Trump news - live:‘Can you believe this?’ President rages at ‘garbage’ Democrat impeachment investigation
Nancy Pelosi announces that Democrats are starting proceedings to try to force Donald Trump from office
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After having the threat hanging over him for what has felt like almost the whole of his presidency, Donald Trump now finally faces a formal impeachment investigation.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, announced that she was beginning the inquiry in response to allegations that the president was trying to recruit a foreign head of state to fabricate dirt on Joe Biden, the frontrunner to face Mr Trump in next year’s election.
In a statement she said: “The actions of the Trump presidency have revealed the dishonourable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
It was a dramatic change of tack by Ms Pelosi, who has opposed efforts by her party colleagues to impeach the president.
But the controversy over Mr Trump’s mysterious July phone call to Volodymyr Zelensky, the efforts to keep a whistleblower’s complaint from Congress, and the suspicion that the president was trying to subvert American democracy - perhaps for a second time - served to change her mind.
The president himself punched back in characteristic fashion, unleashing a broadside of tweets that were by turn angry, insulting and boastful.
He reverted to some of his favourite catchphrases - “witch hunt”, “presidential harassment”; implied that efforts to hold him to account were tantamount to an attack on America - “so bad for our country”; and tweeted a re-election campaign video that featured him claiming that impeachment would help his poll numbers.
The impeachment process itself is likely to pass the lower chamber of Congress, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, where it needs a simple majority. But the Republican-controlled Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required for a conviction, looks virtually unattainable.
The Democrats will therefore hope that their dramatic gamble, 14 months before the presidential elections, pays off.
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She says the decision to withhold the whistleblower complaint is a "violation of law".
She says that Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, must hand over the complaint by the time he appears in front of the House intelligence committee for a hearing on Thursday.
Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry, saying "no one is above the law".
Donald Trump has wasted no time in lashing out on Twitter following the decision to start impeachment proceedings against him.
For good measure the president adds what has become one of his catchphrases:
Despite being trailed during the day, Pelosi's decision represents a significant change of heart from the Democratic leader. She has consistently resisted pressure from members of her party to start formal impeachment proceedings.
Andrew Buncombe has the story:
The impeachment announcement comes despite Trump and the Senate Republicans agreeing to release both a transcript of the phone call with the Ukrainian president Voldymyr Zelensky and the complaint about it, which was apparently filed by a US intelligence official.
Critics remained unimpressed. Former US attorney Preet Bharara tweeted:
The president has tweeted a campaign re-election video showing various Democrats calling for his impeachment as well as footage of one of his rallies where he is seen claiming that efforts to impeach him will backfire.
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