Trump impeachment news: Pressure to start Senate trial as worldwide survey reveals lack of confidence in president
Donald Trump says Iran is 'standing down' as Congress hears justification for military strike
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has told reporters at the White House that John Bolton, his former national security advisor and a potential key witness at his upcoming Senate impeachment trial, “knows nothing” about the Ukraine quid pro quo scandal, an apparent attempt to dismiss the significance of any testimony he might give before Congress.
Senate leader Mitch McConnell has said he is prepared to push on with the trial without having first agreed a deal on new witnesses and evidence with opposition Democrats, as House speaker Nancy Pelosi urges him to publish a resolution outlining the rules of engagement “immediately”.
After the Iran crisis deepened with the bombing of two US military bases in Iraq overnight, the president was ridiculed for seeking to reassure Americans by tweeting “All is well!” before making a statement declaring the country is now “standing down” but would face punishment through new economic sanctions rather than via military conflict.
During a brief address from the White House, the president made vague claims that General Qassem Soleimani planned "new attacks on American targets" before his killing. He also threatened new sanctions and repeated false claims that the Obama administration had paid for Iranian missiles in recent attacks.
Meanwhile, members of Congress heard from the administration about its justification for military strikes in Iran.
House Speaker Pelosi intends to introduce a resolution this week to prevent further military action from the president
Follow along with live coverage as it happened:
Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the Donald Trump administration.
Trump says John Bolton 'would know nothing about what we're talking about'
Donald Trump has told reporters at the White House that John Bolton, his former national security advisor and a potential key witness at his upcoming Senate impeachment trial, “knows nothing” about the Ukraine quid pro quo scandal, an apparent attempt to dismiss the significance of any testimony he might give before Congress.
The president was speaking during an Oval Office sitdown with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the wake of Bolton saying he would comply with any subpoena issued requesting his appearance in defiance of a White House order to stonewall the Democratic-led inquiry.
Trump again insisted his impeachment for withholding $391m (£302m) in congressionally-approved military aid from Ukraine as part of an attempt to extort a domestic political favour from Kiev was "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on our country".
Republicans and Democrats remain locked in disagreement over the format for the upcoming trial, with House speaker Nancy Pelosi still declining to hand over the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber until Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell agrees to terms both sides consider "fair".
Mitch McConnell says impeachment trial will proceed without witness deal
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell meanwhile says he has the votes to start Trump's impeachment trial as soon as Speaker Pelosi releases the documents, winning support from GOP senators to postpone a decision on calling witnesses.
The announcement on Tuesday was significant, enabling McConnell to bypass (for now) Democratic demands for new testimony as he launches the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. It could begin this week if Pelosi finally relents and sends the articles of impeachment on to the Senate.
But the speaker gave little indication of her next move. She cut short an impeachment discussion with her leadership team on Tuesday night at the Capitol when an aide handed her a note about the crisis unfolding in the Middle East. After learning of Iranian missile attacks on American military bases in Iraq from vice president Mike Pence, she asked Democrats to "pray," according to one lawmaker at the closed-door session.
Pelosi appears in no rush to transmit the articles of impeachment as Democrats push to hear from more witnesses while McConnell focuses Republicans on conforming to a strategy for speedy acquittal. But the Senate can't start the proceedings until the charges against Trump are sent.
"We have the votes," McConnell told reporters about his proposal that would lay out the rules for a trial and would be modeled after Bill Clinton's impeachment.
“All we are doing here is saying we are going to get started in exactly the same way 100 senators agreed to 20 years ago. What was good enough for President Clinton is good enough for President Trump.”
He said the question of new witnesses and documents will be addressed later "and not before the trial begins."
The contours of a Senate trial have been in dispute for weeks. Pelosi is delaying transmission of the articles to give Democrats time to press for testimony from Bolton and other new witnesses (a key point of divergence from the Clinton affair - all of the key witnesses had been heard from by this point in the equivalent proceedings in 1999).
McConnell has resisted their efforts and fully expects the trial to end with the GOP Senate majority voting to acquit the president of the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges and prevent his removal from office.
The GOP leader told senators at their closed-door lunch on Tuesday that he has support for his plan. It would start the trial first and postpone votes on witnesses until later in the process.
"He has 51 [votes], for sure,"' said Lindsey Graham, a top ally of the president, exiting the meeting. Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, 53-47.
Just four GOP senators would be needed to deny McConnell his majority, but he does indeed appear to have the votes locked in. GOP leaders were conducting a whip count on Tuesday to gauge support. Several senators have indicated they want to hear from Bolton and other witnesses, but they are nevertheless standing by McConnell's plan.
"I'm comfortable with that process," said Mitt Romney of Utah. "I'd like to hear from John Bolton and other witnesses with the right information, but that process will accommodate that."
Susan Collins of Maine has also said she supports McConnell's approach. Others say they are not sure they even need to hear from Bolton or other witnesses, blaming the House for not forcing them to testify.
"It's not that I don't want to hear from him," said Thom Tillis of North Carolina. "I want to hear from him when the House is willing to do their work and have the same agreement with the ambassador on their side of the Hill."
Bolton apparently compared the administration's actions toward Ukraine to a "drug deal" he wanted no part of, a shadow diplomacy being concocted by the acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, according to House testimony. He left the administration in September.
Democrats also want documents about the withheld aid to Ukraine that the White House refused to turn over to House investigators, defying congressional subpoenas.
With a 53-seat majority, McConnell has only loose control over the impeachment proceedings, where decisions on witnesses or documents can be made with a 51-vote majority.
Pressure will mount on senators up for re-election from swing states in 2020, including Collins, Tillis, Iowa GOP senator Joni Ernst and Colorado's Cory Gardner, who are being closely watched for their votes by a deeply divided country. Protesters are showing up at the Capitol.
McConnell deflected a question on Tuesday on whether Trump acted appropriately with Ukraine, saying he had nothing more to add on that issue. He acknowledged the votes on witnesses and documents will be "the most contentious" part of the proceedings. "There will be, I'm sure, intense discussion," he said.
The GOP leader has come under criticism for saying he was not an impartial juror but rather was working in total co-ordination with the White House on the trial strategy although Democrats similarly worked with Clinton's White House during his impeachment.
Nancy Pelosi says McConnell should publish rules resolution 'immediately'
"Sadly, Leader McConnell has made clear that his loyalty is to the president and not the Constitution," Speaker Pelosi wrote to colleagues late on Tuesday, arguing the process he is outlining "is not only unfair but designed to deprive Senators and the American people of crucial documents and testimony".
The speaker went on to refer to a document of compiled by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer outlining McConnell's various misleading claims regarding the Clinton impeachment trial "that are being used to justify the GOP’s decision to cover up witnesses and documentation that would fully expose the president’s wrongdoing".
She concluded her letter by urging McConnell to "immediately" publish a resolution outlining the rules of engagement for the upcoming trial, after which she would release the articles to him.
“It is important that he immediately publish this resolution," she wrote, "so that, as I have said before, we can see the arena in which we will be participating, appoint managers and transmit the articles to the Senate.”
Defiant Chuck Schumer vows to force Senate procedural votes
For his part, Schumer has called McConnell's plan a "trap" and a "cover-up" and has vowed to force votes anyway on demanding Bolton, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and other witnesses of interest be compelled to appear.
"Whoever heard of a trial without witnesses and documents?" the New York Democrat said at a news conference in DC yesterday, asking what Trump has to hide.
“If you are afraid of the facts, if you are afraid of what would come out, if you want to cover it up, even in something as weighty and serious as impeachment, then you say no witnesses and documents,” Schumer said.
"Witnesses and documents: fair trial. No witnesses and documents: cover- up. That simple sentence describes it all."
Attacking McConnell's "kick the can down the road" approach, he told Republicans: "You can run but you can't hide."
President ridiculed for tweeting 'All is well!' after Iran attacks US bases in Iraq
As the Iran crisis deepens, the president is being ridiculed for seeking to reassure Americans by tweeting “All is well!” ahead of a statement he is expected to make to the nation on Wednesday morning.
The phrase is currently trending on Twitter (as is #NoWarWithIran) and has quickly become a meme, proving Trump's absurdity can deliver humour in even the darkest of times.
Here's Jon Sharman's report on another extraordinary proclamation.
'An act of war': Trumpworld reacts to Iran missile attacks
As defence secretary Mark Esper ramps up the macho rhetoric by claiming the US didn't want to start a war with Iran "but we are prepared to finish one", the response from Trumpworld to last night's dramatic escalation of the tensions arising from the assassination of Qassem Soleimnai have been every bit as lacking in reason and moderation as you might have expected.
You can, incidentally, follow dedicated coverage of the Iran crisis with my colleague Samuel Osborne below.
House progressives pushing bills to block Trump securing further military funding
In DC, progressives House Democrats have moved quickly to call for a vote on legislation stopping Trump seeking funding to bankroll further military action against Iran, going beyond a vote expected later this week on reining in his authority over Congress on matters relating to armed conflict.
In addition to a resolution being put forward by Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq War veteran, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are pushing for additional bills to block Trump in the wake of the killing of General Soleimani.
The likes of Ro Khanna and Barbara Lee are behind measures blocking funding and repealing the authorisation of military force against Iraq, issued in 2002 and used as justification for last Friday's fatal airstrike, according to The Hill.
"In addition to the War Powers Resolution, we believe it is imperative to simultaneously pursue all avenues to prevent a disastrous war with Iran," Lee and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Mark Pocan and Pramila Jayapal said in a joint statement.
"Given the lack of any coherent strategy by the White House to de-escalate tensions and protect US troops, regional partners and innocent civilians, Congress must act swiftly to prevent another endless war," they added.
Here's Negar Mortazavi with some timely analysis on the current state of crisis.
Republican cabal introduces legislation to force Pelosi to hand over impeachment articles or see them dismissed
Back to impeachment, where a dozen Republican senators have introduced a resolution seeking to change Senate rules in order to empower the upper chamber to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Trump before Speaker Pelosi even sends them over from the House.
"The Constitution gives the Senate sole power to adjudicate articles of impeachment, not the House. If Speaker Pelosi is afraid to try her case, the articles should be dismissed for failure to prosecute and Congress should get back to doing the people’s business," said Missouri Republican Josh Hawley - the "brains" behind the idea - said in a statement.
His resolution would place a 25-day timeline on the House to send over the articles, after the expiration of which a senator could offer a motion to dismiss "with prejudice for failure by the House of Representatives to prosecute such articles" through a simple majority vote.
Those backing Hawley's suggestion include such luminaries as Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn and Ted Cruz.
"Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have made a mockery of our Constitution and abused impeachment for political gain. Now, they’re undermining the role of the Senate by attempting to dictate the terms of the Senate’s trial," Cruz said.
Trump Iran statement expected this morning as top Democrats demand answers
Here's a handy overview of where we're at right now, with no word yet on precisely what time the US president will address the nation.
Meanwhile, leading Democrats Schumer, Dick Durbin and Jack Reed have written to Esper seeking answers on what the administration's plan is for the growing conflict.
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