During a December visit to New York City, writer E&nbsp;Jean Carroll says she went shopping with a fashion consultant to find the "best outfit" for one of the most important days of her life - when she'll sit face-to-face with the man she accuses of raping her decades ago, former President Donald Trump.

The author and journalist hope that day will come this year. Her lawyers are seeking to depose Trump in a defamation lawsuit that Carroll filed against the former president in November 2019 after he denied her accusation that he raped her at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Trump said he never knew Carroll and accused her of lying to sell her new book, adding: "She's not my type."

She plans to be there if Trump is deposed.

"I am living for the moment to walk into that room to sit across the table from him," Carroll told Reuters in an interview. "I think of it every day."

Carroll, 77, a former Elle magazine columnist, seeks unspecified damages in her lawsuit and a retraction of Trump's statements. It is one of two defamation cases involving sexual misconduct allegations against Trump that could move forward faster now that he has left the presidency. While in office, Trump's lawyers delayed the case in part by arguing that the pressing duties of his office made responding to civil lawsuits impossible.

"The only barrier to proceeding with the civil suits was that he's the president," said Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor and now an adjunct professor of clinical law at the New York University School of Law.

"I think there will be a sense among the judges that it's time to get a move on in these cases," said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney.

An attorney for Trump and another representative of the former president did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump faces a similar defamation lawsuit from Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality television show "The Apprentice." In 2016, Zervos accused Trump of sexual misconduct, saying that he kissed her against her will at a 2007 meeting in New York and later groped her at a California hotel as the two met to discuss job opportunities.

Trump denied the allegations and called Zervos a liar, prompting her to sue him for defamation in 2017, seeking damages and a retraction. Trump tried unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed, arguing that, as president, he was immune from suits filed in state courts. His lawyers appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, which is still considering the case. Zervos filed a motion in early February asking the court to resume the case now that Trump's no longer president.

Zervos and Carroll are among more than two dozen women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct that they say occurred in the years before he became president. Other accusers include a former model who claims Trump sexually assaulted her at the 1997 U.S. Open tennis tournament; a former Miss Universe pageant contestant who said Trump groped her in 2006; and a reporter who alleges Trump forcibly kissed her without her consent in 2005 at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump has denied the allegations and called them politically motivated.

In September, after several unsuccessful attempts by Trump's lawyers to get Carroll's case dismissed or delayed, U.S. Justice Department officials under his administration took the unusual step of asking that the government be substituted for Trump as the defendant in the case. Justice Department lawyers argued that Trump, like any typical government employee, is entitled under federal law to immunity from civil lawsuits when performing his job. They argued that he was acting in his capacity as president when he said Carroll was lying.

Legal experts said it was unprecedented for the Justice Department to defend a president for conduct before he took office. When Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan rejected that argument, the Justice Department appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has yet to rule on it.

It's yet to be seen whether Justice Department officials under President Joe Biden, who took office last month, will continue to defend the case on Trump's behalf. The White House and the Justice Department declined to comment.

If the appeals court upholds Judge Kaplan's decision, it would likely clear the way for Trump to be deposed by Carroll's lawyers.

Unidentified Male DNA

Carroll's lawyers are also seeking a DNA sample from Trump. Carroll says she still has the dress she was wearing when Trump allegedly attacked her.

"I hung it in my closet," she said.

Carroll said she randomly crossed paths with Trump in the Bergdorf Goodman's store in the mid-1990s. Carroll, who hosted a TV talk show at the time, said Trump recognized her. The two chatted, she said. Trump asked her to pick out a gift for an unidentified woman, and they eventually ended up in the lingerie department. After asking her to try on a bodysuit, Trump closed the door in a dressing room, pinned her against a wall, unzipped his pants and sexually assaulted her, according to the complaint.

Carroll said she told two friends about the alleged attack shortly after it happened, but did not report Trump to police, fearing retribution from the wealthy and well-connected businessman. Decades later, Carroll went public with her story in a June 2019 New York magazine article, adapted from a new book, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal."

She said she was inspired to recount the incident by the #MeToo movement, which emboldened women to share their experiences of sexual assault and harassment. In photos shot for that story, Kaplan, at the request of the magazine's photography director, wore the same black Donna Karan dress that she said she had worn on the day that Trump allegedly assaulted her.

When Carroll filed her lawsuit later in 2019, her lawyer, Kaplan, had a guard escort her to retrieve the dress from her closet for forensic testing. An analysis concluded no semen was found on the dress, but the DNA of an unidentified male was detected on the shoulder and sleeves, according to the Jan. 8, 2020 lab report, which was reviewed by Reuters.

If the dress does contain traces of Trump's DNA, it would not prove his guilt. But a match could be used as evidence that he had contact with the dress and to help disprove his claims that he never met Carroll, according to two forensic experts not involved in the case.

"How his DNA got on that dress would be the argument," said Monte Miller, a biochemist who runs a DNA analysis consultancy and previously worked at the Texas Department of Public Safety's State Crime Laboratory. "It's for the attorneys and the courts and everybody else to argue about why it's there and how it got there."

Carroll said she's confident the DNA on the dress belongs to Trump and wants her day in court. She said she now sleeps with a gun next to her bed because she has received death threats since publicly accusing Trump.

"This defamation suit is not about me," said Carroll, who meets regularly with other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. It's about every woman "who can't speak up."

During a December visit to New York City, writer E Jean Carroll says she went shopping with a fashion consultant to find the "best outfit" for one of the most important days of her life - when she'll sit face-to-face with the man she accuses of raping her decades ago, former President Donald Trump.

During a December visit to New York City, writer E Jean Carroll says she went shopping with a fashion consultant to find the "best outfit" for one of the most important days of her life - when she'll sit face-to-face with the man she accuses of raping her decades ago, former President Donald Trump. The author and journalist hope that day will come this year. Her lawyers are seeking to depose Trump in a defamation lawsuit that Carroll filed against the former president in November 2019 after he denied her accusation that he raped her at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Trump said he never knew Carroll and accused her of lying to sell her new book, adding: "She's not my type." She plans to be there if Trump is deposed. "I am living for the moment to walk into that room to sit across the table from him," Carroll told Reuters in an interview. "I think of it every day." Carroll, 77, a former Elle magazine columnist, seeks unspecified damages in her lawsuit and a retraction of Trump's statements. It is one of two defamation cases involving sexual misconduct allegations against Trump that could move forward faster now that he has left the presidency. While in office, Trump's lawyers delayed the case in part by arguing that the pressing duties of his office made responding to civil lawsuits impossible. "The only barrier to proceeding with the civil suits was that he's the president," said Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor and now an adjunct professor of clinical law at the New York University School of Law. "I think there will be a sense among the judges that it's time to get a move on in these cases," said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney. An attorney for Trump and another representative of the former president did not respond to requests for comment. Trump faces a similar defamation lawsuit from Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality television show "The Apprentice." In 2016, Zervos accused Trump of sexual misconduct, saying that he kissed her against her will at a 2007 meeting in New York and later groped her at a California hotel as the two met to discuss job opportunities. Trump denied the allegations and called Zervos a liar, prompting her to sue him for defamation in 2017, seeking damages and a retraction. Trump tried unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed, arguing that, as president, he was immune from suits filed in state courts. His lawyers appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, which is still considering the case. Zervos filed a motion in early February asking the court to resume the case now that Trump's no longer president. Zervos and Carroll are among more than two dozen women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct that they say occurred in the years before he became president. Other accusers include a former model who claims Trump sexually assaulted her at the 1997 U.S. Open tennis tournament; a former Miss Universe pageant contestant who said Trump groped her in 2006; and a reporter who alleges Trump forcibly kissed her without her consent in 2005 at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump has denied the allegations and called them politically motivated. In September, after several unsuccessful attempts by Trump's lawyers to get Carroll's case dismissed or delayed, U.S. Justice Department officials under his administration took the unusual step of asking that the government be substituted for Trump as the defendant in the case. Justice Department lawyers argued that Trump, like any typical government employee, is entitled under federal law to immunity from civil lawsuits when performing his job. They argued that he was acting in his capacity as president when he said Carroll was lying. Legal experts said it was unprecedented for the Justice Department to defend a president for conduct before he took office. When Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan rejected that argument, the Justice Department appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has yet to rule on it. It's yet to be seen whether Justice Department officials under President Joe Biden, who took office last month, will continue to defend the case on Trump's behalf. The White House and the Justice Department declined to comment. If the appeals court upholds Judge Kaplan's decision, it would likely clear the way for Trump to be deposed by Carroll's lawyers. Unidentified Male DNA Carroll's lawyers are also seeking a DNA sample from Trump. Carroll says she still has the dress she was wearing when Trump allegedly attacked her. "I hung it in my closet," she said. Carroll said she randomly crossed paths with Trump in the Bergdorf Goodman's store in the mid-1990s. Carroll, who hosted a TV talk show at the time, said Trump recognized her. The two chatted, she said. Trump asked her to pick out a gift for an unidentified woman, and they eventually ended up in the lingerie department. After asking her to try on a bodysuit, Trump closed the door in a dressing room, pinned her against a wall, unzipped his pants and sexually assaulted her, according to the complaint. Carroll said she told two friends about the alleged attack shortly after it happened, but did not report Trump to police, fearing retribution from the wealthy and well-connected businessman. Decades later, Carroll went public with her story in a June 2019 New York magazine article, adapted from a new book, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal." She said she was inspired to recount the incident by the #MeToo movement, which emboldened women to share their experiences of sexual assault and harassment. In photos shot for that story, Kaplan, at the request of the magazine's photography director, wore the same black Donna Karan dress that she said she had worn on the day that Trump allegedly assaulted her. When Carroll filed her lawsuit later in 2019, her lawyer, Kaplan, had a guard escort her to retrieve the dress from her closet for forensic testing. An analysis concluded no semen was found on the dress, but the DNA of an unidentified male was detected on the shoulder and sleeves, according to the Jan. 8, 2020 lab report, which was reviewed by Reuters. If the dress does contain traces of Trump's DNA, it would not prove his guilt. But a match could be used as evidence that he had contact with the dress and to help disprove his claims that he never met Carroll, according to two forensic experts not involved in the case. "How his DNA got on that dress would be the argument," said Monte Miller, a biochemist who runs a DNA analysis consultancy and previously worked at the Texas Department of Public Safety's State Crime Laboratory. "It's for the attorneys and the courts and everybody else to argue about why it's there and how it got there." Carroll said she's confident the DNA on the dress belongs to Trump and wants her day in court. She said she now sleeps with a gun next to her bed because she has received death threats since publicly accusing Trump. "This defamation suit is not about me," said Carroll, who meets regularly with other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. It's about every woman "who can't speak up."

Donald Trump may soon have to answer rape allegations under oath

While the former reality TV star <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has faced immense criticism, several allegations and two impeachment trials, turns out he is still the number one choice for the US election 2024.

A recent poll conducted by Politico-Morning Consult revealed that Trump's popularity within the Republican Party has not decreased even after impeachment trials.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/unsmiling-political-hack-trump-lashes-out-at-mitch-mcconnell-after-impeachment-trial-364141">'Unsmiling political hack': Trump lashes out at Mitch McConnell</a>

As per the poll, which was released three days after Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial, 59 per cent of Republicans said they would happily support the former US President to play a prominent role in their Republican Party.

Further, 54 per cent of Republicans said they would like to support Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary election. This number is the same as the amount of Republicans who wanted to show support to the defeated leader back in November. However, the number had taken a dip after the Capitol riot that took place on January 06 and were organised by Trump's supporters.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/republican-accused-of-joining-devils-army-for-voting-to-impeach-donald-trump-364108" hreflang="en">Republican accused of joining 'devil's army' for voting to impeach Donald Trump</a>

Till now, Trump has not given a clear message about whether or not he would be returning for the presidential elections in 2024. However, it was being assumed that his chances of being the favoured candidate would have taken a dip within his party. This poll has shown otherwise.

Surprisingly, after Trump's acquittal, the number of people in the party who think he should play a major role in the Republican party has increased by 18 per cent.

It was also observed that before the trials, more Republicans thought that Trump was personally responsible for the Capitol riots.

Between January 06 and 07, 76 per cent of Republicans thought it was rioters fault and 41 per cent believed Trump was responsible too. However, between February 14 and 15, the figures changed and only 27 per cent of Republicans believed that Trump had a hand in the Capitol riots and 85 per cent of party members blamed the rioters.&nbsp;

While the former reality TV star Donald Trump has faced immense criticism, several allegations and two impeachment trials, turns out he is still the number one choice for the US election 2024.

While the former reality TV star Donald Trump has faced immense criticism, several allegations and two impeachment trials, turns out he is still the number one choice for the US election 2024. A recent poll conducted by Politico-Morning Consult revealed that Trump's popularity within the Republican Party has not decreased even after impeachment trials. Also read| 'Unsmiling political hack': Trump lashes out at Mitch McConnell As per the poll, which was released three days after Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial, 59 per cent of Republicans said they would happily support the former US President to play a prominent role in their Republican Party. Further, 54 per cent of Republicans said they would like to support Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary election. This number is the same as the amount of Republicans who wanted to show support to the defeated leader back in November. However, the number had taken a dip after the Capitol riot that took place on January 06 and were organised by Trump's supporters. Also read| Republican accused of joining 'devil's army' for voting to impeach Donald Trump Till now, Trump has not given a clear message about whether or not he would be returning for the presidential elections in 2024. However, it was being assumed that his chances of being the favoured candidate would have taken a dip within his party. This poll has shown otherwise. Surprisingly, after Trump's acquittal, the number of people in the party who think he should play a major role in the Republican party has increased by 18 per cent. It was also observed that before the trials, more Republicans thought that Trump was personally responsible for the Capitol riots. Between January 06 and 07, 76 per cent of Republicans thought it was rioters fault and 41 per cent believed Trump was responsible too. However, between February 14 and 15, the figures changed and only 27 per cent of Republicans believed that Trump had a hand in the Capitol riots and 85 per cent of party members blamed the rioters.

Donald Trump preferred candidate for 2024 presidential election: Poll

Former President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, determined to remain a force in GOP politics, is gaining new opportunities with a crucial Senate seat unexpectedly coming open in Ohio, an ally announcing for governor of Arkansas, and rising pressure on Republicans in Congress who did not stand with him during this month’s impeachment vote.

The surprise announcement on Monday by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio that he would not seek a third term sparked a political land rush, with top strategists in the state receiving a flood of phone calls from potential candidates testing their viability. One consultant said he had received calls from five would-be candidates by midday.

That opening, along with another statewide contest next year in which Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to face at least one Trump-aligned primary challenger, is likely to make Ohio a central battleground for control of the Republican Party, and an inviting one for Trump, who held on to Ohio in the election while losing three other northern battleground states.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/so-much-else-to-do-chuck-schumer-promises-a-fair-but-quick-impeachment-trial-for-trump-359246" hreflang="en">'So much else to do': Chuck Schumer promises a fair but quick impeachment trial for Trump</a>

Portman’s announcement came hours after Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House press secretary, began her campaign for Arkansas governor. The Republican primary there already includes the state’s lieutenant governor and attorney general, but private polling indicates that Sanders is beginning well ahead, and Trump endorsed her candidacy on Monday night.

