Trump news today: Marjorie Taylor Greene faces Jan 6 setback as ex-president
Roger Stone appears to tell Trump Gov. DeSantis is ‘a piece of s***’
Far-right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been dealt a setback after a judge refused her attempt to head off a case saying she should be barred from holding public office.
Ms Greene is accused by campaigners of violating the 14th amendment, which bars anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the US Constitution, by virtue of her expressed support for people who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. The congresswoman tried to get the case thrown out on technicalities, but her motion was denied by a judge yesterday. The case will be heard in another court later this week.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has doubled down in his campaign against the New York probe into his tax affairs, referring to New York’s attorney general as “racist” in a lengthy statement urging her to focus on other crimes and desist in her office’s fraud investigation. The ex-president bizarrely claimed in his statement that his real estate company had “probably done more for New York than virtually any other person or group”.
Republicans teeing up boycott of presidential debates
Donald Trump has participated in a total of five presidential debates against Democratic rivals (it would have been six had he not refused another against Joe Biden), and the performances he put in were not well received. That is probably why, in advance of his expected 2024 run, the Republican Party is saying it will refuse to put forward candidates for the debates unless changes are made.
That said, Bloomberg columnist Hussein Ibish has another take…
Andrew Naughtie19 April 2022 15:23
Capitol Police calm nerves before training exercise
The US Capitol Police, whose lack of preparedness was one of the most shocking things on display on 6 January 2021, are tongiht conducting a “routine training exercise” on the grounds of the complex they protect – and are cautioning people not to be alarmed at the sight of what might look like an emergency situation. Keep an eye out this evening for tweets misrepresenting what’s going on, deliberately or otherwise.
Andrew Naughtie19 April 2022 14:44
JD Vance trades on Trump endorsement
JD Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy author and Trump critic-turned-hardcore-Trumpist, is celebrating the late-in-the-game Trump endorsement he’s secured as he struggles to gain traction in the Ohio Senate primary.
Before he transformed himself into a belligerent right-wing culture warrior, Mr Vance was an extremely caustic critic of the former president. A resurfaced 2016 message in which he described Mr Trump as as “America’s Hitler” has been making the rounds since the endorsement came through.
Andrew Naughtie19 April 2022 14:15
Kimberly Guilfoyle meets with 6 January committee
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a sometime Fox News host and Trump advisor who is also Donald Trump Jr’s fiancee, has reportedly met with the 6 January select committee as its members interview the former president’s closest associates – including family members.
She was subpoenaed last month having previously cut short…
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