Trump news: President says 'Afghanistan is safe in comparison' to Chicago as key impeachment witness defies subpoena
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Your support makes all the difference.During a speech in Chicago to police brass from across the US, Donald Trump attacked the city's police chief who is boycotting the visit from the president, who used his address to law enforcement to blame so-called "sanctuary" cities for violent crime rates.
Mr Trump accused Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson of "not doing his job" in a city that the president has often ridiculed as a "war zone" for its high murder rate. There have been 425 homicides in Chicago so far this year.
He also said Chief Johnson is putting "criminals and illegal aliens before the city of Chicago" and that "sanctuary" cities are knowingly releasing jailed immigrants accused of violent crime.
His appeal to law enforcement arrived that morning after he was roundly booed during Game 5 of baseball’s World Series in DC on Sunday, with fans of the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros chanting “Lock him up!” as “Veterans for Impeachment” signs were held aloft by spectators, prompting the president to leave the stadium early.
His unwelcome appearance at the game followed what should have been a triumphant moment for his administration in the announcement of the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a US-led raid that saw the terror group leader cornered in a dead-end tunnel in Syria. The president assured the world the terrorist had died “crying and screaming”.
In a Monday press conference, the president's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mick Milley said he doesn't know where Mr Trump got that account of the operation.
The president shared a photo on Twitter of an Army Delta force dog that was critical in the operation, according to Mr Trump. The dog's name is still classified. General Milley said it returned to its military unit.
When leading Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer demanded to know why Congress had not been briefed on the operation in advance at a time when the White House’s approach to foreign policy is already under intense scrutiny, vice president Mike Pence squirmed and struggled to answer the question on Fox News.
Mr Trump later explained that the administration was going to notify Congress but "we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before. There’s no country in the world that leaks like we do, and Washington is a leaking machine."
Follow along as it happened below.
The president hinted he may release footage of the raid after describing it as “something really amazing to see”.
Donald Trump described watching the death of Islamic State leader Bakr al-Baghdadi “as though you were watching a movie” over the weekend, providing key details of the secretive raid during a press conference.
Trump's new national security adviser Robert O'Brien - just weeks into the job - has already found himself hauled onto Meet the Press to deny the extent of the administration's bond with Russia after the Kremlin was tipped off about the Isis raid when Congress wasn't.
Welcome aboard Bob, you'll do just fine.
Adam Schiff said during a Monday morning press conference that “each time the White House steps in front of Congress getting documents” and witness interviews, “they will be building a very powerful case” of obstruction against Donald Trump.
“They are merely building an obstruction case against the president,” the House Intelligence chairman said. He also condemned Republicans continuing to defend the president, saying: “Where is their duty to this institution, where is their duty to the Constitution, where is their respect to the rule of law?”
A top aide to Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, who sat in on the phone call with Ukraine that’s now at the heart of an impeachment inquiry, declined to testify before Congress on Monday.
An attorney for Charles Kupperman, the deputy to ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton, said he could not testify before House committees investigating the president after the White House ordered him not to appear before Congress, citing executive privilege.
Mr Kupperman was subpoenaed by the Democratic-led committees to discuss the phone call in which Mr Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into one of his political rivals, Joe Biden, as well as the origins of the Russian investigation. A whistleblower complaint alleged the White House withheld crucial financial aid to the country while pressing Ukraine to conduct the probes.
Story to come...
For Indy100, Greg Evans constrasts Trump's treatment by the World Series crowd with his predecessor's reception at Game 2 of the NBA playoffs between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors in June.
Here's my story on Charles Kupperman, the former deputy to ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton, and his failure to comply with a Congressional subpoena earlier this morning:
The Independent's Harry Cockburn has more on that photo featuring Donald Trump and his top military aides, along with Vice President Mike Pence, as they were reportedly overseeing the raid that led to the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
Donald Trump is speaking at a police convention in Chicago. He has already attacked the city's policy chief, slammed the mayor of Chicago and even actor Jussie Smollett.
We'll have more quotes and video incoming momentarily.
The president is asking the room: "Does anyone in the room have a 401K that is down?" then asked "Does anyone in the room have a 401K that is up?" to cheers.
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