Ashlee Humphreys, a Northwestern professor, testifies that Giuliani’s claims against plaintiffs have significant effects on their reputations
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December, 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Giuliani trial, you can read our latest report:
The Giuliani defamation trial is one of the first tests of the many prongs pro-democracy groups are using in the courts to try to hold purveyors of election lies accountable.
Several lawsuits use anti-defamation laws in civil lawsuits against big names who joined with Trump to deny the results of the 2020 election, including Giuliani, Mike Lindell and Dinesh D’Souza.
Continue reading...Republican senator also declines to rule out voting for Biden, and added he wishes Joe Manchin would ‘be the Democratic nominee’
Utah senator Mitt Romney declined to rule out voting for Joe Biden next year and said he hasn’t offered an endorsement in the Republican race because his backing would probably be a “kiss of death”.
“If I endorsed them, it would be the kiss of death – I’m not going to do that,” Romney said during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Continue reading...Former congresswoman makes comments as she continues to warn of dangers that a second Trump presidency would present
US House speaker Mike Johnson and his fellow Republicans who comprise a majority in the chamber cannot be trusted to protect the American constitution, former congresswoman Liz Cheney said Sunday.
Cheney made the comments on ABC’s This Week as she continued to warn of the dangers that a second Donald Trump presidency would present following the release of her book Oath and Honor: A Warning and a Memoir. In the book, she is deeply critical of Johnson, who played a key role in Trump’s legal strategy to contest the election and organized an amicus brief signed by 126 US House members urging the supreme court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.
Continue reading...On Fox News, wife of Ron DeSantis mistakenly invites ‘moms and grandmoms’ to cross state lines and illegally vote in caucus
Casey DeSantis, the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, has upset party officials in Iowa by urging her husband’s supporters from around the US to “descend” on the state and illegally take part in next month’s caucuses.
The former television news reporter, who has become the Florida governor’s chief supporter on the campaign trail, made the faux-pas during an appearance with him on Fox News on Friday, in which she wrongly stated it was legal for out-of-state residents to participate.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report here:
Here is the moment House speaker Mike Johnson announced the votes on the censure of New York’s Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman:
The House has voted to censure Jamaal Bowman with 214 yeas and 191 nays.
Continue reading...Republican-led resolution against Democrat who pulled fire alarm called a waste of time and another attack on person of colour
Democrats accused Republicans of wasting time and pursuing “another attempt to silence a person of colour”, after the New York progressive Jamaal Bowman was formally censured for pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building.
“This censure of Representative Bowman is yet another attempt to silence a person of colour in this chamber,” the Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib said.
Continue reading...Republican presidential contender mocked for claim about Chinese-owned app during primary debate on Wednesday night
The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley claimed during the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday that watching TikTok made people “17% more antisemitic, more pro-Hamas” every 30 minutes.
“We really do need to ban TikTok once and for all and let me tell you why,” Haley said. “For every 30 minutes that someone watches TikTok every day they become 17% more antisemitic, more pro-Hamas based on doing that.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Fulton county prosecutors say in emails their legal careers will continue long after defendants go to jail
Fulton county prosecutors have signaled they want prison sentences in the Georgia criminal case against Donald Trump and his top allies for allegedly violating the racketeering statute as part of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to exchanges in private emails.
“We have a long road ahead,” the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, wrote in one email. “Long after these folks are in jail, we will still be practicing law.”
Continue reading...McCarthy, who was ousted from the House weeks ago, said in his announcement, ‘I’m leaving the House but not the fight’
Former speaker Kevin McCarthy has announced that he will resign from the House at the end of the year.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Wednesday and titled “I’m leaving the House but not the fight,” McCarthy said that he had decided to depart the House at the end of this year and “serve America in new ways”.
I know my work is only getting started. I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”
“I never could have imagined the journey when I first threw my hat into the ring. I go knowing I left it all on the field—as always, with a smile on my face. And looking back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Only in America.”
“Common sense should dictate that we need to secure our own border in addition to helping Ukraine and Israel secure theirs. In the greatest country on Earth, we do not have to choose between protecting our homeland and defending our allies.
My support for Israel and Ukraine is unwavering but it does not supersede my commitment to my own country. We need major, structural reforms to limit the number of illegal crossings at our southern border and regain operational control.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report below:
Back in Philadelphia, Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman representing the city, condemned the protest outside Jewish restaurant Goldie as “despicable”.
From his account on X:
Continue reading...Executive committee rejects banning members who ‘espouse or tolerate antisemitism’ and deny Holocaust, arguing clause is vague
Members of Texas’s Republican party are free to associate with Nazi sympathizers without worries of violating internal policy after they held a vote on Saturday.
In a 32-29 vote, the party’s executive committee decided against excluding from their organization those “known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial”. A proposal to ban such individuals was included in a resolution supporting Israel as it wars with Hamas in Gaza.
Continue reading...The former president is proud of appointing the supreme court justices who overturned the right to abortion – now the issue is a vote loser for Republicans
A few months ago, the former president Donald Trump accused the Republican party of speaking “very inarticulately” on abortion. And yet, for the GOP presidential frontrunner, inarticulateness seems to be a feature, not a bug, of his own approach to abortion.
Trump thinks he can run in 2024 as a “moderate” on abortion, Rolling Stone reported this week – even though he’s currently running ads in Iowa, a crucial state in the Republican primary, proclaiming himself “the most pro-life president ever”. It’s a title to which Trump has a legitimate claim: his three nominees to the supreme court not only handed the nation’s highest court a definitive conservative majority, but all three voted to overturn Roe v Wade in summer 2022.
Continue reading...After months of Republican investigations, Mike Johnson told Fox he believed GOP conference has enough votes to launch
The US House speaker Mike Johnson signaled on Saturday that Republicans are nearing holding a formal vote to launch an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.
“I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture,” Johnson said during a Saturday appearance on Fox and Friends Weekend.
Continue reading...Controversial EagleAI program connected to Trump supporter uses public records to flag people who shouldn’t be on the rolls
A Georgia county on Friday agreed to use a controversial program to identify ineligible people on its voter rolls that is connected to one of the most prominent election deniers and a key figure in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Columbia county, which is just outside Augusta, is believed to be the first place in the US to use the program, which is called EagleAI, the New York Times reported. The software matches voting data with publicly available information like post office and death records to flag people who should no longer be on the rolls.
Continue reading...Fabulist says he will file ethics complaints against ex-colleagues and accuses others of affairs and missing votes due to hangovers
George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican who was expelled from the US House on Friday, spent his first hours as a former congressman railing against his former colleagues and saying he would file ethics complaints against four of them on Monday.
Santos told reporters after his expulsion he was done with Congress.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can see our latest reporting on Santos below:
Georgia’s Republican representative Mike Collins said on Thursday that he will “not vote to alter precedent and circumvent the will of the People.”
He went on to add:
“The voters of NY-03 have the sole right to choose who represents them in Congress, just like the voters of GA-10.
Let me know when the House can get back to focusing on securing the border and drilling oil on American soil.”
Continue reading...Christian Ziegler mentioned in heavily redacted police documents that includes the word ‘raped’, reports say
The chairman of Florida’s Republican party, Christian Ziegler, is reported to be under investigation for sexual battery – a potential political bombshell in a state that Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis call home.
According to heavily redacted police department documents, Ziegler is mentioned in the context of an “active criminal investigation” after an individual reported being “sexually battered” at home in Sarasota on 2 October.
Continue reading...Congressman, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges, becomes only sixth member ever expelled from US House
The New York Republican, fabulist and accused fraudster George Santos has been expelled from Congress.
The vote to expel Santos, the second since his election last year, required a two-thirds majority of those present. The final tally on Friday was 311-114, with two members recorded present and eight absent.
Continue reading...Republican and Democrat to take to the stage in Alpharetta, Georgia, for debate moderated by Sean Hannity
Newsom has called out DeSantis’ lagging poll numbers.
“You’re trying to find migrants to play political games to get some news attention so you can out-Trump Trump, and by the way, how’s that going for you, Ron? You’re down 41 points in your own home state.”
Continue reading...