Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of long-time confidant and political ally Roger Stone, with a White House statement claiming he "is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency".
The outspoken Republican consultant had been due to start 40 months behind bars on Tuesday for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering - charges linked to an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US political process.
Meanwhile cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus have continued to surge across the US, with a Reuters tally saying the figure had risen by 69,000 on Friday - setting a record for the third consecutive day. Among the states hit by a rise in numbers has been Florida, where the Walt Disney company intends reopen its flagship theme park.
And the president has said his doctors were “very surprised” when he “aced” a cognitive test. “I took it at Walter Reed Medical Centre in front of doctors and they were very surprised. They said, ‘That’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anyone do what you just did.’”, he said, without adding further context to the statement
Trump forced states into 'sick Hunger Games' to get coronavirus equipment, Illinois governor says
‘Let me be clear, this is not a reality TV show. There are real things that are happening in the United States’Back at the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Per the pool report:
Motorcade arrived back at the White House at 2:52pm and POTUS entered a few moments later.
The president is scheduled to leave for Walter Reed at 5pm The main pool is traveling separately, so a supplemental pool will be handling the departure.
Fatalities in South and West driving feared increase in US coronavirus deaths as daily average increases by 86 in two weeks
Hospitals in many states are reporting intensive care units at near capacityPer the pool report:
A mix of roughly 20 supporters and protesters gathered outside the entrance to the golf club to greet the motorcade. The scene was quite spirited while pool waited for the president to depart.
One supporter was particularly animated, repeatedly clapping and chanting “keep America great” and “four more years.”
Protesters at one point chanted “136,000 dead, bounties on our soldiers’ heads.”
There were a few new signs added to the mix. One read “I beg your pardon I want you out of the Rose Garden.” Another banner said “Putin’s Apprentice.” One sign said “130K deaths.”
A Jeep drove by with an American flag and a Trump 2020 flag. It made several loops up and down the road outside the property, slowing down each time it passed.
Law enforcement walked over just before the motorcade left to ask the demonstrators to back up from the road slightly. The group complied without issue.
Fact Check
TRUMP: “Deaths in the US are way down.” — tweet from Monday, one of at least a half dozen heralding a drop in daily deaths from the virus.
THE FACTS: It’s true that deaths dipped as infections spiked in many parts of the country. But deaths lag sickness. And now, the widely expected upturn in US deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data analyzed by The Associated Press.
“It’s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,” Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday. He advised Americans: “Don’t get yourself into false complacency.”
The new AP analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows the seven-day rolling average for daily reported deaths in the US increased to 664 on Friday from 578 two weeks ago, as deaths rose in more than half the states. That’s still well below the lethal numbers of April.
“It’s consistently picking up,” said William Hanage, a Harvard University infectious diseases researcher. “And it’s picking up at the time you’d expect it to.”
AP
Speaking of masks
Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn urge Americans to wear masks to save lives.
Sessions steels himself for Republican primary runoff
Seeking a political comeback, former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions goes up against ex-college football coach Tommy Tuberville in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff to try and reclaim the Alabama Senate seat he held for decades.
He faces considerable opposition from his former boss, the president, who still hasn't got over when Mr Sessions recused himself from the Russian investigation.
The former AG maintains that he had no choice but to withdraw from the investigation as he was a participant in the 2016 Trump campaign and therefore could have been a witness or subject of the investigation.
He has asked voters to look past his feud with the president, saying this week: “I’m calling on the people of Alabama and I’m saying this. You know me. You know I can be trusted.”
Visit to Walter Reed Hospital later
At approximately 5pm today, the president will depart the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre to visit combat veterans and healthcare workers.
He has said he will wear a face mask.
Trump says he will wear mask on hospital visit
US president says ‘certain conditions’ make mask wearing appropriate in apparent U-turnFor those keeping track...
Today is Trump's 275th visit to a golf course and the 1,269th day of his presidency.
Per the pool report:
Motorcade arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, at 9:58 a.m.
There were a handful of onlookers as we drove onto the property.
One man walking his dog gave a thumbs down as the motorcade drove by.
On one side of the street near the entrance to the club were three Trump supporters. One man was flashing thumbs up and another saluted.
On the other side of the street were a few protesters holding signs. One read “SCOTUS not drinking your Kool-Aid?” and another read “WOAT Worst of All Time”.
Trump campaign lags behind Biden for staff diversity
Amid a summer of racial unrest and calls for more diversity in leadership, President Donald Trump lags Democratic rival Joe Biden in the percentage of people of colour on their campaign staffs, according to data the campaigns provided to The Associated Press.
Twenty-five percent of the Republican president's senior staff are nonwhite, compared to 36% of Biden's senior staff. Mr Biden's overall campaign team is 35 per cent nonwhite; Mr Trump's campaign did not provide a comparable number.
And neither campaign provided racial breakdowns for their nonwhite staff, nor the total number of staffers who are on their payrolls, including senior staff.
AP
Amid a summer of racial unrest and calls for more diversity in leadership, President Donald Trump lags Democratic rival Joe Biden in the percentage of people of colour on their campaign staffs, according to data the campaigns provided to The Associated Press.
Twenty-five percent of the Republican president's senior staff are nonwhite, compared to 36% of Biden's senior staff. Mr Biden's overall campaign team is 35 per cent nonwhite; Mr Trump's campaign did not provide a comparable number.
And neither campaign provided racial breakdowns for their nonwhite staff, nor the total number of staffers who are on their payrolls, including senior staff.
AP
Police raid home of couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters
Police have executed a search warrant at the home of the St Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their property - a clip of which was shared by the president.
The raid on Mark and Patricia McCloskey’s mansion resulted in authorities seizing the rifle that Mr McCloskey was seen brandishing in a video that went viral after the incident in June.
The search took place on Friday night at the property in the Central West End neighbourhood, according to local news stations. KSDK reported on the seizure of the rifle.
More below:
Police have executed a search warrant at the home of the St Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their property - a clip of which was shared by the president.
The raid on Mark and Patricia McCloskey’s mansion resulted in authorities seizing the rifle that Mr McCloskey was seen brandishing in a video that went viral after the incident in June.
The search took place on Friday night at the property in the Central West End neighbourhood, according to local news stations. KSDK reported on the seizure of the rifle.
More below:
Police raid home of couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters
Police seized the rifle that Mark McCloskey brandished at Black Lives Matter protesters who marched past his property
Mitt Romney condemns Stone move
Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican and one of the few senior figures in the party who frequently speak out against the president, has condemned the decision to commute Roger Stone's sentence.
"Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president," he tweeted.
Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican and one of the few senior figures in the party who frequently speak out against the president, has condemned the decision to commute Roger Stone's sentence.
"Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president," he tweeted.
House speaker on US president commuting adviser's sentence
Nancy Pelosi has blasted Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of friend and adviser Roger Stone, calling it "an act of staggering corruption".
You can find the House speaker's full statement here:
Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence days before prison term set to begin
A reminder of today's big story - Donald Trump has granted clemency to Roger Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress and intimidating witnesses during an investigation into election interference, according to the White House.
The longtime Republican operative was convicted in November on seven counts alleging that he lied to lawmakers about communicating with WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses and obstructed a House intelligence committee investigation into the president's 2016 campaign.
More below:
A reminder of today's big story - Donald Trump has granted clemency to Roger Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress and intimidating witnesses during an investigation into election interference, according to the White House.
The longtime Republican operative was convicted in November on seven counts alleging that he lied to lawmakers about communicating with WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses and obstructed a House intelligence committee investigation into the president's 2016 campaign.
More below:
Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence days before prison term set to begin
Longtime Republican operative convicted of lying to Congress to avoid prison with president’s clemency
US citizens warned of 'increased risk of detention in China'
The US State Department has warned American citizens of the heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement in China including detention and a ban from exiting the country.
"US citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in an email to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to "state security".
"Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added.
The US State Department has warned American citizens of the heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement in China including detention and a ban from exiting the country.
"US citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in an email to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to "state security".
"Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added.
Seattle mayor and police chief told to remedy 'unacceptable' arrest of Independent journalist
Seattle’s mayor and police chief have been told to remedy the “unacceptable” treatment of journalists, including an Independent reporter who was arrested covering Black Lives Matter protests.
Andrew Buncombe was shackled, assaulted and detained for more than six hours after being accused of “failing to disperse” from a demonstration he had the legal right to report on.
Seattle’s mayor and police chief have been told to remedy the “unacceptable” treatment of journalists, including an Independent reporter who was arrested covering Black Lives Matter protests.
Andrew Buncombe was shackled, assaulted and detained for more than six hours after being accused of “failing to disperse” from a demonstration he had the legal right to report on.
More below:
Seattle mayor and police chief told to remedy 'unacceptable' arrest of Independent journalist
Councillor Lisa Herbold says the arrest of Andrew Buncombe violated the US constitution and Seattle Municipal Code
Storm that cancelled Trump event dissipates
Tropical storm Fay has weakened into a tropical depression over the south east of New York state, andiss expected to become a post-tropical low pressure system later in the morning before dissipating on Sunday, the U.S National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The storm prompted the White House to postpone a campaign rally that Donald Trump had planned to hold in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tonight. The event will take place in "a week or two," the White House said on Friday.
The event would have been the first following an ultimately underwhelming appearance by the president in Tulsa, where concerns about the spread of Covid-19 were high and attendance was low.
Tropical storm Fay has weakened into a tropical depression over the south east of New York state, andiss expected to become a post-tropical low pressure system later in the morning before dissipating on Sunday, the U.S National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The storm prompted the White House to postpone a campaign rally that Donald Trump had planned to hold in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tonight. The event will take place in "a week or two," the White House said on Friday.
The event would have been the first following an ultimately underwhelming appearance by the president in Tulsa, where concerns about the spread of Covid-19 were high and attendance was low.
Trump says people don't know that Lincoln was a Republican, again
Not for the first time, Donald Trump has claimed that until he became US president “nobody ever heard” that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
“The Republican Party has grown incredibly from when it was and we have a whole different group of people in the Republican Party,” Mr Trump said on Friday.
“Like people don’t remember, nobody ever heard of it until I came along, nobody remembered it for a long time, or they didn’t use it at least, I use it all the time: Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. You know you say that and people say, ‘I didn’t know that’, but he was Republican, so we’re doing a great job.”
More below:
Not for the first time, Donald Trump has claimed that until he became US president “nobody ever heard” that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
“The Republican Party has grown incredibly from when it was and we have a whole different group of people in the Republican Party,” Mr Trump said on Friday.
“Like people don’t remember, nobody ever heard of it until I came along, nobody remembered it for a long time, or they didn’t use it at least, I use it all the time: Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. You know you say that and people say, ‘I didn’t know that’, but he was Republican, so we’re doing a great job.”
More below:
Trump claims 'nobody ever heard' Abraham Lincoln was a Republican before he pointed it out
US president’s improbable claim made during roundtable discussion on Venezuela
Trump demands extradition of former MI6 officer Christopher Steele over Russia dossier
Donald Trump has demanded the extradition of Christopher Steele, the British former MI6 officer who wrote an infamous report into the US president's connections with Russia.
In a Saturday morning tweet the president said: "This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail. A sick lier who was paid by Crooked Hillary & the DNC!"
He was retweeting a report from Just The News regarding a British court ruling that Mr Steele had violated a data privacy law by failing to check information in his infamous dossier on Trump's Russia connections.
More below:
Donald Trump has demanded the extradition of Christopher Steele, the British former MI6 officer who wrote an infamous report into the US president's connections with Russia.
In a Saturday morning tweet the president said: "This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail. A sick lier who was paid by Crooked Hillary & the DNC!"
He was retweeting a report from Just The News regarding a British court ruling that Mr Steele had violated a data privacy law by failing to check information in his infamous dossier on Trump's Russia connections.
More below:
