US Politics

Biden asks Congress for $33bn Ukraine aid packagePresident’s request includes over $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief

Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
Joe Biden has called for a giant $33bn package of military and economic aid to Ukraine, more than doubling the level of US assistance to date, in an emphatic rejection of Russian threats of reprisals and escalation.A few hours after Biden spoke, Kyiv was shaken by two powerful cruise missile strikes, while the UN secretary general, António Guterres, was visiting the Ukraine capital following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.A senior Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, called the attack a “postcard from Moscow” and asked why Russia still had a seat on the UN security council.Biden asked Congress to give immediate approval for spending that would include over $20bn in military aid, involving everything from heavy artillery and armoured vehicles to greater intelligence sharing, cyber warfare tools and many more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.Biden also requested $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief, as well as funds to help increase US production of food crops and strategic minerals to offset the impact of the war in Ukraine on global supplies.The total of $33bn is more than twice the last supplemental request approved by Congress in March and dwarfs the entire defence budget of Ukraine and of many other countries. The US president said it was aimed at helping Ukraine repel the renewed Russian offensives in the east and south of the country, but also to transition to assuring the nation’s longer-term security needs.On the same day, Congress agreed to update the 1941 lend-lease legislation with which Franklin D Roosevelt sought to help Britain and other allies fight Nazi Germany. The updated law is intended to make it easier for the US to provide military equipment to Ukraine.It comes in the face of Russian warnings that increased western weapons supplies to Ukraine would endanger European security, that western intervention could bring instant Russian reprisals and raise the risk of nuclear conflict.Making the case for western aid, Biden argued that on the contrary, if Putin was not stopped in Ukraine he would continue to threaten global peace and stability.The president framed the request principally in terms of defending Ukraine, and did not explicitly repeat the declaration earlier this week by his defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, that one of US aims in Ukraine was to weaken Russia to stop it attacking other countries.“Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the facts are plain for everybody to see. We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” Biden said. But he added the cost involved was “a small price to pay to punish Russia and aggression, to lessen the risk of future conflicts”.“Throughout our history, we’ve learned that when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and engage in more aggression,” he said. “The threats to America and the world keep rising. We can’t let this happen.”The new military assistance the congressional funding will finance will include:
More artillery and armored vehicles, as well as anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft systems.
Help to build up Ukraine’s cyber warfare capabilities.
More intelligence sharing.
Support to increase Ukraine’s ability to produce munitions and strategic minerals.
Assistance in clearing landmines and other explosives and in Ukraine’s defence against chemical, biological and dirty bomb attacks.
A further buildup in the US military presence on Nato’s eastern flank.
The Kremlin’s official spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, warned on Thursday that an increased western supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv would endanger European security.“The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, into Ukraine, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability,” Peskov said.The day before, Vladimir Putin had threatened a “lightning fast” response to western intervention in Ukraine, adding: “We have all the weapons we need for this.” His foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has accused the US and its allies of fighting a proxy war in Ukraine and warned of the rising danger of a nuclear conflict.Biden rejected the accusation he was fighting a proxy war, describing the claim as part of the Kremlin’s domestic propaganda to explain the inability of Russian forces to achieve their goals.“I think it’s more of a reflection, not of the truth, but of their failure,” the president said. He added: “No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons.”The package of proposals the administration is sending to Congress also includes measures to strengthen the hand of the justice department in pursuing Kremlin-aligned oligarchs seizing their assets and using the proceeds to support the Ukraine war effort.UN secretary general describes war in Ukraine as ‘absurdity’ in 21st centuryRead moreBiden said the measures would allow for “expanded and expedited measures for investigating, prosecuting, and forfeiting assets of Russian oligarchs to be used for the benefit of Ukraine”.