Trump news: President rages over impeachment talk as Nancy Pelosi attacks immigration hypocrisy over Melania
President posts tweet claiming 'the case is closed' after Robert Mueller's surprise public statement
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Donald Trump is facing rejuvenated calls for his impeachment by House Democrats following FBI special counsel Robert Mueller's surprise statement on Wednesday in which he suggested only Justice Department policy prevented his team from charging a sitting president with a crime.
Mr Trump was quick to declare “The case is closed!” on Twitter but 2020 challengers Kamala Harris and Cory Booker called on Congress to hold the president to account while House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has so far attempted to resist “divisive” impeachment proceedings, said: “Nothing is off the table”.
Quickly moving on to a fresh controversy, Mr Trump has been forced to deny asking the US Navy to have its destroyer the USS John S McCain, named after the late senator and Trump antagonist, kept “out of sight” during his recent four-day trip to Japan.
The Pentagon’s acting chief, Patrick Shanahan, said he never authorised attempts to make sure Mr Trump would not see the USS John S. McCain at its homeport in Japan and would have his chief of staff investigate. Trump said he was not involved in the matter.
Mr Trump, who long feuded with Mr McCain, told reporters at the White House that he “was not a big fan” of the Arizona Republican and onetime presidential nominee “in any way, shape or form.” But, Mr Trump added, “I would never do a thing like that.”
“Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him, OK? And they were well-meaning, I will say,” he said, while insisting he was kept in the dark.
The order that a Navy destroyer be kept out of sight reflected what appeared to be an extraordinary White House effort to avoid offending an unpredictable president known for holding a grudge, including a particularly bitter one against Mr McCain.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that a US Indo-Pacific Command official wrote an email to Navy and Air Force officials about Mr Trump’s Memorial Day weekend visit, including instructions for preparations for the USS Wasp, where he was to speak.
Mr Trump tweeted late Wednesday that he “was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan.”
Still, he added Thursday that he “was very, very angry with McCain because he killed health care. I was not a big fan of John McCain in any way, shape or form.”
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Here’s more video from Donald Trump’s wild press stop before departing for the UK, in which he attacked Robert Mueller as being “totally conflicted” -
↵Here's more from me on Jill Biden's comments about her husband and the accusations of inappropriate contact he faces:
Donald Trump appears to be watching Fox News and live-tweeting while on his trip to the UK:
Donald Trump’s former 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton has spoken out about the president’s behaviour on Thursday, writing in a tweet, “The president hasn't just refused to condemn a foreign power that attacked our democracy. He's also failed to protect the country's voting systems against future attacks.”
She added, “He betrays his oath every day.”
Senator Mark Warner has spoken out about Robert Mueller’s statement yesterday. Video below -
Elizabeth Warren has come out swinging in an interview with The View, saying on Thursday, “If [Donald Trump] were anyone other than president of the United States, he would be in handcuffs and indicted.”
An important point made here: It appears Donald Trump doesn’t actually understand how the impeachment process works…
Hillary Clinton has slammed Facebook for allowing doctored videos of Nancy Pelosi to go viral across the platform, despite being altered to make the House speaker appear disoriented and slower than usual.
The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee called out the social media company during a commencement address at Hunter College in New York on Thursday, while addressing the spread of fake news online.
“The big social media platforms know their systems are being manipulated by foreign and domestic actors to sow division, promote extremism and spread misinformation — but they won’t get serious about cleaning up their platforms unless consumers demand it,” she said, before digging into Facebook.
Story to come...
Donald Trump has announced he landed in Colorado and hopes to have his commencement speech broadcast on television -
The president is greeting members of the military now ahead of his commencement speech:
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