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Trump brags about the size of his rally on January 6
As the investigation into the attack on the US Capitol steadily yields more information about the events leading up to the 6 January attack, a new memo has been released detailing a new angle on the Trump team’s efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election.
The memo, written by attorney Kenneth Chesebro, spells out a contorted multi-day plan to have Mike Pence take control of the electoral certification in the Senate, something the vice president ultimately refused to do despite intense pressure from the then-president.
Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the House 6 January committee, has said that Donald Trump will “get his comeuppance” over the attack on the US Capitol.
Suggesting that criminal charges may soon be brought against the former president, Mr Raskin labelled Mr Trump “guilty as sin” and called him a “one-man crime wave” in an interview with Salon.
The select committee is set to begin its public hearings this month.
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Key Points Republicans say Trump could have stopped 6 Jan attack earlier Biden hammers Republicans for opposing AR-15 restrictions Trump ‘will get his comeuppance’ for Jan 6 attack, says Raskin Trump ally Peter Navarro subpoenaed by January 6 grand jury
Show latest update 1654231329 New York passes bill raising age to buy semi-automatic rifles
New York’s legislature on Thursday passed a bill raising the age to buy or possess semi-automatic rifles to 21, in wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.
The bill was taken up for debate on Thursday to raise the age limit, which passed the senate along party lines 43-20 and in the assembly 102-47, The Hill reported.
According to the bill, anyone buying a semi-automatic rifle would be required to get a license.
Republicans slammed Democrats for pushing more gun restrictions than governor Kathy Hochul had originally proposed. Senator Alexis Weik pointed out that an 18-year-old could still buy the assault rifle from a different state.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 3 June 2022 05:42
1654230495 Republican lawmaker pulls out firearms to oppose gun control
Republican Florida representative Greg Steube pulled out several guns as he took part in a debate on gun violence via Zoom.
The House Judiciary Committee was discussing a package of gun control measures following a series of mass shootings across the United States.
The Florida lawmaker was taking part via video call when he showed off his firearms while arguing against specific measures in the package that would institute limits on magazines.
“I hope to God that gun isn’t loaded,” Texas Democrat Sheila Lee said. “I’m at my house. I can do whatever I want with my guns,” Mr Steube responded.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Republican pulls out firearms to oppose gun control during House hearing ‘I’m at my house. I can do whatever I want with my guns,’ Florida lawmaker says
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 3 June 2022 05:28
1654230300 Michael Avenatti sentenced to prison for defrauding Stormy Daniels, adult film star who claimed affair with Trump
Ex-attorney Michael Avenatti is now facing another prison term after being convicted earlier this year for defrauding Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who shocked the US in 2018 with claims that Donald Trump had an affair with her. Mr Trump denies her claims.
Mr Avenatti was found to have swindled Ms Daniels out of more than a quarter million dollars in proceeds from her memoir. He expressed regret at his sentencing hearing on Thursday, exclaiming: “I have destroyed my career, my relationships and my reputation.”
The Sacramento-born Avenatti sparred publicly with Donald Trump on Twitter and other platforms in defence of his then-client, but fell out of the public spotlight after Ms Daniels accused him of fraud. He was incarcerated last year and sentenced to 30 months in prison in an unrelated case in which he was convicted of attempting to extort sportswear brand Nike.
Read more in The Independent from Nathan Place:
Michael Avenatti sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding Stormy Daniels The disgraced lawyer was convicted in February of defrauding his former client, Stormy Daniels
John Bowden 3 June 2022 05:25
1654228905 Giuliani ally developed plan for Pence to hijack electoral vote count
An attorney working with Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudolph Giuliani drafted a plan for vice president Mike Pence to step aside from presiding over the counting of electoral votes on 6 January 2021 so the senate’s most senior Republican could refuse to count votes from swing states won by Joe Biden.
The plan, laid out in an email to Mr Giuliani which was forwarded to ex-law professor John Eastman, was drafted by attorney John Cheseboro and made public by the House 6 January select committee in a court filing last week.
It called for Mr Pence to ignore procedures laid out in the 1878 electoral count act and instead force the joint session to allow the “president of the Senate” sole authority to open and count electoral votes submitted by each state.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Giuliani ally developed detailed plan for Pence to hijack electoral vote count Plan was made public by the House January 6 select committee in a court filing
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 3 June 2022 05:01
1654226408 ICYMI: Trump endorses Blake Masters in Arizona Senate primary
Donald Trump has made his endorsement in the Arizona Republican US Senate primary, backing Blake Masters in the crowded primary field which includes the state’s attorney general, Mark Brnovich.
