Pallade Veneta - Trump back in Washington, feted by Republican lawmakers

The former president, who is neck-and-neck with his successor Joe Biden in the race for the White House, thanked members of the House of Representatives at a private club near the US Capitol who sang "Happy Birthday" to the billionaire, who turns 78 on Friday.

It was Trump's first meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill since leaving the White House in 2021, and his first trip to Washington since he was convicted last month in New York on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

He was in a defiant mood, according to US media citing people in the room, as he called out the Republicans who had voted to impeach him after the 2021 assault on the Capitol and called the Justice Department "dirty, no good bastards."

"Great meeting with Republican Representatives. Lots discussed, all positive, great poll numbers!" Trump posted on Truth Social afterward.

The Republican, who was due to speak with senators and business leaders later Thursday, took credit for the Supreme Court ending federal protections for abortion access in 2022 and railed against Biden's foreign policy.

Since his conviction, Republicans have circled the wagons around Trump -- who faces more than 50 further felony charges -- with numerous lawmakers denigrating a justice system they baselessly claim is biased against conservatives.

House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of being behind the two federal and two state criminal cases engulfing Trump's reelection bid.

"He raised $53 million in the first 24 hours after the verdict in that terrible, bogus trial in Manhattan. And I think that shows that people understand what's happening here," Johnson told reporters after the meeting.

Republicans in the House face an uphill battle to defend the lower chamber from a Democratic takeover in November's elections. Senate Republicans have a more favorable map as they seek to flip their 49-51 minority in the upper chamber.

Several centrist senators said they would not show up on Thursday, although Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has not spoken to Trump since berating him from the Senate floor over the 2021 insurrection, said he would attend.

- 'He is a fraud' says Biden team -

Trump was impeached for inciting the attack, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol seeking to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to Biden, who beat his predecessor by more than seven million votes.

The Republican faces federal and state prosecutions over his alleged role in a criminal conspiracy to overturn his defeat, which culminated in the insurrection.

"People see that... that's a threat to our system of justice, and they want to push back," Johnson said.

"In many ways, President Trump has become a symbol of that pushing back against corruption, the deep state, the weaponization of the judicial system, and that's a very encouraging development."

Johnson has been struggling however to deliver on Trump's demands for a robust defense from Congress, with a razor-thin majority that leaves him unable to lose more than two representatives for any vote.

Republicans have failed in efforts to impeach Biden, as a months-long, multi-million-dollar corruption investigation has turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, and congressional efforts to rein in the criminal cases targeting Trump have been largely ineffective.

The former president is also due to make his case for a White House return to chief executives at a meeting of Washington lobby group Business Roundtable.

The Biden campaign released a statement pointing to Trump's many failed business ventures and bankruptcies, contrasting the Republican's record of mass job losses during the pandemic with the economic recovery under Biden.

"Donald Trump couldn't run a lemonade stand, let alone our country. He is a fraud, a crook, and a failed businessman and president who left America in economic ruin," a spokesman said.

B.Fortunato--PV