Just a day after it was revealed that Donald Trump kept money donated by his supporters for his own purposes instead of spending it on fighting to overturn the 2020 election, his oldest son, Donald Jr, has been soliciting further donations. The younger Trump made the callout in an email offering donors the chance to sign his father’s birthday card. The email was sent as some supporters took umbrage at the news that Mr Trump’s partner, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was paid $60,000 of donors’ money to speak at the White House rally on 6 January. The former president spent his birthday ranting at the “kangaroo” 6 January committee on Truth Social, claiming it had poor ratings. The first hearing, however, drew in 20 million viewers. Having postponed today’s hearing citing technical staffing issues, the committee’s next hearing will be tomorrow. Its members investigating the assault on the US Capitol appears to have split over whether to refer Mr Trump to the Department of Justice on potential criminal charges.

Key points

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Mike Lindell tears into Bill Barr’s 6 January testimony

Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and an ally of Donald Trump who continues to promote the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, has become a popular figure on the right, making regular appearances at rallies – and on right-wing shows like Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast. “Bil Barr is a disgrace to the United States of America,” the pillow entrepreneur told Mr Bannon, in response to the shocking testimony the former attorney general provided to the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, which was screened last week during the first public hearing. “Our great president Donald Trump said, ‘he was afraid of impeachment’,” Mr Lindell said, adding that Mr Barr’s testimony, in which he stated that the election had been fair and free of fraud, was “delusional”. “Mr Barr, you’re either the most corrupt person in this country or you’re the most delusional person that ever walked the planet,” Mr Lindell closed. Watch the full clip below: Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 12:50 1655292059

One of the most important lines of inquiry for the 6 January committee is the Trump team’s efforts to pressure Mike Pence into overturning the election in Congress via a legally dubious strategy that the vice president ultimately refused to pursue. In advance of a hearing focusing on how Mr Trump and his lawyers went about formulating that failed plan, the committee has shared a video of former White House Lawyer Eric Herschmann describing a phonecall he received on 7 January 2021 from John Eastman, an attorney whose detailed writings on how the election could be overturned have become key evidence for the panel. According to Mr Herschmann, Mr Eastman was calling to discuss “something to do with Georgia and preserving something protentially for appeal. “And I said to him, ‘Are you out of your f’ing mind?…I’m going to give you the best free legal advice you’re ever getting in your life: Get a great f’ing criminal defence lawyer. You’re going to need it.’” Introducing the clip, which has been viewed well over 3 million times, Liz Cheney reiterated that a judge evaluating the Trump team’s efforts to pressure Mr Pence concluded they might have violated at least two federal statutes. Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 12:20 1655290469

Donald Trump Jr solicits more money from supporters

Even after the 6 January committee detailed how the Trump operation solicited $250m from supporters after the 2020 election and then failed to spend it as promised, the ex-president’s sent a callout for new donations pegged to his father’s birthday yesterday – offering supporters the chance to sign a “birthday card”, but only if they cough up first. Some Trump supporters are reportedly aghast at the news that the younger Trump’s partner, disgraced ex-Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, was paid $60,000 to speak for less than three minutes at the 6 January rally outside the White House. Gustaf Kilander has more. Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 11:54 1655289059

GOP Representative Barry Loudermilk yesterday celebrated a letter from the US Capitol Police saying there was nothing suspicious about a constituent tour he gave on 5 January 2021, noting that the group he met with did not enter the Capitol building itself. But a new report says that the committee investigating the insurrection may yet have something to say on the matter. According to Punchbowl News, sources say the panel has obtained footage showing one of Mr Loudermilk’s guests outside the Capitol during the riot – fotoage in which he is seen “yelling threats at members of Congress – including Speaker Nancy Pelosi – as the insurrection raged”. The outlet says the committee has not yet decided what to do with the footage, and that a spokesperson declined to comment on it. Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 11:30 1655287515

Gaetz calls Jim Jordan ‘the spiritual and intellectual leader’ of House Republicans

On Tuesday, Time magazine published an article titled, “How the ‘MAGA Squad’ Is Building Power to Control the Next Congress”, and among the shocking revelations and pull quotes cited in the piece, one of the more fascinating moments came from an interview between journalist Molly Ball and Florida Rep Matt Gaetz. “I need backup,” the Florida lawmaker told Ms Ball, referring to the midterms where he and a number of MAGA-backed candidates hope to turn the House not only in a Republican majority, but more specifically in a Trump-backed majority. “If I don’t get a bunch of folks through these primaries and into this expected Republican majority—if [the new GOP members] are all just here to cash the lobbyist checks, shuttle the PAC money to leadership and earn their frivolous attaboys along the way—I don’t have much of a fighting force.” Mr Gaetz also at one point during the interview heaped his praises on the Trump loyalist Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who was fervently supportive of the one-term president thorughout his first impeachment. He’s “the spiritual and intellectual leader of this conference” the Florida lawmaker called Rep Jordan at one point. “Where Jim goes, the conference goes … I don’t even remember who holds which austere titles that append to what corner offices and expanded staff budgets, but they are the followers. Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, myself—we are the leaders.” Read the full interview on Time magazine’s site below: Johanna Chisholm15 June 2022 11:05 1655285400

ICYMI – Watch: Day 2 of Jan 6 committee public hearing

With today’s hearing postponed, there’s time for you to rewatch the 6 January panel’s second session of the summer, a forensic examination of the genesis and spread of the “Big Lie”. Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 10:30 1655283600

New York high court rejects Trump appeal to avoid testifying in civil probe into business

New York’s highest court rejected former President Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to avoid testifying in the state attorney general’s civil investigation into his business practices on Tuesday, clearing the way for his deposition next month. The state’s Court of Appeals said there was no “substantial constitutional question” that would warrant its intervention in the matter following an intermediate appellate court’s ruling last month enforcing a subpoena for Trump’s testimony. The court also dismissed a motion by Trump’s lawyers to stay the subpoenas, saying that doing so would be “academic,” since it wasn’t taking up the former president’s appeal in the first place.

NY high court nixes Trump appeal, clearing way for testimony

New York’s highest court has rejected former President Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to avoid testifying in the state attorney general’s civil investigation into his business practices, clearing the way for his deposition next month Oliver O’Connell15 June 2022 10:00 1655281800

McConnell says he’d vote for bipartisan guns and school safety compromise

Sen Mitch McConnell ended speculation over the bipartisan gun reform and school safety framework that resulted from a compromise struck by Republican and Democratic negotiatiors, with an endorsement of the overall plan. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the GOP Senate leader said that he would vote for legislation that met the framework laid out by negotiators last week, which would expand background checks for people under the age of 21 and establish a federal grant program for states to pass red flag laws. Andrew Naughtie15 June 2022 09:30 1655280240

What to watch for during Thursday’s Jan 6 hearing

When it does take place, it will follow on from an explosive primetime opening hosted by the panel last Thursday and an enthralling second instalment on Monday morning. With more than 20 million people watching the committee’s first presentation, the audience size is expected to drop for the subsequent midweek hearings, mainly due to their early start time of 10am ET when most of the American public is at work. Oliver O’Connell15 June 2022 09:04 1655279100

Former judge who advised Mike Pence will testify to Jan 6 panel Thursday

J Michael Luttig, the renowned conservative legal scholar and retired federal appellate judge, will appear to give evidence before the House January 6 select committee at its next hearing on Thursday. Mr Luttig’s participation in the hearing, which was first reported by NBC News, comes as the panel prepares to present its findings on the pressure campaign mounted against then-Vice President Mike Pence by former president Donald Trump and his allies. Oliver…