Trump news latest: Ex-president lashes out at ‘disinformation’ as Cassidy Hutchinson cooperates with DoJ

Former president Donald Trump called for drug dealers to receive the death penalty among a series of harsh policies about crime during his first speech in Washington since leaving office on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while speaking at a summit led by the America First Policy Institute, which features many former administration officials.

Mr Trump used his speech to talk about rising crime rates, though there is some evidence that gun violence is worse in Republican states. The former president called for “very, very severe” penalties.

Indiana Republican lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly advanced a plan to ban nearly all abortions in the state, despite opposition from abortion-rights supporters, who say the bill goes too far, and anti-abortion activists, who say it doesn’t go far enough.

Chants from anti-abortion activists, such as “Let their heart beat,” could be heard inside the chamber as a committee wrapped up two days of testimony during which none of the more than 60 people speaking voiced support for the Republican-sponsored bill.

Advisors to Donald Trump who were involved in the former president’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election appeared to recognise that their plan was legally dubious, according to emails revealed by The New York Times.

The Times said it had reviewed and authenticated dozens of emails that show a frantic effort by aides to Mr Trump and a coterie of lawyers and supporters outside of the White House to send fake electors to the Electoral College certification of the 2020 election.

The emails frequently refer to “fake” electors, and those involved seemed aware that their efforts had no legal standing, the Times reported.

Richard Hall has the story.

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:

My grandmother gave me a Bible and a note telling me that I was going to hell for my graduation. It tore my family apart — but then we reconciled. I can guess why Glenn Thompson acted like he did.

A Washington, DC man has been sentenced to 63 months in prison after he attacked several police officers with a weapon during the Capitol riot on January 6.

Mark Ponder, 56, from northwest DC, is one of only a few DC residents to have been charged in the Capitol riot. He now faces more than five years behind bars.

He was arrested on the day of the insurrection but he was released because the authorities were too overwhelmed to process him, WUSA9 reported.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 30-day jail sentence for a Capitol rioter accused of having dozens of images that reflect Nazi and white supremacist sentiments on his phone.

Twenty-two-year-old Elliot Bishai, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in April to charges stemming from his involvement in the Jan 6 attack to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.

Lieutenant Ridge Alkonis on Tuesday reported for the start of his sentence, which was imposed on him by a Japanese court earlier this year after he was convicted of negligent driving charges stemming from a May 2021 car accident.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

The former president busied himself repeating lies about the 2020 election on his Truth Social platform, even as it was revealed his attempts to subvert the outcome were the subject of the reported Justice Department probe.

A review of dozens of emails from Trump’s allies reveal a frantic effort by his aides and legal team to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election with a bogus alternate electors scheme, which would send state electors loyal to Trump tothe Electoral College certification.

The emails frequently refer to “fake” electors, and those involved seemed aware that their efforts had no legal standing, according to The New York Times report.

“We would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes,” wrote Jack Wilenchik, a lawyer who helped organise pro-Trump electors in Arizona, in an email sent on 8 December, 2020, according to theTimes. The email was sent to Boris Epshteyn, a strategic adviser for the Trump campaign.

In another post on Truth, the former president shared another clip from his remarks from earlier this afternoon in which he falsely claimed he “won a second time” and “did much better a second time” in the 2020 election.