Category Archives: House of Representatives

Trump impeachment inquiry: key testimony finally begins despite Republican sit-in – as it happened

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Laura Cooper’s testimony for House Democrats underway after protest delayed her appearance by more than five hours

Here’s a recap of this evening’s developments:

Trump and his supporters have said that there couldn’t have been a quid pro quo because Ukrainians weren’t aware that aid was being witheld.

Neither he (Taylor) or any other witness has provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware that military aid was being withheld. You can’t have a quid pro quo with no quo.” Congressman John Ratcliffe @foxandfriends Where is the Whistleblower? The Do Nothing Dems case is DEAD!

Word of the aid freeze had gotten to high-level Ukrainian officials by the first week in August, according to interviews and documents obtained by The New York Times.

The problem was not a bureaucratic snag, the Ukrainians were told then. To address it, they were advised, they should reach out to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, according to the interviews and records.

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Trump impeachment: Esper indicates Pentagon will cooperate with inquiry

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Donald Trump’s secretary of defense said on Sunday the Pentagon would cooperate with the House’s impeachment inquiry, while cautioning that Trump may try to restrict his disclosure of information.

Related: Trump calls Rudy Giuliani a 'great guy' as impeachment pressure mounts

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Acting homeland security secretary Kevin McAleenan steps down, Trump says – live

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President says official is departing to ‘spend more time with his family and go to the private sector’

Here’s McAleenan’s statement:

I want to thank the President for the opportunity to serve alongside the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security. With his support, over the last 6 months, we have made tremendous progress mitigating the border security and humanitarian crisis we faced this year... pic.twitter.com/A4rTcZgJKF

Kevin McAleenan has resigned as acting secretary of homeland security.

McAleenan had only been in the position since April, when he was appointed acting secretary to replace Kirstjen Nielsen. Nielsen succeeded John Kelly in the job when Kelly was tapped to be Trump’s White House chief of staff. (Update to clarify: Elaine Duke served as acting secretary for six months between Kelly and Nielsen.)

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Marie Yovanovitch’s testimony on Trump cracks the wall of silence

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Ambassador’s decision to ignore state department gag and appear before the House committees will probably inspire others

No wonder the state department tried to stop Marie Yovanovitch from talking. The former ambassador’s written testimony to Congress expresses clearly and in the most solemn of settings, what growing numbers American diplomats have been feeling: that their institution is being left to rot.

It is too soon to say whether her evisceration of the state department delivered behind closed doors, will mark a turning point in Donald Trump’s struggle to hold on to his office. There will without doubt be a counter-attack.

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US stocks surge as Trump announces meeting with China to talk trade – live

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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren weighed in on the arrest of two Republican donors connected to Rudy Giuliani, arguing that their campaign-finance charges indicate the depth of corruption in Trump’s political world.

In addition to abusing and manipulating our diplomatic relationships for Trump's political gain, we can add corruption and campaign finance violations to the list. https://t.co/b57uGfVl3l

Here’s a midday summary of today’s news, which is slightly belated given the many developments the blog is tracking:

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White House says it will not comply with impeachment inquiry – as it happened

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Eight-page letter to House Democratic leaders claims investigation is effort to overturn 2016 election

Here’s a recap of today:

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has announced visa restrictions on Chinese officials suspected of being involved in “a highly repressive campaign against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).”

Earlier today, the US commerce department issued a list of 28 state security bureaus and tech companies in China that it said are being used to suppress muslims and other ethnic minorities.

Related: US restricts visas for Chinese officials over internment of Muslim minorities

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Impeachment inquiry: Pompeo defies Congress as battle lines drawn

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Secretary of state signals he will not comply with demands to hear depositions but witness are still set to give evidence, House says

Donald Trump’s administration has sought to defy congressional demands to hear depositions from senior officials, in the first major battle of a rapidly growing impeachment inquiry.

On Tuesday, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, dismissed summonses from Democratic committee chairmen in the House of Representatives for five current and former state department officials to testify on the president’s attempts to push Ukraine to dig up dirt on his leading political rival.

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Trump condemned for suggesting ‘arrest for treason’ of House intelligence chair – live

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Democratic 2020 contender Julián Castro says ‘this is obstruction of justice’ after Trump suggested Adam Schiff should be arrested – follow live

In non-impeachment news, representative Chris Collins, a Republican of New York, has reportedly sent a letter of resignation to Nancy Pelosi a day before he was expected to plead guilty to insider trading charges.

The Washington Post reports:

Collins, 69, allegedly tipped off his son to confidential information about an Australian biotechnology company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, that he learned as a member of its board. Collins and several others used the information to avoid more than $700,000 in losses, according to prosecutors.

He is scheduled to change his plea Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan federal court. ...

In addition to calling Trump a “corrupt human tornado,” Hillary Clinton also reacted to reports that the State Department is still investigating the email practices of her employees while she was secretary of state.

The Washington Post reported Saturday:

As many as 130 officials have been contacted in recent weeks by State Department investigators — a list that includes senior officials who reported directly to Clinton as well as others in lower-level jobs whose emails were at some point relayed to her inbox, said current and former State Department officials. Those targeted were notified that emails they sent years ago have been retroactively classified and now constitute potential security violations, according to letters reviewed by The Washington Post.

In virtually all of the cases, potentially sensitive information, now recategorized as ‘classified,’ was sent to Clinton’s unsecure inbox.

But my emails. (Thank you.)

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Graham prepares Trump defence as impeachment fury intensifies

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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

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Donald Trump flails as Joe Biden accuses him of trying to ‘hijack’ election – live news

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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.

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Trump compares whistleblower’s source to a ‘spy’, audio reveals – live

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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

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Trump-Ukraine scandal: what did the whistleblower say and how serious is it?

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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.

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Intelligence chief says Trump whistleblower acted in ‘good faith’ – video

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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

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Trump pressed Ukraine leader to investigate Biden, memo reveals

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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.

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Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine scandal

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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.”

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Trump pressured Ukrainian president to investigate Biden’s son, reports say

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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.

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John Bolton fired as Trump’s national security adviser – live news

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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.

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‘Sharpiegate’ controversy deepens as inspector general reportedly launches inquiry – live

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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.

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Is Congress finally ready to pass gun control legislation?

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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.

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Trump: ‘I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world’ – video

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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

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