Trump ordered diplomats to work with Giuliani on Ukraine, Sondland testifies

Meanwhile, White House chief of staff undercuts Trump’s denials of quid pro quo: ‘We do that all the time. Get over it’

Donald Trump instructed US diplomats to go through his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to make the Ukrainian president’s access to the White House dependent on launching investigations into Trump’s political opponents, the US ambassador to the EU has testified.

In his opening statement to Congress on Thursday, Gordon Sondland, a wealthy hotelier and Trump donor, sought to distance himself from the president, saying he had been “disappointed” Trump had chosen to conduct an important strategic relationship through his lawyer.

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Nationalists march in Kyiv to oppose east Ukraine peace plan

Ukrainian president calls on protesters to avoid violence as he is criticised for ‘capitulation’

Thousands of people have joined a march through Kyiv led by nationalist parties and veterans’ associations to protest against changes to a peace plan for east Ukraine that they have called a “capitulation” to Russia.

Police deployed around Ukraine’s capital closed off several major avenues for the demonstrations, as the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urged participants to avoid violence. He also warned that images from the protests could be used by Russian state media to discredit Ukraine.

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Trump impeachment inquiry: House leaders subpoena White House – live

It’s been another wild day in the US, as the impeachment inquiry moves forward despite resistance from the Trump administration.

Here’s a rundown of the day’s main developments:

Here’s the White House press secretary’s response to the House impeachment inquiry subpoena.

.@PressSec says the subpoena from House Democrats tonight “changes nothing” pic.twitter.com/LTswanriTx

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House Democrats subpoena White House over Ukraine documents

  • Top Democrats also seek records from Mike Pence
  • Trump demands full House vote on impeachment inquiry

House Democrats have subpoenaed the White House demanding documents that could shed light on Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine, in the latest escalation of their impeachment investigation into the president and his administration.

The move comes as the senior Democrats also formally requested documents relating to Ukraine dealings from Mike Pence, the vice-president.

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

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?

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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Trump says courts could stop impeachment inquiry – video

Speaking to reporters about the release of the whistleblower complaint, Donald Trump repeated his claim that his phone call with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was ‘perfect’. The US president noted that Zelenskiy yesterday denied he had been pressured during the call to open an investigation into Joe Biden. Trump called the Democrats’ investigation a ‘disgrace’ and suggested there should be a legal mechanism to quash the probe: ‘There should be a way of stopping it, maybe legally through the courts’

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Whistleblower report reveals how far Trump’s dubious ethics have spread

Report indicates there were a lot of people involved in Trump’s scheme to tamper in the 2020 election and prosecute opponents

The critics are calling it “horrifying,” “pure dynamite,” and “INSANE”.

It’s a blockbuster that arrived too late for summer, but with the president obsessing, Congress investigating and main street America processing, the buzz around a whistleblower complaint about Donald Trump released early on Thursday appears likely only to grow.

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Trump pressed Ukraine leader to investigate Biden, memo reveals

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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Zelenskiy meets Trump: sitcom president finds himself trapped in a whodunnit

Sitting down in front of cameras at the UN, Zelenskiy looked miserable and Trump rambled about his achievements

In this new screwball comedy, an American reality show host and a Ukrainian TV comedian somehow find themselves elected president and almost get away with it – until a seemingly routine phone call ends up determining the fate of both their nations.

It is a script that has bypassed the big screen to go straight to reality in 2019, and it was playing on Wednesday in both Washington and New York.

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House intelligence chair: whistleblower complaint shows ‘serious wrongdoing’ – live news

President gives rambling press conference as controversy swirls

Democratic and republican lawmakers are expressing concern after reviewing whistleblower complaint

It appears that members of the Senate intelligence committee have reviewed the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower complaint.

Chuck Schumer after reading whistleblower complaint: “Having read the documents in there, I'm even more worried about what happened than I was when I read the memorandum of the conversation. There are so many facts that have to be examined. It’s very troubling.”

SASSE after reading the whistleblower complaint: “Really troubling things here. Republicans ought not just circle the wagons, and democrats ought not have been using words like impeachment before they knew anything about the actual substance.”

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has introduced a resolution to get congress to officially avow that it “disapproves” speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry announcement yesterday.

HAPPENING NOW→ I'm introducing a privileged resolution for the House to vote on.

"The House of Reps disapproves of the actions of Speaker Pelosi to initiate an impeachment inquiry against the duly elected President of the US, @realDonaldTrump."

Read the full resolution↓ pic.twitter.com/9xgYoVAl8P

HAPPENING NOW→ I'm introducing a privileged resolution for the House to vote on.

"The House of Reps disapproves of the actions of Speaker Pelosi to initiate an impeachment inquiry against the duly elected President of the US, @realDonaldTrump."

Read the full resolution↓ pic.twitter.com/9xgYoVAl8P

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‘Nobody pushed me’: Ukrainian president addresses Trump phone call – video

Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters on Wednesday that he did not feel pressured by Donald Trump to investigate Joe Biden. ‘I think you read everything,’ the Ukrainian president said, referencing the White House memo on his phone call with the US president. In the same meeting, Trump made reference to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which occurred during Barack Obama’s presidency, and asserted that Hillary Clinton’s emails may be located in Ukraine

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Favors, dirt, investigations: key takeaways from the Trump-Ukraine memo

The White House released a summary of Trump’s call with Zelenskiy that lies at the heart of the impeachment inquiry

The White House on Wednesday released a five-page summary of a 30-minute call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that lies at the heart of the growing impeachment process.

Here are five key takeaways:

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Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine scandal

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 vents over Ukraine as Biden attacks ‘overwhelming abuse of power’

Biden calls for congressional inquiry into call in which Trump reportedly pressed Ukraine leader for damaging information

Donald Trump lashed back at his critics on Saturday, as questions swirled in the latest scandal to hit his White House and his target, Joe Biden, called for a congressional investigation of “an overwhelming abuse of power”.

Related: Ukraine imbroglio confirms Giuliani's as Trump's most off-kilter advocate

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Ukraine election: early results indicate big win for president’s party

Volodymyr Zelenskiy expected to command outright majority with 42% of the vote

Ukraine’s comedian-turned-president is on course for full domination of the country’s political scene after early results from Sunday’s parliamentary elections indicated his newly founded Servant of the People party would win a majority of seats.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political neophyte whose only previous experience was playing the president in a television sitcom also called Servant of the People, won presidential elections in April and called for early parliamentary elections soon after his inauguration.

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Ukraine walks out of Europe human rights body as Russia returns

Delegation leaves Council of Europe assembly in protest at readmission of Russian MPs

The Ukrainian delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has walked out in protest after Russian MPs were allowed to return to the human rights body five years after the annexation of Crimea.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he was disappointed by the decision of the assembly (Pace) to readmit Russian members, while the head of the delegation said Ukraine would halt its work at the assembly.

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Angela Merkel shakes during national anthem, blaming dehydration – video

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has blamed dehydration after she was seen shaking during a rendition of her national anthem. Merkel was welcoming the newly-appointed Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the Germany capital. However, she grinned widely when later asked by reporters about her condition during the red-carpet reception for Zelenskiy. 'Since then I’ve drunk at least three glasses of water, which I apparently needed, and now I’m doing very well,' she said at a press conference

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Angela Merkel blames dehydration for shakes

German chancellor started to shake in hot Berlin sun while welcoming Ukraine president

Angela Merkel has blamed dehydration after she started to visibly shake in the hot Berlin sun while welcoming the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the German capital.

As a military band played the two countries’ national anthems, the chancellor’s whole body visibly shook and she pursed her lips as she tried to contain the situation.

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Ukrainian president calls snap election moments after his inauguration – video

Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, took the oath of office on Monday and immediately announced he was dissolving parliament and calling a snap election, aiming to win seats in a legislature still dominated by politicians loyal to his predecessor

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