Trump accuses Democrats of ‘open war on American democracy’ in stinging impeachment letter – live

President sends six-page letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi condemning inquiry as ‘unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power’

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Here’s a recap of today:

Related: Trump impeachment inquiry: a timeline of key events so far

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Trump writes blistering letter to House accusing leaders of ‘war on democracy’

Letter is a thinly veiled attempt to redirect back impeachment inquiry’s findings he abused power and obstructed Congress

Donald Trump has accused Democratic leaders in the House of declaring “open war on American democracy”, on the eve of a historic vote that is likely to make him only the third president in US history to be impeached.

Trump issued the incendiary accusation in an intemperately-worded letter sent to the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, on Tuesday.

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Trump impeachment: Schumer says Senate trial without witnesses would be ‘cover-up’ – live

Senate minority leader criticized the White House for its handling of the impeachment inquiry, saying ‘trials have witnesses’

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Speaking to reporters in the cabinet room at the White House, Trump said Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, had not shared “too much” with him after returning from Ukraine.

Hmm...Asked what Giuliani shared with him upon his return from Ukraine, Trump says, "Not too much. But he’s a very great crime fighter…He’s a great person who loves our country. And he does this out of love, believe me. " Giuliani told WSJ he had more than Trump could imagine.

According to a newly released poll, Trump’s approval rating has edged up a bit and opposition to impeachment has slightly decreased since the start of the public impeachment hearings.

The Quinnipiac poll found 43 percent of registered voters approve of Trump’s job performance, compared to 38 percent in an Oct. 23 poll.

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‘Trials have witnesses’: Chuck Schumer criticises White House handling of impeachment – video

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticized the White House for its handling of the impeachment inquiry, arguing a Senate trial without witnesses would be the equivalent of a 'cover-up' during a press conference before Congress recessed for Christmas.

'Trials have witnesses,' Schumer told reporters. 'To conduct a trial without the facts is to engage in a cover-up.'

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Man with the money: Democrats cry foul as Bloomberg splashes the cash

The billionaire is controversially dodging the early voting states amid a $100m ad blitz but some see a wider boost for the party

House Democrats received some welcome news on Wednesday: Michael Bloomberg was coming to their rescue once again.

Related: Amy Klobuchar: 'I will reverse Trump abortion policies in the first 100 days'

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US-China trade deal ‘totally done’, Trump aide Lighthizer says

The “phase one” US-China trade deal will nearly double US exports to China over the next two years and is “totally done” despite the need for translation and revisions to its text, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday.

Related: 'Amazing deal' or 'capitulation'? Why the US-China trade truce may not last

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James Comey admits FBI ‘sloppiness’ but rejects Trump political bias claim

James Comey, the former director of the FBI who has become a prime nemesis of Donald Trump, admitted on Sunday to being responsible for “real sloppiness” over the handling of surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser.

Related: The lies have it: Republicans abandon truth in Trump impeachment defence

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‘Let’s do this!’: Megan Rapinoe endorses Elizabeth Warren for president

  • Soccer star praises Warren for being ‘bold and real’
  • SI Sportsperson of the Year posts video of call with candidate

Two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe has announced her support for the Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.

“I truly believe the best things in life are a result of being bold and being real,” wrote the soccer star, whom Sports Illustrated this week named Sportsperson of the Year.

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Warren, Biden and other Democrats threaten to boycott debate amid labor feud

  • Union plans to picket Loyola Marymount University venue
  • Warren calls for DNC to find solution in line with principles

All the Democratic presidential candidates slated to participate in next week’s debate have threatened to skip the event if an ongoing labor dispute forces them to cross picket lines on the university campus where the debate will be hosted.

A labor union says it will picket as Loyola Marymount University hosts Thursday’s sixth Democratic debate, and Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders responded by tweeting they would not participate if that meant crossing it. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang followed suit.

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House committee votes to advance Trump articles of impeachment – live

Judiciary committee approved two articles on party lines, setting up vote for full House next week

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There’s a workers’ strike at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the location of next week’s Democratic debate - which has prompted, at this point, six of the seven candidates who’ve qualified to participate, to threaten to boycott the event.

They say they’ll refuse to cross the picket line. Out of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Andrew Yang and Amy Klobuchar, who are the seven who’ve qualified for the debate, all but Klobuchar are saying this afternoon that they stand in solidarity with the workers and won’t cross their picket line. Warren was first to announce her decision.

.@UniteHere11 is fighting for better wages and benefits—and I stand with them. The DNC should find a solution that lives up to our party's commitment to fight for working people. I will not cross the union's picket line even if it means missing the debate.

I take the debate stage to stand up for workers’ rights, not to undermine them.

I stand in solidarity with the workers of @UNITEHERE11 at Loyola Marymount University and I will not cross their picket line.

Representative Ilhan Omar is out campaigning with Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire today, per her Twitter account. They’re doing a town hall together.

In New Hampshire today with the one and only @BernieSanders!

