Impeachment hearing exposes 'absolute coverup by White House', as former top aide dodges questions

Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the Donald Trump administration.

Donald Trump's latest campaign rally saw him attempt to appeal to the Hispanic voters of New Mexico he alienated in 2016 at an event characterised by false statements and a series of interruptions by protesters - and flies.

Addressing supporters at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, Trump insisted that his energy policies have made the state wealthier and warning that the gains could disappear if an ambitious Democratic proposal known as the Green New Deal takes effect.

"The Democrats want to completely annihilate New Mexico's economy," claimed Trump, who boasted that an oil and gas boom during his administration has helped increase the state's revenues. "The Democrats will never get the chance because New Mexico will never give them that chance."

New Mexico is in the midst of an oil production boom that has boosted employment and spurred a state government spending spree from first-year Democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on public education, roadway projects and tax rebates for film productions.

The Green New Deal calls for virtual elimination by 2030 of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming and meeting 100 per cent of US power demand through renewable and zero-emission energy sources, including nuclear power. The proposal has broad support among Democratic activists and 2020 presidential contenders, putting it at the forefront of the party's sprawling presidential primary.

No Republican presidential candidate has won New Mexico since George W Bush in 2004 but Trump insisted he could do it: ''I think we're going to do great here. We're here because we really think we're going to turn this state and make it a Republican state." But he captured just 40 per cent of the state vote three years ago, as compared to Hillary Clinton's 48 per cent - secured without her even visiting the state during the 2016 campaign.

Over the course of another rambling sermon to the converted in the Albuquerque suburbs, the president also accused his opponents of wanting the US "to be at the mercy of rogue regimes” and to “confiscate your guns and eliminate your god-give right to self-defence”.

Falsely claiming Latino support for his border wall to shut off the southeastern states from Mexico, Trump risked further losing ground with Hispanic voters naturally opposed to his frequently racist anti-immigration rhetoric. Nearly 40 per cent of New Mexico's electorate is Spanish speaking and their endorsement of his plans for 500 miles of border wall can hardly be taken for granted.

The president joked about race and the MeToo movement in Rio Rancho ("We can't say this, but I'll say it anyway: You're better looking. Including the men!") before a pesky fly and those even peskier protesters disrupted his flow.

Here's Andrew Buncombe's report on another hot night in the south.

A few of the characters in attendance at Rio Rancho yesterday.

(Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty)

(Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty)

(Andres Leighton/AP)

(Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty)

(Tom Brenner/Reuters)

(Andres Leighton/AP)

(Cengiz Yar/Getty)

Trump may bluster about his chances of turning New Mexico red in 2020 but, according to a new poll from AARP, he's got a fight on his hands in the key swing states of North Carolina, Arizona, Maine and Colorado, where he is currently projected to lose against Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, should the latter ultimately secure his party's nomination.

Speaking at the White House yesterday in the company of the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Trump made the worrying claim that the US is ready for war, talking tough on Iran before ultimately concluding that Saudi Arabia should be left to defend itself without foreign intervention.

He also backed away from the idea of making a state visit to North Korea and fumbled a question on auto strikes.

He had earlier made a memorable gaffe in handing out America's highest civilian honour to baseball legend Mariano Rivera, misremembering the dates of the New York Yankees star's career by a cool four decades.

Here's Andrew Buncombe on that Iran threat.

New York state prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed eight years of Trump's personal and corporate tax returns, according to The New York Times.

The subpoena was issued late last month, after investigators opened up a criminal inquiry into the role that Trump and his family played in making hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to cover up the tycoon's alleged extramarital affairs in the run up to the 2016 election.

Clark Mindock has the full story.

On Twitter, Trump has been aggressively calling for resignations at The New York Times after taking issue with its latest sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, which has seen the latter facing calls for his impeachment.

You will recall that Trump's nominee to the bench was subjected to a dramatic confirmation hearing a year ago when accuser Christine Blasey Ford, a California psychology professor, testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in 1982.

The same man now stands accused of exposing himself to a young woman at a party at Yale during his student days. 

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman and Trump apologist Lindsey Graham has also been at it, assuring their boy he won't be prosecuted over the "scurrilous accusations".

Lily Puckett has more.

Also on Twitter, Trump has been griping about accusations he has been profiteering from the presidency by likening his situation to Barack Obama's lucrative Netflix deal (entirely disingenously, that tie-up being agreed long after the 44th president left office).

Hard to believe that whining about losing “BILLIONS of DOLLARS for the privilege of being your President” will endear him to anybody.

Trump has also pointedly corrected an error he made on stage in New Mexico last night, when he referred to the California criminal gang MS-13 as "MS-3"...

...and absolutely phoned in one of his approval ratings tweets in the laziest fashion possible.

Here's Lowenna Waters on the "Obama Netflix" meme.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee has launched a corruption investigation into Trump's transportation secretary Elaine Chao over accusations she abused her position to enrich herself and her family. Her husband, incidentally, is none other than Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

Chao has been accused of abusing her position to the advantage of Foremost Group, a shipping firm founded by her father James Chao, having previously provoked outrage by neglecting to sell the shares she held in Vulcan Materials, a major construction company, despite signing an ethics agreement ordering her to do so when she took office.

Foremost has received hundreds of millions of dollars in loan commitments from a bank run by the Chinese government and reports of Chao and her father planning to travel to China in October 2017 and again in April 2018 to meet with officials on the matter has aroused the committee's interest in possible conflict of interest violations.

“The committee is examining your misstatements of fact, your actions that may have benefitted the company in which you continued to hold shares, and your compliance with ethics and financial disclosure requirements,” Oversight committee chairman Elijah Cummings and congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, wrote in a letter to Chao requesting documents.

"Media attacks targeting the secretary’s family are stale and only attempt to undermine her long career of public service,” a loyal transportation department spokesman countered.

(Chris Kelponis/AFP)

Speaking of graft, 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren labelled the president "corruption in the flesh" at a campaign event held beneath the magnificent marble arch of New York City's Washington Square Park.

The location for her speech was chosen in part because of its close proximity to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, site of a tragic 1911 fire that claimed the lives of 15 mostly Jewish and Italian women trapped inside because of lacklustre health and safety standards.

Clark Mindock was there for the unveiling of Warren's latest plan.