“We’re going to seize their yachts and luxury homes and other ill-begotten gains of Putin’s kleptocracy,” he added. The president made his announcement as the UN secretary general was visiting Ukraine, where he described the war as “an absurdity” in the 21st century.Guterres was touring Borodianka on Thursday, where Russian forces are accused of massacring civilians before their withdrawal, on his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the invasion on 24 February, before talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.01:23In nearby Bucha, where dozens of civilian bodies, some with their hands tied, were discovered this month, Guterres backed an investigation by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes in Ukraine. “I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to cooperate with the ICC,” he said.The humanitarian impact of the Russian invasion has been devastating. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said nearly 5.4 million Ukrainians had fled their country since the attack began, with more than 55,000 leaving in the past 24 hours. While the outflow has slowed significantly since March, it forecast that the conflict in Ukraine could produce 8.3 million refugees by the end of the year.Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, warned the west on Thursday to stop encouraging Ukraine to strike at targets inside Russian territory, saying it was “trying our patience”. Multiple targets, including fuel and ammunition depots, have been hit in Russian provinces bordering Ukraine in recent days.“Such aggression against Russia cannot remain without an answer,” Zakharova said. “We would like Kyiv and western capitals to take seriously the statement that further provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia.”Podolyak, the Ukrainian presidential aide, defended the country’s right to strike inside Russia, saying: “Ukraine will defend itself in any way, including strikes on the warehouses and bases of the killers in Russia. The world recognises this right.”Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, on Thursday also repeated the UK’s assertion that it was “legitimate under international law” for Ukrainian forces to target Russian logistics infrastructure, but he said such attacks were unlikely to use British weapons.The US on Thursday accused Russia of planning fake independence votes to justify its conquest of Ukrainian territory, saying the Kremlin might attempt “sham referenda” in southern and eastern areas it had captured using “a well-worn playbook that steals from history’s darkest chapters” and must “never be recognised as legitimate”.TopicsUS foreign policyJoe BidenUkraineRussiaUS CongressUS politicsEuropenewsReuse this content More

Democrats announce plans to ‘go after’ big oil in effort to bring down pricesNancy Pelosi says oil companies ‘hoarding the windfall while keeping prices high at the pump’ amid concerns over US inflation The Biden administration is to propose legislation that would allow US federal and state agencies to “go after” oil companies on wholesale and retail sales practices, lambasting the industry over price gouging and profiteering.As American voters express increasing concerns about the high prices of a wide range of consumer goods, including energy and food, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said passing legislation to bring down retail gasoline prices “is at the very top of our list”.‘We’re not attacking Russia,’ Biden says as he asks for $33bn in Ukraine aid – liveRead moreNeither Schumer nor House speaker Nancy Pelosi would say when such legislation will be voted upon, or how much money it could end up saving consumers if enacted into law.“Big oil has profiteered and exploited the marketplace,” Pelosi told reporters, noting companies’ strong corporate profits over the past year. “They are hoarding the windfall while keeping prices high at the pump,” she added.The move comes as gas prices have surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite recent falls, the average price of a gallon of gas is now over $4 in the US, up from $2.88 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.Oil companies have enjoyed record profits as prices have soared. Exxon, the largest US oil company, is expected to report record earnings on Friday and rival Chevron recently reported “the best two quarters the company has ever seen”.Pelosi said the White House had discussed a “holiday” for Federal gas taxes but said that there was no evidence that oil companies would pass those savings on to consumers.Oil companies are not alone in reporting huge surges in profits even as consumers face higher bills thanks to soaring inflation. An analysis of 100 leading US companies found their net profits had risen by a median of 49%, and in one case by as much as 111,000%. The increases came even as prices rose and average wage increases were eroded by rising inflation.Reuters contributed to this storyTopicsOil and gas companiesUS politicsBiden administrationInflationEconomicsEnergy industrynewsReuse this content More

‘I’m like Rocky’: my day with Pamela Moses after her charges were droppedAfter prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Moses for trying to register to vote, I met her in person – and learned what’s next now that her case is over Get the latest updates on voting rights in the Guardian’s Fight to vote newsletterHello, and Happy Thursday,I’ve been closely following the criminal case against Pamela Moses, who was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to register to vote, for the last few months. But on Monday I met her in person for the first time.We were meeting just days after prosecutors announced they were dropping criminal charges against her, cancelling a scheduled court appearance where she was set to find out if they would retry her case. Even so, Moses insisted that she take me to visit the hulking criminal courthouse in downtown Memphis, a building simply known by its address, 201 Poplar.We went through security and walked downstairs into one of the courthouse’s main waiting areas, where electronic screens on the wall showed defendant names and where they stood on court dockets for the day. It was mostly empty, but on a normal day, Moses said, it’s crowded with Black people waiting to get their cases heard. She walked past a line of people waiting at a clerk’s office and asked a teller if a judge she knew was still around – he wasn’t.We took the elevator up to the seventh floor, which houses the courtroom where Moses’ case took place. When the doors opened, a sheriff’s deputy beamed, gave her a hug, and congratulated her on beating the case. “This man tried to kill me the first time he met me,” Moses said, laughing. She would later tell me he was one of the officers who took her into custody when the bail in her voting case was abruptly revoked in December. Now, she said, they were cool with each other.Back downstairs we ran into Kenneth Brashier, a lawyer Moses has known for a long time. He was beaming too and congratulated her. “Usually you have a cigar when you take a victory lap,” he told her. Moses said she’d take a victory lap once she changed Tennessee’s law around felon disenfranchisement.It was raining, so Moses and I spent the rest of the day driving around Memphis in her car. Waiting to pick up her son Taj from school, we talked about the case of Crystal Mason, the Texas woman appealing a five-year prison sentence for casting a provisional ballot while ineligible in 2016. Moses was stunned to learn Mason’s vote wasn’t even counted.She walked me through several of the criminal and other legal cases she’s been involved in, rattling off an encyclopedic knowledge of judges, lawyers, and other county officials. She’s outspoken and embraces her reputation as a bit of a troublemaker. “I’m like Rocky Balboa,” she said at one point with a laugh. When I asked her what would come next for her now that the voting case was over, she didn’t miss a beat. “I’m working on getting a man of out of prison who’s been there for 25 years,” she said. In her yard, she still has a sign up from her long shot 2019 mayoral campaign. It was that effort that prompted election officials to start investigating her voting eligibility.Earlier that morning, Moses had held a press conference at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine motel, where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. It was the first time Moses had spoken about her case since the charges were dropped. Taj, 13, a tech whiz, helped set up two iPhones to stream the press conference. “I am so lucky to be here with my mom because I am blessed. Other children are not as fortunate as me to have their parents released and have their charges dropped,” he said.Moses said Tennessee should get rid of the form that people with felonies have to fill out if they want to vote, the document at the center of her case. Tennessee has one of the most confusing and harshest felon disenfranchisement policies in the country – more than 450,000 people, including more than 20% of the Black voting age population, can’t vote because of a felony conviction, according to an estimate by the Sentencing Project. She told me she saw her case as an effort to intimidate Black voters.“When it comes to Black people in the south, whatever we do, if it’s wrong, you’ve got to pay for it,” she said. “If there was a white person and I got treated the way I did, I would be just as upset, but you don’t see white people getting treated like that.”Moses also rebuked Amy Weirich, the district attorney who prosecuted the case. Weirich put out a statement on Friday suggesting Moses bore responsibility for her long sentence because she did not take a plea deal. Moses said the statement showed how the prosecutor was determined to get a conviction: “It showed who she is: arrogant, wants to be right. I think it just sounded like she wanted to win.” A Weirich spokesman declined an interview request.Moses urged people to vote in the Democratic primary for district attorney, which is going on right now (two of the candidates, Linda Harris and Janika White, watched from the audience). Afterwards, during a lunch at a barbecue restaurant across the street, Moses encouraged other Tennessee voters to talk to Harris.At the press conference that morning, she mentioned that she had considered committing suicide while she was in jail last year. Later she told me it was connected to the shock of being abruptly taken into custody.“Going to jail is not a bad thing for somebody who’s been before. It’s a bad thing when you’re not expecting it,” she said.Snacking on a steady stream of Jolly Ranchers from her front cupholder as we drove around that afternoon, she pointed out what she sees as deep inequalities in Memphis. Near Graceland, we drove by what looked like a busy voting precinct. People vote there, she said, because there’s money and tourism. Further down the road, Moses pointed out the neighborhood had changed: many of the buildings were abandoned, a consequence, she said, of white flight.“There’s so many things wrong in Memphis,” Moses said. “How dare you waste our tax dollars, waste our time, waste our manpower, how dare you do that? That’s what most people can agree on.”Also worth watching …
Florida Republicans approved a congressional map that severely blunts Black political power in the state. There is already a legal challenge to the plan.
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, approved a new law that creates a statewide office to investigate election crimes and imposes other new restrictions.
New York’s highest court struck down the state’s congressional map, saying it was too severely distorted to benefit Democrats.
TopicsUS voting rightsFight to voteMemphisUS politicsfeaturesReuse this content More

The Trumpian right keeps pushing rule of law to the brink. But the law is winningNorman L Eisen and Dennis AftergutSome Republicans in Congress allegedly considered using martial law to keep Trump in office. Thankfully our institutions have held the line This week has seen developments in two important legal battles. At stake is whether we are a society ruled by law or not. Without law, we face not survival of the fittest but survival of the fiercest – those most willing to use intimidation, force and violence to get their way.First, a New York judge held Donald Trump in contempt for stiffing a subpoena from the state attorney general, Letitia James, for documents relating to her civil investigation of the Trump Organization. She is investigating Trump’s businesses for allegedly inflating financial statements to lenders.Judges do not hold parties in contempt lightly. There needs to be an act so egregiously contemptuous of the law’s authority that a court cannot ignore it.In this case, the New York state court found team Trump’s efforts to locate documents in response to the New York attorney general’s subpoena “woefully insufficient” and showing complete disdain for the legal process. Trump was fined $10,000 for every day he continues in noncompliance.That court stood up for the rules that make our society work.Second, and on the same day, we saw evidence of attempts to destroy those rules and put allegiance to Trump above allegiance to country. New text messages – uncovered by the House committee investigating the January 6 siege of the Capitol, and disclosed by CNN – revealed the extent of rightwing Republicans’ attacks on the US constitution.Marjorie Taylor Greene texted Trump chief of staff urging martial law to overturn electionRead moreThe most striking text was an exchange from Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia. On 17 January, 11 days after the violent Capitol insurrection and three days before the scheduled transition of power to Joe Biden, she wrote: “In our private chat with only [House] Members several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call Marshall [sic] law.”She wasn’t referring to Thurgood Marshall. Nor was she referencing the former secretary of state George Marshall. Rather, she was referring to “martial law”, the use of the military to control all features of American life and to shut down our constitutional system of government. Greene was telling the then White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, that some Republican members of Congress were allegedly advocating to end the 225-year tradition of power transferring peacefully after elections and instead using force to keep the loser in office. By passing the idea along, she suggests she is willing to entertain it herself.Stop and think about that for a moment. Multiple elected federal officials sworn to uphold the constitution were contemplating abandoning it for the law of the jungle. We should not be so inured to extremism from the Republican right that such a text message fails to shock us.These texts take on an even more ominous cast when read together with emails disclosed by the January 6 committee’s recent legal filing in a civil suit Meadows brought to block the committee’s subpoenas. His meritless effort to rehash legal arguments already rejected by other courts is nothing more than a ploy to run out the clock, and the damaging evidence filed by the committee makes clear why.To pick but one example from almost 200 pages of exhibits, there is testimony that the secret service warned Meadows and others of the risk of January 6 violence, and they proceeded to discuss sending marchers to the Capitol. The evidence of efforts to overturn the election includes step-by-step plans which, taken together with yesterday’s texts, read like a recipe book for a coup, including all the ingredients and even the cooking instructions.For those on the American right who profess to believe in liberty, imposing martial law to put a strongman atop American government a la Putin should be unthinkable.But do not hold your breath waiting for outrage from the right over texts such as the one Greene was just revealed to have sent Meadows. Greene is a charter member of the anything-goes-for-Trump club. For its members, the end justifies any means.From ancient Greek democracy to the Roman republic to the French Revolution, history tells us again and again that gravitating to autocracy comes back to haunt a nation. As John Adams, signer of the declaration of independence and second president of the United States, wrote in 1775 to his wife, Abigail, “[A] Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.”This week, we were reminded again how close we came to a coup here in the US. Fortunately, a New York judge also showed us that the institutions of law remain strong and the impulse to autocracy is being held at bay.
