House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has fired the starting gun on a monumental battle that could lead to Joe Biden becoming the first U.S. President removed from office – but there is still a long way for Republicans to go. 

By launching a formal impeachment inquiry McCarthy has increased the chance of Biden, his son Hunter and their associates, being dragged before Congress to answer questions about allegations of corrupt foreign business dealings.

The Bidens could now have their bank records, mortgage details, emails, text messages and mobile phones subpoenaed, along with anything else Congress wants to see.  

Such impeachment inquiries into a president have been extremely rare throughout U.S. history.

What is an impeachment inquiry?

The Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach the president for treason, bribery and other ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’

An impeachment inquiry can be launched by the Speaker, or by any member of Congress who secures a majority vote for it in the House of Representatives.

In the Biden case several committees – Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means – have already been investigating allegations that he corruptly used the office of Vice President to help his son Hunter make money from deals in countries including China and Russia.

Their discoveries included that Biden repeatedly met with his son’s foreign business partners, and took him on Air Force Two trips. 

It contributed to McCarthy’s decision to announce a formal inquiry to pursue more evidence. 

The committees will now be able to hold hearings and call witnesses, who could include Hunter, his business partners, and even Joe Biden himself. 

Ultimately, the findings of the various investigating committees will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

What are articles of impeachment?

The Judiciary Committee will prepare articles of impeachment, which are proposed charges based on the evidence.

The Republican-led Judiciary Committee will then vote on whether to adopt the articles.

If it does, then the articles will be sent to the House, which will debate them and then vote on whether the president should face a trial on the charges.

Only a simple majority of the House – where the Republicans outnumber Democrats 222 to 212 – is needed to proceed.

If the articles did pass the House then Biden would be officially ‘impeached’. 

The ensuing trial of President Joe Biden would be held in the Senate, presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts.

The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict the President and remove him from office.

Has a President ever been successfully impeached? 

In the history of the United States so far, no President has been convicted in the Senate.

Donald Trump was impeached twice and acquitted both times in Senate trials.

Bill Clinton was impeached and acquitted on charges of perjury and obstruction relating to the Monica Lewinsky affair.  

Richard Nixon resigned before he was impeached amid the Watergate scandal.

What does the Constitution actually say about impeachment?

The United States Constitution says that the House of Representatives ‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment” and that “the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments…(but) no person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present’

Impeachment can be pursued against the president, vice president, and other government officials.

The process of impeachment started in England and it was later adopted by state governments in America.

In the U.S. Constitution it became a key plank of the system of ‘checks and balances’.

It allows Congress charges to hold executive officials to account and remove them for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’

The wording ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors’ was not defined further by the Founding Fathers and its meaning has long been debated.

By Ryan Walker For Mailonline

Published: 13:30 EDT, 12 September 2023 | Updated: 15:03 EDT, 12 September 2023

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Binge drinking, marijuana and hallucinogen use have reached historic highs among adults aged 35 to 50 in the US.

Nearly one-third of people in this age group reported binge drinking — having more than five drinks on one occasion — in 2022, up from 23 percent in 2012, National Institutes of Health research revealed. 

Marijuana use among 35- to 50-year-olds has also reached historic levels, more than doubling from 13 percent in 2012 to 28 percent last year. The dramatic increase could partly be due to the growing legalization of the drug across states in the US.

And the share of adults using hallucinogens, such as LSD, MDMA and shrooms, also doubled over 10 years. While four percent reported use in 2022, less than one percent used these drugs a decade ago.

Rising depression rates are likely factors driving adults to reach for the bottle, as the expectation that alcohol will relieve these feelings may increase an individual’s desire to drink more, other studies have suggested.

Depression rates are thought to have been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic due to lockdowns, loss of loved ones, and increased isolation and anxiety.

The poll also looked at alcohol and drug use among 19 to 30-year-olds, more of whom used marijuana than older adults. In 2022, 44 percent of these young adults reported using it, up from 28 percent in 2012.

Hallucinogen use in this group was two times what it was among their older counterparts, with eight percent reporting the use of these types of drugs. This is significantly higher than rates a decade ago, which were recorded at three percent.

However, self-reported binge drinking in 19- to 30-year-olds had dropped to 30.5 percent in 2022, a decrease from 35 percent a decade earlier.

Monitoring the Future, an ongoing research initiative that uses annual studies to track the behaviors of US students into adulthood, suggested the varying rises over the years are generational.

Megan Patrick, a research professor at the University of Michigan and principal investigator on the study, said: ‘Drug use trends evolve over decades and across development, from adolescent to adulthood.

‘Behaviors and public perception of drug use can shift rapidly, based on drug availability and other factors.’

For example, among adults aged 35-50, the 50-year-olds had used marijuana the least, with 68 percent reporting using it at some point in their life.

The study said: ‘These respondents graduated from high school in 1990, when marijuana and other drugs were at or near historical lows across the past four decades, suggesting a cohort effect.’ 

The cohort effect is the effect that having been born in a certain time or region has on the development or perceptions of a group of individuals.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found drug- and alcohol-related deaths in people over 65 years old had more than tripled in the last two decades, with 17,000 dying from those causes in 2020 alone.

Deaths among women in this age group were climbing at a higher rate than men.

Rates of alcohol death were rising even before Covid-19 — a period when BOTH men and women were known to turn to booze during the isolation and stress of pandemic lockdowns.

Women might have drunk more because of stress, depression and anxiety, but also because of loneliness, as many are left behind following the death of a male partner, experts said in a study published in JAMA.

Alcohol also affects women differently, the study explained. 

Women’s bodies tend to have less water to dilute alcohol concentrations compared to men, meaning they are more likely to develop health problems from booze.

Moaning tourists are blamed for silencing historic bell in Italian town as it made them ‘sleep-deprived’

• Visitors to Pienza have complained so much that bells will not sound regularly

By Olivia Jones

Published: 05:26 EDT, 2 August 2023 | Updated: 05:35 EDT, 2 August 2023

Donald Trump was placed under arrest by U.S. Marshals after entering federal court with his loyal aide Walt Nauta ahead of his historic appearance in front of a judge over the scheme to keep classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. 

The former president’s motorcade left Trump National Doral Miami and took off on the journey downtown where hundreds of MAGA supporters and protesters were there to greet him. 

A short time later the motorcade went underneath the court, where Trump was processed and fingerprinted. The booking procedure wrapped up shortly before 2:30 p.m. 

Shortly before 3 p.m. the hearing started in front of magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, where the 37 federal charges will then be read to him. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith was seated in the front row of the courtroom, while the former president was seated with his lawyers.  

During the drive Trump shared his fury with a Truth Social post saying: ‘ON MY WAY TO COURTHOUSE. WITCH HUNT!!! MAGA.’ 

He gave a brief wave to a group of supporters lined up outside his golf course before the stream of black SUVs and cop cars began their procession along empty highways.

Nauta, the loyal aide who prosecutors say helped Trump move documents around Mar-a-Lago, was in the motorcade with him awaiting his own appearance in front of the judge. 

The 76-year-old is facing 37 federal charges related to his handling of classified documents that included U.S. nuclear secrets and intelligence on foreign countries.

The allegations were revealed in the bombshell federal indictment unsealed on Friday – and included photos of boxes of sensitive files scattered around Mar-a-Lago. 

His supporters and protesters started swarming the courthouse on Tuesday morning, waiting for his showdown with a judge.

Trump brought a number of loyal aides to Miami with him including Jason Miller, Boris Epshteyn and Margo Martin. 

Outside the courthouse, Trump lawyer Alina Habba blasted the prosecution – as well as Trump probes underway in other jurisdictions. ‘Destruction of the longstanding American principles that have set this country part for so long.

In recent years, we have seen the rise of politically motivated prosecutors who don’t care for impartiality don’t care for due process for equal protection of laws,’ she said.

‘They have been quietly, but aggressively cultivating a two-tiered system of justice. From the Russia hoax to the attorney generals to the corrupt Das in Georgia and New York. And now this. The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump.’

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy called on all presidential candidates to vow they would pardon Trump during a press conference outside.

He said that he would quash any conviction against the former president for mishandling classified documents, obstructing justice and making false statements 

Trump, meanwhile, took to his Truth Social platform to rail against Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Department of Justice’s case.

‘This is the Thug, over turned consistently and unanimously in big cases, that Biden and his CORRUPT Injustice Department stuck on me. He’s a Radical Right Lunatic and Trump Hater, as are all his friends and family, who probably “planted” information in the “boxes” given to them. They taint everything that they touch, including our Country, which is rapidly going to HELL!,’ he complained.

There were only a handful of people on hand early in the morning but officials expected that number to increase as the time of Trump’s arrival got closer. 

One of the early arrivals was a group wearing ‘Blacks for Trump’ t-shirts. 

Another man, wearing the American flag, carried a stick with a pig’s head through it.

Many of Trump’s supporters were coordinating their movements on Twitter.

Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate who is a huge supporter of the former president, tweeted that she will be joining protesters Tuesday.

Reporters lined up to get one of the 300 seats in the overflow room inside the courthouse. Only 20 journalists and members of the public will be let inside the actual courtroom where Trump will be arraigned.

Meanwhile, Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday found that 81 percent of Republicans thought the charges against Trump were politically motivated.

The poll also found that Trump still leads his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination by a wide margin. 

About 43 percent of Republicans said Trump was their preferred candidate, compared to 22 per cent who picked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s closest rival.

Billionaire Ken Griffin, 54, wants to relocate the historic home of former Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan that sits on his $106.9 million estate, despite warnings it could damage the property.

The Chicago hedge fund tycoon made history buying the city’s most expensive listing to date when it was revealed in September that he’d purchased the four-acre property.

Villa Serena, the home of the three-time presidential candidate, who served in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895 and as the Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, is one of two homes located on the estate.

But Griffin has been ruffling feathers among historians and preservationists from the area after one of his first orders of business was to ask the city to remove the former statesman’s home.

Experts have argued that doing so will not only devalue the 1913 mansion, but also put it in danger of damage or collapse, the Miami Herald reported.

Citadel spokesman Zia Ahmed told the outlet that Griffin wants the property to one day be opened for public use for the first time in its history.

‘This is just an idea in the very early stages right now,’ Ahmed said.

‘Ken’s team is exploring potential options wherein the general public would for the first time be able to visit and see this historic home at a different location.’

Griffin moved his hedge fund Citadel to Miami after a colleague was robbed while having a gun pressed to his head during a coffee run.

He purchased the waterfront property in Coconut Grove from philanthropist Adrienne Arsht, who is known in Miami for her $30 million contribution to the city’s performing arts center.

She also spent a significant amount of time renovating the home, which she used as a guest house and for social gatherings.

Griffin’s single property boasts old war charm and the grandeur and opulence of the Great Gatsby era. 

The billionaire businessman founded the massive hedge fund Citadel in Chicago in 1990, and, Citadel Securities in 2002. 

Griffin, however, is originally from Central and South Florida, having been born in Daytona Beach, and raised in Boca Raton.

