Category Archives: Trump administration

Trump vents fury over Russia stories and again threatens national emergency

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Donald Trump has strongly denied the stunning claim that he was secretly working on behalf of Russia and again threatened to declare a national emergency to fund a border wall.

In 20-minute live phone interview with Fox News on Saturday night, he described as an “insult” the New York Times story that alleged the FBI launched an investigation into whether the he was acting as a Russian asset, against his own country’s interests.

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FBI reportedly opened inquiry into whether Trump was working for Russia

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  • Firing of Comey prompted investigation, New York Times says
  • Trump responds angrily but does not question reporting

In May 2017, the FBI opened an inquiry into whether Donald Trump was working on behalf of Russia, the New York Times has reported.

Related: Mueller closes in: what will the Trump-Russia inquiry deliver in 2019?

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US government shutdown becomes longest in history

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The US government shutdown is now the longest such closure in history. On Saturday, day 22, members of Congress were out of Washington, Donald Trump was unmoved in the White House, his border wall unbuilt, and around 800,000 federal workers were still without pay and facing mounting hardship.

Related: 'Barely above water': US shutdown hits black federal workers hardest

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Guantánamo Bay branded a ‘stain on US human rights record’

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Amnesty International calls US naval prison a symbol of Islamophobia and xenophobia

Guantánamo Bay remains a “stain on the human rights record” of the US and the scene of ongoing human rights violations, said Amnesty International in advance of a rally in Washington to mark the 17th anniversary of its opening.

The US naval prison at Guantánamo in Cuba – opened on 11 January 2002 – still holds 40 Muslim men, many of whom have been tortured. Many of the detainees have been cleared for transfer for years.

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‘He needs an out’: Trump’s demand for a wall has left him backed into a corner

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The president’s position is a non-starter with Democrats, making an end to the shutdown far from imminent

Wednesday’s dramatic showdown between Donald Trump and Democratic leaders and the president’s defiant PR trip to the border the following day seemed to confirm observers’ fears: a breakthrough in negotiations to end one of the longest shutdowns in US history is far from imminent.

As key government operations remained shuttered for a 21st day and roughly 800,000 federal workers remained without pay, both the president and the Democrats have retreated into their own corners.

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Michael Cohen to testify publicly before Congress in February

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Former Trump lawyer says he accepted invitation from top Democrat and will offer ‘full and credible account of events’

Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer and aide Michael Cohen says he has accepted an invitation from a top House Democrat to testify publicly before Congress next month.

His testimony before the House oversight and reform committee on 7 February will be the first major public oversight hearing for Democrats, who have promised greater scrutiny of Trump after winning control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

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Trump tours border after repeating threat to call national emergency

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President visits Texas on shutdown’s 20th day as rift with Democrats expands

Donald Trump has reiterated his threat to declare a national emergency if Congress does not meet his demand for billions of dollars to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border as part of a deal to end the partial government shutdown.

The president visited the Texas border on Thursday – the 20th day of a partial government shutdown – in a publicity ploy to help make the case for funding his long-promised wall after negotiations with Democrats broke down.

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US will expel every last Iranian boot from Syria, says Mike Pompeo

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Secretary of state seeks to reassure Middle East that US is not abandoning region

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has vowed the US and its allies will “expel every last Iranian boot” from Syria as he sought to reassure Middle Eastern nations it was not withdrawing from the region despite Donald Trump’s call for troops to return home.

In a keynote speech delivered in Cairo, pitched as the centrepiece of his nine-country regional tour, Pompeo called for a common stand against Tehran. “It’s time for old rivalries to end, for the sake of the greater good of the region,” he said.

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‘If I have to I will’: Donald Trump on declaring a national emergency – video

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The US president was speaking to reporters outside the White House when he was asked for his thoughts on calling a national emergency, to which he replied: I'll probably do it, almost definitely.' Donald Trump also denied having a 'temper tantrum' during his reported confrontation with Democrats

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‘He just walked out’: Schumer on meeting with Trump over shutdown – video

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The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, condemns Donald Trump's 'temper tantrum' following a meeting he and House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, had with the president about the partial shutdown of the US government. Schumer said the president 'walked out of the meeting' after Pelosi refused to fund his US-Mexico border wall 

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Trump’s threat to cut California wildfire relief leaves state officials baffled

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He criticized the state for ‘forest management’, a claim that was debunked and admonished the last time he made it

Donald Trump’s latest threat to cut relief funds for California areas impacted by deadly wildfires has left state lawmakers and residents baffled.

“Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen [sic]” he tweeted, correcting the spelling of “forest” from a previous and identically worded tweet that has since been deleted. “Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”

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Trump walks out on Democrats and calls shutdown talks ‘a waste of time’

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  • Chuck Schumer condemns president’s ‘temper-tantrum’
  • 800,000 federal US workers continue to go without pay

Donald Trump abruptly ended a critical meeting with Democratic leaders on Wednesday, calling it a “total waste of time” as the partial shutdown of the US government dragged into its 19th day with no end in sight.

The further deterioration of negotiations over the funding lapse affecting nearly 800,000 federal employees came a day after the president used his first address from the Oval Office to reinforce his demands for a wall along the southern border with Mexico.

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Iran confirms it has detained US navy veteran Michael White

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Detention adds pressure to the rising tension between Iran and the US as Trump pursues a maximalist campaign against Tehran

Iran has confirmed it is holding a US navy veteran, Michael R White, at a prison in the country, making him the first American known to be detained under Donald Trump’s administration.

White’s detention ratchets up the rising tension between Iran and the US, which under Trump has pursued a maximalist campaign against Tehran that includes pulling out of its nuclear deal with world powers.

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Trump v Democrats: two contrasting views on US border wall proposal – video

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For the first time in his presidency, Donald Trump delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, urging Congress to pay for his border wall to stop the ‘security crisis at our southern border’. Shortly afterwards, the Democratic House and Senate leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, accused Trump of ‘manufacturing a crisis’

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Donald Trump fuels immigration fears in TV address on ‘border crisis’

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President offers no new solutions to government shutdown in first Oval Office address of his presidency

Donald Trump has used the first Oval Office address of his presidency to stoke fears of illegal immigration, repeat dubious claims about his border wall and offer no new solutions to the partial government shutdown.

In the type of made-for-TV-moment he relishes, the US president blamed criminal gangs and “vast quantities of illegal drugs” for “thousands of deaths” and faulted Democrats for failing to end the shutdown, now in its 18th day. Democrats accused him of fear-mongering.

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Democrats to Trump: ‘End this shutdown now’ – video

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US speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer delivered the Democratic response to President Trump's address. Pelosi said Trump was obsessed with forcing American taxpayers to pay for a wall that would be expensive and ineffective and Schumer said Trump has appealed to fear, not facts, adding: "We don't govern by temper tantrum."

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‘How much more American blood must we shed?’ says Trump in Oval speech – video

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US president Donald Trump uses a primetime address on Tuesday to tell Americans he needs billions of dollars from Congress for his long-promised border wall to keep out drugs, gangs and human traffickers. In an Oval Office address, he says there is a 'growing humanitarian and security crisis' at the US-Mexico border, though crossings have fallen in recent years. He claims the wall will pay for itself via a new trade deal with Mexico and asks: 'How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?'

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Trump administration downgrades EU’s status in US, without informing Brussels

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Downgrade of diplomatic role seen as a snub reflecting a general antipathy to the EU in the Trump administration

The Trump administration has downgraded the diplomatic status of the EU mission in Washington, without informing the mission or Brussels, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Related: Trump calls European Union a 'foe' – ahead of Russia and China

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Erdoğan chides Bolton and calls on US to hand over Syria bases

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US security chief tempers withdrawal claims, jeopardising Turkey’s plans to target Kurdish groups

Turkey has asked Washington to hand over its bases in Syria as the Trump administration appeared to reverse plans to withdraw from the country’s north-east on Tuesday, jeopardising Ankara’s plans to launch a widespread military operation targeting Kurdish groups.

The fresh row between the two Nato allies broke out as the US national security adviser, John Bolton, visited Ankara to row back on a surprise announcement by Donald Trump in December that US forces would leave Syria imminently, abandoning Kurdish proxies who had led its ground war against the Islamic State terror group. Turkey views those same Kurdish groups as mortal foes.

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Mike Pence: Trump undecided on declaring national emergency over border wall demand

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White House counsel is reviewing whether the president has the ability to declare a national emergency in this situation

Vice-president Mike Pence said Donald Trump has yet to decidewhether he will declare a national emergency over his demand for a wall along the southwest border – the key sticking point in negotiations over the partial government shutdown that has affected 800,000 federal employees.

White House counsel is reviewing whether the president has the ability to declare a national emergency in the current situation, Pence told reporters on Monday. He added that the administration would prefer to secure the funding for border security from an agreement with Congress.

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