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The judge in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon, declined private requests from federal judges that she step aside from the case after she was assigned to it last year.
The New York Times reports that two more experienced South Florida judges told her it would be best if she passed the case on, but Cannon chose to remain.
Her assignment prompted concerns regarding her limited trial experience and that she had previously intervened in the criminal investigation that led to Trump’s indictment in a way that appeared to favor him.
A series of hearings on motions to dismiss the case, including an attempt to invalidate the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, will take place on Friday.
Meanwhile, Trump has fallen two points behind Joe Biden in the latest Fox News national presidential election poll, the first time the president has led the survey since October.
A furious Trump has lashed out at the conservative network on Truth Social, calling the poll “TRASH” and complaining that “nobody can ever trust Fox News”, and telling the Murdoch family “all you need is Trump”.
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Trump campaign reports having more cash than Biden’s
For the first time, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign reported having more cash in its main account than Joe Biden’s re-election campaign had in its account, financial disclosures showed on Thursday, as both sides built their war chests ahead of the presidential election.
Trump’s campaign had about $116 in them bank at the end of May, more than double what it had a month earlier, while Mr Biden’s campaign told the Federal Election Commission it had about $91m in the bank, just above what it had at the end of April.
The full financial picture for the two camps isn’t clear because while both campaigns had a Thursday deadline to report their finances to the federal regulator, several of their associated fundraising committees won’t report on recent activity until July.
Mr Biden’s campaign and his party had earlier released unofficial figures touting $212m in cash holdings, but did not detail which committees held that money.
The figures disclosed to the Federal Election Commission appear to represent a dramatic financial turnaround for the Trump campaign, which had lagged behind Biden earlier in the year. The two candidates are neck-and-neck in national public opinion polls, while Trump leads in several battleground states.
Namita Singh21 June 2024 05:43
Trump to speak at Road to Majority conference on Saturday
Donald Trump will be back in Washington, DC on Saturday to speak at the conservative Christian activist group Faith & Freedom Coalition’s 2024 Road to Majority Conference.
The former president is set to speak at the event at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, June 22 at 1.30pm — we’ll be covering it live.
“We are honored to welcome President Trump back to the largest gathering of conservative Christian activists in the nation,” said Ralph Reed, Founder and Chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition. “This will be his ninth appearance at the Road to Majority Policy Conference. I am confident President Trump will receive the enthusiastic response from our grassroots activists that he has earned for being such a solid champion for our shared values of faith and freedom.”
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 04:45
Post-presidency, Trump claimed he ‘needed to go upstairs to deal with Afghanistan’ author says
The author of a new book about Donald Trump’s background in reality television has recounted a disturbing anecdote alleging that the former president still believed he had foreign policy powers long after he had left the White House.
That doesn’t sound good.
Joe Sommerlad has the story.
Trump ‘still believed he had foreign policy powers after leaving White House’
Ramin Setoodeh says former president ‘deflated, conflicted and angry’ during post-presidency interviews and told him at one point he ‘needed to go upstairs to deal with Afghanistan’
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 04:15
Trump calls latest Fox News poll ‘TRASH’
Donald Trump is far from done complaining about Fox News. Here’s what he just wrote on Truth Social:
The latest Fox News poll is TRASH! They used a biased, Democrat-leaning sample of voters, polling more Biden 2020 voters than Trump 2020 voters to skew the results in favor of Crooked Joe. I am leading BIG in virtually every other poll, including in all of the key battleground states, like Wisconsin, where I just held a massive rally, and Pennsylvania, where I will be on Saturday.
Also, the #1 issue in this Country is not protecting democracy. It is INFLATION and IMMIGRATION! If it is protecting democracy, Trump is your best choice, because Crooked Joe Biden is the greatest threat to democracy in history with his Open Border and weaponization of our justice system against his political opponent, ME! Fox News polls have never treated me, or MAGA, fairly! Don’t worry, we will WIN!!! Fox News should get rid of Paul Ryan, and get a new Pollster, but they won’t….
….Real Clear Politics just came out and has me leading by a lot, especially in the all important Swing States. My best numbers yet, despite the Biden “Weaponization of Justice.”
