Trump news - live: Ex-president’s oil claims debunked as Jared Kushner testifies before Jan 6 panel

Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner has appeared virtually before the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. His testimony is said to have been “really valuable”.

The meeting comes as White House records turned over to the committee by the National Archives and Records Administration do not include any calls made or received by Mr Trump between the hours of 11.17am and 6.54pm on the day of the storming of Congress.

The panel is now probing whether Mr Trump or his advisers used untraceable “burner phones” to evade official record-keeping systems which documented the president’s inbound and outbound phone calls that day. Mr Trump denied doing so in a statement in which he claimed to have “no idea what a burner phone is” and has never used the term. However, law suits filed on his behalf and a statement by former national security adviser John Bolton indicate otherwise.

Meanwhile, the current administration blasted Mr Trump’s request for Russian President Vladimir Putin to release potentially damaging information on President Joe Biden’s son in the middle of the war in Ukraine.

“What kind of American, let alone an ex-president, thinks that this is the right time to enter into a scheme with Vladimir Putin and brag about his connections to Vladimir Putin? There is only one, and it’s Donald Trump,” White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said to reporters on Wednesday.

Key Points

• Jared Kushner to meet with Jan 6 committee today

• John Bolton: Trump knew about ‘burner phones’ despite denial

• Trump hits out at Morning Joe hosts over condemnation for Putin favour

• Trump attacks Biden gas plan

• White House slams Trump’s call for favour from Putin

Russia state TV calls Gabbard ‘our friend Tulsi’

22:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Russian state TV has continued to air Fox News clips that align with Vladimir Putin’s spin on the invasion of Ukraine, most recently showing a Tucker Carlson interview with former Democratic US Representative Tulsi Gabbard, whom the Russian host introduced as “our friend”.

Josh Marcus reports.

Russia state TV calls Gabbard ‘our friend Tulsi’ as Tucker Carlson interview aired

Debunking Donald Trump’s false claim that he ‘built up’ oil reserves

22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump’s recent claim that his administration “built up” US strategic petroleum reserves that were “virtually empty” for a half-century is a complete falsehood, according to US Department of Energy records.

Andrew Feinberg explains.

Debunking Donald Trump’s false claim that he ‘built up’ oil reserves

How an explosion of GOP bills targeting LGBT+ Americans created a crisis

21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Conservative Christian groups and ‘parental rights’ agendas target young transgender people with an unprecedented wave of legislation that has nearly doubled within two years, Alex Woodward reports.

How an explosion of GOP bills targeting LGBT+ Americans created a crisis

Rules committee to take up Navarro and Scavino contempt referral

21:21 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN’s Ryan Nobles reports that the House Rules Committee plans to take up the criminal contempt of Congress referral of former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino on Monday.

‘I won’t bow to the mob’

21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

RepublicanNorth Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn has tweeted that he “won’t stop fighting” and that he “won’t bow to the mob” amid scrutiny of his comments in which he alleged that other politicians have done cocaine in front of him and invited him to orgies.

“The radical left, the establishment, and the media want to take me down. Their attacks have been relentless. I won’t stop fighting. I won’t bow to the mob. They want to silence the America First movement. I’m not going anywhere,” Mr Cawthorn wrote on Thursday.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

Cawthorn says he ‘won’t stop fighting’ amid scrutiny of orgies and cocaine comments

GOP candidate shoots at ‘godless commie’ vote counting machine in new ad

20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

A Republican Oklahoma state Senate candidate posted a campaign ad in which he shoots a mock Dominion voting machine.

Jarrin Jackson, who is running for state office in Oklahoma, posted the video on Monday. In the advertisement, he approaches a printer and asks “Who owns this?”

The lid of the printer is labelled “Property of: Godless Commies.”

Dominion Voting Systems was the focus on numerous conspiracy theories following the 2020 election. There has never been any evidence that the company engaged in any fraudulent activity regarding the election.

Graig Graziosi reports.

GOP candidate shoots at 'godless commie' vote counting machine in campaign advert

Trump claims he wasn’t attracted to adult film star Stormy Daniels

20:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump took to his spokesperson’s Twitter on Wednesday to release a statement that once again gloated over the money Stormy Daniels owes the former president since losing her defamation lawsuit, while finding space to add an extra dig about how he wasn’t attracted to the adult film star.

“Today, the 9th Circuit issued yet another attorney fees ruling in my favor against Stephanie Clifford (AKA “Stormy Daniels”) – this time, awarding me $245,209.67 for my fees incurred in her 9th Circuit appeal of her failed lawsuit against me,” the former president began in his statement.

Ms Daniels, who already missed a crucial 30-day deadline to appeal a lower court’s decision on paying Mr Trump’s legal fees, had previously been told that she owed the former president nearly $300,000.

Johanna Chisholm reports.

Trump claims he wasn’t attracted to adult film star Stormy Daniels in new rant

Caitlyn Jenner hired as Fox News contributor

19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Caitlyn Jenner has been hired as a Fox News contributor, the cable network has said.

The former Republican candidate for California governor and reality TV celebrity will appear on the network for the first time in her new role as a paid contributor on Thursday.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Caitlyn Jenner hired as Fox News contributor

An audience of one

19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

David Drucker reports in The Washington Examiner that Donald Trump is being urged to drop his endorsement of Michigan attorney general candidate Matt DePerno in a new television advertisement running solely in the Palm Beach, Florida, media market.

Many Republican insiders in Michigan are said to be adamantly opposed to Mr DePerno who supports the former president’s claim the 2020 election was stolen and is described in the ad as a “grifting loser”.

His opponents are hoping Mr Trump will withdraw his endorsement in the same way he did with his backing of Mo Brooks.

Amount of oil in the strategic petroleum reserve declined during Trump presidency

19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Shockingly, Donald Trump’s claims about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve don’t appear to be even remotely true.

Here’s the raw data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Trump won’t change says GOP senator

18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer dismisses Donald Trump again asking Vladimir Putin to release dirt on his political foes as just Trump being Trump.

“Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He hasn’t changed. He’s not going to change,” he tells MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.

Voices: Kevin McCarthy is to blame for Madison Cawthorn

18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s Eric Garcia writes from Capitol Hill:

McCarthy refused to punish Republicans when they insulted Democrats. Why did he think they wouldn’t eventually attack their own party?

Kevin McCarthy is to blame for Madison Cawthorn. He deserves the consequences

Cawthorn tries to move on and change the subject

18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

After being condemned by members of his own party for his cocaine and orgies comments, it seems North Carolina representative Madison Cawthorn is keen to change the subject, move on from the controversy, and claim he is a victim of relentless attacks from the left, the establishment and the media.

Fellow Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger has thoughts on Mr Cawthorn’s new ad: “When you get caught in a lie, just go after ‘radical establishment’ the ‘left’ and make a vow to fight via a dramatic slow motion video with Trump and the end…”

Cawthorn’s state senators back his primary challenger after orgy claims

18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

North Carolina’s Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr said they’d support a primary challenge against freshman Represenative Madison Cawthorn after he made remarks alleging that colleagues engage in drugs and group sex.

The Independent asked Mr Tillis about speaker of the North Carolina house of representatives Tim Moore and state president pro tempore Phil Berger partaking in a fundraiser for primary challenger Chuck Edwards. Mr Moore succeeded Mr Tillis as speaker after Mr Tillis won his Senate race in 2014.

Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.

Madison Cawthorn’s state senators back his primary challenger after orgy claims

Biden to order 1 million barrels of oil per day released from US reserves

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden will authorise release of one million barrels of oil from US strategic petroleum reserves each day over the next six months as a “wartime bridge” to expected higher domestic production, White House officials said.

Mr Biden is expected to make the announcement on Thursday as part of a plan to combat rising energy prices as a result of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the drop in supply brought on by US sanctions.

Andrew Feinberg has details of the president’s plan that has already drawn the ire of Donald Trump.

Biden to order 1 million barrels of oil per day released from US reserves

White House slams Trump’s call for favour from Putin

17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House has blasted Donald Trump’s request for Russian President Vladimir Putin to release potentially damaging information on President Joe Biden’s son in the middle of the war in Ukraine.

White House blasts Trump’s call for favour from Putin in midst of Ukraine war

Pelosi: Ginni Thomas a ‘proud contributor to a coup’

17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a withering condemnation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Thursday as it becomes clear that the highest court’s ethical standards and practices are facing historic scrutiny.

At her weekly press briefing, the House Democratic leader told reporters that she never believed that Mr Thomas should have joined the Court in the first place, and added that his wife had been revealed as a “admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country”.

The remarks were some of the sharpest criticism issued so far by a high ranking Democratic leader as the fallout over text messages Ginni Thomas sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows both prior to and following the January 6 attack continues.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Pelosi accuses SCOTUS Justice Thomas's wife of being a 'proud contributor to a coup'

Republican Senate campaign chief not backing down from party fight

17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Barely halfway through his first Senate term, Florida Republican Rick Scott is already leaning into a fight against his own party’s leadership as he navigates a delicate alliance with former President Donald Trump and pushes a handcrafted policy agenda that many Republicans reject.

GOP's Senate campaign chief won't back down from party fight

DNC, Clinton campaign agree to Steele dossier funding fine

16:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee have agreed to pay $113,000 to settle a Federal Election Commission investigation into whether they violated campaign finance law by misreporting spending on research that eventually became the infamous Steele dossier.

That’s according to documents sent Tuesday to the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, which had filed an administrative complaint in 2018 accusing the Democrats of misreporting payments made to a law firm during the 2016 campaign to obscure the spending.

DNC, Clinton campaign agree to Steele dossier funding fine

Jared Kushner to meet with Jan 6 committee today

16:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Jared Kushner is today expected to meet virtually with the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

Committee chairman Bennie Thompson told ABC News Mr Kushner is of interest “because he was an integral part of the administration. It’s, I think, important for us to find out if he knew anything about the planning before January 6, and to get it from him.”

The committee has no evidence that he was involved in the planning for the events of 6 January 2021 and has not sought to obtain his email or phone records, Mr Thompson further told reporters.

John Bolton: Trump knew about ‘burner phones’ despite denial

16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump was aware that the slang term “burner phone” is used to describe an untraceable mobile phone used to evade surveillance and used the term on multiple occasions, his former national security adviser has said.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Ex-Trump adviser claims Trump knew about ‘burner phones’ despite denial

Trump hits out at Morning Joe hosts over condemnation for Putin favour

16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump once again launched an attack on an all-too-familiar target for the former president: Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the husband and wife duo who co-host MSNBC’s popular Morning Joe programme alongside Willy Geist — this time about their reporting about his request to Vladimir Putin.

Johanna Chisholm reports on the former president’s latest angry statement.

Trump shoots back at Morning Joe’ hosts for calling him out on pro-Putin remarks

Trump attacks Biden gas price plan

16:10 , Oliver O'Connell

In a statement released through his spokesperson, Donald Trump has hit out at President Joe Biden’s plan to release one million barrels per day of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months in a bid to combat high gas prices.

The former president says: “So after 50 years of being virtually empty, I built up our oil reserves during my administration, and low energy prices, to 100% full. It’s called the Strategic National Reserves, and it hasn’t been full for many decades. In fact, it’s been mostly empty. It’s supposed to only be used for large-scale emergency or conflict. Now I see where Biden has just announced he’s going to take what we so carefully and magically built, and what will be a futile attempt to reduce oil and gasoline prices. They will soon bring it down to empty again. It just never ends!”

White House slams Trump for Putin request

15:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s the moment White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield blasted Donald Trump for asking Vladimir Putin to dig for dirt of Hunter Biden in the midst of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump claims he doesn’t know what burner phones are, but court papers show otherwise

15:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump used the term “burner phones” — a slang term used to describe an untraceable mobile phone which he has denied knowing — in a September 2021 civil lawsuit, according to court documents.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump said he hadn’t heard of burner phones but used phrase in lawsuit

What we still don’t know about the Trump White House call logs from Jan 6

15:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Bombshell reporting from CBS News and The Washington Post published this week revealed that a mysterious gap exists in the Trump White House call logs from the day of the Captiol riot on 6 January 2021.

While rioters attempted to sack the US Capitol, chanted “hang Mike Pence”, and delayed the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, Donald Trump was holed up in the White House with his staff. We now know that several top officials, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, were fielding calls and texts from desperate lawmakers on Capitol Hill who were insistent that the president needed to call off his supporters before the violence got worse.

There is no mention of that in the White House call logs, however, which contain a more than seven-hour gap during the riot where no calls were recorded. The logs are not a complete picture of the communications that White House officials, including the president, had during the riot, given their use of personal cell phones, but the logs are still a point of interest for the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.

John Bowden reports.

Burner phones and a seven-hour gap: What we still don’t know about Trump’s call logs

15:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of news relating to former President Donald Trump and his continuing influence on US politics in Washington and beyond.