Trump news: President hails disputed Syria 'ceasefire' as White House appears to confirm quid pro quo with Ukraine

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

Donald Trump is being ridiculed online following the release of a letter he wrote to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan imploring him not to attack the Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in which he said: “Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”

"Let’s work out a good deal!" Trump wrote. "You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy... History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen."

After the plea was released to Fox journalist Trish Regan, the White House was placed in the embarassing position of having to deny it was a hoax.

At the time of writing #TrumpLetter is trending on Twitter, with many expressing incredulity at its infantile style.

Here's Lily Puckett's report.

The mockery follows an explosive day in which Trump said the crisis in Syria was “not our problem” and that the Kurds were “no angels” before falling out with senior Democrats during a White House meeting in which he was urged to halt the withdrawal of US troops from the region and branded House speaker Nancy Pelosi “a third-rate politician” before trolling her on Twitter, a move that backfired when Pelosi adopted his picture of their confrontation for her profile page.

As many subsequently observed, Pelosi looked far from nervous - authoritative and in control, more like, even if she did ultimately throw up her hands and walk out in exasperation at his petulance.

Against the backdrop of the impeachment inquiry, she had arrived not just as the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, but as the Speaker who could determine Trump's political future. The president had begun the meeting talking about his "nasty" letter to Erdogan, according to a Democrat who was granted anonymity to discuss it.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer started to read the president a quote from his own former defence secretary James Mattis on the need to keep US troops in Syria to prevent a resurgence of Isis fighters.

But Trump cut Schumer off, complaining that Mattis was "the world's most overrated general. You know why? He wasn't tough enough." Trump reportedly went on, "I captured Isis."

Pelosi explained to Trump that Russia has always wanted a "foothold in the Middle East," and now it has one with the US withdrawal. "All roads with you lead to Putin," the speaker said. Trump reportedly countered:  "I hate Isis more than you do." Pelosi responded: "You don't know that."

Schumer intervened at one point and said, "Is your plan to rely on the Syrians and the Turks?" To which Trump answered: "Our plan is to keep the American people safe." "That's not a plan. That's a goal," Pelosi argued, prompting called her "a third-rate politician". At this point House majority leader Steny Hoyer interjected, saying: "This is not useful."

Pelosi and Hoyer stood up and left the meeting. As they did, Trump said, "Goodbye, we'll see you at the polls."

Afterwards, the speaker told the press it was Trump who had had the "meltdown" - contrary to the tweet above - and added: "We have to pray for his health".

Chris Riotta has more.

Toadying Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy was of course out quick to accuse Pelosi of being difficult.

Prior to all of that, the House of Representatives had just voted 354-60 to overwhelmingly oppose the president's US troop withdrawal from northern Syria, a rare bipartisan rebuke.

The resolution states Congress's opposition to the military pullback and says Turkey should cease its military action in Syria. The measure also states the White House should present a plan for an "enduring defeat" of Isis over concerns the Islamist extremist group could revive itself as Turkish forces attack the Syrian Kurds.

The House debate was extraordinary for the intensity of lawmakers' opinions.

Republicans called the troop withdrawal "disastrous" and a "catastrophe." Democrats criticised Trump directly, with former presidential candidate Seth Moulton saying Trump "has taken the side of dictators and butchers."

We're just hearing the sad news that veteran Maryland Democrats Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a key player in the impeachment probe, has died aged 68.

Trump recently feuded with Cummings after the president described his Baltimore district as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".

Here's Chris Baynes.

As we digest the sad news about Chairman Cummings, let's continue to recap Trump's hectic Wednesday.

Trump spent yesterday - before and again after that heated confrontation with the Democratic elders - in the company of Italian president Sergio Mattarella, where he said many, many mad things.

In addition to his "no angels" comment, Trump said "there's a lot of sand" in Syria, described his move to safeguard American peacekeeping forces at the expense of the lives of allies as "strategically brilliant" and revealed just how far removed from reality he really is when he said "all people" own stock.

Later there was this brow-furrowing proclamation in the East Room...

The Senate is a Roman concept, I suppose.

He also seems to have learned absolutely nothing whatsoever about from the last few weeks.

The look on this translator's face said it all.

Michael McKinley, a former top State Department aide, testified in the impeachment inquiry on Wednesday that the Trump administration's politicisation of foreign policy contributed to his resignation as Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell briefed colleagues on a possible Christmas impeachment trial.

The day's events, interrupted by that explosive meeting at the White House, churned as longtime State Department officials continued speaking out under subpoena - some revealing striking new details - about the actions Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, took toward Ukraine that have sparked the House investigation.

McKinley, a career foreign service officer and secretary of state Mike Pompeo's de facto chief of staff, told investigators behind closed doors that he could no longer look the other way amid the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine, which were among the reasons he ended his 37-year career last week.

"I was disturbed by the implication that foreign governments were being approached to procure negative information on political opponents," McKinley reportedly testified.

The impeachment inquiry revolves around a whistleblower's complaint that Trump was pushing Ukraine's leader into opening an investigation of a company connected to the son of Trump's potential 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden. It is illegal to solicit or receive foreign help in a US election.

Among McKinley's concerns was the administration's failure to support Ukrainian ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who was ousted in March on orders from Trump.

McKinley, who as a Latin America expert was not specifically involved in Ukraine, was also frustrated that there had been no response to an August inspector general's report that found significant evidence of leadership and management problems, including allegations from career employees that assistant secretary of state Kevin Moley and his former senior adviser Marie Stull retaliated or tried to retaliate against them as holdovers from the Obama administration.

North Carolina Republican Mark Meadows told reporters outside the closed-door hearing that McKinley was complimentary about Pompeo's role but did raise other issues.

"I think most of this is a concern by a colleague for an ambassador that he held in high regard," Meadows said.

Republicans are meanwhile continuing to cry foul over the process of the impeachment inquiry, but as House Democrats press on with the investigation, McConnell briefed Republicans about the possible trial ahead.

McConnell warned of a possible House impeachment vote by Thanksgiving that would force a trial in the Senate, likely by Christmas. He used slides and history lessons during a private Senate GOP lunch in the Capitol to talk about the process.

While that was going on, Chuck Schumer said he knows his House colleagues didn't run for office to conduct an impeachment investigation, but:

The facts that are already in the public domain are so deeply troubling and must be taken very seriously.

Another key figure in the impeachment investigation, special envoy Kurt Volker, also returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to review the transcript of his 3 October testimony to investigators

.

Volker provided text messages to lawmakers that revealed an effort at the State Department to push Ukraine's leader into opening an investigation of the gas company Burisma connected to Biden's son, Hunter, in return for a visit with Trump.

That effort soon escalated into what one diplomat feared was a quid pro quo for US military aid. Trump has denied that, saying assistance to Ukraine was delayed to pressure the country into addressing corruption.

Another ambassador involved in those text message exchanges, Gordon Sondland, has been asked to appear on Thursday.

The testimony so far from the witnesses, mainly officials from the State Department and other foreign policy posts, largely corroborates the account of the government whistleblower whose complaint first sparked the impeachment inquiry, according to lawmakers attending the closed-door interviews.

One witness - George Kent - said it appeared "the Three Amigos" tied to the White House - Sondland, Volker and energy secretary Rick Perry - had taken over foreign policy. Another - Fiona Hill - quoted national security adviser John Bolton as calling Giuliani a "hand grenade" for his back-channel efforts to get Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

Trump's 25 July phone call in which he pressed Ukraine's president , Volodymr Zelensky, to investigate Biden's family is at the centre of the Democrats' inquiry.

Pelosi, despite intensifying calls from Trump and Republicans to hold a formal vote to authorise the impeachment inquiry, showed no indication she would do so. She said Congress will continue its investigation as part of the Constitution's system of checks and balances of the executive branch.

"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," Pelosi told reporters Tuesday.

Trump calls the impeachment inquiry an "illegitimate process" and has blocked officials from co-operating.

At the same time, Republicans are bracing for a vote and trial. House GOP whip Steve Scalise invited senator Lindsey Graham, who was an impeachment manager decades ago during president Bill Clinton's impeachment, to brief Republican lawmakers on the process ahead.

Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee overseeing the probe, has praised the State Department officials for stepping forward, under subpoena, to shed light on the matter.

"We have learned much of this thanks to the courageous testimony of the State Department officials who have been put in an impossible situation by the administration," which is urging them not to comply with requests to testify to Congress, he said. "They are doing their duty."

Schiff said yesterday his investigating team will release transcripts of the closed-door interviews lawmakers have conducted with current and former administration officials.

In a letter to colleagues, the House Intelligence Committee chairman said his staff will unveil the transcripts when "it will not jeopardise" the investigation. He also said he expects to hold public hearings but doesn't reveal who the witnesses might be.

Republicans attending the private depositions have complained about the sessions' secrecy and claimed Democrats have run them unfairly. Democrats say secrecy is needed to prevent witnesses from co-ordinating their stories.

Sources in the Middle East are reporting that President Erdogan simply threw Trump's letter away and then launched his offensive against the Kurds.

Here's Borzou Daragahi's report from Istanbul.