Trump administration to release audio of Biden's special counsel interview, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to release audio of former U.S. President Joe Biden's 2023 interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar.
The newspaper said the audio recording could be released as early as next week.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
National guard deploys in downtown LA amid eerie calm after two days of unrest
On a foggy, unseasonably cold morning in Los Angeles, the national guardsmen suddenly pressed into service by Donald Trump to quell what he called a 'rebellion' against his government were nothing if not ready for their close-up. Outside a federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes a courthouse, a veterans' medical centre, and a jail, two dozen guardsmen in camouflage uniforms were arrayed in front of their military vehicles with semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders for the benefit of television and news photographers clustered on the sidewalk. They stood with the visors of their helmets up so the reporters could see their faces. Most wore shades, despite the gloomy weather, giving them the eerie appearance of extras from a Hollywood action movie more than shock troops for the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. After two days of unrest in response to heavy-handed raids by Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in downtown Los Angeles and in the heavily Latino suburb of Paramount, the day started off in an atmosphere of uneasy, almost surreal calm. The skyscrapers and government offices of downtown Los Angeles were ringed by vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies – Los Angeles police and parking enforcement, county sheriffs, highway patrol and private security guards. Most, though, were deployed for an entirely different event – a festival and two-mile walk organized by the non-profit group the March of Dimes to raise money for maternal and infant health. The streets around Grand Park, across from City Hall, were closed to traffic, but the police seemed less interested in sniffing out anti-Ice protesters than they were in posing for pictures next to a bubble machine with March of Dimes volunteers dressed as Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters. 'We had the LAPD's community engagement Hummer come by earlier and they told us we had nothing to worry about,' event organizer Tanya Adolph said. 'They said they'd pull us if there was any risk to our safety. Our numbers are down markedly, I won't hide that, but we've still managed to raise $300,000.' Local activists have called for demonstrations against the immigration crackdown; one demonstration set for Boyle Heights east of downtown and the other outside City Hall. Many activists, though, were worried about continuing Ice raids, particularly in working-class, predominantly Latino parts of the LA area like Paramount – and worried, too, that any national guard presence heightened the risk of violence. Governor Gavin Newsom's office reported on Sunday that about 300 of the promised 2,000 national guardsmen had deployed in the LA area. In addition to the small presence downtown, a group of them was reported to have driven through Paramount, scene of clashes between protesters and local police outside a Home Depot on Saturday. Trump congratulated the national guardsmen on a 'great job' after what he called 'two days of violence, clashes and unrest' but, as several California political leaders pointed out, the national guard had not yet deployed when city police and sheriff's deputies used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the streets. Both Ice and local activists estimated that about 45 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday, and several were reported to have been injured in confrontations with the police. Nick Stern, a news photographer, said he was shot in the leg by a less-lethal police round and was in hospital awaiting surgery. David Huerta, a prominent union leader with the Service Employees International Union, was also treated in hospital before being transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center, the federal lockup in downtown LA. One of many slogans spray-painted on the walls of the federal complex, within eyeshot of the national guardsman and the news crews, read: 'Free Huerta.' Others, daubed liberally on the walls of the complex around an entire city block, expressed rage against Ice and the Los Angeles police in equal measure. 'Fuck ICE. Kill all cops!' one graffiti message said. 'LAPD can suck it,' read another. Elsewhere in downtown Los Angeles, little seemed out of the ordinary. Homeless people slept undisturbed on a small patch of lawn on the south side of City Hall. Traffic moved unhindered past the county criminal court building and the main entrance to City Hall on Spring Street. Alejandro Ames, a Mexican American protester, who had traveled up from San Diego sat at a folding table on the west side of City Hall with a hand-scrawled sign that read: 'Republic against ICE and the police'. Ames said he was a Republican and hoped this would give extra credence to his plea for restraint by the federal authorities. 'I don't want 'em to go crazy,' he said. 'I want 'em to go home.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump calls Musk ‘big-time drug addict' according to report, as feud shows no sign of ending
President Donald Trump referred to his former ally Elon Musk as a 'big-time drug addict' as he processed the end of their relationship, according to a new report. As Musk began publicly attacking Trump, the president started calling up confidants and acquaintances to discuss the falling out. During one such call, the president made the allegation about the Tesla CEO's alleged drug habits as he attempted to understand his behavior, reports The Washington Post. Musk has said that he uses ketamine for depression. According to The New York Times, he used ketamine on the campaign trail to such a degree that it was affecting his bladder, and he traveled with a pill box with Adderall markings. White House officials said Trump was concerned about Musk's drug use, and it was one reason the relationship eventually came to an explosive end, The Post noted. However, Trump took a calmer tone in pushing back on Musk in his social media posts than advisers and friends alike expected. Two people with knowledge of the situation told the paper that, following the Thursday feud with Musk, Trump instructed those around him not to escalate the confrontation. Speaking to Vice President JD Vance about how to address the Musk situation in public, Trump urged caution. However, the relationship between Musk, Trump, and the rest of the administration had deteriorated long before Thursday. Musk alienated White House staff and cabinet members, reportedly getting into a physical altercation with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, according to The Post's report. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who worked in Trump's first term, told The Post that he was informed that as Bessent and Musk exited the Oval Office following an April meeting, the pair began insulting each other. Bessent mentioned Musk's claim that he would find more than $1 trillion in waste and abuse of government spending, something the billionaire had not yet achieved. 'Scott said, 'You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,'' Bannon told the paper. Musk subsequently pushed his shoulder into Bessent 'like a rugby player,' he added. Bessent struck back at Musk, and several people stepped in to break up the scuffle. 'President Trump heard about it and said, 'This is too much,'' said Bannon. 'President Trump and the entire Administration will continue the important mission of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from our federal government on behalf of taxpayers, and the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill is critical to helping accomplish that mission,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post. However, administration officials have discussed taking steps to retaliate against Musk. Trump took to TruthSocial to suggest that Musk's government contracts be scrutinized, potentially putting his businesses at risk. Musk has been consistently critical of the president's main congressional priority, the so-called 'big, beautiful bill,' expressing his concerns about the significant amount it adds to the deficit. Trump has threatened Musk with 'serious consequences' if he uses his massive wealth to fund Democratic challengers to Republicans who vote for the spending bill. Musk has also suggested that he may start a third political party to represent the '80 percent in the middle.' 'I feel like the kids of a bitter divorce, where you're just saying, 'I really wish Mommy and Daddy would stop screaming,'' Texas Senator Ted Cruz said on his podcast Friday.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
How Trump's immigration crackdown sparked LA uprising
It began with co-ordinated raids on locations throughout Los Angeles on Friday. Immigration officials, backed by heavily armed FBI officers with assault weapons and body armour, stormed a clothing factory and at least two other locations in Latino areas of the city, trying to make good on orders to ramp-up the pace of deportations. Crowds gathered outside Ambiance Apparel in the city's Fashion District within minutes. 'You do not have to sign anything,' shouted a protester with a bullhorn dispensing free legal advice. Officers there said they were armed with search warrants to investigate 'fictitious employee documents'. Videos posted online captured what happened next. A masked protester places himself in front of an SUV carrying detainees as he tries to thwart the arrests. Then comes the sound of tear gas canisters being tossed in the street to clear the crowds, and the cracks of flash-bangs as darkness falls. The raids were the trigger for two days of clashes between protesters and federal officers in Los Angeles, where fires flared and fireworks exploded, prompting Donald Trump to order 2,000 National Guard troops onto the streets of the city. They arrived on Sunday morning, much to the fury of the Democratic leadership in California. Gavin Newsom, the state governor, said their presence would only make things worse. 'The president is attempting to inflame passions and provoke a response,' he said in a fundraising email as he tried to rally opposition to the US president's move. 'He would like nothing more than for this provocative show of force – and [Secretary of Defence] Pete Hegseth's absurd threat to deploy United States Marines on American soil – to escalate tensions and incite violence.' Homeland Security Investigations said officers arrested 44 people in Friday's raids. They appeared to mark a fresh phase of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, amid worries that the pace of deportations had fallen far short of the president's aim of one million people deported in a year. Officials now say they will increasingly focus on workplaces to root out illegal immigrants. Karen Bass, the Democratic mayor of the city, condemned the raids. 'I am deeply angered by what has taken place,' she said. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.' Television footage showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transports loaded with uniformed agents streaming through Los Angeles on Friday. Dozens of people were reportedly arrested around a Home Depot store in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, just outside Los Angeles, where street vendors and day labourers, looking for a few hours' work on construction sites, gather daily. 'You will not stop us or slow us down' Some of the worst violence erupted nearby, as word spread that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were using nearby offices as a staging area for detainees. Officers with batons and tear gas canisters faced off with demonstrators after authorities ordered crowds of protesters to disperse at nightfall. Protesters hurled bricks and chunks of concrete taken from pallets of building material, while federal officers responded with rounds of tear gas and pepper spray. Worse followed on Saturday, when protests erupted for a second day. Fires set by protesters threw up plumes of thick black smoke. They set off fireworks and used shopping carts to barricade the street, using chunks from broken cinder blocks to pelt Border Patrol trucks. Police said they had been targeted with rocks and that demonstrators had thrown Molotov cocktails. Kristi Noem, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, said on X: 'A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down.' As darkness fell on the West Coast, the Trump administration announced it was deploying the National Guard, pitting it against the city's Democratic leadership. Such action is rare. It is the first time since 1965 that Washington has deployed the National Guard without the backing of state leadership. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, said: 'The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behaviour and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs. These criminals will be arrested and swiftly brought to justice.' The administration believes it has public opinion on its side after winning a mandate for a mass deportation programme in last year's election. A CBS poll published on Sunday, and conducted before the weekend's violence, found some 54 per cent of respondents backed Mr Trump. It was published just as the first National Guard troops were spotted in Los Angeles, mobilising around the federal complex in the downtown part of the city, one of the hotspots for protests. Protesters say rather than stamping out opposition to the Trump administration's tactics, their presence will make matters worse. 'Bringing the National Guard in is going to spark a national riot,' Vitaly Nieves told the Washington Post. 'It won't just be in California, it'll spread to other states.'