Follow along on my Instagram story (@ilhanmn). pic.twitter.com/JsglilSDWn

A Green New Deal is the only plan bold enough to confront the climate crisis.

The political establishment may not understand that, but the young people of the @sunrisemvmt do.

Their leadership is going to save the planet. pic.twitter.com/88RJxxBDiB

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House announces advancement of Trump impeachment – video

The US House judiciary committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said the vote to approve two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump marked ‘a solemn and sad day’.

The vote was swift with 23 for, 17 against. The ranking Republican Doug Collins displayed anger on 12 December when Nadler suddenly gaveled the marathon hearing closed after 11pm without the crucial vote

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House committee votes to advance articles of impeachment against Trump

Judiciary committee voted on Friday morning to approve two articles on a straight party-line vote

On a straight party-line vote, the House judiciary committee voted on Friday morning to move two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the House floor, in a crucial final stage before impeachment itself.

A full House vote on whether to impeach the president was expected to be taken as early as Wednesday. Trump would be the third president in American history to be impeached.

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For America’s black politicians, winning an election can lead to jail | Cliff Albright

The motivations behind today’s efforts to overturn elections and remove black elected officials are not very different than Reconstruction-era motivations

On 5 November, Hester Jackson-McCray, a black woman, narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Ashley Henley by 14 votes in a heated race for a seat in the Mississippi house of representatives.

Shortly after, Henley asked the Republican-dominated Mississippi house to overturn the election results, based on claims including that one precinct didn’t collect voter signatures (a technicality required to process ballots in the state) and that her campaign had found three uncounted paper ballots. Jackson-McCray, meanwhile, pointed out that the election had been run by the Republicans – Henley’s party – making it unlikely that she had manipulated the race in her favor. This turn of events was particularly surprising because the Republican party tends to cast doubts on the existence of voter suppression, the idea that political parties find ways to prevent Americans from voting, calling it a Democratic myth.

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Trump impeachment: House prepares for crucial vote amid whistleblower row – as it happened

Fury erupts over Republican naming the alleged whistleblower who triggered the congressional investigation into Trump and Ukraine

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Today’s markup has gone on for 12 hours at this point.

Related: Trump impeachment vote nears as Democrats prepare to deliver articles to House floor

Speaking on Fox News, Senate leader Mitch McConnell said he’s “going to coordinate with the president’s lawyers”.

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Trump-Russia: DoJ watchdog insists ‘We stand by our report’ despite Barr criticism – live

Inspector general Michael Horowitz defends report that found FBI investigation into 2016 Trump campaign was justified – follow live

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Two sources told CNN that the whistleblower whose account led to the impeachment inquiry is prepping for a potential subpoena from the Senate to testify. Donald Trump and his allies have made thinly veiled threats to the whistleblower, who is still anonymous, making some question the safety of revealing the whistleblower’s identity. Here’s more from CNN:

A subpoena would put the whistleblower in uncharted territory, and raise the risk that his or her identity could come out in the course of the trial in the Senate -- where, unlike in the Democrat-led House, some Republicans have expressed a desire to hear from the whistleblower. ...

Depending on how senators structure their likely trial, a subpoena could compel the whistleblower to cooperate with anything from written questions to a closed-door interview in a secure location to a public hearing that would expose the whistleblower’s identity.

Friendly reminder that the House judiciary committee’s debate on the two articles of impeachment will begin tonight at 7pm. Reports say that House Democrats plan to vote on each article separately.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said there will be separate House votes on each article of impeachment when they go to the floor next week, even though the articles are written into a single resolution, per @jeremyherb

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‘I’m inevitable’: Trump campaign ad shows president as Avengers villain Thanos

Official Trump War Room re-election campaign posts video to social media superimposing his face over that of Marvel character

Donald Trump is a genocidal warlord hell bent on destroying half of existence in the universe. That’s not a criticism from the unhinged leftwing media, it’s apparently how the president and his team see him.

Shortly after the House brought two articles of impeachment against the president for his efforts seeking foreign interference to bolster his own political interests, the official Trump War Room re-election campaign Twitter account posted a video to social media that superimposed his face over that of the villainous Marvel comic book character Thanos.

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FAA let Boeing 737 Max continue to fly even as review found serious crash risk

Analysis from US regulators found plane could have averaged a fatal crash about every two to three years without design changes

US regulators allowed Boeing’s 737 Max to keep flying even after their own analysis found the plane could have averaged one fatal crash about every two or three years without intervention.

According to a report dated a month after a Lion Air 737 Max crashed in October 2018, killing 189 people, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded the plane could become involved in more fatal crashes without design changes.

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Trump’s plan to sign antisemitism order raises fears it could stifle Israel criticism

Executive order could redefine Judaism as a race or nationality, which critics argue is itself antisemitic

Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Wednesday targeting antisemitism on college campuses.

First reported by the New York Times, the policy would broaden the federal definition of antisemitism, according to administration officials who spoke to various news outlets on condition of anonymity. By expanding protections granted by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to people subjected to antisemitism, the order could also redefine Judaism as a race or nationality.

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