White House insists Trump’s prosecutor was legally appointed after federal judge throws out Comey and James indictments – live

8.53pm GMT Leavitt insists that Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed after federal judge tosses out indictments The White House press secretary insisted that Lindsey Halligan, the interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia handpicked by Donald Trump, was legally appointed to her position. This comes after a federal judge threw out the charges against James Comey and Letitia James, saying that Halligan had no “legal authority” to charge two of the president’s most notable adversaries. “The Department of Justice will be appealing very soon, and it is our position that Lindsey Halligan is extremely qualified for this position, but more importantly, was legally appointed to it,” Leavitt told reporters. The press secretary said that Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who issued today’s rulings, was “trying to shield” the former FBI director and New York attorney general “from receiving accountability”. 8.44pm GMT White House supports Pentagon's investigation into senator Kelly, says press secretary Speaking to reporters outside the West Wing today, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House supports the Pentagon’s announcement that it is investigating veteran and Arizona senator Mark Kelly. Today, the Democratic lawmaker accused the Department of Defense of intimidation, Leavitt pushed back when asked about his Kelly’s statement. “I think what senator Mark Kelly was actually trying to do was intimidate the 1.3 million active-duty service members who are currently serving in our United States Armed Forces with that video that he and his Democrat colleagues put out,” the press secretary said, referencing the social media post where six Democratic members of Congress told members of the military that they should “refuse” illegal orders. “They knew what they were doing in this video, and Senator Mark Kelly and all of them should be held accountable for that,” Leavitt added today. Updated at 8.58pm GMT 8.30pm GMT My colleague, Jeremy Barr, has been combing through the tens of thousands of pages that were released on Sunday as part of voting technology company Smartmatic’s $2.7bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. He notes that Fox News has strenuously denied Smartmatic’s claims and said the company has vastly overstated its value. In a statement, Smartmatic said Fox’s “attempts to delay accountability won’t work, and its day of reckoning is coming”. You can read the top takeaways from the documents below. Related: What happened at Fox News after the 2020 election? Documents reveal new details 7.57pm GMT Here's a recap of the day so far In a blow to Trump’s justice department, a federal judge has tossed out criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-installed prosecutor who secured the indictment against two of the president’s most noted adversaries, was illegally appointed to her position as US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. Currie wrote that Halligan had “no lawful authority” to present the indictments to both Comey and James (in separate cases). The Pentagon has said it’s investigating Democratic senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for US troops to refuse unlawful orders. The Pentagon’s statement, which was posted on social media this morning, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court martial or other measures. For his part, Kelly wrote in a statement that he’s “given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution”. Talks continued in Geneva between US and Ukrainian representatives today. Earlier, Donald Trump said that “something good just may be happening” in a post on Truth Social. Meanwhile, Ukraine has significantly amended the US “peace plan” for Ukraine, removing some of Russia’s maximalist demands, people familiar with the negotiations said, as European leaders warned on Monday that no deal could be reached quickly. For his part, Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet Donald Trump in the White House later this week. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has filed a notice in the federal register to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the roughly 10,000 Myanmar nationals living in the US. This, despite the country being ruled by a military dictatorship that has a record of executing dissidents. The Trump administration has already withdrawn protected status for a number of other nationalities, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan and Venezuela, as part of sweeping changes to immigration policy. The outgoing Georgia congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, said today that “smears, lies, attacks, and name calling is childish behavior, divisive, and bad for our country”. This comes after she announced her decision to resign from Congress in January. In recent weeks, Greene has had a very public falling out with Donald Trump, which culminated in the president calling her a “traitor” after she supported a vote for the justice department to release the complete trove of Jeffrey Epstein files. Today, without naming the president or any Republican colleagues, the Georgia lawmaker pushed back on X. “Memes and red meat rants do nothing. Actions speak louder than words,” Greene wrote Updated at 8.17pm GMT 7.16pm GMT Trump to visit Beijing in April, after 'very good' call with Xi Jinping The president has said he will visit Beijing in April, after a “very good” call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he “discussed many topics including Ukraine/Russia, Fentanyl, Soybeans and other Farm Products”. He also teased a “good, and very important, deal for our Great Farmers”, and summarised the relationship with China as “extremely strong”. This despite a brewing trade war with the nation, following their decision to limit exports of rare earth minerals, and the US issuing retaliatory tariffs. “President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted,” Trump added. “I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a State Visit in the U.S. later in the year. We agreed that it is important that we communicate often, which I look forward to doing.” 