Trump news: President claims Adam Schiff is an 'informant' while slamming 'phony' Emoluments Clause in rambling Cabinet meeting
'I was willing to do this thing for free,' president claims after reversing decision to host G7 at his private resort
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Donald Trump has complained after pulling back his announcement that the next G7 summit of world leaders would be held at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, raging that the media and his Democratic opposition concerned about conflict of interest failed to mention that “NO PROFITS would be taken”.
On the Sunday talk show circuit, the president’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney defended the president's original plan by arguing he is “in the hospitality business” while ex-Republican congressman Justin Amash accused him of treating US troops “as paid mercenaries” by relocating them to Iraq and Saudi Arabia rather than bringing them home from war-torn Syria.
The president lashed out Monday at critics who prompted him to move next year's Group of Seven summit from his private golf club in Florida, claiming he would have hosted it for free and now it will end up costing taxpayers "a fortune."
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Mr Trump said it would have been the greatest G-7 ever if held at his Doral resort outside Miami, but "Democrats went crazy" with criticisms that he would have violated the "phony" emoluments clause in the Constitution banning presidents from receiving gifts from foreign countries.
"I was willing to do this for free," Mr Trump said Monday, comparing it to his decision not to take his presidential salary. "It will cost a fortune for the country."
He brushed aside the criticism that hosting the summit would have been one big promotion for his brand.
Mr Trump said: "You don't think I get enough promotion? I get more promotion than any human being that's ever lived."
The president reversed course Saturday on hosting the G-7 at Doral after Republicans joined Democrats in raising alarm.
His acting chief of staff said that the president had realised that "it looks lousy" to steer business to his own property.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton has meanwhile posted a ruthless Cold War-era parody of his letter to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, in which Mr Trump had begged Mr Erdogan not to carpet bomb America’s Kurdish allies by imploring: “Don’t be a tough guy, don’t be a fool!”
Mr Mulvaney said last week that Doral was "far and away" the best venue because of its location near the Miami airport and separate buildings to host each country's delegation.
He listed more than a half dozen states visited in the screening process, including Tennessee, North Carolina, Hawaii and Utah. But convention, economic development and tourism officials in several of those states said they were unaware of any visits, and some didn't even know their state was in the running.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Also over the weekend, Democratic congresswoman and progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez formally endorsed Bernie Sanders for the 2020 presidential nomination at a rally in Queens, New York City.
Our boy Chris Riotta was there.
Republican senator Mitt Romney - who has emerged as an unlikely thorn in Trump's side in recent weeks - is being ridiculed online after it emerged he operates a shadow Twitter acount under the alter ego "Pierre Delecto".
Here's Louis Staples on Pierre's big secret.
What's going on with the impeachment inquiry? I hear you cry.
House Republicans are expected to push for a vote today on a resolution to censure Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, one of the panels investigating impeachment. Republicans, who are a minority in the House, are taking issue with how Schiff is conducting the investigation.
"The very least we can do is censure him," House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures. This was the Trumpster's reaction:
On Tuesday, Bill Taylor, the diplomat who expressed unease about the Trump administration's hold on US security assistance for Ukraine, is expected to testify in private.
According to the text messages released by American envoy Kurt Volker, Taylor at one point sent a message reading: "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign."
That text prompted the US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, to reply: "Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The president has been crystal clear no quid pro quo's of any kind. The president is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President [Volodymyr] Zelensky promised during his campaign."
"I suggest," he added, "we stop the back and forth by text."
Among others invited for closed-door testimony this week are Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for Europe; Michael Duffey of the White House's Office of Management and Budget; Alexander Vindman of the National Security Council; and Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.
This video of Trump apparently flipping the bird like a schoolboy after being corrected is doing the rounds but, personally, I'm not convinced. The man is 73 years old - he surely couldn't be so immature. Could he?
Trump visited a Louis Vitton leather goods factory during his trip to Texas last Thursday and joked that the brand had cost him "a lot of money" over the years.
But yesterday its artistic director, Nicolas Ghesquiere took to Instagram to distance himself from the president. writing: "Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association."
Here's Sarah Young's report.
Good morning, Mr President! Donald Trump is up and tweeting about one of his least favourite House committee chairmen spearheading investigations against him -
Donald Trump is also promoting a book that appears to claim the president was "exonerated" in the former special counsel's investigation against him. In fact, the probe revealed numerous apparent episodes in which he and others obstructed justice.
Richard Painter, George W Bush's White House ethics lawyer, says Trump's actions are worse than Richard Nixon's.
Andrew Buncombe has more.
Don Jr, a man who was become a favourite among the MAGA crowd as his father's warm-up act and who was the object of "2024!" chants in San Antonio last week, appears to have already run out of ideas in the fight against hostile press.
Trump ally Lindsey Graham has given an interview to Axios on HBO in which he refuses to rule out the possibility of Trump's impeachment.
This was the pivotal exchange.
Jonathan Swan: "Are you open minded if more to comes out that you could support impeachment?"
Graham: "Sure, I mean show me something that is a crime. If you could show me that, you know, Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing."
The South Carolina senator and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee also says Trump's decision to call on China to investigate the Bidens for corruption live on TV was "stupid".
As to asking China to look into Biden - that was stupid. Nobody believes that China would be fair to Biden, Trump, me or you, or anybody. Bad idea. That didn't last very long. I think that's a frustrated Trump who feels like there's two different games, that people in your business are never gonna really sit down and talk to Hunter Biden unless it's a softball interview.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments