Category Archives: Donald Trump

Republicans release 123-page impeachment report defending Trump – as it happened

Posted on by

Wrapping up our live coverage for tonight. The president is now in London for the Nato summit as the House intelligence committee prepares to review its report on the impeachment inquiry. Among today’s many impeachment-adjacent developments:

Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr, has told associates he disagrees with the Justice Department’s inspector general on a central finding of a forthcoming report — that the FBI had enough information in the summer of 2016 to justify launching an investigation into members of the Trump campaign, the Washington Post reports.

The report from Justice Department’s inspector general Michael Horowitz is expected to be made public in a week.

Political appointee of the president refuses to accept conclusion from independent watchdog that doesn't serve president's political needs:https://t.co/EeVCxKVQbl

Continue reading...

Republicans issue 123-page defense of Trump ahead of Democrats’ impeachment report

Posted on by

Pre-emptive strike offers blueprint for GOP senators to acquit president, claiming a plot by Democrats

Donald Trump’s actions towards Ukraine were “entirely prudent” and involved “no quid pro quo, bribery, extortion, or abuse of power”, according to a draft Republican report on last month’s impeachment inquiry hearings.

Designed as a pre-emptive strike on an imminent report from the Democratic majority, the GOP document underlines how evidence presented at the hearings failed to shatter Republicans’ united front.

Continue reading...

Melania Trump suspects Roger Stone behind nude photo leak, new book claims

Posted on by

In Free, Melania, obtained by the Guardian, Kate Bennett also reports that president and first lady sleep in separate rooms

Melania Trump suspects Roger Stone, a longtime ally and adviser to Donald Trump, of being behind the release of nude photos from her modelling past, a new book claims.

Related: Trump's 'demeaning fake orgasm' made me speak out – ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson urged to challenge Trump on climate denial

Posted on by

350 experts call on PM to address president’s ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’ claims

Boris Johnson is being urged by 350 leading climate researchers to robustly challenge Donald Trump on his “dangerous” and “irresponsible” denial of the risks of climate change during the US president’s visit to the UK this week.

Putting the prime minister under more pressure over his stance on global heating, leading academics involved in climate research said he must try to persuade Trump to take strong domestic and international action.

Continue reading...

Impeachment inquiry: Trump and his lawyers refuse to attend ‘unfair’ hearing

Posted on by

White House rejects invitation to Wednesday’s judiciary committee hearing but reserves right to attend in future

President Donald Trump and his lawyers will not participate in a congressional impeachment hearing this week, the White House has said, citing a lack of “fundamental fairness”.

Trump’s aides responded defiantly on Sunday to the first of two crucial deadlines he faces in Congress this week as Democrats prepare to shift the focus of their impeachment inquiry from fact-finding to the consideration of possible charges of misconduct over his dealings with Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Faith, but fury too, for Donald Trump at home

Posted on by
The US president arrives this week from a split nation amid signs of a Democratic revival

Reality. We all used to know what it meant. The world as it is. Objective facts that provide the foundation for rational – not emotional – judgments and actions.

But the old definition of reality has taken a serious beating during the nearly three years Donald Trump, the reality-show president, has been in office. Partly because Trump himself seems to live in a reality separate from the one most of us inhabit. Partly because too many people still can’t accept the objective facts of his presidency.

Continue reading...

Trump’s military meddling fuels growing tension with leadership

Posted on by

Amid strategic U-turns and elevation of war crimes defendants, president’s military support weakens – but Fox pundits back him

On Thursday night, a besuited Donald Trump appeared at a US airbase in Afghanistan, serving Thanksgiving turkey to the troops, complaining half-jokingly about the length of his surprise trip, and drawing attention to all the money he had spent on the military.

“You’ll come back,” the president told soldiers at the Bagram base – a remark interpreted by the reporters covering the event as a reference to the quality of the food he was giving them, rather than warning of further tours of duty in a war that is already 18 years old.

Continue reading...

Legal storm clouds gather over Rudy Giuliani, America’s tarnished mayor

Posted on by

Analysts say an indictment is likely as prosecutors focus on Giuliani’s work for Trump and himself in Ukraine

When the former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most bareknuckle defenders during the Russia investigation, attacking his former colleagues in the justice department, people asked: “What happened to Rudy?”

