

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate has vowed in recent days to sign into law a bill banning abortion after six weeks, or similar restrictions, should he win office against Josh Shapiro in November. But now, his past comments about the issue show just how extreme the potential governor’s views are.

John Bowden reports.

Pennsylvania gov candidate said women who get abortions should be charged with murder

What previous Jan 6 hearings have set out – and what new revelations are coming

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

“January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup, a brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after January 6, to overthrow the government.”

So spoke Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson in June, as the Jan 6 committee held its first televised meeting into the events that befell the building the nation’s elected officials were sitting in just 18 months earlier, as Donald Trump and his supporters tried to prevent Joe Biden taking office.

His co-chair, Republican congresswomen Liz Cheney, spoke in equally stark terms. Trump had a seven-part plan to stay in power, she said, and when rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence”, the then president thought his deputy may have deserved it.

There have been eight hearings this year, with one held in 2021, of what is formally called the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.

At least one more is due – initially scheduled for 28 September, it was postponed because of the approach of Hurricane Ian.

Andrew Buncombe looks at what we have learned and what might still be to come.

‘This was a failed coup’: Jan 6 committee returns with new revelations

Herschel Walker names Capitol rioter as campaign ‘captain’

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The campaign for the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia, Herschel Walker, has registered a woman arrested earlier this year on charges in connection to the January 6 insurrection as a “county captain”.

Mandy Robinson-Hand was included in a press release last month, which also listed dozens of other supporters of Mr Walker on the local level, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ms Robinson-Hand is the chair of the GOP in Taylor County and was listed as the “captain” for the county in the middle of rural Georgia.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Herschel Walker names Capitol rioter as campaign ‘captain’

Dr Oz’s insult about John Fetterman’s clothing backfires spectacularly

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The latest GOP attempt to attack John Fetterman is falling flat as Dr Mehmet Oz and his Republican allies seek to make the lieutenant governor’s clothing choices and tattoos a campaign issue.

The latest back-and-forth in the much-watched PennsylvaniaSenate race began with Dr Oz’s appearance on a podcast, wherein he attacked the lieutenant governor for wearing a “costume” — the sweatshirts and jeans style that Mr Fetterman has been known for embracing for years, dating back to his time as mayor of Braddock.

John Bowden reports on the reaction.

Dr Oz’s insult for John Fetterman’s clothing backfires spectacularly

Top Republican slammed for ‘disgusting’ comment about Hunter Biden’s assistant

Wednesday 28 September 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, James Comer of Kentucky, has come under fire for his comments about Hunter Biden’s assistant.

Mr Comer appeared on Fox News on Monday night to talk about the Biden family’s purported relationship with China, as Republicans continue to use controversy around the president’s son and his laptop in calls for impeachment.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

GOP congressman slammed for ‘disgusting’ comment about Hunter Biden’s assistant

Trump allies under fire for celebrating far-right win in Italy

Tuesday 27 September 2022 23:55 , Oliver O'Connell

House and Senate Republicans aligned with former president Donald Trump are hailing the emergence of the first Italian fascist leader since the Second World War as a sign that the world is embracing Mr Trump’s brand of authoritarianism and a harbinger of a GOP victory in November’s midterm US elections.

Andrew Feinberg reports for The Independent from Washington, DC.

Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene under fire for cheering Italian far-right victory

Report says Trump’s new lawyer for Mar-a-Lago case already being sidelined

Tuesday 27 September 2022 23:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump‘s newest lawyer has reportedly already been sidelined from the Mar-a-Lago document investigation, according to sources familiar with the probe.

CNN spoke with a pair of unnamed sources familiar with the investigation and reports that Chris Kise, the newest addition to the former president’s legal team, has been shifted away from the Mar-a-Lago probe just a month after singing on to help Mr Trump.

According to the report, the reason for his shift is unclear, but Mr Kise will be focusing on other investigations involving Mr Trump.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump’s new lawyer for Mar-a-Lago case already being sidelined, report says

Trump sends condolences on occasion of Abe funeral

Tuesday 27 September 2022 22:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump has expressed his condolences as the leaders gather to mourn the late Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.

Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social:

Melania and I send our deepest respect and condolences to the memory of a truly great man and Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe of Japan. Quite frankly, there was nobody like him. He loved his country and fought so hard that it remained free and safe. We became very close friends, and there was nobody with a greater passion for peace than Shinzo. The world has lost a truly incredible leader—but his words and thoughts will never be forgotten. He will be greatly missed by all!

The United States will be represented at the state funeral by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump rejoins Forbes 400 list of richest Americans

Tuesday 27 September 2022 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is once again a member of the Forbes richest Americans club, rejoining the magazine’s list of the top 400 richest US citizens after falling off in 2021.

The magazine made the announcement on Monday, noting that Mr Trump’s wealth had risen from $2.5 bn to $3.2 bn over 2021-2022.

Editors of Forbes did, however, note the massive fraud lawsuit facing the former president, which threatens the value his hoard if it ends in a judgement against him.

John Bowden has the story.

Donald Trump rejoins Forbes 400 list of richest Americans

Capitol rioter sentenced to seven years in prison for role in Michael Fanone taserattack

Tuesday 27 September 2022 22:19 , Oliver O'Connell

A January 6 rioter who supplied the taser used to attack a police officer during the Capitol attack will spend years behind bars.

Kyle Young, 38, was sentenced to seven years in prison during a tense hearing on Tuesday. Young, who brought his 16-year-old son to Washington DC from Redfield, Iowa, for the insurrection, had pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers in May.

During his victim’s statement at the sentencing hearing, Michael Fanone recounted the negative effects of January 6 on his life and said he hoped Young suffered in prison, prompting an election denier to call him a “piece of [expletive]” before the heckler was removed from the courtroom.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Jan 6 rioter sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting officer

Can Trump keep his QAnon supporters under control ahead of the midterms?

Tuesday 27 September 2022 22:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has promoted increasingly overt QAnon conspiracy theories in recent weeks, The Independent’s Eric Garcia and Alex Woodward report on what has also become more and more evident at the former president’s rallies.

Can Donald Trump keep his QAnon supporters under control before the midterms?

McConnell backs post-January 6 revisions to elections law

Tuesday 27 September 2022 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will “proudly support” legislation to overhaul rules for certifying presidential elections, bolstering a bipartisan effort to revise a 19th century law and avoid another January 6 insurrection.

The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which, along with the Constitution, governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners. The changes in the certification process are in response to unsuccessful efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.

Read more:

McConnell backs post-Jan. 6 revisions to elections law

Doug Mastriano’s campaign ‘sputtering’ with tiny rallies and no ads

Tuesday 27 September 2022 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania state senator who rode to the GOP gubernatorial nomination on a platform of election denial and overt appeals to Christian nationalism, struggled to draw more than a few dozen people to a rally at the state capitol in Harrisburg on Saturday.

According to the New York Times, Mr Mastriano’s event was in the same spot where he’d drawn a crowd of thousands at an April 2020 rally against Covid-19 mitigation measures, but unlike that prior event his audience this time consisted mostly of his own campaign staffers. The report described Mr Mastriano’s campaign as “sputtering”.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Doug Mastriano’s campaign ‘sputtering’ with tiny rallies and no ads

Trump moves one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape defamation lawsuit

Tuesday 27 September 2022 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal appeals has tipped the balance in Donald Trump’s favour in a long-running defamation suit from writer E Jean Carroll, who accused the former president of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.

On Tuesday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in a split decision that Mr Trump was a government employee when denied the rape accusation and accused Ms Carroll of inventing it to sell books, a determination that’s key to his claim that he’s protected under federal law shielding government employees from liability related to their duties of office.

The 2-to-1 decision, however, avoided passing judgment on whether Mr Trump’s comments were themselves defamatory, and instead asked a Washington, DC, appeals court to weigh in on whether such remarks from a government employee were protected under district law.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump moves one step closer to dodging E Jean Carroll rape lawsuit with court ruling

Jan 6 committee: Postponement date coming soon

Tuesday 27 September 2022 20:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Tomorrow’s Jan 6 committee hearing postponed

Tuesday 27 September 2022 20:18 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent has confirmed multiple reports that tomorrow’s House committee hearing on the events of 6 January 2021 has been postponed.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

January 6 committee hearing postponed due to Hurricane Ian

Marsha Blackburn ridiculed for tweeting in support of women’s freedom in Iran despite opposition to abortion

Tuesday 27 September 2022 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, an anti-abortion rights Republican who once called the Supreme Court decision that legalised a right to birth control “constitutionally unsound”, was ridiculed online for voicing her support for Iranian women protesting for freedom.

The GOP senator took to Twitter to share a message of seeming allyship with the Iranian women who have been pouring onto city streets across the world to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly having some hair visible under her headscarf.

Joanna Chisholm reports.

Anti-abortion Republican ridiculed for tweeting in support of Iranian women’s freedom

Secret Service hands over two dozen cell phones in Jan 6 missing texts probe

Tuesday 27 September 2022 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The US Secret Service recently handed over two dozen phones to investigators with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) as part of the investigation into missing text messages from January 6.

NBC News reported on Tuesday that the agency had done so “shortly after” a letter was sent on 19 July from the OIG’s office demanding their confiscation. The letter reportedly followed OIG Joseph Cuffari’s launch of a formal criminal investigation into the matter.

John Bowden reports.

Secret Service handed over two dozen cell phones in missing texts probe

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton mocked for fleeing subpoena

Tuesday 27 September 2022 19:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Ken Paxton, the Republican Texas state attorney general, fled a subpoena in a vehicle alongside his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton.

Mr Paxton was being given a subpoena at his home on Monday in connection to a court hearing set for Tuesday linked to a lawsuit by nonprofits attempting to fund abortions outside of the state for Texas residents.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton mocked for fleeing subpoena: ‘Run, Ken, run!’

Tuesday 27 September 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A Democrat hoping to defeat Lauren Boebert is calling her out for her lack of support for bills meant to help US military veterans.

Adam Frisch laid out his opponent’s votes on more than a dozen pieces of legislation over the weekend after Ms Boebert, a first-term congresswoman championed by the far right and known for her racist comments about colleagues, touted her work on veterans’ affairs.

“I voted for four pro-veteran bills that were signed into law and led several amendments to provide funding for mental health and other important services for our veterans,” wrote Ms Boebert in a tweet that also urged her followers to click and learn more about “the work I’m doing to support America’s heroes”.

John Bowden looks at how that may not be the case.

Boebert slammed for 15 anti-veteran votes after boasting of support for troops

Everything you need to know so far about the January 6 hearings

Tuesday 27 September 2022 19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The public hearings of the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection on January 6 have revealed new footage from the attack on Congress and have featured testimony from rioters, law enforcement, and members of the Trump administration.

Most of the witnesses have been Republicans, several of them considered to be loyal to former President Donald Trump.

Gustaf Kilander reviews all of the testimony we have heard so far.

The Jan 6 hearings so far: Everything you need to know

Trump bid to dodge suit from rape accuser heads to DC court

Tuesday 27 September 2022 18:53 , Oliver O'Connell

An appeals court in Washington D.C. has been asked to help decide whether Donald Trump was doing his job as president when he denied raping a woman and dismissed his accuser as “not my type.”

The columnist, E. Jean Carroll, sued Trump in 2019, claiming the Republican raped her in the mid-1990s inside a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, then lied about it and besmirched her character when she decided to tell her story publicly.

Since then, the case has gotten bogged down in a technical legal dispute over whether Trump should have to defend the lawsuit as a private citizen, or whether the U.S. government should step in as the defendant because Trump was performing his duties as president at the time he issued his denials.

Read more:

Trump bid to dodge suit from rape accuser heads to DC court

Documentary clips of Roger Stone predicting violence to be shown at Jan 6 hearing

Tuesday 27 September 2022 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

New clips of Roger Stone, lobbyist and longtime informal advisor of Donald Trump, are set to be shown at the final January 6 committee hearings in which he is reportedly predicting violence after the 2020 election.

The hearing of the House select committee starting on Wednesday will include the clip from a documentary called A Storm Foretold which is expected to be released later this year, according to US media reports.

One of the clips recorded by the Danish crew for the documentary shows Mr Stone predicting violence and misuse of power by the former president, the Washington Post reported quoting sources.

Stuti Mishra reports.

New clips of Roger Stone predicting violence to be shown at Jan 6 hearing

6 January 2021 — What happened at the US Capitol on that day?

Tuesday 27 September 2022 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

As the House of Representatives select committee prepares to hold its next televised hearing to investigate the January 6 attack, Joe Sommerlad offers a refresher on why they are pouring over the details of an assault mounted by supporters of 45th president Donald Trump determined to prevent the Senate from certifying the previous November’s presidential election result and officially confirming Democrat Joe Biden as the winner.

Read on:

What exactly happened on January 6, 2021?

Pennsylvania senate race: Is Dr Oz closing in on John Fetterman?

Tuesday 27 September 2022 17:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman’s lead against former television host and retired physician Mehmet Oz has narrowed, according to a new poll from New Insider Advantage and FOX 29 Philadelphia.

Eric Garcia has the latest.

John Fetterman’s lead against Dr Oz narrows in Pennsylvania

Mark Meadows communicated directly with pro-Trump operative to seize voting machines

Tuesday 27 September 2022 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Text messages obtained by CNN showed that one of the operatives behind efforts to seize voting machines communicated directly with former president Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Phil Waldron, who had promoted election-related conspiracy theories, reportedly texted Mr Meadows on 23 December saying that a judge in Arizona dismissed a lawsuit by Republicans who supported the then-president which would have demanded that the state hand over voting machines and other election equipment as evidence that the election was stolen.

Mr Waldron reportedly told Mr Meadows it would allow their opponents to engage in “delay tactics” that would prevent Mr Waldron and his allies from accessing the voting machines, to which Mr Meadows replied, “Pathetic.”

Eric Garcia reported on the news yesterday.

Texts show Mark Meadows spoke with pro-Trump operative to seize voting machines