Without physically being onstage, former President Donald Trump still took significant hits from his eight opponents at the Republican National Committee’s first debate. . .

Several candidates praised former Vice President Mike Pence for certifying the 2020 election results — an indirect hit at Trump, who continues to push debunked claims that the election was stolen from him.

Former Govs. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson took stronger hits at Trump for alleged criminal misconduct, while DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) spoke about the weaponization of the Justice Department.

DeSantis said people needed to move forward away from Jan. 6, 2021, and focus on Jan. 20, 2025, “when the next president is going to take off.” . . .

DeSantis hit partly at the Trump administration for the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in shutdowns across the country and a huge hit to the economy. (Read more from “Republican Debate: Four Shots Taken at Donald Trump During the First RNC Debate” HERE)

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The director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago recanted previous “false testimony” in special counsel Jack Smith’s case into former President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after switching lawyers and learning of possible perjury charges, according to prosecutors.

The witness — described in a Justice Department court filing on Tuesday as “Trump Employee 4” and identified by several media outlets as Yuscil Taveras — has provided prosecutors with information regarding alleged efforts to delete surveillance camera footage taken at the 77-year-old former president’s Palm Beach, Fla., club and residence.

“When Trump Employee 4 testified before the grand jury in the District of Columbia in March 2023, he repeatedly denied or claimed not to recall any contacts or conversations about the security footage at Mar-a-Lago,” the DOJ’s court filing states.

The employee learned through a target letter issued 12 days after Trump’s indictment in the case that he faced “criminal exposure” to perjury charges, which the government says was “entirely due to his false sworn denial before the grand jury.”

Taveras also became aware that his lawyer, Stanley Woodward, might have a conflict of interest in the case because of his representation of Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta. (Read more from “Trump Classified Docs Witness Recanted False Testimony After Switching Lawyers: Prosecutors” HERE)

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Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in Thursday to the Fulton County jail where he has agreed to post a $200,000 bond in the case charging him with illegally trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election result.

Trump agreed to the surrender during negotiations with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office on Monday, the ex-president confirmed on Truth Social.

“Can you believe it?” he posted on his social media platform. “I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis…”

Trump claimed that Willis was coordinating with “Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ” in what he described as a witch hunt.

The 77-year-old’s surrender was first reported by CNN. (Read more from “Trump Plans to Turn Himself in After $200K Bond Granted in Georgia Election Case” HERE)

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Former President Donald J. Trump plans to upstage the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday by sitting for an online interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, according to multiple people briefed on the matter.

In the past 24 hours, Mr. Trump has told people close to him that he has made up his mind and will skip the debate in Milwaukee, according to two of the people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Trump is notoriously mercurial, and left himself something of an out to change his mind with an ambiguous post on his website, Truth Social, on Thursday. He wrote that he’s polling well ahead of his rivals and added, “Reagan didn’t do it, and neither did others. People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate?”

For weeks, the former president has been quizzing aides, associates and rally crowds about what he should do. Until earlier this week, Mr. Trump had been giving people the impression he was considering a last-minute surprise appearance on Wednesday. (Read more from “Trump Plans to Skip GOP Debate for Interview With Tucker Carlson” HERE)

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While former President Donald Trump maintains a commanding 40-point lead over his Republican primary challengers, Vivek Ramaswamy has surged over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take second place, a new Echelon Insight poll found.

Trump is the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination, with 55 percent of likely primary voters supporting the former president. However, the longstanding second-place option, DeSantis, continued his descent in the poll, falling into third place.

Ramaswamy received 15 percent support, while DeSantis received just 12 percent in the RNC debate qualifying poll. Ramaswamy’s second-place stance aligns with a Kaplan Strategies poll released Monday that also found him above DeSantis.

Republican Main Street Partnership president and CEO Sarah Chamberlain said Ramaswamy “has risen well above expectations and is currently leading the pack of challengers.” (Read more from “Poll: Ramaswamy Surges to Second Place Over DeSantis, Trump Up 40 Points” HERE)

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