Trump claims Santa's vote in flurry of Christmas Truth Social posts: Live – The Independent

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Mr Trump sent holiday message days after Supreme Court declined to rule in presidential immunity case
Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile
Donald Trump doubles down on anti-immigrant rhetoric after Supreme Court decision
Donald Trump marked Christmas Day by sharing a video compilation of his festive presidential speeches after spending hours ranting about the 2024 election, his legal woes and posting a seasonal greeting that his opponents “rot in hell”.
“Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden’s ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith, the out of control Lunatic who just hired outside attorneys, fresh from the SWAMP (unprecedented!), to help him with his poorly executed WITCH HUNT against ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA,’” the former president wrote.
The holiday greeting was also aimed at world leaders, “both good and bad”, and the “sick” thugs at home “looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Looking ahead to next year, Mr Trump will be juggling four criminal trials that carry a total of 91 felony counts as well as his presidential campaign.
Mr Trump’s legal team is making concerted efforts to try to delay or dismiss the cases. On Saturday, his lawyers asked an appeals court to throw out the 2020 federal election interference case against him on presidential immunity grounds.
Melania Trump is so rarely sighted at Mar-a-Lago that members of the Palm Beach private club are openly speculating about her whereabouts, according to a local author.
“Nobody knows where she is,” Laurence Leamer, author of Mar-A-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump‘s Presidential Palace, told the Telegraph.
“It’s like a mystery. It’s certainly talked about.”
Bevan Hurley has the full story…
Where’s Melania? Mar-a-Lago members say former first lady is rarely sighted at Palm Beach club
Donald Trump’s lawyers filed a request to a federal appeals court late on Saturday night, asking to throw out the 2020 election interference case against the former president – citing his presidential immunity.
The 55-page filing was submitted just two days after the Supreme Court refused to rule on Mr Trump’s presidential immunity appeal in the case.
Mr Trump’s lawyers reiterated much of their previous argument in the filing to the DC circuit for the Court of Appeals, saying that the former president’s decisions were made under his official acts, which are protected according to the Constitution.
The filing also leaned on the fact that Mr Trump was acquitted by the Senate for “the same and closely related conduct” and hinted that the indictment could have a chilling effect on future presidents.
Ariana Baio reports.
Filing is the latest move in Trump’s attempt to throw out the government’s federal election interference case
With testimony having wrapped up in the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization in New York, the court is now dark until Justice Arthur Engoron hears closing arguments from each side in January.
The case centres around what New York Attorney General Letitia James has described as an “astounding” level of fraud and deceptive business practices over more than a decade, during which the former president and his associates “grossly and fraudulently” inflated the value of his properties to obtain tax, loan and insurance incentives.
Ms James’s office brought the case against the former president, his two adult sons and company executives in September 2022, publishing a bombshell 222-page civil suit alleging that Mr Trump inflated his net worth to “deceive banks and the people of the great state of New York”.
She described the multiple “statements of financial condition” prepared by his former accounting firm Mazars for nearly all of Mr Trump’s marquee properties as “exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false, and therefore fraudulent, and illegal”.
The lawsuit follows a three-year civil investigation into at least 23 of his properties and assets, with Ms James’s office finding at least 11 of Mr Trump’s annual financial statements included more than 200 false and misleading asset valuations.
So what more did we learn about Mr Trump’s real estate holdings during the trial?
New York attorney general investigated 23 Trump properties and assets in case against former president
It seems unlikely that many people are reading Donald Trump’s “rot in hell” Christmas message the way Jonathan Turley is, nevertheless, here’s what the Fox News legal analyst had to say:
Trump's message of "May They Rot in Hell…Merry Christmas" is to holiday greetings what Die Hard is to Christmas movies: a matter of considerable interpretation for those of us stuck in the Peace-on-Earth or even just Ho-Ho-Ho mindset.
Federal law enforcement is working with police in Colorado to investigate alleged threats to state Supreme Court justices who found Donald Trump ineligible to appear on the state’s 2024 presidential ballots.
A ruling from Colorado’s highest court earlier this month determined that the former president is disqualified from the presidency under the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has sworn an oath to uphold the constitution and “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.
The historic 4-3 ruling, the first among any state supreme court to consider the question of his eligibility, follows a wave of lawsuits seeking to block Mr Trump from next year’s presidential election ballots for his actions surrounding the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Alex Woodward has the latest.
Violent rhetoric targeting judges and leaks of personal information found on pro-Trump forums
California Governor Gavin Newson isn’t backing his own lieutenant’s call to remove Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot after the Colorado Supreme Court determined that he was ineligible for the presidency.
On 19 December, Colorado’s highest court ruled that the former president is disqualified from the presidency and should be removed from 2024 ballots, citing his role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
California Lt Gov Eleni Kounalakis responded to the move by suggesting that her state should do the same ahead of its 5 March primary. But her boss Mr Newsom isn’t on board.
“There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Mr Newsom said on 22 December. “But in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”
Read more…
Mr Newsom’s opposition comes up against various efforts in his state to remove Mr Trump from California’s 2024 primary ballot
As the 2024 presidential primaries draw closer and Donald Trump remains the Republican frontrunner, it is becoming increasingly likely the former president could end up in the White House again.
But a former Trump administration cabinet member is raising concerns that another Trump presidency could be even more tumultuous than the first.
Former attorney general Bill Barr told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto on Friday that Mr Trump’s “chaotic” style of governance could lead to some problems and, unlike his first term, he may not have an administration to keep him in line.
Ariana Baio reports.
Former attorney general hints that a second Trump term could be more chaotic than the first
Criminal prosecutors may soon get to see over 900 documents pertaining to the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter after a judge rejected a First Amendment claim by the conservative group Project Veritas to stop investigators from seeing the records.
Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on behalf of the nonprofit Monday that attorneys are considering appealing last Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan. In the written decision, the judge said the documents can be given to investigators by Jan. 5.
The documents were produced from raids that were authorized in November 2021. Electronic devices were also seized from the residences of three members of Project Veritas, including two mobile phones from the home of James O’Keefe, the group’s since-fired founder.
Project Veritas, founded in 2010, identifies itself as a news organization. It is best known for conducting hidden camera stings that have embarrassed news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic politicians.
Read the full article
Claims around the former president’s alleged odour erupted earlier this week when former Illinois Republican representative Adam Kinzinger tweeted, “I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor. It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can.”
Here’s how the Trump team responded:
Former president’s body odor was called into question by a former congressman
And here’s how things then escalated:
The ad is called ‘Limburger,’ a cheese known for its pungent odour

Donald Trump’s lawyers filed a request to a federal appeals court late on Saturday night, asking to throw out the 2020 election interference case against the former president – citing his presidential immunity.
The 55-page filing was submitted just two days after the Supreme Court refused to rule on Mr Trump’s presidential immunity appeal in the case.
Mr Trump’s lawyers reiterated much of their previous argument in the filing to the DC circuit for the Court of Appeals, saying that the former president’s decisions were made under his official acts, which are protected according to the Constitution.
READ MORE:
Filing is the latest move in Trump’s attempt to throw out the government’s federal election interference case
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Trump attends a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa on 19 December
REUTERS
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Log in
New to The Independent?
Or if you would prefer:
Want an ad-free experience?

source