Trump has only been out of the presidential office five days and has little in the way of political infrastructure. He has told aides he would like to take a break for several months.

But the former president has remained the party’s strongest fundraiser, with tens of millions in PAC money at his disposal, and he retains an enduring base of Republican support across the country. Perhaps most importantly, he harbors a deep-seated desire to punish those he believes have crossed him and reward those who remain loyal.

So far he has focused primarily on Georgia, where he believes the Republican governor and secretary of state betrayed him by certifying his loss there. Both are up for reelection in 2022. And he took something of a test run over the weekend by getting involved in the leadership fight in Arizona’s Republican Party, after Kelli Ward, the firebrand chairwoman, asked for his help in gaining reelection, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-virus-task-force-adviser-describes-misinformation-and-denial-359174" hreflang="en">Trump’s virus task force adviser describes misinformation and denial</a>

Already there is a movement at the state and local levels to challenge incumbent members of Congress seen as breaking with the former president, starting with the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him earlier this month.

The overwhelming consensus among Ohio Republicans is that a Trump-aligned candidate would be best positioned to win a competitive Senate primary, and no potential candidate has a better claim to Trump’s voters in the state than Rep. Jim Jordan, who was Trump’s chief defender during his first impeachment trial and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the former president’s final days in office.

“Jim is well positioned if in fact he’s ready to take that leap; I’m not sure there’s anybody that would beat him,” said Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state and longtime Portman ally who last month served as an Electoral College voter for Trump. Referring to Trump’s legion of supporters, Blackwell added: “In Ohio, it’s going to be who has the track record to show that their agenda respects the newly realigned party base.”

Trump is now ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where aides are building something that can serve as an office. He’s been golfing several times, and was spotted by people at his club in Florida playing with the brother of former tennis star Anna Kournikova on Sunday.

His advisers have had discussions about whether to get him back on some form of social media platform, although they insist he does not need to be on Twitter or Facebook to raise money, and that his email solicitations continue to work well. On Monday he formally opened the Office of the Former President, to manage his “correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities.’’

As President Joe Biden’s inauguration approached, Trump began telling some allies that he was considering forming a third party if Republicans moved to convict him in the Senate trial. But by Saturday, after his own advisers said it was a mistake, Trump started sending out word that he was moving on from his threat.

“He understands that the best thing for his movement and conservatism is to move forward together, that third parties will lead to dominance by Democrats,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is a close ally of Trump.

Advisers to the president say he has just over $70 million in his PAC, Save America, with few restrictions on what he can do with it. For now, most of his staff is on a government payroll afforded to former presidents for a period of time after they leave office.

Officials are working to mend Trump’s relationship with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the House minority leader, whom Trump called a vulgarity for his House floor speech denouncing the former president’s rally address before the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. A senior Republican said that aides to the two men were trying to arrange a meeting or a call in the coming days. And Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., spoke with McCarthy recently and the two are on good terms, a person briefed on the call said.

Trump would like to seek retribution against House members who voted against him, and he’s been particularly angry with Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Fred Upton of Michigan, advisers said. He will also at some point focus on the governor’s race in Arizona, where Doug Ducey cannot seek reelection; Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection bid in Texas; and the Senate race in North Carolina, as places where he can show strength, the advisers said. (One adviser disputed that Trump would have an interest in the Texas race.)

In Ohio, Gonzalez faces a potential primary challenge from Christina Hagan, a former state legislator whom he defeated in a 2018 primary. Hagan lost in the general election last year to Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, in a neighboring district. She said in an interview Monday that she will decide which, if any, race to enter in 2022 after Ohio redraws its congressional districts; the state is likely to lose one seat and Republicans control all levers of redistricting.

“A lot of people elected what they thought was conservative leadership and now are witnessing somebody cutting against their values,” Hagan said, alluding to Gonzalez’s vote to impeach.

Gonzalez’s office did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Trump’s deepest hostility is reserved for Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, advisers said, and they expect he will expend the most energy trying to damage Kemp’s reelection bid. The governor’s original sin was in choosing Kelly Loeffler over Trump’s favored candidate, Doug Collins, to fill a vacant Senate seat in 2019, but it evolved into something more consuming as Trump repeated his debunked claims of widespread fraud in the state and held Kemp responsible for not doing enough to challenge the election results.

Collins, a hard-line Trump backer, hasn’t decided whether to challenge Kemp or seek the Republican nomination against Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat who defeated Loeffler in a special election and will face voters again in 2022, or if he will choose not to run for anything, a Collins aide said Monday.

Next on Trump’s personal hit list is Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., people close to him said. Cheney was the only member of the House GOP leadership to vote to impeach. It’s unclear whether Trump will target her seat, or simply her leadership post in the House, but advisers said they anticipate he will take opportunities to damage her.

Sarah Longwell, the executive director of the Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump group, said she and her colleagues plan to raise and spend $50 million to defend the 10 pro-impeachment House Republicans in primary contests and attack those who voted to object to the Electoral College results after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. She said the group would aim to defeat Jordan in an Ohio Senate primary if he runs against an establishment-minded Republican.

Jordan’s spokesman did not respond to messages on Monday.

The 2022 map will be the first real test of Trump’s durability in the party. While Sanders is running for governor in Arkansas, rumors that his daughter Ivanka would run for Senate in Florida are unlikely to develop further. And though his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was said to be considering a Senate run in North Carolina, people close to the family say it is less clear what she will do now that Donald Trump lost.

Trump’s advisers are more focused on the looming impeachment trial. He is working closely with Graham, who has argued to his colleagues that Trump’s Senate trial sets a bad precedent.

Graham helped him retain a South Carolina-based lawyer, Butch Bowers, who is also working to fill out a legal team with colleagues from the state, Graham and others said. Bowers is expected to work with a Trump adviser, Jason Miller, on some kind of response operation.

Unlike his first impeachment trial, when the Republican National Committee engaged in a constant defense of the president, including paying for his lawyers, this time it is expected to focus only on rapid response, including calling the Senate trial unconstitutional and a procedural overreach, two people familiar with the committee’s plans said.

Former President Donald Trump, determined to remain a force in GOP politics, is gaining new opportunities with a crucial Senate seat unexpectedly coming open in Ohio, an ally announcing for governor of Arkansas, and rising pressure on Republicans in Congress who did not stand with him during this month’s impeachment vote.

Former President Donald Trump, determined to remain a force in GOP politics, is gaining new opportunities with a crucial Senate seat unexpectedly coming open in Ohio, an ally announcing for governor of Arkansas, and rising pressure on Republicans in Congress who did not stand with him during this month’s impeachment vote. The surprise announcement on Monday by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio that he would not seek a third term sparked a political land rush, with top strategists in the state receiving a flood of phone calls from potential candidates testing their viability. One consultant said he had received calls from five would-be candidates by midday. That opening, along with another statewide contest next year in which Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to face at least one Trump-aligned primary challenger, is likely to make Ohio a central battleground for control of the Republican Party, and an inviting one for Trump, who held on to Ohio in the election while losing three other northern battleground states. Also read| 'So much else to do': Chuck Schumer promises a fair but quick impeachment trial for Trump Portman’s announcement came hours after Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House press secretary, began her campaign for Arkansas governor. The Republican primary there already includes the state’s lieutenant governor and attorney general, but private polling indicates that Sanders is beginning well ahead, and Trump endorsed her candidacy on Monday night. Trump has only been out of the presidential office five days and has little in the way of political infrastructure. He has told aides he would like to take a break for several months. But the former president has remained the party’s strongest fundraiser, with tens of millions in PAC money at his disposal, and he retains an enduring base of Republican support across the country. Perhaps most importantly, he harbors a deep-seated desire to punish those he believes have crossed him and reward those who remain loyal. So far he has focused primarily on Georgia, where he believes the Republican governor and secretary of state betrayed him by certifying his loss there. Both are up for reelection in 2022. And he took something of a test run over the weekend by getting involved in the leadership fight in Arizona’s Republican Party, after Kelli Ward, the firebrand chairwoman, asked for his help in gaining reelection, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Also read| Trump’s virus task force adviser describes misinformation and denial Already there is a movement at the state and local levels to challenge incumbent members of Congress seen as breaking with the former president, starting with the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him earlier this month. The overwhelming consensus among Ohio Republicans is that a Trump-aligned candidate would be best positioned to win a competitive Senate primary, and no potential candidate has a better claim to Trump’s voters in the state than Rep. Jim Jordan, who was Trump’s chief defender during his first impeachment trial and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the former president’s final days in office. “Jim is well positioned if in fact he’s ready to take that leap; I’m not sure there’s anybody that would beat him,” said Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state and longtime Portman ally who last month served as an Electoral College voter for Trump. Referring to Trump’s legion of supporters, Blackwell added: “In Ohio, it’s going to be who has the track record to show that their agenda respects the newly realigned party base.” Trump is now ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where aides are building something that can serve as an office. He’s been golfing several times, and was spotted by people at his club in Florida playing with the brother of former tennis star Anna Kournikova on Sunday. His advisers have had discussions about whether to get him back on some form of social media platform, although they insist he does not need to be on Twitter or Facebook to raise money, and that his email solicitations continue to work well. On Monday he formally opened the Office of the Former President, to manage his “correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities.’’ As President Joe Biden’s inauguration approached, Trump began telling some allies that he was considering forming a third party if Republicans moved to convict him in the Senate trial. But by Saturday, after his own advisers said it was a mistake, Trump started sending out word that he was moving on from his threat. “He understands that the best thing for his movement and conservatism is to move forward together, that third parties will lead to dominance by Democrats,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is a close ally of Trump. Advisers to the president say he has just over $70 million in his PAC, Save America, with few restrictions on what he can do with it. For now, most of his staff is on a government payroll afforded to former presidents for a period of time after they leave office. Officials are working to mend Trump’s relationship with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the House minority leader, whom Trump called a vulgarity for his House floor speech denouncing the former president’s rally address before the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. A senior Republican said that aides to the two men were trying to arrange a meeting or a call in the coming days. And Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., spoke with McCarthy recently and the two are on good terms, a person briefed on the call said. Trump would like to seek retribution against House members who voted against him, and he’s been particularly angry with Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Fred Upton of Michigan, advisers said. He will also at some point focus on the governor’s race in Arizona, where Doug Ducey cannot seek reelection; Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection bid in Texas; and the Senate race in North Carolina, as places where he can show strength, the advisers said. (One adviser disputed that Trump would have an interest in the Texas race.) In Ohio, Gonzalez faces a potential primary challenge from Christina Hagan, a former state legislator whom he defeated in a 2018 primary. Hagan lost in the general election last year to Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, in a neighboring district. She said in an interview Monday that she will decide which, if any, race to enter in 2022 after Ohio redraws its congressional districts; the state is likely to lose one seat and Republicans control all levers of redistricting. “A lot of people elected what they thought was conservative leadership and now are witnessing somebody cutting against their values,” Hagan said, alluding to Gonzalez’s vote to impeach. Gonzalez’s office did not respond to emails seeking comment. Trump’s deepest hostility is reserved for Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, advisers said, and they expect he will expend the most energy trying to damage Kemp’s reelection bid. The governor’s original sin was in choosing Kelly Loeffler over Trump’s favored candidate, Doug Collins, to fill a vacant Senate seat in 2019, but it evolved into something more consuming as Trump repeated his debunked claims of widespread fraud in the state and held Kemp responsible for not doing enough to challenge the election results. Collins, a hard-line Trump backer, hasn’t decided whether to challenge Kemp or seek the Republican nomination against Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat who defeated Loeffler in a special election and will face voters again in 2022, or if he will choose not to run for anything, a Collins aide said Monday. Next on Trump’s personal hit list is Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., people close to him said. Cheney was the only member of the House GOP leadership to vote to impeach. It’s unclear whether Trump will target her seat, or simply her leadership post in the House, but advisers said they anticipate he will take opportunities to damage her. Sarah Longwell, the executive director of the Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump group, said she and her colleagues plan to raise and spend $50 million to defend the 10 pro-impeachment House Republicans in primary contests and attack those who voted to object to the Electoral College results after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. She said the group would aim to defeat Jordan in an Ohio Senate primary if he runs against an establishment-minded Republican. Jordan’s spokesman did not respond to messages on Monday. The 2022 map will be the first real test of Trump’s durability in the party. While Sanders is running for governor in Arkansas, rumors that his daughter Ivanka would run for Senate in Florida are unlikely to develop further. And though his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was said to be considering a Senate run in North Carolina, people close to the family say it is less clear what she will do now that Donald Trump lost. Trump’s advisers are more focused on the looming impeachment trial. He is working closely with Graham, who has argued to his colleagues that Trump’s Senate trial sets a bad precedent. Graham helped him retain a South Carolina-based lawyer, Butch Bowers, who is also working to fill out a legal team with colleagues from the state, Graham and others said. Bowers is expected to work with a Trump adviser, Jason Miller, on some kind of response operation. Unlike his first impeachment trial, when the Republican National Committee engaged in a constant defense of the president, including paying for his lawyers, this time it is expected to focus only on rapid response, including calling the Senate trial unconstitutional and a procedural overreach, two people familiar with the committee’s plans said.

As Trump seeks to remain a political force, new targets emerge

An amusement park in India has come up with a &nbsp;unique and fun way to celebrate Indian-origin US Vice President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris'</a> win in the recently-concluded US election 2020.

Wonderla, a popular amusement park in a Bengaluru, a city in the southern state of Karnataka, has started an exclusive offer for people who share their name with the recently-elected US Vice President.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/the-simpsons-had-predicted-kamala-harris-inaugural-purple-outfit-21-years-ago-heres-proof-358554" hreflang="en">'The Simpsons' had predicted Kamala Harris' inaugural purple outfit 21 years ago. Here's proof</a>

"This Sunday all Kamala's WIN!," the amusement park's Facebook post read.

Any visitor whose name is Kamala will be given free entry into the amusement park in Bengaluru and its other branches in Kochi and Hyderabad.

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This Sunday all Kamala's WIN!&nbsp; Any guest in the name of Kamala will get a free entry to the park on Sunday, 24th Jan...
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In fact, anyone with similar names such as Kamla, Kama and Kamalam can also get free entry in the amusement park. However, no other variations of the name will be allowed to avail the offer.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-indian-family-is-waiting-for-her-to-become-president-358310" hreflang="en">Kamala Harris' Indian family is waiting for her to become president</a>

However, there is a condition. "The offer is available only for the first 100 guests eligible for the offer under each park," the Facebook post clarified.

The offer has also coincided with Girl Child Day, which is being celebrated on January 24&nbsp;in India.

Harris is the first South Asian-origin, African-American woman to become the Vice President of the United States of America. She was sworn in for her post on January 20 in an inauguration ceremony held in Washington.

An amusement park in India has come up with a unique and fun way to celebrate Indian-origin US Vice President Kamala Harris' win in the recently-concluded US election 2020.

An amusement park in India has come up with a unique and fun way to celebrate Indian-origin US Vice President Kamala Harris' win in the recently-concluded US election 2020. Wonderla, a popular amusement park in a Bengaluru, a city in the southern state of Karnataka, has started an exclusive offer for people who share their name with the recently-elected US Vice President. Also read| 'The Simpsons' had predicted Kamala Harris' inaugural purple outfit 21 years ago. Here's proof "This Sunday all Kamala's WIN!," the amusement park's Facebook post read. Any visitor whose name is Kamala will be given free entry into the amusement park in Bengaluru and its other branches in Kochi and Hyderabad. This Sunday all Kamala's WIN! Any guest in the name of Kamala will get a free entry to the park on Sunday, 24th Jan... Posted by Wonderla on Friday, January 22, 2021 × In fact, anyone with similar names such as Kamla, Kama and Kamalam can also get free entry in the amusement park. However, no other variations of the name will be allowed to avail the offer. Also read| Kamala Harris' Indian family is waiting for her to become president However, there is a condition. "The offer is available only for the first 100 guests eligible for the offer under each park," the Facebook post clarified. The offer has also coincided with Girl Child Day, which is being celebrated on January 24 in India. Harris is the first South Asian-origin, African-American woman to become the Vice President of the United States of America. She was sworn in for her post on January 20 in an inauguration ceremony held in Washington.

Bengaluru: Amusement park offers free entry to all 'Kamala' to celebrate Harris' win

The former US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a> lawyer Rudy Giuliani is facing criticism now, more than ever, since his boss and friend completed his term of presidency.

A group of prominent lawyers have now asked the New York's judiciary to suspend Giuliani's law license and has alleged him of making false claims post US election.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-tried-replacing-attorney-general-for-personal-needs-reports-358769">Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports</a>

He has also been alleged of motivating Trump supporters to engage in "trial by combat" after the former President diverted them to riot inside the US Capitol.

The group, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, has also called for an investigation for the past works of the tainted lawyer. He has earlier served as a federal prosecutor and a New York City mayor, before being hired as a personal attorney for Trump.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-tried-replacing-attorney-general-for-personal-needs-reports-358769">Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports</a>

"This complaint is about law, not politics," the group of lawyers claimed in their letter to the attorney grievance committee for the New York supreme court.

The letter has been signed by more than 40 lawyers who are expecting this letter will be taken into consideration by the committee and can have serious consequences for Guiliani. The committee has the power to censure and suspend lawyers, in addition to revoking law licenses.

Giuliani has been the torch-bearer of the recent lawsuits filed against several state governments with the aim of overturning the US election result in which Trump had lost to the new US President<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden"> Joe Biden.</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-ex-president-trumps-impeachment-trial-postponed-to-february-358759">WATCH|</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-ex-president-trumps-impeachment-trial-postponed-to-february-358759/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Dozens of lawsuits were filed, and lost, within a span of nearly a month, by Giuliani's team, following which Biden's historic win against Trump was confirmed.

Trump is now set to appear for his <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-impeachment-trial-put-off-until-early-february-358797">second impeachment trial</a> — which is the first time for any US President — which was set in motion by the US Senate after Trump urged his supporters to march to the US Capitol, resulting in a deadly riot and destruction of federal property.&nbsp;The leaders of the US Senate have now, however, agreed to push back his&nbsp;impeachment trial by two weeks.

He has also been recently alleged of working with a Justice Department lawyer to&nbsp;replace the then-acting US attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen with a candidate of his choice to help him turn out the results of the Georgia state in the recently-concluded US election 2020.

The former US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani is facing criticism now, more than ever, since his boss and friend completed his term of presidency. A group of prominent lawyers have now asked the New York's judiciary to suspend Giuliani's law license and has alleged him of making false claims post US election.

The former US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani is facing criticism now, more than ever, since his boss and friend completed his term of presidency. A group of prominent lawyers have now asked the New York's judiciary to suspend Giuliani's law license and has alleged him of making false claims post US election. Also read| Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports He has also been alleged of motivating Trump supporters to engage in "trial by combat" after the former President diverted them to riot inside the US Capitol. The group, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, has also called for an investigation for the past works of the tainted lawyer. He has earlier served as a federal prosecutor and a New York City mayor, before being hired as a personal attorney for Trump. Also read| Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports "This complaint is about law, not politics," the group of lawyers claimed in their letter to the attorney grievance committee for the New York supreme court. The letter has been signed by more than 40 lawyers who are expecting this letter will be taken into consideration by the committee and can have serious consequences for Guiliani. The committee has the power to censure and suspend lawyers, in addition to revoking law licenses. Giuliani has been the torch-bearer of the recent lawsuits filed against several state governments with the aim of overturning the US election result in which Trump had lost to the new US President Joe Biden. WATCH| Dozens of lawsuits were filed, and lost, within a span of nearly a month, by Giuliani's team, following which Biden's historic win against Trump was confirmed. Trump is now set to appear for his second impeachment trial — which is the first time for any US President — which was set in motion by the US Senate after Trump urged his supporters to march to the US Capitol, resulting in a deadly riot and destruction of federal property. The leaders of the US Senate have now, however, agreed to push back his impeachment trial by two weeks. He has also been recently alleged of working with a Justice Department lawyer to replace the then-acting US attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen with a candidate of his choice to help him turn out the results of the Georgia state in the recently-concluded US election 2020.

Group of lawyers call for suspension of Rudy Giuliani's law license

The former US President and reality TV star, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, has been accused of plotting with a Justice Department lawyer to replace the US attorney general to meet his selfish motives.

Trump, allegedly, wanted to replace the then-acting US attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen with a candidate of his choice to help him turn out the results of the Georgia state in the recently-concluded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US election 2020.</a>

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/over-150-national-guard-troops-for-biden-inauguration-test-positive-for-coronavirus-358691" hreflang="en">Over 150 National Guard troops for Biden inauguration test COVID positive</a>

Jeffrey Clark, the lawyer who provided help to the former President, had been trying to come up with different plans to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the concerned people regarding the election results. The two had been closely working together to replace Rosen with Clark.

The former President wanted to devise a plan to remove Rosen as then then-acting attorney general had refused to cater to the antics of Trump and has denied all baseless accusations of voter fraud.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/inside-us-president-joe-bidens-redecorated-oval-office-358715" hreflang="en">Inside US President Joe Biden's redecorated Oval Office</a>

This piece of news has come at a time when Trump has started his post-White House life with a bump in his professional, social and personal life as he is set to face a Senate trial for "incitement of insurrection" for motivating his supporters to carry out riots in the US Capitol.

His personal life, too, has taken a hit with reports and rumours of his divorce with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-melania-trump-refuses-to-pose-with-donald-trump-after-he-leaves-white-house-twitter-laughs-358514">Melania Trump</a> started surfacing after the former FLOTUS refused to pose with him the day their duties as the First Couple ended.

However, the plan was terminated after the majority of the concerned employees said they would resign if Rosen was removed from his post.

The claim was first made by the US media house, the New York Times.

The former US President and reality TV star, Donald Trump, has been accused of plotting with a Justice Department lawyer to replace the US attorney general to meet his selfish motives.

The former US President and reality TV star, Donald Trump, has been accused of plotting with a Justice Department lawyer to replace the US attorney general to meet his selfish motives. Trump, allegedly, wanted to replace the then-acting US attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen with a candidate of his choice to help him turn out the results of the Georgia state in the recently-concluded US election 2020. Also read| Over 150 National Guard troops for Biden inauguration test COVID positive Jeffrey Clark, the lawyer who provided help to the former President, had been trying to come up with different plans to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the concerned people regarding the election results. The two had been closely working together to replace Rosen with Clark. The former President wanted to devise a plan to remove Rosen as then then-acting attorney general had refused to cater to the antics of Trump and has denied all baseless accusations of voter fraud. Also read| Inside US President Joe Biden's redecorated Oval Office This piece of news has come at a time when Trump has started his post-White House life with a bump in his professional, social and personal life as he is set to face a Senate trial for "incitement of insurrection" for motivating his supporters to carry out riots in the US Capitol. His personal life, too, has taken a hit with reports and rumours of his divorce with Melania Trump started surfacing after the former FLOTUS refused to pose with him the day their duties as the First Couple ended. However, the plan was terminated after the majority of the concerned employees said they would resign if Rosen was removed from his post. The claim was first made by the US media house, the New York Times.

Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports

People protesting against US President Joe Biden's inauguration vandalised a Democratic Party office and other buildings in Oregon on Thursday. The vandalism and violence was seen in Seattle as well. Protesters dressed in black with their faces covered broke windows and a glass door of a Democratic Party of Oregon office in Portland. Video posted on social media showed that the protesters even spray-painted an anarchist symbol over Democratic Party sign.

"We don't want Biden. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres," read a banner they marched under.

Joe Biden was sworn in on Wednesday. In his inaugural speech, Biden urged unity and restoration.

Portland has been the scene of unrest for months, with civil rights, anarchist and anti-fascist protesters scuffling with police and occasionally with right-wing militias and Trump supporters.

The protests began in last summer after George Floyd's death, the Black man who died in Minneapolis in May after police pinned his neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes.

Eight people were arrested in Portland on suspicion of offences including rioting and reckless burning, while two people were arrested in Seattle, one for assault and another for property damage, police said.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-visibly-relieved-china-warms-up-to-joe-biden-congratulates-him-358356">A visibly relieved China warms up to Joe Biden, congratulates him</a>

In their statement, the police said that about 150 protesters scuffled with police on bicycles before heading to Democratic Party office.

In Seattle, police said multiple sites had been vandalized and posted pictures of the damage, including what appeared to be of an Amazon Go store.

(With Reuters inputs)

People protesting against US President Joe Biden's inauguration vandalised a Democratic Party office and other buildings in Oregon on Thursday. The vandalism and violence was seen in Seattle as well.

People protesting against US President Joe Biden's inauguration vandalised a Democratic Party office and other buildings in Oregon on Thursday. The vandalism and violence was seen in Seattle as well. Protesters dressed in black with their faces covered broke windows and a glass door of a Democratic Party of Oregon office in Portland. Video posted on social media showed that the protesters even spray-painted an anarchist symbol over Democratic Party sign. "We don't want Biden. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres," read a banner they marched under. Joe Biden was sworn in on Wednesday. In his inaugural speech, Biden urged unity and restoration. Portland has been the scene of unrest for months, with civil rights, anarchist and anti-fascist protesters scuffling with police and occasionally with right-wing militias and Trump supporters. The protests began in last summer after George Floyd's death, the Black man who died in Minneapolis in May after police pinned his neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes. Eight people were arrested in Portland on suspicion of offences including rioting and reckless burning, while two people were arrested in Seattle, one for assault and another for property damage, police said. Also Read | A visibly relieved China warms up to Joe Biden, congratulates him In their statement, the police said that about 150 protesters scuffled with police on bicycles before heading to Democratic Party office. In Seattle, police said multiple sites had been vandalized and posted pictures of the damage, including what appeared to be of an Amazon Go store. (With Reuters inputs)

Portland: Protesters opposing Biden's inauguration vandalise Democratic Party office

The outgoing US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has issued several pardons in his four years of presidency, especially in the past few months. Now, he is set to issue more than 100 presidential pardons on his last day in the White House, as per reports.

A day before the President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Trump will be making history by issuing nearly 100 presidential pardons.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-is-said-to-have-discussed-pardoning-himself-355373">Trump is said to have discussed pardoning himself</a>

However, the twice-impeached President has decided not to pardon himself, or his family members, as per reports.

Trump had privately had discussions (and debates) with his close aides and family members to decide whether or not he should pardon himself, White House officials told local media.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/rappers-lil-wayne-kodak-black-in-line-for-donald-trumps-pardons-for-these-crimes-355311" hreflang="en">Rappers Lil Wayne, Kodak Black in line for Trump's pardons for these crimes</a>

Administration insiders, however, warned him against such a step and explained how it would be another 'extraordinary' decision taken by him that will attract a lot of criticism.

Following that decision, Trump had a closed-door meeting with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner to churn out a list of people the Trump family wants to pardon. While the meeting ran for the whole day, it was reported that the infamous President was personally involved with details of every single case.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/pamela-anderson-pleads-to-donald-trump-to-pardon-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-before-he-leaves-office-357715">Pamela Anderson pleads to Donald Trump to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange before he leaves office</a>

The list is being described to be extensive, however, his long-time friends and personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, will not get pardoned for attempting to overturn the result of November's election.&nbsp;

His friend-turned-foe Steve Bannon will also not be a part of this list after he was charged with defrauding donators of the controversial US-Mexico border wall.

"Everything is a transaction. He likes pardons because it is unilateral. And he likes doing favours for people he thinks will owe him," a source told the local media house.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has issued several pardons in his four years of presidency, especially in the past few months. Now, he is set to issue more than 100 presidential pardons on his last day in the White House, as per reports.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has issued several pardons in his four years of presidency, especially in the past few months. Now, he is set to issue more than 100 presidential pardons on his last day in the White House, as per reports. A day before the President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Trump will be making history by issuing nearly 100 presidential pardons. Also read| Trump is said to have discussed pardoning himself However, the twice-impeached President has decided not to pardon himself, or his family members, as per reports. Trump had privately had discussions (and debates) with his close aides and family members to decide whether or not he should pardon himself, White House officials told local media. Also read| Rappers Lil Wayne, Kodak Black in line for Trump's pardons for these crimes Administration insiders, however, warned him against such a step and explained how it would be another 'extraordinary' decision taken by him that will attract a lot of criticism. Following that decision, Trump had a closed-door meeting with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner to churn out a list of people the Trump family wants to pardon. While the meeting ran for the whole day, it was reported that the infamous President was personally involved with details of every single case. Also read| Pamela Anderson pleads to Donald Trump to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange before he leaves office The list is being described to be extensive, however, his long-time friends and personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, will not get pardoned for attempting to overturn the result of November's election. His friend-turned-foe Steve Bannon will also not be a part of this list after he was charged with defrauding donators of the controversial US-Mexico border wall. "Everything is a transaction. He likes pardons because it is unilateral. And he likes doing favours for people he thinks will owe him," a source told the local media house.

Donald Trump to issue 100 presidential pardons on last day: Reports

Snapchat on Wednesday said that it had permanently banned US President Donald Trump from the platform. Trump has faced major backlash from social media platforms after his supporters attacked Capitol Building on January 6. Facebook, Twitter and Facebook have already taken action against Trump. Snapchat opeartors felt that Trump may use the platform to cause more unrest.&nbsp;

"Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of president Trump's Snapchat account," Snapchat said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account."

In addition to action from social media platforms, tech giants have already moved to ban other apps that Trump or his supporters may use to communicate.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-impeached-again-becomes-first-us-president-to-suffer-impeachment-twice-356536">Donald Trump impeached again, becomes first US president to suffer impeachment twice</a>

Google and Apple pulled Parler apps from their shops for digital content shops stating that the right-leaning social network was allowing users to promote violence.

