The Massachusetts congressman Seth Moulton has become the 19th person to declare their intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Watch the decorated Marine Corps veteran talk about his fame in Iraq, his attempt to stop Nancy Pelosi's re-election as House Speaker and what makes him stand out in a crowded Democratic field
Continue reading...Category Archives: US Politics
Democrats mull next steps after release of redacted Mueller report – live
Democrats will discuss whether to initiate impeachment proceedings, a move opposed by House speaker Nancy Pelosi, at afternoon conference call
Donald Trump tweets a clip of a Fox News host arguing that Democrats will “never stop” focusing on Russian election interference because “they do not care about you or your life.”
“So true,” Trump wrote.
So true - thanks @SteveHiltonx @NextRevFNC! pic.twitter.com/2UK8RgzRQL
Iowa state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst endorsed Senator Cory Booker for president.
Cory Booker nets his second state leg endorsement out of Iowa ⬇️ https://t.co/tzHC3suYPf
Continue reading...Trump’s EPA wants to put a toxic mine in pristine Alaska. What could go wrong? | Kim Heacox
Pebble Mine is just the latest story of greedy men exploiting nature for profit, and leaving us with the nasty side-effects
Back in my youth, while in Montana, I came across Berkeley Pit, called “the richest hill on earth.” There, churches and historic neighborhoods were bulldozed to expand the pit so greedy men could make their fortunes mining copper, silver and gold. After the riches were extracted, and problems arose, those men absolved themselves of any wrongdoing, and left. Over time, the mine closed and the pit began to fill with an acidic brew so toxic that when snow geese landed there, they died. As it threatened Montana’s groundwater, the pit became an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superfund site that would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars for generations.
I fear the same awaits Alaska’s Pebble Mine, a nightmare proposed by the Canadian mining company, Northern Dynasty. Don’t be fooled by the name. For many Alaskans, Pebble is a boulder on their heart. If built, it would be a massive pit one mile in diameter and 600ft deep. It would obliterate 3,500 acres of wetlands and 80-plus miles of salmon streams, and produce an estimated 10 billion tons of waste. Earthen dams would hold back toxic mine tailings, all in earthquake country, in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the richest sockeye salmon run in the world. What could go wrong?
Continue reading...Giuliani rails against Mueller report as Democrats mull Trump impeachment
- Trump lawyer: ‘Nothing wrong with information from Russians’
- Teflon Don: how Trump the mafia boss fought the law … and won
- Opinion: Moral squalor, not impeachment, will remove Trump
As the White House mounted a furious assault on the Mueller report and critics of a president not found to have conspired with Russia but not cleared of obstruction of justice, the chair of the House judiciary committee said obstruction, if proven, “would be [an] impeachable” offence.
Related: Trump and impeachment: where Democrats stand after Mueller
Continue reading...Nancy Pelosi shows no restraint on disparaging young progressive women | Arwa Mahdawi
The House speaker refused to comment on Trump while traveling, but has been openly critical of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar
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Continue reading...Meet the 88-year-old powering his insurgent 2020 bid with teens
Fueled by the ambition of two teenagers, ex-Alaska senator Mike Gravel is running for president with the explicit intention of entering Democratic debates
In 2008’s Democratic race for the White House, a little-known former senator from Alaska, Mike Gravel, barnstormed the party debates, railing against America’s foreign wars and slamming his rival candidates as elitists out-of-touch with ordinary Americans.
Related: Who is running for president? The full list of 2020 Democratic candidates
Continue reading...All the president’s men and women: how disobedient aides saved Trump
Mueller report reveals how staff told to do illegal things did not but some say that doesn’t mean Trump is not guilty of a crime
The myth of Donald Trump presents him as a man of authority, a leader loved and feared, a boss who demands loyalty – and gets it.
Related: The 14 current Republican senators who voted to impeach or convict Bill Clinton
Continue reading...Mueller report contains nearly 1,000 redactions – live updates
Analysis counts up attorney general William Barr’s redactions, as House issues subpoena for version of the report without anything removed
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Another former federal prosecutor weighs in on CNN:
If this was any person other than the president of the United States, I can say as a former prosecutor, this would be a knock-down case for obstruction,” said CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. “I’ve charged and convicted on obstruction of justice based on a fraction of this evidence.
- Elie Honig
"If this was any person other than the President of the United States...this would be a knock down case for obstruction of justice," says former federal prosecutor @eliehonig as he lays out his biggest takeaways from the Mueller report. https://t.co/QtOw6uvA9r pic.twitter.com/ydPr42khbg
In an opinion column for Politico, a former federal prosecutor describes the Mueller report as “case meticulously laid out by a prosecutor who knew he was not allowed to bring it.”
The case is so detailed that it is hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller could have indicted and convicted Trump for obstruction of justice—if he were permitted to do so. And the reason he is not permitted to do so is very clear: Department of Justice policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president.”
"...if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment." -Mueller report pic.twitter.com/PvYaWVAjb3
Continue reading...Mueller report: House issues subpoena for full unredacted version
Jerry Nadler issues subpoena for Robert Mueller’s full report and the underlying documents ‘to make informed decisions’
- Mueller report latest – live updates
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The House judiciary chairman, Jerry Nadler, on Friday issued a subpoena for the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and the Trump campaign.