Norman L Eisen served as President Barack Obama’s ethics czar, was special impeachment counsel to the House judiciary committee in 2019–20 and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His latest book is Overcoming Trumpery
Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy
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Presidents eulogize Madeleine Albright at funeral: ‘Freedom had no greater champion’US leaders reflect on legacy of US secretary of state as family shared memories at Washington National Cathedral Presidents and dignitaries gathered in Washington on Wednesday to remember Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, while drawing upon her life’s work to warn of the increasing precariousness of freedom and democracy.Family members and colleagues of Albright shared loving and affectionate memories of her during the funeral service at Washington National Cathedral, while US leaders reflected on her legacy.“Freedom endures against all odds in the face of every aggressor because there are always those who will fight for that freedom,” US president Joe Biden said in his eulogy of Albright, who died of cancer last month at the age of 84. “In the 20th and 21st century, freedom had no greater champion than Madeleine Korbel Albright.”Madeleine Albright obituaryRead moreRussia’s war in Ukraine hung heavily over the service, as those who eulogized Albright remembered her denunciation of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion during her final days.In her last opinion piece, for the New York Times, which was published just weeks before her death, Albright wrote: “Ukraine is entitled to its sovereignty, no matter who its neighbors happen to be. In the modern era, great countries accept that, and so must Mr. Putin.”For Albright, the right of a country to determine its own destiny was personal. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, Albright’s family fled the country in the face of the Nazi occupation.After enduring the Blitz bombing in London, Albright’s family returned to Czechoslovakia once second world war ended, only to be driven out again amid the rise of communism. Her family then emigrated to the United States aboard a ship called the SS America.Former US president Bill Clinton, who nominated Albright first as US ambassador to the United Nations and then as secretary of state, noted on Wednesday at the funeral that her life was “sort of a microcosm of the late 20th century in Europe and the United States”.“Today we see in Ukraine all too tragically what Madeleine always knew – that the advance of freedom is neither inevitable or permanent. And that in politics, where the lure of power is strong and the temptation to abuse it is often irresistible, there are no permanent victories or defeats,” Clinton said.Albright’s funeral service came two months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the war is now poised to enter a new, potentially more dangerous phase. A series of explosions in the neighboring country of Moldova has raised the threat of a larger regional conflict in eastern Europe.Multiple speakers at the Wednesday’s service, which was attended by more than 1,400 people, referenced Albright’s 2018 book on fascism as they addressed the devastation in Ukraine. In her book Fascism: A Warning, Albright sounded the alarm about the rise of autocratic leaders and the need to protect democratic governments.“She knew better than most – and she warned us in her book on fascism – that yes, it can happen here. And time and courage are of the essence,” said Hillary Clinton, who followed in Albright’s footsteps to become secretary of state, in the Obama administration.“If Madeleine were here with us today, she would also remind us this must be a season of action,” Clinton added.While the US and its allies work frantically to help Ukraine fend off Russian attacks, Biden took a moment to commend Albright’s commitment to the US-led Nato military alliance, saying she had played a key role in ensuring the partnership remained “strong and galvanized, as it is today”.The president said he learned of Albright’s death as he traveled to the Belgian capital Brussels last month to meet with European leaders and discuss their ongoing aid to Ukraine.When he delivered remarks in the Polish capital of Warsaw, days later, there was a “deafening cheer” at the mention of Albright’s name, Biden said.“Her name is still synonymous with America as a force for good in the world,” Biden said on Wednesday. “She always had a knack for explaining to the American people why it mattered to them that people everywhere in the world were struggling to breathe free.”As the world now braces for a potentially lengthy and even bloodier war in Ukraine, Biden is counting on that message of shared democratic values to resonate with the American people.Reflecting upon the loss of his former adviser and longtime friend, Bill Clinton lamented that Albright was not here to continue preaching the importance of freedom across the globe.Clinton said he last spoke to Albright two weeks before she died. Brushing aside questions about her failing health, Albright instead wanted to talk about building a better future for the next generation.“What kind of world are we going to leave to our grandchildren? That question’s kind of up in the air. But not because of Madeleine Albright,” Bill Clinton said, adding: “We love you, Madeleine. We miss you, but I pray to God we never stop hearing you. Just sit on our shoulder and nag us to death until we do the right thing.”TopicsWashington DCUS politicsJoe BidenHillary ClintonBill ClintonBarack ObamanewsReuse this content More

