Attorneys for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that their client incited last month’s riot at the U.S. Capitol or sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race, insisting instead that Trump was merely exercising his First Amendment rights with baseless claims of voter fraud. “It is denied that President Trump incited the crowd to engage in destructive behavior,” Trump’s legal team wrote in a brief filed with the Senate ahead of the impeachment trial that is expected to get underway next week.

The former president “exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect,” Trump’s lawyers wrote, “since with very few exceptions, under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic ‘safeguards’ states election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures.”

Trump’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election, widely credited with inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, have been comprehensively debunked by courts and election experts. (AP)

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JUST IN: Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu tweeted Tuesday that the Turkish government would not tolerate “LGBT perverts who attempted to occupy the rector's office." Twitter placed a warning on his tweet, saying it violating rules against hate.

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JUST IN: The U.S. will begin shipping doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to pharmacies next week.

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Pete Buttigieg, known throughout his 2020 presidential bid as "Mayor Pete," got a big promotion Tuesday to become President Biden's next Transportation Secretary.

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NEW: Hack extends beyond SolarWinds Software. Investigators say roughly 30% of victims are said to have no connection to the network-management company's software. (WSJ)

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NEW: President Biden is expected to sign three executive orders today which will:
- Create a task force under the DHS to reunite hundreds of families separated at the southern border
- Review Trump's policies on asylum, foreign aid, and immigration

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JUST IN: NYU's study that claimed that there exists "no reliable evidence" to suggest that Big Tech censors conservatives was funded by billionaire Craig Newmark, who contributed $100,000 to Joe Biden's campaign.

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NEW: Biden suspends COVID-19 financial relief payments to farmers, plans to redirect the money toward climate change. (Bloomberg)

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PSAKI: Joe Biden's "first love is foreign policy"

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NEW: According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the Biden Administration is reviewing former President Trump's access to classified briefings, which former presidents traditionally maintain access to. (Daily Mail)

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BREAKING: Senate confirms Alejandro Mayorkas as America’s first Latino Homeland Security chief

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BREAKING: SpaceX Starship SN9 explodes on attempted landing

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RIP One of the two FBI agents shot and killed in Sunrise while trying to serve a search warrant for a violent crimes against children investigation had previously led an investigation into what was believed to be the world’s largest child pornography website.

Special Agent Dan Alfin was killed Tuesday morning in a shooting that also claimed the life of Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger.

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NEW: India cuts internet access around New Delhi as farmer protests against three new agricultural laws worsen.

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BREAKING: Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO of Amazon; will transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board

JUST IN: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposes new regulations to deal with Big Tech.

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BREAKING: Anthony Fauci says he cannot provide a timeframe for when life can return to a pre-pandemic normal during an interview with the Washington Post.

"You cannot give a definite answer when you have so many moving parts. When you give a definitive time, they'll say: 'Oh! The scientists were wrong.' It depends on so many factors."

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WATCH: Newsmax hosts try to corral MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, anchor walks off set!

JUST IN: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the resignation of the hundreds of people serving on the Pentagon's 42 civilian boards, including a number of Trump loyalists.

The Pentagon's press secretary reports that the action was prompted by former President Trump's last minute appointments of Trump loyalists. (ABC)

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BREAKING: Police investigators have determined the Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the U. S. Capitol riot should not be charged. (NBC)

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