DONALD TRUMP

 The Guardian _  Major donors to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee are having to contribute twice as much to get direct access to him and vice-president-elect JD Vance at private events around the swearing-in ceremony compared with the first inauguration, according to fundraising materials. The ability to briefly interact with Trump and Vance requires donors to contribute at least $1m to the committee – the highest-tier ticket package – in a marked increase from the previous cycle when the same access cost $500,000. That top-tier package provides donors and lobbyists seeking to curry favor with the second Trump administration with two tickets to a dinner with the vice president-elect and six tickets to the “candlelight dinner” where Trump will be in attendance.

NPR - The Department of Justice released today its election interference report against President-elect Donald Trump. Although special counsel Jack Smith won’t record a criminal conviction against Trump, the report asserts that the evidence would have convicted him. Smith dropped two indictments against Trump after his 2024 victory, following a policy against prosecuting a sitting president. 

Trump attempted one last time to get a judge to block the report but was unsuccessful, NPR’s Carrie Johnson tells Up First. In the nearly 150 pages of the report, Smith said he fully stands by his decision to charge Trump. Even though the case did not go to trial, Smith stated that the rule of law and the example the prosecution team set to fight for justice against all odds matter. Democrats have asked the Justice Department to save all of Smith’s files. Meanwhile, Republicans want him investigated.

The Guardian - Jack Smith’s report detailing his team’s findings about Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy was released by the justice department early on Tuesday.After the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, Smith was appointed as special counsel to investigate Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His investigation culminated in a detailed report submitted to the attorney general, Merrick Garland.

In it, Smith asserts that he believes the evidence would have been sufficient to convict Trump in a trial if his success in the 2024 election had not made it impossible for the prosecution to continue.

“The department’s view that the constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind,” Smith writes.

“Indeed, but for Mr Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”

Trump was impeached for his role in spurring the January 6 riot, accused by a congressional panel of taking part in a “multi-part conspiracy” and ultimately indicted by justice department on four counts, including “conspiracy to defraud” the US. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After the release, Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, called Smith a “lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the election”.