Donald Trump indictment hearing: former US president ‘won’t be handcuffed’ at Miami court – live | Donald Trump

Martin Pengelly

Round about the time everything is expected to kick off in Miami, with the arraignment of the former president Donald Trump, in Washington the current president, Joe Biden, will meet Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato.

The meeting was meant to happen yesterday but it was delayed because the president had to go to the dentist. Stoltenberg met Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, earlier today.

Biden and Stoltenberg have met three times at the White House before. This time, the press pool says, they are due to discuss preparations for the forthcoming Nato summit in Lithuania, where new aid to Ukraine is expected to be agreed.

The issue of who will succeed Stoltenberg may also be discussed. In place since 2014, the former Norwegian prime minister, now 64, is due to finish his tenure in charge of Nato at the end of September. It’s possible he could succeed himself, having already seen his term extended three times.

Martin Pengelly

The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, violated the Hatch Act by referring to “mega Maga Republicans” before last year’s midterm elections, an official watchdog said.

In a letter reported by NBC and confirmed by other outlets, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) said: “Because Ms Jean‐Pierre made the statements while acting in her official capacity, she violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

According to the OSC, the Hatch Act, passed in 1939, “​​​​​​​​​​​​​limits certain political activities of federal employees” and is meant to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation”.

The Hatch Act was often in the news during the administration of Donald Trump.

In November 2021, a year after Trump left power, the OSC said at least 13 Trump officials intentionally violated the act, not least in connection with a 2020 Republican convention held on White House grounds.

Officials named included Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state; Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff; Kellyanne Conway, a senior White House counselor; Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, his father-in-law; Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary; and Stephen Miller, a senior speechwriter and adviser.

The OSC report said: “The cumulative effect of these repeated and public violations was to undermine public confidence in the nonpartisan operation of government.”

The Trump White House ignored Hatch Act violations. In June 2019, for example, an OSC recommendation that Conway be fired did not lead to further action.

In November 2021, the OSC said “such flagrant and unpunished violations erode the principal foundation of our democratic system – the rule of law”.

Regarding that OSC report, the Washington Post noted the existence of “a two-tiered system of consequences”, the OSC having “fined and in some cases fired hundreds of career employees for violations during the four years when Trump was in office”.

Donald Trump is to make his first appearance in a Miami federal court at 3pm to answer the federal indictment brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith over the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. This will be the former president’s second court appearance in recent months, after he traveled in April to New York City to plead not guilty to charges of falsifying business records filed by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and it may also be only the start of Trump’s federal court trouble. Smith is also investigating the former president’s involvement in the January 6 insurrection and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and charges on those could appear in the future.

Here’s more about what has happened today:

• Trump has had some trouble assembling a legal team for his federal court appearance today.

• The former president’s supporters and detractors rallied outside Miami’s Wilkie D Ferguson Jr US courthouse, as did Vivek Ramaswamy, a long-shot Republican presidential contender who vowed to pardon Trump, if elected.

• House Democrats plan to use unusual parliamentary tactics to try to force a vote on gun control legislation in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Amid outrage over the continued gun violence in the United States, House Democrats will attempt to force a vote in the GOP-controlled chamber on new firearm restrictions, the Washington Post reports.

Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy and his allies control what legislation is voted on by the full chamber, and have shown little interest in tightening gun access despite high-profile mass shootings and the prevalence of gun crime across the country. The Post reports that Democrats will file discharge petitions on three gun control measures, and if the petitions receive the signatures of all Democrats and at least five Republicans, they must be voted on by the full House:

Democrats appear to be hoping that some Republicans will break with GOP leadership and back the proposals. Top House Democrats, including the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, have scheduled a 2pm press conference along with gun control groups to unveil the strategy.

Meanwhile in Washington, Donald Trump’s allies in Congress are vowing to do all they can to help him fight Jack Smith’s prosecution.

Here’s the judiciary committee’s Republican chair Jim Jordan hinting to CNN that he may demand testimony from Smith, the special counsel appointed by attorney general Merrick Garland specifically to handle the investigations into Trump:

But as Punchbowl News reports, the likelihood of Smith going before Congress anytime soon is very low. As long as his investigations and prosecution of Trump remain active, the justice department will decline to cooperate with any subpoena issued to Smith, citing their policy of not commenting on ongoing cases. The GOP’s best bet at this point would be to sue, but there’s no saying what a federal judge would think of their demand, or even when it would be considered.

That said, Garland is expected to make a regularly scheduled appearance before the House judiciary committee in the late summer or early fall, Punchbowl reports, an occasion Republicans will undoubtedly use to air their grievances over Trump’s prosecution.

Hugo Lowell

Hundreds of reporters are outnumbering the handful of Trump supporters who walked around in the blazing sun outside the US courthouse where Trump will be arraigned at 3pm in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Several prominent Republicans had called on Trump supporters to protest outside the courthouse but as of the mid-morning, there were fewer than 20 people brandishing Trump flags and wearing Maga caps.

ABC News reports that Donald Trump will not be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken during his court appearance today:

By all indications, Donald Trump’s appearance today in a Miami federal courtroom to answer the charges brought against him by special prosecutor Jack Smith will be the first step in lengthy legal proceedings that may not wrap up before the 2024 election. It’s also worth remembering that Smith isn’t finished with his work yet: besides overseeing Trump’s prosecution for allegedly hiding government secrets at Mar-a-Lago, he may still indict the former president in the months ahead for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection and the plot to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

Today is nonetheless a big day for Trump, but as the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports, he’s had some trouble finding lawyers to represent him:

Donald Trump is expected to be represented at his first court appearance to face federal criminal charges for retaining national security materials and obstruction of justice by two of his existing lawyers, despite trying to recruit a local Florida lawyer willing to join his legal defense team.

The lawyers making an appearance with Trump on Tuesday will be the top former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche and the former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump’s co-defendant, his valet Walt Nauta, will be represented by Stanley Woodward.

Trump and his legal team spent the afternoon before his arraignment interviewing potential lawyers but the interviews did not result in any joining the team in time for Trump’s initial court appearance scheduled for 3pm ET on Tuesday after several attorneys declined to take him as a client.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump is expected to at 3pm ET today appear at a Miami federal courthouse to answer charges brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith over the classified documents discovered last year at his Mar-a-Lago resort. It’s not the first time the former president has appeared as a defendant in court – Trump was arraigned in New York City two months ago after the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, accused him of falsifying business records ahead of the 2016 election, a case that remains ongoing. But the charges brought by Smith are even more serious, with potentially long jail sentences and chilling national security implications. The former president is expected to mount a vigorous defense, and there’s a chance the case will not be resolved by the time of the 2024 election, where Trump looks like a good bet for the GOP’s nomination. Thus, today is likely to be the first episode of a long series of court dates for the former president. As for this blog, we’ll be following his appearance today live as it happens.

Here’s what else is going on today:

• Joe Biden’s schedule yesterday was upended by a surprise root canal, but the White House say he’s back in business and will meet with the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, at 1pm.

• Also reportedly functioning again is the House of Representatives. It’s been paralyzed since last week by a revolt by rightwing Republicans, but Politico reports speaker Kevin McCarthy has reached a deal with the group to end their rebellion.

• White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s regular briefing will be at 1.30pm.