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      White House won’t rule out commuting Hunter Biden sentence – as it happened

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      The White House has not ruled out a possible commutation for Hunter Biden after a jury found him guilty on three federal gun crimes.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters on Wednesday on Air Force One, said:
      As we all know, the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet.
      She said she had not spoken to Joe Biden about the issue since the verdict was delivered on Tuesday. The president has previously ruled out pardoning his son.“He was very clear, very upfront, obviously very definitive,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden’s remarks about a potential pardon.But on a commutation, “I just don’t have anything beyond that,” she added.Here’s a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
      The US has announced a new slew of sanctions on Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, the treasury and state departments announced sanctions targeting more than 300 targets including entities in Russia as well as in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
      Joe Biden has announced the reopening of the port of Baltimore after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March, killing six construction workers. In a statement released via the White House, Biden said: “I made clear that my administration would move heaven and earth to reopen the port of Baltimore – one of our nation’s largest shipping hubs. Today, thanks to the tireless work by the men and women in the Unified Command, the full navigation channel is now open to all vessel traffic, allowing a full return of commerce to the port of Baltimore.”
      Republicans in Congress are vowing to block Democrats’ push to enforce a code of ethics in the supreme court after reports of justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, accepting lavish gifts and travel opportunities. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator and top Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, told NBC News that he will object to Democrats’ efforts to unanimously pass the bill.
      Rapper and singer Usher visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday and met with congressional leaders to focus on screening for type 1 diabetes. Speaking about his visit to reporters, Usher said: “It’s not my first time, won’t be my last time coming. Today I’m just talking about type 1 diabetes and early screening for type 1 diabetes.”
      Donald Trump is expected to meet with congressional Republicans in Washington DC this Thursday, as the GOP tries to present a united front ahead of the November elections. Trump is scheduled on Thursday to meet with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club, and then with Republican senators in the afternoon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters, according to reports.
      The White House has not ruled out a possible commutation for Hunter Biden after a jury found him guilty on three federal gun crimes. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters on Wednesday on Air Force One, said: “As we all know, the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet.”
      That’s it as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.Hillary Clinton has publicly endorsed George Latimer, a moderate Democrat from Westchester ahead of a New York congressional primary.In a post on Twitter/X, Clinton wrote:
      With Trump on the ballot, we need strong, principled Democrats in Congress more than ever. In Congress, @LatimerforNY will protect abortion rights, stand up to the NRA, and fight for President Biden’s agenda-just like he’s always done. Make a plan to vote by June 25th!
      Multiple pro-Israel groups have also thrown their efforts into endorsing Latimer – who is running against New York congressman Jamaal Bowman – in attempts to unseat the progressive “squad” in Congress over their criticisms of Israel’s deadly war on Gaza.Rapper and singer Usher visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday and met with congressional leaders to focus on screening for type 1 diabetes.Speaking about his visit to reporters, Usher said:
      It’s not my first time, won’t be my last time coming. Today I’m just talking about type 1 diabetes and early screening for type 1 diabetes.
      Georgia’s Democratic senator Raphael Warnock was among the congressional members who met with Usher.In a post on Twitter/X, Warnock wrote:
      I’m so glad Usher could stop by my office to talk about the importance of screening for type 1 diabetes. Whether pushing to strengthen access to screening or to lower the exorbitant costs of insulin, I won’t stop fighting for people with diabetes in Georgia & across the nation.
      Hunter Biden’s latest federal conviction could boost his father against Donald Trump amid Trump’s claims that the justice department is unfairly rigged against him.Robert Tait reports for the Guardian:Trump, the former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has pushed that line relentlessly to explain his conviction last month on charges related to the concealment of hush-money payments to a porn star to help him win the 2016 election.He has made the claim even though his prosecution was brought in a New York state court that is independent of the Department of Justice, which is overseeing 54 other criminal charges against him that have so far not come to trial.Hunter Biden, by contrast, was prosecuted and convicted under the authority of the justice department, which is part of his father’s administration – an inconvenient fact that weakens Republican claims that it has been turned into a political weapon in the president’s hands.The result, some observers say, is that Hunter’s conviction may help the president in a close race, even though the personal cost of his son’s troubles is heavy.Read the full story here:Donald Trump is expected to meet with congressional Republicans in Washington DC this Thursday, as the GOP tries to present a united front ahead of the November elections.Trump is scheduled on Thursday to meet with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club, and then with Republican senators in the afternoon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters, according to reports.Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, are expected to attend.It will mark the first meeting between the former president and GOP lawmakers since he was found guilty in the hush-money trial.Here’s more on the latest slew of US sanctions against Russia over its military invasion of Russia.The package targets Chinese companies that have helped Russia pursue its war and raised the stakes for foreign financial institutions which work with sanctioned Russian entities.It also targets the Russian financial infrastructure in an attempt to limit the amount of money flowing in and out of the country.The announcement came shortly before Joe Biden arrived in Italy, where he and other G7 leaders are urgently looking at aiding Ukraine.Americans don’t have much faith in America right now. Or at least not in its institutions.In 2022, a Gallup poll found that Americans had experienced “significant declines” in trust in 11 of 16 major US institutions. The supreme court and the presidency saw the largest drops in public confidence – by 11% and 15%, respectively. Trust also fell in the medical system, banks, police, public schools and newspapers.Things didn’t improve in 2023: a follow-up poll found that levels of trust remained low, with none of the scores “worsening or improving meaningfully”.Public confidence waxes and wanes, but these numbers are notably bleak. Trust in institutions has “never been lower”, confirms Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor of the Gallup poll and the author of the 2022 report.This mistrust is not a one-time blip, a rough patch in an otherwise happy relationship between a country and its people. According to polling experts, it is partly the result of a decades-long effort by political leaders to erode public confidence in institutions such as science, media and government. And the consequences are serious. Not trusting the forces that govern their lives is detrimental to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, and makes the country less prepared to face a major crisis.“Trust is the grease that oils the gears and makes things work,” says Dr Marc Hetherington, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Without it, everything is more difficult.”But how did we lose this trust in the first place? And is there a way to get it back?Read the full story: Trust in US institutions has ‘never beenl ower’ – here’s why that mattersThe latest comments by Karine Jean-Pierre mark a shift in position from September, when she was asked if Joe Biden would “pardon or commute his son if he’s convicted.”The White House press secretary said at the time:
      I’ve answered this question before. It was asked of me not too long ago, a couple of weeks ago. And I was very clear, and I said no.
      A pardon is an expression of forgiveness of a criminal offense that restores some rights, such as voting, that a person loses upon conviction, AP reports.A commutation reduces a sentence but leaves the conviction intact.The White House has not ruled out a possible commutation for Hunter Biden after a jury found him guilty on three federal gun crimes.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters on Wednesday on Air Force One, said:
      As we all know, the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet.
      She said she had not spoken to Joe Biden about the issue since the verdict was delivered on Tuesday. The president has previously ruled out pardoning his son.“He was very clear, very upfront, obviously very definitive,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden’s remarks about a potential pardon.But on a commutation, “I just don’t have anything beyond that,” she added.Here’s more from House speaker Mike Johnson’s briefing with reporters earlier today.Johnson was asked if he has spoken to Donald Trump about committing to “respecting the American tradition of peaceful transfer” of power and not attempting another January 6-style insurrection. Johnson replied:
      Of course he respects that, and we all do, and we’ve all talked about it ad nauseam.
      Ahead of the Republican-led House’s vote to hold attorney general Merrick Garland in contempt for his decision to withhold audio recordings of Joe Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur, House speaker Mike Johnson said:
      The contempt of Merrick Garland is a very important principle here … We have to defend the constitution. We have to defend the authority of Congress. We can’t allow the Department of Justice, an executive branch agency, to hide information from Congress …
      And the best evidence as chairman [Jim] Jordan said, was the audio recordings because they provide critical insight in what that transcript itself cannot provide. We have to know if the transcript is accurate … The attorney general doesn’t get to decide whether he hides the tape, and that’s what will be determined here.”
      Although more Americans support than oppose Joe Biden’s latest immigration executive order, public opinion on whether the order was tough on illegal immigration remains mixed, according to a new Monmouth University poll.According to the poll, 40% of Americans are in favor of Biden’s executive order while 27% disapprove – and 33% of Americans have no opinion.The report also found that support is evenly spread across all partisan groups – 44% of Republicans, 40% of Democrats and 38% of independents are in favor. Republicans (29%) and independents (30%) are slightly more likely than Democrats (22%) to oppose this move.The House speaker, Mike Johnson, criticized Joe Biden’s immigration policies, telling reporters on Wednesday:
      The Biden border catastrophe continues in spite of his window dressing of the executive order.
      Johnson was referring to Biden’s latest executive order that limits asylum seekers from crossing the US-Mexico border.He added:
      Nothing’s changed, of course. In fact, many have argued that this increased the incentives for people to try to come and, you know, avail themselves of the welcome mat that the Biden administration has put forward.
      The US has announced a new slew of sanctions on Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine.On Wednesday, the treasury and state departments announced sanctions targeting more than 300 targets including entities in Russia as well as in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.In a statement following the sanctions, the US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said:
      Today’s actions strike at their remaining avenues for international materials and equipment, including their reliance on critical supplies from third countries …
      We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion, and diminishing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software and IT services.
      Joe Biden has announced the reopening of the port of Baltimore after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March, killing six construction workers.In a statement released via the White House, Biden said:
      I made clear that my administration would move heaven and earth to reopen the port of Baltimore – one of our nation’s largest shipping hubs. Today, thanks to the tireless work by the men and women in the Unified Command, the full navigation channel is now open to all vessel traffic, allowing a full return of commerce to the port of Baltimore …
      Our hearts remain with the families of the victims of the bridge collapse, and we will continue to stand with the community throughout this period of recovery.
      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at the supreme court in a recent roundtable discussion in which she accused it of being in a “crisis of legitimacy” following a series of scandals that have surrounded several justices.The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports:Speaking during a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill, the New York Democratic representative accused the court of “delegitimizing itself through its conduct”.“A group of anti-democratic billionaires with their own ideological and economic agenda has been working one of the three co-equal branches of government,” she said.Sustained scrutiny of the justices prompted the court to adopt its first code of ethics last year, but it lacks any form of enforcement. Meanwhile, public confidence in the court has plummeted to near historic lows.In the two years since it overturned Roe v Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion, a decision that sparked fierce political backlash from voters across the ideological spectrum, the court has been rocked by ethics scandals involving two of the bench’s most conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.“The highest court in the land today has the lowest ethical standards,” said Jamie Raskin, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, and the ranking member of the House oversight committee, who joined Ocasio-Cortez in convening the discussion.For the full story, click here:In a press statement released ahead of the Senate vote, Democrats said:
      [The vote follows] a myriad of apparent ethical lapses by supreme court justices, which demonstrates the need for ethics reform.
      Last week, Justice Clarence Thomas belatedly admitted that some luxury vacation trips he took were paid for by Harlan Crow, a conservative billionaire donor.Those vacations included trips to Indonesia and a men’s club in California. Thomas’s admission comes more than a year after ProPublica first reported on the trips.Meanwhile, Justice Samuel Alito’s neutrality as a judge has been questioned in recent days after reports revealed that he said in a secret recording that one side of the US’s right-left divide has to prevail.Alito has also been at the center of several flag controversies, including an incident in which he appeared to fly an American flag upside down outside his home after the January 6 riots in 2021.Republicans in Congress are vowing to block Democrats’ push to enforce a code of ethics in the supreme court after reports of justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, accepting lavish gifts and travel opportunities.Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator and top Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, told NBC News that he will object to Democrats’ efforts to unanimously pass the bill.Although the chair of the judiciary committee, Senate majority whip Dick Durbin, said that he plans to make a unanimous consent request, the Illinois Democrat did voice doubts over whether the legislation will pass.“I think I know the outcome, but we’re going to go through the exercise to make sure that both parties are in the record,” Durbin said.Meanwhile, Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said at a recent roundtable discussion in Washington DC that the supreme court is in a “crisis of legitimacy” as a result of being “captured and corrupted by money and extremism”.Here are other developments in US politics:
      The Republican-lead House is scheduled to vote on whether to hold the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt for his decision to withhold audio recordings of Joe Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur.
      Joe Biden is travelling from Wilmington, Delaware, to Fasano, Italy, for the annual G7 summit.
      Hunter Biden has been found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun trial. More

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      Antony Blinken tells Netanyahu US and allies back Biden ceasefire proposal – as it happened

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      The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today, where he reiterated that the US “and other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal outlined by President Biden” for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages.Blinken told Israel’s prime minister that “the proposal on the table would unlock the possibility of calm along Israel’s northern border and further integration with countries in the region,” according to a US state department readout of the meeting.
      The Secretary updated the prime minister on ongoing diplomatic efforts to plan for the post-conflict period, emphasizing the importance of those efforts to providing long-term peace, security and stability to Israelis and Palestinians alike. Secretary Blinken also emphasized the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading.
      Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, arrived in Israel on Monday as part of his eighth visit to the Middle East since the Hamas attacks on 7 October as Washington tries to shore up support for its proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.
      The UN security council approved its first resolution endorsing a Gaza ceasefire plan. The vote on the US-sponsored resolution was 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
      Blinken told Benjamin Netanyahu that the proposal would “unlock the possibility of calm along Israel’s northern border and further integration with countries in the region”, the US state department said.
      Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial began deliberations. The president’s only surviving son faces three federal charges relating to the illegal purchase and ownership of a gun while in the grip of longstanding drug addiction.
      The picture of criminal behavior and a dissolute lifestyle was painted in sometimes painfully frank testimony in a Delaware court room last week and would have been difficult to hear for the family of any defendant.But Hunter Biden, the man in the dock in Wilmington, is no ordinary plaintiff; he is the son of the president of the United States.All week long, the proceedings put the personal conduct of the eldest surviving presidential scion under a microscope.A jury in his hometown heard details of his previous addiction to crack cocaine and how, in 2018 – with his father preparing for a run for the presidency – he bought a handgun by allegedly lying to a registered firearms dealer about his drug use. He then desperately tried to retrieve it from a garbage bin where his then lover, the widow of Joe Biden’s other son, Beau, who died in 2015, had dumped it in panic.Jury deliberations have begun and yet already, the details of a president’s son gone astray should be manna in an election year for Republicans, who focused for years on Hunter Biden’s business interests and alleged wrongdoing in an effort to politically discredit his father.Instead, the trial has presented Republicans with an awkward dilemma.The jury have begun deliberations in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial in Wilmington, Delaware.Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges stemming from the October 2018 purchase of a gun. He is accused of making false statements on a gun-purchase form when he said he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs, and then unlawfully possessing the gun for 11 days.If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, though such a sentence would be highly unusual given that he would be a first-time offender. It is unclear whether the presiding judge, Maryellen Noreika, would give him time behind bars.Hunter Biden also faces a separate federal trial in California on charges of failing to pay $1.4m in taxes.The UN security council has voted to pass a US-drafted Gaza ceasefire deal that would lead to the release of all the remaining hostages in return for Israel accepting steps towards a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of its forces from Gaza.The resolution passed in the 15-strong council, as China did not block it and Russia abstained. In March, China and Russia vetoed a US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza linked to a hostage deal.Washington is struggling to gain the unequivocal backing of Israel or Hamas for a three-stage deal proposed by Joe Biden that would lead to the release of all the remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is visiting the Middle East this week, his eighth trip to the region since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, to make a further push to nail down support for the deal.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today, where he reiterated that the US “and other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal outlined by President Biden” for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages.Blinken told Israel’s prime minister that “the proposal on the table would unlock the possibility of calm along Israel’s northern border and further integration with countries in the region,” according to a US state department readout of the meeting.
      The Secretary updated the prime minister on ongoing diplomatic efforts to plan for the post-conflict period, emphasizing the importance of those efforts to providing long-term peace, security and stability to Israelis and Palestinians alike. Secretary Blinken also emphasized the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading.
      Closing arguments have begun in Hunter Biden’s gun trial, beginning with the prosecutors.Prosecutor Leo Wise said “no one is above the law” and added the testimonies from Biden’s high-profile family members don’t matter.Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said “it’s time to end this case,” arguing the burden of proof against her client has not been met.The judge in this trial has instructed jurors to only consider whether or not the president’s son was using drugs at the time he filled out the federal forms to purchase his firearm.Jury deliberation will begin after both sides have rested their cases.Biden’s criticism of Trump, who recently became the first former US president to be convicted of felony crimes, has become increasingly sharper.Today the Biden campaign dropped a new campaign ad featuring a Trump gaffe, in which his opponent in the upcoming 2024 presidential election says:“We need every voter. I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.”In a subsequent post to X, Brown thanked Trump for the endorsement and for his “leadership”.“I look forward to working with you to bring a better future to every Nevadan and American when we both win in November!!,” Brown said.Read the full post below:Donald Trump endorsed retired Army captain Sam Brown in the Nevada Senate race in a Truth Social post late Sunday, giving Brown a crucial boost two days before the state primary.Trump, who described Brown as a “FEARLESS AMERICAN PATRIOT”, posted after he spent the day in Las Vegan holding a rally, where several of the GOP Senate candidates were in attendance, AP reported. Trump chose Brown over several other candidates with close ties to the former president, including Jeff Gunter, his former ambassador to Iceland.The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face off with Democratic senator Jacky Rosen in what is likely to be one of the closest Senate races in the country.The Kennedy name looms large over American politics. John F Kennedy, despite serving only two and a half years as president before his assassination, is frequently ranked among the top 10 US leaders; his brother, Robert F Kennedy, seemed set for his own spell in the White House until he too was killed in 1968.Enter: Robert F Kennedy Jr, nephew of the former, son of the latter and increasingly, persona non grata of the surviving Kennedy clan.Part-time environmental lawyer, full-time conspiracy theorist, an animal enthusiast who owned a pet lion at his elite boarding school and who, in his telling, had part of his brain eaten by a worm, Kennedy entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat running against Biden, before switching to an independent in October last year. The 70-year-old, who also has a history of associating with white supremacists, is an unknown quantity in the 2024 election race, with both parties worried about the havoc he could wreak.Five months out from perhaps the most consequential election in recent US history, Biden and Trump continue to be unpopular with the American public. Kennedy’s ability to be neither of those men, and his willingness to lean into his family name, have positioned him as a spanner in the works of American democracy.Read the full story hereAs we reported earlier, Donald Trump was scheduled today to make a virtual address to an event by the Danbury Institute, a Christian group that calls for abortion to be “eradicated entirely”.Hours before Trump’s expected address, the former president’s campaign said he will deliver a pre-recorded message in which he does not say the word “abortion” at all, according to a Politico, which has obtained a script of his two-minute speech.According to the script, Trump is expected to say:
      We have to defend religious liberty, free speech, innocent life and the heritage and traditions that built America into the greatest nation in the history of the world. I know that each of you is protecting those values every day – and I hope we’ll be defending them side by side for the next four years.
      Dozens of Donald Trump’s supporters have been requiring medical help at his rallies in the scorching US south-west but it seems lost on him that his plans to reverse climate policies and “drill, baby, drill” for fossil fuels will only worsen extreme weather, campaigners say.A total of 24 people at a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Sunday required medical attention due to the heat, according to the Clark county fire department, with six taken to hospital for treatment. The hospitalizations come after a further 11 people needed to be admitted to hospital for heat exhaustion as they waited for Trump to speak at a rally in Phoenix on Thursday.Trump himself noted the severe heat during his speech on Sunday, with the Las Vegas rally starting around noon when the temperature was about 90F (32C) and climbed to around 102F (38C). The rally was held in a park with little shade, although organizers provided water and cooling tents, and allowed attendees to hold shading umbrellas.“It’s 110, but it doesn’t feel it to me,” said Trump, who wore a suit jacket and signature red baseball cap.
      I’m up here sweating like a dog. They don’t think about me. This is hard work.
      Trump then said:
      I don’t want anybody going on me. We need every voter. I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.
      He later said he was joking about not caring about his own voters and complained the media would criticize him for this.Record-breaking heat enveloped much of the US south-west last week, with temperatures soaring beyond 110F (43C) in areas stretching from California to Arizona. Roughly half of Arizona and Nevada were under an excessive heat alert, even though the official start of summer is still a week away, with Las Vegas hitting 110F on Friday and Phoenix reaching 113F (45C).Antony Blinken’s meetings with Israeli officials on Monday and the US push for a Gaza ceasefire deal comes after Israel’s former army chief of staff, Benny Gantz, resigned from the war cabinet.The resignation by Gantz, leader of the centre-right National Unity party and a major rival to Benjamin Netanyahu, followed through on a threat to resign after he gave Israel’s prime minister an ultimatum of 8 June to present concrete “day after” plans for the Gaza Strip.The withdrawal of his party also means Gadi Eisenkot, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general and war cabinet observer, and the minister without portfolio, Chili Tropper, are also stepping down.The departure of Gantz leaves Netanyahu with enough seats in his coalition but has made him even more reliant on the support of far-right allies including Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have repeatedly threatened to walk away over any deal for a ceasefire in exchange for hostages.Donald Trump has been compared to Jesus Christ by the far-right Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene at a campaign rally for the former president in Las Vegas, a city more renowned for evoking images of gambling than biblical scenes.Greene, who makes frequent references to her Christian faith, cited Trump’s supposed Christ-like qualities to challenge the Democrats’ efforts to capitalise on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s status as a convicted felon following his recent conviction in a case involving hush money paid to an adult film actor and falsified business records in a New York court.“The Democrats and the fake news media want to constantly talk about ‘President Trump is a convicted felon’,” she told a crowd that waited in soaring early-summer temperatures.
      Well, you want to know something? The man that I worship is also a convicted felon. And he was murdered on a Roman cross.
      It is not the first time Greene has drawn parallels between Trump and Christ – whom Christians consider to be the messiah and son of God – as well as other historical martyr figures.When he was arrested in New York on corruption charges in April last year, she likened Trump to Jesus and Nelson Mandela, who became South Africa’s first post-apartheid president after being jailed for 27 years by the racist regime.A Georgia congressional candidate convicted for participating in the January 6th insurrection walked out of a televised Republican debate on Sunday.Chuck Hand is one of at least four people convicted of January 6 crimes running for Congress this year, according to AP. All are running as Republicans. Hand was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation.Hand is running against Wayne Johnson ahead of a 18 June primary runoff for southwest Georgia’s 2nd congressional district.During the debate, Hand said he was refusing to debate Johnson after Michael Nixon, who finished third in an earlier primary, endorsed Johnson. Nixon brought up a 2005 criminal trespass charge and a 2010 DUI charge against Hand, both of which were dismissed, and also cited federal court documents to argue Hand’s participation in the January 6 riot was more serious than Hand had claimed.Hand, walking out of the studio, said:
      This is where I get back in my truck and go back to southwest Georgia because I’ve got two races to win.
      “You’re not staying?” asked anchor Donna Lowry. “You’re leaving, sir? OK.”The Biden administration is considering entering into a deal with Hamas that does not include Israel, according to a NBC report.Citing two current and two former US officials, the American broadcaster said a deal to free five US hostages would be hammered out through Qatari mediation if current ceasefire talks involving Israel fail.The officials did not know what the US could offer Hamas in return, but argued there was an incentive for Hamas to drive a deeper wedge between Joe Biden and the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.Parts of the Biden administration would like to see the Netanyahu coalition government collapse, leading to fresh elections and the formation of an Israeli government more willing to seek an understanding with the Palestinians. They believe the complete obliteration of Hamas militarily is a mirage and say Netanyahu has no realistic plan for Gaza’s future governance.Mitch Landrieu, Joe Biden’s campaign chair, has told MSNBC that it is “astounding” that Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, “first has to go sit down with his probation officer”. More

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      Mayorkas insists immigration order not at odds with Biden’s campaign promise

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      The US homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, defended both the timing and substance of Joe Biden’s new executive order to restrict immigration at the southern border, as the president faces criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike over the measure.The order, issued on Tuesday, tells officials to shut down asylum requests once the average number of encounters between legal ports of entry reaches 2,500 or more. If the number of encounters falls to 1,500 or fewer for seven consecutive days, the border would reopen two weeks later.During an interview on ABC News’s This Week, host Martha Raddatz noted that crossings had never reached the threshold of falling to 1,500 or fewer during Biden’s presidency – and Mayorkas declined to say whether he expected it to happen before election day.Mayorkas declined to give a concrete timeline on when to expect border crossings to meet the targeted threshold. Mayorkas was impeached by House Republicans earlier this year over his handling of the border, but the charges were quickly dismissed by the Senate.“We are at a very early stage. Implementation, as you noted, has just begun,” Mayorkas told Raddatz on Sunday. “It’s early, the signs are positive. Our personnel have done an extraordinary job in implementing a very big shift in how we operate on the southern border.”Some Democrats have assailed the order as essentially a revival of the Trump administration’s asylum ban, which was struck down by federal courts. Biden also criticized the measure when he was a candidate for president.Mayorkas insisted on Sunday that the executive order was not at odds with Biden’s campaign promise.“What the president said then is what we are living today,” he said. “We are allowing individuals to access asylum through the ports of entry, pursuant to a program that we developed. We are allowing people to access asylum if they come from the countries of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.”Republicans have dismissed the policy as insufficient and an election-year stunt. “This is like turning a garden hose on a five-alarm fire. And the American people are not fools. They know that this play is too little, too late,” Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate, said last week. But the Republican criticism comes after Republican senators twice blocked a sweeping bipartisan border security bill. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee in November’s presidential election, had lobbied against the measure.Mayorkas defended the timing of the executive order, which came four months after the border bill first failed. He said the administration would have preferred for Congress to act.“The bipartisan deal was rejected once. We pressed forward again. It was rejected a second time. And then we developed this and have implemented it and we are at an early stage,” he said. “And let’s not minimize the significance of this move and the significance of operationalizing it. And it requires the cooperation of other countries which we have secured.” More

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      Businessman testifies he promised Bob Menendez up to $250,000 in bribes

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      A New Jersey businessman took his star turn on the witness stand on Friday in the bribery case against US senator Bob Menendez, telling a jury he believed he had a $200,000-$250,000 deal in 2018 for the Democrat to pressure the state attorney general’s office to stop investigating his friends and family.Jose Uribe testified in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon, providing key testimony against Menendez and two other businessmen charged in a conspiracy along with Menendez’s wife. Next week, Menendez’s lawyers will get to cross-examine the naturalized US citizen.“Next week we get the truth,” Menendez said just before stepping into a car that carried him away from Manhattan federal court, where he has been on trial for the last month.Uribe, 57, who pleaded guilty to charges in a March cooperation deal, was the star witness for the government in its bid to win a conviction against the senator, who once held the powerful post as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee. He was forced out of the position after he was criminally charged last fall.Menendez, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted gold bars, cash and a luxury car in return for doing favors for the businessmen. Two businessmen and Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, also have pleaded not guilty. Nadine Menendez’s trial has been postponed until at least July after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.Uribe testified that he had been close friends with Wael Hana, who is on trial with Menendez, when Hana told him in early 2018 that New Jersey state criminal investigations swirling around the trucking business of a friend of his and Uribe’s own insurance business could be largely put to rest if he was willing to spend $200,000 to $250,000.Uribe said Hana told him that he would go to Nadine Arslanian (her name before she married the senator), who had begun dating Menendez that year, and then “Nadine would go to Senator Menendez”, although Uribe did not testify about how the couple could resolve multiple investigations.Uribe said he held a 13 July 2018 political fundraiser for Menendez, which the senator attended, raising $50,000. He said he attended an afterparty with Menendez and Arslanian that included cocktails, along with “some laughs, some jokes and some dancing”, but there was no mention of the work he expected Menendez to do on his behalf.View image in fullscreen“It was a crowded and loud place,” Uribe said.He said his confidence that the deal was working faded in the fall when an investigator from the attorney general’s office asked to interview his employee.“I was not happy,” he said.Assistant US attorney Lara Pomerantz showed jurors a series of text messages between Uribe and Hana in which Uribe pressed his friend to get the senator to stop the criminal investigations.“Please be sure that your friend knows about this,” Uribe wrote to Hana in one text.Pomerantz asked whom he was referring to as “your friend”.“Senator Menendez,” Uribe responded. Hana, according to the texts, responded: “I will.”Hana arranged for Uribe to have dinner with Menendez and Arslanian at a restaurant in October 2018, but Uribe testified there was no mention of the deal.“Nothing was discussed there of value, I will say,” Uribe testified. “It was a … pointless meeting.”Uribe said he began communicating directly with Nadine Arslanian in March 2019 and promised that he would buy her a car if she delivered on the deal to get the senator to shut down New Jersey criminal investigations.“She agreed to the terms,” he said.When the prosecutor asked Uribe what he understood the terms of the deal to mean, he said he understood that Nadine Arslanian would contact Menendez and get him to use his “influence and power to do anything possible to stop and kill” the investigations.On Thursday, former New Jersey attorney general Gurbir Grewal testified that Menendez in an early 2019 telephone call and in a September 2019 office meeting tried to talk to him about a criminal investigation. Grewal said he followed his policy and refused to do so, telling Menendez to contact defense lawyers so they could reach out to trial-level prosecutors or the judge.Uribe, of Clifton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in March, saying during his plea that he gave Nadine Menendez a Mercedes-Benz in return for her husband “using his power and influence as a United States senator to get a favorable outcome and to stop all investigations related to one of my associates”.Uribe was accused of buying the luxury car for Nadine Menendez after her previous car had been destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing the street. She did not face criminal charges in connection with that crash. More

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      Trump’s VP search reportedly down to four men – as it happened

