President orders 'blind unilateral escalation' in Iran after attack halves Saudi oil production, as he defends Kavanaugh amid impeachment calls
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Donald Trump has been warned he cannot declare war without congressional support following the bombing of Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
The strikes, which destroyed half of the kingdom’s oil production capacity, were claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
On Sunday night Mr Trump said the US was “locked and loaded” and believed it knew who was truly behind the attack.
But Bernie Sanders, who is gunning for the Democratic nomination for president, tweeted: “Mr. Trump, the Constitution of the United States is perfectly clear. Only Congress—not the president—can declare war.
“And Congress will not give you the authority to start another disastrous war in the Middle East just because the brutal Saudi dictatorship told you to.”
It came hours before Mr Trump was due to hold a rally in New Mexico, a state he lost in 2016 but hopes to flip in the 2020 election.
In other news about his possible 2020 opponents, Elizabeth Warren was endorsed by the Working Families Party, an influential progressive group. She'll hold a rally in New York City this evening.
The president also spent some time defending Brett Kavanaugh amid a confusing new set of allegations concerning his behaviour in college, as well as his confirmation process.
As of now, all Democratic frontrunners are following in Ms Warren's lead to call for the Supreme Court Justice's impeachment - except Joe Biden, who simply requests that the matter is looked into.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, maintains that Mr Kavnaugh should sue his accusers.
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He is ranting about the Mueller investigation, and suggesting that Democrats are corrupt. For some reason he's put his own name in quote marks.
The president's claim about the cost of the investigation appears to be incorrect, though. Reports from August, based on Justice Department figures, said the total came to about $32m (£26m).
This is a timely piece of analysis by our correspondent Negar Mortazavi.
With Donald Trump's planned talks with the Taliban collapsing, and following the latest Democratic debate, all sides seem to agree on the need to end America's longest war. But the options for doing so come at a cost...
Iran has said president Hassan Rouhani will not meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN general assembly later this month.
The White House had teased the possibility of a meeting between the leaders, following rising tensions.
"Neither is such an event on our agenda, nor will it happen. Such a meeting will not take place," Iran foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried by state TV.
Officials in Tehran have repeatedly rejected a meeting and any talks with Washington while Iran is subject to sanctions, which Mr Trump re-imposed after withdrawing last year from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Additional reporting by Reuters
US drug company Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy as it faces more than 2,500 lawsuits worth billions of dollars, in relation to its alleged role in America’s opioid crisis, writes Harry Cockburn.
The company, owned by the Sackler family, manufactured the opioid-based drug OxyContin – marketed as a narcotic painkiller and which has been blamed for a sharp rise in addiction, prescription drug abuse and fatal overdoses.
The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Donald Trump has tried to tackle the opioid crisis with extra funding and other measures, and has warned the government may sue drug companies.
Donald Trump has claimed the US doesn’t need oil and gas from the Middle East but will help its allies.
He tweeted: “Because we have done so well with energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr President!), we are a net energy exporter, and now the number one energy producer in the world.
“We don’t need Middle Eastern oil and gas, and in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our allies!”
North Korea has claimed diplomatic talks with the US could resume in a "few weeks", but said it would not consider abandoning its nuclear weapons unless external threats are fully removed - a reiteration of its long-held position.
A statement on Monday attributed to a North Korean foreign ministry official said the upcoming working-level talks would be decisive in determining the fate of the country's diplomacy with Washington, which has faltered despite historic meetings between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump.
Talks collapsed in February over disagreements on sanctions relief in exchange for disarmament measures.
Pyongyang's statement said discussions of North Korea's denuclearisation would only be possible when "threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our development are clearly removed beyond all doubt".
Experts have told The Independent in the past that US and North Korean officials disagree on what the term "denuclearisation" really means and that both sides "want the impossible".
Additional reporting by AP
Mr Trump is now calling on the Federal Reserve to make a “big interest rate drop, stimulus” ahead of a meeting this week.
Elton John declined Donald Trump’s offer to perform at his 2016 presidential inauguration because he felt it was inappropriate as a British National.
Mr Trump had been hoping Sir Elton would croon him into the presidency, writes Maggie Haberman.
He had gone so far as to tell people it was happening even though the singer had not yet agreed to such a performance.
(Getty)
Not really Trump news, but worth noting...
People visiting beaches on the southeastern US coast should be wary of potentially dangerous rip currents caused by Hurricane Humberto, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has warned.
The storm has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane and by early on Monday, it had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
Humberto will bring large swells to the northwestern Bahamas and southeastern US coast for several days, the NHC said.
The National Weather Service issued advisories warning of high rip current risks until Monday evening at beaches from northeast Florida to North Carolina.
Rip currents are narrow channels of water that move away from shore at high speed, posing a drowning threat to swimmers.
Additional reporting by AP
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