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Stormy Daniels obliquely denies having written statement on Trump affair
A new report claims that the 6 January select committee is considering issuing a subpoena to Ivanka Trump if she does not co-operate with its inquiry voluntarily.
The news comes after Joe Biden cleared the release of White House visitor logs dating from around the events of 6 January 2021 – and just after the Trump Organization’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, droped the ex-president and essentially disowned years of his financial statements.
The company’s move is a major turn in the New York authorities’ long-running investigation into Mr Trump’s affairs, a probe he has described as “racist” and a “political witch hunt”.
Today in New York, lawyers for state attorney general Letitia James are facing off with the Trump family’s representatives over the civil case into the workings of the Trump Organization and whether they will be compelled to testify — a decision is expected at 3pm.
But as far as the right-wing media and much of the GOP are concerned, the real scandal is a debunked story that Hillary Clinton “spied” on Donald Trump. Some Republicans have once again begun calling for the former secretary of state to face criminal consequences. Among those pushing the idea is Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who said last night that “The 2016 Clinton campaign was as crooked as they come. Someone should go to jail for this - and Hillary is a good place to start”.
Ms Clinton has hit back mocking the “fake scandal”, which she (like many others) said has been amplified to distract from the former president’s own legal problems.
Recommended Trump says Clinton operative spying allegations ‘would have been punishable by death’ Ex-aide says Trump ‘rolled his eyes’ at rules as he faces scrutiny over documents Trump refers to his own presidency as a ‘very beautiful and maybe romantic time’
Key Points Why Donald Trump is again claiming Democrats ‘spied’ on him Giuliani claims damning evidence of Democrats spying on Trump ‘in his bedroom' Hillary Clinton mocks spying conspiracy Accounting firm: Trump financial statements aren’t reliable Bigger than Watergate – or a Trump nothing-burger?
Show latest update 1645119005 House Dems asks GSA to revoke Trump DC hotel lease
Representatives Carolyn Maloney of New York and Gerald Connolly of Virginia, the top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, have asked to General Services Administration (GSA) to consider terminating former president Donald Trump’s federal hotel lease in Washington, DC.
They cite allegations that Mr Trump provided false information to the agency during the bidding process many years ago, which his now former accountancy firm Mazars says should not be considered reliable.
The same bid is also the subject of a civil inquiry into the Trump Organization by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Mr Trump’s company is in the process of selling the hotel lease with the deal set to close this spring for a reported amount of approximately $375m, The Washington Post reports.
The lease of the historic Old Post Office Pavilion is being sold to Miami-based investment firm CGI Merchant, which reportedly hopes to turn the property into a Waldorf Astoria in partnership with Hilton Worldwide.
With the deal set to close soon for what would be a record for a hotel sale in DC, Democrats may be acting now to stop the Trump Organization making a profit believed to be about $100m from a deal they believe was flawed from the start.
It is unknown whether the GSA will act when a Trump exit from the lease is so close.
The Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC
(Getty Images)
Oliver O'Connell 17 February 2022 17:30
1645118155 Does Trump need to start worrying about his base?
A new round of polling has shown that Republican voters may not be as closely aligned with Donald Trump’s “stolen election” narrative as he might hope, with more than half of self-described GOP voters saying they agreed with Mike Pence that the vice president had no power to overturn the result in Congress on 6 January.
Assuming no legal action against Mr Trump prevents him from running for office again, the question is how much impact this will have on the former president’s expected re-election campaign.
Oliver O'Connell 17 February 2022 17:15
1645117145 Jan 6 committee considering subpoena for Ivanka Trump, report says
The select committee investigating the 6 January Capitol riot is reportedly considering issuing a subpoena to Ivanka Trump – a move that would make her the first member of the Trump family obliged to testify to the panel.
According to The Guardian, the panel may issue Donald Trump’s daughter with an official summons to testify if she refuses to co-operate with its inquiry, as certain others in the inner Trump orbit have done already.
Ms Trump’s role in the events of 6 January and the days before it is not entirely clear, but in a letter to her last month, the committee’s members said they had evidence she played a direct role in trying to get the then-leader to intervene during the riot.
Andrew Naughtie reports.
