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      ‘Ha, ha, ha’: Mitt Romney laughs off Trump’s ‘total loser’ attack

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      Confronted with Donald Trump’s abuse, the Utah senator and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said: “Ha, ha, ha. He’s such a whack job.”Romney’s view of the former president and current Republican presidential frontrunner was communicated to McKay Coppins, author of a new biography, Romney: A Reckoning, written in co-operation with its subject.Romney once flirted with joining Trump’s cabinet but has since emerged as a chief antagonist, voting to convict at both Trump’s impeachment trials.Earlier this week, responding to reporting about Coppins’ work, Trump called Romney “a total loser that only a mother could love”, erroneously said the senator “just wrote a book”, and said it was, “much like him, boring, horrible, and totally predictable”.Trump also claimed to have forced “this left-leaning Rino [Republican in name only] out of politics”, a reference to Romney’s announced retirement next year.On Thursday, Coppins spoke to Brian Stelter, the former CNN anchor now host of Inside the Hive, a Vanity Fair podcast.Coppins said: “I sent [Trump’s] statement to Mitt and … I’ll just pull up the text. He wrote back, ‘Ha, ha, ha. He’s such a whack job.’ So Mitt kind of enjoyed Trump’s response.”Coppins also discussed how he came to write Romney’s biography – in part because, as he writes in his book, Romney decided not to write a traditional memoir.Coppins said: “When I first approached him, it was just a couple months after January 6. I remember our first meeting was in his Senate hideaway, which is this little cramped windowless room that the senators get near the chamber in the Capitol building. And there was still barbed wire fence around the building because the riots had just happened.”On 6 January 2021, Trump sent supporters to the Capitol to block certification of Joe Biden’s election win. They failed but nine deaths have been linked to the riot, including law enforcement suicides. Thousands have been arrested and hundreds convicted, some for seditious conspiracy.Coppins said Romney’s “initial decision to cooperate with this book was just born of … extreme frustration and disappointment with the leaders of his party and fear for the country. I think he thought of this book as a warning.”Trump faces 91 criminal charges, for state and federal election subversion, retention of classified information and hush-money payments. He also faces civil threats including a fraud trial regarding his business and a defamation trial arising from a rape allegation a judge called “substantially true”.Nonetheless, he leads by huge margins in national and key state polling regarding the Republican presidential nomination.Coppins told Stelter that Romney was now “looking back at the moments in his pursuit of the presidency that he sort of flirted with the more extreme elements of his party.“I think he realises now that the mistake he made, and the mistake that a lot of the Republican establishment made, was thinking that they could basically harness the energy of the far right without succumbing to it.”In 2012, Romney accepted Trump’s endorsement.“He wishes he didn’t do it,” Coppins said. “And I think that that’s emblematic of a lot of these these small ethical compromises that he and a lot of his party leaders made, not realising the kind of Pandora’s box they were opening.” More

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      Will Mitt Romney be remembered as a ‘good Republican’? – podcast

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      Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana became the 56th speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Democrats immediately criticised his support for Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Most Republicans will just be happy the speaker selection debacle is over for now, but there may be some in the party, such Mitt Romney, who wish events had taken a different direction.
      A senator for Utah, Romney has spent the last few years angering his Trump-supporting colleagues by voting to convict the former president in both of his impeachment trials and speaking out against him on several occasions.
      He announced he was retiring in September, and this week his biography hits the shelves, detailing his life in politics and how he has fallen out of love with the Republican party of today. Jonathan Freedland talks to McKay Coppins, a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of Romney: A Reckoning.

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      Special counsel accuses Trump of threatening Mark Meadows after he testified in election case – as it happened

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      Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, accused the former president of threatening his former chief of staff after he spoke to investigators, ABC News reports.Smith’s team cited posts Trump made on Truth Social after reports emerged that Mark Meadows, his chief of staff in the final months of his presidency, spoke to investigators about his attempts to stop Joe Biden’s election victory.Trump’s comments “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case,” Smith’s team wrote in a Wednesday filing.Here’s more from ABC:
      In a filing Wednesday night to the judge presiding over Trump’s federal election interference case in Washington, Smith’s team said Trump’s “harmful” post on Truth Social was trying to “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case.”
      Smith’s team argued to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan that the alleged threat is just one more example of why a limited gag order in the case is needed as soon as possible.
      Chutkan had issued such a gag order early last week but then temporarily suspended it after the former president’s legal team appealed the judge’s order to a higher court.
      …
      In their filing Wednesday, Smith’s team argued that Trump is now trying to “use external influences to distort the trial in his favor,” and that “These actions, particularly when directed against witnesses and trial participants, pose a grave threat to the very notion of a fair trial based on the facts and the law.”
      Trump has a “long and well-documented history of using his public platform to target disparaging and inflammatory comments at perceived adversaries,” and “When the defendant does so, harassment, threats, and intimidation foreseeably and predictably follow,” Smith’s team wrote.
      Washington is adjusting to the new reality presented by Mike Johnson’s ascension to the speaker’s podium in the House of Representatives. The Louisiana lawmaker is a staunch but low-profile conservative who wants abortion banned, doubts the scientific consensus regarding climate change and has promoted Donald Trump’s baseless fraud claims over the 2020 election. But as much as they are likely to seize on those positions next year to argue Republicans are too extreme to govern, Democrats must first work with Johnson and his party on legislative business. In remarks on the Senate floor, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged the new speaker to embrace bipartisanship and avoid “the Maga road”.Here’s what else happened today:
      Federal prosecutors accused Donald Trump of threatening Mark Meadows, his former White House chief of staff who spoke to them about the ex-president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
      Joe Biden and Johnson met at the White House to discuss the president’s request for more aid to Israel and Ukraine.
      A federal judge ordered Georgia’s Republican-dominated legislature to draw new congressional maps with another majority Black district, potentially offering Democrats an opportunity to gain a seat in the US House.
      The president cheered better-than-expected economic growth data that undercut forecasts of a looming US recession, and warned Republicans against sparking a government shutdown.
      Patrick McHenry dished on what it was like to be acting speaker of the House for three weeks.
      It’s still too soon to say what kind of speaker of the House Mike Johnson will be, but the Guardian’s Carter Sherman reports all signs point to him acting zealously in trying to roll back abortion access:The day after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in June last year, Mike Johnson of Louisiana celebrated his home state’s new penalties for abortion providers. “The right to life has now been RESTORED!” the Republican crowed on X, formerly known as Twitter, on 25 June. “Perform an abortion and get imprisoned at hard labor for 1-10 yrs & fined $10K-$100K.”Opposition to abortion is virtually a job requirement for Republicans these days. But Johnson, the newly minted speaker of the House, is a committed abortion opponent even by the standards of his fellow conservative colleagues.Johnson ascended to the speakership after the sudden ouster of Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, and weeks of tumult in the House. A member of the House since 2016, Johnson is a loyal supporter of Donald Trump – to the point that he served on Trump’s legal defense team during Trump’s first impeachment – and a social conservative fueled by his evangelical Christian faith.And, at a time when many Republicans in Congress are trying to quietly ignore abortion, wary of the backlash from their constituents over proliferating abortion bans, Johnson has continued to champion an array of anti-abortion bills.At her briefing today, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Joe Biden had invited Mike Johnson to meet shortly after he won election as House speaker last night.She said the Louisiana Republican was with the president for “a bipartisan briefing with leadership and relevant committee chairs and ranking members on the president’s supplemental national security package”.In a primetime television address from the Oval Office last week, Biden called on Congress to approve billions of dollars in aid to Israel and Ukraine. While the former is a popular cause with both parties, a growing number of Republicans is against further funding Kyiv’s defense against the Russian invasion. Here’s more on that:We are learning more about Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House who Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre just said is currently attending a meeting at the White House. As the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports, he has a history of channeling taxpayer funding to conservative Christian causes:Mike Johnson, the newly-elected Republican speaker of the US House, won taxpayer funding for a Noah’s Ark amusement park while working as a lawyer, in a graphic illustration of his uncompromising rightwing Christian beliefs.Working for Freedom Guard, a non-profit proclaiming a commitment to defending religious liberty, Johnson was hired by Answers in Genesis, a creationist ministry, in 2015, after the state of Kentucky rescinded an offer of tourism tax incentives for the project in Williamstown, citing discrimination against non-Christian believers.The state retracted an offer of tax breaks after the then-governor, Steve Beshear, said the ministry reneged on a commitment to refrain from hiring based on religious belief.“It has become clear that they do intend to use religious beliefs as a litmus test for hiring decisions,” Beshear said.Johnson, who would win a seat in Congress from Louisiana in 2016, was among a team of attorneys engaged to press a federal lawsuit described by the Answers in Genesis president and chief executive, Ken Ham, as involving “freedom of religion, free exercise of religion, freedom of speech in this great nation of America”.Johnson accused the state of “viewpoint discrimination”, adding: “They have decided to exclude this organisation from a tax rebate programme that’s offered to all applications across the state.”Here’s more from the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell on the news that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had spoken to special counsel Jack Smith as part of their investigation into Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election:Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows testified to a federal grand jury earlier this year about efforts by the former president to overturn the 2020 election results pursuant to a court order that granted him limited immunity, according to two people familiar with the matter.The immunity – which forces witnesses to testify on the promise that they will not be charged on their statements or information derived from their statements – came after a legal battle in March with special counsel prosecutors, who had subpoenaed Meadows.Trump’s lawyers attempted to block Meadows’ testimony partially on executive privilege grounds. However, the outgoing chief US district judge Beryl Howell ruled that executive privilege was inapplicable and compelled Meadows to appear before the grand jury in Washington, the people said.The precise details of what happened next are unclear, but prosecutors sought and received an order from the incoming chief judge James Boasberg granting limited-use immunity to Meadows to overcome his concerns about self-incrimination, the people familiar with the matter said.That Meadows testified pursuant to a court order suggests prosecutors in the office of special counsel Jack Smith were determined to learn what information he was afraid to share because of self-incrimination concerns – but it does not mean he became a cooperator.Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, accused the former president of threatening his former chief of staff after he spoke to investigators, ABC News reports.Smith’s team cited posts Trump made on Truth Social after reports emerged that Mark Meadows, his chief of staff in the final months of his presidency, spoke to investigators about his attempts to stop Joe Biden’s election victory.Trump’s comments “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case,” Smith’s team wrote in a Wednesday filing.Here’s more from ABC:
      In a filing Wednesday night to the judge presiding over Trump’s federal election interference case in Washington, Smith’s team said Trump’s “harmful” post on Truth Social was trying to “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case.”
      Smith’s team argued to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan that the alleged threat is just one more example of why a limited gag order in the case is needed as soon as possible.
      Chutkan had issued such a gag order early last week but then temporarily suspended it after the former president’s legal team appealed the judge’s order to a higher court.
      …
      In their filing Wednesday, Smith’s team argued that Trump is now trying to “use external influences to distort the trial in his favor,” and that “These actions, particularly when directed against witnesses and trial participants, pose a grave threat to the very notion of a fair trial based on the facts and the law.”
      Trump has a “long and well-documented history of using his public platform to target disparaging and inflammatory comments at perceived adversaries,” and “When the defendant does so, harassment, threats, and intimidation foreseeably and predictably follow,” Smith’s team wrote.
      Sam Levine, our dedicated voting rights reporter, has more on the federal ruling today which says Georgia Republicans must redraw congressional and state legislative maps to give Black voters a fair shot at electing the candidate of their choice, a decision that could result in an additional Democratic seat in Congress.When Georgia Republicans drew the state’s 14 congressional districts last year, they placed the lines in such a way that they weakened the influence of Black voters in the west metro-Atlanta area, violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, US district judge Steve Jones ruled on Thursday.Jones gave Georgia lawmakers until 8 December to draw an additional majority-Black district in the west metro-Atlanta area, and said the court would draw a map if the legislature could not come up with a new plan by then.Georgia is likely to appeal the ruling and to try and drag out the redrawing process as long as possible. A lengthy legal dispute is to the state’s advantage because federal courts have been hesitant to intervene when elections are close.Republicans currently have a 9-5 advantage in Georgia’s congressional delegation. Since voting in the south of the US is often racially polarized, any district that gives Black voters a chance to elect the candidate of their choosing is likely to favor Democrats.Republicans also have a 102-78 advantage in the state House of Representatives, where Jones ordered the addition of five majority-Black seats. They also have 33-23 advantage in the state senate, where Jones ordered two additional majority-Black seats.Georgia gained an additional seat in Congress last year after significant population growth over the last decade. Almost all of that growth was due to a surging minority population in the state, Jones noted in a 516-page opinion, but the number of majority-Black congressional and legislative districts remained the same. Jones wrote:
      “The court reiterates that Georgia has made great strides since 1965 towards equality in voting. However, the evidence before this court shows that Georgia has not reached the point where the political process has equal openness and equal opportunity for everyone.”
      The ruling is the latest in a series from federal courts in recent months finding that Republicans, who dominate state legislatures in the south and control the redistricting process, discriminated against Black voters when they drew district lines.Judges have also ordered Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana to reconfigure their maps to add districts that give Black voters adequate power. There is also ongoing litigation in South Carolina and Florida claiming district lines illegally minimize the influence of Black voters.Our columnist Margaret Sullivan thinks the installation of the Republican Mike Johnson as House speaker bodes ill not just for Democrats – but perhaps for democracy, in the sense of the prospects of a more peaceful election next year than in 2020, when the Louisianan was at Donald Trump’s side as he attempted to cling onto power…The process was appalling, and the outcome even more so, as Republicans in the House of Representatives finally found someone they could more or less agree on.That agreement, though, may be more accurately described as simple exhaustion after three weeks of embarrassing misfires.And who is it they have managed to elect speaker of the US House, the person in line to lead the nation just after the president and vice-president?It’s Mike Johnson of Louisiana who, as one example of his profound unsuitability, brags that he doesn’t believe that human beings cause the climate crisis, though his home state has been ravaged by it. He is against abortion, voted against aid to Ukraine and stridently opposes LGBTQ+ rights.Perhaps most notably, Johnson had a leading role in trying to overturn he 2020 election.That means that the official second in line to the presidency “violated his oath to the constitution and tried to disenfranchise four states”, as the writer Marcy Wheeler neatly put it.Johnson certainly has his Trumpian bona fides in order. In 2020, he helped lead a legal effort to reverse the results of the election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and he hawked Trump’s lies that the election had been rigged.Whatever his shortcomings, we know that Johnson excels at one thing: pleasing Donald Trump, the autocrat wannabe and Republican party leader who loves nothing more than a good yes man.Read on…Before the new Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, won election to Congress in 2016, he worked as an attorney for rightwing Christian groups. Here, Robert Tait reports on events in Kentucky in 2015, when Johnson successfully fought the corner of builders of a Noah’s Ark-themed amusement park, who were seeking government support despite the separation of church and state outlined in the US consitution…Mike Johnson, the newly-elected Republican speaker of the US House, won taxpayer funding for a Noah’s Ark amusement park while working as a lawyer, in a graphic illustration of his uncompromising rightwing Christian beliefs.Working for Freedom Guard, a nonprofit proclaiming a commitment to defending religious liberty, Johnson was hired by Answers in Genesis, a creationist ministry, in 2015, after the state of Kentucky rescinded an offer of tourism tax incentives for the project in Williamstown, citing discrimination against non-Christian believers.The state retracted an offer of tax breaks after the-then governor, Steve Beshear, said the ministry reneged on a commitment to refrain from hiring based on religious belief.“It has become clear that they do intend to use religious beliefs as a litmus test for hiring decisions,” Beshear said.Johnson, who would win a seat in Congress from Louisiana in 2016, was among a team of attorneys engaged to press a federal lawsuit described by the Answers in Genesis president and chief executive, Ken Ham, as involving “freedom of religion, free exercise of religion, freedom of speech in this great nation of America”.Here’s more on Johnson’s own beliefs and previous work…Washington is adjusting to the new reality presented by Mike Johnson’s ascension to the speaker’s podium in the House of Representatives. The Louisiana lawmaker is a staunch but low-profile conservative who wants abortion banned, doubts the scientific consensus regarding climate change and has promoted Donald Trump’s baseless fraud claims over the 2020 election. But as much as they are likely to seize on those positions next year to argue Republicans are too extreme to govern, Democrats also have to work with Johnson and his party on legislative business. In remarks on the Senate floor, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged the new speaker to embrace bipartisanship and avoid “the Maga road”.Here’s what else has happened today so far:
      Joe Biden cheered better-than-expected economic growth data that undercut forecasts of a looming US recession, and warned Republicans against sparking a government shutdown.
      A federal judge ordered Georgia’s Republican-dominated legislature to draw new congressional maps with another majority Black district, potentially offering Democrats an opportunity to gain a seat in the US House.
      Patrick McHenry dished on what it was like to be acting speaker of the House for three weeks.
      Back in the House, Patrick McHenry, who was the acting speaker for three weeks during the Republican civil war over finding a replacement for Kevin McCarthy, shared some details of his brief term leading the chamber.The Associated Press reports that McHenry was given advance notice that McCarthy had named him as a temporary replacement before the then speaker was removed from office:McHenry also made a point of noting his continued ill feelings towards those who removed McCarthy:A federal judge has ordered Georgia’s Republican-dominated legislature to draw another majority-Black congressional district, arguing that the state’s current lines violate the Voting Rights Act.The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports the legislature will have to convene for a special session to make a new map, which could present Democrats an opportunity to pick up another House seat from the state, since African American voters tend to support the party:Meanwhile, Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman insisted he was not trying to disrupt Congress last month when he pulled a Capitol complex fire alarm amid fervent negotiations aimed at passing a government spending bill:The New York lawmaker is moving to resolve the issue today by entering a not guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge and paying a fine. Here’s more on that: More

