From 5h ago
A federal judge has ordered Mark Meadows and other former top aides to Donald Trump to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the former president’s efforts to overturn the election that led to the January 6 attack on the US capitol, ABC News reported on Friday.
Citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, ABC reported that the judge, Beryl Howell, rejected Trump’s claim of executive privilege for Meadows and other aides and officials who worked for him, including his former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, his former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former top aide Stephen Miller, and former deputy chief of staff and social media director Dan Scavino.
Former Trump aides Nick Luna and John McEntee, along with former top DHS official Ken Cuccinelli, were also included in the order, the report said.
ABC says the judge issued her decision in a “sealed order” last week and that Trump was likely to appeal the ruling.
It’s been a busy day and there are still threads our reporters will be following so keep reading the site for the latest. Thanks for following!
Biden delivered remarks to the Canadian parliament this afternoon, as part of packed visit to Ottawa. He is due to appear shortly at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at which the leaders will almost certainly be pressed on a new asylum proposal amid a rise in irregular immigration at the US-Canada border. Under the leaked details of the deal, Canada will bring in 15,000 more South and Central American migrants to Canada.
This evening, the Bidens will attend a gala hosted by the Trudeaus before returning to the US.
Meanwhile tensions remain high in New York and elsewhere around the country as Trump’s claims of his imminent arrest have yet to be realized. This morning, Trump warned of “potential death and destruction” if he was indicted. On Friday afternoon, the FBI and NYPD were reportedly investigating a death threat addressed to the Manhattan district attorney, who is leading the probe into Trump.
As we prepare to close our liveblog for the day, some disturbing news out of Manhattan, where tensions are high in anticipation of the former president’s possible indictment.
According to NBC News, federal and local law enforcement officials are investigating a letter containing “a death threat and white powder” that was mailed to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who is leading the investigation into Trump over his role in the payment of hush money to the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The letter was addressed to Bragg and said, “ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the sources said. It contained a small amount of white powder, NBC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.
There were no evacuations or injuries, officials said.
Earlier on Friday, Trump warned of “potential death and destruction” if Bragg indicts him on charges he denies.
Applause filled the chamber as Biden wrapped up his speech to the Canadian parliament on Friday.
The US president closed his remarks with a rousing call about the nations’ astronauts returning together the moon – and possibly Mars – and inspiring a new “Artemis” generation of star-gazers and dreamers.
“Today our world once more stands at the cusp of breakthroughs and possibilities that have never before even been dreamt of and Canada and the United States are leading and will continue to lead the way,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentleman, we’re living in an age of possibilities.”
Next Biden will hold a press conference with Trudeau where we expect they will be asked about the new asylum plan.
“Bonjour Canada,” Biden said, opening his address to the Canadian parliament. The translator appeared momentarily surprised and then leapt into action: “Hello Canada.”
After some self-deprecating jokes about his poor French, some teasing about hockey teams, and some flattery about recent polling that showed “Americans love Canadians”, Biden got to business declaring the countries’ ambitions “fundamentally aligned”.
“Today I say to you, to all the people of Canada, that you will always, always be able to count on the United States of America,” Biden said to loud applause.
In his remarks, Biden addressed the countries’ efforts to support Ukraine, crack down on the flow of fentanyl, stand up to China and combat climate change.
Biden is in Ottawa this afternoon, where he will address the Canadian parliament shortly. First up, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is touting the strong, longstanding ties that bind the Northern American nations.
During his remarks, he introduced Natalia, a Ukrainian who lives and works in Canada. She received a standing ovation.
“The Ukrainian people are counting us,” Trudeau said. “We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine with as much as it takes, for as long as it takes.” Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, applauded loudly.
Beyond the pomp and circumstance, Trudeau and Biden are expected to announce a “major shift in how Canada and the US handle asylum claims, a move that effectively closes a controversial border crossing”, according to the Guardian’s Leyland Cecco.
Under the leaked details of the deal, which Canadian officials hope will temper the increase in irregular border crossings in recent months, Canada will bring in 15,000 more South and Central American migrants to Canada.
It’s been a busy day so far. We’re waiting for any updated details in the Trump criminal cases and also waiting for Joe Biden to address the Canadian parliament imminently.
Here’s where things stand:
Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, was sworn in as the US ambassador to India by vice-president Kamala Harris earlier today.
House leader of the Democrats, New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries, denounced Donald Trump’s social media posts in which the former president warned of “death and destruction” should he be indicted in New York in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. “The former president’s rhetoric is reckless, reprehensible and irresponsible. It’s dangerous,” Jeffries told reporters. “And if he keeps it up, he’s gonna get someone killed.”
House Republicans took a victory lap today afternoon after passing their midterm campaign promise, legislation they named the “parents bill of rights”.
A federal judge has ordered Mark Meadows and other former top aides to Donald Trump to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the former president’s efforts to overturn the election that led to the January 6 attack on the US capitol, ABC News reported.
A federal appeals court in New Orleans has upheld a judge’s ruling blocking enforcement of Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order requiring all federal employees take a Covid-19 vaccine.
Donald Trump’s principal lawyer, Evan Corcoran, testified at federal court in Washington DC. He appeared before the grand jury investigating the federal criminal case into Trump’s hoarding of boxes of classified documents at his Florida residence after he left office in 2021.
Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, was sworn in as the US ambassador to India by vice-president Kamala Harris on Friday.
Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed his appointment, ending a nearly two-year drama that left the critical diplomatic post vacant while lawmakers debated whether he mishandled workplace misconduct and sexual harassment allegations.
Putting that behind him, Garcetti was all smiles on Friday as he took the oath of office, with his daughter, Maya, in attendance.
At that same press conference, Jeffries denounced Donald Trump’s social media posts in which the former president warned of “death and destruction” should he be indicted.
“The former president’s rhetoric is reckless, reprehensible and irresponsible. It’s dangerous,” Jeffries told reporters. “And if he keeps it up, he’s gonna get someone killed.”
Jeffries continued: “We’ve already seen the consequences of incitement from the former president. He’s principally responsible for inciting the violent insurrection that happened on January 6, but clearly he has not learned his lesson.”
House Republicans took a victory lap on Friday afternoon after passing their midterm campaign promise, legislation they named the “parents bill of rights”.
“Today was a win for every mother, every father but most importantly for every student in America,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters after the vote. “This is a win and a change for America.”
Republicans assailed Democrats as “extreme” for opposing the measure and denounced the “education bureaucrats” and “teachers’ unions” who they say have kept parents in the dark about what their children are learning in schools.
“It is clear today that the Republican party is the party of parents,” said Elise Stefanik, the House Republican conference chair.
But Democrats said their unified opposition was a testament to the bill’s true design, which they said would embolden a conservative movement that has already pressured school districts and state legislatures to ban books and curricula that address certain subjects related race, racism and gender identity.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans passed a bill that would put politics over parents and would ban books, censor librarians and bully children. It’s shameful,”minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said, standing next to a pile of books he said Republicans want to ban.
Perhaps the only other politician presently embroiled in as many closely watched legal battles as the former president is the first-term Republican congressman George Santos.
According to a new CNN report, prosecutors in Brazil have accepted a deal with Santos related to a case in which the US lawmaker was accused of defrauding a Rio de Janeiro area clerk of $1,300 over clothes and shoes in 2008.
Citing documents obtained by the network, CNN reports that as part of the deal sought by Santos’s lawyers, the congressman would agree to formally confess to the crime and pay damages to the clerk. Prosecutors reportedly sought assurances from Santos’s legal team that Santos had the contact information of the clerk in order to repay him before agreeing to the deal.
The petition by Santos’s lawyers to prosecutors in Brazil said the congressman, whose political career was built on a web of lies, exaggerations and embellishments that are still coming to light was now gainfully employed and had been “re-socialized”.
Read the full story here.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation into the January 6 attack, is seeking testimony and documents from the aides, ABC reports.
Trump’s legal team had challenged the subpoenas by asserting executive privilege, which is the right of a president to keep confidential the communications he has with advisers.
According to the ABC report, some of the aides Howell ordered to testify have already appeared before the grand jury, but, the network’s sources said they did not answer some questions directly related to “interactions” with Trump.
The grand jury proceedings are being held under seal.
CBS reported on Thursday that Chief Judge James Boasberg separately weighed arguments in a dispute between former vice-president Mike Pence, Trump’s lawyers and Smith over whether Pence had to testify in the special counsel’s investigation.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