Amazon Web Services later ousted Parler from its data-centers, essentially forcing the social network offline due to lack of hosting services.

"I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here," Twitter chief Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet Wednesday.

"After a clear warning we’d take this action, we made a decision with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety both on and off Twitter."

Donald Trump became the first US president to have been impeached twice. On Thursday (January 14) US House of Representatives impeache Trump for "Incitement for insurrection"

(With AFP inputs)

Snapchat on Wednesday said that it had permanently banned US President Donald Trump from the platform. Trump has faced major backlash from social media platforms after his supporters attacked Capitol Building on January 6.

Snapchat on Wednesday said that it had permanently banned US President Donald Trump from the platform. Trump has faced major backlash from social media platforms after his supporters attacked Capitol Building on January 6. Facebook, Twitter and Facebook have already taken action against Trump. Snapchat opeartors felt that Trump may use the platform to cause more unrest. "Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of president Trump's Snapchat account," Snapchat said in response to an AFP inquiry. "In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account." In addition to action from social media platforms, tech giants have already moved to ban other apps that Trump or his supporters may use to communicate. Also Read | Donald Trump impeached again, becomes first US president to suffer impeachment twice Google and Apple pulled Parler apps from their shops for digital content shops stating that the right-leaning social network was allowing users to promote violence. Amazon Web Services later ousted Parler from its data-centers, essentially forcing the social network offline due to lack of hosting services. "I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here," Twitter chief Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet Wednesday. "After a clear warning we’d take this action, we made a decision with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety both on and off Twitter." Donald Trump became the first US president to have been impeached twice. On Thursday (January 14) US House of Representatives impeache Trump for "Incitement for insurrection" (With AFP inputs)

Snapchat bans Donald Trump permanently

As the House prepared to move forward Wednesday with a vote to formally charge President Donald Trump with inciting violence against the government of the United States, a small but growing number of Republicans said they support the effort.

The vote is set to come exactly one week after the U.S. Capitol was breached by an angry mob of Trump loyalists.

In 2019, not a single Republican voted in favor of impeachment. House Republican leaders have said they would not formally lobby members of the party against voting to impeach the president this time, and these are the Republicans who have said that they intend to vote for impeachment.

Rep. John Katko

Katko, of New York, was the first Republican to publicly announce that he would back the impeachment proceedings. A former federal prosecutor, Katko said he looked at the facts of the siege, which began as lawmakers were working to certify the presidential election results.

“It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection — both on social media ahead of Jan. 6, and in his speech that day,” Katko said in a statement. “By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on Jan. 6, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger.”

Not holding the president accountable for his actions would be “a direct threat to the future of our democracy,” he said.

Rep. Liz Cheney

Cheney, of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican, said Tuesday evening that she would vote to impeach, citing the president’s role in an insurrection that caused “death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.”

“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” she said in a statement. “Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger

Kinzinger, of Illinois, a frequent critic of Trump, joined his Republican colleagues on Tuesday evening, saying the nation was in uncharted waters. He said that Trump “encouraged an angry mob to storm the United States Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection,” he said in a statement, adding that if the president’s actions “are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?”

Rep. Fred Upton

Upton, of Michigan, issued a statement saying that he would vote to impeach after Trump “expressed no regrets” for what had happened at the Capitol.

“I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process,” Upton said. “I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden administration. But it is time to say: Enough is Enough.”

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler

Herrera Beutler, of Washington state, said that she would vote to impeach because she believed that the president had acted in violation of his oath of office.

“I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters,” she said. “But I am a Republican voter. I believe in our Constitution, individual liberty, free markets, charity, life, justice, peace and this exceptional country. I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.”

As the House prepared to move forward Wednesday with a vote to formally charge President Donald Trump with inciting violence against the government of the United States, a small but growing number of Republicans said they support the effort.

As the House prepared to move forward Wednesday with a vote to formally charge President Donald Trump with inciting violence against the government of the United States, a small but growing number of Republicans said they support the effort. The vote is set to come exactly one week after the U.S. Capitol was breached by an angry mob of Trump loyalists. In 2019, not a single Republican voted in favor of impeachment. House Republican leaders have said they would not formally lobby members of the party against voting to impeach the president this time, and these are the Republicans who have said that they intend to vote for impeachment. Rep. John Katko Katko, of New York, was the first Republican to publicly announce that he would back the impeachment proceedings. A former federal prosecutor, Katko said he looked at the facts of the siege, which began as lawmakers were working to certify the presidential election results. “It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection — both on social media ahead of Jan. 6, and in his speech that day,” Katko said in a statement. “By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on Jan. 6, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger.” Not holding the president accountable for his actions would be “a direct threat to the future of our democracy,” he said. Rep. Liz Cheney Cheney, of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican, said Tuesday evening that she would vote to impeach, citing the president’s role in an insurrection that caused “death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.” “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” she said in a statement. “Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.” Rep. Adam Kinzinger Kinzinger, of Illinois, a frequent critic of Trump, joined his Republican colleagues on Tuesday evening, saying the nation was in uncharted waters. He said that Trump “encouraged an angry mob to storm the United States Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes.” “There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection,” he said in a statement, adding that if the president’s actions “are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?” Rep. Fred Upton Upton, of Michigan, issued a statement saying that he would vote to impeach after Trump “expressed no regrets” for what had happened at the Capitol. “I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process,” Upton said. “I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden administration. But it is time to say: Enough is Enough.” Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Herrera Beutler, of Washington state, said that she would vote to impeach because she believed that the president had acted in violation of his oath of office. “I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters,” she said. “But I am a Republican voter. I believe in our Constitution, individual liberty, free markets, charity, life, justice, peace and this exceptional country. I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.”

These are the Republicans who say they support impeaching Trump

In the span of four days, President Donald Trump’s family business has lost its online store, the buzz from Trump’s promotional tweets about its luxury resorts and bragging rights as host to one of the world’s most prestigious golf tournaments.

The mob attack on Congress last week by Trump’s supporters has spurred a reckoning for the Trump Organization by businesses and institutions, at a scale far greater than his previous polarizing actions.

And the Trump brand, premised on gold-plated luxury and a super-affluent clientele, may not fully recover from the fallout of his supporters violently storming and vandalizing the U.S. Capitol, hospitality analysts say and some people close to the business acknowledge. Other companies linked with the Trumps, including Deutsche Bank, the president’s largest lender, and Signature Bank, are also seeking distance from him and his business.

The backlash is part of a broader shunning of Trump and his allies unfolding in the wake of the deadly assault on the Capitol. Schools stripped the president of honorary degrees, some prominent Republicans threatened to leave the party and the New York state Bar Association announced it had begun investigating Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, which could lead to his removal from the group.

As House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment Monday, more than a dozen big businesses vowed to withhold certain political donations. Coca-Cola said it would pause donations from its political action committee, saying in a statement that “these events will long be remembered and will factor into our future contribution decisions.” Marriott, the giant hotel chain, said it would pause donations from its political action committee “to those who voted against certification of the election,” a reference to the congressional Republicans who joined Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Morgan Stanley and AT&amp;T said they, too, would suspend contributions to those lawmakers.

The Trump Organization had already been facing considerable financial challenges. Many of its golf and resort properties had been losing money, and the pandemic had forced it to close some restaurants and bars and drastically reduce hotel occupancy, including at its hotel a few blocks from the White House. And with more than $300 million in debt coming due in the next few years that the president has personally guaranteed, there had been some urgency for the company to line up new deals.

While such an array of challenges would spell doom for just about any hospitality brand, executives of the Trump Organization said they planned on cashing in on Trump’s global fame with overseas branding deals.

“There has never been a political figure with more support or energy behind them than my father,” Eric Trump, the president’s son, who helps run the family business, said in a statement Monday.

The family is also already considering starting a media outfit that would cater to Donald Trump’s tens of millions of supporters, an effort that gained some urgency last week when Twitter and Facebook barred the president from their platforms.

“There will be no shortage of incredible opportunities in real estate and beyond,” Eric Trump said.

Before becoming president, Donald Trump had cycled through many lines of business, including casinos, an airline and reality television. Some ventures were wildly successful, while others were colossal failures. But they revealed his ability to camouflage his wares and capitalize on opportunities, even when his name appeared irreparably tarnished.

This time, the challenges are steeper. The fallout began Thursday, when e-commerce provider Shopify said it had terminated online stores affiliated with the president.

The biggest blow came Sunday, when the PGA of America announced it would strip Trump’s New Jersey golf club of a major tournament.

Trump was said to be “gutted” by the PGA decision, according to a person close to the White House, as he had worked personally for years to push the tournament executives to hold events at his courses.

In a statement that hinted at a potential legal challenge, the Trump Organization called the decision “a breach of a binding contract,” adding that “they have no right to terminate the agreement.”

The PGA Championship, scheduled for May 2022, was the ultimate golf-world trophy for the Trump brand, which over the last two decades has assembled an international collection of golf courses and resorts that now collectively represent about a third of the company’s revenue, according to the most recent financial disclosure report.

The tournament itself is not a major source of profit, but hosting an internationally recognized event is enormously valuable for marketing. It also would have bestowed greater legitimacy on Trump and his brand, which includes 16 golf clubs around the world.

“It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand,” Jim Richerson, the PGA of America president, said in a video statement.

The loss associated with the cancellation is difficult to calculate, but it will be very large and last for years, said Jay Karen, chief executive of the National Golf Course Owners Association.

“You have millions of avid golfers who have a proverbial bucket list,” tied to major tournaments like the PGA Championship, he said. “If you had a major coming to you and it was pulled from you, that would certainly sting.”

In an email to members on Monday, the golf club said, “We have had a wonderful partnership with the PGA of America and share your disappointment on their decision.”

The damage is expected to continue as various companies and industries reassess their relationship with Trump and his family business.

Trump’s hotels, like the Trump National Doral near Miami, had already lost many of the major corporate conferences after he made disparaging remarks about Muslims and Mexicans, among others, during his first presidential campaign, and his comments after a deadly rally by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 suggesting that “there is blame on both sides.”

But the fallout from the attacks last week will be steeper and longer lasting, analysts and people familiar with the company said. Some members of the president’s golf clubs are reassessing whether to keep their memberships because of possible protests and vandalism, one of the people said.

David J. Sangree, a hotel industry consultant from Ohio, said that Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol, would further undermine the company’s efforts to appeal to affluent customers who are not Trump supporters.

“This is a big negative,” Sangree said. “There’s no question they’re going to lose more events because many groups are saying, ‘We don’t want to be associated with this brand.’”

That became even clearer Monday night when New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he would refuse the Presidential Medal of Freedom because of the “tragic events of last week.” The president had planned to give Belichick the award Thursday.

Even plans to launch a Trump media platform will face obstacles. If Trump seeks to forge a new conservative news network, or join an existing one like OAN or Newsmax, corporate advertisers are hardly guaranteed to support him.

“There’s only so much that My Pillow guy can subsidize,” said Jon Klein, the former president of CNN U.S., referring to Mike Lindell, the chief executive of My Pillow who is an outspoken supporter of the president. “It’s suddenly a lot more daunting a proposition than it was a week ago for OAN and Newsmax.”

Instead, Trump might find more success in generating a newsletter — embedded with a link to a streaming channel — for millions of paid subscribers, said Klein, who is chairman of TAPP Media, a subscription streaming service. “He has ignited the passions of his tribe and subscription services are all about tribalism.”

After Twitter permanently suspended the president’s account Friday, he suggested he might build his own social media platform, but doing so would likely present daunting logistical and legal challenges. And whatever he seeks to create may require significant resources and possibly loans, which could be in short supply from mainstream sources.

Deutsche Bank, which has been Trump’s primary lender for two decades, has decided not to do business with Trump or his company in the future, according to a person familiar with the bank’s thinking. Trump owes Deutsche Bank more than $300 million, which is due in the next few years.

The bank has concluded that, short of forgiving the debt, it has no way to extricate itself from the Trump relationship before the loans come due.

Another longtime financial partner of the Trumps, Signature Bank, also is cutting ties. The bank — which helped Trump finance his Florida golf course and where Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was once a board member — issued a statement calling on Trump to resign as president “in the best interests of our nation and the American people.”

Susan Turkell, a spokeswoman for the bank, said Signature had decided that it “will not do business in the future with any members of Congress who voted to disregard the Electoral College.” Turkell said that in the wake of the riots the bank began closing Trump’s two personal accounts, which had about $5.3 million.

As his presidency ends, Trump is returning to a far different business than the one he ran when he took office.

Several hotel properties that carried his name have been erased from the portfolio, including ones in New York, Panama and Toronto. Plans for two new budget-friendly hotel lines, once a priority, have been indefinitely shelved. And a product branding windfall, which led Trump to endorse an array of items from steaks to mattresses, has dwindled.

The company also faces a criminal investigation from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is examining whether the president and his company committed any financial or tax crimes in recent years.

Leaving the White House, however, means that Trump will no longer face ethical restrictions like bans on international deals, potentially opening new business possibilities. The company could look for new deals in places where company executives believe Trump remains popular, such as Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Saudi Arabia and India. Trump could also hit the speaking circuit, collecting large payments for each appearance, a company executive said.

And some customers are likely to remain loyal to the existing Trump properties — particularly in red or purple states like Florida and North Carolina — no matter what the president does or says, or how many times he is impeached.

Mickael Damelincourt, the managing director at the Trump hotel in Washington, proclaimed on Twitter on Sunday that “America’s Living Room is ready for you,” as the hotel steakhouse and lobby bar aim to reopen Friday.

In Miami, at Trump National Doral, the bar was busy at happy hour Friday, as was the members-only clubhouse, with customers overheard talking both about golf games and business deals, almost none of them wearing masks.

Marion McCarthy and her husband, Donald, were having drinks there — where they have been members for decades. Dozens of other guests were arriving at the resort for the U.S. Am Tour, which drew more than 100 players, according to one scorecard, which added “Doral Amateur is SOLD OUT!!!!”

“What we are seeing is an overreaction,” Donald McCarthy said. “Once he is out of office, I think he will be able to come down here and play a little more golf.”

In the span of four days, President Donald Trump’s family business has lost its online store, the buzz from Trump’s promotional tweets about its luxury resorts and bragging rights as host to one of the world’s most prestigious golf tournaments.

In the span of four days, President Donald Trump’s family business has lost its online store, the buzz from Trump’s promotional tweets about its luxury resorts and bragging rights as host to one of the world’s most prestigious golf tournaments. The mob attack on Congress last week by Trump’s supporters has spurred a reckoning for the Trump Organization by businesses and institutions, at a scale far greater than his previous polarizing actions. And the Trump brand, premised on gold-plated luxury and a super-affluent clientele, may not fully recover from the fallout of his supporters violently storming and vandalizing the U.S. Capitol, hospitality analysts say and some people close to the business acknowledge. Other companies linked with the Trumps, including Deutsche Bank, the president’s largest lender, and Signature Bank, are also seeking distance from him and his business. The backlash is part of a broader shunning of Trump and his allies unfolding in the wake of the deadly assault on the Capitol. Schools stripped the president of honorary degrees, some prominent Republicans threatened to leave the party and the New York state Bar Association announced it had begun investigating Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, which could lead to his removal from the group. As House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment Monday, more than a dozen big businesses vowed to withhold certain political donations. Coca-Cola said it would pause donations from its political action committee, saying in a statement that “these events will long be remembered and will factor into our future contribution decisions.” Marriott, the giant hotel chain, said it would pause donations from its political action committee “to those who voted against certification of the election,” a reference to the congressional Republicans who joined Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Morgan Stanley and AT&T said they, too, would suspend contributions to those lawmakers. The Trump Organization had already been facing considerable financial challenges. Many of its golf and resort properties had been losing money, and the pandemic had forced it to close some restaurants and bars and drastically reduce hotel occupancy, including at its hotel a few blocks from the White House. And with more than $300 million in debt coming due in the next few years that the president has personally guaranteed, there had been some urgency for the company to line up new deals. While such an array of challenges would spell doom for just about any hospitality brand, executives of the Trump Organization said they planned on cashing in on Trump’s global fame with overseas branding deals. “There has never been a political figure with more support or energy behind them than my father,” Eric Trump, the president’s son, who helps run the family business, said in a statement Monday. The family is also already considering starting a media outfit that would cater to Donald Trump’s tens of millions of supporters, an effort that gained some urgency last week when Twitter and Facebook barred the president from their platforms. “There will be no shortage of incredible opportunities in real estate and beyond,” Eric Trump said. Before becoming president, Donald Trump had cycled through many lines of business, including casinos, an airline and reality television. Some ventures were wildly successful, while others were colossal failures. But they revealed his ability to camouflage his wares and capitalize on opportunities, even when his name appeared irreparably tarnished. This time, the challenges are steeper. The fallout began Thursday, when e-commerce provider Shopify said it had terminated online stores affiliated with the president. The biggest blow came Sunday, when the PGA of America announced it would strip Trump’s New Jersey golf club of a major tournament. Trump was said to be “gutted” by the PGA decision, according to a person close to the White House, as he had worked personally for years to push the tournament executives to hold events at his courses. In a statement that hinted at a potential legal challenge, the Trump Organization called the decision “a breach of a binding contract,” adding that “they have no right to terminate the agreement.” The PGA Championship, scheduled for May 2022, was the ultimate golf-world trophy for the Trump brand, which over the last two decades has assembled an international collection of golf courses and resorts that now collectively represent about a third of the company’s revenue, according to the most recent financial disclosure report. The tournament itself is not a major source of profit, but hosting an internationally recognized event is enormously valuable for marketing. It also would have bestowed greater legitimacy on Trump and his brand, which includes 16 golf clubs around the world. “It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand,” Jim Richerson, the PGA of America president, said in a video statement. The loss associated with the cancellation is difficult to calculate, but it will be very large and last for years, said Jay Karen, chief executive of the National Golf Course Owners Association. “You have millions of avid golfers who have a proverbial bucket list,” tied to major tournaments like the PGA Championship, he said. “If you had a major coming to you and it was pulled from you, that would certainly sting.” In an email to members on Monday, the golf club said, “We have had a wonderful partnership with the PGA of America and share your disappointment on their decision.” The damage is expected to continue as various companies and industries reassess their relationship with Trump and his family business. Trump’s hotels, like the Trump National Doral near Miami, had already lost many of the major corporate conferences after he made disparaging remarks about Muslims and Mexicans, among others, during his first presidential campaign, and his comments after a deadly rally by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 suggesting that “there is blame on both sides.” But the fallout from the attacks last week will be steeper and longer lasting, analysts and people familiar with the company said. Some members of the president’s golf clubs are reassessing whether to keep their memberships because of possible protests and vandalism, one of the people said. David J. Sangree, a hotel industry consultant from Ohio, said that Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol, would further undermine the company’s efforts to appeal to affluent customers who are not Trump supporters. “This is a big negative,” Sangree said. “There’s no question they’re going to lose more events because many groups are saying, ‘We don’t want to be associated with this brand.’” That became even clearer Monday night when New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he would refuse the Presidential Medal of Freedom because of the “tragic events of last week.” The president had planned to give Belichick the award Thursday. Even plans to launch a Trump media platform will face obstacles. If Trump seeks to forge a new conservative news network, or join an existing one like OAN or Newsmax, corporate advertisers are hardly guaranteed to support him. “There’s only so much that My Pillow guy can subsidize,” said Jon Klein, the former president of CNN U.S., referring to Mike Lindell, the chief executive of My Pillow who is an outspoken supporter of the president. “It’s suddenly a lot more daunting a proposition than it was a week ago for OAN and Newsmax.” Instead, Trump might find more success in generating a newsletter — embedded with a link to a streaming channel — for millions of paid subscribers, said Klein, who is chairman of TAPP Media, a subscription streaming service. “He has ignited the passions of his tribe and subscription services are all about tribalism.” After Twitter permanently suspended the president’s account Friday, he suggested he might build his own social media platform, but doing so would likely present daunting logistical and legal challenges. And whatever he seeks to create may require significant resources and possibly loans, which could be in short supply from mainstream sources. Deutsche Bank, which has been Trump’s primary lender for two decades, has decided not to do business with Trump or his company in the future, according to a person familiar with the bank’s thinking. Trump owes Deutsche Bank more than $300 million, which is due in the next few years. The bank has concluded that, short of forgiving the debt, it has no way to extricate itself from the Trump relationship before the loans come due. Another longtime financial partner of the Trumps, Signature Bank, also is cutting ties. The bank — which helped Trump finance his Florida golf course and where Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was once a board member — issued a statement calling on Trump to resign as president “in the best interests of our nation and the American people.” Susan Turkell, a spokeswoman for the bank, said Signature had decided that it “will not do business in the future with any members of Congress who voted to disregard the Electoral College.” Turkell said that in the wake of the riots the bank began closing Trump’s two personal accounts, which had about $5.3 million. As his presidency ends, Trump is returning to a far different business than the one he ran when he took office. Several hotel properties that carried his name have been erased from the portfolio, including ones in New York, Panama and Toronto. Plans for two new budget-friendly hotel lines, once a priority, have been indefinitely shelved. And a product branding windfall, which led Trump to endorse an array of items from steaks to mattresses, has dwindled. The company also faces a criminal investigation from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is examining whether the president and his company committed any financial or tax crimes in recent years. Leaving the White House, however, means that Trump will no longer face ethical restrictions like bans on international deals, potentially opening new business possibilities. The company could look for new deals in places where company executives believe Trump remains popular, such as Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Saudi Arabia and India. Trump could also hit the speaking circuit, collecting large payments for each appearance, a company executive said. And some customers are likely to remain loyal to the existing Trump properties — particularly in red or purple states like Florida and North Carolina — no matter what the president does or says, or how many times he is impeached. Mickael Damelincourt, the managing director at the Trump hotel in Washington, proclaimed on Twitter on Sunday that “America’s Living Room is ready for you,” as the hotel steakhouse and lobby bar aim to reopen Friday. In Miami, at Trump National Doral, the bar was busy at happy hour Friday, as was the members-only clubhouse, with customers overheard talking both about golf games and business deals, almost none of them wearing masks. Marion McCarthy and her husband, Donald, were having drinks there — where they have been members for decades. Dozens of other guests were arriving at the resort for the U.S. Am Tour, which drew more than 100 players, according to one scorecard, which added “Doral Amateur is SOLD OUT!!!!” “What we are seeing is an overreaction,” Donald McCarthy said. “Once he is out of office, I think he will be able to come down here and play a little more golf.”

An urgent reckoning for the Trump brand

After an eventful day in the US, the outgoing President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has now made a comeback on his favourite social media platform Twitter — merely after 12 hours of facing a ban.

Trump was banned from social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook after being accused of promoting and inciting violence through his posts.

However, this time when Trump made a comeback on Twitter condemning the rioters and the protestors who took over the Capitol creating chaos. Trump also, for the first time, openly acknowledged his rival President-elect Joe Biden's win in the recently concluded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US elections 2020</a>.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-condemns-capitol-hill-violence-says-rioters-defiled-seat-of-democracy-355246">Trump condemns Capitol Hill violence, says rioters defiled seat of democracy</a>

"Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and the mayhem. I immediately deploy the national guard and the federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders," he can be heard saying in the video message.

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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1347334804052844550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Finally calling out the rioters, he warned that these people who infiltrated the Capitol are not a true representation of the United States of America and those who broke the law "will pay".

"We have just been through an intense election and emotions are high. But now, tempers must be cooled and calm restored. We must get on with the business of America," he requested the rioters.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/your-story-national-guardsmen-pour-into-dc-to-respond-to-capitol-hill-rioters-355243">WATCH|</a>

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He also sent out a message hinting that he has finally conceded, and requested his supporters to stop rioting and face the truth of his defeat. "My campaign rigorously to contest the election results. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote. In so doing, I was fighting to defend American democracy. I continue to strongly believe that we must reform our election laws to verify the identity and eligibility of all voters and to ensure faith and confidence in future all elections," he admitted.

"<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-us-lawmakers-confirm-bidens-win-after-mayhem-on-us-capitol-355239">Now Congress has certified the results</a>. A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation," he said for the first time, months after the election result&nbsp;was made clear.

He also called on to his supporters to recall the pain and loss they and their fellow citizens have been through in the pandemic year of 2020 and now come together as one nation.&nbsp;

"Serving as your president has been the honour of my lifetime," he said, thanking his supporters for standing by him all through the election drama. "And to all of my wonderful supporters, I know you are disappointed, but I also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning."

After an eventful day in the US, the outgoing President Donald Trump has now made a comeback on his favourite social media platform Twitter — merely after 12 hours of facing a ban.

After an eventful day in the US, the outgoing President Donald Trump has now made a comeback on his favourite social media platform Twitter — merely after 12 hours of facing a ban. Trump was banned from social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook after being accused of promoting and inciting violence through his posts. However, this time when Trump made a comeback on Twitter condemning the rioters and the protestors who took over the Capitol creating chaos. Trump also, for the first time, openly acknowledged his rival President-elect Joe Biden's win in the recently concluded US elections 2020. Also read| Trump condemns Capitol Hill violence, says rioters defiled seat of democracy "Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and the mayhem. I immediately deploy the national guard and the federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders," he can be heard saying in the video message. pic.twitter.com/csX07ZVWGe — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021 × Finally calling out the rioters, he warned that these people who infiltrated the Capitol are not a true representation of the United States of America and those who broke the law "will pay". "We have just been through an intense election and emotions are high. But now, tempers must be cooled and calm restored. We must get on with the business of America," he requested the rioters. WATCH| × He also sent out a message hinting that he has finally conceded, and requested his supporters to stop rioting and face the truth of his defeat. "My campaign rigorously to contest the election results. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote. In so doing, I was fighting to defend American democracy. I continue to strongly believe that we must reform our election laws to verify the identity and eligibility of all voters and to ensure faith and confidence in future all elections," he admitted. "Now Congress has certified the results. A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation," he said for the first time, months after the election result was made clear. He also called on to his supporters to recall the pain and loss they and their fellow citizens have been through in the pandemic year of 2020 and now come together as one nation. "Serving as your president has been the honour of my lifetime," he said, thanking his supporters for standing by him all through the election drama. "And to all of my wonderful supporters, I know you are disappointed, but I also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning."

After various bans, Donald Trump makes a comeback on Twitter

All eyes are now on crucial senate runoff in the United States. Votes are now being counted in Georgia. Result to decide who will control the senate for the next 4 years.

United States: All eyes on senate race, votes are being counted in Georgia

U.S. President Donald Trump has been caught on tape trying to 'rig' elections. Will there be consequences?

Gravitas: Trump caught trying to 'rig' elections

US President-Elect Joe Biden and outgoing President Donald Trump held rival rallies in the state of Georgia to ensure that there are supporters to close the US Senate Elections that would determine the balance of power in Washington.

United States: Joe Biden & Donald Trump hold rival rallies in Georgia state

The outgoing US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election 2020</a>.

Local US media has released an audio tape on Sunday in which Trump can be heard pressurising the Georgia's secretary of state to "find" enough votes for him to overturn his dreaded defeat in the elections against the President-elect Joe Biden.

"There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated (the vote tally)," Trump can be heard saying on the tape. "You're off by hundreds of thousands of votes."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-lambasts-trumps-georgia-phone-call-as-abuse-of-power-354263" hreflang="en">Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power'</a>

Much to Trump's disappointment, the other person present in the room can be geard replying "Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong."

Trump's audio tape also points towards his threats towards&nbsp;Republican Brad Raffensperger, telling him that they face "a big risk" if his state fails to take steps to flip the election result in favour of Trump.

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Trouble has further mounted for <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, as in a new audio recording that has come to light, he can be heard pressurising Georgia's top election officials to help overturn the election result. <a href="https://twitter.com/PriyankaSh25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PriyankaSh25</a> speaks to <a href="https://twitter.com/Jags_Dave?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jags_Dave</a> for more <a href="https://t.co/VsvJcg9h3W">pic.twitter.com/VsvJcg9h3W</a>
— WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1345963166035918849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
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His disappointment and much-desperate attempt of finding votes came as Biden created history by winning the Republican-majority state. "The current margin is only 11,779. Brad, I think you agree with that, right?"&nbsp;Trump says. "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes."

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I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345731043861659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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After the release of the tape, Trump, expectedly, took to Twitter to say that he had a conversation with the Raffensperger who was unwilling to answer questions about voter scam. "I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!," Trump tweeted.

However, the Georgia leader tweeted back denying these accusations. "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out," he said.

The interesting thing to note in this controversy is that even if Georgia would have been successfull in this&nbsp;hypothetical reversal, Biden would have secured the win by&nbsp;a margin of 306 to 232.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded US election 2020.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded US election 2020. Local US media has released an audio tape on Sunday in which Trump can be heard pressurising the Georgia's secretary of state to "find" enough votes for him to overturn his dreaded defeat in the elections against the President-elect Joe Biden. "There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated (the vote tally)," Trump can be heard saying on the tape. "You're off by hundreds of thousands of votes." Also read| Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power' Much to Trump's disappointment, the other person present in the room can be geard replying "Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong." Trump's audio tape also points towards his threats towards Republican Brad Raffensperger, telling him that they face "a big risk" if his state fails to take steps to flip the election result in favour of Trump. Trouble has further mounted for @realDonaldTrump, as in a new audio recording that has come to light, he can be heard pressurising Georgia's top election officials to help overturn the election result. @PriyankaSh25 speaks to @Jags_Dave for more pic.twitter.com/VsvJcg9h3W — WION (@WIONews) January 4, 2021 × His disappointment and much-desperate attempt of finding votes came as Biden created history by winning the Republican-majority state. "The current margin is only 11,779. Brad, I think you agree with that, right?" Trump says. "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes." I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021 × After the release of the tape, Trump, expectedly, took to Twitter to say that he had a conversation with the Raffensperger who was unwilling to answer questions about voter scam. "I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!," Trump tweeted. However, the Georgia leader tweeted back denying these accusations. "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out," he said. The interesting thing to note in this controversy is that even if Georgia would have been successfull in this hypothetical reversal, Biden would have secured the win by a margin of 306 to 232.

