Trump news: 'Shaken' president insults Pelosi at Syria meeting, as he repeats discredited conspiracy theories about Ukraine

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

Donald Trump hosted Stanley Cup winners the St Louis Blues in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday and used the occasion to attack House speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking the ice hockey champions sarcastically: “We just hit the greatest economy we’ve ever had. Let’s impeach the president. Isn’t that a good idea?”

Vincent Wood sets the scene.

Speaker Pelosi repeated that the House of Representatives would not cave in to Republican demands for a full vote on the House floor to approve the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, declaring on Capitol Hill yesterday: ”There's no requirement that we have a vote, and so at this time we will not be having a vote.

This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious. We’re on a path that is taking us, a path to the truth,” she added.

The likes of Texas congressman Michael McCaul, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had griped: "The minority has been shut out of the process. It is being done in a classified briefing room behind closed doors when it should be in front of the American people so that all can see in a very transparent way the testimony of these witnesses."

But Pelosi was unmoved: "I'm not concerned about anything... They can't defend the president so they're going to process."

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff added: "The evidence of obstruction of Congress continues to mount... We are nonetheless continuing to get good and important information from witnesses."

He also moved to reassure the likes of McCaul that although witnesses like State Department officials Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill and George Kent have all been interviewed behind closed doors so far, "we will get to open hearings".

"We go until the questions are exhausted," he said.

Here's Andrew Buncombe's report on their latest press conference.

In the latest developments, vice president Mike Pence and Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Tuesday they will not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, prompting a leading Democrat to say that would strengthen the case against the president.

The Pentagon also said it would not comply with lawmakers' request for documents related to Trump's effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival, further illustrating Trump's determination to stonewall the Democratic-led impeachment effort, which threatens to consume his presidency.

Other US government officials have not been so reluctant to cooperate.

The aforementioned Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in closed-door testimony that he had been alarmed by efforts by Giuliani and others to pressure Ukraine and by the "fake news smear" used to railroad ex-ambassador Yovanovitch, who was ousted from her job in May, according to one lawmaker who heard his testimony.

"He was pretty detailed in talking about some of the shady characters Giuliani was dependent on for misinformation," Democratic congressman Gerry Connolly told reporters afterwards.

Kent, who has spent much of his career fighting corruption in Ukraine and elsewhere, is the second career diplomat - following Yovanovitch herself - to testify as part of the probe after being subpoenaed. The White House and State Department had ordered them not to appear.

Kent also said that acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, picked the officials who would handle Ukraine policy after the sitting ambassador had been abruptly recalled.

"Here is a senior State Department official responsible for six countries, one of which is Ukraine, who found himself outside of a parallel process that he felt was undermining 28 years of US policy in promoting the rule of law in Ukraine. And that was wrong. He used that word, 'wrong'," Connolly said of Kent.

Two of those officials, US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker, a special representative for Ukraine, worked with Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian officials to launch investigations that could benefit Trump, according to communications provided to the committee. Volker resigned his post in late September. Sondland is due to testify later in the week in response to a congressional subpoena. Kent said yesterday he was told to "lay low" and allow Sondland, Volker and energy secretary Rick Perry to handle Ukraine, the men known by the nickname "The Three Amigos", according to Connolly.

Lawmakers had already heard from Fiona Hill, Trump's former Russia adviser, who said on Monday she and her then-boss, former national security adviser John Bolton, were also alarmed by Giuliani's interference. Hill said Bolton characterised Giuliani as "a hand grenade who is going to blow everybody up".

Giuliani had faced a Tuesday deadline to produce the requested documents. His lawyer, Jon Sale, said the documents were protected by legal principles that shield attorney-client communications and presidential communications. "This appears to be an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate 'impeachment inquiry,'" Sale wrote, echoing language the White House used last week.

Pence's lawyer, Matthew E Morgan, has also cited the White House's response, saying the House had not voted to authorise the inquiry.

Here's more on the refuseniks.

Now to the latest televisied Democratic 2020 debate, which took place in Westerville, Ohio, last night.

The 12 candidates crowded onto the podium to talk healthcare, taxing the rich, reproductive rights and er, Ellen DeGeneres, with many attempting to stake a claim for themselves by attacking new favourite Elizabeth Warren, who stood up to the slings and arrows pretty well.

Joe Biden defended his record on Ukraine, there was a warm moment when the returning Bernie Sanders thanked everyone for their support after his recent heart attack and Pete Buttigieg squared up to Beto O'Rourke.

All of the candidates agreed on thing: that Trump is "the most corrupt president in modern history".

"Every candidate here is more decent and coherent and patriotic than that criminal in the White House," said Tom Steyer. 

Here's Andrew Buncombe with his assessment of the evening.

Warren dominated the night in terms of speaking time...

(Statista)

...while the Trump campaign's ludicrous plane banner attempting to hijack the event with the declaration "Socialism Destroys Ohio Jobs" was every bit as underwhelming as you would have expected.

Here's our assessment of the night's winners and losers.

One of the key themes of the evening was, of course, the consequences of US troop withdrawal in Syria, where veterans Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard had some strong words for Trump.

Here's Negar Mortazavi's report.

Speaking of Syria, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has struck a defiant note in response to belated American sanctions, saying he will "never declare a ceasefire" in his assault on the Syrian Democrat Forces, US allies in the fight against Isis but a group considered a terrorist organisation in Istanbul.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, the chairman and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as the Senate and House Armed Services Committees later today at the White House to discuss the growing crisis in the Middle East.

Here's more from Chris Riotta.

On the ground, video footage has emerged of Russian soldiers occupying a hurriedly abandoned US camp near Manbij.

America's forces appear to have departed the area so hastily possessions were left behind, including tents, books and fridges stocked with Coca-Cola.

Jon Sharman has more.

The New York Times reports this morning that White House lawyers opened their own internal review of the handling of the Trump's call with President Zelensky - the subject of the CIA whistleblower complaint that ignited the imeachment inquiry - examining the response of aides and raising concerns that their fact-finding mission is really about hunting up a potential scapegoat.

The review centres around why White House counsel John Eisenberg placed the Ukraine call transcript in a highly secure computer system, according to The NYT.

It's not currently clear who started the review but acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is said to have encouraged it and his aides are understood to be co-operating with the White House Counsel’s Office.

Mulvaney had, until this week, successfully distanced himself from the the Zelensky call - which he ultimately set up but was not on - but Fiona Hill said on Monday she and John Bolton believed he and Gordon Sondland had been trying to bypass them on Ukraine.