Donald Trump is facing criticism from Joe Biden's 2024 election campaign for failing to sign a loyalty oath in Illinois, which says that the former president won't advocate overthrowing the government.

Supposedly downplaying his role in the Jan 6 Capitol Hill siege, Donald Trump, on the third anniversary of the riots, demanded that the Biden administration free those prosecuted for storming the government building in 2021.

Speaking at a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday (Jan 6), Trump called those jailed over charges relating to the attack "hostages" and alleged the government had mistreated them.

<h2>Illinois loyalty oath</h2>

In the US state of Illinois, there's a ballot tradition, whereby candidates pledge against advocating the overthrow of the government.

The loyalty oath is a time-honoured part of the election process in the state. However, it was missing from Trump's package of ballot-access paperwork&nbsp;the Republican submitted on Thursday (Jan 4), reports WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.

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Condemning Trump, Biden's campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler in a statement on Saturday said: "For the entirety of our nation's history, presidents have put their hand on the Bible and sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States—and Donald Trump can't bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won't attempt a coup to overthrow our government."

"We know he's deadly serious because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that."

As per the Guardian, Trump signed this voluntary oath in his previous presidential runs — 2016 and 2020.

"This is the same man who thinks American troops who died protecting the ideals outlined in the Constitution are suckers and losers – yet calls the convicted felons who violently assaulted and killed police officers on January 6th 'hostages'. He can't fathom putting anything – our country, our principles, or the wellbeing and safety of the American people – above his own quest for retribution and power," remarked Tyler.

Responding to Tyler's statement, Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung said: "President Trump will once again take the oath of office on January 20th, 2025, and will swear 'to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"

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Incumbent Joe Biden and another major Republican candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have both signed the loyalty oath.

<h2>'Hostage' rioters</h2>

Calling those jailed in the wake of the Jan 6 attack on Capitol Hill 'hostages', Trump during a campaign event in Clinton, Iowa, argued that they should be freed.

"They've suffered enough," he said, adding, "I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners."

"I got indicted because I challenged the crooked election," said the ex-president, who continues to claim that his 2020 election loss to Biden was the result of "fraud".

(With inputs from agencies)

Donald Trump is facing criticism from Joe Biden's 2024 election campaign for failing to sign a loyalty oath in Illinois, which says that the former president won't advocate overthrowing the government.

Donald Trump is facing criticism from Joe Biden's 2024 election campaign for failing to sign a loyalty oath in Illinois, which says that the former president won't advocate overthrowing the government. Supposedly downplaying his role in the Jan 6 Capitol Hill siege, Donald Trump, on the third anniversary of the riots, demanded that the Biden administration free those prosecuted for storming the government building in 2021. Speaking at a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday (Jan 6), Trump called those jailed over charges relating to the attack "hostages" and alleged the government had mistreated them. Illinois loyalty oath In the US state of Illinois, there's a ballot tradition, whereby candidates pledge against advocating the overthrow of the government. The loyalty oath is a time-honoured part of the election process in the state. However, it was missing from Trump's package of ballot-access paperwork the Republican submitted on Thursday (Jan 4), reports WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times. Also read | Trump faces $370 million in penalty demand to New York state in civil fraud case Condemning Trump, Biden's campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler in a statement on Saturday said: "For the entirety of our nation's history, presidents have put their hand on the Bible and sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States—and Donald Trump can't bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won't attempt a coup to overthrow our government." "We know he's deadly serious because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that." As per the Guardian, Trump signed this voluntary oath in his previous presidential runs — 2016 and 2020. "This is the same man who thinks American troops who died protecting the ideals outlined in the Constitution are suckers and losers – yet calls the convicted felons who violently assaulted and killed police officers on January 6th 'hostages'. He can't fathom putting anything – our country, our principles, or the wellbeing and safety of the American people – above his own quest for retribution and power," remarked Tyler. Responding to Tyler's statement, Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung said: "President Trump will once again take the oath of office on January 20th, 2025, and will swear 'to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'" Also read | US Supreme Court to rule if Trump can run for president in 2024 Incumbent Joe Biden and another major Republican candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have both signed the loyalty oath. 'Hostage' rioters Calling those jailed in the wake of the Jan 6 attack on Capitol Hill 'hostages', Trump during a campaign event in Clinton, Iowa, argued that they should be freed. "They've suffered enough," he said, adding, "I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners." "I got indicted because I challenged the crooked election," said the ex-president, who continues to claim that his 2020 election loss to Biden was the result of "fraud". (With inputs from agencies)

Trump calls Jan 6 rioters 'hostages,' skips signing Illinois loyalty oath promising to not overthrow govt

Donald Trump re-entering the US White House could "end American democracy as we know it," warn three women who worked for the democrat during his earlier stint as the President.

They voiced the warning while appearing in front of the US House committee investigating Trump's efforts to overrun the Capitol after losing the 2020 elections to President Joe Biden. Subsequently, they also issued another warning during an unprecedented television interview on Sunday, reports The Guardian.

<h2>Chaos of Trump's Presidency</h2>

During an interview on ABC's This Week, Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary, remarked that, "People in general have short memories, and might forget the chaos of the Trump years."

"They also might not just be paying attention to what he's saying now—and the threat to democracy that exists. It does really concern me if he makes it to the general [election] that he could win. I'm still hopeful that we can defeat him in the primaries, but we're running out of time," she added, as reported by The Guardian.

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"We don't need to speculate because we already saw it play out," said Matthews while remarking on what another Trump presidency may look like.

"To this day, he still doubles down on the fact that he thinks that the election was stolen and fraudulent. And his rhetoric has just gotten increasingly erratic. He’s literally called for things like doing away with parts of the constitution, [and] wanting to weaponise the department of justice to enact revenge on his political enemies."

Appearing alongside Matthews were former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump's former communications director.

Griffin warned that, "Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it, and I don't say that lightly."

"We all witnessed him trying to steal a democratic election before and go into historic and unconstitutional lengths to do so. That just shows he's willing to basically break every barrier to get into power and to stay into power."

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"What scares me as much as him and his retribution is the almost cult-like following he has, the threats, the harassment, the death threats that you get when he targets you, is really horrifying and has no place in our American discourse," she added.

Hutchinson, who was a key witness against Trump during the House committee’s public hearings in 2022, said that voters should not ignore Trump's voicing of his desire to be a dictator on his first day back in the White House.

"The fact that he feels that he needs to lean into being a dictator alone shows that he is a weak and feeble man," she said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Donald Trump re-entering the US White House could "end American democracy as we know it," warn three women who worked for the democrat during his earlier stint as the President.

Donald Trump re-entering the US White House could "end American democracy as we know it," warn three women who worked for the democrat during his earlier stint as the President. They voiced the warning while appearing in front of the US House committee investigating Trump's efforts to overrun the Capitol after losing the 2020 elections to President Joe Biden. Subsequently, they also issued another warning during an unprecedented television interview on Sunday, reports The Guardian. Chaos of Trump's Presidency During an interview on ABC's This Week, Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary, remarked that, "People in general have short memories, and might forget the chaos of the Trump years." "They also might not just be paying attention to what he's saying now—and the threat to democracy that exists. It does really concern me if he makes it to the general [election] that he could win. I'm still hopeful that we can defeat him in the primaries, but we're running out of time," she added, as reported by The Guardian. Also read | Chloe Macdermott suicide pact: 'Google, Amazon can prevent such tragedies', says Coroner investigating case "We don't need to speculate because we already saw it play out," said Matthews while remarking on what another Trump presidency may look like. "To this day, he still doubles down on the fact that he thinks that the election was stolen and fraudulent. And his rhetoric has just gotten increasingly erratic. He’s literally called for things like doing away with parts of the constitution, [and] wanting to weaponise the department of justice to enact revenge on his political enemies." Appearing alongside Matthews were former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump's former communications director. Griffin warned that, "Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it, and I don't say that lightly." "We all witnessed him trying to steal a democratic election before and go into historic and unconstitutional lengths to do so. That just shows he's willing to basically break every barrier to get into power and to stay into power." Also read | Kim Jong Un accuses US of posing 'military threat', orders military to prepare for possible 'war' "What scares me as much as him and his retribution is the almost cult-like following he has, the threats, the harassment, the death threats that you get when he targets you, is really horrifying and has no place in our American discourse," she added. Hutchinson, who was a key witness against Trump during the House committee’s public hearings in 2022, said that voters should not ignore Trump's voicing of his desire to be a dictator on his first day back in the White House. "The fact that he feels that he needs to lean into being a dictator alone shows that he is a weak and feeble man," she said. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump ‘a weak and feeble man’ who could ‘end American democracy as we know it,’ warn his former staffers

