Trump news live: Judge tells DoJ to file redacted Mar-a-Lago raid affidavit ahead of unsealing decision

President Joe Biden and his allies hope big recent wins on climate, health care and more will at least temporarily tamp down questions among top Democrats about whether he will run for reelection.

That optimism may be short-lived, at risk if and when former President Donald Trump announces another White House campaign. But for now, the “Will he or won’t he” Washington parlor game appears to be on hold.

Donald Trump and his allies’ claim that he had a “standing order” to declassify documents he took from the Oval Office is completely untrue, according to a large number of former White House officials interviewed by CNN.

The network reports that 18 former top Trump administration officials said they never heard any such order issued during their time working for Mr Trump, and that they believe the claim to be false.

The officials called it “complete fiction”, “ludicrous”, “ridiculous”, “laughable”, and “total nonsense” among other descriptions of the claim.

A Republican candidate for Congress in New York Carl Paladino has clarified after he said US attorney general Merrick Garland “should be executed” for authorising the Mar-a-Lago raid. The Buffalo-area businessman has clarified that he was being “facetious” and Mr Garland should be removed for his incompetence.

“I’m just being facetious. The man should be removed from office,” Mr Paladino said. “He shows his incompetence. He wants to get his face in front of the people and show he’s got some mettle to him, but his choice of issues and choice of methodology is very sad.”

Mr Paladino made the comment in an interview with Breitbart News, criticising Democratic party and Joe Biden’s leadership. “So we have a couple of unelected people who are running our government, in an administration of people like Garland, who should be not only impeached, he probably should be executed,” Paladino said.

“The guy is just lost. He’s a lost soul. He’s trying to get an image, and his image, his methodology is just terrible. To raid the home of a former president is just — people are scratching their heads and they’re saying, ‘What is wrong with this guy?”

The federal magistrate judge who authorised last week’s search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, home has ordered the Department of Justice to lay out what parts of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant should remain secret to protect ongoing criminal investigations.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday gave federal prosecutors seven days to propose what parts of the affidavit — a sworn statement by a law enforcement officer laying out how and why the Justice Department came to believe there was evidence of crimes at Mr Trump’s home — should be redacted before the public can be permitted to view it.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

Former president Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said that he “satisfied his obligation” by testifying before a special grand jury in Atlanta as part of an investigation into the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, where Atlanta is located, is leading a probe into Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

A Trump administration aide who remained in the ex-president’s inner circle after the events of January 6 and Mr Trump’s exit from the White House days later was leading an effort to obtain documents through the National Archives months before the FBI’s raid to obtain classified materials from Mar-a-Lago.

John Bowden has the story.

In Michael Cohen’s testimony to members of Congress in 2019, one name came up more than 20 times.

When asked by House Democrats who else would have access to business or financial records that could implicate Donald Trump in a range of investigations, from his campaign’s connections to Russia to hush money payments involving an adult film star, his former attorney listed the names of several Trump insiders – starting with Allen Weisselberg.

The man at the centre of investigations and criminal charges involving Mr Trump’s business, other than the former president whose name is emblazoned in gold on its Manhattan headquarters, is a press-averse accountant who has presided over the company’s finances for decades.

Alex Woodward profiles the man at the centre of Trumpworld news today.

Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of former president Donald Trump’s eponymous real estate and hotel business, has pleaded guilty to 15 separate violations of New York tax law.

The Trumpworld veteran, who earlier this week agreed to a plea deal that will see him sentenced to five months behind bars and five years of probation, but will not require him to testify against his lifelong boss. But he will be required to give evidence in the upcoming trial of the two Trump companies that were indicted for tax fraud at the same time he was last summer.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest.

Former Trump administration adviser Steve Bannon railed against former vice president Mike Pence on Wednesday after the latter defended the FBI from attacks and criticisms in response to the FBI executing a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Bannon made the remarks on his War Room: Pandemic podcast. On Wednesday, Mr Pence admonished conservatives and told them not to attack the FBI.

Eric Garcia has the story.