Trump impeachment news: Democrats release damning report accusing president of obstruction, as he has tense exchanges with world leaders at Nato summit
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump sparred with Emmanuel Macron during a televised bilateral meeting at the two-day Nato summit in London, as House investigators released an explosive report on the impeachment inquiry back home in Washington.
It was a whirlwind news cycle during the president’s visit to the UK: as Mr Trump met with world leaders overseas, House investigators released their report finding “a months-long effort by President Trump to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election”.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said the House had "overwhelming evidence of the president’s misconduct" and suggested the president's actions posed "a threat to the integrity of the upcoming election" as Mr Triump meanwhile denounced the timing of the next phase of the process, arguing it has been scheduled to embarrass him.
Mr Trump, who arrived in London on late Monday for two days of meetings, called the trip “one of the most important journeys that we make as president” before departing Washington and noted Democrats had long known about the meeting.
The president lashed out at Democrats again soon after arriving in the UK. He said on Twitter that he had read the Republican report designed to counter Democrats’ impeachment case on his flight. The report called Mr Trump’s hesitation to provide military aid to Ukraine “entirely prudent.”
“Prior to landing I read the Republicans Report on the Impeachment Hoax. Great job! Radical Left has NO CASE. Read the Transcripts", Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “Shouldn’t even be allowed. Can we go to Supreme Court to stop?”
It was not immediately clear under what legal grounds the president was calling for the high court’s involvement.
Mr Trump’s trip comes amid ongoing quarrels over defence spending by NATO allies and widespread anxiety over the president’s commitment to the alliance.
The president said his trip would be focused on “fighting for the American people".
But in the more than two months that the impeachment inquiry has been underway, he has constantly drifted back to what he frames as the Democrats’ unfair effort to overturn the results of his 2016 election.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on the constitutional grounds for impeachment before Mr Trump wraps up at the NATO meeting.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Parents of Harry Dunn to protest Trump at Buckingham Palace
The family of British teenager Harry Dunn say they will “make their feelings known” to Trump as the president visits Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen and other world leaders this evening.
The 19-year-old was killed outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on 27 August after his motorbike collided with a car outside, the latter vehicle driven by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an American diplomat who was allowed to return to the US after claiming immunity.
Matt Drake reports.
‘You have bad information!’
CNN’s Chris Cuomo has been sticking it to conspiracy-minded Republican congressmen again on live TV for pushing comprehensively debunked theories about Ukraine's (nonexistent) involvement in hacking the 2016 US election.
This time Randy Weber was called out for suggesting CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that features in Trump’s regular claims about Ukraine, was partially owned by a Ukrainian.
The executive in question, Dmitri Alperovitch, is an American citizen who was born in Moscow, as Cuomo was quick to point out.
Jens Stoltenberg reflects on breakfast with Trump
Rather him than me...
Trump has naturally not had much time for Twitter today due to his Nato commitments but has been sneaking out Matt Gaetz, Devin Nunes, Jeanine Pirro and Newt Gingrich retweets on the sly, you will be delighted to hear.
He has just tweeted this though, off the back of his Macron conversation.
Trump says next G7 will be at Camp David, calls Adam Schiff 'deranged human being' and says he 'grew up with a complex'
The president do his third press Q&A of the day, this time alongside Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. He says the next G7 will be held at Camp David in Maryland - after being forced to drop plans to host it at his Doral golf resort in Miami - and has been busy deriding Adam Schiff and the impeachment inquiry.
He also claimed he would "love" to have his Cabinet testify. Hmmm.
Trump also declared he thinks about climate change "all the time", which is not the same as saying he believes in it.
His claim not to follow the stock market is especially laughable.
President continues to turn screw over Nato member state contributions
Trump is continuing to hammer on about Nato members not meeting their two per cent GDP target - attempting to catch Trudeau out by asking him the exact number of Canada's contribution. The PM was too smart for him, however, declaring 1.4 per cent and promising to improve on it.
Courts orders Deutsche Bank, Capital One to turn over Trump financial records after upholding House subpoena
A federal appeals court in New York has upheld the legality of congressional subpoenas seeking Trump's banking records but said sensitive personal information should be protected.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued the ruling, with judge Debra Ann Livingston saying in a partial dissent that the lower court should take a longer look at the "serious questions" raised by the case and give the parties time to negotiate.
The court said the application by the president and his children to block the subpoenas was properly denied by a judge this year.
The House Financial Services and Intelligence committees have asked Deutsche Bank and Capital One to turn over records related to Trump's business ventures. The lawyers for the congressional committees say they need access to documents from the banks to investigate possible "foreign influence in the US political process" and possible money laundering from abroad. Trump and three of his children challenged the subpoenas.
In May, US district judge Edgardo Ramos said Trump and his company were "highly unlikely" to succeed in proving that the subpoenas were unlawful and unconstitutional.
The 2nd Circuit agreed though it said the lower court should implement a procedure protecting sensitive personal information. It also gave litigants a limited chance to object to disclosure of certain documents.
Deutsche Bank has lent Trump's real estate company millions of dollars over the years.
North Korea says it has 'Christmas gift' for America
Kim Jong-un is pushing for sanctions concessions before the end of year - despite continuing its missile testing unabated - and has issued a sinister message for the Trump White House in time for the festive season.
Adam Withnall reports.
House Democrats release intense trailer for next phase of impeachment inquiry
Forget Black Widow or No Time to Die, this is the only blockbuster trailer you need today. Starring Bill Taylor, Marie Yovanovitch, Lt Col Alexander Vindman, Gordon Sondland and Dr Fiona Hill.
The president of France fact-checked Donald Trump’s claims about European ISIS fighters during a tense meeting between the two world leaders at the NATO summit in London.
Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that, while ISIS fighters from Europe are “a tiny minority of the overall problem”, the majority of those detained in Syria are not “mostly from Europe” as Mr Trump has previously claimed.
The contentious exchange reflected an apparent rift between the French and US presidents over how to deal with the nearly 10,000 prisoners held in Syria following Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from the region.
Story to come...
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