Trump news today: Judge Aileen Cannon to hear motions to dismiss Mar-a-Lago classified documents case

Donald Trump is expected to appear in federal court in Florida today as he fights to have the criminal case into his alleged mishandling of classified documents thrown out.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon will consider two motions brought by the former president’s attorneys seeking to dismiss the case, claiming that – under their interpretation of the Presidential Records Act – Mr Trump had the authority to designate the documents as personal and hold onto them after leaving the White House.

Special counsel Jack Smith argues that the documents are not personal but presidential records and so he did not have the authority to retain them. The second motion for dismissal centres around the Espionage Act.

The hearing will take place at 10am ET in Fort Pierce.

“According to a new book, former president Trump has praised Adolf Hitler in private conversation with aides and once said, quote, ‘Hitler did some good things.’” Meyers said in a recent episode of Late Night.

“Oh, come on, I don’t believe he said that once,” the host added, with emphasis on that last word.

Amelia Neath has the story:

The former president is expected to argue, at least in part, that he can’t be held responsible for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to an adult film star because he was acting on the advice of his lawyers.

But the notice from his attorneys on Tuesday claims that Mr Trump won’t make a “formal” use of what is typically called an “advice-of-counsel” defence.

Amelia Neath has the story…

Katie Hawkinson reports from Capitol Hill:

The Republican House majority will become even thinner next week as Representative Ken Buck departs several months before his final term comes to an end.

In an unexpected Tuesday evening announcement, Mr Buck — a Republican from Colorado — said he would leave Congress next Friday, rather than retiring at the end of his term as originally planned. Afterwards, Republicans will hold just 218 seats out of 435 in the House, leaving Democrats one step closer to clinching the majority.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York and member of the progressive Squad, told The Independent her party must take advantage of Mr Buck’s early departure.

While both Mr Trump and Mr Biden are campaigning as though they are the official nominee for each party, it technically does not become official until the conventions.

Donald Trump has notified the judge overseeing his imminent criminal trial in New York City that he intends to rely on a legal strategy that pins responsibility for allegedly criminal acts on the advice of his attorneys.

The former president is expected to argue, at least in part, that he can’t be held responsible for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to an adult film star because he was acting on the advice of his lawyers.

But the notice from his attorneys on Tuesday claims that Mr Trump won’t make a “formal” use of what is typically called an “advice-of-counsel” defence.

In the years since Donald Trump took over the Republican Party, elected officials have almost never crossed him. The cost of doing so has always been too high.

They didn’t cross him when he broke GOP orthodoxy on free trade. They elected not to buck him when transcript of a phone call revealed he wanted to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dig up dirt on Joe Biden. Many still voted to object to the election results after Capitol riot. And just last month, they torpedoed a bill that swapped restrictions on immigration for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

But on Wednesday, Republicans found a line they were willing to cross with the once and potentially future president: TikTok.

Amelia Neath has the story:

Donald Trump has notified the judge overseeing his imminent criminal trial in New York City that he intends to rely on a legal strategy that pins responsibility for allegedly criminal acts on the advice of his attorneys.

The former president is expected to argue, at least in part, that he can’t be held responsible for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to an adult film star because he was acting on the advice of his lawyers.

But the notice from his attorneys on Tuesday claims that Mr Trump won’t make a “formal” use of what is typically called an “advice-of-counsel” defence.