He’s not happy.
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 03:45
Roger Stone’s plan to help Trump challenge 2024 election results revealed by secret recording
A secret recording has revealed the plan of Trump political consultant Roger Stone to help the former president challenge the 2024 election results.
Liberal journalist Lauren Windsor provided Rolling Stone magazine with a recording in which the self-described “dirty trickster” says Donald Trump and his allies are on an “offensive footing” and that they’re better prepared than they were during 2020.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Recording reveals Roger Stone’s plan to help Trump challenge 2024 election results
Longtime Republican strategist appeared optimistic on Trump’s legal woes before former president was convicted of 34 felony counts
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 03:15
Fauci talks about his relationship with Trump on ‘The View’
Dr Anthony Fauci told talked about his complicated relationship with Donald Trump during the Covid-19 pandemic in an appearance on The View this morning.
“We kind of had that New York — he calls it ‘swagger’ — with each other... That was really good in the beginning until he wished and hoped that the outbreak would disappear,” he said.
“We did have a good relationship, but he was really very upset about the fact that I had to get up and say, you know, no, it’s not going to disappear like magic, and, no, hydroxychloroquine doesn’t work no matter what Laura Ingraham is telling you.”
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 02:45
RFK Jr’s presidential campaign raised just $2.6m in May
Uh oh...
Robert F Kennedy Jr took in just $2.6 million for his presidential campaign in May, a very distinct difference from the two top players in the presidential race, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The figure was released in a new Federal Election Commission filing on Wednesday, revealing that his campaign spent around $6.3m last month, with a lot of those funds sent through a limited liability company focusing on ballot access, CNN reported.
Eric Garcia and Amelia Neath report.
RFK Jr’s presidential campaign raised just $2.6m in May
The Kennedy campaign was not hugely bolstered by Nicole Shanahan last month, and finished May with around $6.4m
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 02:15
RFK Jr fails to qualify for CNN presidential debate
Robert F Kennedy Jr has failed to qualify for the first presidential debate hosted by CNN next week.
The independent presidential candidate will not join President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the stage in Atlanta on June 27.
Only Biden and Trump have met “the constitutional, ballot qualification and polling thresholds”, the network said in an article published on Thursday morning saying only the 45th and 46th presidents had met those targets.
Kennedy failed to meet CNN’s polling threshold of 15 per cent in at least four approved national polls, only hitting the mark in three ahead of the deadline of midnight Eastern time last night.
He also did not meet the requirement of being on the ballot in enough states to potentially win 270 electoral college votes. Kennedy is believed to be on the ballot in 10 states and attempts to get on the ballot in others are held up by the verification and application process.
Kennedy filed a Federal Election Commission complaint in May against CNN and the Biden and Trump campaigns complaining about how the debate was set up.
It is possible that he could still qualify for the September 10 debate hosted by ABC News.
A statement from RFK Jr reads: “Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand.”
“My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly. Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly. They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic.”
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 01:45
Trump will get the final word at next week’s first presidential debate
President Joe Biden won a coin toss ahead of next’s week presidential debate and chose where he will stand on the stage, instead of speaking last, when he squares off with Donald Trump.
That means Trump will now get the final word during closing statements at the first debate on CNN.
Biden and his campaign elected to stand on the right side of the stage instead of reserving a speaking slot. It’s unclear why the president viewed the speaking location as the most important decision.
Alex Woodward reports.
Trump will get the final word at first presidential debate
President Joe Biden will face his Republican rival on June 27 in Atlanta
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 01:15
Trump could see an easy win in the polls after the first debate — but not because of Biden’s age
Donald Trump may see a bump in the polls after the first debate because of a long-running trend: Incumbents tend to do worse in the first debate of the presidential election season.
Presidential debate historian Alan Schroeder explained to NBC News that a president’s life exists in a “protected bubble.” The first debate takes them outside of that bubble, where they’re forced to face off against a pumped up opponent who’s been itching for a showdown.
Read more from Gustaf Kilander:
Trump could see an easy win in the polls after the first debate
Incumbents tend to do worse in the first debate of the presidential election season as they step out of their ‘protected bubble’
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2024 00:45
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