An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the US Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison – after a judge dismissed his claim of being a passive participant in the mob.

An Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator who has accused Justice Department officials of show-walking a long-running probe into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s tax affairs has cut off communication with a key congressional committee amid questions about the veracity of his claims and his motivations for coming forward.

The special agent, Gary Shapley, is a veteran of the IRS criminal investigations department who on Thursday revealed his identity in an interview with CBS News.

Andrew Feinberg filed this exclusive report for The Independent from Washington, DC.

Two members of Donald Trump’s staff moved boxes of documents just a day before the Department of Justice visited Mar-a-Lago, according to a report.

The files were moved the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the private club in Florida’s Palm Beach. The timing of the move is suspicious and a sign that obstruction may have taken place, according to The Washington Post.

Gustaf Kilander is following this developing story.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he would “aggressively” use presidential pardons to free people who’ve been charged or convicted of crimes stemming from participation in the January 6 attack on the Capitol as well as former president Donald Trump.

Two of Donald Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the former president’s Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena — timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a “dress rehearsal” for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.

This development comes on the back of a request for a meeting between the Trump legal team and Attorney General Merrick Garland that some have suggested is indicative that the case of the classified document is coming to a head.

Members of Donald Trump’s inner circle called out Fox News host Mark Levin on Twitter for tweeting the link to Ron DeSantis’ campaign and accused the conservative commentator of fundraising for the Florida governor.

Ariana Baio reports on what happened next.

Donald Trump had very different takes on this week’s two campaign launches as Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis joined the race to be the Republican Party nominee for president in the 2024 election.

Last night he wrote on Truth Social: “Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!”

And shortly after, he added: “Tim Scott’s Presidential launch, even with the broken microphone (don’t pay the contractor, Tim!), was by far the best Presidential launch of the week. Robs was a catastrophe!”

On Monday when Mr Scott launched his campaign, the former president posted a warm and welcoming message to the new contender.

Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race. It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable. I got Opportunity Zones done with Tim, a big deal that has been highly successful. Good luck Tim!

There was a cooler reception for Mr DeSantis.

I’d like to personally congratulate “Rob” DeSanctimonious on finally announcing that he will be entering the race for President of the United States. Hopefully he will get the full experience of being attacked by the Marxists, Communists, and Radical Left Lunatics of our Country, without which he will never know the kind of job he is doing. These Lowlifes & Misfits are far worse than the leaders of hostile foreign countries. They must be soundly defeated in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

That post came after several others, laden with insults, in which Mr Trump called the Florida governor “disloyal” and said he need a “personality transplant”.

Alex Woodward reports on a damning assessment from the judge:

US District Judge Amit Mehta told the court on 25 May that seditious conspiracy “is among the most serious crimes an individual American can commit” and an “offense against the people of the country.”

“What we cannot have, we absolutely cannot have, is a group of citizens who because they didn’t like the outcome … were then prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution. That’s what you did,” he told Rhodes. “You are not a political prisoner, Mr Rhodes.”

For decades, Rhodes wanted American democracy to “devolve into violence,” Judge Mehta said.

“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy and the very fabric of this country,” he added. “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.”