Related: Gerrymandering held sway in Michigan – until citizens fought back

Continue reading...

The inside story of Trump’s alleged bribery of Ukraine

Posted on by

Public testimony in the impeachment hearings has painted a vivid picture of a president fixated on one thing: his own political gain over the fortunes of an ally

Darkness had settled over Kyiv on the evening of 24 April when Marie Yovanovitch, then US ambassador to Ukraine, was summoned from an event she was hosting at her home to answer an urgent phone call from Washington.

The reception was to honor Kateryna Handzyuk, a young anti-corruption activist who died last year from an acid attack. Though the ambassador and the activist had never met, they shared a mission: trying to end a culture of corruption that has persisted for decades in the former Soviet republic.

Continue reading...

Afghanistan’s road to peace still full of obstacles

Posted on by

Trump claims US-Taliban talks are back on but it is unclear if key disputes have been settled

Donald Trump says talks with the Taliban are back on but it is unclear if the disputes that hobbled the last attempt to reach a peace deal – cancelled by a presidential tweet in September – have been resolved.

The insurgent group responded to Trump by telling Agence France-Presse it was “way too early” to discuss resuming direct talks.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump says Taliban talks back on in surprise Afghanistan visit

Posted on by
  • President makes Thanksgiving visit to airbase near Kabul
  • Confirms talks with extremists have resumed

Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, his first visit to the country where the US has been at war since late 2001.

Related: Fired navy secretary blasts Trump over 'shocking' handling of Navy seal case

Continue reading...

The Guardian view on China, Hong Kong and Xinjiang: will the truth hurt? | Editorial

Posted on by

It has been a bad week for Beijing, with new support for pro-democracy protesters and detailed evidence of the repression in the north-western region

Beijing was never going to welcome the news that the US had passed a law backing pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. But its anger today at Donald Trump’s signing of a bill it condemns as “full of prejudice and arrogance” perhaps had extra bite. This was its third blow in a week. On Monday, leaders woke up to a pro-democracy landslide in Hong Kong’s local elections, and the publication of leaked documents exposing the workings of internment camps in Xinjiang, where at least a million Uighurs and other Muslims are believed to be detained.

China’s bullishness has already been challenged by the trade war and slowing economic growth, now at a 27-year low. Mr Trump has previously made it clear that he regards Hong Kong’s protesters as leverage, and has shown he does not want this law to hinder a trade deal that both sides need and appear to be close to agreeing. China is hoping he will not implement the law, which enables sanctions on individuals and the revocation of the region’s special trade status if annual reviews find that it has not retained sufficient autonomy.

Continue reading...

Trump’s EU envoy Gordon Sondland accused of sexual misconduct – live

Posted on by

Sondland, a key figure in the impeachment inquiry, is alleged to have retaliated against three women after they rejected his advances

The US Navy has thrown out plans to review three officers under scrutiny following Donald Trump’s decision to intervene in a related case.

Trump issued a direct order to halt disciplinary measures against a Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq. On Sunday, defense secretary Mark Esper fired the navy secretary Richard Spencer after Spencer resisted pressure to intervene in the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher.

As part of a sting operation, federal agents enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to a Detroit school that marketed graduate programs in technology and computer science. The students paid about $12,000 in tuition and fees per year to attend the university, which was created in 2015.

The students had arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but since the University of Farmington was later revealed to be a creation of federal agents, they lost their immigration status after it was shut down in January. The school was located on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile Road in Farmington Hills and staffed with undercover agents posing as university officials...

Attorneys for the students arrested said they were unfairly trapped by the U.S. government since the Department of Homeland Security had said on its website that the university was legitimate. An accreditation agency that was working with the U.S. on its sting operation also listed the university as legitimate...

No one has filed a lawsuit or claim against the U.S. government for collecting the money or for allegedly entrapping the students.

Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice maintain that the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in a physical location. Some CPT programs have classes combined with work programs at companies.

Related: How the US government created a fake university to snare immigrant students

Continue reading...

Trump plan to label Mexico cartels as terror groups defies logic, experts say

Posted on by

Analysts say designation would be largely cosmetic as the already illegitimate groups are driven by money, not politics

Mexican drug cartel thugs have hanged bodies from bridges, set fire to crowded buildings and tossed hand grenades into crowds.

But Donald Trump’s decision to designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs) has been questioned by experts, who argue that the move’s main impact would be cosmetic – although it might provide a pretext for possible US military incursions.

Continue reading...

Two White House budget officials quit over Ukraine aid concerns, says witness

Posted on by

Mark Sandy said unnamed individuals from budget office resigned in part over Trump’s aid freeze, according to closed-door deposition

A lawyer for the White House’s budget office resigned partly because of concerns over Donald Trump’s freeze on military aid to Ukraine, a longtime career official from the office has testified to Congress behind closed doors.

Mark Sandy of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry that an individual in the office’s legal division quit in part over issues with the suspension of security assistance to Ukraine, according to a transcript of his deposition released on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Melania Trump booed at Baltimore youth event – video

Posted on by

Melania Trump has received a frosty reception at a youth event in Baltimore, with attendees booing and audibly talking throughout her speech.

Trump was attempting to discuss her 'Be Best' initiative at the B'More Youth Summit, which aims to raise awareness about the US opioid crisis.

In July, Donald Trump tweeted that Baltimore was a 'rat and rodent infested mess'

Continue reading...

Trump impeachment inquiry: justice department appeals ruling Don McGahn must testify – live news

Posted on by

A court ordered the former press secretary to defy a White House attempt to stop him testifying to Congress saying ‘The president is not a king’

When the FiveThirtyEight polling average on impeachment dipped by a few points last week, Trump’s allies rushed to claim that the slight decline was evidence of the American public turning against the inquiry.

But additional polls appear to have debunked that claim. It seems the recent damning testimony from current and former Trump officials like Gordon Sondland and Fiona Hill has not moved the needle much, with around half of Americans supporting the impeachment of the president.

Finally getting a few more impeachment polls and the notion that the numbers are moving against Democrats isn't looking so hot. +4 spread on supporting impeachment/removal, which is similar to the peak in October.https://t.co/Tj71WyGT4x pic.twitter.com/S7iUHaRdlX

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has announced he will deliver remarks to the media at 11 a.m. ET. It’s unclear whether Pompeo will also take questions from reporters, who would inevitably ask about the cabinet member’s role in the Ukraine controversy.

pic.twitter.com/Vw2uGpv8GO

Continue reading...

Don McGahn: former White House counsel must testify, judge rules – live

Posted on by

Federal judge rules McGahn must testify to House judiciary committee, putting pressure on other Trump officials tied to impeachment inquiry

A federal judge has ruled that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before the House Judiciary Committee, a decision that could have major implications for the House’s impeachment probe.

BREAKING: A federal judge on Monday ordered Don McGahn must testify to Congress about his time as the Trump WH's top lawyer, a ruling that will add pressure on other Trump officials tied to the impeachment probe. Decision here: https://t.co/6FeuuCrO5g pic.twitter.com/sQ0PubTxqW

MONEY QUOTE: Jackson indicates that any "current or former" senior WH aide subpoenaed by a House committee must at least appear for testimony -- even if they claim privilege while testifying. pic.twitter.com/7DEYdItZLG

In the response to a freedom of information lawsuit by the Center for Public Integrity, an investigative journalism nonprofit, a federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of pages of communications between Defense Department officials and others over stalled American aid to Ukraine.

Judge orders release of documents of communications between the Pentagon’s comptroller, DOD and White House OMB over the delay in stalled Ukraine aid. Must turn over 106 pages to Center for Public Integrity by Dec. 12. Another 100 by Dec. 20 in FOIA suit https://t.co/HuVEZOj3OG

Continue reading...

Trump impeachment: Republicans dig in as hopes of bipartisan support dashed

Posted on by

Congressional Republicans dug deep in defense of Donald Trump over the weekend, frustrating Democratic hopes that the impeachment inquiry would build bipartisan support following weeks of testimony laying out how Trump attempted to extract a political “favor” from Ukraine in exchange for official acts.

Related: Trump impeachment: Schiff calls on Bolton to testify and slams Republicans

Continue reading...