Trump attends opening of E Jean Carroll defamation trial: Live updates

“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them,” Ms Haley said in a statement on Tuesday. “He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”

The former South Carolina governor’s statement arrives after she garnered the third most support at the Iowa caucuses, trailing behind Mr Trump and Florida Gov Ron DeSantis.

Still, following the caucuses, Ms Haley said, “I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race.”

Kelly Rissman has the latest:

Donald Trump has once again lost his appeal of the gag order ruling in his civil fraud trial.

The New York Court of Appeals found that “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved”.

The former president had appealed after losing an appeal.

California Democratic Rep Adam Schiff, now running for the Senate, has released a new digital ad in which he is presented as a bulwark against Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House.

“Adam Schiff took on a corrupt president. He fought to protect our values and the rule of law. Now we face an even greater danger,” the narrator says over a headline about a potential second Trump presidency. “We need Adam Schiff more than ever.”

NBC News first reported the ad, titled “Danger”, which highlights Mr Schiff’s role as an outspoken Trump critic, the lead impeachment manager, and a member of the House January 6 select committee.

Jury selection at Carroll v Trump continues with questions about political affiliation including whether prospective jurors have donated to the Trump, Clinton, Obama and Biden campaigns or attended a Trump rally. Two jurors say they believe the 2020 election was stolen.

None of the jurors has posted on Truth Social or Rumble but some have seen posts about Ms Carroll and about the allegations against Mr Trump.

Lots of hands go up when asked if they have seen news of criminal indictments against Mr Trump. Two jurors are dismissed when they said this would not allow them to be fair.

Further questions regarding reading Ms Carroll’s column, watching The Apprentice, and believing the case is covered by presidential immunity elicit no affirmative response about whether that would lead to unfairness from the prospective jurors.

The entrepreneur dropped out of the race after racking up less than eight per cent of the Iowa caucus vote. Ahead of the caucuses, the Republican candidate encouraged his followers to “stick it to the media and shock the world.”

His campaign seemingly hinged on providing shock value.

Judge Kaplan explains to the potential jurors that they will be kept anonymous and those selected will be collected and brought into the courthouse’s underground garage.

He suggests they used a name other than their own, emphasising that this is all for their own protection given the attention the case has attracted and he does not want them to be harassed.

The judge also instructs them not to tell family members or loved ones of their involvement in the case.

Outlining the basics of the case, Judge Kaplan explains that Ms Carroll sued Mr Trump for defamation in statements he made in June 2019 after she accused him of having sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s.

Mr Trump denied knowing her and said she made the accusation to sell her book. It has already been determined that Mr Trump did sexually assault Ms Carroll, and the jury will not be deciding that. Mr Trump contends that she is only entitled to nominal damages.

Asked if they would be unable to give both sides a fair trial, three jurors are excused.

A juror reveals they worked with Ms Carroll’s law firm on marriage equality issues, another that they worked for Ivanka Trump’s company, while others have tenuous links to the Trump family and the former president himself. All say they could be fair.

It’s the second trial stemming from defamation claims brought by Ms Caroll, and a jury already found him civilly responsible for sexually abusing her in the 1990s. He continues to claim that he never met her and has repeatedly mocked and ridiculed Ms Carroll in the wake of that verdict.

Ms Carroll was awarded $5m in that trial. A second trial stems from his remarks about Ms Carroll while he was still in the White House, made in response to her allegations that he raped her years earlier. The judge overseeing the case issued a pretrial judgment last year finding him liable for defamation, leaving a trial to determine how much he will pay.

Mr Trump faces 34 charges in New York of falsifying business records relating to the payments he gave Ms Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said in her podcast over the weekend, “Obviously, things have been next-level crazy, since I am set to testify in, at this point in time, March — obviously, that can change any moment — in the hush money case.” CBS News first reported her comments.

Former Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson dropped his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, ending a candidacy that served as a throwback to an earlier era of the GOP but ultimately failed to resonate in a party now dominated by Donald Trump.

Hutchinson’s exit came a day after he finished sixth in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, well behind Trump and other top rivals but also behind Ryan Binkley, a pastor who failed to qualify for any of the debates. Hutchinson was the last GOP candidate remaining in the race who was willing to directly take on Trump.

“I congratulate Donald J Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front-runner did not sell in Iowa.”