Category: Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Jack Smith has outlined new details of former President Donald Trump and his allies’ sweeping and “increasingly desperate” efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, in a blockbuster court filing Wednesday aimed at defending Smith’s prosecution of Trump following the Supreme Court’s July immunity ruling.

Trump intentionally lied to the public, state election officials, and his own vice president in an effort to cling to power after losing the election, while privately describing some of the claims of election fraud as “crazy,” prosecutors alleged in the 165-page filing.

“When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office,” the filing said. “With private co-conspirators, the defendant launched a series of increasingly desperate plans to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states that he had lost.”

When Trump’s effort to overturn the election through lawsuits and fraudulent electors failed to change the outcome of the election, prosecutors allege that the former president fomented violence, with prosecutors describing Trump as directly responsible for “the tinderbox that he purposely ignited on January 6.”

“The defendant also knew that he had only one last hope to prevent Biden’s certification as President: the large and angry crowd standing in front of him. So for more than an hour, the defendant delivered a speech designed to inflame his supporters and motivate them to march to the Capitol,” Smith wrote.

The lengthy filing — which includes an 80-page summary of the evidence gathered by investigators — outlines multiple instances in which Trump allegedly heard from advisers who disproved his allegations, yet continued to spread his claims of outcome-determinative voter fraud, prosecutors said.

“It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell,” Trump allegedly told members of his family following the 2020 election, the filing said.

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the release of the filing was an attempt to interfere with the upcoming election following Tuesday’s vice presidential debate.

“This entire case is a partisan, Unconstitutional Witch Hunt that should be dismissed entirely,” Cheung said.

In her order allowing the redacted filing to become public, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has been overseeing the case, addressed the defense’s accusations of partisan bias.

“Defendant’s opposition brief repeatedly accuses the Government of bad-faith partisan bias,” the judge wrote. “These accusations, for which Defendant provides no support, continue a pattern of defense filings focusing on political rhetoric rather than addressing the legal issues at hand.”

“Not only is that focus unresponsive and unhelpful to the court, but it is also unbefitting of experienced defense counsel and undermining of the judicial proceedings in this case,” Judge Chutkan wrote. “Future filings should be directed to the issues before the court.”

According to prosecutors, Trump “laid the groundwork for his crimes well before” 2020’s Election Day, including by sowing doubt among his supporters and planning to declare victory immediately, despite multiple advisers telling him that the results were unlikely to be finalized on Election Day.

Prosecutors allege that Trump and his allies “sought to create chaos” at polling places — including one instance when a campaign employee encouraged a colleague to “make them riot” at an ongoing vote count in Detroit — which the former president later used to support his claims of voter fraud.

“The throughline of these efforts was deceit: the defendant’s and co-conspirators’ knowingly false claims of election fraud,” the filing said.

In addition to outlining the instances when Trump was directly corrected about his allegations of voter fraud, the filing said Trump privately called allegations of voter fraud made by his lawyer Sidney Powell as “crazy” — despite employing similar arguments to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, prosecutors allege.

Trump last year pleaded not guilty to federal charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election in order to remain in power. Wednesday’s filing comes at a pivotal moment in the case, as Judge Chutkan is set to begin considering whether any of the allegations included in the government’s case are protected by presidential immunity after the Supreme Court ruled in a blockbuster decision that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office.

In August, Smith filed a pared-down indictment that removed allegations likely to have been considered official acts — including Trump’s interactions with Justice Department officials to interfere with the election — while still charging the former president with the same four criminal counts he originally faced. Last week, Smith filed a sealed brief seeking to justify the superseding indictment, then sought to file a redacted version for public release.

Trump’s lawyers opposed Wednesday’s lengthy filing — which they described as “tantamount to a premature and improper Special Counsel report” — and argued that public release of the allegations would improperly influence the election and violate Department of Justice policies. Judge Chutkan — who has long stated that the election does not play a factor in her decision making — ordered the filing be publicly released Wednesday.

In justifying his case against Trump, Smith alleged that Trump acted as an office-seeker rather than an officeholder when he committed crimes, and that he “must stand trial for his private crimes as would any other citizen.”

“Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one,” Wednesday’s filing said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Melania Trump, the wife of former President Donald Trump, is criticizing restrictions on reproductive rights, including limits on abortion, in her new memoir, Melania, according to a new report.

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” Melania Trump writes in her upcoming book, according to a report Wednesday from the Guardian.

In a position at odds with much of the Republican party, Melania Trump reportedly argues that the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be a decision left between a woman and her doctor, calling it “the common-sense approach.”

“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” she reportedly writes in the memoir set for release next week.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life,” she reportedly says in the pages of Melania.

Purported excerpts of Melania Trump’s forthcoming book were published by the Guardian Wednesday but not independently verified by ABC News. A spokesperson for Melania Trump and the Trump campaign have not responded to requests from ABC News.

Melania Trump also addresses late-term abortions, according to the excerpts.

“It is important to note that historically, most abortions conducted during the later stages of pregnancy were the result of severe fetal abnormalities that probably would have led to the death or stillbirth of the child. Perhaps even the death of the mother. These cases were extremely rare and typically occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we should embrace these common-sense standards. Again, timing matters,” she reportedly writes.

Those comments offer a stark contrast to narratives Donald Trump has pushed around the issue, falsely claiming that Democrats support abortion “after birth.” Infanticide is illegal in all 50 states.

According to the report, Melania Trump then goes on to further ask for compassion for women who decide to terminate a pregnancy, detailing the hardships that surround making the decision and stressing the importance of “knowledge, security, and solace” for the next generation.

“When confronted with an unexpected pregnancy, young women frequently experience feelings of isolation and significant stress. I, like most Americans, am in favor of the requirement that juveniles obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion. I realize this may not always be possible. Our next generation must be provided with knowledge, security, safety, and solace, and the cultural stigma associated with abortion must be lifted,” the former first lady reportedly writes.

Melania Trump’s reported comments come as husband Donald Trump has, at times, stumbled when answering complex questions on the campaign trail about his position on abortion rights and what reproductive care he would or wouldn’t protect. After being instrumental in the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, the former president has advocated for certain abortion exceptions and has said he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban.

During campaign rallies, Trump has touted his abortion policy, calling himself “the most pro-life President in American history.” He has also celebrated his appointment of three U.S. Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe vs. Wade.

As Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz sparred over Trump’s policies on reproductive rights at Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, the former president reiterated his position that the decision on abortion is where people wanted it — with the states, writing on his social media platform that he would not support a federal abortion ban “under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it.”

Abortion remains a top issue for voters — especially women — in the upcoming election. Both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are working to connect with voters on the topic in what’s expected to be a close contest in November.

According to the Guardian, Melania Trump, an immigrant herself, also addresses immigration in her book. But she writes that she likes to keep “occasional political disagreements” private.

Donald Trump recently promoted his wife’s book at his rally in Uniondale, New York, though he suggested he hadn’t actually read it.

“First Lady, people love our first lady out there. Go out and get her book,” Trump said to cheers. “She just wrote a book. I hope she said good things about … She just wrote a book called ‘Melania.’ Go out and buy it. It’s great. And if she says bad things about me, I’ll call you all up, and I’ll say, don’t buy it.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Domestic violent extremists will pose “the most significant physical threat to government officials, voters, and elections-related personnel and infrastructure, including polling places, ballot drop box locations, voter registration sites, campaign events, political party offices, and vote counting sites,” according to a Department of Homeland Security assessment released on Wednesday.

DHS believes that extremists will be motivated by policy grievances, which have also led to an uptick in the targeting of election officials.

The overall threat environment in the United States “will remain high,” according to the department’s annual threat assessment.

“The Homeland faces a complex set of threats to our public safety, border security, critical infrastructure, and economy from violent extremists, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), adversarial nation-states, and malicious cyber actors,” the 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment says.

“The Homeland Security Assessment provides an important overview of the dynamic and evolving threat landscape, illustrating just how varied and challenging the threats we confront are,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “It is because of the remarkable DHS workforce, and our close collaboration with our federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners, that we are able to meet the challenges and keep the American people safe and secure.”

The assessment, produced by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, said that threats from domestic actors will “continue to be characterized primarily by lone offenders or small cells motivated to violence by a combination of racial, religious, gender, or anti-government grievances; conspiracy theories; and personalized factors,” and be motivated by the Presidential Election and the Israel/Hamas conflict.

“Between September 2023 and July 2024, [domestic violent extremists] driven by various anti-government, racial, or gender-related motivations have conducted at least four attacks in the Homeland, one of which resulted in a death.7 US law enforcement disrupted at least seven additional DVE plots,” according to the assessment. “Two HVE attacks, partially motivated by the Israel-HAMAS conflict, also occurred during this timeframe, and law enforcement disrupted at least three other HVE plots.”

