Trump news: President abruptly drops sanctions on Turkey, as Republicans storm impeachment hearings

Follow the latest from Washington, as they happened

Donald Trump announces he will remove sanctions on Turkey over Syria conflict

Donald Trump continues to froth over the impeachment inquiry on Twitter as Laura Cooper, deputy assistant US secretary of defence for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, becomes the latest senior official to appear before the House panel on Capitol Hill to testify about the conduct of diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, told the inquiry he was informed military aid to the country was “dependent” on president Volodymyr Zelensky agreeing to publicly announce a corruption probe into Donald Trump’s 2020 rival Joe Biden, confirming the existence of the suspected quid pro quo at the heart of the Democratic-led investigation.

Mr Biden’s polling lead in the Democratic 2020 primary race is meanwhile at its widest margin since April. The former vice president has won the support of 34 per cent of voters registered with the party, according to a new CNN survey.

There as quite a scuffle in Washington on Wednesday, however, after Republicans staged a sit in during a secured briefing as a part of the impeachment inquiry.

During that time, the Republicans reportedly ordered pizza and joked about as they successfully pulled off their publicity stunt.

Mr Trump also announced that he would be pulling back on Turkish sanctions, claiming that the cease fire his administration claims existed between Kurds and the Turkish military had succeeded.

He later claimed that the US was building a wall in Colorado, during a speech in Pittsburgh, even though the state is landlocked.

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Key Points

• Trump announces 'permanent' Turkish ceasefire in Syria, end of sanctions
• Joe Biden​ enjoys biggest poll lead since April as Trump tactics backfire
• Trump labels report he plans to replace Mick Mulvaney 'Fake News!'
• Lindsey Graham introducing Senate resolution condemning impeachment inquiry
• Bill Taylor confirms Ukraine quid pro quo in damning testimony

[23 October 2019 20:40 · Clark Mindock]

Republicans have been anything but consistent on their messaging around Donald Trump's alleged quid pro quo with Ukrainian officials, but have generally tried to steer away from the affirmative.

Just after acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said during a press briefing that quid pro quos are normal part of foreign policy — and then walked those comments back — Republican senator Ron Johnson has now told reporters the same.

"There should be some quid pro quo for foreign aid," he said.

[23 October 2019 21:00 · Clark Mindock]

File this one under "fatigue in the US Capitol for Republican stunts", perhaps?

[23 October 2019 21:20 · Clark Mindock]

Representative Ilhan Omar and other Democrats knocked their Republican counterparts on Wednesday after they barged into a classified intelligence room, claiming they were more interested in media attention than protecting national security.

Ms Omar wrote on Twitter after the incident also noted that some Republicans had apparently brought in a cell phone, violating protocol.

[23 October 2019 21:47 · Clark Mindock]

Perhaps the highlight of today's hearings with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: