Trump in court Mar-a-Lago classified documents hearing as Fani Willis probe draws to close: Liveor

That’s what today’s hearing is supposed to try and establish.

Here’s Alex Woodward with what you need to know as proceedings kick off:

Yes, it’s another Trump lawsuit…

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

The co-founders of Donald Trump’s media venture sued him on Wednesday, alleging a plot to deny them a significant share in the company potentially worth hundreds of millions, according to reports.

The partnership, United Atlantic Ventures (UAV), alleges that Trump Media & Technology Group engaged in “wrongful 11th hour … maneuvering” to dilute UAV’s minority stake in the media company, a court filing said.

Former President Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida ahead of a 10am scheduled hearing in his classified documents case.

The hearing will cover the timeline for the trial and address the possibility of a change of venue.

Prosecutors have suggested a trial date of 8 July, while the Trump team has pitched 12 August.

Attorneys for Donald Trump and other defendants in the Georgia election interference case hoped that lawyer Terrence Bradley would provide key testimony in support of their effort to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — and they had good reason for their optimism.

Over several months, Bradley had been in touch with Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, according to hundreds of text messages produced by Merchant as evidence and obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Through the texts, Bradley fed Merchant information and made suggestions to help her prove that Willis had dated Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired for the election case. As Wade’s former law partner and onetime divorce attorney, Bradley was well positioned to know things, and the texts seem to back that up.

E Jean Carroll’s legal team has filed an opposition to former president Donald Trump’s recent attempt to delay paying the $83.3m payment owed from her recently won defamation suit.

The opposition came after lawyers for Mr Trump filed a motion pushing the judge to delay enforcement of the huge payment.

In a 36-page court filing on Thursday, Ms Carroll’s attorneys argued that Mr Trump has no grounds for the delay.

“The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than ‘trust me,’” the filing states. “He doesn’t offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesn’t specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting.”

Ms Carroll’s legal team expressed concern that the former president — who is currently embroiled in a wide range of legal disputes — might not have enough cash to pay up.

Julia Reinstein has the story:

Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill:

After they got over the initial shock of McConnell’s announcement on Wednesday, the race to replace him – namely among the “Three Johns,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso and Senator John Cornyn of Texas – has begun at a quick pace. Friends of The Independent’s Inside Washington newsletter Stef Kight and Stephen Neukam at Axios reported that Trump wants National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines of Montana to run for the job.

But Republicans expressed scepticism about Trump playing a role in replacing McConnell, his longtime nemesis.

On Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter sided with voters who argued that the former president should be disqualified from the state’s 19 March primary ballot and the 5 November general election ballot for violating the anti-insurrection clause of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

However, Judge Porter delayed her ruling from taking effect in light of an appeal by the former president.

Mike Bedigan has the story:

Both Mr Trump and President Joe Biden held duelling campaign trips to the southern border on Thursday in an attempt to seize the narrative around immigration.

The former president, speaking from Eagle Pass, Texas, wildly claimed that there were “millions of people from places unknown” coming into the US that “don’t speak languages”.