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      Donald Trump appears to have narrowed his search for a vice-presidential candidate down to four men: North Dakota governor Doug Burgum; and Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio, NBC News is reporting.The former president and presumptive Republican nominee for this year’s election has sent out “vetting materials” to the quartet, according to sources cited by the outlet.Another source told NBC that Trump was focusing on a three-way contest between Burgum, Rubio and Vance, with Scott out of the picture.The report also cautions: “Trump is working from a fluid shortlist that at times includes more than a half-dozen names. Additions, subtractions and the emergence of dark-horse candidates remain possible”.Burgum has been seen in Trump’s company increasingly frequently in recent weeks, while all three of the others have become prominent and enthusiastic cheerleaders for Trump during TV appearances following his conviction on 34 felony charges in New York last week.Some of those previously considered to be high on his list of VP “possibles” have fallen away, the NBC report suggests, most notably South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, whose star faded after the Guardian exposed in April how she shot and killed a rambunctious puppy in cold blood.Congress members Elise Stefanik of New York and Byron Donalds of Florida, have also been mentioned, along with Ben Carson, who served as Trump’s housing secretary.NBC notes Trump did not name former vice-president Mike Pence as his running mate until days before the 2016 Republican party convention, and said his decision this year is unlikely to be made public ahead of the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.Here’s a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
      Donald Trump appears to have narrowed his search for a vice-presidential candidate down to four men: North Dakota governor Doug Burgum; and Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio, NBC News reported. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee for this year’s election has sent out “vetting materials” to the quartet, according to sources cited by the outlet. Another source told NBC that Trump was focusing on a three-way contest between Burgum, Rubio and Vance, with Scott out of the picture.
      Michigan’s Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib has condemned Joe Biden’s latest executive order that limits asylum seekers from crossing the US-Mexico border. In a post on X, Tlaib tweeted: “This executive order is outrageous. Seeking asylum is a human right. President Biden promised to end cruel Trump-era immigration policies, not resume them. We need to stop the dehumanization of migrants who are escaping violence and seeking a better life for their families.”
      The White House and the Biden campaign are not pleased with the Wall Street Journal’s story raising questions about whether he is fit to serve. On X, his re-election campaign noted that Kevin McCarthy, who in his former job as speaker of the House repeatedly met with the president, has previously said he was able to follow conversations and participate in meetings just fine.
      Alejandro Mayorkas, homeland security secretary, spoke with MSNBC about the agreement between US and Mexico for the Mexican authorities to enforce anti-migration measures before people even reach the border. “We have built a very strong and productive partnership with Mexico, with President Lopez Obrador. We expect that strong and productive partnership to continue under the presidency of Claudia Sheinbaum,” Mayorkas said today.
      Joe Biden has congratulated the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his National Democratic Alliance for their election victory to form a new government for a third straight term. He posted on X: “The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential.”
      The White House office of management and budget just announced that Joe Biden supports the Right to Contraception Act, which the Democratic-led Senate is expected to vote on later today. “The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of S 4381, the Right to Contraception Act, which would protect the fundamental right to access contraception and help ensure that women can make decisions about their health, lives and families,” the office wrote.
      That’s it as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.The Congressional Black Caucus criticized Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rant about George Floyd in which she complained that Democrats are “worshipping” the “convicted felon.”In a video posted on X, Greene can be seen speaking to a reporter, saying, “We have Jamie Raskin in there accusing us of worshiping Trump, worshiping a ‘convicted felon’.” The reporter interjected, saying that Trump was indeed convicted.In response, Greene said: “Well yeah, so was George Floyd. And everybody, and you all too, the media worships George Floyd. Democrats worship George Floyd. There were riots, burning down the fucking country over George Floyd and Raskin is in there, saying we worship him [Trump].Following Greene’s comments, the Congressional Black Caucus condemned the Republican representative. “This is unhinged even for @RepMTG,” they wrote in an X post.“Her actions are unacceptable even by the lowest of Republican standards. George Floyd did not deserve to die, and a member of Congress should have the decency to acknowledge his humanity,” the Congressional Black Caucus continued.For the full story, click here:Michigan’s Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib has condemned Joe Biden’s latest executive order that limits asylum seekers from crossing the US-Mexico border.In a post on X, Tlaib tweeted:
      “This executive order is outrageous. Seeking asylum is a human right. President Biden promised to end cruel Trump-era immigration policies, not resume them. We need to stop the dehumanization of migrants who are escaping violence and seeking a better life for their families.”
      Byron Donalds recently came under fire for suggesting that Black families were stronger during the Jim Crow era, when racial segregation was legalized through much of the US, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.During a Trump campaign event in Philadelphia titled “Congress, Cognac and Cigars”, Donalds claimed that Black families were “more together” during Jim Crow and have been on the decline as Black people started to vote increasingly for the Democratic Party.“You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative – Black people have always been conservative-minded – but more Black people voted conservatively,” Donalds said.“And then HEW, Lyndon Johnson – you go down that road, and now we are where we are,” Donalds added, referring to former president Lyndon B Johnson.The event was co-hosted with congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas, another Republican who is Black.Despite the latest report from NBC News, Trump’s search for a VP may be wider than reported. In addition to Rubio, Scott, Vance, and Burgum, other politicians have repeatedly come up as possible running mates for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida is still widely considered a possible choice for vice-presidential candidate.The first-term congressman has been a rising star within Republican the party and recently attended a campaign event for Trump in Philadelphia.Talking of the former president, my colleague Cameron Joseph’s latest Trump on Trial newsletter takes a look at how voters feel about his conviction last week on 34 felony charges, and how it might affect their decision for November’s election.It’s moderately good news for Joe Biden because of a slight uptick in support for the president in head-to-head surveys. In fact, more than half of voters approve of the guilty verdict, a trio of polls revealed, although there were mixed reactions in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin and Georgia, Guardian reporting found.It’s Cameron’s final newsletter before he leaves the Guardian to take up a new role elsewhere. You can read it here, and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already:Donald Trump appears to have narrowed his search for a vice-presidential candidate down to four men: North Dakota governor Doug Burgum; and Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio, NBC News is reporting.The former president and presumptive Republican nominee for this year’s election has sent out “vetting materials” to the quartet, according to sources cited by the outlet.Another source told NBC that Trump was focusing on a three-way contest between Burgum, Rubio and Vance, with Scott out of the picture.The report also cautions: “Trump is working from a fluid shortlist that at times includes more than a half-dozen names. Additions, subtractions and the emergence of dark-horse candidates remain possible”.Burgum has been seen in Trump’s company increasingly frequently in recent weeks, while all three of the others have become prominent and enthusiastic cheerleaders for Trump during TV appearances following his conviction on 34 felony charges in New York last week.Some of those previously considered to be high on his list of VP “possibles” have fallen away, the NBC report suggests, most notably South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, whose star faded after the Guardian exposed in April how she shot and killed a rambunctious puppy in cold blood.Congress members Elise Stefanik of New York and Byron Donalds of Florida, have also been mentioned, along with Ben Carson, who served as Trump’s housing secretary.NBC notes Trump did not name former vice-president Mike Pence as his running mate until days before the 2016 Republican party convention, and said his decision this year is unlikely to be made public ahead of the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr could help Biden gain a bump in key swing states in the 2024 presidential election, according to a new survey, the Hill reported.With Kennedy as an option, Biden gains a slight advantage in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, two major swing states ahead of November’s election.Here’s more information from the Hill:
      Polling from Mainstreet Research, PolCom Lab and Florida Atlantic University showed Trump with a slight lead over Biden in a head-to-head race in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But when Kennedy is added to the mix, Biden takes the lead in the states, according to the poll.
      Kennedy, an independent candidate, is not currently on the ballot in either state, which along with Michigan are seen as crucial to Biden’s hopes for reelection….
      Read the full article here.Ahead of today’s Senate vote to protect access to contraception, reproductive right activists have put up a 20ft- inflatable of an IUD to raise awareness.The gigantic contraception installation is currently on display at Union Station in Washington DC.CNN’s Haley Talbot posted a picture of the installation to X.The installation has caused a stir on social media.“Ahhhh that’s why it was ‘currently unavailable’ on Amazon,” wrote one user on X.Another simply commented: “Wow.”Today’s Senate vote is due at 3.45pm.Senate Democrats are teeing up a vote on legislation to protect access to contraception, which the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, argues is under threat from Republican lawmakers and rightwing supreme court justices. The White House said Joe Biden supports the bill, while Republican senator Katie Britt slammed it as part of a “summer of scare tactics” ahead of the November election. Meanwhile, top Democratic lawmakers are decrying a Wall Street Journal story that reported Biden showed signs of “slipping” in important meetings – a sensitive allegation for the 81-year-old president. His campaign attacked the report as well, and White House communications director Ben LaBolt wondered if it was published with nefarious intent.Here’s what else has happened today so far:
      Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said Biden’s immigration executive order signed yesterday was intended to discourage migrants from attempting to cross the border illegally.
      Advocates for migrants warned the new restrictions on asylum seekers could put lives at risk.
      Biden congratulated the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on his election to a third term.
      Joe Biden yesterday signed an executive order that will temporarily close the southern US border to new asylum seekers when crossings reach a certain level. As the Guardian’s Maanvi Singh reports, advocates for migrants warn that it will put lives at risk:Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an aggressive new immigration order suspending asylum rights, signalling that “securing the border” was a central tenet of his re-election bid.At the southern US border, the policy is set to cause chaos and hardship for those seeking the protection of the United States.The executive order revealed on Tuesday revokes – at least temporarily – the country’s long-standing promise that anyone who sets foot on US soil can ask for refuge.Starting at 12.01am Wednesday, the government will be able to return people apprehended at the border to Mexico or their home countries within hours or days if a daily number of crossings is exceeded, giving them little chance to apply for asylum.On Tuesday afternoon, lawyers who work with people attempting to cross the border were still scrambling to understand how exactly the order would work – as detailed regulations had yet to be made public. But what was sure, they said, was that it would create panic and chaos at the border in the short term. The rush of people fleeing violence and chaos in their home countries is unlikely to stop overnight, they cautioned.“It can’t be counted on to reduce, or to stop, people from coming,” said Monika Y Langarica, a senior attorney with the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) based at the border in San Diego. “But it certainly will create confusion. It will create disorder, and it will put people’s lives in danger.”The White House and the Biden campaign is also not pleased with the Wall Street Journal’s story raising questions about whether he is fit to serve.On X, his re-election campaign noted that Kevin McCarthy, who in his former job as speaker of the House repeatedly met with the president, has previously said he was able to follow conversations and participate in meetings just fine:White House communications director Ben LaBolt wondered if there was nefarious intent behind the article’s publication: More

