Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump will return to the witness stand to testify in their own defence at the Trump Organization’s civil fraud trial in New York in early December.

The former president’s testimony will round out proceedings ahead of closing arguments. Justice Arthur Engoron delivered a pre-trial ruling finding the defendants liable for fraud, but there are other counts to consider.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s legal team in the same case has responded to an affidavit from court security regarding the inundation of the judge’s office with death threats and antisemitic abuse. They argue that the former president has no control over such threats.

Mr Trump has tried to rewrite the story after he was booed by a crowd of football fans during an appearance at Clemson University for the Palmetto Bowl in South Carolina.

While there was a sizeable contingent of Trump fans in the crowd, several videos captured the overwhelming jeers aimed at him as he arrived at the alma mater of his GOP primary rival Nikki Haley.

Mr Trump sought to downplay the disappointing reception, taking to Truth Social to fire off a series of links to highly positive articles about his appearance.

Key Points

• Trump can’t control fraud trial death threats, lawyers argue

• Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene try to rewrite story of South Carolina football game

• Trump’s fraud trial court flooded with credible death threats and antisemitic abuse

• Trump lawyers dismiss death threats as ‘irrelevant’ to federal gag order

• Fani Willis makes courtroom debut in Trump election interference case

• Donald Trump and Eric Trump to return to witness stand in New York fraud trial

For 24 minutes a DeSantis aide lay ‘dead or dying’ outside governor’s office

21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A Ron DeSantis aide lay “dead or dying” in a governor’s office hallway for 24 minutes before anyone came to his aide, according to a report.

Peter Antonacci, 74, died on 23 September 2022 after “abruptly” leaving a meeting of the Office of Election Crimes and Safety, which the governor had appointed him to lead two months earlier.

Mr DeSantis created the office after one-term president Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud in his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.

At the time of his death, officials said that Antonacci died “while at work in the Capitol building, of which the governor’s office is a part.”

Now the exact location has been revealed following a public records request by the Florida Bulldog, a non-profit news organisation in the state.

Graeme Massie reports.

DeSantis aide lay ‘dead or dying’ outside governor’s office for 24 minutes

NY fraud trial: Donald Trump to return to witness stand

20:49 , Oliver O'Connell

As we near the end of the Trump Organization’s New York civil fraud trial, the defence team has announced that Eric Trump will return to the witness stand on 6 December, and Donald Trump will testify for the defence on 11 December.

Both have already testified as part of the plaintiff’s case. The defence says it will then rest.

Allowing time for closing arguments, the case is on track for a bench verdict before Christmas as expected.

Report: Trump’s pardon of drug dealer sabotaged major criminal investigation

20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s pardon of loan shark Jonathan Braun on his last day in office in 2021 “destroyed” a Department of Justice investigation, according to a report.

Braun was convicted of running an illegal marijuana cartel. He was one of the 142, including rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, who were issued surprise pardons by Mr Trump in the waning hours of his presidency.

At the time of his pardon, Braun had served a quarter of his ten-year sentence.

The commutation of his sentence reportedly dealt a “substantial blow” to the Justice Department’s criminal investigation that was aimed at members of the predatory lending industry who harmed small businesses.

The New York Times report added that the commutation “destroyed” any leverage the government had in the investigation.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports.

Trump’s pardon of drug dealer sabotaged major criminal investigation, report says

Fulton County: Judge allows Chesebro to travel to other election subversion probes

20:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Fulton County’s Judge Scott McAfee has modified the probation conditions of former Donald Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro allowing him to travel to “meet with counsel” in other jurisdictions conducting 2020 election subversion investigations beyond Georgia’s.

A new court filing states that he can visit Nevada, Arizona, and Washington, DC.

Mr Chesebro is one of four out of 19 original Trump co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case in Georgia who pleaded guilty and struck a cooperation deal with prosecutors from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office.

The one-time lawyer to the former president pleased guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to file false documents. He is known as the architect of the “fake electors” scheme to keep Mr Trump in the White House after the 2020 election.

Here’s our earlier reporting on Mr Chesebro:

Kenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case

Are donors shunning the RNC over Trump?

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Republican National Committee’s war chest has plunged to its lowest levels in more than eight years amid reports that some donors are shunning the party over Donald Trump.

The RNC reported having $9.1m cash on hand in its latest filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), its lowest figure since early 2015.

By comparison, the party had $61m on hand one year out from the 2020 presidential election, and $20m at the same period in the 2016 cycle.

Donations from both wealthy and small-dollar donors are down significantly in recent years, GOP sources told The Washington Post.

Bevan Hurley reports.

RNC’s bank account hits lowest level in eight years

NY fraud trial: Judge rejects adding independent monitor as defence witness

19:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Justice Arthur Engoron has rejected adding Retired US Judge Barbara Jones as a last-minute defence witness.

He says that an independent monitor is an arm of the court and cannot be questioned. He raises the possibility of conflict issues.

“I hereby preclude their testimony,” he rules.

19:40 , AP

Hawthorn was testifying for the defense, which argues that various companies under the Trump Organization’s umbrella have produced reams of financial documents “that no one had a problem with,” as lawyer Clifford Robert put it.