The move back to the Sunshine State comes only months after Griffin moved his global securities firm’s headquarters out of ‘crime-ridden’ Chicago. 

The company had been located in the Illinois area for the last three decades, but left due to escalating violence in the state.

Griffin acquired the mega 4-acre estate located in Coconut Grove on Brickell Avenue – about two miles from his future Miami office, the Real Deal reported.  

The historic property features two homes – a two-bedroom, two bathroom guest villa and a 14-000 square-foot primary residence with five bedrooms, five bathrooms. 

The primary residence also has 20-foot-high ceilings, grand marble staircase, three living rooms, grand salon, dining room that seats 20, sun room and breathtaking views of Biscayne Bay with architectural detail throughout.

The guest villa, once occupied by Bryan, was built in 1913 and was on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by the late architect August Geiger.

The former owner of the estate was renowned philanthropist Adrienne Arsht. In 1996, she purchased the land for $4 million and built her main residence three years later. 

In 2007, she purchased the second property for $12 million that she transformed into a guest villa, court records show, the outlet reported. 

Colorful lush foliage, numerous ponds with statues of swans and birds, gorgeous inground pools, and tennis courts adorn the property.

Proceeds from the sale were said to be donated to a charity that Arsht was passionate about, according to CBS Miami. In January, the property hit the market at $150 million, but sold at 29 percent below that.

Griffin shared news of the company’s Florida relocation in a letter to employees. 

About 1,000 people work at its Chicago headquarters, and it is unclear how many will be making the move south.

‘Miami is a vibrant, growing metropolis that embodies the America Dream. I am excited to have recently moved to Miami with my family and look forward to rapidly expanding Citadel in a city so rich in diversity and abounding with energy,’ he said.     

Griffin noted that ‘many’ of its Chicago teams ‘have asked to relocate to Miami, New York and our other offices around the world,’ the letter read, NBC5 Chicago reported.  

Griffin added: ‘We recognize that the choice of where to call home involves personal, family, school and other considerations, and we will provide comprehensive support to meet the needs of our teams.’

The CEO has been vocal in the past about the Chicago’s escalating crime and violence. He said that some employees he knows have been mugged on their way to work and one even stabbed.

The company will be headquartered in Brickell, Miami’s financial district, and the move is expected to take several years. 

In the memo to employees, Griffin recalled the warm welcome he got in Chicago when he started his firm, The New York Times reported. 

‘I still remember the incredible civic pride and engagement when I arrived more than 30 years ago — and the outreach by business and political leaders who wanted us to succeed and be a part of the fabric of Chicago’s community,’ he wrote.

Citadel is just one of several major companies that have moved their headquarters out of the Chicago area.

Construction manufacturer, Caterpillar is relocating its Deerfield offices to the Dallas-Forth Worth area. 

Aircraft giant Boeing moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001, and this May announced it was moving again, this time to Arlington, Virginia. 

Griffin is not the only billionaire businessman calling Florida their home. About 10,000 people moved to Palm Beach between 2020 and 2021, according to the U.S. Census, with more streaming in through 2022.

Since the start of the pandemic, thousands of New Yorkers have traded bleak winters for the Sunshine State, but some of the wealthiest among them are running into a significant supply issue – a lack of private schools that rival the elite education their children receive in the Big Apple. 

As a result, some real estate agents are losing out on big pay days as they see home buyers who haven’t secured a spot for their children delay the sale process. 

At the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Springs – where former first-son Barron Trump attends high school – spokesman Scott Siegfried told DailyMail.com that the school has a waitlist for most grades.

Enrollment numbers at Oxbridge have jumped from 510 to 562 in the last year alone, and a ‘strong applicant pool’ is expected for the coming cycle. Tuition at the academy is $35,000. 

Currently, the average price of a single-family Palm Beach home is $16 million.

A blue moon rose above the Bosphorus on Saturday night, above the battalions of minarets that point to the sky, above the armies of cargo ships massing in the Sea of Marmara, and climbed so high and waxed so full that it cast its glow over a club whose name we once used as an affectionate code to signify misfortune and suffering.

Manchester City have lived in the shadow of a more glamorous local rival for much of their history but when they beat Internazionale at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to complete an imperious Treble and win the Champions League for the first time, they strode out of that shadow and rushed into the light.

This was not the dominant performance so many had expected but it was enough. A beautifully taken second half goal from Rodri, the player Pep Guardiola famously left out of City’s defeat by Chelsea in the 2021 final, and two stunning late saves from Ederson decided a match that at times felt ominously as if it was slipping away from the English champions.

But this time, after so many previous failures, City got the job done. The ‘noisy neighbours’ was the sneering epithet Sir Alex Ferguson once bestowed upon City but on the edge of the vast, teeming sprawl of Istanbul, the noisy neighbours finally shouted the house down and turned a corner of Turkey into a delirious outpost of Madchester.

The house Ferguson built fell more than a decade ago and the beautiful team that City’s driven, obsessive, genius coach Guardiola has constructed now rules with a velvet glove that hides an iron fist.

City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, watched his club in person for the first time in almost 13 years and he, and the rest of the world, saw City usher in a new era for football. City became the first of the petro-state sides to win the sport’s most prestigious club tournament and more will follow them.

The old order is rapidly fading and its grandes dames must have shuddered as City lifted the trophy. City’s victory completes the first stage of the Abu Dhabi project begun in 2008 when the state bought the club. For the rest of football, the scary version of what happened here is that this is just the beginning of a prolonged period of domination for teams like City, PSG and Newcastle United.