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      Trump accused of witness threats after Meadows reportedly granted immunity

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      The special counsel Jack Smith accused Donald Trump of trying to “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness” in the federal election interference case against him, after it was reported that Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows had been granted immunity.The claim from Smith came in a court filing late on Wednesday seeking a limited gag order. The judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, issued such an order last week but suspended it when lawyers for Trump appealed.Trump faces four federal charges related to his attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020.He also faces 13 state charges related to election subversion in Georgia; 34 charges in New York related to hush-money payments; 40 federal charges concerning his retention of classified information after leaving office; and civil threats including New York cases concerning his business affairs (a case in which Trump has been fined for violating a gag order) and an allegation of rape a judge deemed “substantially true”.Denying all accusations of wrongdoing, Trump enjoys huge leads in national and key state polling regarding the next Republican presidential nomination.ABC News reported the Meadows immunity grant on Tuesday. As the Guardian previously reported, Meadows appeared in March before the grand jury in the case after being forced to testify under court order. Such immunity orders typically see witnesses provide only limited statements, which the justice department promises not to use against them.A Trump spokesperson said: “Wrongful, unethical leaks throughout these Biden witch-hunts only underscore how detrimental these empty cases are to our democracy and system of justice and how vital it is for President Trump’s first amendment rights to not be infringed upon by un-constitutional gag orders.”But Trump himself used Truth Social, the platform he set up after being thrown off Twitter for inciting the January 6 attack on Congress, to address the Meadows story.“I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen [sic] 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith,” Trump wrote, in typically idiosyncratic style.“BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING – If you say BAD THINGS about that terrible ‘MONSTER’, DONALD J TRUMP, we won’t put you in prison, you can keep your family and your wealth, and, perhaps, if you can make up some really horrible ‘STUFF’ a[b]out him, we may very well erect a statue of you in the middle of our decaying and now very violent Capital, Washington DC.“Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows?”As special counsel, Smith was appointed by but operates independently of Merrick Garland, the US attorney general. Trump has regularly claimed political persecution by Garland and Smith, supposedly at the direction of Biden.In their court filing on Tuesday, lawyers for Smith said a gag order needed to be reinstated in the federal election interference case because Trump “has a demonstrated history of using inflammatory language to target certain individuals in a way that pose[s] a significant and immediate risk that witnesses will be intimidated or otherwise unduly influenced by the prospect of being themselves targeted for harassment or threats; and attorneys, public servants, and other court staff will themselves become targets for threats and harassment”.Trump, the filing said, had “capitalised on the court’s administrative stay to, among other prejudicial conduct, send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case”.On Wednesday, Jonathan Turley, a conservative George Washington University law professor who has appeared as a witness for House Republicans considering impeaching Biden, called Smith’s gag order filing unconstitutional, adding: “Smith is, again, dismissing free speech concerns.”Looking to the Republican primary and perhaps the presidential election beyond, Turley said voters would “have to weigh the merits of these charges and the veracity of witnesses. The gag on Trump will not diminish that chatter and debate.” More

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      Trumpist Mike Johnson is the House speaker. There’s plenty to fear | Margaret Sullivan

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      The process was appalling, and the outcome even more so, as Republicans in the House of Representatives finally found someone they could more or less agree on.That agreement, though, may be more accurately described as simple exhaustion after three weeks of embarrassing misfires.And who is it they have managed to elect speaker of the US House, the person in line to lead the nation just after the president and vice-president?It’s Mike Johnson of Louisiana who, as one example of his profound unsuitability, brags that he doesn’t believe that human beings cause the climate crisis, though his home state has been ravaged by it. He is against abortion, voted against aid to Ukraine and stridently opposes LGBTQ+ rights.Perhaps most notably, Johnson had a leading role in trying to overturn he 2020 election.That means that the official second in line to the presidency “violated his oath to the constitution and tried to disenfranchise four states”, as the writer Marcy Wheeler neatly put it.Johnson certainly has his Trumpian bona fides in order. In 2020, he helped lead a legal effort to reverse the results of the election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and he hawked Trump’s lies that the election had been rigged.Whatever his shortcomings, we know that Johnson excels at one thing: pleasing Donald Trump, the autocrat wannabe and Republican party leader who loves nothing more than a good yes man.This, of course, follows weeks of chaos for the House Republicans, who put up three better-known nominees – Steve Scalise, another Louisianan, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom Emmer of Minnesota – before Johnson.In a historic display of arrogance (not to mention the inability to actually count votes), Jordan tried and failed three times. For this, I suppose, we can be mildly grateful since Jordan is an especially awful person who, as Ohio State wrestling coach, reportedly looked away from credible abuse allegations by the team doctor.The failed efforts by Scalise, Jordan and Emmer came after the ousting of Kevin McCarthy of California – no stalwart for democracy, either – who, in the end, acted a little too responsibly to satisfy the extreme right flank of his party. Those extremists were outraged by McCarthy’s decision to prevent a government shutdown by passing a stopgap funding resolution.All told, it’s been quite a month for Republicans who – with their ever-helpful media allies – enjoy describing the opposing party as “Democrats in Disarray”. In fact, there was quite a bit of actual array over the past month as Democrats stayed unified and voted, time after time, for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.Jeffries was never going to be speaker of this Republican-controlled House but he very likely would have been a fine leader of the chamber. He is someone who apparently understands how elections and the peaceful transition of power are supposed to work, and someone who could competently step in as president, should that need arise.What’s the worst that can happen with Johnson at the helm? There’s no way of knowing but it could be ugly as next year’s presidential election looms.Shortly after Johnson’s election, a reporter asked President Biden if he is worried about whether, if he wins re-election next year, Johnson might try to overturn the election.“No, because he can’t,” Biden responded. “Just like I was not worried that the last guy would be able to overturn the election.” He added: “They had about 60 lawsuits … and every time they lost.”But American democracy has edged ever closer to the brink since then.There’s no guarantee that the guardrails that held fast in 2020 would do so again four years later. And, let’s face it, if Trump is re-elected, they never will again.As for Johnson himself, he wouldn’t address his shameful history of trying to overturn the election, according to the Hill newspaper.“Next question,” he insisted.His Republican colleagues booed the reporter who asked the very question that most needed asking, and told her to shut up.October’s absurd drama in the House may be over, but with Mike Johnson at the helm, there’s nothing to celebrate.And despite Biden’s confident assurances, there’s plenty to fear.
      Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture More

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      Conservative Mike Johnson wins House vote to become next speaker – as it happened

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      House Republicans have voted for Mike Johnson to be the newest speaker.The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him.The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.Following the vote, House Republicans erupted into cheers and applause as the Louisiana representative was elevated to one of the highest offices in the US government.After weeks of political infighting and unsuccessful speaker nominations, the Louisiana Republican representative Mike Johnson has become House speaker.The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him. The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.
      Johnson has already faced questions over his history of supporting Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
      Groups advocating for human rights, including LGBTQ+ and womens’ rights have said that Johnson’s speakership is a threat, condemning his far-right views and voting record.
      Democrats believe Johnson’s central role in refuting the 2020 election results and his conservative views on many social issues could help them win back the House next year.– Chris Stein, Joan E Greve, Maanvi Singh
      Now that the House has a speaker, it’s right onto business. Once the speaker is sworn in, the House will consider a resolution to stand with Israel.The broad resolution affirms Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. It also calls for sanctions and aid. It will be interesting to see how Johnson and other Republicans land on the issue.Last month, Johnson was among 93 Republicans who supported an amendment to cut off military assistance to Ukraine, proposed by hard-right congressman Matt Gaetz.The progressive advocacy organization Stand Up America has called Johnson’s speakership “a threat to our democracy”.Following Johnson’s win, Stand Up America’s founder and president Sean Eldridge said:
      “Today is a dark day for American democracy. Mike Johnson’s record of election denial and his attempts to overturn the will of the people make him totally unfit to be second in line to the presidency. Those who have spent years trying to undermine our democracy cannot be trusted to lead it.
      Entrusting the House of Representatives to a man the New York Times called ‘the most important architect of the electoral college objections’ is proof of House Republicans’ contempt for our freedom to vote. The American people deserve a speaker who will stand up for our democracy and our fundamental freedoms, but sadly, House Republicans have embraced Maga extremism instead.”
      The Democratic Women’s Caucus has also condemned Mike Johnson’s win, citing his history of supporting legislation that targeted women’s rights including the 2022 US supreme court overturning of Roe v Wade.
      House Republicans’ new speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson, is a MAGA extremist through and through. While Democrats have worked to lower costs for working women, Mike Johnson has opposed efforts to make child care more affordable, and wants to cut Medicare and Social Security and ban abortion nationwide,” the caucus said.
      “The Democratic Women’s Caucus unanimously voted no – because a vote for speaker Johnson was a vote against women,” it added.
      Johnson has previously voted against the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Pump for Nursing Mothers Act, bipartisan legislations that offered to give expecting and new mothers increased workplace protections.He also voted against bipartisan legislation to protect victims of sexual assault and harassment, including the Speak Out Act and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment Act.The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has condemned Mike Johnson’s new House speakership position.In a statement released on Wednesday, the president of HRC, Kelley Robinson, said:
      “The Maga House majority has selected the most anti-equality speaker in US history by elevating Mike Johnson – this is a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him.
      Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society. Just like Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson is an election-denying, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, and the lawmakers who appeared to stand on principle in opposing Jordan’s bid have revealed themselves to be just as out-of-touch as their new leader.”
      Joe Biden has congratulated Mike Johnson on becoming the House’s newest speaker and called for lawmakers across the aisle to move quickly to address national security needs.In a statement released on Wednesday, Biden said:
      “Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people …
      We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days.Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can.This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.”
      In other news, Minnesota representative Dean Phillips is expected to launch a 2024 Democratic presidential primary challenge against Joe Biden.Phillips, 54, will reportedly launch his campaign on Friday, Fox News reported, citing people familiar with his campaign.From there, Phillips will travel to New Hampshire and file his name for the state’s primary ballot.Several Democrats have discouraged Phillips from running, in response to the expected announcement.“He ought to go home to Minnesota,” Democratic senator Peter Welch said to the Huffington Post.“It’s a distraction and he’s going to be hounding on the president not because of policies – the Democrats support the policies and accomplishments of Biden – so he’s going to try to unravel that. It’s not helpful,” Welch added.The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren told the Post that she also disapproves of Phillips’s run.“It just doesn’t make sense,” Warren said to the Post. “I’m all for President Biden getting re-elected. He has delivered for America’s middle class and he’s going to win.”Despite the ire, Phillips’s campaign seems all the ready to launch. A tour bus for Dean Phillips was spotted in Ohio, CBS News reported.The bus reading, “Dean Phillips For President”, was seen driving through Ohio on Tuesday, presumably headed towards New Hampshire. The bus also featured Phillips’s slogan: “Make America Affordable Again”.Johnson is now delivering remarks in his first speech to the House after being elected as the 56th House speaker on Wednesday.After walking up to the podium, Johnson and the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, hugged as Jeffries handed Johnson the House speaker gavel.During his speech, Johnson vowed to decentralize power in the House and have members more involved in the process, the Hill reported.“We owe that to the people,” he said.Johnson has also said that the first bill he will bring to the floor on Wednesday is a resolution in support of Israel.From Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:More reactions are pouring in after Mike Johnson becomes the 56th House speaker, following weeks of House electoral chaos.The Congressional Integrity Project (CIP), a liberal activist group, said those who supported Johnson “voted For Election Denial and Radical Extremism”.“All of the House Republicans who supported Mike Johnson for Speaker voted for election denial, a national abortion ban, and gutting Social Security and Medicare,” CIP said in a statement.“Johnson will use the Speaker’s power to continue to undermine our democracy, restore Trump to power, and pursue a Maga Republican agenda that throws working families under the bus,” the group said.CIP was relaunched by Democrats in 2022 as a counterpoint to House Republicans, particularly following the January 6 insurrection and the belief in the Republican party that the 2020 election results were falsified.Mike Johnson has published a statement to social media following his win as the House’s newest speaker. In a statement posted to X, Johnson acknowledged the “arduous” House speaker election process that has dominated the Republican party for weeks.“It has been an arduous few weeks, and a reminder that the House is as complicated and diverse as the people we represent,” Johnson said.“The urgency of this moment demands bold, decisive action to restore trust, advance our legislative priorities, and demonstrate good governance,” he said.Johnson further said that, as House speaker, he will work to restore “trust” in the House and “sanity” within the government more broadly.“We will restore trust in this body. We will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden Administration, and support our allies abroad,” Johnson added.“And we will restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it. Let’s get back to work,” he said.The Republican National Committee has congratulated Mike Johnson as the House’s newest speaker.In a statement released following the House vote, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said:
      “Congratulations to the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson! In eight months, the Republican House majority passed bills to lower energy costs, secure the border, defend parents’ rights, improve public safety, and more. When Republicans come together, we deliver results, and that’s what we need to showcase ahead of 2024. We delivered this majority to bring solutions to the American people. It’s time for Republicans to unite behind speaker Johnson and get back to work.”
      House Republicans have voted for Mike Johnson to be the newest speaker.The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him.The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.Following the vote, House Republicans erupted into cheers and applause as the Louisiana representative was elevated to one of the highest offices in the US government.Steve Scalise, once a top contender of the House speaker race only to then drop out, has voted for Mike Johnson.As with Kevin McCarthy and Patrick McHenry’s votes for Johnson, Republicans stood up and applauded the Louisiana Republican for his vote.Patrick McHenry, the House speaker pro tempore, has cast his vote for Mike Johnson as the next House speaker.Republicans stood and applauded the North Carolina Republican representative.Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy has voted for Mike Johnson as the next House speaker.In response, House Republicans stood up around him and clapped.The Democratic National Committee has criticized Mike Johnson’s House speaker nomination, calling the Louisiana representative the “new Maga speaker-designate”.In a statement released on Wednesday, a DNC spokesperson, Sarafina Chitika said:
      “Many Americans are waking up this morning wondering – who is Mike Johnson? We’re here to help: Maga Republicans’ new speaker-designate supports extreme nationwide abortion bans. He led the charge for Donald Trump denying president Biden’s legitimate election win and tried to overthrow the votes of 81 million Americans.
      He’s a leading proponent of slashing Social Security and Medicare. Mike Johnson is a carbon-copy of the Maga extremism that is deeply unpopular with Americans across the country. House Republicans will have to answer for their support for their new Maga speaker next November. Make no mistake: the American people will hold them accountable for this choice.” More

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      Mike Johnson’s speaker win reveals the iron grip Trump still has on Republicans

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      After engineering this month’s unceremonious defenestration of the hapless Kevin McCarthy, some far-right Republicans openly dreamed of installing their hero Donald Trump to replace him as speaker of the House of Representatives.Trump himself, meanwhile, suggested that only Jesus Christ was certain to be elected to the role – apparently overlooking practical concerns of presumed unavailability.But in new speaker Mike Johnson, a previously little-known rightwinger from Louisiana, members of the Trump-loving Republican House Freedom Caucus have seen the speaker’s gavel go to a man who shows all the hallmarks of being their master’s voice – and reveals the iron grip Trump still has on the Republican party.For the former US president’s part, he now has in a key congressional leadership role a figure who, if the past is any guide, willingly dances to his tune.Time alone will tell if this continues to be the case. But having served in the House legal defence team against Trump’s first impeachment, Johnson, 51 – a vocal and extreme social conservative – then played a key role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden, his bona fides as a member of the Make America Great Movement’s seem unchallengeable.Matt Gaetz, the hardline Florida congressman who was the vanquished McCarthy’s arch-nemesis, had little doubts, tweeting on Wednesday: “If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to Maga Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.”But it is the endorsement of Trump himself that has paved the way for the previously unheralded Johnson’s ascendancy – and gives a clue to his future conduct.Trump opened the door to a Johnson speakership on Tuesday by viciously turning against the previous hopeful, Tom Emmer, a Republican whip and Minnesota congressman, who he tarred with the Republican in name only (Rino) appellation while warning darkly that voting him would be a “tragic mistake”.“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them. He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA–MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”Having seen his previous favored nominee, Jim Jordan, fail after three attempts at winning the endorsement of the house Republican conference, Trump realised that he may have finally found his man.With the fatally smeared Emmer safely out of the running, Trump finally put his thumb on the scale.“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory,” he posted on Wednesday.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBut he added: “My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST!”With the deed done, the indicted former president was in celebratory mood, telling journalists outside a New York court on Wednesday where he is on trial over alleged business fraud that Johnson would be “a fantastic speaker”, adding that he had not heard “one negative comment about him. Everybody likes him.”Whether this applies to outside the narrow confines of modern Republican politics is another question entirely.Johnson is already on record as staunchly opposing further aid to Ukraine, a highly divisive faultline in the Republican party and a key priority of the Biden administration.And with Congress facing a 17 November deadline to pass funding legislation that would avoid a damaging government shutdown – all amid calls for spending cutbacks by his far-right Republican allies – the hitherto obscure congressman from Louisiana might be about to become much better known, and more disliked. More

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      Trump fined $10,000 for violating gag order and described as ‘not credible’ on witness stand – as it happened