The former US ambassador to Ukraine, whom President Donald Trump called "bad news" before firing her, will be in the spotlight on Friday when she testifies at the second day of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pelosi-says-trump-has-admitted-to-bribery-as-impeachment-probe-intensifies-262171">televised impeachment hearings</a>.

The session before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, scheduled to begin at 9 am (1400 GMT), is part of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-impeachment-hearings-focus-on-ukraine-pressure-campaign-in-first-day-261996">Democratic-led impeachment inquiry</a> that threatens Trump's presidency even as he seeks re-election in November 2020.

Marie Yovanovitch was removed from her post as ambassador to Kiev in May after coming under attack by Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, at a time when he was working to persuade Ukraine to carry out two investigations that would benefit the Republican president politically.

Giuliani was trying to engineer Ukrainian investigations of Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and the former US vice president's son Hunter, who had served as a board member for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, as well as a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 US election.

The focus of the impeachment inquiry is on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was elected in May, to open the investigations.

Democrats are looking into whether Trump abused his power by withholding $391 million in US security aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Kiev. The money, approved by the US Congress to help a US ally combat Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country, was later provided to Ukraine.

Watch: Trump impeachment saga -&nbsp;Americans watch Trump probe live on TV

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Trump has denied any wrongdoing and calls the impeachment probe a sham.

The hearings may pave the way for the Democratic-led House to approve articles of impeachment - formal charges - against Trump. That would lead to a trial in the Senate on whether to convict Trump of the charges and remove him from office. Republicans control the Senate and have shown little support for Trump's removal.

Yovanovitch, who has worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations, told lawmakers behind closed doors on October&nbsp;11 that Trump ousted her based on "unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives" after she came under attack by Giuliani. She also denied allegations by Trump allies that she was disloyal to him and said she did not know what Giuliani's motivations were for attacking her.

Yovanovitch said Giuliani's associates "may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine."

Trump called Yovanovitch "bad news" in the phone call to Zelenskiy and added that "she's going to go through some things," according to a White House summary. Zelenskiy told Trump: "I agree with you 100 per cent" that she was a "bad ambassador."

'Go big or go home'

In her private testimony to lawmakers, Yovanovitch also described how Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, had urged her to use Twitter to express support for Trump to save her job. "He said, you know, you need to go big or go home. You need to, you know, tweet out there that you support the president," she said.

Three more public hearings are scheduled for next week.

Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Intelligence Committee member, said he hoped that Republican lawmakers treat Yovanovitch fairly.

"I hope that they treat her with the dignity she deserves, the respect that she deserves. By all accounts, she was an excellent member of the foreign service," Krishnamoorthi told Reuters.

Krishnamoorthi said the evidence suggested she was removed to make way for the Trump administration's "irregular channel" of diplomacy in crafting Ukraine policy personally beneficial to Trump in which Giuliani played a central role along with diplomats Sondland and Kurt Volker, as well as Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

The hearing comes a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Trump already had admitted to bribery in the Ukraine scandal.

"The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections," Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, told a news conference.

Pelosi's comments could offer a preview of articles of impeachment Democrats might put forward.