Mass shootings in the United States over the “last year were not motivated by an ideology, but were rather associated with suspected or confirmed mental illness or driven by relationship grievances,” the Department assesses.

DHS officials said that they are aware that the upcoming anniversary of Oct. 7th may add “even more fuel to an already challenging and heightened threat environment.”

The officials, on a call with reporters, said they’ve communicated this to their state and local partners.

Foreign terrorist organizations also maintain a threat to conduct or inspire attacks in the United States, the assessment said.

“These organizations maintain worldwide networks of supporters that could target the Homeland. FTO media outlets promote violent rhetoric intended to inspire U.S. persons to mobilize to violence, while foreign terrorists continue engaging online supporters to solicit funds; create and share media; and encourage followers to attack the Homeland, U.S. interests, and what they perceive as the West,” the report said.

Iran is also a concern for DHS officials, who say that they have threatened former U.S. government officials including former President Donald Trump.

“We’ve been very, very clear that is a threat vector that we are extremely concerned about and monitoring very closely, working to gain as much information and fidelity on as we possibly can,” the official said.

In addition to Iran, China and Russia also “pose a host of threats” to the United States and will attempt to use a blend of subversive, undeclared, criminal, and coercive tactics to seek new opportunities to undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions and domestic social cohesion.

The department has concluded, as intelligence agencies have, they will likely attempt to interfere in the election.

It’s not just the election; DHS assesses that nation state backed “criminal hacktivists” will attempt to position themselves on critical infrastructure networks.

Along the southern border, DHS assesses that the challenges will continue, including from Individuals on the terror watchlist who the report says will evolve their tactics and try and exploit vulnerabilities along the border.

The official noted that the number of suspects encountered on the terror watch list have also decreased from year to year.

The encounters do remain high, the assessment notes, but due to the recently policies put in place, they are decreasing.

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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump praised their respective running mates — Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance — as their campaigns worked to spin how well they performed at Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate.

Despite several missteps from both candidates over the course of the debate, Harris said in a fundraising email Wednesday morning that Walz “offered a powerful showcase of the kind of leadership we deserve,” and Trump said in an interview Wednesday there was “brilliance” in Vance’s debate performance.

With just over 30 days until Election Day, the debate stage offered both candidates an opportunity to appeal to undecided voters and share their running mates’ visions for America — and now the Harris and Trump campaigns and surrogates are working to smooth over any moments where the vice-presidential candidates stumbled.

Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told CNN Wednesday morning that the campaign is “excited” by Walz’s performance.

“I think Vice President Harris’ reaction is the same as voters across the country, independent voters in particular, and those undecideds who saw Gov. Walz lay out a very clear vision for where he and the vice president want to take this country,” Tyler said.

Tyler called Vance a “slick debater,” but said “Gov. Walz clearly articulated the case in a plain-spoken way.”

But Walz struggled to explain why he had in the past “misspoke” about being in Hong Kong and witnessing the Tiananmen Square protests in the spring of 1989, despite the weekslong protest concluding in June, months before he traveled there.

Walz argued “my community knows who I am” and that he’s “not been perfect” and can be “a knucklehead at times.”

“No, I think he was pretty clear,” Tyler said when asked if Walz needed to go further than his comments during the debate in clearing up his misstatement on the protests.

“He said he misspoke. He was there in August. I think he’d earlier said it was June. This is a matter of months, 35 years ago. He was there during the summer of protests,” Tyler added.

In a play-by-play live commentary on social media, Trump painted Walz as appearing “nervous,” incompetent and even “weird.” Trump in particular seized on Walz struggling to answer for the alleged discrepancy in his visit to Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests, portraying him as a liar.

Walz’s performance at times was shaky, with some suggesting if Walz did more news interviews since becoming the vice-presidential pick, he’d have been better prepared. When pressed on that, Tyler said “no,” it would not have helped, before pointing to a more aggressive strategy in campaign’s final weeks.

“I think what you will see him and the vice president continue to do over the course of the final month of this stretch is use every tool that we have at our disposal to continue to reach the voters,” Tyler said. “Yes, that will be inclusive of more media appearances, more interviews.”

On the campaign trail on Wednesday, Walz graded his debate performance: “Not bad for a football coach,” he said at a York, Pennsylvania, rally.

