Washington, April 9:US President Donald Trump has slammed a Washington Post report on John Kelly's struggles in the administration and denied that the White House chief of staff was suffering from diminished credibility and influence.


"Story on John Kelly isn't true, just another hit job!" Trump tweeted and claimed the newspaper produces "far more fiction than fact".

His tweet however, was deleted and then re-published with a correction to a typo.

Bezos’s owned Washington Post on Saturday reported that Trump has started to bypass Kelly, who has sought to control access to the President in a variety of ways.

The Post report also said that Kelly threatened to resign in a heated argument with Trump where he attempted to dissuade the President from firing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

But Kelly has told allies that he believes it is his duty to help implement the President's agenda.

In addition, the Post reported that Kelly angered first lady Melania Trump with the firing of John McEntee, a longtime aide to the President, in March.

The daily, citing administration officials, reported Melania was "upset over his sudden dismissal" of the aide, who had come under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for financial crimes.

 

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Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology.

The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings.

On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, to deposit Rs 1 lakh in the court registry by July 22, the next date of the hearing.

"The contemnor has admitted to his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings and submitted that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit the amount of Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court by the next date of hearing," the court ordered.

According to the report submitted to the court, Shah attended the hearing on June 20 for a total of 74 minutes, during which he was seen sitting on a toilet and relieving himself.

Shah's lawyer told the court that his client would tender an unconditional apology for his behaviour.

When questioned, the lawyer confirmed he had advised Shah to present himself appropriately for the hearing.

The now-infamous video showed Shah using a toilet during the proceedings, sparking outrage and leading the court to order the video’s immediate removal and ban, citing damage to the judiciary’s image.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat High Court has permitted lawyers and litigants to join hearings virtually. Proceedings are live-streamed via the court's YouTube channel.

After finishing his business, Shah was seen picking up his phone and leaving. Justice Desai appeared unaware of his surroundings at the time.

Wearing wireless earphones, he can be seen logging in again later in the livestream, sitting in a room and waiting for his turn.

After nearly 10 minutes, he identified himself as Abdul Samad Shah, a resident of Kim village in Surat and the complainant in an assault case.

His lawyers told the court that Shah had lodged a complaint against two individuals but that a compromise had been reached between both parties.

While hearing the petition filed by the accused seeking to quash the FIR, Justice Desai asked Shah if he consented to the plea. Upon hearing Shah’s no-objection, the judge approved the petition.