Trump news: President suffers double impeachment blow after court orders tax returns release and key witness agrees to testify
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has suffered a double blow after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled his accountants, Mazars USA, must turn over eight years of his financial records to the House impeachment inquiry and his ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, confirmed he will now testify before Congress, defying a White House pledge to stonewall the Ukraine investigation.
At a campaign rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night, the president attacked “America-hating socialist” and local Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and also laid into Joe Biden, his son Hunter and House speaker Nancy Pelosi over the ongoing probe.
The House has meanwhile subpoenaed energy secretary Rick Perry and the two business associates of Rudy Giuliani arrested in Florida on Thursday, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, as the ex-US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, appears on Capitol Hill today to tell her side of the story.
Mr Trump on Friday said that he is not sure if Mr Giuliani is still his attorney — a statement he made on the White House lawn, sparking a flurry of reporters to contact Mr Giuliani to ask if he had a better idea of the circumstances (he said he is still representing him).
Mr Trump's Minneapolis rally ended up garnering more attention than just for his attacks on those prominent Democrats, too, with clips of him seeming to imitate a love affair between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
The president is choosing to spend yet another evening away from Washington on Friday, too, and will hold yet another rally in Louisiana to prop up two GOP candidates for governor there.
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Trump's first tweet of the day is a friendly overture to China over the revived trade talks currently ongoing.
His second trails his trip to Louisiana.
Trump is under fire after making a disparaging remark about Beyonce, Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen on stage in Minneapolis last night. Doing so has naturally provoked an outcry on Twitter (as perhaps he intended), with 2020 Democrat Cory Booker coming to The Boss's defence with some feeling.
It's no wonder Trump doesn't like Springsteen.
The New Jersey rock star told Rolling Stone in 2016 the then-candidate is a "moron":
The republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic. Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy. When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance.
And it‘s a very, very dangerous thing to do. Once you let those genies out of the bottle, they don't go back in so easy, if they go back in at all.
The ideas he’s moving to the mainstream are all very dangerous ideas – white nationalism and the alt-right movement. The outrageous things that he‘s done – not immediately disavowing David Duke? These are things that are obviously beyond the pale for any previous political candidate. It would sink your candidacy immediately.
He certainly sounds chipper today.
It might not last though, as Marie Yovanovitch has just arrived on Capitol Hill on a one-woman mission to ruin his weekend.
As one door closes on Trump's tax returns, another one opens.
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the president's accountants, Mazars USA, must turn over eight years of his financial records to the House, upholding a lower court's decision. The only dissenting voice on the panel was, of course, a Trump appointee.
Trump really should have foreseen this failed meme coming back to haunt him.
Speaking of haunting, Darren Richman has more on his disturbing orgasm impression yesterday during the rally as he mocked FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
He ain't no Meg Ryan.
US military veterans are lining up to condemn Trump over the abandonment of America's Kurdish allies in Syria.
Chris Riotta reports.
The Democrats are now seeking a disposition from Yovanovitch's successor as ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, another name caught up in the explosive texts Kurt Volker handed over to the panel last week.
It was Taylor who texted Sondland to say it was "crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign".
Trump is currently on a retweeting spree, posting messages from Ivanka, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Dan Scavino as well as this on the Boston bomber, whose execution he appears to be advocating.
Minnesota Democrats are condemning Trump for criticising their state for welcoming in so many Somali refugees at his rally last night.
Minneapolis is home to the largest Somali population in the US and Trump said the city and state had allowed refugees in without considering the impact. He also said he thinks Democrats would throw open the nation's borders if they regain power.
Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar tweeted that Trump should "stop using immigrants and refugees as political pawns." She says they've made Minnesota "a wonderful place to live and work."
Trump said no refugees should be placed in any city or state without permission from the mayor or governor. Mayor Jacob Frey retaliated: "Consent given. Immigrants and refugees are welcome in Minneapolis."
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