Trump’s access to classified documents restricted by Mar-a-Lago case judge in lead up to trial – live

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell has slammed Donald Trump for his “vile lie” about 9/11, accusing the former president of trying to “steal the grief” of those who lost loved ones in the terror attack.

“Donald Trump has been lying about 9/11 since 9/11,” O’Donnell said on Monday night. “Here is Donald Trump’s most vile lie about 9/11.”

The MSNBC presenter then played a clip of Mr Trump claiming during a Republican debate that he “lost hundreds of friends” on 9/11 — a claim O’Donnell said was a lie.

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told The Independent that Mr McCarthy’s announcement showed how little evidence Republicans have.

“I mean, I think he’s making a joke of himself,” the number two Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee said. “What I find most amusing is that he has opened an impeachment inquiry, and it seems as though they are opening an inquiry into themselves as to why they’re even trying to impeach President Biden.”

Eric Garcia filed this report from Capitol Hill.

Prosecutors who have accused former President Donald Trump and 18 others of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia maintain that all of the defendants should be tried together, citing efficiency and fairness.

The case was brought under the state’s anti-racketeering law, meaning the same witnesses and evidence will be used in any trial, they wrote in a brief they said was filed Tuesday. Holding several lengthy trials instead would “create an enormous strain on the judicial resources” of the county superior court and would randomly favor the defendants tried later, who would have the advantage of seeing the state’s evidence and arguments ahead of time, prosecutors wrote.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last month in announcing the charges that she wanted to try all 19 defendants together. Two of the people charged have filed speedy trial demands, and Judge Scott McAfee set their trial for 23 October. At a hearing last week, he said it seemed “a bit unrealistic” to imagine that all of the defendants could be tried that soon and asked Willis’ team for a brief explaining why they felt that was necessary.

“On a personal level, it was heartbreaking to see someone of that stature who represents our country in that fashion having to go through this,” Sheriff Pat Labat said during an interview with CNN.

Mr Trump was booked last month in Fulton County after he was indicted in a racketeering case focused on his alleged attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election by requesting state officials “find” votes for him.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

Sen Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee for president who has become the most vocal critic of former president Donald Trump in his party, announced on Wednesday he would not seek a second term in the Senate.

The former Utah governor, who first won election in 2018, made the announcement in a video, citing his accomplishments, but also saying that at age 76, he did not think he would be capable of doing the job in another term.

“I spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another,” he said. “At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.”

Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz declared that any evidence against President Joe Biden is only circumstantial, arguing convictions have been based on such evidence in the past.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into Mr Biden on Tuesday, claiming that there are serious allegations of corruption, including that Mr Biden worked to aid his son’s foreign business interests while he was vice president and that he benefitted financially from the arrangement.

No public evidence has been shared to substantiate the claims against the president.

“It’s pretty damn good evidence – circumstantial evidence – people are convicted and sent to jail every day of the week based on circumstantial evidence,” Mr Cruz said on Fox News. “Circumstantial evidence is you draw inferences from the circumstances.”

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday laid out his ideas to shut down the FBI and fire more than 1 million federal workers, lining up with increasingly sweeping conservative proposals targeting the federal government and particularly law enforcement.

Candidates trying to beat former President Donald Trump have responded to growing anger among GOP primary voters about the indictments against Trump as well as federal investigations and policies seen as unfairly targeting conservatives.

Ramaswamy’s proposals are among the broadest in the field. Speaking at the America First Policy Institute in Washington, he said he would try to reduce the federal employee headcount by half in his first year in office and by 75% during his first term if he makes it to the White House.

In a new brief, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argues that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is not permitted to remove his case to federal court because the removal statute only applies to current federal officials.

In some ways, Sen Mitt Romney’s decision to not seek a second term isn’t surprising. Mr Romney is the only Republican senator who voted to convict Donald Trump during both of his impeachment trials, and he has taken numerous other votes that would make him seem downright heretical in the modern-day GOP.

Conversely, Mr Romney remains one of the few Republicans actually interested in governing, having brokered deals on Covid-19 relief, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the first major piece of gun control legislation in almost three decades. Few senators, let alone freshmen, have accomplished as much.

But perhaps the most surprising part of his decision is the specific reason why the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said he would leave the United States Senate. Specifically, Mr Romney cited his age.