Trump plans his fraud trial return during gag order appeal: Latest

The state-level criminal investigation into the 2020 election “fake electors” plot in Nevada has secured the cooperation of a key witness: Kenneth Chesebro, the lawyer who orchestrated the scheme to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state.

He has agreed to meet with investigators in the state in a bid to avoid prosecution there.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to charges relating to the plot in Georgia and as part of that plea deal has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in the sprawling racketeering case against former president Donald Trump and 14 other co-defendants.

Rudy Giuliani is heading back to court.

Giuliani will face a jury trial, as planned, to determine damages surrounding a defamation case from two election workers in Georgia who sued the former president’s attorney for the death threats and harassment they faced as a result of his false statements about them in the wake of 2020 elections.

A weekend ruling from the federal judge overseeing the case dismissed his request, calling some of his arguments “simply nonsense” and flat-out “incorrect”.

More background on the case from The Independent:

Trevian Kutti, a former Kanye West publicist and co-defendant alongside Donald Trump in the sprawling election subversion case in Georgia, appears to have threatened a witness in the case, violating the terms of her bond that keeps her out of jail.

In comments on Instagram Live over the weekend, she appeared to threaten Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman, who along with her daughter Shaye Moss has faced a wave of abuse and harassment that is at the centre of the charges facing Ms Kutti.

“There’s a woman sitting somewhere who knows this whole thing is a lie,” she said. “There’s a woman sitting somewhere who knows that I’m going to f**** her whole life up when this is done.”

Her $75,000 bond agreement prohibits her from intimidating co-defendants and witnesses, obstructing justice or posting on social media about the facts of the case.

Legal experts predict Fani Willis might ask a judge to revoke her bond.

Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney offered a dire warning about Trump’s potential return to the White House on Sunday, going as far to say that the GOP must lost its House majority to block Trump’s “collaborator” Mike Johnson from holding onto his role as speaker.

Ms Cheney was asked what would happen if he is still speaker come January 2025.

“He can’t be,” she said. “You know, we’re facing a situation with respect to the 2024 election, where it’s an existential crisis and we have to ensure that we don’t have a situation where an election that might be thrown into the House of Representatives is overseen by a Republican majority.”

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was third in line to the presidency just a few months ago. Soon, he may not be in Washington at all.

The Independent’s John Bowden reports from DC:

An appeals court judge has rejected Donald Trump’s request for a fast-tracked appeal of his gag order in his New York fraud trial, days before he is scheduled to return to the witness stand before his attorneys bring their case to a close.

On Monday, the former president’s legal team asked a state appeals court for a fast-tracked appeal process to challenge last week’s decision that keeps the gag order in place. A judge denied the request, and his lawyers will instead have to make their case before a full panel of judges next week.

The decision effectively guarantees that Mr Trump will remain under a gag order through the final days of his defence team’s presentations in a civil trial that could imperil the family’s vast real estate empire.

In Ohio, Youngstown State University students, faculty, alumni, and community members were outraged to find out that Republican US Rep Bill Johnson — who has no background in education of any kind — was offered the contract to be the university’s new president with only two hours notice and without any public input.

Johnson, who joined spurious 2020 challenges to attempt to invalidate millions of votes in that year’s presidential election, has previously invoked right-wing grievances against “cancel culture” and “indoctrination” on college campuses. University donors are now looking for the exits.

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports:

An appeals court judge has rejected Donald Trump’s request for a swift appeal of his gag order in his New York fraud trial, meaning that the former president will have to make his case before a full panel of judges.

His attorneys will have a chance to argue before a full appeals court on Monday.

Last week, another appeals court allowed the gag order to stand, after court filings revealed the wave of abusive messages and credible death threats to Judge Arthur Engoron and his staff.

Trump then immediately attacked the judge’s wife.

Donald Trump hasn’t been inside New York State Supreme Court since his testimony last month in a fraud trial that could imperil his family’s real estate empire.

He is reportedly expected to return to Judge Arthur Engoron’s courtroom on Thursday.

Trump also will testify again, this time as the final witness for the defence, a week from today.

Eric Trump will testify for a second time this week on Wednesday.

Former US Rep Liz Cheney has warned that there is “no question” Trump would leave office if he is elected next year.

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on Today on Monday asked Ms Cheney whether Trump would “try to stay in power forever,” if elected.

“Absolutely. He’s already done it once,” she said.