Trump news: President suffers double impeachment blow after court orders tax returns release and key witness agrees to testify
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has suffered a double blow after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled his accountants, Mazars USA, must turn over eight years of his financial records to the House impeachment inquiry and his ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, confirmed he will now testify before Congress, defying a White House pledge to stonewall the Ukraine investigation.
At a campaign rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night, the president attacked “America-hating socialist” and local Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and also laid into Joe Biden, his son Hunter and House speaker Nancy Pelosi over the ongoing probe.
The House has meanwhile subpoenaed energy secretary Rick Perry and the two business associates of Rudy Giuliani arrested in Florida on Thursday, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, as the ex-US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, appears on Capitol Hill today to tell her side of the story.
Mr Trump on Friday said that he is not sure if Mr Giuliani is still his attorney — a statement he made on the White House lawn, sparking a flurry of reporters to contact Mr Giuliani to ask if he had a better idea of the circumstances (he said he is still representing him).
Mr Trump's Minneapolis rally ended up garnering more attention than just for his attacks on those prominent Democrats, too, with clips of him seeming to imitate a love affair between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
The president is choosing to spend yet another evening away from Washington on Friday, too, and will hold yet another rally in Louisiana to prop up two GOP candidates for governor there.
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Inside the testimony from ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador told investigators that she was fired from her post in spite of the State Department saying that they believed she had "done nothing wrong".
The claim came during closed door meeting, and could further fuel calls for the impeachment of Mr Trump.
In the interview, Ms Yovanovitch warned that personal gain and private influence have corrupted diplomats' judgement. In the process, the sentiment taking over could drive talent away from public service and undermine national interests, she said, according to the New York Times.
A new Reuters analysis has found that the United States has sent back more than 13,000 migrant minors to Mexico just this year, as they await their asylum cases in US courts.
The number reportedly includes more than 400 infants.
The removals were made as a part of the new Migrant Protection Protocols — also known as Remain in Mexico — in which Central American asylum seekers are sent back to Mexico instead of waiting in the US for their cases to be processed.
Here is the full testimony of former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's prepared remarks, first obtained by the Washington Post.
Former Ukrainian ambassador... by acohnthehill on Scribd
Rock climbers in Kentucky have reportedly scaled a wooden replica of Donald Trump's steel border wall — which he claims is "impossible to climb" — in as little as a minute.
The replica was built by Rick Weber, a 75-year-old retired engineer, and active rock climber. He then invited mountain climbers to come attempt to scale the 18-foot structure.
Mr Weber is holding a competition this coming weekend, but several climbers have already scaled the replica — including an 8-year-old girl.
The Pentagon has called on Turkey to stop its military offensive, which was made possible in part by the US pulling out of the region.
In a phone call between Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar and Defense secretary Mark Esper, the US "made it clear that the United States opposes Turkey's uncoordinated actions," according to a statement from Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.
If you managed to miss this answer that Elizabeth Warren gave during an LGBTQ town hall last night, we sincerely feel bad for you — but have a solution.
Click away at this link. It's brilliant.
In some further news about Elizabeth Warren and the Democratic nomination process, the Massachusetts senator's fundraising style is apparently scaring some Democrats.
She has said she will continue to stay away from big-dollar fundraisers. The decision has been divisive.
While some say that it is a good idea to tap into Democratic enthusiasm to build a massive grassroots operation, others fear it could mean electoral losses if the Democratic Party is unable to compete against Republicans and Trump (who has raised more money than any other candidate in American history, at least at this point in time).
The first general election debates have been announced for next year, with the first to be held at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in September.
Mark it on your calendar: 29 September 2020 will see the first of three general election presidential debates.
Who will be on the stage? Who can say (though likely Trump).
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