Trump judge imposes partial gag order ahead of Jan 6 trial – latest
Trump baselessly claims fraud trial against him is a ‘scam and a sham’
The judge overseeing the federal criminal case charging Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election has imposed a partial gag order muzzling some of what the former president can say about his upcoming trial.
Special Counsel Jack Smith asked for Mr Trump to be placed under a gag order because of his “continued use of social media as a weapon of intimidation in court proceedings”.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed with some of what prosecutors argued, ruling that Mr Trump and others in the case are not to make, post or share statements targeting Mr Smith, the court, court staff, and witnesses in the case.
The former president also can’t refer to Mr Smith as a “thug” or “deranged”.
This comes as Mr Trump has made a series of controversial comments on other matters this week.
In a pre-taped video posted on Truth Social on Saturday, the former president bizarrely claimed that Republicans “eat their young” and there was significant backlash to remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s campaign fundraising is being dwarfed by President Joe Biden’s, raising $46m in the past three months, with $38m cash-on-hand to Mr Biden’s $71m in the same time period.
Trump ‘wants to give evidence’ at High Court over ‘wholly untrue’ allegations
Donald Trump wants to give evidence at the High Court over “wholly untrue” allegations he took part in “perverted” sex acts and gave bribes to Russian officials, the London court has heard.
The former US president is bringing a data protection claim against Orbis Business Intelligence – a consultancy founded by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele – and is seeking compensation for distress.
Mr Steele, who previously ran the Secret Intelligence Service’s Russia desk, was the author of the so-called Steele dossier which included allegations Mr Trump had been “compromised” by the Russian security service, the FSB.
On Monday the High Court was told Mr Trump is bringing his case over two memos in the dossier which claimed the former president had taken part in “sex parties” while in St Petersburg and engaged in “golden showers” with prostitutes in Moscow.
In a witness statement for the preliminary hearing, Mr Trump, 77, described the allegations as “wholly untrue”.
Bizarre: Trump claims that Republicans ‘eat their young’
The former president posted a pre-recorded video on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, where he wildly appeared to compare himself to a baby eaten by its own parents.
“The Republicans eat their young, they really do, and it’s a terrible statement but it’s true,” he said.
“And that’s the problem with so many in our party; they just don’t have the loyalty and the strength to stick together.”
In the rambling clip, Mr Trump, 77, also called fellow Republicans Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Former House Speaker Paul Ryan “losers” and “RINOs”.
Oliver O’Connell17 October 2023 04:15
Settlement over Trump family separations at the border seeks to limit potential for revival
A settlement filed Monday in a long-running lawsuit over the Trump administration’s separation of parents and their children at the border bars the government from similar separations for eight years while also providing benefits like the ability for their parents to come to America and work, according to the Biden administration.
The settlement between the Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been representing families separated from their children, still has to be approved by the judge. But if finalized, it would make it much more difficult for any administration including former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, to revive one of his most controversial tactics to halt immigration at the southern border if he wins next year’s election.
“It is our intent to do whatever we can to make sure that the cruelty of the past is not repeated in the future. We set forth procedures through this settlement agreement to advance that effort,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told The Associated Press.
Earlier: Judge issues partial gag order against Trump in federal Jan 6 case
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday imposed a partial gag order restricting Donald Trump’s ability to make “disparaging or “inflammatory” comments about people or entities involved in the election interference case pending against him in Washington DC, after a contentious hearing in which his attorneys repeatedly made political arguments in response to legal questions from the veteran jurist.
Judge Chutkan rejected arguments by Mr Trump’s attorneys who frequently cited his status a candidate for president — something she had called irrelevant to the proceedings on more than one occasion — and claimed putting any restrictions on what he can discuss as he campaigns would violate his right to free speech
Andrew Feinberg17 October 2023 01:45
Trump wants ‘vindication’ over denied allegations of ‘perverted’ acts
Donald Trump is seeking “a vindication” over denied allegations he took part in “perverted” sex acts and made bribes to Russian officials, the High Court has been told.
The former president of the United States, 77, is bringing a data protection claim against Orbis Business Intelligence – a consultancy founded by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele – and is seeking compensation for distress.
Mr Steele, who previously ran the Secret Intelligence Service’s Russia desk, was the author of the so-called Steele dossier which included allegations Mr Trump had been “compromised” by the Russian security service, the FSB.
At the start of a two-day hearing on Monday, the High Court was told Mr Trump is bringing his case over two memos in the dossier which claimed the former president had taken part in “sex parties” while in St Petersburg and engaged in “golden showers” with prostitutes in Moscow.
Watch: Nicolle Wallace breaks down Trump’s ‘insane’ legal argument
Oliver O’Connell16 October 2023 23:45
Security ramps up in New York ahead of Trump arrival at court tomorrow
Security is being ramped up in Lower Manhattan ahead of Donald Trump’s return to court for week three of his civil fraud trial.
Oliver O’Connell16 October 2023 23:15
Jury selection for Georgia election interference trial to begin on Friday
A group of 450 potential jurors will gather at the Fulton County courthouse on Friday morning to begin the jury selection process for the 23 October trial of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, two of former president Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee said during a hearing this morning that jurors will be told to expect a five-month trial.
On Friday, the potential jurors will fill out a questionnaire for approximately one or two hours. Individual questioning of potential jurors will then start next week.
Oliver O’Connell16 October 2023 22:45
Trump will promise return of ‘travel ban’, report says
Donald Trump will promise later today to reinstate “the Trump Travel Ban,” updating it to include “anyone from Gaza” or “anywhere else that threatens our security”, Philip Wegman of RealClearPolitics reports.
The former president will promise to implement “strong ideological screening for all immigrants to the United States”, to deport “aliens with jihadist sympathies” and to “revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners” at US colleges and universities.
Mr Trump will also promise to send ICE into “pro-jihadist demonstrations”, as seen across the country this past week, and “remove the violators from our country”.
Oliver O’Connell16 October 2023 22:30
Question: How is George Santos’s fundraising for re-election going?
Answer: Not great, as Eric Garcia reports…
Embattled Rep George Santos (R-NY) raised a negative amount of money in the most recent fundraising quarter, due to having to refund multiple campaign contributors as he faces legal battles.
Mr Santos’s campaign filed his most recent quarterly campaign finance disclosure to the Federal Election Commission on Sunday, the deadline for doing so.
The filing showed that his campaign had a negative cash flow of $16,526.09. The loss of money is mostly due to making campaign refunds. Some of the refunds were for as much as $3,300, while others were for as low as $15.
Oliver O’Connell16 October 2023 22:15