Donald Trump's leaked audio tape reveals he wanted to 'find' votes to win US election

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to&nbsp;make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result.

This is being studied as one last and desperate move by the Republican Party, which experts believe will surely lead to another failed attempt.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sets-a-new-record-marks-277000-covid-cases-in-24-hours-354101" hreflang="en">US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours</a>

Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes".

The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session.

This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/be-careful-of-trap-israel-may-provoke-war-with-attacks-on-us-forces-iran-to-trump-354076" hreflang="en">Be careful of trap, Israel may provoke war with attacks on US forces: Iran to Trump</a>

Cruz's legal protest has, predictably, gained support from the defeated US President Donald Trump who took to Twitter, to express his support to Cruz. "An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can't let it happen!," he tweeted.

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An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can’t let it happen! <a href="https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0">https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345508977031974918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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He also tweeted a list of 11 senators and assured, "And after they see the facts, plenty more to come...Our Country will love them for it!".

This opposition has come weeks after the electoral college has ruled in favour of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. This has been labelled as yet another defeat as the House is majorly controlled by the Democrats.&nbsp;

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result.

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result. This is being studied as one last and desperate move by the Republican Party, which experts believe will surely lead to another failed attempt. Also read| US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes". The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session. This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions. Also read| Be careful of trap, Israel may provoke war with attacks on US forces: Iran to Trump Cruz's legal protest has, predictably, gained support from the defeated US President Donald Trump who took to Twitter, to express his support to Cruz. "An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can't let it happen!," he tweeted. An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can’t let it happen! https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2021 × He also tweeted a list of 11 senators and assured, "And after they see the facts, plenty more to come...Our Country will love them for it!". This opposition has come weeks after the electoral college has ruled in favour of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. This has been labelled as yet another defeat as the House is majorly controlled by the Democrats.

Ted Cruz and other US senators plan to oppose Joe Biden's certification

Sixty-one percent of White House appointees are women and 54 per cent are people of colour, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said.

On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris surpassed their goal of naming 100 members of their incoming administration.

These accomplished individuals join a historic and barrier-breaking White House and administration that looks like America, and is ready to deliver results for working families on day one, Biden's transition team said.

The Biden-Harris administration will prioritise diversity of ideology and background, and foster talent to address the nation's most complex challenges, it said.

The White House staff represents a small percentage of the total number of Biden-Harris appointees that will serve across the federal government, said the transition.

"The first 100+ White House appointees, including those announced today, represent America in the following ways: 61 per cent are women, 54 per cent are people of colour, AAPI appointees represent more than twice their share of the national population, LGBTQ+ appointees account for 11 per cent of all White House staff," said the Biden transition.

According to the statistics released by the Biden transition, almost 20 per cent of appointees are first-generation Americans and about 40 per cent of White House senior staff have children at home.

"From the beginning, Vice President-elect Harris and I have sought to build an administration that looks like America. Building a diverse team will lead to better outcomes and more effective solutions to address the urgent crises facing our nation. The appointees named today will draw from their expertise and life experiences to help us build the country back better. Moving forward together, there's nothing we can't accomplish," Biden said.

Harris said to meet unprecedented challenges facing the American people, an administration should be build that reflects the very best of the country.

"These remarkable public servants have the knowledge and expertise to hit the ground running on day one. And I look forward to working with them to get this virus under control, safely and responsibly reopen our economy and our schools, and build back our country in a way that lifts up all Americans," she said.

"The president-elect and vice president-elect have been committed to building a White House team that is filled with crisis-tested experts who will hit the ground running on day one. I am thrilled that we have accomplished our goal of naming 100 staff members by the end of 2020 - and I could not be more proud of the talented and diverse team we will put to work for the American people," said incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.

Sixty-one percent of White House appointees are women and 54 per cent are people of colour, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said. On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris surpassed their goal of naming 100 members of their incoming administration.

Sixty-one percent of White House appointees are women and 54 per cent are people of colour, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said. On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris surpassed their goal of naming 100 members of their incoming administration. These accomplished individuals join a historic and barrier-breaking White House and administration that looks like America, and is ready to deliver results for working families on day one, Biden's transition team said. The Biden-Harris administration will prioritise diversity of ideology and background, and foster talent to address the nation's most complex challenges, it said. The White House staff represents a small percentage of the total number of Biden-Harris appointees that will serve across the federal government, said the transition. "The first 100+ White House appointees, including those announced today, represent America in the following ways: 61 per cent are women, 54 per cent are people of colour, AAPI appointees represent more than twice their share of the national population, LGBTQ+ appointees account for 11 per cent of all White House staff," said the Biden transition. According to the statistics released by the Biden transition, almost 20 per cent of appointees are first-generation Americans and about 40 per cent of White House senior staff have children at home. "From the beginning, Vice President-elect Harris and I have sought to build an administration that looks like America. Building a diverse team will lead to better outcomes and more effective solutions to address the urgent crises facing our nation. The appointees named today will draw from their expertise and life experiences to help us build the country back better. Moving forward together, there's nothing we can't accomplish," Biden said. Harris said to meet unprecedented challenges facing the American people, an administration should be build that reflects the very best of the country. "These remarkable public servants have the knowledge and expertise to hit the ground running on day one. And I look forward to working with them to get this virus under control, safely and responsibly reopen our economy and our schools, and build back our country in a way that lifts up all Americans," she said. "The president-elect and vice president-elect have been committed to building a White House team that is filled with crisis-tested experts who will hit the ground running on day one. I am thrilled that we have accomplished our goal of naming 100 staff members by the end of 2020 - and I could not be more proud of the talented and diverse team we will put to work for the American people," said incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.

In Biden's team for White House, 61% are women, 54% are people of colour

On 5 January, control over the US Senate will be decided by Georgia’s runoff, where the Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue face the Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff respectively in two races.

Georgia's role in senate races; An historic battle for control of the US Senate | US Election 2020

The outgoing US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> might not be allowed to shift back to his beloved&nbsp;Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach, Florida after he shifts out from the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/the-white-house">White House</a> in January.

His neighbours have reminded the Trump family they will not be able to shft back to the golf club according to an agreement signed between him and the town in&nbsp;1993.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irritated-by-loss-trump-hunkers-down-at-the-white-house-and-avoids-talk-of-future-350655">Irritated by loss, Trump hunkers down at the White House and avoids talk of future</a>

As per the agreement, Mar-a-Lago cannot be taken over for personal use of a family as it&nbsp;"is a social club, and no one may reside on the property," the lawyer representing the family said in a letter sent to&nbsp;the town of Palm Beach and the US Secret Service .

"To avoid an embarrassing situation for everyone and to give the president time to make other living arrangements in the area, we trust you will work with his team to remind them of the use agreement parameters," wrote Reginald Stambaugh, the lawyer.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-faces-challenge-as-us-congress-drops-state-aid-to-secure-stimulus-350713" hreflang="en">Biden faces challenge as US Congress drops state aid to secure stimulus</a>

As per several local reports, it has been rumoured that Donald Trump is getting the&nbsp;Sunshine e club ready for his family to move-in. It has also been reported that the former First Lady Melania Trump has started looking schools in Florida best suited for her 14-year-old son Barron Trump.

The club was earlier a private residential estate of an American socialte&nbsp;Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump bought the land in 1985 and decided to sign an agreement with the town in 1993, setting limitations on the days he can stay at the property in a year — which is&nbsp;three nonconsecutive weeks annually —&nbsp;and other regulations put forth to protect the property from being exploited for personal use.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-backs-son-hunter-after-us-tax-probe-revealed-350659" hreflang="en">Joe Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed</a>

Palm Beach lawyer has also offered Trump other estates available in the area. "Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale," his&nbsp;letter read. "Surely he can find one which meets his needs."

The outgoing US President Donald Trump might not be allowed to shift back to his beloved Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach, Florida after he shifts out from the White House in January.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump might not be allowed to shift back to his beloved Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach, Florida after he shifts out from the White House in January. His neighbours have reminded the Trump family they will not be able to shft back to the golf club according to an agreement signed between him and the town in 1993. Also read| Irritated by loss, Trump hunkers down at the White House and avoids talk of future As per the agreement, Mar-a-Lago cannot be taken over for personal use of a family as it "is a social club, and no one may reside on the property," the lawyer representing the family said in a letter sent to the town of Palm Beach and the US Secret Service . "To avoid an embarrassing situation for everyone and to give the president time to make other living arrangements in the area, we trust you will work with his team to remind them of the use agreement parameters," wrote Reginald Stambaugh, the lawyer. Also read| Biden faces challenge as US Congress drops state aid to secure stimulus As per several local reports, it has been rumoured that Donald Trump is getting the Sunshine e club ready for his family to move-in. It has also been reported that the former First Lady Melania Trump has started looking schools in Florida best suited for her 14-year-old son Barron Trump. The club was earlier a private residential estate of an American socialte Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump bought the land in 1985 and decided to sign an agreement with the town in 1993, setting limitations on the days he can stay at the property in a year — which is three nonconsecutive weeks annually — and other regulations put forth to protect the property from being exploited for personal use. Also read| Joe Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed Palm Beach lawyer has also offered Trump other estates available in the area. "Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale," his letter read. "Surely he can find one which meets his needs."

Find another house: Mar-a-Lago neighbours warn Donald Trump

Two days after the Electoral College confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, a Senate committee provided a platform Wednesday for another round of specious legal arguments and falsehoods about widespread voter fraud that have been repeatedly rejected by courts across the country.

The hearing was the latest effort by the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, to amplify the claims and concerns of President Donald Trump. Johnson previously used his committee to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter, and to elevate fringe theories about the coronavirus pandemic.

Though Johnson conceded in his opening remarks that fraudulent voting did not affect the outcome of the election, he said that “lax enforcement, denying effective bipartisan observation of the complete election process, and failure to be fully transparent or conduct reasonable audits has led to heightened suspicion.”

“The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said at one point.

Those claims are false. The Trump campaign has failed to provide evidence in a number of lawsuits that Republican observers were barred from witnessing vote tabulating. Recounts and postelection audits in several battleground states have either concluded and reconfirmed . Biden’s victory, or are underway. There is no evidence that the election was “stolen.”

Witnesses called by Johnson included three men — two lawyers for Trump and a Pennsylvania state representative — who have unsuccessfully sought to overturn election results. They also included Ken Starr, who represented Trump during the impeachment hearing this year.

Even as several witnesses insisted there was proof of widespread fraud — and as their claims were echoed in viral posts on social media — Christopher C. Krebs, the former head of the government’s cybersecurity agency, testified that the election was the most secure in American history.

James Troupis, a lawyer for Trump in Wisconsin, claimed that 200,000 people had voted improperly in the state. He argued that accepting absentee ballots in Dane and Milwaukee counties — two Democratic bastions — before Election Day violated state law, and that those votes should be thrown out.

But the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the case Monday, and a conservative justice said that one of Troupis’ four claims was “meritless” and that time had run out on the other three. Justices also noted during the trial that Troupis was not seeking to throw out ballots in other counties that used the same procedures but that Trump had won.

A Republican member of the state’s elections commission observed this month that the Trump campaign “has not made any claims of fraud in this election” but rather leveled “disputes in matters of law.”

Similarly, Trump’s campaign lawyer in Nevada used the hearing to rehash false claims and arguments rejected by courts in the state. The lawyer, Jesse Binnall, said that the campaign’s experts had identified “130,000 unique instances of voter fraud” in Nevada and that their evidence had “never been refuted, only ignored.”

A district court in Nevada rejected those claims and dismissed the lawsuit this month, and the Nevada Supreme Court upheld that decision last week.

The lower court said that it found “no credible or reliable evidence that the 2020 general election in Nevada was affected by fraud” and that the campaign’s expert testimony “was of little to no value.” Binnall and others on the legal team “did not prove under any standard of proof” their claims about double voting, deceased people voting, and noncitizens and nonresidents voting, the court wrote.

The state’s highest court, in upholding that decision, wrote that it asked the Trump campaign to identify findings from the district court that it took issue with, but “appellants have not pointed to any unsupported factual findings, and we have identified none.”

State Rep. Francis Ryan of Pennsylvania also repeated a number of claims that appeared in Texas’ lawsuit seeking to toss out election results in Pennsylvania and other swing states. The Supreme Court rejected that lawsuit last week.

Ryan said that a data portal initially and erroneously listed 508,112 ballots counted in Philadelphia County despite only 432,873 ballots being issued to voters. He then acknowledged that the 500,000 figure was corrected later.

He also claimed that the state reported that 3.1 million mail-in ballots were sent out, but the number was 2.7 million “the day before the election.” Pennsylvania, in a filing responding to the lawsuit, noted that Ryan’s analysis was “fundamentally faulty” and that the 3.1 million figure included 2.7 million mail-in ballots and 400,000 absentee ballots.

Additionally, Ryan expressed skepticism that more than 1,500 voters reported being more than 100 years old. But that figure includes dozens of instances where a birthday is entered as Jan. 1, 1900, as a placeholder. It is also consistent with reports from the census and the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention on the number of people that age in Pennsylvania and the United States.

Starr separately argued that Pennsylvania “flagrantly violated” state law in expanding mail-in voting. A lawsuit making the same point was rejected by the state’s Supreme Court, which was then upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Johnson and Starr also cited Democratic officials who had previously raised concerns about election security to suggest that Republicans were being unfairly maligned in their efforts to cast light on the issue.

“I don’t recall the media or anyone else accusing these eight congressional Democrats of indulging in, quote, quackery and conspiracy theories, unquote,” Johnson said as he read passages from three letters written by Democratic senators.

Those three letters were about potential foreign efforts to hack election security software and the involvement of private equity firms in companies that make election equipment.

Starr repeatedly referred to a 2005 commission led by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III that issued a “warning” about mail-in ballots.

But Carter urged the expansion of mail-in voting this year and his foundation, the Carter Center, noted that the 2005 report found “there was little evidence of voter fraud” in places with adequate safeguards.

Krebs cited and debunked a number of false conspiracy theories and rumors, including those advanced by Trump and his allies.

The claim about “a CIA supercomputer and program that were flipping votes throughout the country, and in Georgia specifically” — pushed by Sidney Powell, a former lawyer for Trump — is disproved by the paper ballots, he said.

“You can always go back to the receipts. You can check your math, and Georgia did that three times, and the outcomes were consistent over and over and over again,” Krebs said.

Krebs also addressed a false claim, repeated by Trump, of a 68% error rate in vote counting in Antrim County in Michigan. But that, he said, was based on a misinterpretation of the programming language.

