Trump news: Senators call for 'nothing but the truth' in final plea for witnesses after president's lawyers reject calls for Bolton testimony
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump’s legal team delivered its closing remarks at the US Senate impeachment trial on Tuesday, working to discredit the Democratic-led investigation into the president’s conduct towards Ukraine and fixating on Hunter Biden.
The final defence comes as Democratic senators have characterised their arguments as “nonsensical”, “absurd” and “incredibly surreal”. The team of attorneys gave their closing remarks, which ends the initial phase of the trial, just as a new survey indicated a staggering majority of millennials across the country support the impeachment against Mr Trump, with 63 per cent of those surveyed saying they want senators to vote to remove the president from the Oval Office.
The US Senate was set to vote at the end of the week about whether to add witnesses to the ongoing trial, following a leak of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s new memoir that appeared to directly connect Mr Trump to demand for political investigations into Joe Biden.
The president has meanwhile unveiled his ambitions plans to bring peace to the Middle East today alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just before heading to Wildwood, New Jersey, for his latest "Keep America Great" rally.
He also backed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his battle with National Public Radio and tweeted out more media criticism, one target familiar and the other less so.
Mr Trump introduced Mr Pompeo at an East Room announcement of the administration's Mideast peace plan, saying it was "very impressive" that he got a standing ovation from the White House workers and guests.
"That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you," the president said. "I think you did a good job on her, actually."
NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly angered Mr Pompeo with a short interview on Friday, then he reportedly berated her afterward in his office. The State Department then announced Monday that NPR reporter Michele Kelemen would not be allowed on Mr Pompeo's upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia; NPR had no immediate comment on the president's remarks on Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, the president tweeted an insult at CNN's Don Lemon, who received some criticism in conservative media for hosting a segment over the weekend where two of his guests made fun of the "rube demo" that backed Mr Trump.
He also tweeted criticism of his favourite network, Fox News Channel, for "trying to be 'politically correct"' by having a Democratic senator discuss impeachment on the network.
The president said Fox's Chris Wallace, who on Monday challenged a Fox contributor for not having her facts straight in a discussion about impeachment witnesses, shouldn't be on the network.
"What the hell has happened to Fox News?" Mr Trump tweeted. "Only I know!"
Additional reporting by Associated Press. Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decried calls to have former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s leaked book manuscript read in a classified setting, calling the move “absurd” and saying there was no alternative to testimony under oath, according to reports.
The New York Democrat said on Tuesday: “Let me repeat: President Trump and Ambassador Bolton said diametrically opposed things. Only one of them is willing to testify under oath. Who do you believe? ... Who do most Republicans think is right?"
The editorial page deputy at Washington Post has tweeted the following gentle reminder about comments Republican Senator Lindsey Graham made in October after a leaked transcript of former National Security Adviser John Bolton's book reportedly connected Donald Trump directly to demands for Ukraine to announce political investigations into the Bidens:
From The Independent's Washington Bureau Chief John T Bennett: "Mr Trump lashed out again at Fox News, this time for broadcasting critical-of-him comments about the impeachment saga from Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen and others. "He has been on forever playing up the Impeachment Hoax. Dems wouldn’t even give Fox their low ratings debates...." the president wrote. ".....So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews." Mr Trump then added: "Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!"
Breaking news: Donald Trump has unveiled his long-awaited "Middle East peace plan", which the president said was a "'vision for peace, prosperity and a new future" for Palestine and Israel.
The proposal calls for a State of Palestine to be created and four-year freeze of Israel’s ongoing settlement activities. The State of Palestine’s capital would be located in portions of eastern Jerusalem under the plan. The question remains whether Palestine and Israel will support the US president’s proposal.
Here's The Independent's Bel Trew and John T Bennett with more on Donald Trump's peace plan:
Donald Trump's team of attorneys are set to conclude arguments today as the US Senate considers adding witnesses to its impeachment trial against the president.
The development comes as a leaked manuscript for a book penned by former National Security Adviser John Bolton directly connects Mr Trump to demands from the White House for Ukraine to launch political investigations into the president's 2020 political rival, Joe Biden.
The closing remarks will begin at 1:00pm EST.
If elected president, Bernie Sanders said he would “reverse every single thing” Donald Trump’s administration has done to US immigration policy, including what the 2020 hopeful described as a "racist" travel ban on Muslim-majority countries.
The Vermont senator made the comments in a tweet on Monday night after it was reported that the US Supreme Court would allow the Trump administration to go forward with a new “wealth test”.
The hard-line policy would allow Mr Trump’s White House to deny legal permanent residency to any immigrant determined to potentially require government financial assistance while living in the US.
Story to come...
Donald Trump's team of lawyers are set to begin their closing arguments in defence of the president during the US Senate's impeachment trial. Senators will then likely vote by Friday or Saturday on whether to call for more witnesses to provide testimony under oath.
The attorneys will likely go on for two to three hours today before concluding.
Donald Trump’s deputy counsel Patrick Philbin is delivering closing remarks, beginning with a bit of history into how and why the Founding Fathers created the impeachment option.
“All of the steps that the framers took … was in terms of narrowing, constricting, refraining, enumerating” the use of impeachment, the attorney says.
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