Trump gag order upheld by appeals court in federal election case: Live – The Independent

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Gag order covers public statements regarding witnesses, counsel, legal and court staff and their families
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Donald Trump claims there was ‘no fraud whatsoever’ at New York for trial
The gag order imposed on Donald Trump in his federal election case has been largely upheld by an appeals court. All parties and their counsel are prohibited from making public statements about witnesses, counsel (other than Jack Smith), members of staff of both the court and counsels, and family members of the above.
The former president’s attorneys have filed an appeal against Judge Tanya Chutkan’s denial of a motion to dismiss the case under presidential immunity. They have also asked for a stay in proceedings that could potentially jeopardise the trial’s March start date.
Meanwhile, in New York, Mr Trump was back in court on Thursday at the Trump Organization’s civil fraud trial as defence testimony nears its conclusion. Mr Trump will testify again on Monday — still under that case’s gag order.
Defence expert witness Eli Bartov, an NYU professor, told the court: “There’s no fraud here.” He is being paid almost $900,000 for his testimony by Trump’s company and his Save America PAC.
In a lighter moment, the former president stopped to speak with the courtroom sketch artists and, inspecting their work, noted he should lose some weight.
Gustaf Kilander writes:
The reason why the Iowa caucuses matter is the same reason why money has value: Because people believe it does.
Over just a few decades, the Iowa caucuses went from a local affair to a national circus, with some presidential candidates gambling their entire campaigns on their fortunes in the corn-covered Hawkeye State. The next iteration of the is set to take place on 15 January 2024.
Read on…
Prominent Iowa pollster tells Gustaf Kilander, ‘it should be impossible to poll caucuses accurately because they’re designed for things to change at the very last moment’
Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, one of the moderators of the fourth Republican presidential primary debate, was caught on a hot mic appearing to mock the appearance of Florida governor Ron DeSantis alongside her panellists.
Josh Marcus reports.
It’s not first time pundits have commented on Florida governor’s facial expressions
The Republican National Committee has paused its participation in the 2024 GOP primary debates.
a 16-member internal group made the decision on Friday. Any further debates will be hosted by networks without the committee’s involvement.
ABC and CNN have debates scheduled in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of their respective caucus and primary.
“We have held four successful debates across the country with the most conservative partners in the history of a Republican primary. We have no RNC debates scheduled in January and any debates currently scheduled are not affiliated with the RNC,” the RNC’s Committee on Presidential Debates said in a statement. “It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President and candidates are free to use any forum or format to communicate to voters as they see fit.”
Donald Trump has reacted to a Washington DC court’s decision to largely uphold the gag order imposed on those involved in his federal election interference case trial.
The former president took to Truth Social on Friday afternoon to complain and restate his claim about the January 6 House select committee’s supposed deletion of evidence.
He wrote:
An Appeals Court has just largely upheld the Gag Order against me in the ridiculous J6 Case, where the Unselect January 6th Committee deleted and destroyed almost all Documents and Evidence, saying that I can be barred from talking and, in effect, telling the truth. In other words, people can speak violently and viciously against me, or attack me in any form, but I am not allowed to respond, in kind. What is becoming of our First Amendment, what is becoming of our Country? We will appeal this decision!
There was a more sober reaction from Steven Cheung, his official spokesperson: “Today, the DC Circuit Court panel, with each judge appointed by a Democrat President, determined that a huge part of Judge Chutkan’s extraordinarily overbroad gag order was unconstitutional. President Trump will continue to fight for the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans to hear from the leading Presidential candidate at the height of his campaign. The Biden-led witch hunts against President Trump and the American people will fail.”
A grand jury in Nevada has voted to indict six Republicans, including the party’s state chair, after they falsely pledged the state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford announced felony charges on Wednesday, marking another round of state-level criminal charges against participants of a so-called “fake elector” plot that sought to overturn Joe Biden’s victory, a scheme central to federal and state charges against the former president.
“When the efforts to undermine faith in our democracy began after the 2020 election, I made it clear that I would do everything in my power to defend the institutions of our nation and our state,” Mr Ford said in a statement.
“We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unchallenged,” he added. “Today’s indictments are the product of a long and thorough investigation, and as we pursue this prosecution, I am confident that our judicial system will see justice done.”
Alex Woodward reports:
The state’s GOP chair and other Trump allies face felony charges
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Former President Donald Trump Attends Fraud Trial In New York
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