Nancy Pelosi, the speaker for the US House of Representatives, has vowed that Donald Trump will be ‘held to account’ as she named the Democrats who will prosecute the impeachment case against him in the Senate. The team includes women – two African Americans and one Latina – as well as the House intelligence chair, Adam Schiff, and the judiciary chair, Jerry Nadler
Continue reading...Category Archives: Nancy Pelosi
Impeachment: Trump fumes as Pelosi prepares to send articles to the Senate
- President claims speaker is ‘absolute worst in US history’
- How to dump Trump: Rick Wilson on Running Against the Devil
Whether or not Nancy Pelosi is the “absolute worst Speaker of the House in US history”, as Donald Trump insists, the Democrat said on Sunday her caucus will meet on Tuesday to decide when to transmit two articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.
Related: John Bolton impeachment testimony will be blocked, Donald Trump says
Continue reading...Trump impeachment: Senator Collins working to allow witnesses at trial – as it happened
Susan Collins and other Republicans open to allowing witnesses in impeachment trial, a key sticking point in impasse between House and Senate
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Kari Paul here, logging off for the weekend! Here is a summary of the key events of the last few hours:
Two parents whose children were separated from them as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” border policies are suing the federal government for $12m, claiming the children were subject to abuse and neglect while in federal custody.
“The United States government tore these families apart pursuant to a cruel and unconstitutional policy: The government intended to inflict terror and harm on these small children and their fathers, as a means of deterring others from seeking to enter the United States”, said the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in U.S. District Court of Arizona.
According to the lawsuit, the fathers were separated from their children for more than two months, and the federal government gave little, if any, information regarding the location and safety of the children.
The families “suffered, and continue to suffer, physical, mental, and emotional harm,” the lawsuit states. More than a year after they were reunited, the lawsuit says the children exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Continue reading...Pelosi: I’ll send impeachment articles to Senate ‘when I’m ready’ – video
Nancy Pelosi says she wants to understand the parameters of a Senate trial before sending the articles of impeachment, but adds she does not plan to hold on to them indefinitely. 'I’ll send them over when I’m ready,' she says. 'And that’ll probably be soon.'
The Speaker says she is concerned that senators will not hold an impartial trial to determine whether Donald Trump should be removed from office
Continue reading...Trump says ‘Iran appears to be standing down’ following missile strikes – live
US president declares additional economic sanctions on Iran but attempts to de-escalate crisis
- Iran crisis: a visual guide to the latest developments
- Iran launches missiles at Iraq airbases hosting US and coalition troops
The quartet of US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the still relatively new defense secretary Mark Esper, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley and the historically-controversial CIA director Gina Haspel strode across Capitol Hill today to brief members of Congress on the Iran issues.
There is some difference of perspective on how effective the briefing was.
Rep Mark Meadows says the briefing for lawmakers was “compelling and decisive” and left “little doubt” that the president made the right call in killing Qasem Soleimani and there was “clear and present danger.”
Meadows says Director Haspel was very “clear and articulate” that there was an “imminent threat” from Qasem Soleimani. “This general’s absence will not be easily replaced,” he adds and says it will take months if not years to fill the gap Qasem Soleimani leaves.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said the theme of the Iran briefing "was the administration saying trust us."
"I’m not sure who I trust or what I trust. We’ve been told so many different things that really just bother me."
GOP KY Sen Paul: I think sanctions have actually pushed Iran away from the negotiating table and made it less likely to have a diplomatic solution..I did just speak to the President moments ago, I do believe that the President honestly does not want another war in the Middle East
British prime minister Boris Johnson and his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, had a telephone call with each other earlier in which they discussed the need for urgent de-escalation on all sides in the US-Iran crisis following Iranian missile attacks on military bases housing US troops in Iraq overnight, a spokesperson for Johnson said.
The leaders also discussed working together, and with international partners, to ensure Iran is prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Continue reading...Why is Pelosi waiting to send Trump articles of impeachment to the Senate?
Speculation and political parlor-gaming about Nancy Pelosi’s strategy have filled the informational vacuum
What is Nancy Pelosi thinking?
Related: Trump ex-adviser Michael Flynn should face up to six months in prison, say prosecutors – live
Continue reading...Pelosi delays sending articles of impeachment against Trump – live
House to convene for the first time of the new year and a first true signal of when speaker might advance impeachment issue
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Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell reportedly plans to advance a set of rules for the looming impeachment trial without Democratic support.
Politico reports:
McConnell is on the verge of having sufficient backing in his 53-member caucus to pass a blueprint for the trial that leaves the question of seeking witnesses and documents until after opening arguments are made, according to multiple senators. That framework would mirror the contours of President Bill Clinton’s trial and ignore Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s demands for witnesses and new evidence.
No final decision has been made, but in a brief interview, McConnell said he would address the possibility of spurning Democrats on Tuesday afternoon.
Appearing at the US Capitol for the first time in 2020, House speaker Nancy Pelosi deflected reporters’ repeated questions about when she might transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Entering the Capitol for the first time in 2020, @SpeakerPelosi is still mum on when she’ll send articles of impeachment to the Senate —> pic.twitter.com/8WlaSiCwvg
Continue reading...Trump condemned for trivializing homeless crisis in attack on Pelosi
- President’s tweets denounced as ‘vile and reprehensible’
- Trump: speaker’s ‘filthy dirty’ district is worst for homelessness
Donald Trump has been condemned for “vile and reprehensible” tweets that trivialize America’s homelessness crisis in an attempt to rebuke the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, the architect of his impeachment.
On Thursday the president, holed up at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida over Christmas, went on the offensive against Pelosi, whose home district includes San Francisco.
