Trump news today: Melania complains press is ‘canceling’ her as Trump and Hillary Clinton

Melania Trump has hit out in response to reports that fundraising for charitable initiatives “Fostering the Future” and “Be Best” might have violated Florida law, calling the claims “inaccurate, misleading, and outright incorrect” and accusing reporters of “trying to cancel her” and the children she is trying to help.

Andrew Feinberg has the news:

Right-wing Texas Congressman Chip Roy has laid into 19 of his Senate colleagues for voting to avoid a government shutdown. Specifically, he is angry that they did so after the failure of a non-starter amendment tabled by Utah’s Mike Lee that would have defunded vaccine mandates.

But one of Mr Roy’s own state’s senators is not taking the criticism lying down…

Mike Pence was met with protests yesterday when he arrived to give a speech at Stanford University. Student gathered to shout slogans defending science and defying bigotry while he delivered his address.

Among the topics he hit upon was, naturally, the truth about 6 January – on which point he defended the RNC’s recent resolution describing protesters as engaged in “legitimate political discourse”. As the former vice president told it, the resolution was intended to protect “a whole range of people that have been set upon” by the select committee set up to investigate the insurrection.

Committee member Adam Kinzinger was unimpressed, if unsurprised.

Melania Trump on Friday lashed out at the press for reporting on a Florida department of consumer services investigation into whether a charity organisation she purportedly raised funds for was properly registered with authorities.

In a rare statement, the former first lady accused reporters of “[canceling] the hopes and dreams of children by trying to cancel [her]”.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports:

One of the most recognisable Capitol rioters is set to appear in court today. Kevin Seefried was pictured carrying a giant Confederate flag through the building during the riot, thereby bringing an icon of anti-union, pro-slavery seditionism into the heart of American Democracy.

Republican Minnesota Congressman Jim Hagedorn has died at the age of 59. He was serving his second term in the House of Representatives when his kidney cancer returned from remission last summer. A statement on his passing has been posted by his wife.

By endorsing Liz Cheney’s primary challenger, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has taken a drastic step – one that indicates just how intolerant of dissent the top tier of the Republican Party has become. Nonetheless, the Wyoming representative is benefiting from the support of major donors, as well as other Republicans with huge fundraising clout – not least Mitt Romney.

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy has totted up the number of times Fox News mentioned Hillary Clinton yesterday, and the numbers speak for themselves:

New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján, who suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, last night shared a picture of himself recovering in Washington, DC – an encouraging indication that he expects to return to work on Capitol Hill soon.

Law professor and former US attorney Barb McQuade last night explained on MSNBC why Donald Trump is the worst kind of client for a lawyer to take on.

“Donald Trump is a lawyer’s nightmare client because most lawyers will tell their client shut-up, don’t say anything, don’t speak publicly, because you might say something that contradicts our legal strategy…

“He’s spent most of his career kind of having it both ways – avoiding speaking under oath, and yet using his platform to speak publicly to say things that are self-serving. This is the moment where the rubber meets the road, and he has to either answer questions truthfully under oath or invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”

Watch her analysis below: