Trump news: Mueller report said to 'undoubtedly' contain evidence of conspiracy, as president rages over Jussie Smollett and Mexico
Nancy Pelosi calls William Barr's summary of the Mueller report 'arrogant' amid another day of chaos on Capitol Hill
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The Mueller report “undoubtedly” contains evidence of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia, according to Fox Business legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, contradicting the verdict of attorney-general William Barr and risking the president’s ire.
House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings has meanwhile warned of a looming “constitutional crisis” ahead as Democrats express growing frustration at what they see as Republican efforts to prevent the full release of the FBI special counsel’s 700-page report into his 22-month investigation.
For his part, President Trump has been busy on Twitter hitting out at an array of targets, from the media to Mexico, Jussie Smollett and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, whose resignation he has called for in response to the congressman's repeated allegations regarding conspiracy with the Kremlin.
A House Democratic aide who briefed reporters Thursday on condition of anonymity said Mr Barr does not intend to give Congress a complete copy of the report from special counsel Robert Mueller.
The aide said Mr Barr spoke with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler late Wednesday and indicated he was redacting grand jury information from the confidential report. While grand jury information is often confidential, it can be unsealed in some situations.
Criminals who worked for Trump
Show all 5The aide added Mr Nadler offered to work with Mr Barr to have the information unsealed.
During her weekly press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Mr Barr’s four-page synopsis “condescending” and “arrogant” and said Democrats need to draw their own conclusions about what Mr Mueller found.
The Democratic chairmen of six House committees have demanded that Mr Barr release the Mueller report to Congress by Tuesday.
Ms Pelosi also defended House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who faced calls Thursday from Republicans to resign over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia.
Additional reporting by AP. See The Independent’s live reporting from Washington on Thursday below.
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George Conway's trolling Trump again.
Top hashtag work here.
Poor Bobby Lewis watches Fox and Friends every morning for Media Matters.
What a hero. I can only imagine the psychological toll that must take.
The president is really going after his enemies' TV ratings today.
Over to you Joe Scarborough...
Little-known Florida mayor Wayne Messam has become the latest Democratic candidate to announce a presidential run in 2020, joining a very crowded field indeed.
He runs the town of Miramar, is the son of Jamaican immigrants and is a former college football star.
The EU has unanimously rejected Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory it captured in 1967, defying Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Trump signed a proclamation at the White House earlier this week recognising Israel's right to land otherwise largely considered occupied, bringing disapproval from a number of world leaders.
Here's our Europe correspondent, Jon Stone, in Brussels.
Felix Sater, property developer, career criminal, FBI informer, and a former business associate of Donald Trump, is due to give evidence before a US congressional committee this week with pursuit of the US president continuing, despite the end of the Mueller inquiry, writes our diplomatic editor, Kim Sengupta.
Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg is emerging as one of the most popular runners in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Donald Trump, not least for his bold and outspoken attacks on the hypocrisy of vice-president Mike Pence.
Hampered by an unpronounceable surname (It's "BOOT-edge-edge", his Twitter bio insists), the buzzword below will just never catch on.
Meanwhile Diamond and Silk, quite possibly the Donald's most unhinged supporters, have been rapping about another possible challenger, Beto O'Rourke, eating excrement.
The allusion is to an unconfirmed story in The Washington Post the candidate attempted to play a practical joke on his wife Amy by convincing her a stool retrieved from their child's nappy was really an avocado. Gross if true.
O'Rourke also liked to prank her with a remote-controlled cockroach in the kitchen and by leaping out on her in the shower in the style of Anthony Perkins in Psycho, according to the report, citing a family friend.
O'Rourke is currently polling third behind Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden among Democrats.
Too perfect.
Economist Stephen Moore, Trump nominee for the board of the Federal Reserve, owes $75,000 (£57,000) in unpaid federal taxes.
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