6.51pm GMT 'I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies,' senator Kelly responds to secretary Hegseth Earlier, we brought you the news that the Department of Defense is investigating veteran and sitting Democratic senator Mark Kelly. This, after the Arizona lawmaker joined five other members of Congress in telling active duty military to “refuse illegal orders” in a social media video. For his part, Kelly has responded in a statement. “Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death,” he wrote in a post on X. “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” Kelly also gave a brief summary of his military career: In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much. 5.51pm GMT Halligan’s conduct in the Comey case came under sustained scrutiny from three different judges. A magistrate judge determined that Halligan may have committed other significant legal errors in instructing and presenting evidence to the same grand jury. The justice department denied to Reuters that Halligan engaged in any misconduct and argued that the magistrate judge’s ruling was based on misinterpretations and assumptions. Updated at 6.25pm GMT 5.50pm GMT A reminder that Comey was charged with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation. Prosecutors alleged he lied to the Senate judiciary committee during a 2020 hearing when he said he stood behind prior testimony that he had not authorized FBI leaks about investigations into Trump and his 2016 presidential election rival, Hillary Clinton. Comey has had an antagonistic relationship with Trump since his first term in 2017, when the president fired Comey while he was overseeing an investigation into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Comey, who pleaded not guilty, mounted an array of legal challenges to the case, arguing that Halligan was unlawfully appointed as interim US attorney, that the case was an improper “vindictive” prosecution engineered by Trump, and that the substance of the false statement allegation was legally flawed. Updated at 6.24pm GMT 5.49pm GMT A federal judge has tossed out criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-installed prosecutor who secured the indictment against two of the president’s most noted adversaries, was illegally appointed to her position as US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. Currie wrote that Halligan had “no lawful authority” to present the indictments to both Comey and James (in separate cases). Lawyers for the former FBI director argued that when Halligan secured the indictment, the clock for a temporary US attorney had been run-out by her predecessor, Erik Siebert (who had already served for 120 days). They said it ultimately disqualified Halligan from holding the position at all. Updated at 6.30pm GMT 5.46pm GMT Judge dismisses charges against ex-FBI director James Comey, rebuking Trump's prosecutor We’re getting lines in through the news wires that a US district judge has dismissed the charges against former FBI director James Comey, and found that the prosecutor leading the case against Comey was unlawfully appointed as US attorney. The judge also dismissed the charges against New York attorney general Letitia James. We’ll bring you more on this as we get it. Updated at 5.52pm GMT 5.28pm GMT Pentagon says it's investigating senator Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders' The Pentagon has said it’s investigating Democratic senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for US troops to refuse unlawful orders. The Pentagon’s statement, which was posted on social media this morning, cited a federal law that allows retired servicemembers to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other measures. Kelly served in the US navy as a fighter pilot before going on to become an astronaut. He retired at the rank of captain. As the Associated Press notes, it is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until the second Trump term has usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation. In its statement, the Pentagon suggests that Kelly’s statements in the video interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces” by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions. “A thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” the statement said. In the video that was posted last Tuesday, Kelly was one of six lawmakers who served in the military or intelligence community to speak “directly to members of the military”. Kelly, told troops “you can refuse illegal orders” and other lawmakers said that they needed troops to “stand up for our laws ... our Constitution”. Updated at 5.45pm GMT 5.21pm GMT First lady Melania Trump has received the White House Christmas tree, which will be posted in the Blue Room. The tree is a 25-foot concolor fir from Korson’s Tree Farms in Michigan, according to the White House. It was delivered to the White House on a horse-drawn cart while a band played O Christmas Tree. You can watch the clip here. Updated at 5.46pm GMT 5.06pm GMT Xi tells Trump Taiwan's 'return' key to post-war order – reports Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke on the phone this morning, multiple outlets are reporting, with the White House confirming the call but not providing many details or indicating who initiated it. Chinese state media said the call focused on the issue of Taiwan, which Trump said did not come up in their recent in-person meeting. Chinese media said Xi told Trump that “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order”. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it, though the island’s government rejects Beijing’s claim and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. China is locked in its biggest diplomatic crisis for years with Japan, after Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said this month a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. Xi and Trump met in South Korea on 30 October following months of trade tensions triggered by Trump’s tariff policies. China has since pledged to resume purchases of US soybeans and loosen its expanded curbs on rare earths exports, while the US agreed to lower tariffs on China by 10%. Xi said that China-US ties have stabilised and improved since their meeting. “The facts again show that cooperation benefits both sides while confrontation hurts both,” he told Trump, urging the two countries to maintain positive momentum and expand cooperation. The two leaders also discussed recent developments in the war in Ukraine, with Xi reiterating that China supports all efforts conducive to peace while calling on all parties to narrow their differences. (A reminder that China claims neutrality but has been providing significant support to Russia’s war effort). Updated at 5.47pm GMT 4.38pm GMT As we bring you the latest on the escalating military action in Venezuela, my colleagues Tiago Rogero, Ana Lucía González Paz and Lucy Swan have put together a comprehensive breakdown on how we got to this point. This includes details about the strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats that have killed 83 people in recent months, and the approximate location of several US navy ships in the Caribbean. Take a look at their full report, chock-full of detailed graphics, below. Related: Deadly airstrikes and a military buildup: how the US pressure campaign against Venezuela has unfolded in the Caribbean 4.29pm GMT Trump eyes new healthcare plan, includes two-year Obamacare extension – reports The president is set to unveil a new healthcare proposal, according to several reports. Politico notes that this will include a two-year extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill agreed to hold a vote on extending the Obamacare subsidies in December, after some of the Democratic caucus broke from the party and passed a stopgap funding bill to reopen the federal government. Now, the White House’s reported plan will include new income caps for enrollees to qualify for the ACA credits, as well as minimum premium payments. MS NOW reports that the new proposal will also feature a health savings account to “incentivize lower-premium options” on the ACA exchange, that would mean the difference in coverage would be deposited to an account that enrollees can use directly. This is a move that certain GOP senators, like senate health committee chair Bill Cassidy, have pushed as an option. Updated at 4.45pm GMT 3.51pm GMT Trump administration ends Temporary Protected Status for Myanmar The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has filed a notice in the federal register to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Myanmar living in the US. A reminder that TPS is a program that allows immigrants from designated countries, usually experiencing natural disaster, persecution or conflict, to work and live legally in the US for a certain period of time. Recently, Donald Trump also said he would end protections for Somalian immigrants living in Minnesota. TPS for Somalia is already set to lapse at the end of March 2026. 3.05pm GMT New poll shows overwhelming majority of Americans opposed to military action in Venezuela A new CBS News/YouGov poll shows that 70% of Americans are opposed to any military action in Venezuela. The survey, which took place between 19 and 21 November, also showed that 76% of respondents said that Donald Trump hasn’t yet made clear what US position on military action in Venezuela is. There was a smaller gap in opinion when it came to the administration’s strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in and around the Caribbean, which have killed more than 80 people. 53% of Americans approve of the force used, while 47% disapprove. 2.30pm GMT My colleague, Jakub Krupa, is covering the latest developments out of Europe today. He notes that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram to say that his country’s delegation is returning home after talks in Geneva. Zelenskyy says that he is “awaiting a full report” on the progress of negotiations, which should come this evening. He added: Based on the results of the reports, we will determine further steps and timing. We will continue to coordinate with Europe and other partners in the world. You can follow along at our dedicated live blog below. Related: Trump hints at ‘something good’ after Ukraine peace talks as EU says ‘work remains’ – Europe live 2.11pm GMT Marjorie Taylor Greene calls out 'smear, lies, attacks and name calling' following resignation announcement The outgoing Georgia congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, said today that “smears, lies, attacks, and name calling is childish behavior, divisive, and bad for our country”. This comes after she announced her decision to resign from Congress in January. In recent weeks, Greene has had a very public falling out with Donald Trump, which culminated in the president calling her a “traitor” after she supported a vote for the justice department to release the complete trove of Jeffrey Epstein files. On Saturday, Trump told reporters that much of his frustration towards Greene, previously one of his fiercest allies on Capitol Hill, was because she supported Republican representative Thomas Massie with his discharge petition effort. Soon after, Trump announced he was no longer supporting Greene. “Once I left her, she resigned,” he said. “Because she would have never have survived the primary. But I think she’s a nice person.” Today, without naming the president or any Republican colleagues, the Georgia lawmaker pushed back on X. “Memes and red meat rants do nothing. Actions speak louder than words,” Greene wrote. “Be quiet, be kind, be humble and fix the real problems that are crushing Americans. Not foreign country’s problems. Not the donor’s problems.” 