“I did not underestimate Sen. Vance as a slick talker,” Walz said. “But I also called out there — you can’t rewrite history. You can’t rewrite history.”

Trump, who said in a video posted before the debate that he planned to call out his own running mate if he made a “mistake,” praised Vance’s performance throughout Tuesday night.

“JD crushed it!” Trump posted on his social media following the conclusion of the debate.

And on Wednesday morning, in a phone call with Fox News Digital, Trump doubled down on his praise, saying Vance’s performance “reconfirmed” his choice of vice-presidential candidate.

“JD was fantastic last night — it just reconfirmed my choice,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “There was a brilliance to what he did.”

Trump campaign’s senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita immediately claimed victory following the debate, saying in a statement that Vance “unequivocally won tonight’s debate in dominating fashion,” and claimed “it was the best debate performance from any vice-presidential candidate in history.”

Walking into the spin room right Tuesday night, the former president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr., who had strongly supported Vance as Trump’s running mate, told reporters that “there’s nothing to spin.”

Asked about the moment when Vance refused to say if Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump Jr. insisted that the American public are “not worried about that.”

Yet the Harris campaign was quick to zero in on the exchange.

A Harris campaign official claimed a focus group of undecided battleground-state voters they conducted said this back-and forth was the “biggest gap” between the two candidates. The campaign clipped the exchange for a new ad released Wednesday morning.

Jason Miller, senior Trump campaign adviser, in the spin room Tuesday night said, “JD’s a very likable guy. I think his life experience connects with voters.”

“I think Sen. Vance helped us win today because he had a tremendous performance,” Miller said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Even as Iranian missiles were streaking across the skies over Israel this week, U.S. officials say they were actively engaging with their Israeli counterparts to game out an appropriate response to the attack and underscore the need to avoid escalation.

Now that the fog of war has subsided to reveal that Iran’s barrage on Tuesday did not incur massive loss of life or widespread damage, several Biden administration officials tell ABC News they’re more optimistic they can persuade Israel to carry out a measured response — but said they still fear a significant counterattack could trigger additional military action from Iran that leads to spiraling escalation in the Middle East.

One U.S. official said Israel aims to reestablish deterrence through its response by putting on a show of force. However, the official said Israel is unlikely to hit Iran’s nuclear facilities — a move that would spark ire from Tehran and one President Joe Biden made clear he does not support following a conversation with other members of the G7.

“We’ll be discussing with Israelis what they’re going to do,” Biden said Wednesday. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion.”

Another U.S. official said Israel could opt to go after other targets critical to Iran’s economy, like the country’s energy grid or its oil production infrastructure, but that striking a military installation would be the route with the lowest risk of escalation.

They added that the Biden administration believes Israel is still evaluating its options and has not yet set a firm timeline for its response.

An Israeli official told ABC News on Wednesday that its retaliation would be “significant” and “come fast.”

The Iranian regime has issued a range of messages following Tuesday’s attack on Israel, blaming the presence of the U.S. and some European nations in the Middle East for the turmoil in the region and declaring that peace depends on “rooting out the evil of these countries” while also declaring Tehran doesn’t want a broader war.

“We don’t seek war, it is Israel that is forcing us to react,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a press conference in Qatar on Wednesday.

Tehran said its attack was incited by the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil in July, which was widely attributed to Israel, and the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike last week.

The Biden administration has lauded the killing of Nasrallah, saying Israel acted to bring the leader of a designated terror organization to justice. But the killing of the Iranian proxy group’s leader has also complicated the leverage the U.S. has over Israel.

In April, Tehran launched a drone and missile attack at Israel to settle the score following an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria. Then, the tit-for-tat ended with a murmur — a muted counterblow from Israel on a single Iranian military site.

But in the spring, Israel still wished to avoid provoking Hezbollah, making the country more amenable to the Biden administration’s pleas for caution. Now, Israel is actively carrying out ground incursions into Lebanon and has greatly diminished the militant group’s capability.

The Biden administration initially responded to Israel’s actions in Lebanon by urgently calling for a cease-fire.

Now, U.S. officials say they are still pursuing a diplomatic solution, but the public messaging from Washington has pivoted back to one of support for Israel rather than calls for truce in Lebanon.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign on Wednesday announced that following a “strong” vice-presidential debate performance from running mate Gov. Tim Walz Tuesday night, he’ll embark on a weeklong travel and media blitz — including rallies, direct voter engagement events, fundraisers and two national TV interviews — that begins in battleground Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

“Walz will participate in more media interviews and engagements to reach key demographics and target voters that the campaign is working to win, combining national, battleground state, and specialty media interviews with high-impact digital engagements including with sports content creators and podcasts,” the campaign said.