‘Welcome to Hell’, the signs held aloft by fervent local fans used to say when English teams arrived at the airport here and some rival fans will use that as a metaphor for the fact that the sport’s most prestigious prize has been won by a team facing 115 Premier League charges for alleged financial breaches. For others, this was not hell. For them, it was a welcome to a blue heaven.

It was, perhaps most of all, a triumph for Guardiola, who had been accused of blowing several previous City attempts to win the competition with ill-judged tactical changes. But even if they were far from their best on Saturday night, this is a majestic team that he has created, close to the equal of his Barcelona team that won two Champions League titles in 2008 and 2011.

When the final whistle went to signal his third victory in this competition, he did not sprint on to the pitch. He turned purposefully to his left and sought out Simone Inzaghi, the Inter manager whose team had put up such a stubborn fight. It was as if the pain of previous failures was so fresh in his mind that he wanted to make sure he paid his respects to the vanquished.

Now Guardiola has removed any last remaining caveat to his place in the pantheon of the greatest coaches of all. His few detractors said he would never win the Champions League without Lionel Messi in his team but that barb has lost its sting. Any argument that he is not the greatest football coach of all time rings hollow.

So 53 years after City won their first European trophy, beating Gornik Zabrze in the 1970 Cup Winners’ Cup Final, they had another. ‘And all the roads we have to walk are winding,’ City fans sang, ‘And all the lights that lead us there are blinding.’

City fans had heeded Guardiola’s plea and avoided booing the Champions League anthem before kick-off, which was played by a man sitting at a grand piano on the touchline. The supporters contented themselves with waving their flags and relishing the occasion.

It would not have been a Champions League final, of course, without Guardiola springing some sort of selection surprise and some were startled when it emerged he had left out Kyle Walker, one of City’s outstanding performers in recent weeks, and picked Nathan Ake instead.

City have become such a formidable unit, it barely seems to matter who they pick and they went close to opening the scoring after five minutes when Bernardo Silva teased Federico Dimarco inside the Inter box and curled a shot inches wide of the far post.

But Inter were not here for a meek surrender. They pressed City high and shook them out of their rhythm. Ederson passed a ball straight into touch, Rodri left a pass short, Ederson, again, played a pass straight to Nicolo Barella. Guardiola started to pace nervously in his technical area.

City burst into life midway through the half when De Bruyne and Haaland linked superbly, Haaland burst into the area and forced Andre Onana into a fine save. Minutes later, though, they suffered a grievous blow when De Bruyne pulled up in obvious discomfort.

De Bruyne tried to play on but he lasted until 10 minutes before half time when he admitted defeat. It was a cruel twist for City’s outstanding player. He was forced off early in the second half of the final in Porto two years ago, too. He was replaced by Phil Foden.

City did their best to find their groove. John Stones was everywhere in midfield, the game’s best player. But De Bruyne’s injury and City’s faltering performance spread a cloying kind of fear in their supporters. It couldn’t be happening again, could it?

If Inter offered very little going forward, City were well below their best in the first half, ineffectual, utterly lacking their usual fluency. They did not start the second half well, either. The City fans grew quiet and nervous. The Inter supporters roared and waved their giant flags and gave Romelu Lukaku a rousing reception when he replaced Edin Dzeko 10 minutes after the interval.

City survived a major scare soon after. Bernardo Silva played a ball to Manuel Akanji but Akanji let it run on towards Ederson even though Martinez was lurking behind him. Martinez was on it in a flash and Guardiola sank to his knees on the touchline. Martinez advanced on goal but Ederson came out to meet him and blocked his shot.

Any hope that City were going to produce one of the most dominant performances in a Champions League final had long since disappeared by now. The match had turned into a war of attrition, a battling of niggling fouls and misplaced passes.

Then, it exploded. Midway through the half, Bernardo Silva escaped down the right and cut a ball back from the goalline. It brushed an Inter player and Haaland appealed for handball. But his appeal died in his throat.

The ball ran on to Rodri who was running in on the edge of the area. He met it without breaking stride and curled a fierce low shot past Onana into the corner of the net. In the stands, Sheikh Mansour looked pleased.

Two minutes later, Inter nearly drew level. Denzel Dumfries nodded a ball into the City box and Dimarco looped a header over Ederson and on to the face of the crossbar. The ball rebounded to Dimarco and he tried to force it over the line but Lukaku got in the way of it and inadvertently blocked it.

City nearly went further ahead when Foden produced the evening’s stand-out piece of sublime skill to drag the ball away from Dimarco in midfield and sprint towards goal. He hit his shot low towards the corner but Onana got down sharply to his left to keep it out.

Two minutes from the end, City had an incredible escape. The ball found its way to Lukaku four yards out with the goal at his mercy but the Belgium forward headed it straight at Ederson and it bounced off the goalkeeper’s shin before Ruben Dias headed it out.

Ederson made another fine, flying save from a flicked header at a corner and Inter knew it was not their night. In the City end, the fans began to celebrate. ‘Blue moon,’ they sang, ‘you saw me standing alone.’

And when the whistle went and the trophy had been lifted and the gold ticker-tape had filled the air, the City players celebrated on the pitch to a soundtrack of Manchester lives and Manchester striving.

‘This is how it feels to be lonely,’ the Inspiral Carpets sang as the City players cavorted with their fans, ‘this is how it feels to be small.’ Then Joy Division took over as the players posed for photos with their families. ‘When routine bites hard and ambitions are low,

And resentment rides high but emotions won’t grow.’

Pain is in City’s DNA but this is a different team now, a different club, a club that runs on beautiful football and state power and success and wealth and oil. Maybe that was why the last word went to Oasis. ‘Don’t look back in anger,’ they sang and City’s fans streamed at last for the exits.

