Trump rants about upcoming immunity battle following SCOTUS decision
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been handed a legal victory as justices at the US Supreme Court will let him appear on this year’s ballot papers as he closes in on his party’s nomination.
Mr Trump challenged the ground-breaking decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, which found in December that he should be ineligible to run for the White House again or take part in the state’s primary – one of 16 taking place tomorrow on Super Tuesday – citing an anti-insurrectionist clause housed within the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Maine and Illinois followed Colorado’s example and America’s highest court heard oral arguments on the matter on 8 February, with justices strongly signalling their support for Mr Trump’s arguments. In the end, it was a unanimous decision on the part of the justices.
On Truth Social, Mr Trump celebrated a “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” before giving a meandering speech thanking the court and pushing his case for presidential immunity.
The former president picked up three further primary wins over the weekend but lost the DC contest to rival Nikki Haley.
Meanwhile, former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty to perjury.
ICYMI: Lawyers deliver closing statements in high-stakes Fani Willis hearing
Lawyers for Donald Trump and his co-defendants in a sprawling election interference case in Georgia have been accused of relying on salacious rumours, gossip and innuendo to “embarass and harass” the prosecutor overseeing the case against them.
Closing arguments concluded on Friday in a high-stakes series of hearings to determine whether Fani Willis should be disqualified from criminally prosecuting the former president and his allies for their scheme to overturn Georgia’s election results in 2020.
That decision hinges on allegations that the Fulton County district attorney financially benefited from a prior relationship with a prosecutor she hired to lead the case against the former president.
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 19:30
Full story: Ex-Trump Organization CFO to spend five months in jail after pleading guilty to perjury
Weisselberg, 76, arrived at the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg early on Monday morning, CNN reported, after which he duly surrendered and appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court for processing wearing a Covid mask and handcuffs.
The defendant was then charged with five counts of perjury in the first degree, with the judge accepting that the plea deal he had agreed with Manhattan prosecutors, which saw him plead guilty to two of those five counts.
He was subsequently sentenced to five months in jail.
Ex-Trump Organization CFO pleads guilty to perjury
Allen Weisselberg arrived at office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg early on Monday morning and duly appeared in court for processing, where he was charged with five counts of perjury in the first degree
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 19:00
Super Tuesday: Which races to watch and what you need to know
Joe Sommerlad breaks down what you need to know:
Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, plus American Samoa, will all be filling out their ballot papers on Super Tuesday.
As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri primaries and had any doubts about his place on ballot papers dispelled by the US Supreme Court, which ruled on Monday that states have no authority to disqualify candidates.
All but one of Mr Trump’s challengers have long since fallen away, with only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 18:30
Greg Abbott says he will not be Donald Trump’s vice president
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 18:00
Watch: In celebrating his Supreme Court victory, Trump sets up next battle for immunity
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:52
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:48
Watch: Trump claims Supreme Court decision will bring country together
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:43
ICYMI: Murkowski endorses Haley
One of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 endorsed Nikki Haley’s bid for president.
Lisa Murkowski, the senior senator from Alaska, announced her support for the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations.
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:30
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:18
Colorado Secretary of State ‘disappointed’ by SCOTUS ruling
Oliver O’Connell4 March 2024 17:14