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New York court rejects congressional maps, seen as favoring DemocratsLegal fight over process could be a factor in the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the House New York’s highest court on Wednesday rejected the state’s new congressional district maps, which had been widely seen as favoring Democrats.The legal fight over New York’s redistricting process could be a factor in the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the US House.New York is set to lose one seat in Congress in 2021. New York’s new maps would give Democrats a strong majority of registered voters in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts. Republicans now hold eight of the state’s 27 seats.Democrats had been hoping that a redistricting map favorable to their party in New York might help offset expected losses in other states where Republicans control state government.The state’s court of appeals agreed in a ruling with a group of Republican voters who sued, saying that the district boundaries had been unconstitutionally gerrymandered and that the legislature hadn’t followed proper procedure in passing the maps.The court said it will “likely be necessary” to move the congressional and state senate primary elections from June to August.A lower-level court had also ruled that the maps were unconstitutional and had given the legislature a 30 April deadline to come up with new maps or else leave the task to a court-appointed expert.Political district maps across the nation have been redrawn in recent months as a result of population shifts recorded in the 2020 census.Under a process passed by voters in 2014, New York’s new district maps were supposed to have been drawn by an independent commission. But that body, made up of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, couldn’t agree on one set of maps. The Democratic-controlled legislature then stepped in and created its own maps, quickly signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul.Republicans sued, seeking to have the maps tossed for violating a provision in the state constitution barring the redrawing of districts for partisan gain. Similar legal battles have been playing out in several other states.The legal battle has moved quickly through the courts, but not fast enough to quell uncertainty about the primary, now scheduled for 28 June.In the meantime, candidates have had to begin campaigning in the new districts, even as they are unsure whether those districts will still exist by the time voting begins.TopicsNew YorkUS voting rightsDemocratsKathy HochulUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

Trump appeals against judge’s contempt order and $10,000-a-day fineEx-president found to be in contempt after failure to comply with subpoena in New York state attorney general’s fraud investigation Donald Trump is appealing the contempt of court order he received from a Manhattan judge that fines him $10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena, according to documents filed Wednesday.McCarthy faces House Republican caucus following revelations in leaked audio – liveRead moreThe contempt order was issued in the civil investigation by New York state attorney Letitia James into the former president’s business practices. On 7 April, James asked Judge Arthur Engoron to hold Trump in contempt of court for not turning over documents and information she had subpoenaed as part of the investigation.Trump had promised to comply “in full” by 31 March, but did not, James said. Engoron granted James’s request, fining him $10,000 a day.James’ inquiry has been focused on whether the Trump Organization provided incorrect real estate valuation, to secure favorable loans as well as tax deductions. She recently stated that the office’ had uncovered “significant evidence” of wrongdoing.The top prosecutor’s three-year investigation runs parallel to an inquiry by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, examining whether the Trump Organization engaged in questionable tax practices. Bragg’s office has come under fire after the departures of high-profile prosecutors on this inquiry. He has insisted that the investigation continues.In a statement on the notice of appeal, James’s office said that Trump’s legal tactics would not thwart its inquiry. “The judge’s order was clear: Donald J Trump is in contempt of court and must pay $10,000 a day until he complies with our subpoenas. We’ve seen this playbook before, and it has never stopped our investigation of Mr Trump and his organization. This time is no different,” the office said.Trump’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His attorney, Alina Habba, has previously called James’s inquiry “political”.TopicsDonald TrumpUS politicsNew YorknewsReuse this content More