Trump scores partial win in Jan 6 Capitol riot lawsuit: Live

A US district court judge has ruled a civil lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by the partner of a Capitol Police officer who died in the aftermath of 6 January 2021 can proceed, but only in part.

Judge Amit Mehta dismissed wrongful death and negligence counts against the former president in the case brought by Sandra Garza, partner of the late Brian Sicknick, but allowed her to continue with claims against him under Washington DC’s Survival Act.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing Garza, said she was pleased with the outcome and considering next steps.

President Joe Biden welcomed the New Year with another gut punch in the polls on Monday when a USA Today/Suffolk University survey showed him losing to former president Donald Trump by two points. To boot, the survey showed Mr Biden losing Hispanic voters and young people against Mr Trump.

At this point, Mr Biden’s flagging poll numbers are hardly news. Numerous surveys have shown his numbers declining and the president either in a dead heat with or behind Mr Trump.

Mr Biden has long struggled to win over Hispanic voters ever since the 2020 Nevada caucus when he lost to Sen Bernie Sanders and in 2020 when numerous Hispanics, mainly in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and South Florida, moved rightward, even as Mr Biden won a majority of them.

Mr Biden’s low numbers with young people are also unsurprising as many of them have expressed dissatisfaction about his support for Israel and feel he has not done enough on student loan relief, even though he did wipe out tons of student debt and the Supreme Court blocked his larger student debt cancellation effort.

What does stand out is that the poll reveals both Mr Biden’s biggest weaknesses and his best hope for re-election, respectively: the lack of enthusiasm for him and the fact that Americans are starting to feel a bit better about the economy.

In a three-“page” post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has shared a “fully verified” report on alleged fraud in the 2020 election.

He repeats his claim that it would have been “in violation of his Oath of Office” to not bring his allegations of election fraud to light.

While the report is filled with citations, many are from previously debunked stories and theories from right-wing news sites. There is no author listed on the report.

Here’s what the former president posted:

Page One: SUMMARY OF ELECTION FRAUD IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE SWING STATES: I am pleased to share a Report that is fully verified, most of the information was gotten from Government Sources, Tapes, and other Public Records, and compiled by the most highly qualified Election Experts in the Country. These numbers are determinative and, in all cases, are hundreds of thousands of Votes per Swing State more than I needed to WIN that State. If the Republican Senate does not step forward and address this ATROCITY, it will happen again, and be virtually impossible for Republicans to WIN ELECTIONS in the future.

Page Two: Remember, I was not campaigning—The 2020 Election was LONG OVER. What I was doing is bringing to light the fact that the Election was, without question, Rigged and Stolen. As President, and Commander-in-Chief, it was my duty to do so! If I did not do this, I would have been in violation of my Oath of Office, and the Take Care Clause, which requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Therefore I am entitled to Total Immunity, because that is exactly what I was doing, Taking Care of our Country, and Guarding it from Rigged and Stolen Elections. Democrats are willing to play a far different game. They are willing to Cheat at levels never seen before.

Page Three: Please study these numbers carefully, analyze what’s been done, keep an open mind, and be smart—Because the Democrats are already trying to do it again, but adding one more weapon, Prosecutorial Misconduct—Using the DOJ, FBI, and local Attorney Generals and D.A.’s to go after Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent—ME. This is a Lethal Weapon, but so far my Record Poll Numbers would indicate that it has backfired on them. The Public knows the TRUTH, but Republicans must fight harder and smarter!

When it comes to electing the president, majority voter approval is not a fundamental precept in the Constitution. From its inception, the Constitution established specific non-negotiable qualifications for eligibility to serve as president: that “[n]o person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

A president elected twice is prohibited by the 22nd Amendment from being elected for a third term. It is not up to the voters to decide whether any president can serve a third term. The myth that the voters have unfettered selection of the president is of course upended by the Constitution’s electoral college voting system that allows a minority of the country’s voters to select the president.

The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland, shows that the Republicans are increasingly loyal to Mr Trump as he campaigns for the presidential nomination once again even as his legal woes are mounting. Mr Trump is scrambling to win enough delegates to secure the nomination before any convictions may stir up trouble, including for attempting to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, which led to the events of January 6.

The right for reproductive healthcare, including contraceptives and abortions, is a political issue for conservatives who are strategising how to win over voters – a majority of which agree that Americans have a right to access it.

Despite the ban on abortions having real-life health consequences for millions in the US, and a potential ban on contraceptives sparking fears of similar outcomes, conservative political consultant Kellyanne Conway is advising Republicans to get friendlier with contraceptives all while she mocks abortions.

Ms Conway said the strategy would undermine Democrats’ narrative that Republicans are attacking women’s health choices, Fox News reported.

Liz Cheney has responded to Donald Trump’s repeated false claims that she destroyed most of the evidence from the House select committee investigating the events leading up to the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.

The former president alleges this was done to stop him from preparing a defence case for his upcoming federal election interference trial for the charges brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

A new poll shows President Joe Biden losing to former president Donald Trump in 2024 as Mr Biden’s support among Black, Latino and young voters has dropped.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll showed that the president has failed to consolidate parts of the coalition that propelled him to the White House in 2020. Mr Trump, who has a commanding lead in every state that holds an early nominating contest for the Republican nomination for president, beats Mr Biden in a head-to-head with 39 per cent compared to Mr Biden’s 37 per cent.

Eric Garcia digs into the numbers:

Mr Trump revealed his mother-in-law was suffering from some kind of malady when he was asked why his wife had not accompanied him to a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, according to Page Six.

“Melania—great First Lady, so popular, the people love her—she’s now in a hospital with her mother,” he said in a video clip that was shared on X/Twitter. “Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she’ll be recovering.”

Mr Trump told the New Year’s crowd that his wife “sends her love.”

Glenn Kirschner, who worked for six years as a prosecutor for the US Army and 24 years for the US government, told Sky News that the weight of Republican witnesses against Mr Trump would make it very difficult for him to claim he was being unfairly persecuted.

“I think the odds of a conviction are extremely high,” Mr Kirschner told Sky News.