1.45pm GMT Trump touts tariff 'POWER' and 'RECORD SETTING' payments in Truth Social post The president was online early today, and fired off a Truth Social post at 5:38am touting the economic impact that his sweeping tariffs will soon have on the country. He also noted that countries’ efforts to stockpile US goods ahead of the levies kicking in was “wearing thin”. “These payments will be RECORD SETTING, and put our Nation on a new and unprecedented course,” he wrote. “This Tariff POWER will bring America National Security and Wealth the likes of which has never been seen before.” He added: Those opposing us are serving hostile foreign interests that are not aligned with the success, safety and prosperity of the USA. They couldn’t care less about us. I look so much forward to the United States Supreme Court’s decision on this urgent and time sensitive matter,” he added. A reminder, both conservative and liberal justices on the bench were skeptical of the legal basis of Trump’s tariffs during oral arguments earlier this month. 1.28pm GMT Donald Trump is in Washington today. The only event on his schedule is an executive order signing at 4pm ET. That’s currently closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that changes. Also today, we’ll see the first lady, Melania Trump, welcome the deliver of the White House Christmas tree at 12pm ET. 1.08pm GMT What is the Cartel de los Soles 'group' linked to Maduro? Back to Venezuela, and I just wanted to run readers through the Maduro-linked organization which has now been designated a foreign terror group by the US. Despite the label, Cartel de los Soles is not a cartel or any sort of formal, organised group. Rather it’s the term Venezuelans use to refer to what was at first, just high-ranking military officers who built their wealth through drug-running, and then as corruption expanded under the Chávez presidency, the term was also used to refer to police and other government officials benefitting off illegal mining and fuel trafficking. The umbrella term was elevated to a Maduro-led drug-trafficking organization in 2020, AP reports, when US justice authorities under Trump’s first term announced the indictment of Venezuela’s leader and his inner circle on narcoterrorism and other charges. Up until this year, the foreign terrorist organization designation has been reserved for groups like Islamic State or Al-Qaeda. But the Trump administration in February applied it to eight Latin American criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking – and it has used that designation since to justify the strikes on boats in the ocean, saying they belong to these groups. US officials however have provided scant evidence justifying the strikes, leading to accusations of extrajudicial killings. Updated at 1.09pm GMT 12.41pm GMT 'Something good just may be happening,' Trump says on Ukraine talks Trump has also posted positively about the negotiations in his usual spray of morning missives on his Truth Social account: “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” 12.34pm GMT US and Ukraine negotiators continue hammering out peace plan in Geneva And let’s turn to the latest on Ukraine – talks are continuing in Geneva today between US and Ukrainian representatives following a weekend where there was “significant progress made”, according to Marco Rubio, but the specifics remain vague. The US had blindsided Kyiv and European countries with a 28-point peace plan last week, giving Ukraine until Thursday to agree to a framework. Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement on Sunday they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after a first day of talks, but disclosed no detail on what the refinements were, or if any concessions had been made on the key sticking points. These include territorial concessions and security guarantees for Ukraine against Russian threats in the future. Updated at 12.36pm GMT 12.13pm GMT Doge quietly disbanded ahead of schedule Back to some domestic news and the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has apparently been dissolved with eight months still remaining on its contract, ending a drawn-out campaign of invading federal agencies and firing thousands of federal workers. “That doesn’t exist,” office of personnel management (OPM) director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about Doge’s status, adding that it was no longer a “centralized entity”. The statement confirmed longstanding suspicions that Doge, created by an executive order that Donald Trump signed on his first day, was on its way out. The tech billionaire Elon Musk and the former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were tapped to lead the effort and were expected to drive “large scale structural reform” through 24 July 2026. “We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible,” Musk said about the department back in February, ignoring the fact that Doge agents refused to identify themselves in many cases, slashed agency spending often without consulting the agencies, and did not transparently provide a public accounting of its work. “I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization.” Suspicions that Doge may have been disbanded began to surface earlier this summer, after Politico reported in June that staffers had “packed up their clothes and bedding” at the department’s headquarters, where they had been sleeping since February, and looked for new homes. 11.50am GMT Maduro warned Trump against 'forever war' Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, has accused the US of seeking to “bomb and invade” the South American country. Just 10 days ago, he warned Trump to not lead the US into an Afghanistan-style “forever war”. The comments came after the US Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest, arrived in the region. Speaking to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas on 14 November, Maduro called on Trump to make peace, not war. “No more forever wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace,” Maduro, 62, said as he pushed his way through crowds of supporters. Earlier that week he had announced what he called a a “massive deployment” of land, sea, air, river and missile forces, as well as civilian militia, to counter the US naval presence off his country’s coast. Related: Is US preparing to attack Venezuela and how has Maduro regime responded? 11.40am GMT A timely opinion piece from Daniel Mendiola, a professor of Latin American history and migration studies at Vassar College this morning on the situation currently playing out around Venezuela. For the last two months, US forces have amassed outside Venezuela and carried out a series of lethal strikes on civilian boats. The Trump White House has ordered these actions in the name of fighting “narco-terrorists” – a label apparently applicable to anyone suspected of participating in drug trafficking near Latin American coastlines. More than 80 people have already been killed in these pre-emptive strikes, and war hawks are calling for expanded military action to depose the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. While on the surface Trump’s second term has been characterized by a disorienting barrage of executive orders and culture war polemics, the administration has in fact been running a cohesive authoritarian playbook aimed at conferring near limitless powers to the presidency. These concerted efforts have played out in numerous policy arenas from immigration, to higher education, to economics, to even determining who is a citizen. Consistent with this pattern, Trump is asserting the same unchecked authority over the violent capacities of the US military. The Trump White House is similarly asserting the unencumbered right to define “terrorist”, along with the corresponding right to take deadly action with virtually no outside oversight. In public statements, Trump has defended treating drug smugglers as terrorists by citing the harm done by drug overdoses, in effect suggesting that drug traffickers are directly killing US citizens. Ignoring the fact that Venezuela doesn’t produce fentanyl, the main driver of overdoses in the US, Trump has even gone so far as to float the mathematically impossible claim that each boat strike has saved 25,000 lives. Of course, officials have provided zero public evidence that the boats attacked were carrying drugs at all, much less tried to explain how blowing up boats would have any impact at all on drug abuse in the US. But again, why would they? The whole point of the argument is that such facts don’t matter because Trump simply has the unchecked authority to use lethal force. Related: The ‘war on terror’ has killed millions. Trump is reviving it in Venezuela | Daniel Mendiola Updated at 11.42am GMT 11.24am GMT US reportedly ready for next phase of Venezuela military operations Trump has been escalating pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and has now labelled him and government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization. That designation is another step towards criminalizing Maduro – analysts say it could pressure Maduro into stepping down with the threat of military force. It also potentially gives the US expanded military options for striking within the country, US media is reporting. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed warships to the Caribbean amid worsening relations.Reuters had an alarming exclusive yesterday, saying the US is poised to launch a new phase of operations in the coming days, according to four unnamed US officials. The exact timing or scope of the new operations is unknown, and it’s not clear either whether Trump has made a final decision to act, Reuters reported. Updated at 12.03pm GMT 11.23am GMT Good morning And welcome to our US politics live blog. I’m Frances Mao and I’ll be taking you through the major developments these next few hours. The US and Ukraine say they have made progress in talks on ending the war with Russia, with Marco Rubio announcing amendments to a “refined” draft agreement. However Donald Trump has lashed out at Ukraine’s leadership, saying Kyiv has shown “zero gratitude”. His administration has also designated Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, as a member of a foreign terrorist organisation, which could allow for the hit of new sanctions. Reports also emerged on the weekend that the US military could be set to move into a new phase of operations in the Caribbean this week. More on this soon. The resignation of Maga loyalist turned rebel Marjorie Taylor Greene is a warning sign to Trump, analysts say. The Georgian congresswoman had once been one of Trump’s most vocal allies but she announced an exit on Friday, following a public spat over the Epstein files, saying she refused to be a “battered wife”. And Trump’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) – famously run by Elon Musk for a few months – has disbanded with eight months left on its mandate, ending a highly-publicised initiative that had been a symbol of Trump’s pledge to slash the government’s size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings.