New indictment against Donald Trump in election subversion case Donald Trump faces a new indictment in the 2020 case against him after the US supreme court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution. The new indictment filed by the special counsel Jack Smith dropped allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the US justice department in his effort to overturn his defeat. More on the updated indictment against Donald Trump: The justice department filed a new indictment against Donald Trump on Tuesday over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The maneuver does not substantially change the criminal case against him but protects it in the wake of a July supreme court decision ruling saying that Trump and other presidents have immunity for official acts, but not unofficial ones. “Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a superseding indictment, charging the defendant with the same criminal offenses that were charged in the original indictment,” lawyers for Jack Smith, the special counsel handling the case, said in a filing that accompanied what’s known as a supersedeing indictment. “The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v United States.” The document retains the same four criminal charges against Trump that were originally filed last summer. But portions of the new indictment are rewritten to emphasize that Trump was not acting in his official capacity during his efforts to try and overturn the election. Harris and Walz to sit for first joint interview on Thursday Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will sit down for a joint interview with CNN on Thursday, the outlet reported. The interview will be their first together and the first for the vice-president in more than a month. It comes as Harris has faced growing criticism for not sitting down with a major media organization or holding a full press conference since she began her campaign. The updated indictment against Trump was issued by a grand jury that had not heard evidence in the case before, the special counsel said. The new indictment keeps the same charges, but there are several key changes – primarily, the removal of allegations against the former president related to his interactions with the justice department. It also no longer includes Jeffrey Clark, an official at the justice department who promoted Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen, as a co-conspirator. New indictment against Donald Trump in election subversion case Donald Trump faces a new indictment in the 2020 case against him after the US supreme court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution. The new indictment filed by the special counsel Jack Smith dropped allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the US justice department in his effort to overturn his defeat. It’s worth noting that Kamala Harris has not responded to Donald Trump’s announcement that he has reached an agreement for the rules of their debate on 10 September. Earlier this month, her campaign said she would be willing to do two debates, one on 10 September, and another on a to-be-determined date in October. Her running mate Tim Walz will do one debate with Trump’s pick, JD Vance, on 1 October. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris say they support cutting taxes on tips, and the topic may come up at their debate on 10 September. But as the Guardian’s Michael Sainato reports, workers’-rights advocates aren’t thrilled about the suddenly popular policy: Tipping has always been a controversial subject in the US. Imported from Europe and popularized by some accounts after the fall of slavery to reinforce racial wage disparities, the practice comes freighted with historic baggage. Nor is it overly popular with consumers. Since the pandemic, 72% of US adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was in 2019, according to a Pew survey. Four in 10 Americans oppose the suggested tips that have been popping up on payment screens everywhere from coffee shops and dry cleaners to self-service machines in airports. That hasn’t stopped Donald Trump and Kamala Harris from putting tips at the center of their election battle. Earlier this month, in a bold move, the vice-president endorsed a policy that the former president touted earlier this year to ban taxes on tips for service workers, as both candidates have been vying for working-class voters in the 2024 election, especially in the swing state of Nevada. At a glance, the idea of giving a break to tipped workers is attractive – in some states, the minimum wage for tipped workers is just $2.13 an hour, and an alarming 14.8% of those workers live in poverty. But the idea raises many issues: why should a low-wage worker who does get tips be treated differently from one who doesn’t? Will higher-paid workers be able to use the cut their tax bills? Harris says not, Trump is less clear. Donald Trump agreed to the rules of the 10 September presidential debate after spending the last few days openly mulling pulling out of the event entirely. Here’s a look back at what we know about the squabble over the debate’s rules, from the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe: Donald Trump has expressed doubt that he will participate in a