Trump news: Republicans attempt to stonewall impeachment hearing as witnesses outline damning evidence to remove president
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has claimed victory after Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz released his report claiming that the FBI did not pursue a politically motivated investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign — but that agents did tend to favour damaging evidence over exculpatory evidence as the investigation continued.
The report was released as House Judiciary Committee presented and reviewed the evidence accumulated so far in the impeachment inquiry, with charges against the president expected to be drawn up by the end of the week ahead of a potential pre-Christmas vote in the House of Representatives.
During the hearing, Democrats sought to impress upon the American people that the evidence against Mr Trump was nearly undeniable.
Republicans, meanwhile, did their best to throw the hearing off the traicks and raise as many distractions as possible.
The president is meanwhile under fire for hosting pardoned war criminals - army first lieutenant Clint Lorance and major Mathew Golsteyn - at a Florida Republican Party fundraising dinner over the weekend.
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Steve Castor says "it's too early" to say whether Donald Trump viewed Joe Biden as a frontrunner in the 2020 elections. The president was frequently tweeting attacks about the former vice president as he was leading in all national polls.
Several Republicans are now interrupting in the midst of questioning, with Louie Gohmert and Matt Gaetz repeatedly questioning whether it's appropriate to have Barry Berke question the witnesses following his testimony earlier in the hearing.
Republicans are continuing to interrupt as Barry Berke questions Steve Castor.
Meanwhile, The Independent's Andrew Feinberg caught up with Democrat Steve Cohen during the break. Here's what he had to say about the Republican interruptions:
“It’s performance art, it’s frustration, it’s desperation, and it’ll get worse as the day goes on. it’s the only attack they’ve got because they can’t really question the facts.”
Steve Castor says "I think it's ambiguous" when asked whether the White House transcript of Donald Trump's 25 July phone call with Ukraine shows the president asking his counterpart to investigate Joe Biden.
Daniel Goldman responds "I don't think there's any other way to read the words on the paper".
Breaking news: The long-awaited Inspector General report has just been released in the midst of the impeachment hearings into Donald Trump. The report can be viewed here.
The Republicans have once again interrupted, this time because they cannot see the slides being presented to the witness - even though Barry Berke read it aloud to the committee members.
The Republicans are calling for a point of order ruling on whether Barry Berke is "badgering the witness".
Some analysis from The Independent's Andrew Feinberg as he watches Republicans continuing to interrupt the proceedings in the hearing room:
Various Republicans (Matt Gaetz, Jim Sensenbrenner, Doug Collins) are attempting to object to the manner in which Berke is questioning Steve Castor. Nadler is not entertaining their “points of order” since they don’t have standing to object, but it’s worth noting that had President Trump sent an attorney to participate in these hearings, that person might have had the standing to do so.
Steve Castor is insisting the Trump administration is complying with the impeachment inquiry. However, Barry Berke is walking through countless examples in which the White House directed officials and key witnesses not to come, including Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who defied those orders by complying with a congressional subpoena.
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