Donald Trump‘s lawyer accused the United States of having a ‘two tier system of justice’, noting that Donald Trump has been indicted while Bill and Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden have not.

Alina Habba told Fox News that the indictment against Trump on federal charges related to the mishandling of classified documents were a sign of ‘a sick world’.

She said it made her ‘ashamed’ to be a lawyer, called the indictment ‘persecution’, and said it was a ‘sad attempt at political interference.’

‘There is a two tier system of justice that we are seeing right now,’ she told Jesse Watters.

‘Hillary Clinton smashed a computer and got rid of emails.

‘We had recordings in sock drawers.

‘We have Biden and Obama who were hiding things – Biden still has things in Chinatown, in his home, with a son who is a drug addict.

‘And nothing happens to these people.’

Hillary Clinton’s aides admitted that they used a hammer to destroy two of her old phones.

Her staff also in 2015 deleted 30,000 emails on her server which were unrelated to government work, and were older than 60 days.

Her husband spoke to historian Taylor Branch while in office, with the pair of them recording their discussions for a book. Bill Clinton kept his tapes in a sock drawer. Conservatives have argued that they amount to presidential records and should be handed over.

Biden found classified material at the offices of his think tank, in Washington DC, and his Delaware home: they were handed over.

Obama’s office denied taking any classified documents.

Yet Habba said there was a distinct prejudice against her client, which she blamed on his political prowess.

‘When your name is Donald Trump, and you’re leading in the polls, you are going to get hit hard,’ she said.

‘You are going to get indicted, until you can’t take it any more.

‘But they picked the wrong guy.’

Habba said that Trump’s indictment – the first federal charges ever filed against a former president – was unfair, and ‘shows what a sick world we are living in.’

She continued: ‘I am petrified for the country at the moment, and sad for my client – although he is resilient and strong.

‘And it just shows me once again why we need him back in the White House.’

Habba said that the ‘establishment’ was terrified by Trump because he was independent.

‘Donald Trump is not owned by any lobbyist. He is not owned by any funder – anybody who would give him money in exchange for access,’ she said. ‘He does not need the money.

‘And that is the most frightening thing to the current political climate in America.

‘And because of that, he is the biggest threat to the corrupt political system we have; to the corrupt Justice Department we have.’

Habba said that they were looking forward to putting Trump’s version of events forward.

She attacked the special counsel, Jack Smith, and accused him of being a political hack intent on bringing Trump down.

‘All of these indictments, the American people need to remember, are a one-sided evidentiary hearing in a grand jury that is put on by far left Democrats,’ she said.

‘Jack Smith is effectively what you would call a Democrat, left wing operative.

‘All he does is hate Trump, hate the right wing.

‘He puts these people in a silo and gives them his evidence.’

She concluded: ‘Now we get the opportunity to present our evidence, and see it through.

‘If we get an impartial judge, an impartial jury, we will be vindicated on all fronts.’

West Ham United players danced in the streets last night as they returned to their hotel in the centre of Prague and received a hero’s welcome, joining jubilant West Ham fans celebrating their historic win in Prague. 

Last night supporters were in delirium after Jarrod Bowen’s 90th-minute winner saw them become Europa Conference League champions with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina.

Thousands of fans who flocked to the Eden Arena in Prague partied late into the night in the Czech capital, while supporters back home gathered for jubilant celebrations outside the London Stadium.

As the team got off the bus at their hotel goalkeeper Alphonse Areola produced a portable music player and even manager David Moyes joined in the impromptu bop in front of two dozen happy fans after 2am early today.

And goalscorer Bowen was all smiles, laughing as his teammates danced to a song which affectionately celebrates his relationship with Dani Dyer, with whom he has recently had twins.

Despite the early hour, the players looked in no mood to end their celebrations as they walked in the street, hugged and signed autographs for fans.

Because of the time, first choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski tried to quieten fans down in order not to wake other hotel guests up.

But his teammates wanted to get the party rocking and the fans joined in, along with manager Moyes.

Captain Declan Rice, who will on Thursday evening lead an open top bus celebration of the trophy win, was all smiles as he emerged from the team bus to their hotel.

He was followed by his predecessor as club captain, West Ham legend Mark Noble.

As soon as the goalkeeper played the song the players broke into a dance again.

They were soon joined by fans as well, and Brazilian star Lucas Paqueta signed one supporter’s West Ham shirt. Earlier, Paqueta had shown off his dance moves in the dressing room, in a clip posted on the team’s Twitter account.

One fan said: ‘I couldn’t get a ticket for the game, and I was just walking back to my hotel when I saw the coach.

‘I saw Said Banrahama through a coach window and he smiled at me, and then all the players emerged from nowhere.

‘That was like actually being at the match. What a great bunch of lads they are.’  

West Ham manager Moyes, 60, delighted supporters who had travelled more than 600 miles to cheer the Irons on as he strutted his stuff, celebrating the result both on and off the pitch.

In the run up to the big game the former Manchester United boss promised fans he would bring out his ‘dad dancing’ if they were victorious – and he didn’t disappoint as he joined crowds in the Czech capital.

But shocking scenes also saw supporters appearing to clash with police in the city. 

One video showed Prague officers in riot gear storming through a crowd leaving fans sprawling as they raced towards what appeared to be a West Ham fan wielding a glowing red pyrotechnic.

The chaos left fans shocked – with one showing off a bloody elbow following the carnage. 

