Prosecutors prepared to ask grand jury to indict Trump in classified docs case – live

Rishi Sunak not seeking meeting with Donald Trump because of ‘busy schedule’

Rishi Sunak has suggested a “busy schedule” meant he was not seeking a meeting with Donald Trump while in the US.

The Prime Minister will meet President Joe Biden, who defeated Mr Trump in 2019, at the White House on Thursday and has already held talks with senior political figures in Congress.

Mr Trump is widely seen as the frontrunner to secure the Republican nomination to run for president again in 2024, with Ron DeSantis viewed as his main rival.

Mr DeSantis met two members of Mr Sunak’s Cabinet – James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch – during a trip to the UK in April, forcing Downing Street to deny any favouritism for the Florida governor over the former president.

Mr Sunak was asked why he was not seeking a meeting with Mr Trump during his visit to Washington.

The Independent has learned that prosecutors are ready to ask grand jurors to approve an indictment against Mr Trump for violating a portion of the US criminal code known as Section 793, which prohibits “gathering, transmitting or losing” any “information respecting the national defence”.

The use of Section 793, which does not make reference to classified information, is understood to be a strategic decision by prosecutors that has been made to short-circuit Mr Trump’s ability to claim that he used his authority as president to declassify documents he removed from the White House and kept at his Palm Beach, Florida property long after his term expired on 20 January 2021.

That section of US criminal law is written in a way that could encompass Mr Trump’s conduct even if he was authorised to possess the information as president because it states that anyone who “lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document …relating to the national defence,” and “willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it” can be punished by as many as 10 years in prison.

A Fox News host has apologised after making a barbed remark about Chris Christie’s weight and his ability to down a milkshake.

Roberts made the comment as he compared the fight for the Republican nomination to two milkshakes, one being drunk by Donald Trump and the other by the remaining candidates.

“The other milkshake, which represents the non-Donald Trump part of the Republican Party, has how many straws in it now? And now we’re gonna have Chris Christie’s straw in there, and judging by Chris Christie’s physical stature, he could drink a lot of the milkshake if he wanted to. But you’re not affecting the Donald Trump milkshake,” he said.

Everybody told Chris Licht not to take the job.

His departure had been expected, but still marked a stunning downfall for the powerful television executive who prior to CNN had enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of broadcast journalism.

An actor known for his roles on the comedy television shows “Bob’s Burgers” and “Mr. Show with Bob and David” was arrested Wednesday on charges that he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in confronting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, court records show.

Jay Johnston was arrested in Los Angeles on charges including civil disorder, a felony. He is expected to make his initial court appearance in California on Wednesday. Online court records don’t list an attorney for Johnston.

Video footage captured Johnston pushing against police and helping rioters who attacked officers guarding an entrance to the Capitol in a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. Johnston held a stolen police shield over his head and passed it to other rioters during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, the affidavit says.

Mr Barr told CBS Mornings that the former president’s problems are of his own making and the case against him and any probe of his retention of secret papers would have gone nowhere if he had just returned them.

Former Vice President Mike Pence plans to make the expansion of abortion bans a centre plank of his 2024 campaign, and made that clear as he launched his bid for the GOP nomination on Wednesday.

The former president shared a video created by Twitter users @NautPoso and @drefanzor which was crudely edited to make it appear as if the ex-New Jersey governor was starting his campaign at an all-you-can-buffet holding a plate of food.

Everybody told Chris Licht not to take the job.

His departure had been expected, but still marked a stunning downfall for the powerful television executive who prior to CNN had enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of broadcast journalism.