House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, delivered a stern warning to the White House: attempts to ‘stonewall’ the impeachment inquiry ‘will be considered further evidence of obstruction of justice’
Continue reading...Category Archives: US Politics
Mike Pompeo says he took part in Trump-Ukraine phone call – live news
- State department inspector general Steve Linick is expected to give a private briefing to several House and Senate committee staffers
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Lets return to some of the president’s inflammatory tweeting last night, in which he described the House impeachment inquiry as a “COUP”.
We won’t embed the tweets here or reprint the contents due to their inflammatory and misleading nature, but they’re available to view here if you want to take a look.
Mr. Dorsey:
I write to call your attention to activity that President Trump has been engaged in on his Twitter account, which appears to violate the terms of the user agreement that your company requires all users on the platform adhere to.
No user, regardless of their job, wealth, or stature should be exempt from abiding by Twitter’s user agreement, not even the President of the United States.
Look let's be honest, @realDonaldTrump's Twitter account should be suspended.
Some more context on Secretary Pompeo’s admission that he took part in the July phone call between Donald Trump and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Pompeo’s involvement in the call (he listened in to the conversation and does not appear to have actively participated) was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week. Pompeo’s admission, made earlier today on an official trip to the Vatican, confirms this reporting.
ABC: And I want to turn to this whistleblower complaint, Mr. Secretary. The complaint involving the President and a phone call with a foreign leader to the director of national intelligence inspector general. That’s where the complaint was launched by the whistle-blower. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Trump pressed the president of Ukraine eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani to investigate Joe Biden’s son. What do you know about those conversations?
Continue reading...‘We’re not fooling around’: Pelosi and Schiff stand firm as Trump fumes
- Democratic pair say impeachment inquiry will not be slowed
- Trump condemned for ‘blatant effort to intimidate witnesses’
Donald Trump has been accused of “incitement to violence” and threatened with obstruction charges in the fast-escalating battle over impeachment, as the president maintained his aggressive counter-attack against Democratic leaders and the whistleblower who precipitated the inquiry.
Related: Democrats issue warning over Trump’s 'dangerous' whistleblower attacks – live
Continue reading...State department watchdog seeks urgent briefing over Ukraine documents – as it happened
Inspector general’s move comes after Mike Pompeo claims Democrats are trying to ‘bully’ department employees over impeachment inquiry – follow live
The state department’s inspector general has requested an urgent briefing related to documents on Ukraine with congressional staff members, according to multiple reports.
The inspector general’s unusual request followed secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s assertions that House democrats were trying to “bully” officials into testifying and that the democrats’ schedule for depositions related to the Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry was “not feasible”.
Related: Impeachment inquiry: Pompeo accuses Democrats of 'bullying' and rebuffs key demand
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s bizarre logic damages US allies’ trust in intelligence sharing | Daniel Flitton
The US president appears to believe Australian spies are part of a deep-state conspiracy. Australia should be wary of the risks of getting drawn into his defence
It really is a poke in the eye – the “Five Eyes”, that is. Donald Trump’s telephone call to Scott Morrison, revealed on Tuesday in the New York Times, where he pressed for help in investigating the origins of the Mueller inquiry, will doubtless put a further strain on what is otherwise a very close intelligence-sharing partnership between the United States and Australia.
Why? Because aside from the unwanted political distraction of putting Australia at the centre of another Trump tirade (just as Morrison was seeking to apply the blowtorch to Labor at home for what he called “naive and immature” remarks about China), the twisted logic of Trump’s allegation is truly extraordinary.
Continue reading...Zuckerberg: I’ll ‘go to the mat and fight’ Warren over plan to break up Facebook
Leaked recordings published by the Verge show Zuckerberg fears ‘existential threat’ if Democratic contender becomes president
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said his company will “go to the mat” if Elizabeth Warren is elected president and seeks to fulfil her promise to break up America’s tech giants.
Related: Trump impeachment: public support grows as scandal widens – live news
Continue reading...Barr and Pompeo implicated in Trump impeachment scandal – reports
Attorney general and secretary of state both reportedly took part in contacts between Trump and foreign leaders
An effort in recent months by Donald Trump to rewrite the history of the 2016 US presidential election and set up a 2020 re-election victory was both more geographically sprawling and reliant on the day-to-day participation of top cabinet members than previously reported, it emerged on Monday.
Both William Barr, the attorney general, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, collectively participated in contacts between Trump and leaders of at least four foreign countries, according to multiple reports.
Continue reading...Trump condemned for suggesting ‘arrest for treason’ of House intelligence chair – live
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.)
Continue reading...Outrage as Trump suggests key Democratic foe face arrest for ‘treason’
- President unleashes barrage littered with false claims
- Laurence Tribe: the House must flex its muscles
Donald Trump, already facing impeachment, has provoked fresh outrage by suggesting one of his main political adversaries should be arrested for “treason”.
Related: Trump suggests House intelligence chair should face 'arrest for treason' – live news
Continue reading...Native American 2020 candidate aims to raise awareness of indigenous peoples
Mark Charles knows his bid is a long shot but hopes to shed light on the historic abuse of Native Americans and other ethnicities
In a video launching his presidential campaign, Mark Charles, hair tied in a tsiiyéeł, a Native American hair knot, introduces himself in the Navajo language.
“Yá’ át’ ééh. Mark Charles yinishyé,” Charles says.
Continue reading...Graham prepares Trump defence as impeachment fury intensifies
- Report: senator overheard on plane talking strategy with ‘Jared’
- Robert Reich: Trump can do more damage than Nixon
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
Continue reading...California governor vetoes bill aimed at stopping Trump environment rollbacks
- Bill would have helped regulators counter federal directives
- Gavin Newsom vows to continue fight on environmental issues
California governor Gavin Newsom angered some allies on Friday by vetoing a bill aimed at blunting Trump administration rollbacks of clean air and endangered species regulations in the state.
Related: Trump's EPA attacks California with claim that state is lax on water pollution
Continue reading...The Immoral Majority review: how evangelicals backed Trump – and how they might atone
As a scandal-ridden presidency lurches towards impeachment, Ben Howe offers valuable insight into how it came to this
In his new book, Ben Howe attempts to explain something that should never have occurred: why most white evangelicals voting in 2016 chose Donald Trump.
Many observers thought Trump could not win because evangelical Christians could not support someone whose life (and tweeting) was so at odds with their beliefs and practices. Indeed, Trump failed to win a majority of evangelicals in any Super Tuesday primary.
Continue reading...Trump has nearly destroyed US refugee program, experts say
Administration announced it would set a refugee cap of 18,000 people for the fiscal year, and allow states to ban resettlement
Trump administration changes to US refugee policy are “tantamount to destroying the program”, according to experts, as the amount of people displaced worldwide continues to grow.
On Thursday, the administration announced it would set a refugee cap of 18,000 people for the fiscal year, which begins 1 October. It also issued an executive order allowing states or “local governments” to ban refugee resettlement.
Continue reading...Trump-Ukraine scandal: Hillary Clinton says US president ‘endangered’ the country – video
Hillary Clinton criticised Donald Trump’s communications with Ukraine, saying he had ‘turned American diplomacy into a cheap extortion racket'. Speaking at Georgetown University on Friday, the former Democratic presidential candidate said the US president had ‘endangered us all by putting his personal and political interests ahead of the interests of the American people'. Clinton's comments come in the wake of a whistleblower complaint that revealed Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s family
Continue reading...When Donald met Scott: a reporter’s view of Trump and his White House wonderland
Australian PM Scott Morrison received a full-blown welcome from the US president. Katharine Murphy was on hand for an inside account
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Scott Morrison has made his first visit to the United States as prime minister. It was a trip that included a close encounter with the unpredictability of the Trump White House, a foreign policy pivot, and a backlash about a lack of climate policy action. Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, travelled, with the prime minister. Here is what she witnessed:
Continue reading...Donald Trump flails as Joe Biden accuses him of trying to ‘hijack’ election – live news
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.
Continue reading...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?’
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- Trump-Ukraine whistleblower complaint: read it in full
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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
Continue reading...‘This is very strange’: Ukraine’s view of the Trump whistleblower complaint
News of US pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskiy has sparked fears among reformers, but on the streets it is seen as an American affair
The revelations that Donald Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s family have reverberated through civil society and political circles in Kyiv, prompting some to ask if the United States can be viewed as a trustworthy ally in the country’s attempts to reform and stave off pressure from Russia.
Members of Ukraine’s civil society and veterans communities on Thursday complained about the threat of withholding military funding and US political support to score points in domestic US politics.
Continue reading...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’
Continue reading...