Merrick Garland appoints special counsel to oversee Trump investigations
Donald Trump is facing a second lawsuit from author E Jean Carroll, who accuses him of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.
Availing herself of a new state law that comes into effect today, Ms Carroll is suing Mr Trump for rape and sexual assault as well as defamation over recent comments he made calling her a “con job” and accusing her of lying about her allegations.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is reportedly seeking to question Mike Pence as part of its ongoing investigation into January 6 and Donald Trump’s months-long effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Mr Pence was presiding over in the ceritfication of the election results at the time the Capitol was attacked by a horde of Trump supporters and right-wing extremists. His life was directly threatened by rioters during the attack, and his security team was forced to rush him away to a secure position just a few feet from where attackers had breached the building.
Herschel Walker tells bizarre story about vampires and werewolves
Herschel Walker veered into a strange and seemingly inexplicable tangent about vampires, werewolves and faith while the Republican Senate candidate rallied in Georgia ahead of his runoff election in December against Sen Raphael Warnock.
The former professional football player delivered the bizarre commentary while standing at the pulpit at an event held in McDonough, Georgia on Wednesday.
John Bowden25 November 2022 01:20
Less than 20 Kari Lake supporters turn out for statehouse protest against her Arizona governor election loss
A small but vocal group of election deniers rallied outside the state capitol in Arizona to protest Kari Lake’s loss in the gubernatorial race against Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs.
Approximately 15 people gathered at the Arizona state capitol on Tuesday, with some waving flags emblazoned with pro-Trump messages and “SOS”.
Ms Lake has refused to concede her race and raised allegations of voter suppression — but she does not have the backing of other Republicans in the state, including, crucially, Gov Doug Ducey.
John Bowden25 November 2022 00:20
Arizona’s Republican governor congratulated the Democratic victor of the state’s gubernatorial race this week after her defeat of Kari Lake, a Trump-backed Republican candidate who made headlines for battling with reporters and insisting that the 2020 election was stolen.
Ms Lake continues to insist that her race was the target of voter suppression tactics after some Lake supporters complained about long lines and issues with printers at precincts — though very few have said they were unable to vote entirely.
Read more in The Independent:
John Bowden24 November 2022 23:20
Trump holds comfortable lead over DeSantis in 2024 primary poll
Donald Trump still holds a comfortable lead over Ron DeSantis in the first major post-midterms poll of the hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, but don’t count the Florida governor out yet.
The ex-president led his opponent by 30 points in an Emerson College survey of likely GOP primary voters released on Tuesday. Mr DeSantis was supported by 25 per cent of respondents to Mr Trump’s 55 per cent, a sign of both the ex-president’s continued political strength as well as the rapidly growing star power of the Florida governor in GOP circles.
John Bowden dives into the poll’s significance for The Independent:
John Bowden24 November 2022 22:20
Former President Donald Trump has been invited back to Twitter by the platform’s new CEO, Elon Musk, but has thus far declined to return. Instead he’s spending his time on his own social media site, Truth Social, where he has posted some truly strange things in the last several months.
Mr Trump regularly “re-truths” posts that sing his praises, but one of his most recent posts includes an edited video featuring a bizarre mashup of scenes from movies in which characters watch in rapturous glee as the former president gives speeches and brags about himself.
John Bowden24 November 2022 21:18
Pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell begs Elon Musk to contact him as he remains banned from Twitter
Pillow vendor and 2020 conspiracy mogul Mike Lindell publicly appealed to Elon Musk this week for his Twitter account to be reinstated.
The MyPillow CEO was banned from the platform earlier this year after he created a second account to evade a temporary ban handed down by the platform’s moderators, who had flagged his account for spreading misinformation about the 2020 election.
In a broadcast as part of his “Lindell TV” programme on a right-wing streaming site, he called on Mr Musk to make contact with him and claimed that the billionaire Tesla founder was ignoring him.
John Bowden24 November 2022 20:21
Kanye West says he asked Donald Trump to be his 2024 presidential running mate
Kanye West revealed that he has asked former US president Donald Trump to be his “running mate” for the 2024 presidential elections.
The exchange apparently occurred when Mr West travelled to Mar-a-Lago with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who marched at the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“What you guys think [Trump’s] response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?” Ye, who ran for office in 2020, asked his fans on Twitter.
John Bowden24 November 2022 19:20
Elon Musk claims Twitter hate speech impressions have fallen amid ongoing questions about moderation
Elon Musk claims that total impressions for tweets containing hate speech have fallen since he took over as CEO and implemented a number of widely controversial changes, such as reversing Donald Trump’s ban from the platform.
In the days after Mr Musk became the owner and chief executive of Twitter, it saw a vast surge in the amount of hate speech being posted on the site. Many users gleefully took advantage of Mr Musk’s commitment to minimise content moderation by posting racial slurs and other offensive content.
But Mr Musk says that trend has since been reversed.
John Bowden24 November 2022 18:40
Mary Peltola and Lisa Murkowski dealt Trump a double defeat in Alaska – and leave Sarah Palin out in the cold
Donald Trump just suffered a two-pronged defeat in Alaska, his latest setback in his efforts to reshape the GOP in his image and prove the strength of his brand nationwide.
Mary Peltola defeated Sarah Palin for a second time in Alaska’s at-large congressional race, while Lisa Murkowski fought back a Trump-backed GOP challenger.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia dives in to the final days of the midterm elections:
John Bowden24 November 2022 18:09
Ducey congratulates Dobbs as Lake keeps up fight
Arizona’s outgoing Republican Governor Doug Ducey congratulated Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory despite the fact that Republican nominee Kari Lake refused to concede.
Mr Ducey, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, had endorsed Ms Lake’s opponent Karrin Taylor Robson in the gubernatorial primary, before later endorsing Ms Lake in the general election.
But he congratulated Ms Hobbs, the current secretary of state, on her victory.
“All of us have waited patiently for the democratic process to play out,” he said. “The people of Arizona have spoken, their votes have been counted and we respect their decision.”
Andrew Naughtie24 November 2022 16:55