Trump news – live: Trump suggests White House concealing security footage over cocaine scandal as Don Jr branded ‘big baby’

Donald Trump is continuing to relish the news that cocaine was discovered at the White House , moving on from suggesting that it belonged to his successor Joe Biden and the latter’s son Hunter Biden , who has spoken out frankly about his past struggles with addiction, to claiming that the Biden administration is withholding the CCTV footage that might reveal the truth. ‘Where are the White House SECURITY TAPES, like the ones I openly and happily gave to Deranged Jack Smith , which will quickly show where the Cocaine in the White House came from???’ he asked on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday evening. ‘They already know the answer, but probably don’t like it!’ Meanwhile, the former president’s own son, Donald Trump Jr , has been branded ‘a big baby’ by Australian home minister Clare O’Neil after he cancelled a planned speaking tour of the country, citing visa issues. ‘Geez, Donald Trump Jr is a bit of sore loser,’ Ms O’Neill wrote in a series of posts on Twitter that were later deleted. ‘Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn’t get cancelled. He’s just a big baby, who isn’t very popular.’ Key Points Trump suggests White House concealing security footage over cocaine scandal Don Jr branded ‘big baby’ over cancelled Australian tour Senator warns Republicans planning national abortion ban Trump suggests White House concealing security footage over cocaine scandal 10:45 , Joe Sommerlad Here’s the latest from The Desk of Donald, who is now suggesting on Truth Social that the White House may actually be withholding the security footage that might reveal the owner of the cocaine discovered near the Oval Office. ‘They already know the answer, but probably don’t like it!’ he insinuates, hinting none-too-subtly at a major criminal coverup based on precisely no evidence. Hawley tweets fake Founding Father quote 09:15 , Oliver O’Connell Senator Josh Hawley drew criticism from historians and teachers of US government over the July 4 holiday after he posted a tweet incorrectly ascribed to Patrick Henry which asserted that America was founded as a specifically Christian nation. Aside from the fact that the Constitution explicitly lays out that America will never have an official state religion, Mr Hawley’s message falsely attributed a quote from a biography of Henry, one of America’s Founding Fathers, to the man himself. John Bowden has the story. Oath Keepers leader issues warning to Trump 07:45 , Oliver O’Connell Stewart Rhodes, the disbarred attorney and founder of the far-right extremist group known as the Oath Keepers, believes the strategy prosecutors used to convict him on rarely used seditious conspiracy charges will be repeated by special counsel Jack Smith in a future trial of former president Donald Trump . Oath Keepers leader issues warning to Trump amid ex-president’s legal woes White powder found at White House confirmed as cocaine 05:45 , Oliver O’Connell The white, powdery substance that prompted a brief evacuation of the White House over the weekend has been confirmed to be cocaine by laboratory testing, The Independent has learned. Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC. 04:15 , Oliver O’Connell Former President Donald Trump kicked off his Independence Day activities early on Tuesday by resharing a vulgar meme attacking Joe Biden and the people who voted for him. Truth Social’s merger partner reaches SEC settlement 02:45 , Oliver O’Connell A financial firm linked to Donald Trump ‘s Truth Social platform has reached an $18m settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) in order to bring an end to the investigation into its merger with the company. 01:45 , Oliver O’Connell Former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was the home address of former President Barack Obama on the same day that a man with guns in his van was arrested near the property, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in revealing new details about the case. Thursday 6 July 2023 00:45 , Oliver O’Connell Yusef Salaam , one of the exonerated ‘ Central Park Five ,’ has won the Democratic primary, all but assuring him a seat on the New York City Council. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park. Why aren’t there more women in the GOP 2024 field? Wednesday 5 July 2023 23:45 , Oliver O’Connell As Republicans keep jumping into the 2024 race for president, one demographic group seems notably lacking: women. More than a dozen candidates are seeking the nomination, including several long shots who announced their bids in recent weeks, in what is the party’s most diverse presidential field ever. Yet Nikki Haley , a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, is the only woman among the bunch. Voices: Wednesday 5 July 2023 22:45 , Oliver O’Connell Eric Garcia writes: After the 2022 midterm elections, Florida Gov DeSantis emerged as nearly bulletproof. As he likes to tell voters on the stump, his nearly 20-point re-election victory served as a bright spot in an otherwise rough election night for Republicans. But despite kicking off his 2024 presidential campaign in a glitchy Twitter conversation with SpaceX executive Elon Musk, the former GOP golden boy has failed to launch. His candidacy has been riddled with stories of awkward retail politicking and losing endorsements to former president Donald Trump. Now there is also evidence that his campaign is on the downturn. ICYMI: Trump leaned on Arizona governor to flip state’s election results after 2020 loss, report says Wednesday 5 July 2023 22:00 , Oliver O’Connell Donald Trump reportedly tried to push Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to flip the state’s 2020 election results in his favour, according to a new report. The latest allegations against Mr Trump claim the former president wanted Mr Ducey to find enough votes to overturn his loss, according to The Washington Post . Anonymous sources, ‘familiar’ with the call, told The Post that the former president also tasked his vice president Mike Pence with calling Mr Ducey and pushing him to find evidence back Mr Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. Mr Pence reportedly called Mr Ducey several times to discuss the election but did not follow up on Mr Trump’s alleged demands. Voices: Forget everything else, these four states will decide the presidency Wednesday 5 July 2023 21:40 , Oliver O’Connell Eric Garcia writes: The intelligent folks at Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics compiled a list of four swing states. The list does not mean that these are the only states where candidates should campaign. But it is to say that these are the most evenly split states. Let’s take a look… Wednesday 5 July 2023 21:25 , Oliver O’Connell The armed man arrested near the home of former President Barack Obama also threatened other lawmakers, according to federal prosecutors. Taylor Taranto, 37, was arrested in the Kalorama neighbourhood of Washington DC on 29 June after making online threats against Mr Obama. Materials to make Molotov cocktails were located in his vehicle. Mr Taranto is also alleged to have suggested that he was going to attempt to enter Mr Obama’s home via ‘tunnels’. Gustaf Kilander has the details. Pence claims Biden is rehabilitating Iran nuclear deal Wednesday 5 July 2023 21:15 , Oliver O’Connell Former Vice President Mike Pence was a surprise guest this weekend at a rally in Paris , France, hosted by Iranian dissidents in support of overthrowing Iran ‘s regime. Mr Pence, who’s running in the increasingly crowded 2024 Republican primary, railed against the authoritarian government in Tehran and what he claimed were efforts by the Biden administration to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran, the US, and several European countries. That deal was abandoned by the Trump administration who accused Tehran of violating the deal ‘in spirit’. ‘Now, a new administration is threatening to unravel all of the progress we made in marginalising the tyrannical regime in Tehran,’ Mr Pence claimed. John Bowden has the story. Trump weighs in on White House cocaine story Wednesday 5 July 2023 21:11 , Oliver O’Connell After news broke that a white powder found in the West Wing of the White House was indeed cocaine, it didn’t take long for former president Donald Trump to weigh in, baselessly claiming the drug was for the use of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, before calling special prosecutor Jack Smith a ‘crackhead’. Here’s what he wrote on Truth Social: Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter & Joe Biden. But watch, the Fake News Media will soon start saying that the amount found was ‘very small,’ & it wasn’t really COCAINE, but rather common ground up Aspirin, & the story will vanish. Has Deranged Jack Smith, the crazy, Trump hating Special Prosecutor, been seen in the area of the COCAINE? He looks like a crackhead to me! And here’s our coverage of the story so far: Jack Smith subpoenas Arizona Secretary of State’s office in January 6 probe Wednesday 5 July 2023 20:50 , Oliver O’Connell Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Arizona’s Secretary of State’s Office as part of its investigation into the January 6 riot as early as May, The Arizona Republic reported . President Joe Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 by 10,457 votes, the narrowest margin in the nation. Almost immediately, former president Donald Trump and his supporters began to contest the results. Eric Garcia reports. Jack Smith subpoenas Arizona Secretary of State’s office in January 6 probe Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video Wednesday 5 July 2023 20:30 , Oliver O’Connell Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had the perfect takedown for Ron DeSantis over the weekend, after the Republican presidential hopeful posted an anti-LGBT + campaign video. The video, posted on Friday, was described as homophobic by a number of LGBT+ members of the Republican party, as well as by critics on the other side of the aisle. Rachel Sharp reports. Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video Trump: DeSantis campaign in ‘total disarray’ Wednesday 5 July 2023 20:26 , Oliver O’Connell The latest musings of the former president on Truth Social: Ron DeSanctimonious is getting absolutely ‘demolished’ for yesterday’s performance in New Hampshire. No crowds, no enthusiasm, no interest. His Campaign is in total disarray. He’s hurting himself very badly for 2028. See, loyalty does matter with Patriots! Hawley tweets fake Founding Father quote Wednesday 5 July 2023 20:17 , Oliver O’Connell Senator Josh Hawley drew criticism from historians and teachers of US government over the July 4 holiday after he posted a tweet incorrectly ascribed to Patrick Henry which asserted that America was founded as a specifically Christian nation. John Bowden reports from Washington, DC. Trump 2024 fundraising powers ahead despite indictments Wednesday 5 July 2023 20:00 , Oliver O’Connell Per Politico : Donald Trump nearly doubled his fundraising during the second quarter of 2023 – an indication that his legal troubles are propelling his campaign financially. The former president’s joint fundraising committee raked in more than $35 million, according to a campaign official. That figure is about twice the $18.8 million the committee raised during the first quarter of the year. The joint fundraising committee is split between two entities: Trump’s official campaign, and his political action committee, Save America. Giuliani grilled by prosecutors about ‘shouting match’ Wednesday 5 July 2023 19:45 , Oliver O’Connell Federal prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to charge Donald Trump and his associates with crimes related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election and recently interviewed the former president’s top attorney for that project as their inv