Qatar defends offer of plane gift to Trump as ‘a normal thing between allies’ – US politics live

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US representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with assaulting federal agents after a clash outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey, the state’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday.

Alina Habba, interim US attorney, said in a post on social media that McIver was facing charges “for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” when she visited the detention center along with two other Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation on 9 May.

“No one is above the law – politicians or otherwise,” Habba said in a statement. “It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work.”

Rep. LaMonica McIver described the charges as ‘purely political,’ saying the Trump administration was trying to criminalise oversight. Photograph: Angelina Katsanis/AP

McIver on Monday accused federal law enforcement of escalating the situation, saying that it was the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents who “created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation”.

“The charges against me are purely political – they mischaracterise and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalise and deter legislative oversight,” she said.

At the same time, Habba announced her office was dismissing a misdemeanor trespassing charge against Ras Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, whose arrest instigated the clash with federal agents.

The left-learning advocacy group Demand Justice plans to undetake a six-figure advertising effort as part of a new campaign to highlight Donald Trump’s continued attacks on the rule of law.

The adverting campaign, which will include online and print ads in national publications is part of a multi-pronged effort called “Justice Under Siege” will include polling, research, and educational initiatives focused on how the Trump administration is attacking the rule of law, a fundamental pillar of American society

“Since his inauguration, President Trump has repeatedly defied lawful court orders on issues ranging from illegally firing thousands of public servants to deporting lawful US residents without due process,” Maggie Jo Buchanan, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

We’ll systematically document and expose this pattern of attacks on the rule of law, which is made even more alarming by congressional Republicans who aren’t just letting Trump get away with it, but actively participating through threats to defund courts, legislative stunts to take away the ability of the judiciary to check Trump’s overreach, and baseless impeachment efforts against judges whose rulings they disagree with.

The group has previously targeted major law firms who capitulated to Trump with posters around Washington DC near the offices of the firms in the US capitol.

Since taking office in January, Trump’s attacks on the rule of law have been brazen and unrelenting.

He has openly defied court orders halting deportations, called for a federal judge who ruled against him to be impeached, issued executive orders punishing law firms connected to political rivals, and used the power of his office to revoke the security clearance and investigate officials who spoke out against him.

There have also been an alarming rise in threats and harassment against federal judges in recent months as the president has escalated his attacks.

There has been little pushback from Republicans to Trump’s actions. Chief Justice John Roberts spoke out in defense of judges in March, saying:

For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate process exists for that purpose.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the newest member of the court and one of its liberal members, said this monththat the attacks on judges “are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.”

Qatar says plane offer for Trump is 'a normal thing between allies'

Qatar’s offer to give Donald Trump a $400m Boeing 747 airplane is a “normal thing that happens between allies,” prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said at an economic forum held in Doha.

Al Thani dismissed concerns about Qatar trying to buy influence with its key ally, after the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One amid ethical and security concerns.

“I hope that the United States looks to Qatar as a reliable partner in diplomacy that is not trying to buy influence,” Al Thani said.

Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani bids farewell to President Donald Trump at al-Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

Trump has shrugged off worries, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the generous offer. He said the Boeing 747-8 would eventually be donated to his presidential library – a repository housing research materials from his administration, and that he had no plans to use it for personal reasons after leaving office.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the aircraft “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”

In other developments:

• Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.

• Donald Trump lashed out at celebrities who endorsed Kamala Harris in late night and early morning screeds on Monday, saying he would investigate them to see if they were paid for the endorsements – repeating a common refrain on the right about the star-studded list of Harris supporters.

• At least 50 Venezuelan men sent by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador had entered the US legally, according to a review by the Cato Institute. Published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, the report analyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found.

• Donald Trump’s administration can end legal protections that have shielded about 350,000 Venezuelans from potential deportation, the supreme court ruled on Monday. America’s highest court granted a request by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans while an appeal proceeds in a lower court.

• US representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with assaulting federal agents after a clash outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey, the state’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday.

• The former FBI director James Comey has brushed off criticism about a photo of seashells he posted on social media, saying it is “crazy” to think the messaged was intended as a threat against Donald Trump. “I posted it on my Instagram account and thought nothing more of it, until I heard … that people were saying it was some sort of a call for assassination, which is crazy,” Comey said in interview on MSNBC.

• The Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was released only weeks ago from federal detention, has crossed the graduation stage to cheers from his fellow graduates. The Palestinian activist was arrested by immigration authorities in Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview.

• Donald Trump has signed into law the Take It Down Act, a measure that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitation that Melania Trump helped usher through Congress.