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      Andy Kim wins Democratic primary in race for Bob Menendez’s Senate seat

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      Democratic congressman Andy Kim has won New Jersey’s Senate primary, putting him in strong position for the general election in the blue-leaning state, though the win comes a day after Democratic senator Bob Menendez filed to run as an independent amid his federal corruption trial.Menendez, who has denied allegations that he accepted bribes to promote the interests of the Egyptian government, has chosen not to seek the Democratic Senate nomination. Kim’s win comes after a bruising battle that led New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy to withdraw from the race in March.But Menendez has not opted out of the Senate race entirely, as he officially filed for re-election as an independent candidate on Monday, allowing him to continue raising money, which can be used to help cover his hefty legal bills, but his chances of victory in November appear non-existent. According to a poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University last month, Menendez is only attracting 6% or 7% of the vote in hypothetical general election match-ups.In the Republican Senate contest, hotelier Curtis Bashaw defeated Mendham Borough mayor Christine Serrano Glassner.Bashaw centered his campaign in part on ending “one-party monopoly” in New Jersey, where state government is led entirely by Democrats, and on sending a conservative to Washington. It’s unclear whether that message will resonate with general election voters, who have not elected a Republican to the Senate in more than five decades. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 1 million in New Jersey.Menendez’s legal troubles have also jeopardized the political future of his son, freshman congressman Rob Menendez. Hoboken’s mayor, Ravi Bhalla, has launched a primary challenge against Rob Menendez in New Jersey’s eighth congressional district, and the two candidates have nearly matched each other in fundraising hauls. Though Rob Menendez has not been implicated in his father’s alleged crimes, Bhalla has focused his campaign messaging on the need to crack down on corruption and to “return power to the people”. The winner of the primary is overwhelmingly favored to win the general election in November, as the Cook Political Report rates the district as solidly Democratic.New Jersey voters were also picking House candidates, with some of the most closely watched races having some tie to Menendez.In the eighth district, US representative Rob Menendez, the son of Senator Menendez, won his Democratic primary over Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.Rob Menendez said Bhalla’s heavy focus on his father showed he was afraid to take on the representative directly.Menendez, an attorney and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commissioner, first won election in northern New Jersey’s eighth district in 2022, succeeding Albio Sires.He has been a lonely voice of support for his father amid his legal woes.The eighth district includes parts of Elizabeth, Jersey City and Newark.In the third district, Assemblyman Herb Conaway won the Democratic primary to succeed Kim.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBeyond New Jersey, four other states – Iowa, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota – and Washington DC have primary elections on Tuesday. In Iowa, two House Republicans – Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the first district and Randy Feenstra in the fourth district – have drawn primary challenges. Feenstra’s district is viewed as safely Republican in the general election, but the Cook Political Report rates Miller-Meeks’ seat as likely Republican, creating a potential opportunity for Democrats in November.In Montana, the Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, faces a primary challenger, and the winner of that race will likely compete against first-time Democratic candidate Ryan Busse, a former firearms executive turned gun industry critic, in November. But Busse will face an uphill battle in the gubernatorial race, as Donald Trump won Montana by 16 points in 2020.Despite Montana’s Republican leanings, Democratic incumbent Jon Tester is keeping the Senate race close as he seeks a fourth term. In the general election, Tester will likely compete against Republican Tim Sheehy, a businessman and former Navy Seal who is widely expected to win his party’s Senate nomination on Tuesday.New Mexico’s incumbent Democratic senator, Martin Heinrich, is running unopposed in his primary, and he will go on to face off against Republican Nella Domenici, former chief financial officer of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. The Cook Political Report rates New Mexico’s Senate race as solidly Democratic, but one of the state’s House races is viewed as among the most competitive in the nation. Freshman Democratic congressman Gabe Vazquez will have a rematch against former Republican congresswoman Yvette Herrell in New Mexico’s second congressional district, after he defeated the then incumbent by less than one point in 2022. Both Vazquez and Herrell are running unopposed in their primaries, so they are already gearing up for the general election.While much attention will be paid to congressional primaries on Tuesday, all five voting states and Washington DC will simultaneously hold their presidential primaries as well. Biden and Trump have already secured enough delegates to lock up their parties’ nominations, but the results on Tuesday will offer some of the first insight into Republican primary voters’ views following the former president’s felony conviction in New York last week.Although former UN ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential primary in March, she has continued to win support in recent contests. In Maryland’s Republican presidential primary last month, Haley won nearly 23% of the vote. Leaders of both parties will be watching closely to see how Haley’s vote share might rise – or fall – after Trump’s conviction, and her performance could offer significant clues about the electorate heading into the general election.Associated Press contributed to this report More

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      Merrick Garland hits back at Trump and Republicans: ‘I will not be intimidated’

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      US attorney general Merrick Garland has defended his stewardship of the justice department in a combative display on Capitol Hill that saw him accusing Republicans of attacking the rule of law while telling them he “will not be intimidated.”Testifying before the House judiciary committee, Garland accused GOP congressmen of engaging in conspiracy theories and peddling false narratives.“I will not be intimidated,” Garland told lawmakers. “And the justice department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”Garland’s fiery speech pushed back hard on the claim that the prosecution of Donald Trump – in the hush-money case that last week resulted in the president being convicted of 34 felony charges – was “somehow controlled by the justice department”.He described Republican attacks on the justice department under his watch as “unprecedented and unfounded”, vowing not to allow them to influence his decision-making.Garland also upbraided Trump for claiming the FBI had been “authorized to shoot him” dead when they raided his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to retrieve classified documents in 2022.“This is dangerous,” Garland told the committee. “It raises the threats of violence against prosecutors and career agents. The allegation is false.”Garland, 71, is currently overseeing special prosecutor Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump, and a prosecution of Joe Biden’s son Hunter. He was summoned to testify amid Republican assertions that the justice department had been “weaponised” against the former president, a claim Trump has stoked.His appearance came as he faces the likelihood of being held in contempt of congress for declining to hand over audio recordings of an interview between another special prosecutor, Robert Hur. Hur was appointed by Garland to investigate Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, an offence similar to some of those for which Trump is being investigated.Hur concluded that Biden had committed no crime but raised questions about Biden’s age and allegedly poor memory.Referring to Republican threats to hold him in contempt, Garland said: “I view contempt as a serious matter. But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”A full transcript of Biden’s interview with Hur was made public. But the White House rejected Republican demands for the audio to be released, arguing that it served no useful purpose other than to enable the president’s opponents to splice the recording to make him appear confused, perhaps by emphasizing his stammer.Garland said releasing the audio could have the effect of deterring future witnesses from cooperating in justice department investigations if they thought their words might be made public.In his opening statement, he said the Republicans were “seeking contempt as a means of obtaining – for no legitimate purpose – sensitive law enforcement information that could harm the integrity of future investigations”.“This effort is only the most recent in a long line of attacks on the justice department’s work,” he added.The committee chairman, Jim Jordan – a rightwinger Republican from Ohio – set the tone for the hearing, saying: “Justice is no longer blind in America. Today it’s driven by politics. Example number one is President Trump.”Matt Gaetz, another hard-right Republican from Florida, accused Garland of dispatching a former justice department official, Matthew Colangelo, to Manhattan, where he now serves as assistant district attorney and helped prepare the case against Trump.Garland replied: “That is false. I did not dispatch Colangelo.” More

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      ‘The necessary steps to secure our border’: Biden defends decision to impose limits on asylum seekers – as it happened

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      Donald Trump and his allies have for years called for the closure of the southern border. Now, Joe Biden is doing that, albeit only occasionally, and specifically when arrivals of new asylum seekers exceed 2,500 a day.How did we get here? The answer can be found earlier this year, when a bipartisan group of senators reached a compromise to tighten access for migrants and approve a new infusion of aid to Ukraine and Israel’s military that the Biden administration said was desperately needed by two of Washington’s top allies.But despite the fact that one of their own lawmakers negotiated the deal, which contained hardline immigration policies Democrats normally would not support, the GOP voted it down, ostensibly so Trump could campaign on his own draconian approach to immigration.Which brings us to today. Congress went on to approve the foreign aid bill separately, and today, Biden used his presidential policies to limit access to asylum seekers on days when the border is “overwhelmed” as the White House put it – while repeatedly training his ire on Trump and his allies.“I’ve come here today to do what the Republican Congress refuses to do – take the necessary steps to secure our border,” Biden said as he began his speech.Trump “told the Republicans … that he didn’t want to fix the issue, he wanted to use it to attack me. That’s what he wanted to do. It was … an extremely cynical political move and a complete disservice to the American people who are looking for us to not to weaponize the border, but to fix it.”Here’s more on Biden’s new border policy:After months of ultimately fruitless haggling over immigration policy in Congress, Joe Biden announced new rules that will see the southern border temporarily shut to most new asylum seekers at periods when it becomes “overwhelmed”. The president blamed Republicans and Donald Trump for blocking legislation he said would be better suited to dealing with the issue, while warning the country’s hospitality was “wearing thin” amid the migration wave. The policy change comes amid signs voters are increasingly concerned about migrants arriving in the United States, but risk alienating some of Biden’s allies, who warn it amounts to a draconian response to what is essentially a humanitarian crisis. Back at the Capitol, the GOP continued its counteroffensive against Biden after Trump’s felony conviction last week. Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats for the guilty verdict, saying it represents “a new low”, while attorney general Merrick Garland faced a tough crowd during a hearing before the judiciary committee.Here’s what else happened today:
      Republicans said Biden’s new policy amounted to an “election-year border charade”, and demanded tougher action on migrants.
      Biden attacked Trump as a “convicted felon” who should not be let back into the White House at a Monday evening fundraiser.
      Wisconsin’s attorney general filed charges against three Trump associates for attempting to disrupt Biden’s election victory in the state four years ago, including notorious attorney Kenneth Chesebro.
      An official with ties to a group promoting lies about the 2020 vote sits on the elections board in Fulton county, the most-populous in swing state Georgia.
      Opening arguments began in Hunter Biden’s trial on gun charges in Delaware, with prosecutors telling the jury that “no one is above the law”.
      In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump responded to Joe Biden’s executive order with a host of insults, and a recitation of his typically hardline rhetoric on immigration.“Crooked Joe Biden has totally surrendered our Southern Border. His weakness and extremism have resulted in a Border Invasion like we have never seen before,” Trump said in the post, which segues into a three-minute video in which he calls Biden “pathetic”.Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center provides legal services to migrants on both sides of the US and Mexican border, and, in a statement, executive director Marisa Limón Garza condemned Joe Biden’s new immigration policy:
      Today’s decision clearly illustrates that this administration is ignoring lessons from the failed deterrence measures put in place by its predecessors.
      Being strong on immigration doesn’t require an assault on asylum seekers or cruelty toward people seeking protection at our southern border. The Biden administration doesn’t need to rely on harsh deterrence tactics like Trump’s failed Muslim travel ban and Latino ban, which were also created to close the doors on refugees and send families back to the violent conditions they fought to escape.
      Together, these policies represent a concerning trend of political manipulation and irresponsible immigration practices. This does nothing to mitigate the violence and family separations, ignores due process, and moves us away from a humane, safe, and orderly system, inevitably forcing migrants into the hands of cartels and traffickers.
      Donald Trump and his allies have for years called for the closure of the southern border. Now, Joe Biden is doing that, albeit only occasionally, and specifically when arrivals of new asylum seekers exceed 2,500 a day.How did we get here? The answer can be found earlier this year, when a bipartisan group of senators reached a compromise to tighten access for migrants and approve a new infusion of aid to Ukraine and Israel’s military that the Biden administration said was desperately needed by two of Washington’s top allies.But despite the fact that one of their own lawmakers negotiated the deal, which contained hardline immigration policies Democrats normally would not support, the GOP voted it down, ostensibly so Trump could campaign on his own draconian approach to immigration.Which brings us to today. Congress went on to approve the foreign aid bill separately, and today, Biden used his presidential policies to limit access to asylum seekers on days when the border is “overwhelmed” as the White House put it – while repeatedly training his ire on Trump and his allies.“I’ve come here today to do what the Republican Congress refuses to do – take the necessary steps to secure our border,” Biden said as he began his speech.Trump “told the Republicans … that he didn’t want to fix the issue, he wanted to use it to attack me. That’s what he wanted to do. It was … an extremely cynical political move and a complete disservice to the American people who are looking for us to not to weaponize the border, but to fix it.”Here’s more on Biden’s new border policy:While Joe Biden has warned that his executive order intended to turn away some asylum seekers is a necessary step in the face of Republican opposition to broader immigration reforms, some Democrats have signaled their wariness – or outright objection.Here’s California congresswoman Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus:
      I am disappointed at the enforcement-only strategies that the President announced today. Rather than address humanitarian issues at the border effectively and with the nuance they deserve, today’s actions will gut protections for countless migrants exercising their legal right to claim asylum. Rather than decimate the ability for those fleeing violence or persecution to seek asylum based on an arbitrary numerical cap, we should be redirecting our efforts to modernize ports of entry, expand legal pathways for migrants, and address the root causes of migration.
      And Raúl Grijalva, whose Arizona district encompasses most of the state’s frontier with Mexico:
      This executive action represents a significant departure from President Biden’s promise of a more humane and just approach to immigration. It tramples on the universal right to claim asylum and prevents migrants from attempting to legally access safety and security in the United States. It is ripe for legal challenges and antithetical to our values.
      Rather than appeasing Republicans who continuously refuse to work on bipartisan legislation and block immigration solutions for political gain, I urge President Biden, instead, to use his authority to take concrete action to help fix our broken immigration system. That starts with sending more resources to border communities, expanding legal pathways, streamlining the asylum seeking process, making it easier for individuals and families to work and live here, and creating a pathway to citizenship to give millions the certainty they deserve.
      Other Democrats welcomed the president’s actions. Here’s California’s Norma Torres, who serves on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s executive board:
      I strongly support the changes to expedite the process of deporting or removing individuals at the border who pose a national security risk or public threat. However, I have significant concerns about implementation, transparency, and the risk of curtailing fair, legal representation for legitimate asylum seekers.
      If rushed and without proper protections, these changes could embolden future anti-immigrant administrations to limit legitimate, eligible asylum seekers from obtaining the protections they seek.
      This executive order is a difficult but necessary measure to address the growing crisis at our border, but deeply underscores the urgent need to resolve the root causes of migration throughout Central America. I look forward to working closely with the administration on the implementation of these changes to ensure we stem the crisis at the border while ensuring asylees are processed expeditiously and fairly.
      The president’s executive order has faced criticism from progressive lawmakers and immigration reformers, who say it undermines protections for migrants fleeing humanitarian crises.Joe Biden addressed those concerns in his just-concluded White House speech, warning that the country was losing patience with the flow of migrants:
      For those who say the steps I’ve taken are too strict, I say to you … be patient. The goodwill of the American people are … wearing thin right now. Doing nothing is not an option – we have to act. We must act consistent with both our law and our values, our values as Americans.
      Joe Biden made a point of mentioning how his views of immigration differ from those of Donald Trump, who presided over a policy of separating migrant children from their parents as president, and has mulled deploying the military to round up undocumented people in the country, if re-elected.“I believe that immigration has always been a lifeblood of America. We’re constantly renewed by an infusion of people and new talent. The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It stands for who we are as the United States,” Biden said.He then laid into Trump:
      So, I will never demonize immigrants. I’ll never refer to immigrants as poisoning the blood of a country. And further, I’ll never separate children from their families at the border. I will not ban people from this country because of the religious beliefs. I will not use the US military to go into neighborhoods all across the country, to pull millions of people out of their homes and away from their families, to put detention camps while we’re waiting deportation, as my predecessor says he will do if he occupies this office again.
      Biden then went on to describe how his executive order would work, while saying new legislation would be more effective.“Today, I’m moving past Republican obstruction and using the executive authorities available to me as President to do what I can on my own to address the border,” Biden said. “Frankly, I would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation, because that’s the only way to actually get the kind of system we have now that’s broken fixed – to hire more Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, more judges.”Joe Biden did not hold back in blaming Donald Trump for the failure of a bipartisan immigration compromise negotiated in the Senate earlier this year, saying it would have been more effective than the executive order he signed today.“Four months ago, after weeks of intense negotiation between my staff and Democrats and Republicans, we came to a clear, clear bipartisan deal with the strongest border security agreement in decades. Then Republicans in Congress … walked away from it. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to,” the president said.He gestured to the officials flanking his podium, which he said were Democratic and Republican officials from border states.“They know the border is not a political issue to be weaponized – it’s a responsibility we have to share, to do something about it. They don’t have time for the games played in Washington. Neither do the American people.”Joe Biden is now speaking on his new immigration rule from the White House.He is flanked by a group of officials, including Arizona’s Democratic senator Mark Kelly.Joe Biden is scheduled to soon begin delivering remarks from the White House on his just-announced policy to close the southern border to new asylum seekers when authorities determine it is “overwhelmed”.He was supposed to start at 2pm ET, but, as always, is late. Mark Kelly, the Democratic senator representing border state Arizona, earlier appeared before reporters at the White House, and described the new rule as a “good step forward”.He then turned to blaming Republicans for rejecting a legislative compromise in Congress that would have made an array of changes to US immigration laws to stem the flow of migrants.“For three years the president has been calling on Congress to take action on this issue,” Kelly said.After months of ultimately fruitless haggling over immigration policy in Congress, Joe Biden has announced new rules that will see the southern border temporarily shut to most new asylum seekers at periods when it becomes “overwhelmed”. The policy change comes amid signs voters are increasingly concerned about migrants arriving in the United States, but risk alienating some of Biden’s allies, who warn it may amount to a draconian response to what is essentially a humanitarian crisis. Back at the Capitol, the GOP is continuing its counteroffensive against Biden following their standard bearer Donald Trump’s felony conviction last week. Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats for the guilty verdict, saying it represents “a new low”, while attorney general Merrick Garland faced a tough crowd during a hearing before the judiciary committee.Here’s what else has happened so far today:
      Biden attacked Trump as a “convicted felon” who should not be let back into the White House at a Monday evening fundraiser.
      Wisconsin’s attorney general filed charges against three Trump associates for attempting to disrupt Biden’s election victory in the state four years ago, including notorious attorney Kenneth Chesebro.
      Election denialism remains a concern in Georgia’s populous Fulton county, where an official with ties to a group promoting lies about the 2020 votes sits on its election board.
      At Hunter Biden’s trial, US justice department lawyer Derek Hines walked jurors through the events of October 2018, when prosecutors have said the president’s son lied on his background check about his drug use while buying the gun, Reuters reports.
      It was illegal because he was user of crack and a drug addict. No one is above the law,” Hines said.
      Biden has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges accusing him of failing to disclose his use of illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra .38-caliber revolver and of illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days in October 2018.Defense attorney Abbe Lowell urged jurors to listen carefully to evidence that would be presented. Lowell said the gun purchase form asked Hunter Biden only if he was currently an addict, not whether he had used in the past, adding that his client had no “intent to deceive”.US special counsel David Weiss, a Donald Trump appointee, brought the case against Hunter Biden and was present in the courtroom on Tuesday. Weiss has separately filed federal tax charges against Hunter Biden in California.The trial is expected to offer a tour of Hunter Biden’s years-long struggles with drug and alcohol addiction.First Lady Jill Biden attended court today, as did her and Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.The prosecution laid out its case on Tuesday in the historic criminal trial of Hunter Biden on gun charges, telling jurors that Joe Biden’s son was addicted to drugs and lied on paperwork to obtain a revolver. “No one is above the law,” the jurors were told, according to Reuters.The jury in federal court in Delaware heard opening statements from prosecution and defense lawyers before the first witness, an FBI agent, was called.Defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the jury that evidence presented in the trial will show that Hunter Biden, 54, did not knowingly violate the law.It is the first ever criminal trial of the child of a sitting US president, with US district judge Maryellen Noreika presiding. Donald Trump last week became the first US president (sitting or former) to be convicted of a crime.In a speech on the Senate floor, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer welcomed Joe Biden’s new actions on asylum seekers, but faulted Republicans for blocking legislation he said would better address the problems at the southern border.“As the president makes his announcement, let’s be very clear about one thing: legislation would have been the more effective way to go. President Biden has been clear from the beginning he prefers legislation, but given how obstinate Republicans have become – turning down any real opportunity for strong border legislation – the president is left with little choice but to act on his own,” Schumer said.He continued:
      Shame on our Republican friends. They say they want to protect the border. Donald Trump comes out with a very crass statement, let’s keep it in chaos so I might win the election. And they go along. They do a 180-degree turn. That’s a disgrace, and it’s forced President Biden to act the way he does, which is a lot better than doing nothing, but not as preferable as passing legislation, as the president admits.
      We had an opportunity to pass a strong bipartisan border bill back in February, and just over a few weeks ago.
      Both times, Republicans put politics ahead of bipartisanship, and blundered the best chance we have seen in decades to pass a border security bill America urgently needs. Americans will not easily forget it.
      Republicans have spent years insisting to voters that Joe Biden is not doing enough to address illegal immigration, and are not impressed by his just-announced policy to bar asylum seekers when the southern border becomes “overwhelmed”.“It’s window dressing. Everybody knows it … If he was concerned about the border, he would have done this a long time ago,” House speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference today. His office dubbed the new policy an “election-year border charade”, while Johnson added he did not believe the policy would do enough to discourage migrants. “From what we’re hearing, it will ignore multiple elements that have to be addressed,” he said.The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, was similarly dismissive:
      With an election just months away, the President hopes that issuing an executive order will demonstrate that he cares about this crisis and is trying to fix it.
      Never mind that his order would still allow more than 900,000 illegal aliens to come in every year at the southern border. This is on top of the half-million illegal parolees President Biden intends to continue waving into the country. Combined, that’s more than the population of 10 states. It’s a new Dallas, Texas, every year.
      This is like turning a garden hose on a five-alarm fire. And the American people are not fools. They know that this play is too little, too late.
      Joe Biden’s actions to limit migrant arrivals at the southern border come after months of ultimately futile negotiations aimed at passing an immigration policy compromise in Congress. But as the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino and Joan E Greve report, the new policy risks alienating some of the president’s supporters, who view it as a draconian response to a humanitarian crisis:The White House on Tuesday announced an executive order that will temporarily shut down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers attempting to cross outside of lawful ports of entry, when a daily threshold of crossings is exceeded.The order would take effect immediately, senior administration officials said on a press call. Those seeking asylum would be held to a much more rigorous standard for establishing credible fear of returning to their home country, although certain groups – including trafficking victims and unaccompanied children – would be excluded from the ban.“Individuals who do not manifest a fear will be immediately removable, and we anticipate that we will be removing those individuals in a matter of days, if not hours,” one official said. “The bottom line is that the standard will be significantly higher. And so we do anticipate that fewer individuals will be screened in as a result.”The move comes amid rising public concern over the number of migrants crossing into the US, with polls showing a majority of Americans dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the border. The White House has been under immense pressure from Republicans and some Democrats to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the southern border. More