A GOP senator used a bit of alternative history to paint the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute Donald Trump as improper and politically motivated on Sunday. Ron Johnson was speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with host Maria Bartiromo when he made the claim that the twice-impeached former Republican president had, in fact, decided against directing the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton, the opponent he famously vowed to “lock up” countless times on the campaign trail. "[President Gerald] Ford decided it was best for America to not pursue prosecution against [President Richard] Nixon. President Trump pretty much made the same decision, decided not to pursue any kind of prosecution of Hillary Clinton,” said Mr Johnson. “Joe Biden could have made the same decision. He didn't,” added the senator. There were a couple of important issues with Mr Johnson’s assertion, however. Number one, Mr Ford did not direct the Justice Department to end a criminal investigation into his predecessor; instead, he pardoned Mr Nixon for any crimes he committed while in office, making a prosecution moot. Mr Trump hardly extended that same gesture to Ms Clinton. In fact, the Department of Justice closed the investigation into the Democratic secretary of State on two separate occasions, both before Mr Trump ever took office. The final end to that probe occurred two days before Mr Trump’s 2016 election victory, after the FBI had made the controversial decision to reopen the investigation with just days to go in the race. Mr Johnson’s apparent assertion that Mr Biden should consider pardoning Mr Trump for crimes he may have committed is the latest in an emerging line of half-hearted defences of the former president by Republicans aligned with the party’s establishment. Others, like Ohio’s new senator, JD Vance, have rejected the idea that any crimes could have been committed at all. Those more forceful arguments align more closely with the former president’s own; Mr Trump has loudly insisted that he is not guilty of the numerous allegations levied against him in the DoJ’s indictment, including witness tampering and violations of the Espionage Act. He also faces a separate set of criminal charges in New York stemming from a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Lindsey Graham ties himself in knots trying to defend Trump over classified documents indictment ‘It’s making them angrier’: North Carolina Republicans rally around Trump after indictment Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences

Pyongyang has already failed twice this year to get a spy satellite into space.

'Sister Wives' star Meri Brown is spending a lot of time with her best friend Blaie M Struble

A 44-year-old Arkansas man who beat a police officer with a flagpole during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol was sentenced Monday to four years in prison.

The US Supreme Court handed a victory to Twitter, Facebook and Google on Thursday, saying the social media giants could not be held liable by victims of terrorist attacks for...

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, may face a

Argentina’s government finally hit the panic button. After years of trying to avoid a currency devaluation that would

Finnish police say they have launched a criminal investigation into possible sabotage of an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia that was shut down over the weekend following a leak

An employee of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is expected to make his first court appearance on charges accusing him of scheming with the former president to hide security footage from investigators probing Trump’s hoarding of classified documents

Brianna Lafoe, aged 19, and Sierrah Newell, aged 20, were apprehended outside the Coyote Ugly Saloon on September 14

The captain of Israel's soccer team on Tuesday displayed the shoe of a young boy he said was kidnapped by Hamas militants during their deadly Oct. 7 raid, an act of solidarity with Israelis held captive in Gaza ahead of the team's game in Hungary. Team captain Eli Dasa was addressing a news conference in Felcsut, the small Hungarian village where Israel's team is set to face Switzerland on Wednesday in a Euro 2024 qualifying match, when he raised the small athletic shoe and displayed it to reporters. “It is hard to speak at the moment, but I don’t think that any of you can guess what is the story behind this shoe," Dasa said. “This kid is in Gaza Strip at the moment with seven, seven people from his family.” “That’s all what’s left from his house. This left shoe. We wait for him here,” he continued, before standing up and leaving the news conference. The shoe was taken from Be’eri kibbutz, the small community in Israel from which 8-year-old Nave Shoham was kidnapped along with seven of his relatives on Oct. 7, according to the Israeli team's press officer, Eitan Dotan. Three members of the boy's family were killed during the raids, Dotan said. The news conference took place as Israel's team held training sessions on Tuesday in Pancho Arena, the 3,500-seat stadium where they will face Switzerland on Wednesday and Romania on Saturday. In the stadium, a banner lining the field read in both Hebrew and English: “Bring them home!” The team is chasing a qualifying place in the Euro 2024 continental championship, which would be its first since joining the European soccer confederation UEFA in 1994. The match against Switzerland had been set for Oct. 12 in Tel Aviv, but UEFA suspended all games in Israel due to security concerns. The match against Romania had been set for Tel Aviv on Nov. 18. On Tuesday, the Israeli team's head coach, Alon Hazan, said he expects a tough and emotional game against Switzerland, saying that “we represent our country, not only the national team." Hazan commented on statements from Hungarian Jewish organizations that they would attend the matches in Felcsut, saying, “In this part of our life, wherever we play, even if one Jew sits on the stand to support us, we feel at home." Israel’s chances of reaching the European Championship finals suffered a blow on Sunday after their 1-0 loss to Kosovo in their delayed qualifying game. Israel are third in Group I of Euro 2024 qualifying, five points behind group leaders Romania - who have played one more game - and four points behind second-placed Switzerland. The top two teams of the group qualify directly for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.

Former Ukrainian captives have alleged they were subjected to torture, including electric shocks, while they were held at a detention facility in Russia. Speaking to the BBC over a dozen former detainees detailed the alleged physical and psychological abuse they suffered at the hands of Russian officers and guards at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility Number Two in Taganrog. They have since been released in prisoner exchanges. Guards at the facility carry black batons and metal bars to beat the captives in the legs, arms, or “anywhere they wanted”, senior lieutenant Artem Seredniak was quoted as saying. “It’s what they call ‘reception’,” he said. The captives were left under-nourished and the injured were not provided appropriate medical assistance, according to the report, which details a number of potential serious violations of international law. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is set to build new fortifications and military infrastructure in northeast regions that border Russia and Belarus at a cost of nearly $35m, prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said. “At the request of Kharkiv and Chernihiv... we are allocating 911.5m hryvnias ($24.7m) for Kharkiv and 363m ($9.8m) for Chernihiv to build military engineering and fortification structures,” Mr Shmyhal said on Telegram. Read More Putin’s forces step up air strikes on Ukraine regions bordering Nato Experts warn Ukraine’s frontline push is being damaged by West Putin accuses West of ‘adding fuel to fire’ with conflict in Ukraine Russia's ruble has tumbled. What does it mean for the wartime economy?