Trump received millions from foreign governments during presidency, report finds: Live

A quarter of Americans falsely believe federal law enforcement “probably” or “definitely” orchestrated the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, a claim at the centre of a persistent conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing media, Republican officials and former president Donald Trump.

Hundreds of people have been tried and convicted or pleaded guilty to charges surrounding the attack, and lengthy congressional investigations and criminal prosecutions have not found any evidence that law enforcement incited the riots in the halls of Congress. Prosecutors and FBI officials have repeatedly rejected such claims in court documents and in sworn congressional testimony.

The former president’s son took to X on Thursday morning to hit out at critics following the release of the first batch of filings on Wednesday night.

Rachel Sharp has the story:

Donald Trump’s attorneys have formally asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that finds him constitutionally ineligible for the presidency for his actions surrounding the attack on the US Capitol on January 6.

The question could now be in the hands of the nation’s highest court, teeing up a politically explosive case that could reshape the 2024 election and have far-reaching impacts beyond the former president’s campaign.

Colorado’s secretary of state on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of trying to escape responsibility for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by claiming that the Constitution protects former presidents from prosecution.

The former president has made this argument in multiple instances, including most recently as he has appealed the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling striking him from the 2024 ballot to the US Supreme Court in Washington. He has also used similar defences in the pre-trial legal battles over his prosecutions for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in state and federal court.

Colorado’s decision by the state Supreme Court to remove Mr Trump from the ballot was swiftly followed by a similar move by Maine’s secretary of state. Mr Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, now faces the prospect of legal challenges to determine whether state officials can deny him ballot access over charges that he supported an insurrection — the 2021 attack on Congress.

John Bowden reports on what the official who runs elections in the state had to say:

A 72-year-old man from Florida has been charged with threatening to kill Rep Eric Swalwell and his children in several voicemail messages.

Michael Shapiro allegedly called the lawmaker’s Washington DC office on the evening of 19 December from his home in Greenacres, according to court records, and left five threatening voicemail messages.

“I’m gonna come after you and kill you,” Mr Shapiro said in one message to the lawmaker’s office, according to court records.

“I’m gonna kill your children,” Mr Shapiro threatened in another voice message, the records add.

Martha McHardy has the story:

The Five co-host Jessica Tarlov told her colleagues, “This idea that Trump is blowing him out of the water is just not supported by the data.”

“If you believe that Trump will win by 20 points of the Black vote, I have many, many bridges to sell you. Or the youth vote. The guy had Vanilla Ice at his New Year’s Eve party and you think he’s winning the youth vote?”

Kelly Rissman has the story.

[Warning: Vanilla Ice lyrics ahead]

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reached across the partisan divide Wednesday night to urge a unified effort with Republican lawmakers to uplift education, health care and the economy, saying Kentucky has an opportunity to assert itself as an “economic and a moral leader.”

Beshear, who raised his national profile by winning reelection last year in the GOP-leaning state, renewed his pitch for higher salaries for teachers, state-backed pre-K education for every 4-year-old, increased funding for roads and bridges and efforts to meet the state’s health needs.

Touting a record pace of economic development, the governor said Kentucky has an unprecedented opportunity to build a top 10 economy offering the security of good-paying jobs. Noting that he’s now term-limited, the governor said it’s a chance to set politics aside. It’s an acknowledgement that he needs support from GOP legislative supermajorities to pass his priorities.

“This is our chance to push away the division,” Beshear said in his annual State of the Commonwealth speech. “To prove that we can govern without name-calling or scapegoating. To do it without anger, without fear and without hatred. That we can not only talk about our collective faith, we can live it.”