Related: 'No new information': Russia shrugs off Mueller report
Continue reading...Nadler says Mueller report shows ‘disturbing evidence’ of obstruction of justice – video
US judiciary committee chair Jerry Nadler has said the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report outlines 'disturbing evidence' that Donald Trump engaged in obstruction of justice. Nadler also accused US attorney general William Barr of undermining his own department in order to protect the president. He said it was 'disingenuous and misleading' of Barr to say Trump is 'clear of wrongdoing'.
Barr is scheduled to testify before the committee on 2 May and Nadler has requested Mueller testify before the committee as well because 'we can’t believe what Barr tells us'
Continue reading...Mueller’s report would have signaled the end for anyone other than Trump
Analysis: activity discovered by Mueller was not, as Trump and his allies falsely insist, standard stuff for a political campaign
- The full text of Robert Mueller’s report on Trump and Russia
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For all his bluster about being a master builder, Donald Trump really made his millions through branding. From chewy steaks to failing casinos, Trump has spent decades putting lucrative lipstick on pigs.
So when faced with a sprawling criminal investigation into how Russia worked to get him elected – and how he then repeatedly tried to obstruct the inquiry – the president devised a brutally effective public relations campaign.
Continue reading...Mueller report: the key takeaways from the Trump-Russia investigation
The special counsel found 11 instances in which Trump and his campaign’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s highly-anticipated report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was made public on Thursday, examining potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow and whether Donald Trump obstructed justice.
The special counsel found 11 “episodes” in which Trump’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice, detailing several instances in which the president’s demands to interfere with the investigation were blocked by his aides.
Continue reading...‘I’m having a good day’: Trump reacts after release of Mueller report – video
The US president said on Thursday he was having a 'good day' after the release of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the now-closed Russia investigation. The US attorney general, William Barr, told a news conference before the report’s release that the investigation did not find Donald Trump or members of his campaign worked with Russia during the 2016 presidential election
Continue reading...William Barr: bottom line is that Mueller found no collusion – video
The US attorney general, William Barr, has said the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find Donald Trump or members of his campaign worked with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Addressing a news conference before the report’s release, Barr said there were 10 episodes involving Trump that were scrutinised for possible obstruction of justice
Continue reading...Trump’s attacks on Ilhan Omar aim to stoke fears ahead of the 2020 election
Trump and Republicans are using Omar to drive a wedge within the Democratic party and ‘foment hatred of Muslim Americans’
When Ilhan Omar became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in November, the American Muslim community saw her victory as a symbolic rejoinder to Donald Trump.
Omar’s remarkable journey – from a Somali refugee camp to the Minnesota state legislature and the hallways of the US Capitol – stood out among a historically diverse class of freshman lawmakers. The sight of Omar’s hijab on the House floor, made possible only by a rules change that for the first time in 181 years allowed religious headwear inside the chamber, reinforced the immediacy of her impact.
Continue reading...Five key things to look for in the Mueller report
Barr has said the report has two parts: one on Russian tampering efforts and one on alleged obstruction of justice by Trump
- Mueller report released – live updates
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On Thursday, the US justice department is expected to release a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report on Russian election tampering and the Donald Trump campaign to the public. The attorney general, William Barr, has announced a press conference at the justice department at 9.30am to discuss it.
Related: Mueller report: redacted Trump-Russia findings to be released today – live
Continue reading...Justice department discussed Mueller’s findings with White House, report says – as it happened
Democrats condemn Barr’s handling of report’s release following news it will not come until after press conference
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that House Democrats, looking into President Trump’s financial interests, have subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corp., Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion Bank.
Investigators on the House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee have focused their early efforts on Deutsche Bank, which has said it in engaged “in a productive dialogue” with the committees.
Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump goes back decades. Since 1998, the bank has led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Mr. Trump, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Continue reading...Democrats condemn attorney general’s plan for rollout of Mueller report
Attorney general has sought to ‘put his own spin’ on special counsel’s report, say lawmakers before report’s release
On the eve of the long-anticipated release of the report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian tampering in the 2016 election and alleged Trump campaign involvement, Democrats accused the attorney general, William Barr, of trying to “cherry-pick” and “put his own spin” on the conclusions of the investigation.
Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House judiciary committee, appeared with colleagues at a press conference in New York City late Wednesday to protest against Barr’s plan for rolling out a redacted version of the Mueller report.
Continue reading...2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg responds to anti-gay heckler at Iowa rally – video
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and Democratic presidential candidate, was heckled by a protester at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. The person shouted: 'Remember Sodom and Gomorrah' – a reference to two biblical cities – to which Buttigieg responded: 'The condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa caucuses are up to you'
- Get to know 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg in nine clips – video
- Does everyone really love Mayor Pete? His home town has some answers
Does everyone really love Mayor Pete? His home town has some answers
By many measures, Buttigieg’s mayoral career has been a success – but his policies have not pleased everyone and poverty and crime are still high
Jack Colwell was a young reporter with a big story. Trade union sources told him that the Studebaker car plant, the beating heart of South Bend, Indiana, was closing down with a loss of nearly 7,000 jobs that would devastate the community. On 9 December 1963, above his byline, the front page headline on the South Bend Tribune newspaper read: “Auto output to end here.”
Related: 'They call me Mayor Pete': Buttigieg launches 2020 presidential run
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