Trump demands immunity ahead of New Hampshire primary blitz: Live – The Independent

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Former president juggling ongoing legal battles with campaigning for Republican presidential nomination
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Judge threatens to boot Trump out of civil trial
Donald Trump has again insisted he should be granted absolute presidential immunity, ramping up the pressure on the US Supreme Courtafter warning it not to “unleash chaos and bedlam” by upholding decisions to disqualify him from 2024 ballots.
An upcoming trial will decide whether Mr Trump is ineligible for the presidency in accordance with Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has violated their oath to uphold the US Constitution by “engaging in insurrection” from holding public office.
A historic ruling by Colorado’s Supreme Court last month determined that his actions on 6 January 2021 during the attack on the US Capitol “constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection”.
On Thursday, the embattled former president joined his family at the funeral of Melania Trump’s mother in Palm Beach, Florida, in a brief pause from his ongoing legal woes and pursuit of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Having left the E Jean Carroll defamation trial in New York for the memorial, Mr Trump will next return to New Hampshire for a weekend of campaigning as he seeks to cement his lead over Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley in Tuesday’s state primary.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has pushed back on allegations that she has had an “improper” relationship with her deputy, instead accusing his estranged wife of attempting to interfere with their prosecution of Donald Trump.
Ms Willis has been issued a subpoena to sit for a pretrial deposition in the divorce case of special prosecutor Nathan Wade and his wife Joycelyn Wade on 23 January. On Thursday, Ms Willis’s lawyer said in a filing that the subpoena should be dismissed.
Attorney Cinque Axam argued that Ms Wade “has conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress District Attorney Willis”.
Gustaf Kilander has the full story:
DA’s lawyer argues estranged wife of special prosecutor ‘has conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress District Attorney Willis’
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina
Senator Tim Scott, a one-time 2024 GOP presidential rival of Donald Trump’s, will endorse the former president’s bid to return to the White House at a rally in New Hampshire on Friday evening.
The New York Times reports that the senator from South Carolina is travelling to Florida today to fly up to the Granite State with Mr Trump for a weekend of campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Senator Scott is the highest-ranking elected Black Republican and his endorsement of the former president will reignite speculation that he could be a contender to be Mr Trump’s running mate, should he win the party’s nomination.
Mr Scott ended his own campaign on 12 November and has since come to the conclusion that the former president is the best candidate to beat President Joe Biden in November, the Times reports citing a “person familiar with his thinking”.
Mr Trump appeared to avoid criticising the senator when they were in competition for the party’s nomination.
The decision of the senator from South Carolina is potentially a setback for Nikki Haley — as governor of South Carolina, she appointed Mr Scott to the Senate in 2012.
Matt Gaetz has argued that the demographic changes between the parties will help former President Donald Trump get back to the White House.
The Florida congressman who incited the ouster of former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy appeared to suggest on Newsmax on Wednesday that as white women leave the Republican Party under the leadership of Mr Trump, they will be replaced by Latino and Black men moving towards the GOP.
Gustaf Kilander reports on his derogatory remarks:
‘This is the blue-collar realignment of the Republican Party,’ Florida congressman says after Trump blowout in Iowa
A lawyer for the Hollywood attorney who lent Hunter Biden money to cover a multi-million dollar debt to the Internal Revenue Service says staff working for House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer lied to him and his client, Kevin Morris, when they asked that Mr Comer not selectively leak portions of his testimony given during a deposition on Thursday.
In a letter to Mr Comer which was obtained by The Independent, Mr Morris’ lawyer, Bryan Sullivan, slammed the Kentucky Republican for reneging on assurances given after Mr Sullivan asked that the GOP-led panel release the entirety of Mr Morris’ testimony and accused him of leaking “cherry‐picked, out of context and totally misleading descriptions” of what his client actually said behind closed doors.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC:
‘Just release the full transcript’
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said he agrees with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request for a speedy trial in Donald Trump’s federal election interference case – citing an increased public interest ahead of the 2024 election.
In an interview with CNN this week, Mr Garland provided few, but firm, comments on the special counsel’s investigation and upcoming trial against Mr Trump related to the former president’s alleged involvement in conspiring and working to overturn the 2020 election results.
“The special prosecutor has said from the beginning that he thinks public interest requires a speedy trial, which I agree with,” Mr Garland said.
While facing criminal and civil trials, Mr Trump is also the 2024 Republican frontrunner.
Ariana Baio reports on the attorney general’s comments:
As of now, Trump is slated to face three criminal trials before election day in November
On Thursday, shortly after 9.30am, Trump lawyer Alina Habba took to the lectern to finish her cross-examination of E Jean Carroll in the second defamation trial of the former president brought by the woman he was found liable for defaming and sexually abusing in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.
Almost immediately, Ms Habba’s questioning resulted in a sidebar and sustained objections. That pattern continued most of the morning, as Ariana Baio reports:
Witness testimony and cross-examination continued on the third day of the E Jean Carroll defamation trial
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is appealing a ruling by the Maine Superior Court to delay any decision on whether to disqualify former president Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot.
The court said it wants to wait until the US Supreme Court weighs in on the matter as raised by the Colorado Supreme Court.
Ms Bellows determined that Mr Trump was disqualified from the ballot under the 14th Amendment as an insurrectionist for his role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
In a statement, Ms Bellows said: “Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case.
“In the interim, Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court — which I requested today. I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many. This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”
The Department of Justice has asked for a six-month prison sentence for former Trump aide Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors argued in a 20-page filing that Mr Navarro put his loyalty to former President Donald Trump above the law when he declined to work with the House Select Committee looking into the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Mr Navarro, who was a trade and pandemic adviser in the Trump White House who later pushed baseless claims of voter fraud, acted without a lawyer as he defied a subpoena from the House, instead relying on a press statement issued by former President Donald Trump in November 2021 saying that he didn’t have to work with another committee that was looking into the handling of the pandemic, prosecutors argued.
The 74-year-old was found guilty of two charges of contempt in September last year after he refused to testify or hand over documents after receiving a House subpoena in February 2022.
Gustaf Kilander has the details:
Continue reading the full article…
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, who served in the US House as a Florida Republican between 1995 and 2001, said on MSNBC on Friday morning that “Donald Trump is not well, we know this”.
“He really does think that Barack Obama is still president of the United States,” he added.
Gustaf Kilander has the story:
‘Donald Trump is not well, we know this – He really does think that Barack Obama is still president of the United States,’ Joe Scarborough says
Here’s more on the candidate’s CNN town hall last night, where she attacked both her Republican rival and the president over their advancing years.
‘Do we really want to have two 80-year-olds running for president?’ former US ambassador asks at New Hampshire town hall
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Former President Donald Trump stands with his wife Melania Trump as they depart a funeral for Amalija Knavs, the former first lady’s mother
AFP/Getty
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