It came hours after supporters were blasted for throwing plastic pint glasses onto the pitch – with a vape pen thought to be thrown by an Irons supporter gashing the head of Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi.

Crowds were seen dancing on the concourse of the old Olympic stadium, while packed-out bars rocked with joyous supporters. 

Ex-West Ham and England ace Trevor Sinclair was among those who took to the town – posting a raucous video of fans packed into a London venue last night. 

With fans screaming and dancing on tables, the pundit, 50, grinned at the camera as chaos unrolled behind him.  

After Benrahma’s second half penalty was cancelled out by Giacomo Bonaventura, Bowen – who had twins with girlfriend Dani Dyer just two weeks ago – latched onto Paqueta’s perfectly weighted through ball and calmly slotted beyond the reach of the Fiorentina goalkeeper.

West Ham were made to desperately hold on for eight gruelling minutes of stoppage time, but defended stoutly to secure their first European trophy since 1965. 

But as the full-time whistle finally arrived, David Moyes and his players rushed to their travelling fans to share the historic moment with their travelling fans.

It sparked euphoric celebrations both inside the stadium, where players danced on the pitch to music before and after Declan Rice lifted the trophy, as well as a giant party atmosphere in the East End.

Fans immediately began belting out their iconic I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles anthem and hailed Bowen’s name as the winger wrote his name into the club’s folklore.

Speaking to BT Sport, Bowen said: ‘I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute – it’s what you always say. 

‘And to do it in front of these fans – I thought I was going to cry.

‘I’m just happy. I can’t put it into words. We’ve had a dream – we haven’t had the best season, myself included.

‘But to do what we’ve done tonight for these fans – to give them this moment, I’m over the moon.’

After 58 years of hurt the team lifted their first European cup since before England won the World Cup.

Fans sang Queen’s We Are The Champions as Declan Rice held the cup. 

And manager David Moyes was seen dancing in celebration as his team finally secured the silverware.

The 60-year-old later said it was the best moment in his career.

Combative midfielder Rice, who covered every blade of grass in the pulsating final, said: ‘Honestly it means absolutely everything. The lads have been so on it. We’ve had a real belief. I’m not just happy for us, for the manager, but for the fans.

‘I’m also happy for (the backroom staff).’

On Bowen’s goal, he added: ‘I said when he ran through on goal, “this is your time”. As soon as you see it hit the back of the net, you don’t know what to do – I’m still in shock!

‘I absolutely love this club. They’ve made me one of their own. I’m just so, so happy.

And addressing comparisons to club greats like Sir Bobby Moore, he said: ‘Do you know what? To be even in that conversation is crazy. 

‘I’ve given the last six years playing my heart out for this club, and it’s not been easy.’

Joe Cole, working as a pundit on BT Sport, heaped praise on the West Ham captain following his performance.

He said: ‘Declan Rice is a special player, an absolutely special player. A special character. And he stands on the shoulders now with Billy Bonds and Bobby Moore. I can say that. I know how good a player he is.

‘I’ve watched him as a young kid when they kindly let me train with the youth team. I saw this young, spotty herbert in midfield running rings around me, and I was 36. I thought “It’s time for me to hang them up, Colely!” I knew when I spoke to him.

‘Forget the playing ability and what he can do on the pitch, his personality, I knew he would become a leader. He’s been here for four, five years ago now and he’s written his name down in the history of this football club. Like I said, he stands next to the great Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds. Fair play to him, I’m so pleased for him.’

Among the crowds, West Ham hero Knollsy – the ‘Angel of Alkmaar’ who bravely defended the team’s supporters from Dutch thugs last month – was seen belting out Bubbles from the middle of packed crowds.

Chris Knoll, 58, became an international sensation last month after he fought off brutes who had intended to attack West Ham supporters, including the wives and girlfriends of the team at AK Alkmaar.

He arrived in Prague on Tuesday to cheers after he was given tickets to the final against  after MailOnline contacted West Ham United executives.

As the father of four disembarked from a train at Prague’s main railway station, he said: ‘I am actually here, and it feels incredible.

‘I just got mobbed by West Ham fans as I came off the train, and that means more to me than anything. I have to say it again, but I only did what would’ve been expected.

‘There were women and children and they could’ve been attacked. I acted instinctively, although I had a feeling there was something bad in the air before.’

Earlier in the match, Fiorentina’s captain suffered a gash to his head after he was hit by a vape pen apparently thrown by a West Ham fan – in shameful scenes just hours after a group of partying Irons supporters were violently ambushed and attacked. 

Italian ultras came at the Londoners with flares, chains, bottles and batons this afternoon, before the Europa Conference League final kicked off.

Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was treated for blood dripping down his neck after he was apparently hit by a vape pen while taking a corner in front of the Irons supporters.

Plastic pint glasses could be seen raining down on the 30-year-old, who was later wrapped in a matching purple bandage – as the London team were told to have a word with their fans.

The celebratory mood soured in central Prague soon after 3pm when Hammers fans drinking in a bar were attacked by the Italians clad in black clothing and masks.

Several West Ham fans suffered cuts and bruises as the missiles flew. Police in the Czech capital said three West Ham fans and one police officer were injured in the incident.

Thirty Italians were arrested after the attacks, a few hours before the game kicked off. 

One video showed the thuggish fans of the Florence club throwing chairs at the West Ham supports sitting under the arches outside the bar ahead of the Premier League Club’s biggest European match in nearly half a century. Another clip showed the Ultras running down a Prague street carrying make-shift weapons.

As the police moved in to quell the violence, two stun grenades were launched into the Tekila Tekila bar in the city centre, causing loud bangs. Broken glass and a burnt-out chair littered the ground outside the bar after the attack.

Around 300 West Ham fans had been drinking happily, singing without causing any fear to police or locals when they were set upon by the Italian ultras.

As word went round the wider area that their fellow fans were being assaulted, Hammers fans moved towards the bar – and a group of riot police moved in to arrest the Fiorentina football fans causing chaos.

One West Ham fan who witnessed the scenes said: ‘They targeted a group and attacked them quite violently then ran off before anyone could react. It was completely unprovoked. They were all ultras dressed in black. It was pretty grim.’ 

Another eyewitness, retired plumber John Brownlie from Cambridge, said: ‘From nowhere about 100 men with chains, belts, bottles, and flares came round the street corner, and almost pushed over a lady and her baby in a pushchair.

‘The woman quickly was quickly rushed inside to the bar, with her child, but two stun grenades were thrown in there, and caused some fire damage,’ he added.

‘This caused a lot of us to come out of the bar to find out what was going on, and then they started attacking us, punching and kicking us. When they ran, which would’ve been probably a minute later, we ran after them but the police blocked us.

‘They were just cowards. West Ham fans didn’t do anything wrong. This was an ambush,’ Brownlie added.

Another West Ham fan, who did not want to be named, said ‘a large group’ of Italian fans attacked the bar.

‘About eight Italians walked past, swinging bands and chains,’ he said. ‘Five minutes later there was a big group that come down the road and attacked us.’

The man said five West Ham fans were injured ahead of the game kicking off.

He said: ‘Three of our mates (were injured), out of all of this lot there were five. Three of them were our mates. They’ve gone to hospital.’ He said that one of his friends was ‘quite badly’ injured with a ‘massive cut’ on his head.

A 17-year-old witness to the attack on West Ham fans said that Fiorentina fans came around the corner ‘trying to give it large’.

‘We were all standing here, just having a glass,’ he said. ‘And they all come around the corner, trying to give it large. We done nothing wrong.’ 

He said that the Italian fans had ‘chains and belt buckles’. 

‘They were throwing flares and firecrackers,’ he said. 

‘They had chains and belt buckles and everything. They come here, try giving it, and then they ran down the road.’

Around 100 West Ham fans attempted to run towards the bar where their fellow fans were said to have been attacked but were kept at bay by around 50 police officers, some armed with automatic rifles and batons.

The ultras attempted to escape the police and ran through a busy paved shopping area. Some ran through the outside tables of a café where many people were dining, causing crockery, glasses and bottles to smash as tables were overturned.

Despite their efforts, they were rounded up and hemmed in outside a massage parlour. Women working within were seen peering through windows and taking pictures with their phones of the thugs.

MailOnline witnessed a group of suspected thugs being handcuffed and arrested before being led off through the crowds.

Police using tannoys, speaking in Italian, warned the remaining Florentina fans and ultras who were gathering to leave the area immediately.

In a statement on Twitter, along with a photograph of a number of Italian fans in handcuffs on the floor of a shoeshop, Prague’s police forces confirmed that West Ham fans were attacked where in a bar by Fiorentina’s fans.

‘Italy fans attacked West Ham fans in a bar in Rytířská Street, injuring three. One policeman was also attacked,’ the statement said.

‘We have restricted the personal freedom of 16 people and we are currently investigating the whole incident. #policiepha’.

An investigation was ongoing and no more details were immediately provided.

It comes after similarly-cald hooligan supporters of AZ Alkmaar tried to get at West Ham players’ families in chaotic scenes at the end of the semi-final in Holland.

Riot police have been on standby in the hours ahead of tonight’s kick-off.

Earlier, one fan was detained by police for letting off an orange flair in the square, but later released after a ticking-off.

More than 10,000 West Ham fans were gathering in the fan zone to watch the match on a giant screen.

Supporters of their Italian rival without tickets were led to a separate fan zone.

After days of rain, the sun came out and lifted the spirits of the thousands of fans in Prague’s Old Town Square as of pints were downed and bars were packed to the hilt.

But as the final kicked off, many fans who travelled to Prague but were unable to get tickets would have been disappointed to see several hundred empty seats in the stadium. 

Sam Nicola, 32, a London black cab driver who was wearing a claret and blue curly wig, said: ‘I woke up this morning and my whole body went into this state of anxiety.

‘I couldn’t talk and I keep thinking about what might happen. It is far worse than normal butterflies, believe me.

‘We just have to win, and I promised all my mates that I will wear this wig in my cab for a week if we do.’

His brother Jay, 35, who also wore a similar wig and drives a black cab, added: ‘ we have waited so long for this. But there was a lot of nerves.

‘But I believe we can do it. We will bring that trophy home. We will win 2-1.’

London dentist Aditi Tanna, 28, who wore a West Ham hat and shirt said: ‘It is so amazing being here with all these great West Ham fans. We have made many new friends.

‘My boyfriend Ajay and I came into Prague on a train from Vienna this morning and for four more Euros we were put into first class and given a class of Prosecco so that was a great way to start the day.

‘I feel it is getting better and better all the way to winning the cup tonight.

‘We don’t have tickets, but it is much more fun being here than watching it on TV from the sofa. ‘

Keilan Schemeri, 31, from Gibraltar whose father Joe is from London and a Hammer’s fan said: ‘It will be 3-1 to West Ham. We are going all the way.’

Former West Ham striker, Tony Cottee join supporters in the old town Square as a sign his name.

Actor and comedian James Corden, a lifelong West Ham fan, also flew into the Czech Republic and posed happily with supporters for photographs.