scheduled televised debate with Kamala Harris next month, hurling a trademark “fake news” slur at the network that agreed to host it. The former president and Republican presidential nominee threatened to pull out of the 10 September meeting with Harris, the vice-president and Democratic nominee for November’s election, in a post on his Truth Social network on Sunday night. Referring to an interview on ABC’s This Week earlier in the day with the host Jonathan Karl and Tom Cotton, the Republican Arkansas US senator, Trump questioned the network’s fairness for the only debate that both presidential candidates had already agreed on. “I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump wrote with his usual penchant for erroneous uppercase letters. He also alluded to his ongoing defamation lawsuit against the This Week host George Stephanopoulos and the ABC network over comments the anchor made in March stating Trump had been found “liable for rape” instead of sexual abuse in a case brought by the New York writer E Jean Carroll. Trump says he"s reached agreement for rules of 10 September debate with Harris Donald Trump says he has agreed to the rules for ABC News’s 10 September debate with Kamala Harris, which will be their first encounter since she launched her presidential campaign. The two campaigns had reportedly been at odds over the rules of the debate, with the biggest point of contention being whether the candidates’ microphones would be muted when the other candidate was talking. Politico reported yesterday that Harris’s team wanted the microphones live during the whole broadcast, which would be a change from the CNN-hosted June debate between Trump and Joe Biden. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the debate will be held under CNN’s rules – which seems to indicate microphones will be muted when a candidate is not speaking: I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. It will be Broadcast Live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business, on Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden. The Debate will be “stand up,” and Candidates cannot bring notes, or “cheat sheets.” We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a “fair and equitable” Debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance (No Donna Brazile!). Harris would not agree to the FoxNews Debate on September 4th, but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind or, Flip Flops, as she has done on every single one of her long held and cherished policy beliefs. A possible third Debate, which would go to NBC FAKE NEWS, has not been agreed to by the Radical Left. GOD BLESS AMERICA! Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will host fundraisers in three well-heeled western towns, the Harris-Walz campaign announced this afternoon. Emhoff’s first event will be in Ketchum, Idaho, on Thursday, and then on Friday, he’ll hold fundraisers in San Francisco and in Aspen, Colorado. Harris has raked in donations since entering the presidential race in late July following Joe Biden’s withdrawal, and saw a pronounced surge in fundraising during last week’s Democratic convention: Donald Trump has for months been viewed as the preferred candidate to deal with the economy, according to public opinion polls. But a Reuters/Ipsos survey released today shows that his advantage on that issue, as well as on handling crime, is eroding against Kamala Harris. Here’s more: The three-day poll, conducted Aug 23-25, showed Republican former President Trump’s approach to the economy and employment was preferred by 43% of registered voters compared to 40% who preferred Harris’s approach. The 3 percentage point difference was too small to be significant given the poll’s 4 percentage point margin of error. A prior Reuters/Ipsos poll in late July showed Trump with an 11-point advantage on the economy. On crime and corruption, Harris and Trump were tied with 40% support for each, showing more movement toward Harris, who trailed Trump by 5 points in the July poll. Recent national polls have shown Harris building a small lead over Trump since she entered the race on July 21 following President Joe Biden’s decision to fold his campaign. The Reuters/Ipsos poll from late July showed Harris up by 1 point, 43% to 42%. Since entering the race late last month, Harris has focused squarely on lowering prices, which rose steadily during the past three years of Joe Biden’s presidency as the US economy saw its worst episode of inflation since the 1980s. Robert F Kennedy Jr"s sister calls Trump endorsement "gaudy and obscene" In an interview today with CNN, Robert F Kennedy Jr’s sister, Kerry Kennedy said their father, former attorney general Robert F Kennedy, would not approve of his son’s endorsement of Donald Trump. The elder Kennedy served as the country’s top law enforcement officer under John F Kennedy, his brother, and later represented New York in the Senate. He was assassinated in 1968, as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Bobby carries my father’s name, and throughout his campaign, he relied on Daddy’s images and Uncle Jack’s images to promote that campaign,” Kerry Kennedy said in the interview. “So he has an extra duty to protect their values and their vision, and were he alive today, that