Trump calls on supporters to join protests outside of Miami courthouse
Trump urged his supporters to participate in a planned protest at the Miami courthouse where he is set to be arraigned tomorrow.
“We need strength in our country now,” Trump said during an interview with longtime adviser Roger Stone on WABC Radio yesterday. “And they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully. They have to go out.”
“Look, our country has to protest. We have plenty ... to protest. We’ve lost everything,” he added.
Trump’s call to his supporters comes as he has escalated rhetoric against special counsel Jack Smith, whom Trump called “deranged” as he baselessly accused prosecutors of being a part of a political hit job against him.
In a Truth Social post after the interview, Stone insisted that he called for any protest in Miami to be "peaceful, civil, and legal."
Trump says he's en route to Florida
In a post to his Truth Social platform this morning, the former president said he's heading to Doral, Florida, ahead of his arraignment tomorrow in Miami.
GOP presidential candidate Ramaswamy files FOIA request to 'uncover' Biden White House communications
Vivek Ramaswamy, a longshot Republican presidential candidate, announced that his campaign had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to “uncover communications” between the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith related to Trump’s indictment.
There has been no evidence that any such communications exist and the request appeared to be a fishing expedition.
In a statement announcing the FOIA request, Ramaswamy did not provide any evidence. He scheduled a news conference in Miami tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the FOIA request and “another announcement.”
“I’m running to win this election and it would be easier for me if Trump were eliminated from running, but that is not the right answer for our nation,” he said. “America First Always.”
Has Trump found a lawyer in Florida ahead of his arraignment?
Trump’s arraignment in Miami tomorrow can’t go forward unless the former president finds local counsel — and it’s unclear whether he has, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
At least one prominent Miami-based defense attorney has turned Trump down, a source said.
If Trump doesn’t find local counsel, the surrender and first appearance will still happen tomorrow, but the arraignment may have to be postponed.
Gallego rips Lake's remarks threatening violence over Trump indictment as 'dangerous'
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., criticized his state's former GOP candidate for governor, Kari Lake, for her “dangerous” remarks on Trump’s indictment.
At a Georgia GOP convention last week, Lake threatened violence toward Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden, special counsel Jack Smith and the media for what she characterized as a political hit job against the former president.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me, and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” Lake said, AZ Central reported. “And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.”
Gallego, who is running for independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat, responded on Twitter: “As a Marine who went all the way to Iraq to defend this country, our democracy, and our freedoms, I know this language isn’t just hyperbole — it’s dangerous, and it threatens the very core of our democracy.”
“For that, Kari owes every America-loving Arizonan an apology,” he said.
Indictment hasn’t changed Republicans’ view of Trump, polls say
Trump’s federal indictment hasn’t had a significant impact on Republicans’ perception of the former president as he seeks re-election, two polls released yesterday indicate.
As many as 2 in 3 of Republicans who support Trump, or 67%, say he shouldn’t have been charged, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll. Most Republicans, 80%, who were polled also say the charges were politically motivated.
Most Republican primary voters, 76%, also said they’re concerned that Trump’s indictment was politically motivated in a new CBS News poll. A majority, 61%, ruled out that the charges would change their views of Trump, and 80% of Republican primary voters said he should win a second term in office.
How the judge overseeing Trump’s trial could hobble the DOJ’s case
The federal indictment of Trump, unsealed Friday, was filled with startling new accounts of how the former president allegedly mishandled classified information. But the revelation of who would oversee the case could present unique challenges for the Justice Department.
Cannon, a former prosecutor in her early 40s who has spent 2½ years on the bench, is the same Trump appointee who repeatedly ruled in his favor in a related case. She will now oversee a trial that experts believe could influence the American public’s trust in the fairness of the court system for years to come. She will guide how quickly the case goes to trial, oversee the selection of jurors and determine what evidence can be presented to the jury.
Trump to deliver post-arraignment remarks in New Jersey tomorrow
Trump will deliver remarks at 8:15 p.m. from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, after his scheduled arraignment tomorrow in Miami, his campaign said in a statement.
Trump held a similar event at Mar-a-Lago in April after his arraignment in New York, which stemmed from a separate criminal investigation. In that case, he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his alleged role in hush money payments toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
The event in Bedminster tomorrow night had originally been scheduled to be a closed press and private fundraiser for Trump’s 77th birthday, which is Wednesday.