A lawyer for James’ office, Andrew Amer, stressed that the suit is about Trump’s statements of financial condition, calling the other documents “irrelevant.”

Now finishing its second month, the trial is putting a spotlight on the real estate empire that vaulted Trump into public life and eventually politics. The former president and current Republican 2024 front-runner maintains that James, a Democrat, is trying to damage his campaign.

Trump asserts that his wealth was understated, not overblown, on his financial statements. He also has stressed that the numbers came with disclaimers saying that they weren’t audited and that others might reach different conclusions about his financial position.

During cross-examination, Hawthorn acknowledged that Trump’s financial statements could have been audited by the company, rather than just compiled, though he noted that auditing wasn’t required.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who will decide the verdict in the non-jury trial, has already ruled that Trump and other defendants engaged in fraud. The current proceeding is to decide the remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.

James wants the judge to impose over $300 million in penalties and to ban Trump from doing business in New York — and that’s on top of Engoron’s pretrial order that a receiver take control of some of Trump’s properties. An appeals court has frozen that order for now.

AP

Trump exec says financial reports at heart of case are not done anymore

19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s company no longer prepares the sweeping financial statements that New York state contends were full of deceptive numbers for years, an executive testified Monday at the former president’s civil fraud trial.

Trump’s 2014 to 2021 “statements of financial condition” are at the heart of state Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him, his company and some of its key figures. The defendants deny wrongdoing, but James says they misled lenders and insurers by giving them financial statements that greatly inflated Trump’s asset values and overall net worth.

Nowadays, the Trump Organization continues to prepare various audits and other financial reports specific to some of its components, but “there is no roll-up financial statement of the company,” said Mark Hawthorn, the chief operating officer of the Trump Organization’s hotel arm.

He wasn’t asked why the comprehensive reports had ceased but said they are “not required by any lender, currently, or any constituency.”

Messages seeking comment on the matter were sent to spokespeople for the Trump Organization.

Continued...

Updated: Trump can’t control fraud trial death threats, lawyers argue

19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys for Donald Trump claim “there is no indication” he can “exercise any control” over the flood of threatening messages from his supporters to his fraud trial judge and his chief clerk, subjected to near-daily attacks and insults from the former president.

Mr Trump’s lawyers are urging a New York appeals court to permanently reject a gag order against their client during a civil fraud trial with his brand-building real estate empire at stake.

But a filing from lawyers for Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James last week argued that a gag order is necessary to protect the safety of the court’s staff, with a sworn statement from the court system’s top security official revealing that “hundreds of threats, disparaging and harassing comments and antisemitic messages” followed Mr Trump’s attacks.

In response on Monday, Mr Trump’s attorneys appeared to downplay such threats, claiming that the “sole cognizable justification” to gag the former president “is that an unknown third party may react in a hostile or offensive manner” to his speech.

Alex Woodward reports from New York.

Trump can’t control fraud trial death threats, lawyers argue

Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action group plans won’t back Trump in 2024, report says

19:00 , Graig Graziosi

ABC News reported that Charles Koch’s Americans for Prosperity Action donor organisation will reportedly not throw its substantial wealth behind Donald Trump in 2024.

The organisation is reportedly planning to back another Republican candidate in the upcoming Iowa caucus on 15 January, though it is not clear who will receive the group’s support.

Americans for Prosperity reportedly has research that suggests “as many as 75% of Republicans just might be open to a Trump alternative if they think that that person can win,” according to ABC News Political Director Rick Klein.

18:34 , Oliver O'Connell

...but when will he go?That still seems unclear:

Analysis: The incredible rise and dramatic fall of George Santos

18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Bevan Hurley writes:

Congressman George Santos’ tenure has been anything but dull — his rise to power and fall from grace have been equally mired in controversy.

After less than two years in Congress, his list of lies and scandals appears to have finally grown too long for him to defend anymore, as he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024 after the release of a damning House Ethics Committee report.

The committee said it found “substantial evidence” that Mr Santos had broken federal laws after finding “additional uncharged and unlawful conduct,” which included using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermes, Sephora and OnlyFans.

In 2022, Mr Santos was elected as the Republican Party’s first openly gay, non-incumbent member of Congress, and touted himself as a living embodiment of the American dream.

But he has since been exposed as a serial fabricator, and now an accused criminal.

Here’s what we know about the rise and demise of George Anthony Devolder Santos.

Continued...

The incredible rise and dramatic fall of George Santos

NY fraud trial: Trump to call former judge and independent monitor to testify

18:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The Trump defence team in his New York civil fraud trial plans to call former US Judge Barbara Jones, who is serving as an independent monitor of the Trump Organization, to testify as a witness.

However, back in August, Ms Jones called out the company for not having “consistently provided all required annual and quarterly certifications attesting to the accuracy of certain financial statements”.

Trump hints at role for the military quelling violence in US if re-elected

18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Campaigning in Iowa this year, Donald Trump said he was prevented during his presidency from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states.

Calling New York City and Chicago “crime dens,” the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told his audience, “The next time, I’m not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it and we’re going to show how bad a job they do,” he said. “Well, we did that. We don’t have to wait any longer.”