Two other career US diplomats, William Taylor and George Kent, testified on Wednesday in the first public hearing, expressing alarm over the pressure tactics on Ukraine by Giuliani for investigations that would benefit Trump politically.

Taylor is acting US ambassador to Ukraine. His aide David Holmes, who Taylor said overheard a July 26 telephone conversation in which Trump asked Sondland about progress in getting the Ukrainians to do the investigations, is due to appear before lawmakers in a private session on Friday.

The former US ambassador to Ukraine, whom President Donald Trump called "bad news" before firing her, will be in the spotlight on Friday when she testifies at the second day of televised impeachment hearings.

The former US ambassador to Ukraine, whom President Donald Trump called "bad news" before firing her, will be in the spotlight on Friday when she testifies at the second day of televised impeachment hearings. The session before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, scheduled to begin at 9 am (1400 GMT), is part of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry that threatens Trump's presidency even as he seeks re-election in November 2020. Marie Yovanovitch was removed from her post as ambassador to Kiev in May after coming under attack by Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, at a time when he was working to persuade Ukraine to carry out two investigations that would benefit the Republican president politically. Giuliani was trying to engineer Ukrainian investigations of Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and the former US vice president's son Hunter, who had served as a board member for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, as well as a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 US election. The focus of the impeachment inquiry is on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was elected in May, to open the investigations. Democrats are looking into whether Trump abused his power by withholding $391 million in US security aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Kiev. The money, approved by the US Congress to help a US ally combat Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country, was later provided to Ukraine. Watch: Trump impeachment saga - Americans watch Trump probe live on TV × Trump has denied any wrongdoing and calls the impeachment probe a sham. The hearings may pave the way for the Democratic-led House to approve articles of impeachment - formal charges - against Trump. That would lead to a trial in the Senate on whether to convict Trump of the charges and remove him from office. Republicans control the Senate and have shown little support for Trump's removal. Yovanovitch, who has worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations, told lawmakers behind closed doors on October 11 that Trump ousted her based on "unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives" after she came under attack by Giuliani. She also denied allegations by Trump allies that she was disloyal to him and said she did not know what Giuliani's motivations were for attacking her. Yovanovitch said Giuliani's associates "may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine." Trump called Yovanovitch "bad news" in the phone call to Zelenskiy and added that "she's going to go through some things," according to a White House summary. Zelenskiy told Trump: "I agree with you 100 per cent" that she was a "bad ambassador." 'Go big or go home' In her private testimony to lawmakers, Yovanovitch also described how Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, had urged her to use Twitter to express support for Trump to save her job. "He said, you know, you need to go big or go home. You need to, you know, tweet out there that you support the president," she said. Three more public hearings are scheduled for next week. Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Intelligence Committee member, said he hoped that Republican lawmakers treat Yovanovitch fairly. "I hope that they treat her with the dignity she deserves, the respect that she deserves. By all accounts, she was an excellent member of the foreign service," Krishnamoorthi told Reuters. Krishnamoorthi said the evidence suggested she was removed to make way for the Trump administration's "irregular channel" of diplomacy in crafting Ukraine policy personally beneficial to Trump in which Giuliani played a central role along with diplomats Sondland and Kurt Volker, as well as Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The hearing comes a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Trump already had admitted to bribery in the Ukraine scandal. "The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections," Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, told a news conference. Pelosi's comments could offer a preview of articles of impeachment Democrats might put forward. Two other career US diplomats, William Taylor and George Kent, testified on Wednesday in the first public hearing, expressing alarm over the pressure tactics on Ukraine by Giuliani for investigations that would benefit Trump politically. Taylor is acting US ambassador to Ukraine. His aide David Holmes, who Taylor said overheard a July 26 telephone conversation in which Trump asked Sondland about progress in getting the Ukrainians to do the investigations, is due to appear before lawmakers in a private session on Friday.

Trump impeachment hearing day-2: Ousted 'bad news' US ambassador to Ukraine to testify today