Democrats begin withdrawing endorsements of Graham Platner after Senate candidate is accused of sexual assault – live

Democrats begin pulling endorsements for Graham Platner after sexual assault allegation

A slew of Democratic lawmakers and public figures have begun withdrawing endorsements of Graham Platner after a report that a woman accused him of sexual assault.

Democratic senator Ruben Gallego called the allegations “troubling and deeply serious” in a social media post, adding that he will rescind his endorsement.

Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile said that “it’s time for Mr. Platner to step aside and be replaced by July 13th”.

Representative Ro Khanna called the allegations “very serious and credible”, also calling on Platner to drop out from the race. “I am withdrawing my endorsement,” Khanna wrote in a post on X.

As of Monday, Platner had canceled a handful of campaign town halls planned in Maine.

That’s it for today’s politics blog. Here are the latest developments:

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Graham Platner, the controversial Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, has been accused of sexual assault, according to an exclusive report by Politico. A woman who dated the oyster farmer and former marine veteran alleges he forced her to have sex nearly five years ago despite repeated objections. Platner denies the claims. Many top Democratic figures quickly called on the beleaguered nominee to step down. More here.

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Trump’s latest attempt to delay payment of a $5.8m judgment for defaming a magazine columnist whom a jury determined he sexually abused has been emphatically rejected by a federal court judge. More here.

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Trump rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the White House to mark the first trading day for Trump accounts, a government initiative that provides children with a $1,000 investment account. It is the first joint opening of the exchanges, and the first time the bell had been rung at the White House. More here.

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National guard soldiers on patrol in Memphis shot and killed a man that authorities in the Tennessee city said turned and pulled a gun on the troops during a chase. The shooting took place at about 4am on Sunday as the soldiers responded to a report of gunfire. The Tennessee national guard was deployed controversially by the state’s governor, Bill Lee, in October to support the federal push by Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, to tackle perceived crime surges in Democratic-run cities. More here.

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The Maine Democratic Party leadership called for Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race after a woman accused him of sexual assault in a story published by Politico.

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“Maine Democratic Party leadership takes seriously our responsibility to hold every candidate who seeks to represent our state to the highest standard,” reads a statement signed by chair Charlie Dingman, vice-chair Imke Schessler, and executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson. “Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further.”

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“Maine Democratic Party leadership is calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate,” reads the statement. “The Maine Democratic Party leadership stands with women and survivors, and that principle does not bend based on party affiliation. We respect the women who made the hard decision to come forward. Speaking up is often costly.”

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It continues: “We are entrusted with deciding who represents our values and who carries our banner. That responsibility requires judgment, leadership, and a willingness to act when circumstances demand it.”

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“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people,” said Dingman, Schessler, and Murphy-Anderson on Monday. “It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle”.

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A slew of Democratic lawmakers and public figures have begun withdrawing endorsements of Graham Platner after a report that a woman accused him of sexual assault.

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Democratic senator Ruben Gallego called the allegations “troubling and deeply serious” in a social media post, adding that he will rescind his endorsement.

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Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile said that “it’s time for Mr. Platner to step aside and be replaced by July 13th”.

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As of Monday, Platner had canceled a handful of campaign town halls planned in Maine.

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On social media, Graham Platner has denied the sexual assault allegation by a former partner reported by Politico.

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“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” the Democratic nominee for Maine’s Senate seat said in a direct-to-camera message.

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While Platner deemed the reporting inaccurate, he said that his campaign was “mindful of the political reality” that the accusation “will inflict”.

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“We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to,” he added.

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Graham Platner, the controversial Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, has been accused of sexual assault, according to an exclusive report by Politico.

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A woman who dated the oyster farmer and former marine veteran alleges he forced her to have sex nearly five years ago despite repeated objections. Platner denies the claims.

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Jenny Racicot, 41, told the outlet that she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for over two years. She alleges that in late 2021, an intoxicated Platner entered her home uninvited and forced himself on her. Racicot stated she terminated contact after the encounter.

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Platner rejected the allegations in a statement.

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“These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said.

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The report cited corroborating accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as therapist emails and messages where she warned an acquaintance about Platner years before his Senate run.

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Donald Trump confirmed that he personally asked Fifa president Gianni Infantino to review the red card given to US striker Folarin Balogun, making him available to play for the USA in their knockout match against Belgium tonight. Trump said he believed the dismissal was unfair but insisted he did not pressure football’s governing body to overturn the suspension. “All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Referring to Infantino – who has repeatedly buttered him up – Trump added: “I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do.”

