Trump news: White House 'is in fast competition' with Nixon administration on obstruction, Watergate accuser says
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is facing a renewed onslaught from House Democrats, who will begin picking over the Mueller report‘s obstruction of justice evidence on Monday as the party continues to weigh up launching impeachment proceedings against the president.
The House will stage a vote on whether to hold attorney general William Barr and ex-White House adviser Don McGahn in contempt of Congress on Tuesday after the pair ignored congressional subpoenas. Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee will review the ramifications of 2016 Russian election hacking for national security on Wednesday.
With those actions in mind, the House Judiciary Committee heard from former Watergate witness John Dean, and former US attorneys, who repeatedly told Congress that they believe that Mr Trump had attempted to obstruct justice. If he were anyone other than the president, they said, he would have been charged with the crime.
Mr Dean, during his prepared remarks, said that the Mueller report is very similar to a "Watergate Road Map", meaning it could help the panel as it investigates Mr Trump for obstruction or collusion.
He continued to say that Mr McGahn, should he not testify before Congress, would be perpetuating a "cover up" for the president.
"I sincerely hope that Mr McGahn will voluntarily appear and testify," he said. "His silence is perpetuating an ongoing cover-up, and while his testimony will create a few political enemies, based on almost 50 years of experience I can assure him he will make far more real friends."
Mr Trump had blasted Mr Dean, and Republicans on the committee likewise questioned why he should be trusted to give testimony, since he had pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.
The president has also threatened China with further tariffs during a phone interview with CNBC, saying the Asian nation will ultimately make a deal “because they have to”, while also warning the tech giants of Silicon Valley he could take action against them over the “discrimination” he believes he and other prominent conservatives have been subjected to.
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"I would say the Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened in the Nixon administration," Mr Dean says.
Republicans have repeatedly attacked the hearing today, noting that the Mueller report found no evidence of conspiracy.
The panel testifying today have actually indicated that they think it is worth looking at whether that is true, and whether the Mueller report backs that up.
Mr Malcolm, with the Heritage Foundation, has once again defended the president, saying that he believes he instructed Mr McGahn to fire Mr Mueller because he was frustrated with the investigation that was hobbling his administration.
He notes that Mr Trump could have fired anyone in his administration if he had determined he wanted to do so.
"Venting is venting and this is a president who likes to vent," Mr Malcolm said, noting that Mr Mueller was not fired.
Ms McQuade says that Mr Sessions — the former attorney general during Mr Trump's administration — was "tainted ... unable to handle this case", and therefore had recused himself.
She said there is no such thing as "un-recusal".
Representative Ted Lieu just cited the now-infamous line the Mueller report when Donald Trump said 'I'm f****d' after learning about the special counsel investigation.
Mr Dean says he does not believe the US attorney general's task is to represent Donald Trump, when asked about Mr Trump asking Mr Sessions why he let the Mueller appointment to go forward.
He said that the president's questioning of Mr Sessions is unprecedented. He did not see that behaviour during the Nixon administration.
Ms McQuade said that "President Trump was insistent in his efforts" to get Mr Sessions to un-recuse himself.
She has once again said that Mr Trump could have obstructed justice, and that there was evidence of "collusion" for the following:
-Hush money paid to Stormy Daniels
-Meeting at Trump Tower with Russians and Trump campaign officials
-Conversations between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks
Mr Malcolm said that Mr Trump asking his White House counsel to fire Mr Mueller may have just been asking Mr McGahn for advice. And, he says that prosecuting Mr Trump for doing so could have a "chilling effect", and keep presidents from having open conversations with their White House counsel.
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