Walz will also make his late-night TV debut as Harris’ running mate and be a guest on a “top pop culture podcast” during an upcoming swing on the West Coast, the campaign said — though specific details have not yet been disclosed.

Walz’s interactions with national media have been rare since he hit the campaign trail, with his only national interviews being the ABC News and MSNBC post-presidential debate interviews on Sept. 10 and the joint sit-down interview with Harris on CNN on Aug. 29.

Walz is kicking off the swing with a central Pennsylvania bus tour on Wednesday with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — a trip meant to be done with Harris, however her schedule shifted to focus on Hurricane Helene. On Wednesday, Harris visits Georgia to survey the storm damage, give updates on the government response and hear from local officials on the ground.

Walz’s Pennsylvania bus tour includes stops in Harrisburg and Reading before Fetterman joins him for a campaign rally in York.

Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state where both campaigns will focus their time in the remaining weeks until Election Day. Pennsylvania went for former President Donald Trump by over 44,000 votes in 2016 before President Joe Biden took it back by over 80,000 votes in 2020.

On Saturday, Walz will be fundraising, starting with an Ohio swing in Cleveland and Cincinnati. He’ll then travel to the West Coast to fundraise, with stops in California and Washington.

According to the campaign, Walz will also continue his campaigning with stops in the Sun Belt. He will make another visit to Reno, Nevada, to hold a campaign rally that was originally postponed in light of the Davis wildfires in September. He then goes to Arizona for a series of political events to kick off the start of early voting in the state.

“With just over 30 days until the election, the Harris-Walz ticket is entering the final stretch of the campaign aggressively, with a robust travel and media schedule to ensure that every American voter knows what’s on the line in November,” the campaign said.

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(WASHINGTON) — With just 36 days until Election Day, the campaign trail is taking a sharp turn toward how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are responding to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath.

It’s also one day before the vice presidential debate on Tuesday.

Here’s how the news is developing.

Harris campaign launches ad on Jan. 6 debate clash between Walz, Vance

Just hours after last night’s debate, the Harris campaign launched a new ad slamming Vance over his answer to a question about Jan. 6 in a moment they consider to be a highlight of Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate.

In the 30-second clip titled “JD Vance’s Damning Non-Answer,” Vance refuses to clarify if he thinks Trump lost the 2020 election. It is part of the campaign’s $370 million fall media push and will air digitally across battleground states.

Michael Tyler, a Harris spokesperson, was asked by CNN Wednesday morning if the Jan. 6 exchange was something Walz wanted to talk about or if it was something that just happened in the moment.

“I think the governor was prepared to make sure that the voters understood that Donald Trump remains a risky bet for the American people,”

-ABC News’ Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

Harris discusses Helene and Iran with Georgia ABC station: ‘We’ve got boots on the ground’

“So, I was actually in the Situation Room today with the president for several hours with our national security team,” said Harris on Tuesday. “It is important that we as the United States stand with Israel and its right to defend itself, especially against Iran, which poses a threat to American interest American personnel in the region.”

Harris also told the reporter that the government is sending supplies to Georgia following Hurricane Helene.

“I have been in touch with the governor. Actually I spoke with him. I’ve been getting regular briefings at FEMA,” before refuting Trump’s claims that President Joe Biden’s administration has not been moving supplies in fast enough.

“We’ve got boots on the ground in Georgia. There has been a big effort that we have made to make sure that we get food, water and generators to folks who need that after the hurricane.”

-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

Harris calls Iran attack ‘reckless and brazen’

Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Iran’s attack against Israel calling it “reckless and brazen,” and labeling Iran “a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East.”

The vice president said that while American officials are “still assessing the impact,” and that “initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack.”

“This operation and successful cooperation saved many innocent lives,” she said.

“My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering,” Harris said.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow

Trump criticizes Biden-Harris administration over Iranian attack

Former President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian attack against Israel five minutes into his remarks in Waunakee, Wisconsin, Tuesday, claiming “the world right now is spiraling out of control.”

He also suggested the Biden-Harris administration is close to achieving a “global catastrophe.”

The president and vice president gathered in the Situation Room earlier Tuesday afternoon to monitor the situation and gather updates from their national security team.

