McCarthy plays down Trump charges as former White House lawyer says evidence in case is ‘overwhelming’ – live

After more than two hours of speeches mainly centered on trans healthcare, the southern border and abortion, the Lincoln Dinner put on by Iowa’s Republicans, has concluded.

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Thirteen speakers took to the podium to lay out their ideas about what is wrong with America and how they, as presidential hopefuls, had the answers to conservative gripes.

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Few took direct jabs at each other and rather directed their criticisms at Democratic policies and boogeymen like the indoctrination of children and stripping of rights from parents.

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The former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson mentioned the many lawsuits former president Donald Trump is facing and Will Hurd, a lesser-known candidate from Texas, said explicitly that Tump was running for president to stay out of prison. That comment was met with loud boos from the ballroom audience.

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Trump, who spoke last and continues to dominate in the polls despite his numerous legal liabilities, pulled no punches when calling out his main opponent, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. He continuously mispronounced his name, called out his opposition to ethanol production and argued that the Florida governor was lagging behind in the polls.

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“I wouldn’t take a chance on that one,” Trump said of DeSantis.

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While, he made it a point to tell the Iowa audience about his policies on trans people in sports and tariffs he imposed on China, the former president made no mention of the litany of charges he is facing.

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The only Republican candidate absent from the dinner was Chris Christie.

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Read the rest of the Guardian’s coverage of the dinner here.

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Every major Republican presidential candidate will share a stage in the early voting state of Iowa tonight, as Donald Trump continues to dominate in the polls despite his numerous legal liabilities.

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Most of the 13 candidates will appear at the Iowa Republican party’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner fundraiser, giving them an opportunity to address donors and local party leaders with less than six months left before the state’s crucial caucuses.

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The lineup of confirmed speakers for tonight are:

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• Donald Trump

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• Ron DeSantis

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• Mike Pence

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• Nikki Haley

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• Tim Scott

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• Vivek Ramaswamy

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• Asa Hutchinson

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• Larry Elder

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• Perry Johnson

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• Doug Burgum

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• Francis Suarez

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• Ryan Binkley

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• Will Hurd

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The event is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET. We will be following it live here on the blog.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis indicated he would consider pardoning Donald Trump if he is elected president, a day after the former president was indicted on additional charges.

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In an interview on the Megyn Kelly show, DeSantis was asked if he would commit to pardoning Trump on any federal charges. He replied:

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Well, what I’ve said is very simple. I’m going to do what’s right for the country. I don’t think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison. It doesn’t seem like it would be a good thing.

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And I look at like, you know, Ford pardoned Nixon, took some heat for it, but at the end of the day, it’s like, do we want to move forward as a country? Or do we want to be mired in these past controversies?

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DeSantis previously said that, if elected, he would consider pardoning people involved in the January 6 insurrection, including Trump.

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Dean Phillips, a moderate Democrat congressman representing Minnesota, is considering a potential 2024 primary challenge against Joe Biden, according to multiple reports.

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Phillips will meet with Democrat donors next week in New York about a potential long-shot primary challenge. The news was first reported by Politico, then Phillips confirmed his meeting to CNN.

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Phillips has said publicly he does not believe Biden should run for reelection. In an interview last year, he said the country “would be well served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats to step up”.

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Politico writes:

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Phillips, who’s in his third term representing suburban Minneapolis, has drawn attention from contributors by both denouncing the “No Labels” attempt to field a third-party ticket and calling for a contested Democratic primary next year. A former executive, he’s also the sort of pro-business social moderate with private sector experience who corporate leaders usually pine for in a presidential candidate.

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Phillips, 54, is highly unlikely to mount a primary challenge unless Biden’s health worsens or his political standing drops precipitously, I’m told, and does not want to further weaken the president.

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Conservative supreme court justice Samuel Alito told the Wall Street Journal that he does not believe Congress has the authority to impose a code of ethics on the nation’s highest court.

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His comments came amid a push by Senate Democrats to pass legislation forcing the nation’s highest court to adopt an ethics regulations in response to a series of media reports revealing entanglements between the justices and parties with interests in their cases.

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“I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” Alito told the Journal’s editorial board, which typically takes conservative positions, in an interview. “No provision in the constitution gives them the authority to regulate the supreme court – period.”

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He added that “Congress did not create the supreme court” but demurred when asked if his colleagues agreed. “I don’t know that any of my colleagues have spoken about it publicly, so I don’t think I should say. But I think it is something we have all thought about.”

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Alito also reflected on mounting criticism of the court’s legitimacy from the left, after the six-justice conservative majority overturned Roe v Wade, expanded the ability for people to carry concealed weapons, allowed businesses to turn away LGBTQ+ people and banned race-conscious college admissions in recent decisions. He wondered if something comparable to the “massive resistance” seen in Virginia beginning in the 1950s to court rulings ordering desegregation might emerge in opposition to the supreme court today.

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“If we’re viewed as illegitimate, then disregard of our decisions becomes more acceptable and more popular. So you can have a revival of the massive resistance that occurred in the South after Brown,” he said, referring to the landmark school desegregation case.

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Washington is reacting in a completely predictable fashion to the new charges brought against Donald Trump yesterday over the government secrets discovered at Mar-a-Lago. While his detractors say he should end his presidential campaign over the allegations, which one former Trump White House lawyer called “tight”, the former president remains defiant, and Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy gave no indication that his crucial support was wavering.

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Here’s what else has happened today so far:

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• Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, and polls are beginning to show a pronounced drop in support for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and an uptick in voters interested in first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

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• Mitch McConnelldoes not plan to step down as the leader of the Senate Republicans, at least not in this Congress, a spokesperson said, despite this week’s health scare.

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• A former federal prosecutortold CNN the new charges against Trump may be an indication special counsel Jack Smith does not believe the Mar-a-Lago case will be resolved before next year’s election.

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CNN managed to track down Republican speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the Capitol to ask him if he was concerned about the new charges against Donald Trump.

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The short version of the speaker’s answer, as you will see from the clip below, is that he is not:

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McCarthy’s comments are not much of a surprise. While he hasn’t formally made an endorsement in the 2024 presidential campaign, he has long striven to stay on the good side of the former president, who has many allies among House Republicans.

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In an interview with conservative radio host John Fredericks today, Donald Trump reiterated that he would stay in the presidential race despite the expanding indictment against him over the Mar-a-Lago documents:

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The new charges announced yesterday concern an attempt by Trump to delete surveillance footage of boxes of classified documents being moved out of a room at Mar-a-Lago. In today’s interview, Trump denied any wrongdoing, saying “These were security tapes. We handed them over to them”, according to Reuters.

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Donald Trump’s one-time national security adviser John Bolton is now among his many Republican foes. This morning, Bolton reiterated his call for the former president to end his White House campaign after the new charges against him:

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A former lawyer for Donald Trump who represented him in an earlier special counsel investigation has warned that the evidence revealed by Jack Smith in the Mar-a-Lago case is “overwhelming”.

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Ty Cobb represented Trump during a period early in his presidency when he was being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for alleged ties to Russia, which ultimately did not amount to the type of scandal the then-president’s detractors hoped would sink his administration.

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But Cobb told CNN today that the charges in the Mar-a-Lago case brought by Smith, who was named a special counsel last year, are different. The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports on why:

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A former Trump White House lawyer said the evidence against the former president over his handling of classified documents was now “overwhelming” and would “last an antiquity”, after new charges were filed in the case on Thursday.

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“I think this original indictment was engineered to last a thousand years and now this superseding indictment will last an antiquity,” Ty Cobb told CNN. “This is such a tight case, the evidence is so overwhelming.”

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In June, the special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump on 37 counts regarding his handling of classified records after leaving the White House.

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On Thursday, in a superseding indictment filed in a Florida court, four more charges were outlined. A second Trump staffer, the Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira, was charged, alongside Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet. Nauta previously pleaded not guilty.

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Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump is squarely in the cross hairs of federal prosecutors, who yesterday added new charges to the indictment brought against him in June for allegedly hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. It is also possible that today, special counsel Jack Smith will unveil a new indictment against the former president related to his actions on January 6. Last week, Trump said he had received a letter formally telling him he was a target in the investigation and yesterday, his lawyers attended a meeting at Smith’s offices – both signs that an indictment could be near.

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No former president has faced the sort of legal problems Trump is in, but there are also no signs yet that they’ve dented his standing among Republicans. He continues to lead polls among the party’s presidential candidates, and plans to spend this weekend rallying supporters in Erie, Pennsylvania. We’ll see if Washington has anything to say about the ongoing investigations against him today.

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Here’s what else is happening:

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• Congress has left town for its summer break, but only after the Senate passed a version of a crucial defense funding bill without the contentious provisions over abortion, transgender care and other culture ware issues that the House inserted in its version. This legislation must pass, and expect a big fight over it when lawmakers get back to work in September.

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• All the main Republican candidates, including Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott and Mike Pence will this evening speak at the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Dinner.

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• Joe Biden is heading up to Maine to promote his economic record, before flying to Delaware for a weekend on the beach.

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Lincoln Dinner concludes

After greater than two hours of speeches primarily centered on trans healthcare, the southern border and abortion, the Lincoln Dinner placed on by Iowa’s Republicans, has concluded.

13 audio system took to the rostrum to put out their concepts about what’s incorrect with America and the way they, as presidential hopefuls, had the solutions to conservative gripes.

Few took direct jabs at one another and reasonably directed their criticisms at Democratic insurance policies and boogeymen just like the indoctrination of youngsters and stripping of rights from mother and father.

The previous Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson talked about the various lawsuits former president Donald Trump is dealing with and Will Hurd, a lesser-known candidate from Texas, mentioned explicitly that Tump was operating for president to remain out of jail. That remark was met with loud boos from the ballroom viewers.

Trump, who spoke final and continues to dominate within the polls regardless of his quite a few authorized liabilities, pulled no punches when calling out his primary opponent, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. He constantly mispronounced his identify, referred to as out his opposition to ethanol manufacturing and argued that the Florida governor was lagging behind within the polls.

“I wouldn’t take an opportunity on that one,” Trump mentioned of DeSantis.

Whereas, he made it a degree to inform the Iowa viewers about his insurance policies on trans individuals in sports activities and tariffs he imposed on China, the previous president made no point out of the litany of expenses he’s dealing with.

The one Republican candidate absent from the dinner was Chris Christie.

Learn the remainder of the Guardian’s protection of the dinner right here.

Many of the Republican audio system at tonight’s Lincoln Dinner didn’t take purpose at any of their friends, however Donald Trump, who simply left the rostrum to cheers, took a number of jabs at Ron DeSantis.

He constantly mispronounced his identify, referred to as out his opposition to ethanol manufacturing and argued that the Florida governor was lagging behind within the polls.

“I wouldn’t take an opportunity on that one,” Trump mentioned of DeSantis.

Will Hurd, a former US consultant from Texas and lesser-known candidate within the Republican race, left the stage to the sound of boos after he mentioned that Donald Trump is operating for president simply to remain out jail.

Former Texas Rep. @WillHurd was up subsequent.

He went after frontrunner @realDonaldTrump in blunt phrases.

“Donald Trump is operating to remain out of jail.”

[Boos]

“I do know the reality is tough. But when we elect Donald Trump, we’re giving Joe Biden 4 extra years within the White Home…” pic.twitter.com/iQmeNsGF6W

— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) July 29, 2023

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Former Texas Rep. @WillHurd was up subsequent.

He went after frontrunner @realDonaldTrump in blunt phrases.

“Donald Trump is operating to remain out of jail.”

[Boos]

“I do know the reality is tough. But when we elect Donald Trump, we’re giving Joe Biden 4 extra years within the White Home…” pic.twitter.com/iQmeNsGF6W

— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) July 29, 2023

On the podium now could be former vice-president Mike Pence. He opens his speech by calling out what he sees as Joe Biden’s failing on the border and pro-choice stance.

“Joe Biden has been a catastrophe for America,” he tells the gang.

Along with commonplace conservative speaking factors on the nationwide debt and nationwide safety, he additionally vowed to implement a ban on trans individuals within the army.

We’re approaching the midway level of tonight’s Lincoln Dinner in Iowa. To date, six Republican candidate hopefuls have given their spiel on their plans for the nation. They’re:

• Nikki Haley

• Asa Hutchinson

• Ron DeSantis

• Tim Scott

• Perry Johnson

• Doug Burgum

Every speaker has referred to as out salient points in as we speak’s tradition wars like abortion entry, healthcare for transgender kids and ethnic research in faculties.

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, a possible Republican ticket frontrunner, simply left the stage. He emphasised the insurance policies which have allowed the state to “beat the left’s agenda”.

He additionally vowed to deploy the army to the southern border and use “lethal pressure” on cartels.

DeSantis’ assaults on transgender healthcare, abortion entry and ethnic research and LGBTQ+ training have been well-documented. In Might, the Guardian printed a narrative the place broad minority teams warned of what the harm his presidency may do to the nation.

Learn that piece right here.

Nikki Haley, the previous governor of South Carolina was the primary presidential hopeful to handle the Lincoln Dinner viewers.

She emphasised the nation’s $32tn debt in addition to the financial struggles dealing with many American households. She additionally took an unsurprising purpose on the Biden administration, claiming {that a} 2024 win for Biden will imply that Kamala Harris is de facto the one successful the election.

Iowa governor Kim Reynolds simply stepped off of the Lincoln Dinner stage. Throughout her speech she touted the state’s supermajority and passage of conservative training and abortion insurance policies. She informed the dinner viewers:

We’re empowering mother and father and defending life.”

Earlier this month state legislators voted to ban most abortions after six weeks of being pregnant, a time earlier than most individuals know they’re pregnant.

Learn extra on the choice right here.

I’m Abené Clayton, reporting from the west coast.

The Lincoln Dinner, placed on by Iowa’s Republican Social gathering is underway.

The entire Republican candidates for president, besides Chris Christie, will ship speeches of as much as 10min to the ballroom viewers.

Up first had been Jeff Kaufman a state consultant and Kim Reynolds, the governor of Iowa.

I’ll be posting updates from the dinner right here.

On the Iowa Republican get together’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner fundraiser, the tremendous PAC backing Ron DeSantis has arrange baseballs to throw at cans of Bud Gentle.

From the New York Occasions’ Shane Goldmacher:

In hospitality suite at Iowa GOP dinner, the DeSantis tremendous PAC has arrange baseballs to throw at Bud Gentle cans, per pic from NBD pic.twitter.com/dvuR45pshs

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) July 28, 2023

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In hospitality suite at Iowa GOP dinner, the DeSantis tremendous PAC has arrange baseballs to throw at Bud Gentle cans, per pic from NBD pic.twitter.com/dvuR45pshs

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) July 28, 2023