After the Senate majority leader dismissed the idea of reparations, Coates testified before Congress about ‘campaign of terror’ against black Americans
Closing out live coverage this evening, with an updated summary of today’s news from Amanda Holpuch and me:
Watch some of the key moments from today’s Congressional debate over reparations:
Continue reading...House intelligence committee hearing on national security challenges may also address anticipated Russian interference in the 2020 election
Donald Trump appears to have inadvertently misspelled the Prince of Wales in a rebuttal to his statement to ABC that he would accept information on opponents from foreign governments.
.@realDonaldTrump ‘s knowledge of porpoises (U.K.) is second to none https://t.co/hd6RbAiX8V
•The House intelligence committee is holding a hearing on ‘National Security Challenges of Artificial Intelligence, Manipulated Media and Deepfakes’ at 9am. It comes after a tampered video of Nancy Pelosi – a deepfake – was widely shared in May. Facebook refused to delete the video, which was manipulated to question Pelosi’s competence. They may also address anticipated Russian interference in the 2020 election.
•In other political skullduggery news, Donald Trump has said he would accept incriminating information from Russia or other adversaries on his 2020 election opponent. “It’s not an interference,” Trump told ABC. “They have information — I think I’d take it.” The president said he would call the FBI if approached only “if I thought there was something wrong.”
Continue reading...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been bartending this week - returning to the job she had before running for Congress - to raise support for living wage legislation. NY1 and WNYC have some scenes from today’s venue.
She’s now going around the restaurant, pen and pad in hand taking orders.
.@AOC begins serving tables at an embargoed location in Queens - she says she’s excited for servers to be the served today. pic.twitter.com/YdCjZvkSI7
There’s a new push from the left to defeat one of the only remaining anti-abortion Democrat in the House, BuzzFeed reports.
Progressives are targeting Dan Lipinski, an Illinois congressman. Marie Newman, a Chicago businesswoman, is running against him for the second time. “This type of legislation is authoritarian and totalitarian. There’s no other way to describe it,” Newman told BuzzFeed of the recent spate of state-level abortion bans. “Let’s be honest about what it is. It’s taking us back 100 years, and that’s not exaggerating.”
Continue reading...Donald Trump has said Robert Mueller 'should never have been chosen' for the position of special counsel, claiming Mueller wanted to replace James Comey as FBI director. Trump's remarks come a day after the former special counsel said at a press conference that investigators could not conclude that the US president had not committed a crime
Special counsel gave public statement for first time about the investigation, prompting a response from Donald Trump: ‘The case is closed’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tiptoed around calls for impeachment in a new statement responding to Mueller’s remarks. In her comments, she praised Mueller for his work and vowed to continue investigating the Trump administration.
“The Congress holds sacred its constitutional responsibility to investigate and hold the President accountable for his abuse of power,” she said. “The Congress will continue to investigate and legislate to protect our elections and secure our democracy. The American people must have the truth.”
Former South Carolina Democratic party chair Jamie Harrison on Wednesday launched his campaign for the Senate seat held by Lindsey Graham.
Here’s his launch video:
I may not be a superhero, but I am a proud South Carolinian, and I'm ready to fight for a better future for our state and our country. I hope you are, too. Find out how you can #JoinJaime and get involved: https://t.co/2jIqtqbKAB pic.twitter.com/zTjktJ1RpA
Continue reading...Special prosecutor says investigators did not have confidence that the US president did not commit a crime. Delivering his first statement on the Trump-Russia investigation, Mueller explained the investigation was bound by the longstanding Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted
Continue reading...A new book from Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff says special counsel Robert Mueller drew up a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against Donald Trump before deciding to shelve it – an explosive claim which a spokesman for Mueller flatly denied.
Related: 'It's all explosive': Michael Wolff on Donald Trump
Continue reading...
That’s all from me! Here’s a rundown on the day’s major events:
Abortion providers reported an “alarming escalation” in incidents of disruption and intimidation in 2018, according to a new report by their professional association, the National Abortion Federation (NAF).
Trespassing reached the highest level since the NAF began recording such incidents in 1999, while incidents of obstruction grew 78% from 2017 to 2018. Providers also reported record levels of picketing (99,409 incidents) since recording began in 1977, and the highest number of incidents of vandalism (125) since 1990.
Continue reading...
Arguments have begun in Donald Trump’s lawsuit to block Congressional subpoenas of his financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One.
Patrick Strawbridge, one of Trump’s lawyers, reiterated in court his argument that Congress is overstepping its role by issuing such broad subpoenas.
Related: Trump lawyers to appear in court over subpoenas for financial records
Donald Trump Jr is set to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming an author.
The first son, who earlier today was described as “a good young man” by his father – has signed a deal with Center Street Books, and the tome will be published later this year.
Continue reading...Donald Trump rejected a charge by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that he was engaged in a cover-up, saying he was the "most transparent president" the country had ever had. In a last-minute press conference in the Rose Garden, outside the Oval office, Trump condemned the Democats, and said "the crime was committed on the other side". Trump added he would refuse to work with them unless they dropped their investigations into his administration and finances
Continue reading...President halted infrastructure meeting and condemned Pelosi in a snap press conference after she said he was ‘engaging in a cover-up’
Donald Trump on Wednesday terminated a meeting with Democratic leaders after just a few minutes, saying he refuses to work with them on an infrastructure plan unless they stop investigating him and lift the threat of impeachment.
Democrats quickly fired back, claiming that the US president had planned the stunt in advance and what happened at the White House would “make your jaw drop”.
Continue reading...The US president blocked former White House counsel Donald McGahn from testifying before Congress about the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference, prompting fresh threats of impeachment. The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit. The committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said subpoenas were 'not optional' and the committee would hear McGahn's testimony even if it had to go to court to secure it
Continue reading...The former White House counsel had been subpoenaed to appear before the House judiciary committee but Trump blocked his testimony
Organizations around the country are holding “Stop the Bans” day of action Tuesday to protest bans and restrictions on abortion in a growing number of states.
There will be a main event in Washington, D.C. outside the U.S. Supreme Court at noon, as well as rallies in all 50 states.
Kris Kobach demanded access to a government jet 24 hours a day and a chance to become homeland security secretary if he takes a job as Donald Trump’s immigration czar, the New York Times reported Monday evening.
The former Kansas secretary of state has given the White House a list of ten conditions. The full list, obtained by the Times:
1. Office in the West Wing.
2. Walk-in privileges with the president.
Continue reading...Democrats faced another brazen attempt by Donald Trump to stonewall their investigations on Tuesday, this time with former White House counsel Donald McGahn defying a subpoena to appear before Congress on orders from the White House.
The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit.
Continue reading...Senior attorneys in the executive branch were once seen as guard rails on the president but now seem to be enabling his most constitutionally dubious actions
Not everyone thinks Donald Trump poses a direct and obvious threat to the rule of law. When he accuses FBI investigators of “treason”, declares his campaign was “conclusively spied on” and suggests “long jail sentences”, there is often an assumption that cooler legal heads in the justice department and White House will prevail against the impulsive president.
But as Trump’s test of constitutional boundaries intensifies, critics say, the supposedly cooler heads seem to be simmering.
Continue reading...As Donald Trump opened fire on Justin Amash, the Michigan representative who became the first Republican in Congress say he had engaged in “impeachable conduct”, Mitt Romney declined to join the fight.
Related: Justin Amash becomes first Republican to back Trump impeachment
Continue reading...Congressman says Mueller report ‘identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice’
The Michigan congressman Justin Amash has called for Donald Trump to be impeached, adding a first Republican voice to a growing chorus of Democrats demanding Congress move against the president.
Amash is a libertarian and independent-minded politician who has flirted with the idea of a run against Trump in 2020, and has in turn been attacked by the White House. Elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, he was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, which has become a hard-right mouthpiece for Trump.
Continue reading...Agreement averts confrontation over subpoena of president’s son in Russia investigation
Donald Trump Jr will testify in a closed-door interview with the Senate intelligence committee next month, pulling the two sides back from a confrontation over a subpoena as part of the panel’s Russia investigation.
Under the terms of the deal between the president’s son and lawmakers, Trump Jr will talk to the committee in mid-June for up to four hours, according to two people familiar with the agreement. The people spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday to discuss the confidential terms.
Continue reading...Attorney general’s new investigation follows years of Trump and supporters claiming justice department and FBI spied on his campaign
On the subject of markets – the Dow Jones Industrial Average has opened up slightly, a half a point in the green on the day so far. It fell a bit more than three points on Monday.
Donald Trump spent at least an hour and some 1,400 characters on Tuesday morning tweeting a defense of his tariffs on Chinese goods, which China has responded to with retaliatory tariffs, precipitating a dive on Monday in the US markets. Asian markets fell less sharply and European markets opened Tuesday slightly up.
Trump said on Tuesday that “Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry - it is booming!”, “we are in a fantastic position”, “We are in a much better position now than any deal we could have made” and “Other countries are already negotiating with us because they don’t want this to happen to them.”
Related: Trump defends China tariffs as trade war leaves allies and opponents in bind
Continue reading...The former FBI director says there were at least two incidents that prove criminal intent on the president’s part to obstruct justice
James Comey, the former director of the FBI, has said that the Mueller report contains sufficient evidence that Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice that he would have been charged, were he not president.
Comey is the latest in a growing list of former federal prosecutors and senior judicial figures who have said that the factual details contained in Robert Mueller’s report into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race would be grounds for indicting Trump with multiple felony charges for obstruction. A joint letter to that effect has now been signed by 803 individuals.
Continue reading...