Trump doubled down on his previous statement that the White House has “no leadership.”

-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Soo Rin Kim

Harris to tour Helene damage in Georgia Wednesday

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Georgia Wednesday, to tour areas that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene last week, her office said.

“The Vice President will also provide updates on Federal actions that are being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts in Georgia and several other states throughout the southeast,” her office said in a statement.

The tour will be at the same time that President Joe Biden visits areas in the Carolinas that were struck hardest by the storm.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

Trump claims Musk will help Helene victims

Standing in front of a destroyed furniture store in Valdosta, Georgia, former President Donald Trump claimed he’s requested help from Elon Musk and will be traveling to North Carolina when conditions clear.

“They don’t have communication. … I just spoke to Elon,” he said. “We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever. And Elon will always come through.”

“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election. But in a time like this when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters,” Trump said before later suggesting the Biden-Harris administration wasn’t doing enough and falsely claiming that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp couldn’t get ahold of the president.

–ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

Fact check: Biden and Georgia’s governor have spoken

Trump incorrectly claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and President Joe Biden haven’t been in touch since Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast, making clear that his already controversial visit to the hard-hit state is a political one.

“I spoke with, for a couple hours, leaders yesterday affected by the hurricane,” Biden said Monday morning. “Governor Kemp of Georgia, Governor Cooper of North Carolina, county officials in the Big Bend region of Florida and other leaders in South Carolina and Tennessee.”

Kemp on Monday acknowledged the call with Biden and said he and Harris had been trying to speak.

–ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Molly Nagle

Trump claims Biden and Harris not responding to Georgia disaster

Trump claimed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is having a hard time getting President Joe Biden on the phone and that the federal government is being unresponsive after Hurricane Helene wrecked the parts of the state.

“The Vice President, she’s out some place campaigning and looking for money,” Trump said after landing in Valdosta, Georgia. “They have to be focused over here.”

Biden approved Kemp’s request for an emergency declaration on Thursday and Harris canceled campaign events Monday to return to Washington for a briefing on the storm and the federal response.

NC leaders ask politicians to stay away

Ahead of his visit to Valdosta, Georgia, Trump posted to Truth Social that he will pay his respects to the community, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene, and bring aid.

Trump added that he was going to stop by damaged communities in North Carolina too, but determined it would be too burdensome on local officials.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents Asheville, North Carolina, told ABC Contributing Political Correspondent Rachael Bade on Sunday night that photo-ops were not welcome. Cooper even asked President Joe Biden and Harris to please not visit the state right now.

–ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

New York Times endorses Harris

The New York Times endorsed Harris for president in an editorial published Monday morning, calling her “the only patriotic choice for president” and later “the only choice.”

“As a dedicated public servant who has demonstrated care, competence and an unwavering commitment to the Constitution, Ms. Harris stands alone in this race,” the Times’ editorial board wrote. “She may not be the perfect candidate for every voter, especially those who are frustrated and angry about our government’s failures to fix what’s broken — from our immigration system to public schools to housing costs to gun violence. Yet we urge Americans to contrast Ms. Harris’s record with her opponent’s.”

–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

Trump heads to Georgia devastation, Harris cancels campaign events and heads to DC for FEMA briefing

Trump is scheduled to visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday amid storm wreckage in the area.

Trump, who has been criticizing Harris for not visiting communities damaged by Hurricane Helene, will receive a briefing on the damage from the hurricane, help distribute relief supplies and deliver campaign remarks at a local furniture store in Valdosta, the campaign announced on Sunday.

Harris, meanwhile, is canceling her campaign events and heading back from Las Vegas to get a briefing at FEMA headquarters in Washington on what her campaign says are the “ongoing impacts of Hurricane Helene and the federal actions being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts across several states.”
 

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(NEW YORK) — In one of the most notable exchanges of the vice presidential debate, Republican candidate JD Vance refused to say former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and downplayed the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the ceremonial certification of the results.

The Ohio senator also declined to rule out challenging the outcome of the 2024 race, even if votes were certified by every state leader as legitimate.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, expressed exasperation and disbelief. He said such denialism had to stop because it was “tearing our country apart.”

The topic of democracy, a top issue for many voters this cycle, came up near the end of the 90-minute debate hosted by CBS News in New York City.

Moderator Norah O’Donnell, noting there were no findings of widespread fraud in 2020, asked Vance about his past comment that he would not have certified the election if he had been vice president and instead would have asked states to submit alternate slate of electors.

“That has been called unconstitutional and illegal,” O’Donnell said. “Would you, again, seek to challenge this year’s election results, even if every governor certifies the results?”

Vance first sidestepped the question by saying he was “focused on the future” and criticized Harris, who he later claimed was the real “threat to democracy” as he accused her of censorship.

When he did address the question, he said: “Look, what President Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020, and my own belief is that we should fight about those issues, debate those issues peacefully in the public square.”

“And that’s all I’ve said, and that’s all that Donald Trump has said,” Vance continued, even though Trump is criminally accused of trying to overturn the election. “Remember, he said that on Jan. 6, the protesters ought to protest peacefully, and on Jan. 20 what happened? Joe Biden became the president, Donald Trump left the White House and now, of course, unfortunately, we have all of the negative policies that have come from the Harris-Biden administration.”

Walz called those comments “troubling” and said he was concerned about Trump’s recent threats to jail political opponents and his efforts to cast doubt on this year’s outcome.

“Here we are, four years later, in the same boat,” Walz said. “I will tell you, that when this is over, we need to shake hands, this election, and the winner needs to be the winner. This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

The two, in a departure from the civil tone of the night, got into a tense back-and-forth on the issue.

Vance tried to cast election denialism as an issue for both parties, trying to equate Trump’s actions to Hillary Clinton’s complaints about the 2016 election (but only after she conceded).

“Hillary Clinton, in 2016, said that Donald Trump had the election stolen by Vladimir Putin because the Russians bought, like, $500,000 worth of Facebook ads,” Vance said.

“January 6 was not Facebook ads,” Walz said, hammering him for casting Jan. 6 as “peaceful” given the violence and deaths.

That day, which began with a speech by Trump at the Ellipse in which he told attendees to march “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol, culminated in approximately 140 law enforcement officers being injured, more than a thousand people being charged and cost millions of dollars damage.

In the months leading up to Jan. 6, Trump spread falsehoods about the 2020 election being “rigged” and “stolen” by Democrats. At the Ellipse, he continued the incendiary language and proclaimed, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Toward the end of Tuesday’s debate, Walz turned toward Vance and pressed him directly: “Did he lose the 2020 election?”

“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Vance responded.

“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz shot back.

He also invoked former Vice President Mike Pence, saying the reason he wasn’t on the debate stage was because of his decision to carry out the certification of the 2020 results against Trump’s wishes.

“America, I think you’ve got a really clear choice,” Walz said, “of who’s going to honor that democracy and who’s going to honor Donald Trump.”

Trump also refused to accept that he lost the 2020 election during the ABC News presidential debate on Sept. 10.

When confronted with own recent remarks that he “lost by a whisker,” Trump doubled down. “I said that?” he responded.

“Are you now acknowledging that you lost in 2020?” ABC News moderator David Muir asked.

“No, I don’t acknowledge that at all,” he said. “That was said sarcastically.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing as he faces federal and state charges for his efforts to overturn his election.

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(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court, faced with sagging public confidence and a deepening perception its decisions are politically-motivated, could soon play a critical role in how some 2024 presidential ballots are cast and counted and, potentially, how contested election results are certified.

“As prepared as anyone can be,” said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s junior justice, when asked recently about the flood of election-related lawsuits headed toward the high court.

Hundreds of state and federal cases involving disputes over the legitimacy of state voter rolls, access to voting places, and procedures for counting ballots are currently pending. A majority of them were brought by Republicans.

“It is a deluge,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank tracking the unprecedented volume of election-year litigation. “It is a strategy to sow disinformation and chaos in the election system.”

Many of the lawsuits, predicated on “conspiracy theories” and advancing tenuous legal arguments, will ultimately be tossed out on technical grounds, Weiser said. But some may reach the justices with the potential to alter voting procedures in the final weeks of the campaign, depending on how they rule.

In one closely-watched case from Mississippi, the Republican National Committee has asked a conservative federal appeals court panel to prohibit the counting of mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, even if they are postmarked on or before Nov. 5. Roughly 20 states have long standing laws permitting late-arriving ballots, including Nevada, Virginia and Ohio.

“They’re saying federal law says election day means election day, which means that anything that comes afterwards was not on election day,” Weiser said of the GOP effort. “The argument has been raised in many cases across the country, and the courts have been routinely rejecting it. But given the context of the players involved, there’s now not a 0% risk that this could happen.”

