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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Oliver O'Connell,Alisha Rahaman Sarkar,Andrew Naughtie,Gino Spocchia and Gustaf Kilander

Trump news – live: Gaetz ‘wanted pardon’ in sex investigation, as Trump fat shames friend ahead of Ohio rally

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Jen Psaki says Democrats ‘love to be opposed’ to Donald Trump ahead of midterms

Former President Donald Trump gave a rambling speech to an under-capacity crowd at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, on Saturday night, ostensibly in support of Republican Senate candidate JD Vance. At one point he compared the GOP nominee to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In an earlier post on Truth Social, Mr Trump called the event a “sold out juggernaut” and claimed that without his rallies and endorsements, most candidates such as Vance would lose.

In his remarks, he also levelled new, outlandish accusations at the Biden administration by claiming that federal authorities are now threatening his supporters with decades in prison unless they agree to say negative things about him.

Speaking about the Maga movement he said: “The thugs and tyrants attacking our movement … have no idea of the sleeping giant that they have awoken.”

Meanwhile, Matt Gaetz told a former White House staffer that he was hoping to get a pre-emptive pardon from then-president Trump concerning an investigation into him by the Department of Justice, a report has said.

The allegation came in testimony from Johnny McEntee given to the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, The Washington Post reported.

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