“In fact, it was not that there was 68% of the votes that were errors; it was that the election management system’s logs had recorded 68% of the logs themselves had some sort of alert rate,” Krebs said. “The problem is the report itself doesn’t actually specify any of those errors except for one.”

Krebs added: “We have to stop this. It is undermining confidence in democracy.”

Two days after the Electoral College confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, a Senate committee provided a platform Wednesday for another round of specious legal arguments and falsehoods about widespread voter fraud that have been repeatedly rejected by courts across the country.

Two days after the Electoral College confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, a Senate committee provided a platform Wednesday for another round of specious legal arguments and falsehoods about widespread voter fraud that have been repeatedly rejected by courts across the country. The hearing was the latest effort by the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, to amplify the claims and concerns of President Donald Trump. Johnson previously used his committee to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter, and to elevate fringe theories about the coronavirus pandemic. Though Johnson conceded in his opening remarks that fraudulent voting did not affect the outcome of the election, he said that “lax enforcement, denying effective bipartisan observation of the complete election process, and failure to be fully transparent or conduct reasonable audits has led to heightened suspicion.” “The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said at one point. Those claims are false. The Trump campaign has failed to provide evidence in a number of lawsuits that Republican observers were barred from witnessing vote tabulating. Recounts and postelection audits in several battleground states have either concluded and reconfirmed . Biden’s victory, or are underway. There is no evidence that the election was “stolen.” Witnesses called by Johnson included three men — two lawyers for Trump and a Pennsylvania state representative — who have unsuccessfully sought to overturn election results. They also included Ken Starr, who represented Trump during the impeachment hearing this year. Even as several witnesses insisted there was proof of widespread fraud — and as their claims were echoed in viral posts on social media — Christopher C. Krebs, the former head of the government’s cybersecurity agency, testified that the election was the most secure in American history. James Troupis, a lawyer for Trump in Wisconsin, claimed that 200,000 people had voted improperly in the state. He argued that accepting absentee ballots in Dane and Milwaukee counties — two Democratic bastions — before Election Day violated state law, and that those votes should be thrown out. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the case Monday, and a conservative justice said that one of Troupis’ four claims was “meritless” and that time had run out on the other three. Justices also noted during the trial that Troupis was not seeking to throw out ballots in other counties that used the same procedures but that Trump had won. A Republican member of the state’s elections commission observed this month that the Trump campaign “has not made any claims of fraud in this election” but rather leveled “disputes in matters of law.” Similarly, Trump’s campaign lawyer in Nevada used the hearing to rehash false claims and arguments rejected by courts in the state. The lawyer, Jesse Binnall, said that the campaign’s experts had identified “130,000 unique instances of voter fraud” in Nevada and that their evidence had “never been refuted, only ignored.” A district court in Nevada rejected those claims and dismissed the lawsuit this month, and the Nevada Supreme Court upheld that decision last week. The lower court said that it found “no credible or reliable evidence that the 2020 general election in Nevada was affected by fraud” and that the campaign’s expert testimony “was of little to no value.” Binnall and others on the legal team “did not prove under any standard of proof” their claims about double voting, deceased people voting, and noncitizens and nonresidents voting, the court wrote. The state’s highest court, in upholding that decision, wrote that it asked the Trump campaign to identify findings from the district court that it took issue with, but “appellants have not pointed to any unsupported factual findings, and we have identified none.” State Rep. Francis Ryan of Pennsylvania also repeated a number of claims that appeared in Texas’ lawsuit seeking to toss out election results in Pennsylvania and other swing states. The Supreme Court rejected that lawsuit last week. Ryan said that a data portal initially and erroneously listed 508,112 ballots counted in Philadelphia County despite only 432,873 ballots being issued to voters. He then acknowledged that the 500,000 figure was corrected later. He also claimed that the state reported that 3.1 million mail-in ballots were sent out, but the number was 2.7 million “the day before the election.” Pennsylvania, in a filing responding to the lawsuit, noted that Ryan’s analysis was “fundamentally faulty” and that the 3.1 million figure included 2.7 million mail-in ballots and 400,000 absentee ballots. Additionally, Ryan expressed skepticism that more than 1,500 voters reported being more than 100 years old. But that figure includes dozens of instances where a birthday is entered as Jan. 1, 1900, as a placeholder. It is also consistent with reports from the census and the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention on the number of people that age in Pennsylvania and the United States. Starr separately argued that Pennsylvania “flagrantly violated” state law in expanding mail-in voting. A lawsuit making the same point was rejected by the state’s Supreme Court, which was then upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Johnson and Starr also cited Democratic officials who had previously raised concerns about election security to suggest that Republicans were being unfairly maligned in their efforts to cast light on the issue. “I don’t recall the media or anyone else accusing these eight congressional Democrats of indulging in, quote, quackery and conspiracy theories, unquote,” Johnson said as he read passages from three letters written by Democratic senators. Those three letters were about potential foreign efforts to hack election security software and the involvement of private equity firms in companies that make election equipment. Starr repeatedly referred to a 2005 commission led by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III that issued a “warning” about mail-in ballots. But Carter urged the expansion of mail-in voting this year and his foundation, the Carter Center, noted that the 2005 report found “there was little evidence of voter fraud” in places with adequate safeguards. Krebs cited and debunked a number of false conspiracy theories and rumors, including those advanced by Trump and his allies. The claim about “a CIA supercomputer and program that were flipping votes throughout the country, and in Georgia specifically” — pushed by Sidney Powell, a former lawyer for Trump — is disproved by the paper ballots, he said. “You can always go back to the receipts. You can check your math, and Georgia did that three times, and the outcomes were consistent over and over and over again,” Krebs said. Krebs also addressed a false claim, repeated by Trump, of a 68% error rate in vote counting in Antrim County in Michigan. But that, he said, was based on a misinterpretation of the programming language. “In fact, it was not that there was 68% of the votes that were errors; it was that the election management system’s logs had recorded 68% of the logs themselves had some sort of alert rate,” Krebs said. “The problem is the report itself doesn’t actually specify any of those errors except for one.” Krebs added: “We have to stop this. It is undermining confidence in democracy.”

Senate Committee continues false claims of fraud

United States' President Elect Joe Biden has announced his former rival Pete Buttigieg as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. This made Buttigieg the first of Biden's democratic rivals to play a role in his cabinet for the presidency.

U.S. President elect Joe Biden chooses Pete Buttigieg as U.S. Secretary of Transportation

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India govt releases detailed guidelines for mass vaccination drive against COVID-19

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Morning news brief: Immunity from vaccine, Uighur forced labour and more

President-elect Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump on Monday with his strongest criticism since the election, saying the Republican and his allies defied the constitution and the "will of the people" in not accepting the results.

"It's a position so extreme we've never seen it before. A position that refused to respect the will of the people refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honour our constitution," Biden said in a speech after the Electoral College formally confirmed his victory.

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Biden was referring to a Republican lawsuit, supported by Trump, that sought to overturn Biden's wins in several key states, but which was rejected by the Supreme Court last Friday.

Biden praised voters for turning out in record numbers despite fears of Covid-19 and "enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence" against those running the elections.

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/misogynistic-op-ed-urging-incoming-first-lady-jill-biden-to-drop-dr-stirs-a-furore-on-social-media-349673">&nbsp;'Misogynistic' op-ed urging incoming First Lady Jill Biden to drop 'Dr.' stirs a furore on social media</a>

"The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that," Biden said.

"It is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election," Biden said, calling the harassment of officials "unconscionable."

Biden said that Trump has had full opportunity to contest the results in court and "in every case no cause or evidence was found to reverse or question or dispute."

Biden lashed out at the Republican Party for standing behind Trump's evidence-free claims of mass fraud. But he said the Supreme Court last week sent "a clear signal."

Following the Electoral College vote, Biden said, "It’s time to turn the page."

"I'm convinced we can work together for the good of the nation," he said.

President-elect Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump on Monday with his strongest criticism since the election, saying the Republican and his allies defied the constitution and the "will of the people" in not accepting the results.

President-elect Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump on Monday with his strongest criticism since the election, saying the Republican and his allies defied the constitution and the "will of the people" in not accepting the results. "It's a position so extreme we've never seen it before. A position that refused to respect the will of the people refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honour our constitution," Biden said in a speech after the Electoral College formally confirmed his victory. Also read: Trump vows to reject defense bill passed by veto-proof majority Biden was referring to a Republican lawsuit, supported by Trump, that sought to overturn Biden's wins in several key states, but which was rejected by the Supreme Court last Friday. Biden praised voters for turning out in record numbers despite fears of Covid-19 and "enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence" against those running the elections. Also read| 'Misogynistic' op-ed urging incoming First Lady Jill Biden to drop 'Dr.' stirs a furore on social media "The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that," Biden said. "It is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election," Biden said, calling the harassment of officials "unconscionable." Biden said that Trump has had full opportunity to contest the results in court and "in every case no cause or evidence was found to reverse or question or dispute." Biden lashed out at the Republican Party for standing behind Trump's evidence-free claims of mass fraud. But he said the Supreme Court last week sent "a clear signal." Following the Electoral College vote, Biden said, "It’s time to turn the page." "I'm convinced we can work together for the good of the nation," he said.

Donald Trump ‘refused to respect the will of the people’, says Joe Biden 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally congratulated Joe Biden for victory in US Election 2020. Putin's message came after electoral college confirmed Biden's win.

Russian President Vladimir Putin finally congratulates Joe Biden for victory in US Election 2020

Joe Biden's march to the White House -- overshadowed by President Donald Trump's frantic attempts to overturn the US election -- is to be formalized Monday when the Electoral College meets to confirm the Democrat's win.

Electors in all 50 states were meeting to cast their votes in a tradition that has long been considered mostly a formality for confirming the will of the people expressed at the polls.

But this year the somewhat arcane procedure is at the center of an unprecedented -- and many warn dangerous -- challenge to the credibility of US democracy led by Trump.

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Soundly beaten by Biden on November 3, Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that he was the real winner. Court after court has turned down his team's claims of election fraud around the country and last Friday the Supreme Court dealt a final legal blow when it threw out an appeal lodged by Trump allies from Texas and other Republican-led states.

Based on the already legally certified state-by-state vote tallies, the Electoral College representatives are expected to vote by 306 to 232 in favor of Biden over Trump -- a process expected to take much of Monday.

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This will draw a thick line under a contest that saw Biden make Trump a rare one-term president after campaigning on a message of vanquishing the Covid-19 pandemic, healing bitter political division and restoring traditional US diplomacy on the world stage.

Biden, who has largely avoided responding to Trump's conspiracy theories, announced he would deliver an address in the evening dedicated to "the strength and resilience" of US democracy.

Disinformation

Until now, a majority of Republicans in Congress have either backed Trump's claims or at least turned a blind eye, with many refusing to call Biden the president-elect.

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/misogynistic-op-ed-urging-incoming-first-lady-jill-biden-to-drop-dr-stirs-a-furore-on-social-media-349673">&nbsp;'Misogynistic' op-ed urging incoming First Lady Jill Biden to drop 'Dr.' stirs a furore on social media</a>

Disinformation spearheaded by the president and spread by popular commentators on Fox News and new conspiracy theory-mongering outlets like Newsmax means that many Americans have all but given up faith in their own institutions.

Polls show that as few as one in four Republican voters accept the election results.

Thousands of Trump supporters, including members of far-right groups, protested in Washington at the weekend, fighting with counter-protesters. The threat of violence required that extraordinary security measures be established for the Electoral College meetings in several states, including Arizona and Michigan, The New York Times reported.

Also read|&nbsp;Trump rescinds plan for White House staff to be quickly vaccinated

Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, a senior Trump advisor, told Fox News on Monday that an "alternate slate of electors" had been created to send its own results to Congress.

"We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election," Miller said, without explaining the idea of a shadow Electoral College.

Trump was also still at it on Monday, tweeting more accusations with no basis in reality.

"Swing States that have found massive VOTER FRAUD, which is all of them, CANNOT LEGALLY CERTIFY these votes as complete &amp; correct without committing a severely punishable crime," he said.

The legal Electoral College vote, however, will leave the Trump train almost no place left to go.

Only one big formality remains before Biden's inauguration on January 20, when Congress, presided over by Vice President Mike Pence, opens up and counts the electoral votes on January 6.

Despite rumblings that Trump allies may seek to turn this largely ceremonial event into another battlefront against the election results, it seems clear that support for continued theatrics is steadily ebbing.

In the latest sign of a shifting tide, the staunchly Trump-supporting editorial board of The Wall Street Journal told Trump on Monday that his time is up.

"President Trump's legal challenges have run their course, and he and the rest of the Republican Party can help the country and themselves by acknowledging the result and moving on," the editorial said.

No one expects Trump to refuse to leave the White House. However, there is no indication he will ever agree to concede, let alone bow to tradition by inviting Biden to the White House for a friendly chat.

Asked on Fox News this weekend whether he would even attend Biden's inauguration, Trump answered: "I don't want to talk about that."

Joe Biden's march to the White House -- overshadowed by President Donald Trump's frantic attempts to overturn the US election -- is to be formalized Monday when the Electoral College meets to confirm the Democrat's win.

Joe Biden's march to the White House -- overshadowed by President Donald Trump's frantic attempts to overturn the US election -- is to be formalized Monday when the Electoral College meets to confirm the Democrat's win. Electors in all 50 states were meeting to cast their votes in a tradition that has long been considered mostly a formality for confirming the will of the people expressed at the polls. But this year the somewhat arcane procedure is at the center of an unprecedented -- and many warn dangerous -- challenge to the credibility of US democracy led by Trump. Also read| Trump, Pence among top US officials to be offered COVID-19 vaccine on priority: Report Soundly beaten by Biden on November 3, Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that he was the real winner. Court after court has turned down his team's claims of election fraud around the country and last Friday the Supreme Court dealt a final legal blow when it threw out an appeal lodged by Trump allies from Texas and other Republican-led states. Based on the already legally certified state-by-state vote tallies, the Electoral College representatives are expected to vote by 306 to 232 in favor of Biden over Trump -- a process expected to take much of Monday. Also read: Trump vows to reject defense bill passed by veto-proof majority This will draw a thick line under a contest that saw Biden make Trump a rare one-term president after campaigning on a message of vanquishing the Covid-19 pandemic, healing bitter political division and restoring traditional US diplomacy on the world stage. Biden, who has largely avoided responding to Trump's conspiracy theories, announced he would deliver an address in the evening dedicated to "the strength and resilience" of US democracy. Disinformation Until now, a majority of Republicans in Congress have either backed Trump's claims or at least turned a blind eye, with many refusing to call Biden the president-elect. Also read| 'Misogynistic' op-ed urging incoming First Lady Jill Biden to drop 'Dr.' stirs a furore on social media Disinformation spearheaded by the president and spread by popular commentators on Fox News and new conspiracy theory-mongering outlets like Newsmax means that many Americans have all but given up faith in their own institutions. Polls show that as few as one in four Republican voters accept the election results. Thousands of Trump supporters, including members of far-right groups, protested in Washington at the weekend, fighting with counter-protesters. The threat of violence required that extraordinary security measures be established for the Electoral College meetings in several states, including Arizona and Michigan, The New York Times reported. Also read| Trump rescinds plan for White House staff to be quickly vaccinated Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, a senior Trump advisor, told Fox News on Monday that an "alternate slate of electors" had been created to send its own results to Congress. "We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election," Miller said, without explaining the idea of a shadow Electoral College. Trump was also still at it on Monday, tweeting more accusations with no basis in reality. "Swing States that have found massive VOTER FRAUD, which is all of them, CANNOT LEGALLY CERTIFY these votes as complete & correct without committing a severely punishable crime," he said. The legal Electoral College vote, however, will leave the Trump train almost no place left to go. Only one big formality remains before Biden's inauguration on January 20, when Congress, presided over by Vice President Mike Pence, opens up and counts the electoral votes on January 6. Despite rumblings that Trump allies may seek to turn this largely ceremonial event into another battlefront against the election results, it seems clear that support for continued theatrics is steadily ebbing. In the latest sign of a shifting tide, the staunchly Trump-supporting editorial board of The Wall Street Journal told Trump on Monday that his time is up. "President Trump's legal challenges have run their course, and he and the rest of the Republican Party can help the country and themselves by acknowledging the result and moving on," the editorial said. No one expects Trump to refuse to leave the White House. However, there is no indication he will ever agree to concede, let alone bow to tradition by inviting Biden to the White House for a friendly chat. Asked on Fox News this weekend whether he would even attend Biden's inauguration, Trump answered: "I don't want to talk about that."

