Page 465 - Donald Trump

Donald Trump to be questioned under oath in lawsuits from ex-FBI employees

Donald Trump is scheduled to be questioned under oath Tuesday as part of lawsuits from two former FBI employees who provoked the former president's outrage after sending each other pejorative text messages about him. Peter Strzok, who was a lead agent in the FBI's investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, has alleged in a lawsuit against the Justice Department that he was wrongfully fired for exercising his First Amendment rights when he and a colleague traded anti-Trump text messages in the weeks before he became president. Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer who texted with Strzok and had also been assigned to the Russia investigation, has sued as well, alleging that the Justice Department violated her privacy by disclosing copies of her messages with Strzok to members of the news media. She voluntarily resigned from the FBI in May 2018, and Strzok was fired several months after that. Both allege that the Justice Department acted under unrelenting pressure from ...

Trump vows to ban Hamas sympathisers from US if he wins a second term

Doubling down on the hardline immigration policies that have long animated his base, former President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand his first-term Muslim travel ban if he wins a second term following the deadly attack on Israel last week. Trump, speaking to supporters in Iowa, said that if he returns to the Oval Office, he will immediately begin ideological screening for all immigrants and bar those who sympathise with Hamas and Muslim extremists. No longer will we allow dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs to get residency in our country, he said. If you empathise with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you're disqualified... If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you're disqualified. If you support Hamas or any ideology that's having to do with that or any of the other really sick thoughts that go through people's minds very dangerous thoughts you're disqualified. It is unclear how he would enforce that ...

2020 election case: Federal judge imposes gag order on Donald Trump

The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge's staff. The order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a milestone moment in the federal case that accuses Trump of illegally conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Special counsel Jack Smith's team had raised alarm about a barrage of statements disparaging prosecutors, the judge and prospective witnesses. Those comments, prosecutors said, risked undermining public confidence in the court system and causing witnesses or people who might be picked as jurors for trial to feel harassed and intimidated. Chukan said there would be no restrictions statements criticizing the Justice Department generally or statements about Trump's belief that the case is politically motivated. Trump's lawyers ...

Trump says he stands with Netanyahu after a barrage of GOP criticism

Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he stood with Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as his GOP rivals continued to pointedly denounce his lashing out at Netanyahu days after Hamas' deadly attacks. Referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, Trump posted #IStandWithIsrael and #IStandWithBibi on his Truth Social network Friday afternoon. That stood in stark contrast to comments earlier this week, when Trump told a rally crowd in Florida that Netanyahu had "let us down" before the US killed a top Iranian general. Trump further faulted the country's intelligence agencies, saying they needed to "step up their game," and referred to Hezbollah, the group Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the country's north, as "very smart." The comments drew widespread condemnation from the White House as well as Trump's GOP rivals, who have generally avoided directly attacking the former president and GOP front-runner because he remains deeply popular with the ...

Republicans pick Jim Jordan as nominee for US House speaker during vote

Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump. Jordan, of Ohio, will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority around his bid ahead of a floor vote, which could push to next week. Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace the speaker they ousted, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and the future direction of their party. The stalemate, now in its second week, has thrown the House into chaos, grinding all other business to a halt. "I think Jordan would do a great job," McCarthy said ahead of the vote. "We got to get this back on track." Attention swiftly turned to Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman and founder of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, as the next potential candidate after Majority Leader Steve Scalise abruptly ended his bid when it became clear .

Trump returning to civil trial next week with Michael Cohen set to testify

Donald Trump will back in court next week for his New York civil fraud trial, a person familiar with the former president's plans told The Associated Press on Thursday, setting up a potential face-to-face showdown with fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, who is expected to testify. The 2024 Republican front-runner voluntarily attended the first three days of the trial last week, turning the Manhattan courthouse into a campaign stop as he watched testimony and complained to TV cameras about the case, which cuts to the heart of his image as a successful businessman and threatens to cost him control of marquee properties such as Trump Tower. Trump is expected to attend the non-jury trial Tuesday through Thursday next week, according to the person who confirmed the plans, which were first reported by news website The Messenger. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity before an official announcement. It's been 5 years since we have seen one another," Cohen said via text message,

Trump's criticism of Netanyahu draws strong condemnation from GOP rivals

Several of former President Donald Trump's Republican rivals denounced him on Thursday for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after Hamas' deadly attack, a rare moment in which multiple competitors directly criticised the GOP front-runner. Trump at a rally Wednesday night said Netanyahu let us down just before the U.S. killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020. He also said Israeli leaders needed to step up their game" and referred to Hezbollah, the group Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the country's north, as very smart. In an interview that aired Thursday, he added to his criticism, saying Netanyahu was not prepared" for the deadly weekend incursion from Gaza. Now is not the time to be attacking our ally," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's 2024 rivals, echoing denunciations from the White House and elsewhere. More than 2,700 people are dead on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and Hamas is believed to have ..

Microsoft says US IRS has asked for $28.9 billion in audit dispute

Microsoft said it believes that any taxes owed after the audit would be reduced by up to $10 billion based on tax laws passed by former President Donald Trump

Donald Trump attacks Biden on foreign policy as Israel-Hamas war rages

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his record governing the nation for four years without any new wars, and criticized President Joe Biden's foreign policy as the world watches a war that has already claimed 2,300 lives unfold in Gaza, ignited by Hamas' attack on Israel. Trump and other Republicans have tried to lay blame on the Biden administration, particularly citing the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen assets to Iran, a supporter of Hamas. Administration officials insist that money has not been spent. With crooked Joe Biden, you have chaos, bloodshed, war, terror and death. Look what's happening today, Trump told a crowd of supporters in a speech that lasted more than an hour and a half at a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Biden campaign said Trump has been pushing dangerous misinformation about the crisis in Israel at a time when the country should stand together. While Trump continues to lie about his record, President Biden is ...

Trump's financial statements were key to loan approvals, says banker

Donald Trump obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans using financial statements that a court has since deemed fraudulent, a retired bank official testified Wednesday at the former president's New York civil fraud trial. Trump's statements of financial condition were key to his approval for a USD 125 million loan in 2011 for his golf resort in Doral, Florida, and a USD 107 million loan in 2012 for his Chicago hotel and condo skyscraper, former Deutsche Bank risk management officer Nicholas Haigh testified. But although the bank didn't conduct its own full appraisals of Trump's properties, it sometimes gave sizable haircuts to the values he'd placed on such holdings as Trump Tower and his golf courses, Haigh said. I think the phrase we used might have been sanity checks' on the numbers, he said. Those numbers helped Trump secure bigger loans and lower interest rates, said Haigh, who headed the risk group for the bank's private wealth management unit from 2008 to 2018. A ju

Fraud trial: Trump acknowledged penthouse size at 11,000 square feet

Donald Trump signed a document 30 years ago that gave the true size of his New York penthouse which was later listed as far larger on financial statements, according to evidence Tuesday at the former president's civil business fraud trial. The evidence appeared in an email attachment shown as Allen Weisselberg, the former finance chief of Trump's company, testified in New York Attorney General Letitia James' fraud lawsuit against Trump and his Trump Organization. Trump denies any wrongdoing. The attachment was a 1994 document, signed by Trump, that pegged his Trump Tower triplex at 10,996 square feet not the 30,000 square feet later claimed for years on financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans. Weisselberg said he recalled seeing the email but not the attachment, explaining that the attachments were documents he already had on file in the company's offices. But in any event, he said, he didn't pay much mind to the apartment's

Trump sets his sights on Iowa with visits as he tries to solidify support

Donald Trump continued his autumn push in Iowa on Saturday with presidential campaign events planned in two of the leadoff caucus state's larger cities. Trump's afternoon stops in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids will be his third and fourth in a little more than two weeks, part of a stepped-up campaign schedule as the opening contest for the 2024 Republican nomination approaches. Trump drew 1,700 people in Waterloo for an event aimed at encouraging attendees to pledge to support him in the caucuses, which are scheduled for Jan. 15. Hundreds more people waited outside, a sign of his dominance in the state and nationally. We have to win this. We have to win it big," he told the crowd. "We're going to do numbers we've never done. The former president blamed President Joe Biden for Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, alleging Biden had demonstrated weakness that emboldened U.S. adversaries. He also renewed his attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is pursuing a civil

Trump is inserting himself in race to become next speaker. Will it matter?

Donald Trump is again testing the power of his endorsement. With an early morning social media post on Friday, Trump inserted himself into the chaotic race to replace Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker by backing Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan for the post. The move was the latest example of Trump attempting to flex his influence within a Republican Party he has already fundamentally reshaped in the eight years since his first White House bid. I think he does well. I hope he does well, Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, said of Jordan in a Friday interview with Real America's Voice. He's got competition, as you understand. And they're friendly with me, too. Very nice people and good people. We'll see what happens. With Trump's firm grip on the GOP base, his endorsement can effectively clear the field in many congressional primaries. But the speaker's race is more complex, an intraparty fight that will play out in secret at points and in a tense environment with many Republican

Trump endorses Jim Jordan to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House speaker

Former President Donald Trump is officially backing Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the pugnacious House Judiciary Committee chairman and longtime Trump defender, to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker. Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio's 4th Congressional District, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site shortly after midnight. He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement! The announcement came hours after Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said Thursday night that Trump had decided to back Jordan's bid.

Trump 'temporarily' drops lawsuit against ex-lawyer-turned-witness Cohen

Donald Trump has dropped his $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer who is now a key witness in a criminal case against him, Cohen and a Trump spokesperson has said. But the former president did not waive his right to sue again. Trump had accused Cohen of spreading falsehoods with malicious intent" and causing vast reputational harm for talking publicly about hush-money payments made to women during Trump's 2016 campaign that are at the heart of criminal charges he faces in New York. Trump has also accused Cohen of breaking a confidentiality agreement that he signed as a condition of his employment. The former president and GOP front-runner's decision comes days before he was set to give a deposition in the suit brought in April in Florida. That testimony was originally set for Oct. 3, but Trump rescheduled so he could attend the first three days of a separate New York civil fraud trial. Cohen is likely to testify in that trial next week. A Trump ...

Who is Anthony Pratt, billionaire Trump shared nuclear secrets with?

ABC News first reported that Trump discussed the potentially sensitive information with Pratt - who's a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club - shortly after leaving office

Trump may visit Capitol to address Republicans as they pick a new speaker

Former President Donald Trump is in talks to visit Capitol Hill next week as Republicans debate who should be the next speaker of the House following Kevin McCarthy's ouster, according to two people familiar with the talks. Some on the far right have floated the idea of Trump as a speaker candidate perhaps on an interim basis. One of the people cautioned that if Trump goes ahead with the visit, he would be there to talk with Republican lawmakers and not to pitch himself for the role. The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. Trump is being encouraged to run by a small group of far-right allies including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. McCarthy, of California, lost his position this week when eight Republicans supported a motion introduced by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to remove him from the speakership. Gaetz and Greene are both Trump allies, though Greene voted against the motion to remove McCarthy. Trump, the ear

I don't believe in walls: Biden says he had to use Trump-era funds

President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his administration's decision to waive 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow for construction of roughly 20 miles of additional border wall, saying he had no choice but to use the Trump-era funding for the barrier to stop illegal migration from Mexico. Asked if he thought such walls work, he said flatly, No. The new construction was announced in June, but the funds were appropriated in 2019 before the Democratic president took office. Biden said he tried to get lawmakers to redirect the money but Congress refused, and the law requires the funding to be used as approved and the construction to be completed in 2023. The money was appropriated for the border wall, Biden said. I can't stop that. Still, the waiving of federal laws for the construction something also done when Republican Donald Trump was president -- raised questions, particularly because Biden condemned border wall spending when he was running for the White House. One of Biden

Trump's lawyers seek to postpone documents trial after 2024 election

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked a judge to postpone his classified documents trial until after next year's presidential election, saying they have not received all the records they need to review to prepare his defence. The trial on charges of illegally hoarding classified documents, among four criminal cases the Republican former president is facing, is currently scheduled for May 20, 2024, in Florida. In a motion filed late Wednesday, Trump's lawyers urged US District Judge Aileen Cannon to push back the trial until at least mid-November 2024. The presidential election is set for November 5, 2024, with Trump currently leading the GOP field in the months before the primary season. The defence lawyers argued that a postponement was necessary because of scheduling conflicts another federal trial is scheduled for March 2024 in Washington, and one of Trump's attorneys, Christopher Kise, is also representing him in an ongoing civil fraud trial in New York and ...

'Will be back at defence table', says Trump as fraud trial gets intense

After a fiery first day of opening statements, lawyers in Donald Trump's business fraud trial in New York will move on Tuesday to the more plodding task of going through years of his financial documents in what's expected to be a weekslong fight over whether they constitute proof of fraud. An accountant who prepared Trump's financial statements for years is expected to be back on the witness stand for a second day. Trump, who spent a full day Monday as an angry spectator at the civil trial, said he'll be back at the defense table. See you in Court on Tuesday morning! Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. The trial is the culmination of a lawsuit in which New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has accused the Republican former president of deceiving banks, insurers and others for years by giving them papers that misstated the value of his assets. Judge Arthur Engoron delivered an early victory to James last week, ruling that Trump committed fraud by exaggerating