Trump storms out of NY fraud trial after $10k gag order fine: Latest

Chris Christie berated members of his own party for their failure to elect a Speaker of the House on Monday as the GOP enters its fourth week of chaos in the lower chamber.

The GOP presidential candidate appeared on MSNBC where he urged the chamber to pick a Republican and unify around them before the essential functions of government were threatened by the stalemate.

As of Tuesday, the Republicans seemed no closer to selecting a leader. GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer was nominated by his caucus in a closed-door session only to see his bid begin dissolving minutes later, with more than two dozen holdouts materialising against him. Potentially his greatest opponent: Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, who denounced Mr Emmer in a social media posting on Tuesday.

Mr Christie, who has hinged his bid for the Republican nomination on a total repudiation of the far right and Donald Trump, took aim at that chaos the evening prior.

John Bowden has the full story.

It came just over 24 hours after he sycophantically posted online thanking Mr Trump for an apparent endorsement. Mr Trump was asked on Monday if he would endorse Mr Emmer for House Speaker, despite the latter not always having been “his biggest fan”.

The former president was not impressed, as Andrew Feinberg and Rachel Sharp report.

Mr Trump had asked for the lawsuit, which was filed on 22 September by Republican and unaffiliated voters represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, to be dismissed.

Similar cases have been filed around the US, including in Michigan and Minnesota, where oral arguments will take place on 2 November.

In the lawsuit, the advocacy group states that Mr Trump incited an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 with their lawyers arguing that his actions on that day were a violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

That amendment was introduced after the US Civil War and states no one can run for public office if they “engaged in an insurrection or rebellion.”

Mark Meadows, the ex-North Carolina congressman who served as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff during his last year in office, has told prosecutors that he personally warned Mr Trump that claims of fraud tainting the 2020 election had no basis in reality.

According to ABC News, Mr Meadows admitted that the then-president had been “dishonest” with the American public when he began floating the outrageous allegations in the wake of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden during one of several sessions with prosecutors — including sworn testimony before a federal grand jury”.

The former top White House aide reportedly told prosecutors: “Obviously we didn’t win”.

Truly, a man with nothing left to lose…

New York Rep George Santos fired shots at Elon Musk after X, previously known as Twitter, provided additional context in a note below the embattled Republican’s incendiary tweet.

On Tuesday, Mr Santos posted a photo of himself on X with text over it that read: “They’re not after me. They’re after you. I’m just in the way.”

Below the post, a note from X stated: “They are in fact after Representative Santos, who is accused of stealing money from his own donors, among other offenses.” The note also included a link to the series of fraud charges against the congressman filed by the Eastern District of New York.

On Wednesday, Mr Santos acknowledged X’s addition, writing: “The way Elon came after my meme with that community note is abhorrent.” Mr Musk has yet to respond.

Donald Trump’s first turn on the witness stand during the multiple criminal and civil cases against him arrived on 25 October, when the former president was called to testify about his comments outside the courtroom during his fraud trial in New York.

He was fined $10,000 after the judge presiding over the case found that the former president violated the case’s gag order, again, with disparaging comments about his chief clerk steps away from the courtroom’s doors in lower Manhattan.

Mr Trump was called to the witness stand by Judge Arthur Engoron to testify about statements he gave to reporters on 25 October, in which he criticised a “very partisan judge” and “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him,” what the judge determined was a comment aimed at his chief clerk.

The former president and his attorneys argued that Mr Trump was referring to Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who was testifying against him.

Alex Woodward reports from the New York Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan.

Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has stoked more controversy after taking part in an interview with notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

The 38-year-old is an outside contender to clinch the GOP nomination but is gaining attention for his outspoken and attention-grabbing views.

Holly Hales has the story.

Meanwhile, Carla Gugino plays Verna, a shape-shifting demon who torments the Usher family, playing a significant role in their demise.

Tom Murray has the story.