Mr Trump is seeking to defeat Mr Brnovich, who until recently was the frontrunner in all polling of the race, due to Mr Brnovich’s refusal to back his falsehoods about the 2020 election. Mr Masters is polling in third place according to most surveys of voter support in the race, but a Trump endorsement could energise his campaign just as it did for another candidate backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, JD Vance, who catapaulted into the lead in Ohio’s US Senate primary after the ex-president’s endorsement.
Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:
Trump endorses Blake Masters in Arizona Senate race Arizona will hold its Senate primary 2 August
John Bowden 3 June 2022 04:20
1654222333 Kentucky GOP congressman calls for ending gun-free school zones in response to Uvalde
A Trump-endorsed GOP congressman in Kentucky believes the solution to mass shootings targeting schoolchildren is completely getting rid of gun-free zones around schools, where members of the public are not allowed to carry weapons.
“The biggest thing we can do here today is repeal the 1990 Gun-Free School Zone Act so that the default condition in this country is not to advertise every student as a target,” Thomas Massie asserted at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Mr Massie was endorsed for reelection by Donald Trump last month. The former president said that the conservative congressman “fights hard to Protect your Liberties, especially the First and Second Amendments, which are under siege by the Radical Left”. He previously had called for Mr Massie’s ouster from the GOP over his opposition to a Covid-19 relief package.
Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:
Kentucky GOP congressman calls for ending gun-free school zones in response to Uvalde Comes during a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on legislation to combat gun violence
John Bowden 3 June 2022 03:12
1654218485 Biden hammers Republicans for opposing AR-15 restrictions
In a primetime address on Tuesday President Joe Biden took a much sharper tone against Republican opposition to firearm restrictions, blaming them for a spike in mass shootings that occurred after the end of the assault weapons ban.
”After Republicans let the law expire in 2004 — and those weapons were allowed to be sold again — mass shootings tripled,” his Twitter account noted during the remarks.
The president’s words came after several Republicans including Donald Trump addressed a convention of the National Rifle Association in Houston, Texas, just days after a mass shooting occurred at an elementary school in the state.
Read more in The Independent from John Bowden:
US schools have become ‘battlefields’ says Biden in call for action after shootings President calls for age for firearm purchases to be raised from 18 to 21, and for reinstatement of assault weapons ban
John Bowden 3 June 2022 02:08
1654210908 Biden to address Americans on gun violence in primetime address
In a little less than an hour President Joe Biden is slated to give a national address, announced only a few hours earlier, regarding gun violence and a spate of mass shootings that have torn through the nation in recent days.
The president is vowing action to address gun violence but faces an uphill battle to seeing any legislation pass through the Senate due to the 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber. Some lawmakers are currently meeting in the hopes of striking a compromise as the chamber recesses this month.
Read more about Mr Biden’s address from Eric Garcia and Alex Woodward in The Independent:
Biden to demand ‘commonsense laws’ to combat gun violence in primetime remarks House Democrats are considering new gun control measures in wake of recent massacres
John Bowden 3 June 2022 00:01
1654204208 Pennsylvania GOP governor nominee endorsed by Trump agrees to meet with January 6 committee
The bombastic Trump supporter running under the Pennsylvania GOP’s banner in the state’s gubernatorial race is one of the top supporters of Donald Trump’s 2020 eletction fraud conspiracies.
Now, Doug Mastriano will meet with the January 6 committee as the panel’s lawmakers look at his own actions around the attack on Congress, when he and other Trump supporters descended upon Washington DC in an effort to halt the certification of the election.
Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:
Pennsylvania GOP governor nominee agrees to meet with Jan 6 committee Mastriano is the nominee for governor after Mr Trump’s endorsement and was at the Capitol on 6 January.
John Bowden 2 June 2022 22:10
1654201508 The rise of the AR-15: Why America is defending a ‘weapon of war’
The ban on assault-style weapons including the AR-15 expired in 2004, during the height of popular sentiment for America’s military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where conflicts quickly popularised both the military-grade style of weaponry and tactical gear as well as the desert-style camouflage that surged onto the scene of casual military memorabilia and gear collections.
The weapon used in recent tragedies in Uvalde, Buffalo an elsewhere has even some gun owners rethinking their role in spreading ownership of assault rifles.
Read more from The Independent’s John Bowden:
The rise of the AR-15: Why America is defending a ‘weapon of war’ The AR-15 has been used in numerous high-casualty mass shootings including the recent shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo and Tulsa, John Bowden reports
John Bowden 2 June 2022 21:25
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