A new report from Rolling Stone says that while Donald Trump is seriously considering running for president in 2024, one of his main motivations for doing so may be to seek to protect presidential immunity in the face of multiple intense legal investigations that will could lead to criminal charges. The report comes as Trump ally Steve Bannon faces the start of his trial for criminal contempt of Congress. The former president’s longtime lieutenant and hard-right agitator has refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee, and his various last-ditch efforts to prevent or delay the trial have failed. On another front, the Jan. 6 panel is expected to receive the deleted text messages and audio from the Secret Service by tomorrow. “We expect to get them this Tuesday,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. “We need all the texts from January 5th and 6th.” The committee’s next hearing is set to focus on Mr Trump’s inaction during the attack on Capitol Hill. It will be held in prime time on Thursday.
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Notorious rioter of January 6 in court
One of several Capitol Hill rioters now facing legal action is Bigo Barnett, a man who was infamously photographed putting his feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk as Trump supporters ransacked her office. He has proven to be one of the most aggressive defendants among the hundreds arrested and earlier this year said he would not shave his beard until all the other people arrested in connection with the attack were released. Andrew Naughtie18 July 2022 15:47 1658153154
Pence vs. Trump in Arizona
Former Vice President Mike Pence has once again pulled out of former President Donald Trump as he endorsed a challenger to Trump’s preferred running mate in the Arizona primary. Pence announced his endorsement of Karrin Taylor Robson to replace term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday morning. Trump has endorsed former news anchor Cary Lake, who has been one of the biggest proponents of his lie that the election was stolen. said Pence adviser Marc Short Politico in a text message that Ms. Lake is “perpetrating a fraud on the Republican voters of Arizona, who ultimately won’t be distracted by a circus clown parade.” Eric Garcia has the story.
Pence rejects Trump with endorsement in Arizona governor’s race
The former president and vice president are endorsing different candidates for the Aug. 2 primary Andrew Naughtie18 July 2022 15:05 1658151261
Bannon arrives for trial
As jury selection begins in the contempt of Congress trial, Steve Bannon was photographed arriving at the courthouse in Washington, DC. Arpan Rai has more on the circumstances of the trial and the importance of its timing.
Steve Bannon prepares for trial as Jan. 6 panel awaits declassified Secret Service texts
US Secret Service Says Text Messages Were Deleted As Part Of ‘Device Replacement Program’ Andrew Naughtie18 July 2022 14:34 1658148682
Kinzinger follows the next hearing
Speaking to CBS News yesterday, Adam Kinzinger joined his colleagues in the committee’s next hearing on January 6, which is scheduled for prime time this Thursday. Andrew NaughtieJuly 18, 2022 1:51 p.m 1658145621
Report: Trump may run again just to save himself
Rolling Stone reports that for all the stories about Donald Trump trying to run for the presidency again, there’s another detail in the story that few have grasped: his urge to protect himself from possible criminal charges: In recent months, Trump has made it clear to his aides that legal protection from occupying the Oval Office is ahead of him, four people with knowledge of the situation tell Rolling Stone. Trump “talked about how when you’re president of the United States, it’s hard for politically motivated prosecutors to ‘get to you,’” says one of the sources, who discussed the matter with Trump this summer. “It says when [not if] is president again, a new Republican administration will put an end to this [Justice Department] investigation that sees the Biden administration working to hit him with criminal charges — or even jail him and his people.” Andrew Naughtie18 July 2022 13:00 1658142921
Former Pence staffer for Trump ’24
There has been more speculation recently about whether Donald Trump is on the verge of announcing a presidential run in 2024. The same story has been playing out in one way or another about once a month since last summer, when the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan reportedly made the former president believe the time was right to officially name Joe Biden’s opponent. But not long after Mr. Trump himself told New York magazine that he had already made up his mind (though not how), a former staffer for his vice president openly pondered this weekend whether the former president’s announcement of another a nomination. it would mean he was really serious about it. Mike Pence himself appears to be entertaining the prospect of a campaign of his own, though he has so far insisted he hasn’t decided yet. Andrew NaughtieJuly 18, 2022 12:15 p.m 1658140221
Stefanik complains Jan. 6 committee has no Republican appointees
Elise Stefanik, who took Liz Cheney’s senior role in House GOP leadership after she was ousted for criticizing Donald Trump, appeared on Fox News this weekend to denounce the Jan. 6 “sham committee” for not it has Republican appointees on it. What he didn’t say is that this is only because her own leader, Kevin McCarthy, withdrew from the process, pulling three of his nominees who had been accepted onto the panel because Nancy Pelosi refused to seat two others. One of the reasons given for denying the position of the two deputies, Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, was that at least one of them could be called as a material witness to the events being investigated by the committee. Of course, both have since been subpoenaed by the committee. Various reports say Donald Trump is increasingly furious that there is no one on the committee to fight his corner as witness after witness from his administration comes forward to give highly detailed accounts of his conduct before and during the rebellion in the Capitol. Andrew NaughtieJuly 18, 2022 11:30 am 1658137521
What can we expect at the next hearing on January 6?
The committee’s second Jan. 6 hearing will be held Thursday and will include a “minute-by-minute” account of Donald Trump’s actions while the Capitol was stormed by his supporters, a committee member said Sunday. Three members of the House Select Committee — Zoe Lofgren, Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger — appeared on Sunday’s shows to discuss the hearing. Rep. Kinzinger, a Republican, also noted that this may not be the last time the committee presents findings to the public.
Jan. 6 panel says next hearing will be ‘minute-by-minute’ account of Trump’s actions
Republican Adam Kinzinger told CBS that the revelations would “open people’s eyes in a big way” to how Trump personally felt about the hordes of rioters descending on the Capitol. Andrew NaughtieJuly 18, 2022 10:45 am 1658135078
Bannon’s test goes into action
Jury selection is set to take place in the trial of Steve Bannon, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump, on Monday as the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots said it expects to receive deleted Secret Service text messages from January 5th and January 6th until tomorrow. Mr. Bannon, indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, was accused of defying a House committee subpoena seeking his records and testimony. The Trump administration’s former White House chief strategist is set to testify after refusing for months to cooperate in the trial of the House committee investigating the Capitol insurgency.
Steve Bannon prepares for trial as Jan. 6 panel awaits declassified Secret Service texts
US Secret Service Says Text Messages Were Deleted As Part Of ‘Device Replacement Program’ Andrew NaughtieJuly 18, 2022 10:04 am 1658132130
Watch: Adam Kinzinger on the Secret Service text mix-up
Republican congressman and Jan. 6 committee member Adam Kinzinger accused the Secret Service of contradicting statements about whether text messages sent during the deadly attack on the US Capitol were still accessible. Last week, the bipartisan committee was told by the Department of Homeland Security (OIG) Inspector General that the Secret Service was delaying efforts to turn over material related to that day and had apparently deleted relevant text messages. Mr. Kinzinger said Sunday that the agency claimed it had lost all or some of the texts the committee requested — then said all “relevant” messages had been turned over to the OIG. That presents a clear contradiction, the Illinois lawmaker said.
Kinzinger Says Secret Service Made ‘Very Conflicting’ Statements About Deleted Texts
“To say the least, it’s pretty crazy that the Secret Service would end up deleting anything related to one of the most infamous days in American history,” says the Republican lawmaker Andrew Naughtie18 July 2022 09:15