Trump has not spelled out precisely how he might use the military during a second term, although he and his advisers have suggested they would have wide latitude to call up units. While deploying the military regularly within the country’s borders would be a departure from tradition, the former president already has signaled an aggressive agenda if he wins, from mass deportations to travel bans imposed on certain Muslim-majority countries.

A law first crafted in the nation’s infancy would give Trump as commander in chief almost unfettered power to do so, military and legal experts said in a series of interviews.

Read on...

Trump hints at using military to quell violence in Democratic cities

Meanwhile in Fulton County...

17:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump lawyer John Eastman has asked Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee to split the remaining 15 defendants in the sprawling Georgia 2020 election interference case into two groups so that those not named Donald Trump and who are not the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee can get their cases resolved earlier in 2024.

Currently, prosecutors led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis want to try the remaining 15 defendants (down from 19 following four plea deals) together at a trial beginning on 5 August 2024.

Judge McAfee has previously said he would be open to splitting up the defendants to make things easier to handle administratively.

Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene try to rewrite story of South Carolina football game

17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump and his loyal friend, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, seem to be promoting a different version of events after Mr Trump was booed at the South Carolina football game.

While videos captured Mr Trump being met with a cacophony of boos as he walked onto the field during halftime, he quickly tried to revise the incident.

On Truth Social, he reposted articles that said the crowds showed support. He posted one article alongside a quote, which read: “Trump cheered at football stadium, picks up slew of new endorsements in South Carolina.”

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene try to rewrite story of South Carolina football game

Report: Trump could face more criminal charges over ‘fake electors’ scam

17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Four swing-states are reportedly still investigating the slates of so-called “fake electors” which Donald Trump allegedly hoped to use to falsely certify that he had won the 2020 election.

The results of those investigations could bring more charges down onto the already embattled former president, according to The Hill, which contacted numerous state attorneys general offices to determine if investigations were ongoing.

The investigations are being carried out while Mr Trump faces four criminal cases, including one in Georgia focused on his alleged efforts to steal the 2020 election.

The “fake elector” scheme was reportedly concocted by Mr Trump’s attorney, John Eastman, and boosted by other attorneys loyal to the former president. It hinged on then-Vice President Mike Pence choosing to certify the slates of Trump-loyalist “fake” electors in swing-states. The plotters theorised that it would allow Mr Pence to effectively force the election in Mr Trump’s favour, and in doing so disenfranchise all of the voters who selected Mr Biden.

Mr Pence has insisted that the plan was illegal and could not work, and instead chose to certify the true results of the election.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump could face more criminal charges over ‘fake electors’ scam, report says

NY fraud trial: Trump fraud trial lawyers file repsonse to ‘death threats’ affidavit

16:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s lawyers in his New York fraud trial have responded to last week’s affidavit from court security regarding death threats and antisemitic abuse levelled at Justice Arthur Engoron and his staff, specifically his chief court.

In an exceptionally long filing, attorneys for the former president argue that the appeals court should continue to stay or reject the gag order imposed by the judge because Mr Trump has no ‘connection’ and doesn’t ‘exercise any control’ over threats that have overwhelmed the court.

More follows...

Trump’s fraud trial court inundated with credible death threats and antisemitic abuse

16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A flood of credible death threats and antisemitic messages have inundated the judge and court staff overseeing Donald Trump’s fraud trial in New York, according to the court’s top public safety officer.

Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk received “hundreds of threats, disparaging and harassing comments and antisemitic messages” that followed the former president’s harassment, according to a court filing to support a gag order that blocks Mr Trump from attacking the court’s staff.

Transcriptions of threatening voicemails after Mr Trump first targeted Judge Engoron’s chief clerk fill more than 275 single-spaced pages, according to Wednesday’s filing.

The threats against them are “serious and credible and not hypothetical or speculative,” according to the filing from Charles Hollon, an officer-captain with the court’s Department of Public Safety assigned to a judicial threats unit.

“You should be executed,” one message reads.

Alex Woodward filed this report last week:

Trump’s fraud trial court flooded with credible death threats and antisemitic abuse

NY fraud trial: Week nine gets underway

16:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Week nine of Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial is underway at the state’s Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan.

This is the third week of the defence case and on the witness stand today is Mark Hawthorn, the COO of Trump's hotels division.

Mr Hawthorn, a CPA who formerly worked at Ernst & Young, previously testified in New York Attorney General Letitia James’s case for the state, saying he was never directly involved in the creation of Mr Trump's financial statements.

As with other witnesses, the former president’s defence team turned questioning toward the argument that accountant Donald Bender of outside firm Mazars was fully aware of how things were valued by the company and did not raise any red flags.

Mr Hawthorn said if he had any accounting questions he would direct them to Mazars and he provided the firm with information about the hotels division for use in Mr Trump’s financial statements.

Alex Woodward, who is closely following the trial for The Independent, notes that coming up on the witness stand this week is former Trump Organization executive Patrick Birney.

Mr Birney previously testified that his boss Allen Weisselberg, former COO of the company, told him that Trump wanted to juice the numbers on his financial statements – one of the few moments f