Trump desperately begs MAGA supporters to help him pay $464m fraud bond: Latest

As speculation continues as to who will join Donald Trump on the Republican ticket, Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s name has risen up the potential rankings, according to six (yes, six) sources familiar with the search who spoke with NBC News.

“The list is long, and it’s extremely early in any kind of process,” a Trump adviser said. “No one has been directly reached out to yet, and I do not expect that for some time.”

Two sources familiar with planning said there is a growing consensus around a June announcement of a vice presidential pick — at least a month before the convention — but there are no firm plans yet.

But Trump’s apparent seriousness about Rubio, 52, a third-term senator, hints at his priorities and presents an intriguing set of potential complications.

Rubio is young and telegenic, he has spent more time in federal office than Vice President Kamala Harris, and, at a time when Trump is bullish on his chances of winning over Latino voters, he would be the first Latino person on a major-party presidential ticket.

The famously elusive and private former first lady is keeping us guessing about what role she may play as her husband seeks a return to the White House…

Martha McHardy has the story:

A Colorado man who helped other rioters drag a police officer into a mob storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to more than five years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

Jeffrey Sabol ripped a baton from an officer’s hands before pulling another officer into the crowd outside the Capitol, allowing other rioters to assault the officer with weapons.

Sabol, 54, told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that he knows he is “100%” guilty and would have apologized directly to the officers whom he attacked if they had attended the hearing.

“I accept whatever it is you hand me,” Sabol said. “I’ll be honest: I deserve it.”

Mr Trump has hotly objected to a “fire sale” of his property empire – selling off assets to generate cash to meet the bond – but failing to do so risks allowing such prized properties as Trump Tower in Manhattan, so integral to his brand, to fall into the hands of New York attorney general Letitia James, who has already said she is more than happy to repossess his holdings.

As part of the ruling against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, Justice Arthur Engoron has laid out the terms of the monitorship of the company that will last for three years.

In November 2022, the court named retired judge Barbara S Jones to the position of monitor. An independent director of compliance will also be appointed.

The general duties and responsibilities of the monitor are:

During the Term of the monitorship, the Monitor shall review Defendants’ internal accounting controls, governance, record-keeping, and financial reporting policies and procedures. The Monitor shall also review Defendants’ compliance with internal accounting controls, including any recommended and/or ordered financial and accounting procedures. The Monitor shall also establish a protocol to review Defendants’ preparation and presentation of financial disclosures prior to their issuance to third parties.

The company will also have to provide the monitor all information regarding the proposed transfer, dissolution, or restructuring of assets or debts.

The monitor will provide quarterly written reports to the court and will advise the court of any actions by the defendants that circumvent or violate the terms of the monitorship. Should this happen, the court can modify the terms of the order, including its length, and the monitor may request modifications should she find it necessary in order to carry out her duties.

Here’s more on Trump asking: “Brother, can you spare a dime?”

Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to Donald Trump, surrendered to authorities on 19 March to begin a four-month sentence at a prison near Miami, Florida, after he was convicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the US Supreme Court had denied his last-ditch attempt to stay his sentence pending an appeal against his conviction.

The former Trump aide was convicted in September over his refusal to comply with two subpoenas from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot – one asking him to provide documents related to the former president’s efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, the other to testify at its hearings.

Prior to entering the facility, Navarro, 74, delivered a brief press conference in a parking lot in which he attempted to portray himself as a martyr to Democrat-led persecution in grandiose terms and, like Mr Trump, baselessly bemoaned “the partisan weaponisation of our judicial system”.

Navarro is the first member of Trump’s inner circle to see the inside of a jail cell in connection to the Capitol riot but is only the latest to hit the rocks by association with his political brand.

Few who involve themselves with Trump seem to come out of it enriched by the experience and some – notably his one-time personal attorney Rudy Giuliani – find themselves facing disgrace or financial hardship.

Many former members of Trump’s administration between 2017 and 2021 have since turned against him and refused to endorse his latest presidential run, often leading to them being ostracised from the MAGA movement and re-emerging as outspoken critics of his conduct.

But only a handful have actually ended up behind bars.

Navarro aside, here’s a look at the other former Trump associates who have done time over their involvement with the former president.