January 6 committee considering subpoena for Ivanka Trump, report says Previous reports say Donald Trump’s daughter was a key messenger for those who tried to get him to call off his supporters during Capitol riot
Oliver O'Connell 17 February 2022 16:59
1645116055 DC judge lets rip at RNC over 6 January attack
One of the judges overseeing cases involving Capitol rioters has specifically hit out at the Republican National Committee for its recent resolution that minimised the seriousness of the insurrection.
Judge Howell said last year that Republicans needed to take responsibility for their rhetoric about what happened on the day.
“No wonder parts of the public in the U.S. are confused about whether what happened on January 6 at the Capitol was simply a petty offense of trespassing with some disorderliness, or shocking criminal conduct that represented a grave threat to our democratic norms,” she said. “Let me make my view clear: The rioters were not mere protesters.”
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 16:40
1645114375 Watch: Bernie Sanders on the rise of “oligarchic” America
In a searing speech on the Senate floor yesterday, Bernie Sanders delivered a remarkable broadside against the rise of extreme wealth inequality in the US – singling out the country’s two wealthiest people for owning more wealth than the bottom 42 per cent of the population.
Read more:
Bernie Sanders demolishes the rich in Senate speech: ‘Oligarch’ America is here ‘Time is approaching that we should offer a unanimous resolution congratulating the billionaire class’
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 16:12
1645112515 Why we need to know who visited Trump in January 2021
Among the many things Donald Trump tried to shield from the 6 January committee are the White House visitor logs dating from around the time of the insurrection. These documents, which Joe Biden has now cleared for release to the panel, promise to offer at least some insight into who the president was in touch with in the vital weeks and days leading up to the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814.
Andrew Feinberg explains why the logs matter so much:
Why Trump’s White House visitor logs matter White House visitor logs can show who entered the White House complex on a given day as well as who authorised any visitors to enter
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 15:41
1645111015 ICYMI: Clinton mocks Trump’s “spying” claims
Hillary Clinton has pushed back hard against false claims that she ordered a spying operation that targeted Donald Trump – a story that is running strong on right-wing outlets but which has been debunked elsewhere.
Read more below:
Hillary Clinton mocks Trump ‘spying’ conspiracy ‘Trump and Fox are desperately spinning up a fake scandal to distract from his real ones’
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 15:16
1645109514 Republicans speak out against “no-fly” list for unruly anti-maskers
With thousands of people already banned by individual airlines for refusing to abide by masking rules during the Covid-19 pandemic – and in many cases for abusing staff and other passengers who asked them to comply – there are new proposals to establish a single TSA “no-fly” list for serious offenders.
But several congressional Republicans have now voiced their displeasure at the idea, with one group of senators writing that “Creating a federal ‘no-fly’ list for unruly passengers … would seemingly equate them to terrorists who seek to actively take the lives of Americans and perpetrate attacks on the homeland.
“The TSA was created in the wake of 9/11 to protect Americans from future horrific attacks, not to regulate human behavior onboard flights.”
Read more:
Republican senators oppose no-fly list for unruly passengers ‘The TSA was created in the wake of 9/11 to protect Americans from future horrific attacks, not to regulate human behavior onboard flights,’ the eight GOP lawmakers wrote
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 14:51
1645107775 Melania Trump suspected of buying own artwork at NFT auction
Jumping on a trend that has swept the internet and concerned many onlookers, Melania Trump has begun selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the benefit of her nebulous anti-bullying initiative Be Best. But according to an analysis of transactions recorded in a blockchain, the cryptocurrency used to purchase Ms Trump’s first NFT came from a wallet that belonged to the entity that originally listed the project for sale.
Dig deeper:
The first winner of Melania Trump’s NFT auction — former first lady herself Transactions on the Solana blockchain found links between her to the winning bid of 1,800 SOL
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 14:22
1645106155 ICYMI: The launch of Truth Social approaches
Donald Trump Jr has been excitedly sharing a screenshot of what puports to be his father’s first post on Truth Social, the bespoke social network created for Mr Trump and his followers as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter.
Yet as soon as he shared the image, the ex-president’s son found himself being ridiculed not just for the site’s extraordinary resemblance to the Twitter interface, but for the fact he was having to promote it on Twitter at all.
Read more:
Trump’s Truth Social mocked after he promotes his first post on Twitter The former president’s new social media site appears to be a clone of his former favourite, from which he is now banned
Andrew Naughtie 17 February 2022 13:55
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