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Trump repeatedly said Balogun’s challenge should never have resulted in a dismissal – even as he admitted to not knowing what a red card was before this incident. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “So I saw the play … That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction.” Invoking his lies about his 2020 election loss, Trump added: “We’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us … I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.” As our colleagues covering the World Cup note, despite Balogun’s red card being considered excessively harsh, Fifa’s disciplinary code does not permit appeals against straight red cards, with officials from the world governing body and US Soccer confirming after the game that the sanction could not be challenged.

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Trump’s allies have rallied around his intervention. Standing beside him in the Oval Office, senator Ted Cruz thanked the president “for getting rid of that ridiculous red card”. And his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also praised the move, telling reporters at the state department that the red card was a “bad decision”. He added: “I think it was the right decision to reverse it.” Echoing Trump’s comments earlier, Rubio went on: “Everyone will be at full strength, and the winner will be the winner. And if it’s Belgium, they have a very good team, you know, they’ll move on, and they can say they beat the US at full strength at home.”

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For his part, Infantino insisted in a statement today that he told Trump that Fifa’s “independent judicial bodies” would make their decision. “That is how Fifa’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold,” he said.

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Fifa’s willingness to bow to Trump’s wishes has been strongly criticized, with European politicians, football associations and governing body Uefa condemning the decision. In an unprecedented intervention in the middle of a tournament, Uefa accused Fifa of crossing “a red line” by making an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” decision to rescind Balogun’s automatic one-match ban, which it claimed undermined “the integrity of the game and the credibility of the competition”. Fifa also rejected an appeal by Belgian officials. You can read more on the reaction here.

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While taking a photo with the Chilean foreign minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, US secretary of state Marco Rubio praised Fifa’s decision to reverse Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension.

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In comments reported by NBC News, Rubio called the red card a “bad decision” and said the referees “shouldn’t even be reviewing these things on slow motion, right? They should be reviewing the live action. I think it was the right decision to reverse it.”

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Belgian officials have said they are appealing the decision ahead of tonight’s knockout World Cup match between the US and Belgium.

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Rubio said that he understood that “there’s a lot of drama” surrounding the move but questioned: “If you’re Belgian, why would you want to play a game and win a match, and then you win this match, and then everyone will argue you didn’t really win it because their best player, the leading scorer, was not on the pitch during the match?

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“Maybe we’ll bring it up at Nato tomorrow when we’re there with the Belgians and everybody else,” he joked.

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Echoing Trump’s comments earlier, Rubio went on: “But I just hope the match will go on. Everyone will be at full strength, and the winner will be the winner. And if it’s Belgium, they have a very good team, you know, they’ll move on, and they can say they beat the US at full strength at home.”

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Rubio and Francisco Pérez Mackenna speak to members of the press in the Treaty Room of the US state department.”,”caption”:”Marco Rubio and Francisco Pérez Mackenna speak to members of the press in the Treaty Room of the US state department.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1783357396000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.03 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1783359283000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.34 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1783357652000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.07 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.07″,”title”:”‘The winner will be the winner’: Rubio praises Fifa’s red card reversal”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 6 Jul 2026 22.11 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 6 Jul 2026 06.42 EDT”},{“id”:”6a4bcb178f082e0d28ed5960″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A five-day preliminary hearing in the murder case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk is set to begin today.

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Tyler James Robinson, 23, has been charged with aggravated murder related to Kirk’s death, after allegedly shooting the conservative political activist in the neck at a Utah Valley University campus event in September.

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Kirk’s widow, Erika, and members of family will attend the hearing, and it will mark the first time they are in the same room as the man accused of killing the Turning Point USA founder.

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Utah prosecutors are aiming to prove at the multi-day hearing that there is sufficient evidence for Robinson’s case should proceed to trial.

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Ahead of the hearing, Erika Kirk and her family issued a statement, expressing thanks for the “outpouring” of support “during the darkest days of our lives”, but said that “out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time”.

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Trump just confirmed to reported in the Oval Office that he did, in fact, call Fifa president Gianni Infantino about the straight red card decision against Folarin Balogun.

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“I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well,” Trump said.