In North Carolina, Republicans have sued state election officials seeking to remove 225,000 voters ahead of Election Day, claiming voter registration forms lacked the required identification information. The case is among more than three dozen GOP-led suits attempting to purge alleged ineligible voters, according to Democracy Docket, a left-leaning group tracking the litigation.

“It doesn’t strike me as implausible that you would see a case like that sharply before the Supreme Court in late October,” said University of Chicago law professor Aziz Huq.

While the justices have generally sought to avoid interference in state voter registration policies and election procedures close to an election — a concept known as the Purcell Principle — they have occasionally issued rulings that have resulted in major changes.

In the past few weeks, the court has issued decisions allowing Arizona to require proof of citizenship for state voter registration and rejecting Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s bid to appear on the Nevada ballot.

“They’ve never really explained what is the ‘status quo’ and what is ‘last minute,’ and they have been incredibly inconsistent in how they applied [Purcell],” said Caroline Fredrickson, a Georgetown law professor and former president of the American Constitution Society.

Other possible scenarios for Supreme Court involvement in the 2024 election could unfold after Nov. 5, as local and state election officials tabulate ballots and certify results.

“Imagine a state such as Georgia, where you have a state election board that has in the past weeks evinced a certain tendency to invite and foment election related litigation, resisting certification of a slate of presidential electors that the state election board disfavors,” said Huq. “What happens then? Perhaps the Supreme Court would be called in to tell us.”

The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 (ECRA) mandates that states must certify their results by Dec. 11, but does not spell out what would happen if they do not do so. There could be litigation to resolve the appointment of a state’s electors for president by Dec. 16 when the Electoral College meets to cast votes.

The law explicitly directs disputes over certification to a three-judge panel for resolution with the U.S. Supreme Court getting the final word.

“It’s certainly contemplated as a second layer fail-safe,” said Weiser, “but I’m relatively confident that all the earlier layer fail-safes are going to hold and that we’re not going to be in that scenario.”

The court could also be asked to weigh in on any attempt by members of Congress to disqualify former President Donald Trump from a second term, if he were to win the election, during certification of the electoral vote on Jan. 6, 2025.

In the case Trump v. Anderson last year, the justices unanimously ruled that states could not disqualify a presidential candidate as an “insurrectionist” under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, but it left open a federal process to make that determination.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says anyone who took an oath “as an officer of the United States to support the Constitution” and who then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort to the enemy” cannot hold office.

Trump’s critics allege he clearly violated Section 3 given his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to block certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Under the ECRA, if one-fifth of the members of the House and Senate voted to object to certification of Trump’s electors on the grounds that he is ineligible to hold office, that decision could ultimately be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

“You could imagine a kind of Bush v Gore style, very, very rapid sequence of motions or petitions being filed and making their way through the court system,” said Huq. “I can imagine that happening, although I think it’s unlikely. But I suspect the Supreme Court would make short work of it.”

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(NEW YORK) — During the first and only vice presidential debate of this election cycle Tuesday evening, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted he “misspoke” about being in China during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Walz has repeatedly claimed he was in China for the protests during his year-long stint as a high school teacher in the southeastern Chinese town of Foshan.

As recently as in February, Walz said during an episode of the podcast “Pod Save America” that he was in Hong Kong during the protests. 

“I was in Hong Kong when it happened – I was in Hong Kong on June 4th when Tiananmen happened … Quite a few of our folks decided not to go in,” he said.

It appears Walz did not actually travel to the region until August 1989, according to local newspaper clippings obtained by ABC News. The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which led to a deadly government crackdown by the Chinese government, lasted from April 15 to June 4 that year — ending about two months ahead of Walz’s travel to the country.

Pressed to clarify news reports that disprove such claims, Walz said that he “misspoke” in his earlier claims but then reiterated that he “was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest.”

While evading the question over whether he was telling the truth about the timeline of his travel, Walz defended his character by admitting he has gaffes, has “not been perfect” and is a “knucklehead at times.”

This marks another instance of Walz appearing to have misspoken about his past.

The Democratic vice presidential pick previously came under fire for his military record, with critics attacking the way he has characterized his experience and pointing out instances of him failing to correct inaccuracies.

In addition to Walz repeatedly saying that he retired with a rank he achieved but did not retire with, the Harris-Walz campaign admitted he misspoke when stating in 2018 that he carried weapons of war “in war.”

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