US Electoral College to formalize Joe Biden's win

While drafting the constitution, America's founders struggled with how the new nation should choose its leader and ultimately created the electoral college system.

WION Fineprint: What happens when the U.S. electoral college meets?

The Supreme Court repudiation of President Donald Trump’s desperate bid for a second term not only shredded his effort to overturn the will of voters: It also was a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders in Congress and the states that were willing to damage American democracy by embracing a partisan power grab over a free and fair election.

The court’s decision on Friday night, an inflection point after weeks of legal flailing by Trump and ahead of the Electoral College vote for President-elect Joe Biden on Monday, leaves the president’s party in an extraordinary position. Through their explicit endorsements or complicity of silence, much of the GOP leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation’s founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-supreme-court-dismisses-trumps-bid-to-overturn-election-result-349183" hreflang="en">US Supreme Court dismisses Trump's bid to overturn election result</a>

Many regular Republicans supported this effort, too — a sign that Trump has not just bent the party to his will, but pressed a mainstay of American politics for nearly two centuries into the service of overturning an election outcome and assaulting public faith in the electoral system. The GOP sought to undo the vote by such spurious means that the Supreme Court quickly rejected the argument.

Even some Republican leaders delivered a withering assessment of the 126 GOP House members and 18 attorneys general who chose to side with Trump over the democratic process, by backing a lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to throw out some 20 million votes in four key states that cemented the president’s loss.

“The act itself by the 126 members of the United States House of Representatives, is an affront to the country,” said Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. “It’s an offense to the Constitution and it leaves an indelible stain that will be hard for these 126 members to wipe off their political skin for a long time to come.”

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/five-reasons-why-donald-trump-should-not-be-considered-as-a-useless-president-349181" hreflang="en">Five reasons why Donald Trump should not be considered as a useless president</a>

Speaking on CNN on Friday, Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican, said, “What happened with the Supreme Court, that’s kind of it, where they’ve kind of exhausted all the legal challenges; we’ve got to move on.” It was time, he said, for Congress to “actually do something for the American people, surrounding the vaccines, surrounding COVID.”

With direct buy-in from senior officials like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the president’s effort required the party to promote false theory upon unsubstantiated claim upon outright lie about unproved, widespread fraud — in an election that Republican and Democratic election officials agreed was notably smooth given the challenges of the pandemic.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-17-states-back-texas-bid-to-overturn-us-election-result-at-supreme-court-348692" hreflang="en">Trump, 17 states back Texas bid to overturn US election result at Supreme Court</a>

And it meant that Republican leaders now stand for a new notion: that the final decisions of voters can be challenged without a basis in fact if the results are not to the liking of the losing side, running counter to decades of work by the United States to convince developing nations that peaceful transfers of power are key to any freely elected government’s credibility.

“From a global perspective this certainly looks like many of the cases we’ve seen around the world where an incumbent tries to hold onto power," said Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy abroad with support from both parties.

Following the court decision, one of the 126 House Republicans who backed the lawsuit, Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, said that the court’s decision meant the end of Trump’s efforts and “closed the books on challenges to the 2020 election results.”

Democrats took heart in the court’s decision in the case filed by the Republican attorney general of Texas, one of several dozen that judges have soundly rejected on legal or factual bases, even if more lawsuits are certain to come ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“Our democracy has withstood Donald Trump for four years,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, which oversees election law. “It can withstand these baseless lawsuits for four more weeks.”

But civil rights attorneys saw the potential for long-lasting damage outside of the legal realm where the Republican efforts — and the lie that Biden’s win was the result of widespread fraud — have so definitively failed.

Republican state legislators across the country are already contemplating new laws to make voting harder, as they continue to falsely portray the expansion and ease of mail-in voting during the pandemic as nefarious. Many of them view this year’s expanded voting ranks as bad for their party, despite Republican successes further down the ballot. Their consideration of new voting restrictions amounts to an ongoing attack on the integrity of the voting system, involving still more false and debunked claims.

“There is an anti-democratic virus that has spread in mainstream Republicanism, among mainstream Republican elected officials,” said Dale Ho, director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU. “And that loss of faith in the machinery of democracy is a much bigger problem than any individual lawsuit.”

Indeed, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Texas Republican Party effectively called for secession by red states whose attorneys general joined in the Texas suit.

“Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the Constitution,” a statement from its chairman, Allen West, read. It followed an observation Rush Limbaugh made earlier in the week, when he said, “I actually think that we’re trending toward secession.”

The talk of secession came during a week in which election officials across the country, from both political parties, said they had become the subjects of menacing threats of violence, including to family members, for standing by Biden’s victory.

A website of unknown provenance that caught the attention of law enforcement appeared to promote a hit list of mostly Republican officials who had resisted Trump’s demands to overturn an election he lost, listing their personal information and imposing red cross hairs over their pictures.

Trump made it clear that the Supreme Court decision would not slow a post-campaign campaign, the futility of which has dampened neither its ferocity nor its pertinacity. On Twitter, Trump on Saturday called it a “disgraceful miscarriage of justice” and wrote “WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!”

Hours before the court made its decision public the Trump campaign released two ads repeating debunked allegations, indicating it would continue to pressure elected Republican officials to somehow reverse Trump’s political fate. “Demand an honest election and an honest count, contact your legislators today,” one ad exhorted. (The campaign claimed that the ads would begin airing on cable television on Saturday morning, but at least one ad tracking firm said they had not seen any reservations made as of Friday night.)

The Supreme Court repudiation of President Donald Trump’s desperate bid for a second term not only shredded his effort to overturn the will of voters: It also was a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders in Congress and the states that were willing to damage American democracy by embracing a partisan power grab over a free and fair election.

The Supreme Court repudiation of President Donald Trump’s desperate bid for a second term not only shredded his effort to overturn the will of voters: It also was a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders in Congress and the states that were willing to damage American democracy by embracing a partisan power grab over a free and fair election. The court’s decision on Friday night, an inflection point after weeks of legal flailing by Trump and ahead of the Electoral College vote for President-elect Joe Biden on Monday, leaves the president’s party in an extraordinary position. Through their explicit endorsements or complicity of silence, much of the GOP leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation’s founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November. Also read| US Supreme Court dismisses Trump's bid to overturn election result Many regular Republicans supported this effort, too — a sign that Trump has not just bent the party to his will, but pressed a mainstay of American politics for nearly two centuries into the service of overturning an election outcome and assaulting public faith in the electoral system. The GOP sought to undo the vote by such spurious means that the Supreme Court quickly rejected the argument. Even some Republican leaders delivered a withering assessment of the 126 GOP House members and 18 attorneys general who chose to side with Trump over the democratic process, by backing a lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to throw out some 20 million votes in four key states that cemented the president’s loss. “The act itself by the 126 members of the United States House of Representatives, is an affront to the country,” said Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. “It’s an offense to the Constitution and it leaves an indelible stain that will be hard for these 126 members to wipe off their political skin for a long time to come.” Also read| Five reasons why Donald Trump should not be considered as a useless president Speaking on CNN on Friday, Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican, said, “What happened with the Supreme Court, that’s kind of it, where they’ve kind of exhausted all the legal challenges; we’ve got to move on.” It was time, he said, for Congress to “actually do something for the American people, surrounding the vaccines, surrounding COVID.” With direct buy-in from senior officials like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the president’s effort required the party to promote false theory upon unsubstantiated claim upon outright lie about unproved, widespread fraud — in an election that Republican and Democratic election officials agreed was notably smooth given the challenges of the pandemic. Also read| Trump, 17 states back Texas bid to overturn US election result at Supreme Court And it meant that Republican leaders now stand for a new notion: that the final decisions of voters can be challenged without a basis in fact if the results are not to the liking of the losing side, running counter to decades of work by the United States to convince developing nations that peaceful transfers of power are key to any freely elected government’s credibility. “From a global perspective this certainly looks like many of the cases we’ve seen around the world where an incumbent tries to hold onto power," said Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy abroad with support from both parties. Following the court decision, one of the 126 House Republicans who backed the lawsuit, Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, said that the court’s decision meant the end of Trump’s efforts and “closed the books on challenges to the 2020 election results.” Democrats took heart in the court’s decision in the case filed by the Republican attorney general of Texas, one of several dozen that judges have soundly rejected on legal or factual bases, even if more lawsuits are certain to come ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “Our democracy has withstood Donald Trump for four years,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, which oversees election law. “It can withstand these baseless lawsuits for four more weeks.” But civil rights attorneys saw the potential for long-lasting damage outside of the legal realm where the Republican efforts — and the lie that Biden’s win was the result of widespread fraud — have so definitively failed. Republican state legislators across the country are already contemplating new laws to make voting harder, as they continue to falsely portray the expansion and ease of mail-in voting during the pandemic as nefarious. Many of them view this year’s expanded voting ranks as bad for their party, despite Republican successes further down the ballot. Their consideration of new voting restrictions amounts to an ongoing attack on the integrity of the voting system, involving still more false and debunked claims. “There is an anti-democratic virus that has spread in mainstream Republicanism, among mainstream Republican elected officials,” said Dale Ho, director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU. “And that loss of faith in the machinery of democracy is a much bigger problem than any individual lawsuit.” Indeed, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Texas Republican Party effectively called for secession by red states whose attorneys general joined in the Texas suit. “Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the Constitution,” a statement from its chairman, Allen West, read. It followed an observation Rush Limbaugh made earlier in the week, when he said, “I actually think that we’re trending toward secession.” The talk of secession came during a week in which election officials across the country, from both political parties, said they had become the subjects of menacing threats of violence, including to family members, for standing by Biden’s victory. A website of unknown provenance that caught the attention of law enforcement appeared to promote a hit list of mostly Republican officials who had resisted Trump’s demands to overturn an election he lost, listing their personal information and imposing red cross hairs over their pictures. Trump made it clear that the Supreme Court decision would not slow a post-campaign campaign, the futility of which has dampened neither its ferocity nor its pertinacity. On Twitter, Trump on Saturday called it a “disgraceful miscarriage of justice” and wrote “WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!” Hours before the court made its decision public the Trump campaign released two ads repeating debunked allegations, indicating it would continue to pressure elected Republican officials to somehow reverse Trump’s political fate. “Demand an honest election and an honest count, contact your legislators today,” one ad exhorted. (The campaign claimed that the ads would begin airing on cable television on Saturday morning, but at least one ad tracking firm said they had not seen any reservations made as of Friday night.)

‘An indelible stain’: How the GOP tried to topple a pillar of democracy

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> on Sunday repeated his pledge to veto a sweeping defense budget bill, which US lawmakers passed by margins that would allow them to override the president's rejection.

With just weeks remaining in the White House, Trump has criticized the $740.5 billion measure in part because it does not abolish a law granting social media firms liability protection for third-party content on their platforms.

Trump has said social media giants like Facebook and Google are biased against him.

He has also voiced disapproval of the bill's language calling for renaming US military bases that honor commanders from the pro-slavery South in the Civil War.

In a short, all-caps Twitter message, Trump said, "The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China. I will veto!"

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
THE BIGGEST WINNER OF OUR NEW DEFENSE BILL IS CHINA!. I WILL VETO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1338149139205550086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The legislation was approved with well beyond the two-thirds "super-majority" needed to overcome a veto: 84-13 in the Republican-led Senate, and 335-78 in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Presuming Trump follows through on his pledge, the legislation would be sent back to Congress where lawmakers would have to approve it by a two-thirds majority to override the president.

The defense bill was a particular priority for some Republicans.

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Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called it "the most important bill of the year."&nbsp;

The bill also mandates that the president slap sanctions on Turkey within 30 days for its acquisition of a Russian-made missile defense system. Trump has resisted such punishments against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his pledge to veto a sweeping defense budget bill, which US lawmakers passed by margins that would allow them to override the president's rejection.

Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his pledge to veto a sweeping defense budget bill, which US lawmakers passed by margins that would allow them to override the president's rejection. With just weeks remaining in the White House, Trump has criticized the $740.5 billion measure in part because it does not abolish a law granting social media firms liability protection for third-party content on their platforms. Trump has said social media giants like Facebook and Google are biased against him. He has also voiced disapproval of the bill's language calling for renaming US military bases that honor commanders from the pro-slavery South in the Civil War. In a short, all-caps Twitter message, Trump said, "The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China. I will veto!" THE BIGGEST WINNER OF OUR NEW DEFENSE BILL IS CHINA!. I WILL VETO! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2020 × The legislation was approved with well beyond the two-thirds "super-majority" needed to overcome a veto: 84-13 in the Republican-led Senate, and 335-78 in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Presuming Trump follows through on his pledge, the legislation would be sent back to Congress where lawmakers would have to approve it by a two-thirds majority to override the president. The defense bill was a particular priority for some Republicans. × Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called it "the most important bill of the year." The bill also mandates that the president slap sanctions on Turkey within 30 days for its acquisition of a Russian-made missile defense system. Trump has resisted such punishments against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Trump vows to reject defense bill passed by veto-proof majority

Ahead of electoral college vote, thousands of supporters of U.S President Donald Trump gathered in Washington DC to denounced the results of November 3rd election. Trumps supporters take to streets and chanted 'Four more years' and waving flags &chanting Trumps name.

Nationwide march in support of Donald Trump's Poll claims

Donald Trump's supporters take to streets for another 'Million MAGA March'

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