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“That wasn’t a foul … There was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” Trump added. “These are two great athletes that got tangled up.”

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The president claimed, without providing evidence, that Raphael Claus, the referee who issued the inraction, “is a little bit suspect if you check his past” before going on to say that he asked Fifa for a review on the decision.

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Trump added that if the US didn’t have the team’s “best player” to take part in subsequent matches, it would have “really stained” the competition. The president didn’t seem to quite understand the policy around straight red cards that resulted in a one-match ban for Balogun.

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“I didn’t know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, ‘you got to be kidding,’” Trump said.

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Cruz just thanked Donald Trump for “getting rid of that ridiculous red card” – apparently in reference to Folarin Balogun. The US striker received a straight red card from referee Raphael Claus after a video review, but Fifa have now lifted Bolagun’s one-match ban, making him now available to play for the USA in their knockout match against Belgium on Monday.

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As my colleagues covering the World Cup note, despite the move being considered excessively harsh, Fifa’s disciplinary code does not permit appeals against straight red cards, with officials from the world governing body and US Soccer confirming after the game that the sanction could not be challenged.

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Trump went on to admit in an Oval Office appearance that he called Fifa president Gianni Infantino to urge a review on the red card.

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“I said I think it should be reviewed, because I watched the play, and he [Balogun] didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump told reporters.

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The US president continued to refute the decision that Balogun fouled Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, insisting that soccer officials must let the US team “use their best players”.

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“The game tonight is going to be amazing, and we’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team,” Trump added. “If they [Belgium] beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us … I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020, but I won’t get into that.”

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Trump launched his namesake savings accounts today, and rang the Wall Street’s opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the Oval Office to mark the occasion.

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As I mentioned earlier, the accounts for children will be managed by major firms and invested in stock indexes.

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Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office, 6 July 2026, in Washington.”,”caption”:”Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office, 6 July 2026, in Washington.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1783344497000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.28 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1783345145000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”09.39 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1783344761000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.32 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.32″,”title”:”Trump rings Wall Street opening bell on launch day for Trump Accounts”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 6 Jul 2026 22.11 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 6 Jul 2026 06.42 EDT”},{“id”:”6a4b91b78f0816352f9b079f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Donald Trump lobbied Fifa to lift the US striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban for a red card received in the team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, preceding Sunday’s stunning announcement that he would be available for the cohosts’ last-16 clash against Belgium in Seattle on Monday night.

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Sources have told the Guardian that Trump made three calls to Fifa, starting from Wednesday, to ensure that the change was made.

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The decision gives the US a huge boost on the field as they attempt to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2002. Balogun has been a constant threat for the US so far this tournament, and has scored three goals in three starts.

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Fifa has been approached for comment. The US president thanked football’s world governing body for suspending the red card. “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said in a statement that it was “astonished” at the decision. The RBFA later pointed out that the suspension of the ban ran in contradiction to Fifa statutes governing the punishment for red cards, which carry a one-game ban “automatically”. The RBFA said it was “investigating all potential options”.

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Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

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Progressive Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has emerged as the party’s frontrunner in the Michigan primary campaign after Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race.

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El-Sayed, a supporter of Medicare for all who would be the first Muslim US senator, has drawn high-profile backing from leaders of the American left, including Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed him last week.

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He will go head-to-head with the Democratic ‘establishment’ candidate Haley Stevens, a congresswoman, in the bid for the party’s nomination.

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McMorrow’s retreat also marks the end of a center-left bid to hold the seat being vacated this year by the Democrat Gary Peters. The three-way primary contest was a close one earlier in the campaign, but polls indicated that McMorrow’s support had plunged in recent weeks, as El-Sayed raced past her and Stevens to emerge as the frontrunner for the party’s nomination.

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“I may be suspending this campaign, but I am not leaving the fight,” McMorrow said in a video statement announcing her decision to drop out. “When regular people get in the fight, things can change,” she added.

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Meanwhile, Stevens, a moderate Democrat, has the support of Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, and Super Pacs have spent more than $16m on her campaign, including pro-Israel groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) outraged by El-Sayed’s refusal to say that nation has a right to exist as a Jewish state.

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“Israel exists,” he told CNN last week. “The question is whether or not we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to do genocide and apartheid, instead of investing in our own kids.”