real Robert Kennedy would have detested almost everything Donald Trump represents. His lying, selfishness, racism, hatred, fascist sympathies, deliberate misinformation about vaccines, criminal felony convictions.” She continued: Daddy was the attorney general of the United States, the chief law enforcement officer. Donald Trump raped E. Jean Carroll, has 34 felony actions. He has contempt for the poor and suffering, for ethics, democracy, and healing. His cruel sneering at human rights for suffering people in America and around the world, the cause that was so loved passionately by my father Robert Kennedy. So I’m frankly outraged and disgusted by Bobby’s, my brother’s gaudy and obscene embrace of Donald Trump. As he climbs the ranks of Donald Trump’s campaign, Robert F Kennedy is getting perhaps-unwanted attention from environmentalists over his involvement in cutting off a whale’s head and driving it back home on the roof of his car, the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe reports: His independent White House campaign has fizzled, but the flow of bizarre stories of Robert F Kennedy Jr’s unorthodox handling of the carcasses of wild mammals has experienced no similar suspension. An environmental group is calling for a federal investigation into the former presidential candidate for an episode in which he allegedly severed the head of a washed-up whale with a chainsaw – and drove home with it strapped to his car’s roof. The episode has parallels with another extraordinary tale reported earlier in August in which Kennedy confessed to dumping a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park and attempted to make it look like the animal was killed by a bicyclist. The latest grisly revelation, about the whale head, is not particularly new – it stems from a 2012 interview Kennedy’s daughter Kick gave to Town & Country magazine, in which she talks about a visit to other family members of the political dynasty in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, more than two decades prior. But the story’s re-emergence, following the bear tale and other off-the-wall declarations – including claims that part of RFK Jr’s brain was eaten by worms and that he had an apparent fondness for barbecued dog – has angered activists at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund. The group previously denounced Kennedy’s candidacy and endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president. In a new video, Tim Walz, vice-presidential nominee and governor of Minnesota, appeared on popular Instagram talkshow Subway Takes hosted by comedian Kareem Rahma. During the interviews for the popular online talkshow, that has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and more than 450,000 on TikTok, Rahma asks guests for controversial opinions while riding on the New York City subway. Each video tends to start with Rahma asking his guest: “So, what’s your take?” In the video with Walz, posted on Tuesday, the vice-presidential candidate answers: “My take is … the most neglected part of home ownership is the gutters,” adding “it’s personal for me … I’ve had problems with gutters before.” Throughout the lighthearted video, that seems to be an attempt to appeal to young voters, Walz and Rahma, both midwest natives, discuss ways to clean your gutters, the state of Minnesota, whether cheese should go on or inside a hamburger and more. JD Vance, the Ohio senator and Donald Trump’s running mate, is giving a speech to supporters at a campaign event in Big Rapids, Michigan. Earlier today, Vance’s press secretary tweeted that the vice-presidential candidate was on his way to the event and was bringing his mother. Michigan is one of a handful of crucial states in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Earlier this month, a new poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College put Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by four points in three key swing states, including Michigan. President Joe Biden has responded to a decision issued by a federal judge in Texas on Monday night to temporarily block a Biden immigration policy that allows undocumented spouses of US citizens to remain in the country while their applications for permanent residence are considered. In a statement sent on Tuesday, Biden responded to the ruling and said: Last night, a single district court in Texas ruled that our work to keep families together has to stop. That ruling is wrong. These families should not be needlessly separated. They should be able to stay together, and my Administration will not stop fighting for them. I am not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration; I am interested in solving problems. Nor am I interested in tearing families apart. That is not who we are as Americans. I will continue to fight to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system. The day so far Fresh off picking up the endorsements of former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr and ex-Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump will reportedly appoint both to a team tasked with vetting personnel for his administration, should he win the November elections. Meanwhile, his campaign is today attacking Kamala Harris for not scheduling any interviews since starting her bid for the White House in late July, and also for saying she would sign a bipartisan deal to tighten immigration policy, which would also greenlight new border wall construction – something she has said she opposes. Harris has no public events scheduled today, but her campaign did debut television ads that will tell battleground state residents about her plan to lower housing costs. Here’s what else has happened today so far: Trump is spending the day hawking digital trading cards, and promising that if you buy 15, he’ll send you a physical card bearing a piece of the suit he wore to his debate with Joe Biden. JD Vance will later this afternoon deliver a campaign speech in Big Rapids, Michigan, where he’ll talk about his economic plans. The Democratic national convention may also be remembered as a great way to get Covid-19. In other immigration news, the Biden administration suffered a setback in its attempt to allow undocumented spouses of US citizens to remain in the country, the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe reports: A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a Joe Biden immigration policy that allows undocumented spouses of US citizens to remain in the country while their applications for permanent residence are considered. The so-called “parole in place” program was halted in a Monday night ruling by federal district court judge J Campbell Barker in the eastern district of Texas, a favorite venue of conservatives seeking to derail the president’s policy agenda. Barker was appointed to his position by the Donald Trump White House. About half a million foreign-born spouses of US citizens were estimated to have been eligible for the Biden administration’s initiative that was announced in June under the banner “Keeping Families Together”. Applications opened on 19 August. Unless or until Barker’s 14-day stay is lifted or overturned on appeal, the pre-existing requirement for applicants to seek a change in legal status from overseas remains in effect. Immigration advocates condemned the ruling as “heartbreaking”, saying it could separate mixed-status families for years – or even permanently while their lengthy green card applications are processed. As happy as Democrats were with last week’s convention in Chicago, NBC News reports that it may also qualify as something of a superspreader event for Covid-19. Citing sources close to the campaign, NBC reports that two members of Kamala Harris’s campaign staff came down with the virus, and there are some concerns that the infections could affect events planned for this week. Here’s more: One of the sources said that so far, the aides’ symptoms they’ve heard about have been mild, and a third person close to the campaign said there was no concern about staffing the events. Since the convention wrapped up Thursday, various attendees and reporters have posted photos of positive Covid results. “You put 20,000 people in an 18,000-person building, it’s bound to happen,” said Jaimey Sexton, a Chicago political consultant who attended the convention and was involved in multiple related events. Sexton said he knew of people who now have Covid from the convention and has heard of even more anecdotally. “You could ask anybody who was planning an event, they know somebody who has Covid,” he said. The convention had overflow crowds at the United Center each day, particularly Thursday, the night Harris delivered her acceptance remarks. Before 8 p.m. that evening, organizers announced the venue would be closed off because it was at capacity. There was much buzz that night that a surprise guest was to take the stage and make a big splash. Rumors were rampant even before that night that pop star Beyoncé was to appear. Harris has tapped Beyoncé’s hit “Freedom” as a theme song for her candidacy. At one point, TMZ reported the Beyoncé rumors were true — only to then retract the story. “Maybe the DNC surprise was the COVID we got along the way,” NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer posted on X, alongside a photo of a positive Covid test result. In 2020 — before a vaccine was available — Democrats canceled their in-person convention because of Covid. There were no health-related requirements for attendees, including testing or wearing of masks, before last week’s convention. While his campaign is busy bringing on high-profile supporters and attacking Kamala Harris, Donald Trump is spending today … hawking trading cards. “By popular demand, I’m doing a new series of Trump digital trading cards,” he says in a video posted this morning to his Truth Social account (which his newly resurrected account on X has not shared). “These cards show me dancing and even me holding some bitcoins,” he continues, adding that those who buy 15 digital cards will get a physical card mailed to them for free – which will have a piece of the suit he wore at his presidential debate against Joe Biden (which he says is known as the “knockout suit”, because it indeed proved disastrous for the Democrat’s campaign) sewn into it. “We’ll be talking about it for a long time,” the former president promises at the video’s end. It seems to be a repeat of a sale Trump first rolled out two years ago, which brought him a few million dollars, and plenty of mockery: