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Trump suggests there was no foul play in Graham's death
Donald Trump was also asked why the FBI was looking into the death of senator Lindsey Graham.
Trump suggested that there was no foul play suspected, telling reporters at the White House that he did not see a lot of “evil” in Graham’s death.
He added that he was aware of the conspiracy theories going around regarding Graham’s death, and said he thought the FBI were “wasting their time” if it was looking into them.
Graham, 71, died on Saturday evening, after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness”. The chief medical examiner then preliminarily ruled on Sunday that he died of aortic dissection due to cardiovascular disease, though it will be some time for a comprehensive report is completed.
On Sunday, FBI director Kash Patel said the bureau was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available”. It remains unclear why Patel said this and the FBI hasn’t commented further.
Around 20 agents from the FBI and other federal agencies attended Graham’s DC residence yesterday with US Capitol Police officers. Federal agents were continuing to investigate his death out of an abundance of caution, two law enforcement sources familiar with the scene told NBC News.
Trump also said he was briefed by doctors at the White House on Graham’s death.
This is something that is very almost undetectable … And if it happens, there’s not much you can do about it. Sounds unfortunate, but there’s not much you can do about it.
Key events
On the renewed military action in Iran, it’s worth noting that crude oil prices have hit their highest levels in four weeks. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has jumped $3.79 a barrel to $87.08 a barrel, a 4.55% increase, the highest price since 12 June.
My colleagues are covering the latest at our dedicated Middle East blog.
Victoria Bekiempis
A Manhattan federal court has released more than $5.6m that Donald Trump owes E Jean Carroll in her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him, records reveal.
The disbursement, made public in a 14 July entry on Carroll’s case docket, indicates that the funds were released by a court-held account on 9 July – one day after judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the release of this money.
Trump, who has been fighting against the release of this money since June after the supreme court on 29 June denied his request to hear his appeal, has denied wrongdoing.
“Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict,” Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lead lawyer, said in a statement.
Carroll’s legal team promptly requested the judge to order the release of these funds following the supreme court’s decision. Trump’s legal team asked for more time to provide a response to Roberta Kaplan’s request, which the judge denied.
Hundreds protest in Maine over fatal ICE shooting
Hundreds of people have been protesting in Maine today over the killing of a Colombian man by an ICE officer, after federal officials appeared to shift their narrative about the deadly encounter.
The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer, “fearing for public safety”, shot and killed the man yesterday in Biddeford while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the US illegally and had a final order of removal from the country.
The department said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone coming from the home, the vehicle attempted to flee and the officer fired his weapon.
That was a shift from how Maine senator Angus King described the encounter hours earlier when he said DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. King said Mullin told him the officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant, but not for the man who was shot.
The driver was Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, the Colombian Embassy told the Associated Press in a statement.
Protesters gathered today outside of an ICE detention center in Scarborough, just up the coast from Biddeford.
“These people are killers and they must leave our state now,” organizer Todd Chretien told the gathering, including some who held signs reading “Stop the murder” and “End this terror”.
A small group of counter-protestors briefly disrupted the rally. Protesters drowned out their voices with whistles.
Durán Guerrero’s shooting marked the second time in a week that ICE used deadly force and the tenth death since Donald Trump launched his immigration crackdown.
Trump suggests there was no foul play in Graham's death
Donald Trump was also asked why the FBI was looking into the death of senator Lindsey Graham.
Trump suggested that there was no foul play suspected, telling reporters at the White House that he did not see a lot of “evil” in Graham’s death.
He added that he was aware of the conspiracy theories going around regarding Graham’s death, and said he thought the FBI were “wasting their time” if it was looking into them.
Graham, 71, died on Saturday evening, after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness”. The chief medical examiner then preliminarily ruled on Sunday that he died of aortic dissection due to cardiovascular disease, though it will be some time for a comprehensive report is completed.
On Sunday, FBI director Kash Patel said the bureau was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available”. It remains unclear why Patel said this and the FBI hasn’t commented further.
Around 20 agents from the FBI and other federal agencies attended Graham’s DC residence yesterday with US Capitol Police officers. Federal agents were continuing to investigate his death out of an abundance of caution, two law enforcement sources familiar with the scene told NBC News.
Trump also said he was briefed by doctors at the White House on Graham’s death.
This is something that is very almost undetectable … And if it happens, there’s not much you can do about it. Sounds unfortunate, but there’s not much you can do about it.
Trump says no one should be able to charge a fee for the strait of Hormuz - despite proposing this yesterday
Trump was asked to explain his change in thinking over his proposal for the US to charge a 20% fee for ships to pass through the strait of Hormuz, which he announced yesterday.
Trump said that following that announcement, he’d received calls from Gulf leaders offering trade and investment opportunities for the US instead. “That was very satisfactory to me,” he said. “In fact, it was even better.”
The president added that he didn’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for ships transiting the strait – despite floating this idea several times over the last few months, including yesterday.
“I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait,” he said. “I don’t like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it’s not fair that we’re protecting this strait for the entire world.”
Trump says US will be doing a lot of deals with Iraq and taking a lot of oil out
Trump has told reporters the United States would be there for Iraq if it needed protection, but added that he did not think that would be necessary now that Iran – which he said had been “a big burden” for Iraq – has been “de-stabilized” and left with “a fraction” of their previous military power.
He added that the US would be “doing a lot of deals” with Iraq and “taking a lot of oil out”.
Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil ... and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals. We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil.
A lot of oil is coming out, and the American companies are doing it - mostly American companies now.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been speaking to the media alongside the Iraqi prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, who he’s been praising and hailing their “great chemistry”.
Trump has strongly backed al-Zaidi, with the US president calling al-Zaidi’s leadership a “tremendous new chapter” for US-Iraq relations. The two also have a bit in common, with their business backgrounds and lack of political experience before taking office.
I’m watching the meeting and will bring you all the key lines here.
As the first hearing of two supreme court justices wrapped up today, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett seemed to disagree about how to conduct ethics reviews for the court.
While justice Kagan appeared to be in favor of appointing a panel of respected federal judges to enforce a code of conduct.
“I think that we would be better off with an enforcement mechanism,” Kagan said, while answering a question from top Democrat Rosa DeLauro. “I think it’s really important that it come from the judiciary itself,” Kagan added, as opposed to the justice department.
Justice Barrett said that she was “not quite sure” about an enforceable body, despite being committed to the code of conduct. Barrett did agree that any panel would “have to come from within the judiciary”.
She added: “Of course, and it’s a question of who selects the judges, how is the panel comprised. There’s just a lot of complexity.”
Fed chair Warsh insists he would 'follow the law' even if Trump criticizes his work at central bank
Gaya Gupta
Also on Capitol Hill today, Kevin Warsh – the new Federal Reserve chair – is appearing before lawmakers at a House finanical services committee hearing.
When pressed on the issue of the central bank’s independence, Warsh emphasized that he would “follow the law and follow the data,” even if the president publicly criticized him.
“We’re an independent central bank, we’re honored to be independent,” he said when pressed by Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York.
He rebuffed her question on what steps he would take if the administration targeted him or his colleagues over their rate decisions, but pointed to the recent Supreme Court hearing that ruled the firing of Lisa Cook, a Fed governor, unconstitutional.
“The supreme court said that the Federal Reserve and the conduct of monetary policy is independent,” he said. “To the extent there were questions about it, the courts answered those questions.”
On Capitol Hill, justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett said that leaks of supreme court decisions have “frustrated” all members of the bench.
They also noted that they still don’t appear to know who leaked the Dobbs decision four years ago – which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
“We can’t do our business, we can’t engage in confidential communications,” the justices speaking before House lawmakers said of leaks. “If you think that those views are going to appear on the front page of the newspaper, you pull back. You don’t have the kinds of conversations that I think the court really depends on to do great work.”
Trump says US will take investment deals with Gulf states instead of fee for using strait of Hormuz
Tom Ambrose
Donald Trump says that the strait of Hormuz is open to ships from all countries apart from Iran and that he has struck “massive” investment deals with Gulf nations.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said:
The Strait of Hormuz is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran — and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION.
We will therefore have a FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo.
Trump also said that trade and investment deals with the Gulf states will replace the 20% fee for ships to pass through the strait that he proposed a day earlier.
Donald Trump welcome Iraqi prime minister Al-Zaidi to White House
Donald Trump has just welcomed Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq’s prime minister, to the White House.
This is the first in-person meeting between the pair since Al-Zaidi was elected in May.
The justices appearing before lawmakers confirmed at today’s hearing that each justice is assigned “between four and eight members of the security detail”.
Justice Barrett added that “in particular moments” when a member of the bench is under particular threat, the number increases.
“We’d like to increase that over time when we get to our full staffing needs,” justice Kagan added.
Amy Coney Barrett describes threats to her life and needing bulletproof vest after Dobbs decision leak
Justice Amy Coney Barrett outlined before lawmakers examples of how her security has increased since joining the bench, particularly after the Dobbs decision was leaked in 2022.
“My security detail sent me home with a bulletproof vest, and I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it down on a table, turned around, and my 12-year-old son was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, and he wanted to know what it was and why I had it,” Barrett noted. “I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one.”
Barrett added that she was recently subject to a swatting incident at her home.
“One of my teenage sons opened the door to go out with friends and saw in our street it was full of police cars, who had responded to a false report of gunshots and raised voices in my home,” she said. “I was very, very grateful that I had supreme court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home.”
During her opening statement, Rosa DeLauro, the ranking member of the appropriations committee, said that the supreme court must provide more transparency through “increased financial disclosure requirements and a binding, enforceable code of ethics”.
This comes after justice Clarence Thomas faced heavy scrutiny for accepting luxury travel, private jet flights, and extended vacations from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow without reporting them on annual financial disclosures, per several reports.
DeLauro noted that the court’s formal code of conduct, implemented in 2023 and only requiring voluntary disclosures, is “woefully insufficient”.
“This to provide the public with the reassurance that they deserve that when a decision is handed down, it is the result of rigorous constitution analysis, not private parochial interests,” the Connecticut Democrat added.
Two supreme court justices appear before House lawmakers
Supreme court justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett are now sitting before House lawmakers to discuss the court’s budget request, particularly the need for increased security for the judiciary.
Democrat Steny Hoyer, the ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee holding today’s hearing, welcomed the justices and noted that appearances by supreme court justices used to be more common. As I noted earlier, the last time a sitting justice answered questions on Capitol Hill was 2019.
“With a deeply divided country and increasingly violent rhetoric being directed at judges, Congress must provide sufficient funding to ensure the safety of all judicial personnel,” Hoyer added in his opening statement. “At the same time, while we take measures to protect the physical safety of judges and court staff, Congress also has a responsibility to safeguard the independence of our judiciary and its ability to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. Part of that is making certain that there is adequate funding for the public defenders.”