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Read the full story here:

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In other developments:

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n
The bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, designed to shield individuals from soaring electricity prices amid the datacenter boom, would fail to meaningfully protect the public from the centers’ true costs, consumer advocates warn. The bill, backed by some in big tech such as Microsoft, moved through a House subcommittee in mid-June, and a vote in full committee scheduled for 1 July was delayed.

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Carlos Giménez, a Republican congressman from Florida, broke with the Trump administration on Sunday, calling on the White House to reconsider its push to eliminate temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian migrants. Returning some 350,000 Haitians to their chaotic, dangerous homeland following the US supreme court’s ruling that the Trump administration can cut off temporary legal protections, would be a grave error, Giménez said.

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The Atlantic on Saturday republished a JD Vance essay that dismissed Donald Trump as “cultural heroin” exactly 10 years earlier, bringing back to the fore his evolving from a critic of the president to his vice-president. In an editor’s note, the magazine said it was republishing the essay on the occasion of its 10th anniversary – and the US’s semiquincentennial – “so that our readers can judge for themselves how well his assessment [of Trump] … has stood the test of time”.

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The president of the US’s top administrator of collegiate sports on Sunday said his organization does not anticipate adjusting its rules on transgender athletes after a recent federal supreme court decision allowed states to ban them from participating in school athletics. In an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation, Charlie Baker, the NCAA president, alluded to how his organization in late January 2025 had effectively banned transgender athletes from women’s sports by closing off those programs to athletes who were assigned male at birth or were taking testosterone therapy.

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The husband of the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run car crash in California that left a parked vehicle with “major” damage, authorities said on Saturday – and he could face misdemeanor charges. Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible on Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa county sheriff’s office said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

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Key events

Closing summary

That’s it for today’s politics blog. Here are the latest developments:

Graham Platner, the controversial Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, has been accused of sexual assault, according to an exclusive report by Politico. A woman who dated the oyster farmer and former marine veteran alleges he forced her to have sex nearly five years ago despite repeated objections. Platner denies the claims. Many top Democratic figures quickly called on the beleaguered nominee to step down. More here.
Trump’s latest attempt to delay payment of a $5.8m judgment for defaming a magazine columnist whom a jury determined he sexually abused has been emphatically rejected by a federal court judge. More here.
Trump rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the White House to mark the first trading day for Trump accounts, a government initiative that provides children with a $1,000 investment account. It is the first joint opening of the exchanges, and the first time the bell had been rung at the White House. More here.
National guard soldiers on patrol in Memphis shot and killed a man that authorities in the Tennessee city said turned and pulled a gun on the troops during a chase. The shooting took place at about 4am on Sunday as the soldiers responded to a report of gunfire. The Tennessee national guard was deployed controversially by the state’s governor, Bill Lee, in October to support the federal push by Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, to tackle perceived crime surges in Democratic-run cities. More here.

Donald Trump has already departed from the nation’s capital, heading to the NATO summit in Turkey.

During the two-day summit, Trump is expected to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and make a renewed effort to end the war in Ukraine. Ahead of the meeting, Trump has insisted on “loyalty” after some NATO countries balked at allowing US forces to use their bases for attacks on Iran.

Traveling with him are secretary of state Marco Rubio, secretary of treasury Scott Bessent, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and several other members of the administration.

Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker joined a slate of Democrats in calling for Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the race.

“Graham Platner must drop out of the race to become Maine’s next U.S. Senator,” he said in a statement on X. “The Democratic Party should continue to stand with all survivors of sexual assault”.

Jenny Racicot, the woman who accused Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner of sexual assault, spoke to CNN’s Jake Tapper about how she met Platner, the details of the assault, and the reasons she decided to come forward.

Racicot said she met Platner on the dating app Bumble in 2019. “He grew up in the next town over”, she told Tapper in the interview. “We had, like, a mutual family friend, so I always knew of his existence, but that was when we actually met”.

Asked whether she is coming forward because of political motivations, Racicot said: “No, not at all”.

“That was actually one of the huge reasons that I didn’t come forward, and still struggled, like that was a huge moral conflict”, Racicot said in the interview. “I like the things that he speaks about. They’re important, they’re important to people. I’m one of those people”, but “he’s not being honest”.

Racicot said that Platner entered her home intoxicated and sexually assaulted her after she repeatedly said no.

“I don’t believe that you can think that that scenario was consensual,” Racicot said. “When somebody in the middle of it says ‘don’t touch me’, like that’s obviously not consensual.”

Our Revolution, the progressive group founded by Bernie Sanders, and the progressive Super Pac, A Fight Worth Having, announced they have rescinded their endorsement of Graham Platner.

“Everyone deserves a fair and open process, and Graham Platner is entitled to due process like anyone else”, said Joseph Geevarghese, Our Revolution executive director, in a statement. “But the allegations against him are credible, and at this point they are too serious to treat as a distraction from the campaign or the issues. Sexual violence is a red line. We are withdrawing our endorsement and calling on him to withdraw from this race”.

Corbin Trent, a former Bernie Sanders campaign aide and executive director of A Fight Worth Having, said this development “does not represent our movement or vision for America”.

Trent said the Super Pac has rescinded its endorsement and hopes “progressive Troy Jackson jumps in as the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine.”

Lawmakers and public figures continue to condemn Graham Platner after a woman he had previously dated accused him of sexual assault in an exclusive report by Politico. Many have rescinded their endorsements for the Maine Democratic Senate nominee and have also called for him to withdraw his candidacy.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said that “Mainers deserve a Democratic candidate who can serve the people of their state, which is why it’s time for him to end his campaign”. He urged Maine Democrats to select a new nominee.

“Enough is enough. graham platner needs to step aside”, said Democratic senator Cory Booker in a post on X.

Meanwhile, California senator Adam Schiff commended “the courage of the woman who has come forward to tell her story”.

“I urge Mr. Platner to consider what is best for Maine voters, and announce an end to his campaign”, Schiff wrote.

In a statement on X, Democratic senator Martin Heinrich announced that he can “no longer support Graham Platner’s candidacy” and called for him to step aside.

Public figures, including author and Maine native Stephen King and streamer Hasan Piker, also weighed in on the developments on Monday.

“Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” King wrote on social media.

“That is curtains,” Piker said on his Twitch stream. “That is the trifecta, okay? That is the trifecta of a reliable allegation… Personal firsthand testimony to a friend, a close confidante, back from way before Graham Platner ever f—ing ran for Congress, are you kidding me? And then also direct testimony to a therapist?”

Chuck Schumer, the US Senate’s top Democrat, and chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, senator Kirsten Gillibrand, said in a joint statement that the allegations of sexual assault against Graham Platner “are incredibly disturbing”.

“Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins”, reads the statement. “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

The Republican National Committee called the allegations against the Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner “horrifying”.

“These allegations are horrifying and describe, in clear and graphic detail, something no woman should be forced to experience”, said RNC spokesperson Kristen Cianci. “The more layers of Graham Platner’s past emerge, the more irrefutable his pattern of violent, disgusting behavior becomes”.

Maine Democratic Party leadership calls for Graham Platner to withdraw from Senate race

The Maine Democratic Party leadership called for Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race after a woman accused him of sexual assault in a story published by Politico.

Democrats begin pulling endorsements for Graham Platner after sexual assault allegation

A slew of Democratic lawmakers and public figures have begun withdrawing endorsements of Graham Platner after a report that a woman accused him of sexual assault.

Democratic senator Ruben Gallego called the allegations “troubling and deeply serious” in a social media post, adding that he will rescind his endorsement.

Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile said that “it’s time for Mr. Platner to step aside and be replaced by July 13th”.

As of Monday, Platner had canceled a handful of campaign town halls planned in Maine.

Walmart will lower prices for ground beef and “many other products” at the request of the Trump administration, according to a Truth Social post by the US president.

According to a statement from the retailer, other products such as red cherries, sodas, and potato chips will also see a price drop.

“I have just been informed that one of the biggest, best, and smartest Retailers in America, Walmart, will be lowering prices, by a lot, at my Administration’s request to celebrate our great Country’s 250th birthday,” Trump wrote on Monday. “Walmart will, in particular, be dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15%, among many other products”.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, ground beef prices were $6.75 a pound in May, a 12% increase from the same time last year.

End Citizens United, a campaign finance reform group, has pulled its endorsement of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner following Politico’s report of sexual assault allegations against him. The group also called for Platner to withdraw from the race.

“The allegations reported today are profoundly disturbing and disqualifying,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller in a statement. “The conduct described is fundamentally inconsistent with the standards we expect from the candidates we support. No candidate, elected official, or political party is exempt from accountability.”

“It takes immense bravery to speak out in such a high-profile case, and we offer our full support to Jenny Racicot for sharing her story,” Muller added. “We stand in solidarity with her and all the courageous women who have come forward to hold Graham accountable.”

“We believe the best path forward for Maine Democrats is to move quickly to nominate a candidate who can earn voters’ trust and who will center their campaign on ethical leadership, accountability, and fighting corruption,” reads Muller’s statement.

My colleagues, Shrai Popat and Rachel Leingang, report that the allegations against Graham Platner, who faces the Republican senator Susan Collins in the general election, come after he has already faced a series of scandals.

Platner has cast himself as a populist everyman with an anti-oligarchy message. Before his run for public office, he made controversial comments on social media and got a Nazi-aligned tattoo, which has since been covered up.

Platner has said he did not initially understand the meaning of the tattoo.

Platner denies sexual assault allegation in social media video, says campaign will ‘reflect’ on ‘best path forward’

On social media, Graham Platner has denied the sexual assault allegation by a former partner reported by Politico.

“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” the Democratic nominee for Maine’s Senate seat said in a direct-to-camera message.

While Platner deemed the reporting inaccurate, he said that his campaign was “mindful of the political reality” that the accusation “will inflict”.

“We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to,” he added.

It’s worth noting that should Democrats decide to replace Platner as the party’s nominee in the Maine Senate race, Platner would have to drop out by 5pm ET on 13 July, according to state law. The Democratic party will then have a two-week window – until 27 July – to select a replacement candidate.

Some top Democratic commentators have already called on the beleageured nominee to step down. “Platner needs time to heal, focus on his family and well-being. Enough. Enough,” said Donna Brazile, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Politico’s report also notes that Racicot was initially apprehensive coming forward about her alleged experience of sexual assault because she supports Platner’s politics.

“I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person,” she told the outlet.

Racicot noted that she initially connected with Platner on the dating-app Bumble in 2019, and had a consensual relationship with him before the alleged 2021 assault. On that night, she says she told Platner not to visit, but later found he had entered her unlocked home.

She alleges an intoxicated Platner ignored her repeated protests, ultimately following her into her bedroom where he forced her to have sex without protection. The next morning, Platner reportedly claimed he had no memory of the encounter, and Racicot then ordered him to leave. She eventually cut off all contact with Platner after she got her period to ensure she wasn’t pregnant.

Embattled Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner accused of sexual assault – report

Graham Platner, the controversial Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, has been accused of sexual assault, according to an exclusive report by Politico.

A woman who dated the oyster farmer and former marine veteran alleges he forced her to have sex nearly five years ago despite repeated objections. Platner denies the claims.

Platner rejected the allegations in a statement.

“These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said.

The report cited corroborating accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as therapist emails and messages where she warned an acquaintance about Platner years before his Senate run.

At Tyler James Robinson’s preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah, Donald Trump Jr and far-right influencer Jack Posobiec joined Erika Kirk and other members of Charlie Kirk’s family in the courtroom, as prosecutors laid out the case against the accused 23-year-old gunman.

My colleague Dani Anguiano reports that the prosecution told the judge that they plan to show several videos of the shooting in court. Kirk’s family members left the courtroom shortly after the first witness began speaking.

The hearing kicked off on Monday with testimony from Chris Bagley, a former Utah Valley University police officer. Bagley described the moments leading up to the shooting, and hearing a loud gunshot.

“Everybody kind of got up. A lot of people were screaming and starting to run in all different directions,” Bagley told the courtroom.

The police officer searched for additional victims, but finding none, moved to contain the scene to preserve evidence, he said. Police initially believed they had the shooter in custody.

After observing that a nearby building had a direct line of sight to where Kirk was speaking at the time he was shot, Bagley said he went to the building’s rooftop where he saw evidence that he believed indicated a sniper had been there, including a “disturbance” in the gravel.

Democrats begin withdrawing endorsements of Graham Platner after Senate candidate is accused of sexual assault – live

Democrats begin pulling endorsements for Graham Platner after sexual assault allegation

Closing summary

Maine Democratic Party leadership calls for Graham Platner to withdraw from Senate race

Democrats begin pulling endorsements for Graham Platner after sexual assault allegation

Platner denies sexual assault allegation in social media video, says campaign will ‘reflect’ on ‘best path forward’

Embattled Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner accused of sexual assault – report

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