Frankie TAGGART

Former President Donald Trump leaves his Trump National Doral resort, Tuesday, June 13, 2023 in Doral, Fla. (AP/Jim Rassol)

June 14, 2023, 1:39 am

Trump pleads not guilty to dozens of charges over mishandling of US state secrets

US government says ex-president violated Espionage Act, other laws when taking classified files after leaving office in 2021, sharing some of them, and misleading authorities

By Gerard Martinez and Frankie TAGGART

A motorcade of vehicles, with former US president Donald Trump on board, arrives at Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Federal Courthouse in Miami, Florida, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP)

June 13, 2023, 11:00 pm

Trump surrenders to face federal charges of mishandling government secrets

Former president expected to plead not guilty in latest investigation threatening his bid to retake the White House

By Gerard Martinez and Frankie TAGGART

Former US president and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a Team Trump Volunteer Leadership Training at the Grimes Community Center in Grimes, Iowa, on June 1, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

June 10, 2023, 4:55 pm

Trump’s indictment adds unprecedented twist to 2024 White House race

Former US president expected to seek pardon for himself if reelected; most GOP rivals rally to his side, seemingly not wanting to alienate Trump’s loyal base should he drop out

By Frankie TAGGART

US President Joe Biden meets with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) about the debt ceiling, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on May 22, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

May 23, 2023, 4:28 am

Biden, McCarthy call debt talks ‘productive,’ but no deal as June 1 deadline looms

Speaker says negotiators are going to ‘work through the night’ and that he and the president will ‘talk every day to try to find a way to get this done’

By Frankie TAGGART

Former US president Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club April 4, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

April 5, 2023, 5:06 am

Back at Mar-a-Lago, Trump denounces hush money charges as ‘an insult to our country’

‘Never thought it could happen,’ former US president tells group of supporters after being indicted on 34 felony counts in NYC, claims America going through its ‘darkest hours’

By Gerard Martinez and Frankie TAGGART

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 4, 2023. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

March 5, 2023, 5:00 am

Trump pitches another term, slams Republican ‘fools’ at ‘MAGApalooza’ gathering

Former US president hailed as superstar at CPAC event, repeats voter fraud conspiracies, avoids attacking rivals, presents himself as only candidate who can ‘prevent World War III’

By Frankie TAGGART

Rep. Kevin McCarthy smiles after winning the 15th vote in the House chamber as the House enters the fifth day trying to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, early Saturday, January 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

January 7, 2023, 8:12 am

At 15th try, McCarthy elected US House speaker after quelling far-right GOP revolt

Victory comes amid tumultuous scenes with lawmakers being held back from physical confrontation and after offering major concessions to party hardliners

By Frankie TAGGART

US Republican Representative of California Kevin McCarthy speaks with a colleague as lawmakers take a 13th vote for House Speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, on January 6, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/AFP)

January 7, 2023, 12:28 am

McCarthy inches ahead in US House speaker’s race after major concessions to holdouts

Republican frontrunner picks up 14 defectors in the 12th round of voting, moving ahead of Democrat Jeffries for first time, but remains short of majority

By Frankie TAGGART

US House Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, returns to his office after a break on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

January 5, 2023, 4:38 am

Stalemate in Washington: Deadlock deepens in US House speaker showdown

Renegade Republican hardliners block party representative Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker in six consecutive votes, leaving chamber unable to legislate or swear in new members

By Frankie TAGGART

Rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

December 20, 2022, 9:22 am

5 takeaways from US congressional report calling for criminal charges against Trump

New findings from panel probing January 6 Capitol storming show former US president was instrumental in organizing the insurrection, those close to him were ‘not forthcoming’

By Frankie TAGGART

Activists hold up signs spelling out 'Defend Democracy' during a protest to call on accountability for the January 6th attack on the US Capitol Building on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP)

October 23, 2022, 9:55 am

‘Election deniers’ in midterms are threatening US democracy, warn experts

Republicans up and down next month’s ballots are embracing defeated president Donald Trump’s false assertion that 2020 election was stolen and that voter fraud is rife

By Frankie TAGGART

Insurrectionists loyal to then US president Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, January 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Julio Cortez/AP)

October 11, 2022, 9:08 am

Experts warn violent speech a danger ahead of US midterms

Significant increase in social media posts featuring phrase ‘civil war’ noted by experts; 9,625 threats against members of Congress recorded in 2021, a steep increase

By Frankie TAGGART

An photo contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on August 30, 2022, shows documents seized during the August 8 search by the FBI of former president Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Department of Justice via AP)

September 2, 2022, 11:36 am

Trump, US government lock horns in court over seized secret files

Prosecutors say few materials taken during Mar-a-Lago search ‘contain attorney-client privileged info’; ex-president’s lawyer likens controversy to fuss over ‘overdue library book’

By Marco Bello and Frankie TAGGART

Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming arrives after a break as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

August 16, 2022, 9:12 pm

Liz Cheney gambles career, for now, to head anti-Trump Republicans

GOP representative set to lose primary for opposing former US president’s stolen election claims, but Washington-watchers expect vote will mark a beginning rather than an end

By Frankie TAGGART

Grain fields backdropped by a power plant in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP/Nariman El-Mofty)

July 23, 2022, 11:32 pm

Russian strikes on Odesa port cast doubt over grain deal

Kyiv says attack is ‘a spit in the face’ to the agreement brokered a day earlier by Turkey and the UN

By Frankie TAGGART