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      Judge Arthur Engoron has fined Trump $10,000 after holding a brief hearing in which he called the ex-president to testify about his possible violation of a gag order this morning. Engoron previously ordered Trump not to make disparaging comments about his staff; in commentary this morning, Trump appeared to make one such statement about Engoron’s law clerk.Trump denied that he was speaking about Engoron’s clerk, and insisted he was speaking about Michael Cohen. Engoron disagreed.“As the trier of fact I find that the witness is not credible,” Engoron said in imposing the fine.Moments before it concluded, Cohen said: “Donald Trump spoke like a mob boss.”Cohen’s comment was in reference to prior statements about Trump’s directives which the ex-president’s defense team has described as inconsistent.Specifically, Trump’s team has honed in on Cohen’s testimony to Congress in which he appeared to say that his former boss didn’t tell him to inflate real estate valuations.Cohen was asked in February 2019: “Did Mr Trump direct you or Mr Weisselberg to inflate the numbers for his personal statement?”“Not that I recall, no,” Cohen said.On re-direct, Cohen explained: “He did not specifically state ‘Michael, go inflate the numbers.“As I’ve stated in my books and I’ve stated publicly, Donald Trump speaks like a mob boss,” Cohen said. Trump says what he wants without “specifically” saying.“We understood what he wanted, so when they asked me, ‘Did Mr Trump direct you or Mr Weisselberg to inflate numbers for his personal statement?’ and I stated, ‘No, not that I recall,’ that’s what I was referring to.”Court has wrapped for the day.There was a bit more bizarre courtroom drama just now. Trump abruptly left the courtroom after Cohen’s cross-examination wrapped.Faherty, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, is now questioning Cohen on redirect. It’s unclear why Trump walked out of the courtroom.Cross-examination of Michael Cohen has resumed, but all eyes are still on the events that just transpired with Judge Arthur Engoron’s imposition of a $10,000 fine on Trump after apparently violating a gag order.Engoron imposed this punishment after calling Trump to the witness stand to explain to whom the ex-president was referring when he said: “This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.’”Engoron asked Trump lawyer Chris Kise: “Mr Kise you, I believe, said on behalf of defendant Trump … that he was referring to Michael Cohen when he said what he said.”“Is that correct?”“Yes,” Kise said.“I’m going to hold a hearing right now about that,” Engoron said.Engoron called Trump to testify.“Mr Trump, did you say in the hallway this morning, ‘This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.’”“Yes,” Trump said.“To whom were you referring when you said the person sitting alongside of me?”“You and Cohen,” Trump replied.“Are you sure that you didn’t mean the person on the other side of me – my principal law clerk?”“Yes, I’m sure.”Engoron asked whether he had previously referred to her as partisan.“I think she’s very biased against us,” Trump said.Trump also addressed his prior failure to remove past disparaging comments about the clerk in a timely way, which flouted a previous Engoron order.Trump said that his camp had put up a picture of her and removed it after Engoron took issue, but that “we have so many different sites”.“I believe that it was one of the political groups one of the Pacs that had it up or left it up,” Trump said.After Trump left the stand, Engoron said: “As the trier of fact, I find that the witness is not credible and that he had been referring to my law clerk.”Trump’s team unsuccessfully pushed back against the fine.Judge Arthur Engoron has fined Trump $10,000 after holding a brief hearing in which he called the ex-president to testify about his possible violation of a gag order this morning. Engoron previously ordered Trump not to make disparaging comments about his staff; in commentary this morning, Trump appeared to make one such statement about Engoron’s law clerk.Trump denied that he was speaking about Engoron’s clerk, and insisted he was speaking about Michael Cohen. Engoron disagreed.“As the trier of fact I find that the witness is not credible,” Engoron said in imposing the fine.Donald Trump has just sat down at the witness stand.The lunch break ended and court has resumed.Judge Engoron is now addressing Trump’s possible gag order violation.We’re still on the lunch break, but Trump has commented on the possible gag order violation that judge Engoron discussed earlier.Trump wouldn’t discuss what transpired after court broke for lunch; after media and public left the courtroom, it was sealed to reporters and observers.As shown in this video by Law 360’s Frank Runyeon, Trump denied violating the gag order.It’s possible we will know more about the potential gag order violation when court resumes after lunch.Habba just concluded her cross-examination of Cohen, leaning hard on her argument that he’s dishonest – and angry that his former confidant and boss didn’t help him.She prompted Cohen to say that he was being untruthful during prior congressional testimony in which he said “I don’t recall” when asked if Trump inflated asset valuations.“Did you ever ask President Trump to pardon you while he was in the White House?” Habba asked.“No,” Cohen said.“He didn’t pardon you, did he?”“No,” Cohen replied with force.Court proceedings are now on a break for lunch. They will resume at about 2.15pm, with additional cross-examination from another lawyer in Trump’s camp.Habba is now trying to portray Cohen as irrelevant and desperate to make money off of his ill-fated relationship with Trump. Did he make money off of his Trump tell-all? How much did he make?“And without stories or accusations about President Trump, you really don’t have anything to [sell]?” Habba asked.“I disagree,” Cohen responded.“Your primary income is speaking about Trump,” Habba pressed. “The more outrageous your stories are about president Trump, the more money you make, is that accurate, Mr Cohen?”“President Trump makes you relevant, doesn’t he?” she said later.“I think the circumstances make me relevant.” Before Cohen returned to the witness stand several minutes ago, Judge Engoron – who fined Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order that barred Trump from publicly commenting about his staff – said he was just alerted to comments that appeared to violate said order yet again.“It was just brought to my attention that the Associated Press reported…Mr Donald J Trump just stated the following to the press gaggle outside the courtroom: ‘This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.’”“It’s really easy for the public or anyone to know who that person is,” Engoron said, referring to the law clerk whom Trump previously disparaged.“This recent statement – assuming the Associated Press is correct– obviously was intentional. I stated the last time that any future violations would be severely punished,” Engoron said. “Again, I should ask the question: Why should there not be severe sanctions for this blatant, dangerous disobeyl of a clear court order?”Trump lawyer Chris Kise insisted: “His whole commentary related to Mr Cohen and his credibility as a witness. We’re certainly aware of the order.”Engoron didn’t appear to buy the explanation, saying that the word “alongside” strongly suggested Trump was referring to his clerk. “I’ll take the whole matter under advisement,” Engoron said.Right before recess, Trump’s lawyer specifically pointed to Cohen’s use of the former president for personal gain and media content.Habba’s cross has also tried to paint Cohen as a spurned friend desperate to save his own skin.She asked Cohen whether he ever told Robert Costello, who was once a longterm Trump ally, “I don’t have anything on Donald Trump. I swear to god I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.“I don’t recall that.”“Do you recall that you told him that you would do – excuse my French – whatever the F it takes to avoid jail time?”“I don’t recall that, either.”Habba later intimated that Cohen was upset at Trump for not giving him a top White House position. She showed a series of spring 2017 texts between Cohen where someone listed as “Person 4” speculated about Trump’s chief-of-staff pick.“Keep guessing, dopey,” Cohen said.“Stop!!! You!” Person 4 replied, writing shortly thereafter: “OMG Please be true. Are you serious? You need to.”“He needs to ask, I would never,” Cohen responded.“You were never given a position in the White House, were you, Mr Cohen?”“I was given the position that I asked for. There’s no shame in being personal attorney to the president.”Court has now broken for the mid-morning break. Habba’s cross-examination of Cohen has spiraled from showmanship to campy theatrics as she has repeatedly nitpicked the former Trump fixer’s comments, down to his diction.During these exchanges–and squabbles with opposing counsel–Habba would raise the volume of her voice at key moments to make a point.While lawyers can be theatrical–and many of the best are–Cohen’s refusal to take guff contributed to the abject zaniness characterizing moments of this morning’s proceedings.“I’ve answered every question that you want, why are you screaming at me?” Cohen said.When Habba asked Cohen whether James initiated the investigation because of his comments on Trump, she pointed toward the state’s top prosecutor, who raised her hand from the first row of the gallery.“You’re welcome,” Cohen said to the courtroom. The courtroom erupted into laughter.“You’re welcome?” Habba said. “That’s telling.”“I was being comical,” Cohen said shortly thereafter.At another point, when Habba asked Cohen about the AG’s investigation, he said: “You can ask Ms. James.”“Objection,” James said from the gallery, prompting chuckles.Here are some of the latest images of key people returning to court for Trump’s civil fraud trial.Not surprisingly, Trump attorney Alina Habba is trying to cast Michael Cohen as a liar, as he’s the key witness in New York attorney general Letitia James’s civil fraud case against the ex-president.She’s also tried to catch Cohen in a trap admitting to perjury. (Lying under oath, which is perjury, constitutes a crime.)She specifically honed in on Cohen’s disavowal Tuesday of his guilt in several crimes he did, in fact, admit to five years ago.“There was no tax evasion. At best, it could be characterized as a tax omission. I have never in my life not paid taxes,” Cohen had insisted, noting that he’d spoken out against this charge many times. Cohen said there were crimes he did plead guilty to that he committed, but not everything.“I wanted to correct the record because when all of this started, it was overwhelming, the amount of misinformation, disinformation, mal-information about me was overwhelming and enormous,” Cohen said. He also disavowed arranging the payment to Karen McDougal, which he admitted to during his first plea proceeding.“I acknowledged my complicity in the Stormy Daniels matter, but…I never paid Karen McDougal,” Cohen said Tuesday. “I was tasked to review documents to ensure that Trump was protected.”Habba repeatedly asked Cohen whether he committed “perjury” during his guilty plea before the late Manhattan federal court judge William Pauley.After lawyers on both sides went head-to-head about whether Habba could use the word ‘“perjury,” Engoron instructed them to proceed without the term. She eventually got her point across, without the linguistic showmanship.“Yesterday was the first time you admitted, in open court, that you lied to Judge Pauley, correct?”“In open court?” Cohen said. “Yes.”Michael Cohen is back on the stand.Trump lawyer Alina Habba, after wishing him “good morning”, said she reminded Cohen that he was still under oath.“True,” Judge Arthur Engoron said plainly from the bench.She’s asking Cohen about the many felonies he pleaded guilty to in 2018.Within moments, the attorney general’s office took issue with these questions, as Habba on Tuesday repeatedly asked him about this.“We did this yesterday,” Colleen Faherty, a lawyer for the attorney general, said.Donald Trump has entered the courtroom. He looked forward as he walked and took his seat at the defense table without fanfare.Court was called to order several moments before his arrival; lawyers have been discussing housekeeping matters with the judge.Good morning from downtown Manhattan, where Michael Cohen is expected to soon return to the witness stand in Donald Trump’s New York state civil fraud trial.Cohen’s testimony at the 60 Centre Street courthouse stems from New York attorney general Letitia James’s lawsuit against the ex-president. Her civil claim maintains that Trump unlawfully inflated values of his properties on financial statements when it suited him.Cohen, the onetime Trump fixer who in 2018 pleaded guilty to a plethora of federal crimes related to his ex-boss, repeatedly implicated him in financial wrongdoing on Tuesday. When proceedings resume this morning, Trump attorney Alina Habba will continue her cross-examination.Here are the key points of Cohen’s testimony against Trump on Tuesday.Trump wanted to “reverse-engineer” his net worth.Cohen testified that Trump wanted him and Weisselberg to figure out a way for him to have the net worth he wanted. Per Cohen: “I was tasked, by Mr Trump, to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrary selected, and my responsibility, along with Allen Weisselberg predominately, was to reverse-engineer the various different asset classes, increase those assets, in order to achieve the number that Mr Trump had [requested].”Cohen and Weisselberg altered financial statements “by hand” to give Trump his desired net worth.During meetings when Cohen and Weisselberg discussed Trump’s financials, he would make demands about what they should be. Trump, Cohen said, “would look at the total assets and he would say, ‘I’m actually not worth $4.5bn, I’m really worth more like six.’“He would then direct Allen and I to go back to Allen’s office and return after we achieved the desir[ed] goal.” Cohen said he and Weisselberg would go line-by-line on the financial statement and “mark it up by hand … in able to get the total asset number that Mr Trump asked us to achieve”.Trump allegedly had final control over business operationsThe New York attorney general’s office is working hard to prove that Trump and his inner circle conspired in defrauding lenders and insurers with inflated property valuations. Cohen’s testimony puts Trump at the center of making decisions that enabled this alleged wrongdoing. Trump, he said, made decisions about his desired net worth, how he’d present himself to insurers–and which of his underlings would carry out his wishes. “All the final decisions were done by Mr Trump,” Cohen said.Proceedings will kick off around 9.30am ET. We will be providing live coverage as they progress. More