Senator Lindsey Graham, once among Donald Trump’s harshest critics, is set to lead the charge to defend him in the court of public opinion as Democrats make the case for impeachment.
Related: Trump's Ukraine call sparks new questions over intelligence chief's firing
Continue reading...President tweets his frustration at Ukraine scandal as former vice-president tries to maintain focus on 2020 campaign
Members of the House intelligence committee intend to continue their consideration of impeachment during the upcoming two-week recess, with the hope of wrapping up the inquiry this fall.
Expect a busy recess for House Intel. Members of the House Intelligence have been told to be prepared to potentially return to Washington during the upcoming two-week recess as Democrats try to wrap up the impeachment inquiry this fall, per sources
The Kremlin has a request to make of the White House: please don’t release any conversations between Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The AP reports:
Asked if Moscow is worried that the White House could similarly publish transcripts of Trump’s calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that ‘we would like to hope that it wouldn’t come to that in our relations, which are already troubled by a lot of problems.’
Speaking in a conference call with reporters, he emphasized that the publication of the Trump-Zelenskiy call is an internal U.S. issue, but added that it was ‘quite unusual’ to release a confidential call between leaders.
Continue reading...Trump says he wants to know who gave information to the whistleblower: ‘You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies?’
Warren is defiant against Wall Street critics
Earlier today, CNBC reported that democratic Wall Street donors are threatening to vote for Donald Trump if Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken critic of big business, won the democratic nomination.
I'm fighting for an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just the wealthy and well-connected. I'm not afraid of anonymous quotes, and wealthy donors don't get to buy this process. I won't back down from fighting for the big, structural change we need. https://t.co/nx7GczQhHl
Since Donald Trump took office, his administration has been accepting fewer and fewer refugees. In fiscal year 2018, the administration capped the number of asylum seekers it would admit at 45,000 and this year the cap was 30,000.
“The President is using people seeking safety as an opportunity to rile up hostility and create a climate of fear. Though the vast majority of people support welcoming refugees, this administration seeks to strip away long-standing protections and values for its own interests.”
Related: Trump sets cap for refugee admission at an all-time low
Continue reading...Democrats are going ahead with an impeachment inquiry, with the accusation Trump pressured a foreign government for dirt on an opponent
Democrats in the House of Representatives are moving forward with an impeachment inquiry to explore whether the US president should effectively be put on trial by the US Congress and, if convicted, removed from office.
Continue reading...The acting director of national intelligence said he believed both the whistleblower who filed the complaint against Donald Trump and the inspector general who handled it ‘acted in good faith’. Joseph Maguire told members of the House intelligence committee: ‘I have every reason to believe that they have done everything by the book.’ Maguire, who was appointed last month to succeed outgoing director Dan Coats, also said he believed he handled the whistleblower’s complaint ‘in full compliance with the law at all times’ adding that he was committed to doing so
Continue reading...US president asked Volodymyr Zelenskiy for ‘a favor’ and to ‘look into’ Biden as impeachment inquiry launched against Trump
Donald Trump pressed the Ukrainian president to work with the US attorney general to investigate his political rival Joe Biden, a damning White House memo revealed on Wednesday, raising the stakes in an acrimonious and polarising impeachment inquiry.
Democrats said the US president’s conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskiy detailed in the five-page rough “transcript” was a devastating betrayal of his country that merited their investigation, while Republicans claimed it showed no quid pro quo and offered complete vindication.
Continue reading...Investigation will cast a dark cloud over Trump’s already norm-shattering presidency as he faces re-election
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the US House of Representatives would begin a formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, setting the stage for an extraordinary constitutional clash over allegations that the president sought the help of a foreign country to harm a political rival.
“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the constitution,” Pelosi said in a formal address in Washington on Tuesday evening. “The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
Continue reading...White House has refused to turn a national security official’s formal whistleblower complaint over to Congress
Donald Trump pressed the new leader of Ukraine this summer to investigate Joe Biden, multiple reports say, as Democrats condemned what they saw as a clear effort to damage a political rival.
It was the latest revelation tied to an explosive whistleblower complaint that sparked a showdown between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration. Trump officials have refused to turn over the complaint by a national security official or even describe its contents.
Continue reading...President tweeted about the firing after reports emerged Bolton opposed Trump plan to hold peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David
Trump has taken the stage at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference and appears to (so far) be sticking to the teleprompter.
He has touted the importance of HBCUs and celebrated his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, as a champion for the institutions.
Trump is expected to soon start speaking at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference. The president was scheduled to take the podium at 2:15 p.m. E.T. but is apparently running behind.
Continue reading...Wilbur Ross said to have issued threats at Noaa after the agency contradicted the president’s false claim on Hurricane Dorian
Trump told his supporters at a rally in North Carolina that he might need an extra term as president, then mocked the idea that news headlines tomorrow will announce that he said he wants an extra term.
“We told you he’s a dictator, we told you,” Trump said, impersonating his critics.
Just as a Republican congressional candidate had started to speak, Trump paused the rally for several minutes and repeatedly said “thank you” to a doctor presumably assisting an audience member who was unwell.
Then the president quipped, “I guess Dan’s speech wasn’t so good,” referring to Dan Bishop, a Republican congressional candidate the president had flown to North Carolina to support.
Continue reading...Retailers such as Walmart have taken a lead and public opinion appears in favour of new curbs but that may still count for little
Congress returns to Washington this week after a summer recess punctured by a string of mass shootings under pressure to confront a uniquely American problem: how to combat the scourge of gun violence?
Though it has been a quarter of a century since Congress passed significant gun control legislation, Democrats and advocacy groups are displaying a fresh sense of resolve as major American retailers heed public calls for action in response to the recent wave of mass shootings.
Continue reading...The president called himself ‘the least racist person’ after he was accused of racist behaviour once again. In his comments on Tuesday, Trump also accused one of the people he has attacked, the Rev Al Sharpton, of being a racist and claimed his presidency has been a success for African Americans
Continue reading...Warren urged House to rise ‘above politics’ and launch proceedings against Trump while Biden said president ‘should be tried’
Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren urged the House of Representatives to rise “above politics” and launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump after the former special counsel Robert Mueller testified that his report on Russian election interference did not exonerate the president.
The candidates, speaking on Wednesday at the annual convention of the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, said Mueller’s testimony highlighted the urgency for brining articles of impeachment against a president whose bigotry while in office has harmed communities of color.
Continue reading...The former US special counsel Robert Mueller insisted on Wednesday that Donald Trump was not exonerated by his report into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and denied his investigation was a 'witch-hunt'. Mueller said the US president could be charged after he leaves office, but offered little new ammunition to boost the case for Trump's impeachment
Continue reading...Mueller discussed Trump’s many documented instances of praising the site during testimony before House intelligence committee
Mueller emphasized in his testimony to the House intelligence committee that Russian election interference remains ongoing.
WATCH: Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 election:
“It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”https://t.co/m9KGQtGMJ7 pic.twitter.com/s1Aa1nyLsU
Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement that Mueller’s testimony revealed the “troubling deficiencies of the special counsel’s investigation.”
“The testimony revealed that this probe was conducted by a small group of politically biased prosecutors who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia,” the president’s lawyer said. “The American people understand that this issue is over. They also understand that the case is closed.”
...who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It is also clear that the Special Counsel conducted his two-year investigation unimpeded.
Continue reading...The former special counsel explained Trump was not exonerated and that his team was never going to indict the president
In highly anticipated testimony before the US Congress on Wednesday, the former special counsel Robert Mueller submitted to hours of questioning.
His testimony comes four months after he concluded the two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign’s ties to Moscow, the findings of which were detailed in a 448-page report released in April.
Continue reading...The eyes of America will be trained on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, as Robert Mueller testifies before two House committees about his report on Russian election interference, links between the Trump campaign and Moscow and potential obstruction of justice by the president.
Related: 'It's a political civil war': Trump's racist tirades set tone for 2020
Continue reading...Donald Trump has attempted to distance himself from the racist chanting that broke out at his rally in North Carolina on Wednesday. After the president mentioned Democrat Ilhan Omar, the crowd began chanting: 'Send her back'. Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that he started speaking 'very quickly' in an attempt to defuse the chanting. Adding that: 'I was not happy with it - I disagree with it.'
Continue reading...In an emotional testimony to the House oversight committee on Friday, Democratic representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib described conditions at an immigrant detention center, decrying alleged mistreatment happening 'in front of the American flag'. During Ocasio-Cortez's testimony a congressional staffer fainted. The testimony comes as Mike Pence was due to travel to Texas on Friday to tour a facility and participate in a roundtable with border patrol and members of the Senate judiciary committee
Continue reading...Acosta was under fire for having granted Jeffrey Epstein immunity from federal prosecution in 2008, following sex trafficking ring investigation
Another big House vote this afternoon.
With a 402-12 vote, Congress approved a bill that would ensure funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
Jon Stewart says he looks forward to signing ceremony for bill funding 9/11 first responders compensation fund: "We'll all be here for that one final moment—not of celebration, but of relief. Let them exhale." https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/p7PI4cLDOc
The House has just voted to limit Trump’s authority to make war in Iran as part of a bill which also restricts the president’s budget request for the Pentagon.
Republicans joined the majority Democrats for a 251-170 vote.
Trump said last month he believes he does not need congressional approval to strike Iran. The vote Friday amounted to a pointed and bipartisan rebuttal — led by strange ideological bedfellows, Representatives Ro Khanna, a liberal Democrat from California, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most strident Republican allies in Congress.
“When this passes, it will be a clear statement from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that this country is tired of endless wars, that we do not want another war in the Middle East,” Khanna said before the amendment vote.
Continue reading...