Folk hero Knollsy, who was dubbed the ‘Angel of Alkmaar’ after fighting off thugs out to attack West Ham fans last month, was mobbed by well-wishers as he walked through the square wearing a black West Ham shirt.

The final is West Ham’s first in Europe since 1976, and they are bidding to win their first trophy since the FA Cup 43 years ago.

Greg Robson, 59, from Manor Park, east London, told the PA news agency he has been a season ticket holder for 43 years.

‘First game was 1969, with my dad, sadly no longer with us,’ he said. ‘And I’ve had a season ticket since the age of 16. This is about my 43rd year now going home and away, following them abroad. I just love West Ham United.’

He said it felt ‘unbelievable’ to be in a European final.

‘I was just one when we first won it, 11 in ’76,’ he said. ‘So really, for me, this is the first time to actually go to one.’ He said he booked his flight to Prague before West Ham had even made the knockout stages.

‘We actually booked the flights when we were in the group stages,’ he said. ‘So it’s a gamble that paid off.’ He added that he will ‘party all night’ if the Hammers win.

‘Just party, party all night,’ he said. ‘I’ve got an early flight in the morning, but I might be missing that.’

Andrew Hall, 54, from Surrey, said: ‘If we’re celebrating I could be here for another week.’ He added that he had spent ‘probably £1,000’ on his trip to Prague, adding: ‘But it’s worth every penny.’

Steve Wick, 60, from Hertfordshire, said he had travelled for hours to make it to the Czech capital. ‘We drove 13 hours,’ he said. ‘We got the shuttle over from Folkestone and then drove through. So 13 hours door to door.’

He said it had been ‘years and years’ since the team had had any major success.

‘If we win this tonight it will be mega for the fans,’ he added. ‘It has been years and years since we’ve had any glory. And I think this is going to be it.’

Dan Lee from Romford said he had spent more than £1,000 on his trip to the final.

‘All in, over £1,000, but it’s what you do for West Ham,’ he said.

He added that being in a European final meant ‘everything’ to him.

‘Never did you think that little old West Ham would get this far,’ he said.

Unidentified metallic orb UFOs have been spotted ‘all over the world’, a Pentagon chief admitted today during NASA’s first-ever public hearing into the phenomenon.

Physicist Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), said: ‘We see these [‘metallic orbs’] all over the world, and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers.’

Dr Kirkpatrick told NASA’s independent team of scientists and other experts who have been tasked with studying the UFO phenomenon that is increasingly becoming less stigmatized following several high-profile congressional hearings and military sightings.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed at today’s NASA hearing that the space agency will work closely with the Pentagon’s official UFO investigators on top secret UFO cases.

Dr Kirkpatrick said that the Pentagon’s is closely collaborating with ‘NASA embeds,’ scientists who have been cleared for work on classified UAP cases where their expertise could help military investigators identify the mysterious craft or events.

Kirkpatrick added that AARO plans to deploy ‘dedicated sensors for typical UAP’ sightings, equipment independent of the existing military defense sensors that have thus far picked up UAP in the course of their normal duties. 

Both NASA’s head of science, space and atmospheric physicist Dr. Nicky Fox, and AARO director, Dr. Kirkpatrick, also took time to rebuke unnamed individuals for harassing members of the NASA panel. 

Both said that these attitudes online and among officialdom have contributed to the continuing social stigma surrounding UAP.

The chair of NASA’s independent UAP panel, theoretical astrophysicist David Spergel, described the group’s purpose as ‘How can NASA contribute to understanding the nature of UAPs?’

He summarized the current state of data collection efforts on UAP as ‘unsystematic’ and ‘fragmented across various agencies’ often using instruments that were fit for their security or safety mandate, but ‘uncalibrated for scientific data collection.’

Spergel added that some of the work done in this realm did achieve the admirable status of ‘citizen science.’ He cited previous anomalies, like the fantastic accounts of upward-going red lightning, or sprites, which had been first reported by shocked pilots and initially discounted by atmospheric scientists.

‘If it’s something that’s anomalous. That makes it interesting and worthy of study,’  Spergel said.   

UFO reports were first delivered by both the head of the AARO director Kirkpatrick, and an advisor to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Surveillance Services Office, Mike Freie.

NASA’s study group, an assemblage of 16 experts ranging from physicists to astronauts, was formed last June to examine unclassified UFO sightings and other data collected from civilian government and commercial sectors.

The study group represents the first such inquiry ever conducted by the US space agency into a subject the government had previously consigned to the purview of military and national security officials, when accorded respect or attention at all.

Today, these parallel NASA and Pentagon efforts, both undertaken with some semblance of transparency, mark a turning point for in the government’s public stance on UFOs or UAP. 

After decades spent deflecting, debunking and discrediting sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, dating back to the 1940s, Pentagon officials now say that their recent push to investigate such sightings has led to hundreds of new reports that are under examination. 

Speaking to the NASA panel today, AARO director Kirkpatrick said that roughly 2 to 5 percent of AARO’s current database of approximately 800 UAP cases constituted real and baffling anomalies. 

While NASA’s science mission was seen by some as promising a more open-minded approach to a topic long treated as taboo by the defense establishment, the US space agency made it known from the start that it was hardly leaping to any conclusions.

‘There is no evidence UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin,’ NASA said in announcing the panel’s formation last June.

In its more recent statements, the agency presented a new potential wrinkle to the UAP acronym itself, referring to it as an abbreviation for ‘unidentified anomalous phenomena.’ This suggested that sightings other than those that appeared airborne may be included.

Still, NASA in announcing Wednesday’s meeting, said the space agency defines UAPs ‘as observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective.’