Trump news: California attorney general sues White House over national emergency declaration with 12 states expected to join
The latest updates on White House turmoil from Presidents' Day
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is being accused of waging a “relentless attack” on the FBI since taking office as the fallout from his decision to declare a national emergency to secure border wall funding continues.
The remark comes from former deputy director of the bureau Andrew McCabe - dismissed by ex-attorney general Jeff Sessions in March 2018 after being accused of leaking information to the media - in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition to promote his new insider account of the bureau, The Threat.
President Trump has already responded angrily on Twitter to Mr McCabe's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday, in which the latter said he had discussed removing the president under the 25th Amendment and ordered an investigation into whether ex-director James Comey was removed in May 2017 to impede the Russian election hacking investigation.
Mr McCabe also revealed that when the president told Mr Rosenstein to put in writing his concerns with former FBI Director James Comey — a document the White House initially held up as justification for his firing — the president explicitly asked the Justice Department official to reference Russia in the memo. Mr Rosenstein did not want to, Mr McCabe said, and the memo that was made public upon Mr Comey’s dismissal did not mention Russia and focused instead on Mr Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation.
“He explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo,” Mr McCabe said. “And the president responded, “I understand that, I am asking you to put Russia in the memo anyway.”
The news arrived as California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced he was suing Mr Trump over his emergency declaration to fund a wall on the US-Mexico border, with as many as twelve states joining the lawsuit.
California has repeatedly challenged Trump in court. Mr Becerra has filed at least 45 lawsuits against the administration.
Mr Trump declared the emergency last week to bypass Congress to use money from the Pentagon and other budgets.
The announcement was immediately met with resistance from members of Congress.
Additional reporting by AP. Read The Independent's live coverage on the White House turmoil on Monday below.
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
The CEO of Newsmax Media — who said he wait with Donald Trump over the weekend in Florida — claimed Director of National Intellifgence Dan Coats may be the next person to depart the White House administration.
“There's a feeling that maybe there needs to be a change of leadership in that position," Chris Ruddy told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Protests are erupting nationwide on President’s Day over Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the US-Mexico border.
Here’s live video from ABC News on demonstration in Denver, Colorado, in rebuke of the president’s proposed border wall:
The American Civil Liberties Union, another civil rights organisation that has launched a lawsuit against the president's national emergency declaration, has taken to numerous TV outlets to explain its case today:
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments