Trump news: President asked about Ukraine 'investigations', impeachment hearings told as Democrats reject effort to force whistleblower testimony
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Your support makes all the difference.The House impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump is beginning its first public hearings with Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, and State Department official George Kent. Both witnesses delivered joint-testimony to Congress as the president derides the process as a “partisan sham”.
Mr Trump has meanwhile reportedly been threatening to fire his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney over his recent blunders. He also previously considered axing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the US intelligence community, over his handling of the whistle-blower complaint about his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, as senior Republicans insist they will not be watching the hearings and Mr Trump hosts his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday, progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is calling for the resignation of senior Trump aide Stephen Miller over racist emails he sent to the right-wing news site Breitbart, in which he advocated white nationalist ideologies.
Following a meeting between the two leaders, Mr Trump repeated to reporters at a press conference that the day's public impeachment hearings are a "witch hunt" and a "joke".
"I haven't watched, I haven't watched for one minute because I've been with the president which is much more important as far as I'm concerned," Mr Trump said.
But the leaders were at odds following their controversial summit, to which five Senators were invited, discussing Turkey's cease-fire against Kurdish forces in Syria, as well as a two-day $100b trade deal and Turkey's acquisition of Russian anti-aircraft weapons.
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Ohio Republican Jim Jordan is speaking, claiming Donald Trump was evaluating whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in fact "a reformer" before releasing the security assistance.
The new explanation is not supported by any public evidence available.
Vermont Democrat Peter Welch says he would like Donald Trump to testify before the House committee leading an impeachment inquiry against him:
"I'd be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there."
The House Foreign Affairs committee has posted the following video from earlier in the impeachment hearing:
Florida Val Demings asks both impeachment witnesses where Rudy Giuliani was "promoting US national interests or policy in Ukraine".
"I don't think so", William Taylor responds.
"No, he was not", George Kent adds.
Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi notes that William Taylor used the term "concern" at least 13 times in his opening statement.
"Can you rule out the possibility that these irregular channels of diplomacy are being used in other countries where we conduct foreign policy?" he asks.
Mr Taylor says he does not know of another channel that has "Giuliani guidance".
George Kent also says "some of the language in the call was a cause for concern".
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is thanking impeachment witnesses William Taylor and George Kent for attempting "to stay out of the fray" by delivering evidence on what they heard "without offering additional commentary".
"The story that you have shared today in your experiences ... is a troubling one," Mr Schiff says.
He says the committee was informed on 9 September that a whistleblower complaint was withheld from Congress but delivered to the White House.
"It was less than 48 hours later that the military aid would be released."
Florida Democrat Val Demings has tweeted out a moment from her line of questioning:
Adam Schiff has concluded this portion of the hearing. The impeachment witnesses have left and the House is taking a brief recess before taking up a motion to have the whistleblower testify, which was raised earlier by a Republican member.
Democrats just successfully thwarted an effort by Republicans to call the whistle blower in to testify before the committee.
The original measure was introduced by Republicans, but tabled by Democrats.
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