Continue reading...Nancy Pelosi on Trump and the power of the gavel: ‘He’ll be impeached for ever’
Trump heads to Florida for the holidays as Senate adjourned until January without agreeing to impeachment trial procedures
Nancy Pelosi promised as speaker she would “show the power of the gavel”. This year, she laid it out for all to see.
The past week alone, the Democratic leader delivered a $1.4tn government funding package to stop a shutdown, pushed through the bipartisan US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, and passed her party’s plan to lower prescription drug costs. In between, she led a congressional delegation to Europe for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
Continue reading...Nancy Pelosi condemns Mitch McConnell as ‘rogue leader in the Senate’ – video
The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, condemned Mitch McConnell as a 'rogue leader in the Senate' on Thursday after he dared Democrats to send articles of impeachment to the Senate, claiming they were getting 'cold feet'. Pelosi responded by saying: '[McConnell's speech] reminded me that our founders, when they wrote the constitution, they suspected there could be a rogue president. I don't think they suspected we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the Senate at the same time'
Continue reading...Nancy Pelosi silences applause after impeachment vote – video
The House speaker sternly shut down House Democrats who began to clap as she announced the results of a vote on the first of two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
Pelosi said the vote, on Wednesday, was a 'sad' occasion and that it was 'tragic' the president’s reckless actions had made it necessary.
- 'A sad day': Nancy Pelosi shuts down applause after impeachment vote
- Dry procedures and impassioned speeches preceded historic impeachment vote
Impeachment debate drama: six hours distilled into three minutes – video
Members of the House of Representatives debate the two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, with both parties accusing each other variously of defending the indefensible, tearing families apart and even being nastier to the president than Pontius Pilate was to Jesus. After a day-long debate, Trump became the third president in US history to be impeached.
Pelosi says Democrats have ‘no choice’ but to impeach Trump as she opens impeachment debate – video
Nancy Pelosi has said Donald Trump gave Democrats 'no choice' but to impeach him. Opening the debate on the impeachment of the US president in the House of Representatives, the House Speaker said if politicians did not act now, they would be 'derelict in their duty'. The debate will be followed by a vote on two articles of impeachment against Trump which, if approved, will send the matter to the Republican-led Senate to hold a trial on whether to remove him from office. The Senate is unlikely to vote to convict the president
Continue reading...Impeachment: Trump faces up to history as House prepares to vote
As the president rages, Democrats in the House get ready to vote against him
No volume of howling by Donald Trump could prevent the shadow of history from falling over his White House on Wednesday, as the House of Representatives prepared to approve articles of impeachment against a president for only the third time.
Related: More than 700 historians call for Trump to be impeached as key vote looms
Continue reading...Five highlights from Trump’s angry, bizarre letter to Nancy Pelosi
Trump claims in his missive – which he says historians will study one day – he’s been treated worse than those accused of witchcraft
On Tuesday, Donald Trump showed that it is not only through the spoken word or his Twitter account that he is able to raise eyebrows, when he sent an angry and frequently bizarre letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The six-page missive was remarkable for a number of reasons, not least for Trump’s claim he has been subjected to worse treatment than that endured by people accused of witchcraft in the 17th century.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...DoJ internal watchdog report clears FBI of illegal surveillance of Trump adviser – live
Report concludes FBI had a legal ‘authorized purpose’ in monitoring communications of Trump election campaign adviser Carter Page
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House Democrats have reached a tentative agreement with labor leaders and the White House over a rewrite of the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal that has been a top priority for Donald Trump, the AP writes.
“I’m hearing very good things, including from unions and others that it’s looking good. I hope they put it up to a vote, and if they put it up to a vote, it’s going to pass,” Trump said this afternoon. “I’m hearing a lot of strides have been made over the last 24 hours, with unions and others.”
The United Nations Security Council will meet publicly on Wednesday over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, diplomats said today.
The meeting has been requested by the United States. A US State Department official earlier said Washington wanted the 15-member council to discuss North Korea’s missile launches and the possibility of an “escalatory” provocation by Pyongyang.
Related: The Guardian view on North Korea: a brewing nuclear crisis | Editorial
Continue reading...‘Don’t mess with me’: Nancy Pelosi responds to reporter asking if she hates Trump – video
Nancy Pelosi lashed out at a reporter for asking if she hated Donald Trump after her statement announcing that the Democrats would move forward with articles of impeachment against the president.
'As a Catholic, I resent your using the word "hate" in a sentence that addresses me,' she said. 'I don't hate anyone ... I pray for the president all the time'
Continue reading...John Kerry endorses Joe Biden in 2020 Democratic presidential race – live
The former secretary of state under Obama said Biden’s ‘decency and the experiences that he brings to the table are critical to the moment’
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House speaker Nancy Pelosi has pressed ahead with impeachment, saying: “The President leaves us no choice but to act … Our democracy is what is at stake.” The stakes could not be higher: has the US constitution, the basis of US democracy, been violated by Donald Trump? If so, can both the constitution and the president survive?
In a fractured, poisonous political climate, the Guardian will steer an independent, fact-based path through the impeachment hearings. The need for rigorous, robust reporting has never been greater.
As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism in the new year. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift.
We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do.
Bernie Sanders will join youth climate protesters planning sit-ins around the country tomorrow “at the offices of establishment Democrats who have yet to back the Green New Deal,” according to a press release from the Sunrise Movement.
We are the climate campaign.
Our Green New Deal is the only proposal put forth by any candidate that is bold enough to take on the crisis we face.
Thank you to @sunrisemvmt for your leadership! https://t.co/gAptQcEMm8
‘No choice but to act’: Pelosi asks House to proceed with Trump impeachment – video
The US Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has announced the House will proceed with articles of impeachment against Donald Trump. ‘The president leaves us no choice but to act,’ she said. ‘Sadly but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment’
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