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 mispronounces Mike Pence's name

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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Key Points

• US ‘locked and loaded’ after drone strike
• Not so fast, Mr President, says Sanders
• Trump backs Kavanaugh over new allegation
• President says US 'will help allies' after Saudi oil attack
• Elton John declined offer to perform at Trump presidential inauguration
• Trump furious as it emerges Kavanaugh's alleged victim 'doesn't remember'
• President claims Iran told 'very big lie' over drone shooting

[16 September 2019 20:20 · Lily Puckett]

New York state prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed eight years of Donald Trump's personal and corporate tax returns, according to a new report from the New York Times. The subpoena was issued late last month, after investigators opened up a criminal inquiry into the role that the president and his family had in making hush payments in the run up to the 2016 election.

Clark Mindock has more: 

[16 September 2019 20:50 · Lily Puckett]

Trump is going after New Mexico in 2020, according to a deep dive from Politico. The state hasn't veered red since 1992, but apparently the president believes he's the right candidate to change that. Despite launching his original campaign on racism gear towards Mexicans, he's apparently expecting to "woo Hispanics." Read more here:

[16 September 2019 20:57 · Lily Puckett]

That's all for today! Thanks for following along.