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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Deutsche Bank says it has some of Trump's tax returns – as it happened

Deutsche Bank informed the court it has at least some of Trump’s tax returns.
Deutsche Bank informed the court it has at least some of Trump’s tax returns. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Evening Summary

That’s all for today.

  • Joe Biden said that racism is an institutional problem in an interview with journalists and ran healthcare ads. He has yet to respond to the news that his brother James Biden had promised his potential business partners that they would have influence with the former vice president.
  • CNN has revealed a schedule for a seven-hour climate change town hall.
  • Deutsche Bank said in court documents that it has at least some of Trump’s tax returns sought by Congress. The letter comes as the president has sued to prevent Deutsche and Capitol One from complying with House Democrats’ subpoena for his financial records.
  • The US attorney general, William Barr, has planned a holiday party at Trump’s DC hotel that could direct more than $30,000 to the president’s business, the Washington Post reported.
  • The Trump administration wants to take more than $150m from Fema disaster relief fund to pay for immigrant detention space, even though Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria and now bracing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian.
  • A federal judge temporarily blocked Missouri’s eight-week abortion ban as a legal challenge to the law proceeds.
  • In a special court hearing, some of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers detailed the sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at his hands and urged prosecutors to continue the case against the financier despite his suicide.
  • Jair Bolsonaro thanked Trump after the US leader expressed support for the Brazilian president, despite the criticism he has faced over his handling of the Amazon wildfires.

Joe Biden, answering reporters’ questions on August 24.
Joe Biden, answering reporters’ questions on August 24.
Photograph: Michael Dwyer/AP

Joe Biden said that racism in the US is a “white man’s problem visited on people of color.”

The AP reports:

Taking aim at incendiary racial appeals by Trump, Biden said in an interview with a small group of reporters that a president’s words can “appeal to the worst damn instincts of human nature,” just as they can move markets or take a nation into war. ...

The former vice president attributed his support among black voters to the fact that he has a long record of working in their communities — something, he said without being specific, that several of his opponents have not done.

He added that while he would “preferably” select a woman or person or color as his running mate, he is ultimately looking for someone who is “simpatico with what I stand for and what I want to get done.” He said he will not make a commitment on whom he would choose until he is comfortable that they agree on major issues and how to address them.

Biden has had a busy campaign day today. He released a new healthcare ad and commented on Trump’s divisive conduct at the G7 conference even as court documents revealed that his brother James Biden had promised his potential business partners that they would have influence with the former vice president.

Joe Walsh, a republican challenger to Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, defended his racism on PBS’s Newshour.

Walsh announced that he was running against Trump for the Republican nomination on Sunday.

He told Newshour’s Judy Woodruff that some of his previous statements were “pretty aggressive,” but weren’t his views, just an attempt to be provocative and push the envelope.

Walsh was temporarily booted off air in 2014 for using racist slurs on his radio show (which he has repeated on Twitter), and had repeatedly stood by his racist descriptions of Haiti and Chicago, saying “Those aren’t racist statements. They’re just facts.”

CNN has released a schedule for an upcoming seven-hour town hall focused on climate change that the network is hosting on 4 September.

The candidates will be interviewed by different correspondents throughout the day. There appears to be a 20-min break between Klobuchar and Biden, with each candidate featured for 40 minutes – so, plan your food and bathroom breaks accordingly.

Updated

Republican and Democratic senators were denied visas to Russia, amid a debate over whether or not Russia should be readmitted into the Group of Seven.

The Democratic senator Chris Murphy and the Republican senator Ron Johnson, both members of the Senate foreign relations committee who have advocated for sanctions against Russia, were denied visas. The Republican senator Mike Lee was the only one of the three senators who planned to visit Russian officials and American businesses in the country who was granted access.

“The Russian government is further isolating their country by blocking our visit,” Murphy said in a statement.

In a separate statement yesterday, Jonson said: “I had hoped direct dialogue with Russian parliamentarians could help set the stage for better future relations between our two nations. Unfortunately, Russian officials continue to play diplomatic games.”

The Russian Embassy in the US responded Johnson didn’t apply for a visa, and accused him of distorting Russian foreign policy in his “usual russophobic manner”.

Updated

The chair of the House homeland security appropriations subcommittee (which is responsible for legislation allocating federal funds related to homeland security), has released a statement condemning the Trump administration’s decision to redirect $155m from federal disaster relief funds to pay for immigrant detention space.

The California representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, a democrat, posted a letter she wrote last week, to the acting head of the homeland security department. In it, she criticizes the department’s notification to congress detailing the decision “lacks any analysis to demonstrate the movement of funds is justified”.

Updated

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will be taking over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Deutsche Bank all but confirmed in a redacted letter to the court that it has at least some of Trump’s tax returns. The letter comes as the president has sued to prevent Deutsche and Capitol One from complying with House Democrats’ subpoena for his financial records.
  • The US attorney general, William Barr, has planned a holiday party at Trump’s DC hotel that could direct more than $30,000 to the president’s business, the Washington Post reported.
  • The Trump administration wants to take more than $150m from Fema’s disaster relief fund to pay for immigrant detention space, even though Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria and now bracing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian.
  • A federal judge temporarily blocked Missouri’s eight-week abortion ban as a legal challenge to the law proceeds.
  • In a special court hearing, some of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers detailed the sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at his hands and urged prosecutors to continue the case against the financier despite his suicide.
  • Jair Bolsonaro thanked Trump after the US leader expressed support for the Brazilian president, despite the criticism he has faced over his handling of the Amazon wildfires.

Maanvi will cover more fallout from the Deutsche revelation and Barr’s surprising choice of party venue, so stay tuned.

Updated

Deutsche’s redacted letter came in response to the court’s demand that the bank, as well as Capitol One, reveal whether they had financial documents pertinent to House Democrats’ subpoena.

The Democratic lawmakers have been seeking Trump’s tax returns and subpoenaed the two financial institutions, which have had business relationships with the president. Trump, in turn, sued to block the banks from complying with the subpoena.

The president is now appealing a district judge’s earlier ruling that the banks should comply with the Democrats’ subpoena. Trump is suing in his capacity as a private citizen, but the Justice Department filed a brief last week in support of his legal effort.

Given the original subpoena, Deutsche’s redacted letter almost certainly refers to possessing financial records connected to Trump and his immediate family.

Attorney general books $30,000 holiday party at Trump's DC hotel

The US attorney general, William Barr, has booked the president’s DC hotel for a holiday party that could direct more than $30,000 to Trump’s business.

The Washington Post reports:

Barr signed a contract, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, for a ‘Family Holiday Party’ in the hotel’s Presidential Ballroom Dec. 8. The party will feature a buffet and four-hour open bar for about 200 people.

Barr is paying for the event himself and chose the venue only after other hotels, including the Willard and the Mayflower were booked, according to a Department of Justice official. The official said the purpose of Barr’s party wasn’t to curry favor with the president.

Barr holds the bash annually and it combines holiday festivities and a ‘ceilidh,’ a party featuring Irish or Scottish music.

‘Career ethics officials were consulted and they determined that ethics rules did not prohibit him from hosting his annual party at the Trump hotel,’ said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the party is not a Justice Department event.

While Deutsche Bank did acknowledge it has at least some of Trump’s tax returns, Capitol One said it did not.

The banks had resisted answering judges’ questions about whether they possessed the returns and were given until this afternoon to address the matter.

Deutsche’s acknowledgement will likely only escalate House Democrats’ pressure on the bank to hand over the returns, but Trump is still fighting the lawmakers’ subpoena to obtain his financial records.

Names are redacted in Deutsche Bank’s letter about the tax returns it possesses, but it seems clear that the filing is referencing Trump and his immediate family.

The New York Times reported in April that Deutsche Bank had valuable financial information on Trump that House Democrats have sought, including descriptions of the value of his assets and partial tax returns.

Trump has filed a lawsuit to try to block House Democrats’ subpoena of Deutsche and Capitol One.

Deutsche Bank and Capitol One have repeatedly refused to tell the court whether they had Trump’s tax returns, claiming that “contractual obligations” prevent them from doing so.

An appellate court judge told a Deutsche lawyer last week, “Should we go to court and seek an order? I’m serious. We need to know.”

The two banks were then given until today to reveal whether they had the tax returns, but it’s unclear whether Capitol One has done so.

Updated

Deutsche Bank says it has some of Trump's tax returns

Deutsche Bank, who has a longtime business relationship with Trump, acknowledged in court that it has at least some of the president’s tax returns, which House Democrats have sought ever since taking control of the chamber.

The finance editor of the New York Times, which has reported extensively on Trump’s relationship with Deutsche, said the bank should have partial returns going back several years.

ABC, the network that is hosting the next Democratic debate, is aware of two more qualifying polls being released tomorrow before the Democratic National Committee’s deadline, CNN reports.

That means billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who remains one poll short of making the debate stage, will have two final chances to qualify.

This is also welcome news for Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawaii congresswoman who needs two more qualifying polls to participate. But Gabbard would need to register at two percent or more in both polls, which seems unlikely given other recent results.

If one or both of them qualifies, ABC will be forced to split the debate into two nights, Sept. 12 and 13. If only the current 10 candidates qualify, the debate will be held on one night, Sept. 12.

And the top-polling candidates, not to mention ABC, are hoping the debate remains a one-night event. “Continuing to assign candidates by random draw for the fall debates makes no sense and is a disservice to primary voters,” a Democratic campaign aide told CNN. “They want to see Biden-Warren-Sanders-Harris-Buttigieg. They’ve been the consistent top tier for months now. Why keep pushing that off?”

Trump administration pulling money from disaster fund for immigrant detention space

The Trump administration is pulling hundreds of millions of dollars from the Homeland Security Department, including FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, to pay for immigrant detention space.

The news comes as Puerto Rico, still recovering from Hurricane Maria, braces for the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian.

NBC News reports:

To fund temporary locations for court hearings for asylum-seekers along the southern border, ICE would gain $155 million, all from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, according to the letter from Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., which was seen by NBC News.

The allocations were sent to Congress as a notification rather than a request, because the administration believes it has the authority to repurpose these funds after Congress did not pass more funding for ICE detention beds as part of an emergency funding bill for the southwest border in June.

Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security will lose $116 million previously allocated for Coast Guard operations, aviation security and other components in order to fund nearly 6,800 more beds for immigrant detainees, the officials said.

Trump appeared to complain about Puerto Rico needing disaster aid in a tweet earlier today, which misstated the amount of funding the island has received. He has also reportedly complained about alleged mismanagement by Puerto Rican officials, even though his own administration was criticized for its handling of Hurricane Maria.

The ACLU took a victory lap on Twitter after a federal judge temporarily blocked Missouri’s eight-week abortion ban.

The ban was supposed to go into effect tomorrow, but US district judge Howard Sachs ruled to temporarily block the legislation over concerns about the intent of the law.

“While federal courts should generally be very cautious before delaying the effect of state laws, the sense of caution may be mitigated when the legislation seems designed, as here, as a protest against supreme court decisions,” the judge wrote in his ruling.

“The hostility to, and refusal to comply with, the supreme court’s abortion jurisprudence is most obviously demonstrated in the attempt to push ‘viability’ protection downward in various weekly stages to eight weeks.”

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens has quit Twitter after getting into a spat with a critic regarding his newsroom’s bed bug infestation.

Luke O’Neil reports:

Riffing on the newspaper’s predicament, David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, poked fun at Stephens on Twitter on Monday evening. The post received nine likes and zero retweets.

What followed was as close to the perfect Streisand effect as one could imagine. Stephens, who was not tagged in the original post, emailed Karpf, and copied in the provost of the university, in an apparent attempt to get Karpf in trouble.

And then it went viral.

Karpf shared news of the scolding on Twitter, in a post that has now been retweeted 7,500 times and liked 48,500 (and counting). ...

Stephens wrote: ‘I’m often amazed about the things supposedly decent people are prepared to say about other people – people they’ve never met – on Twitter. I think you’ve set a new standard. I would welcome the opportunity for you to come to my home, meet my wife and kids, talk to us for a few minutes, and then call me a ‘bedbug’ to my face. That would take some genuine courage and intellectual integrity on your part.’ ...

On Tuesday, Stephens announced he was leaving Twitter. ‘Time to do what I long ago promised to do. Twitter is a sewer. It brings out the worst in humanity. I sincerely apologize for any part I’ve played in making it worse, and to anyone I’ve ever hurt. Thanks to all my followers, but I’m deactivating this account.’

Democratic presidential candidates who have not yet made the September debate stage will have at least one more chance to secure another qualifying poll.

Quinnipiac University plans to release another national poll on the Democratic primary tomorrow, a CNN reporter shared on Twitter.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer only needs one more poll to qualify, but if this is indeed the last poll before tomorrow’s qualification deadline, it means all the other dozen or so candidates who have not made the stage are officially out of luck.

House Democrats demand investigation into 2008 Epstein plea deal

Dozens of House Democrats have signed on to a letter demanding an investigation into the sweetheart plea deal that the late financier and alleged sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein secured in 2008.

“While we cannot undo the damage Epstein has caused the victims of his abuse, the survivors of Epstein’s exploitation and manipulation deserve a forum to be heard and both they and the public deserve transparency and answers to unresolved questions,” reads the letter, which was signed by 45 Democrats.

“Government and law enforcement officials involved [should] be required to explain under oath the highly unusual treatment afforded to Jeffrey Epstein,” they add.

Trump’s former labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned last month amid backlash over his role in the plea deal. Acosta was serving as the US attorney in Miami when Epstein secured a non-prosecution agreement despite dozens of abuse allegations.

During today’s court hearing, the women who have accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual misconduct recounted in excruciating detail how the late financier allegedly abused them when they were minors.

“Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused me for many years, robbing me of my innocence and mental health,” said accuser Courtney Wild. She continued: “Jeffrey Epstein robbed myself and all the other victims of our day in court to confront him one by one, and for that, he is a coward.”

Several of the women echoed Wild’s grief that Epstein’s suicide had robbed them of the chance to see justice served.

“I’m just angry that he’s not alive anymore to have to pay the price for his actions,” said a woman who chose to remain anonymous. She recounted how Epstein allegedly assaulted her after she moved to New York to model as a teenager.

“I’m a victim of Jeffey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s s international sex trafficking ring,” said accuser Sarah Ransome. She urged prosecutors, “Please, please, finish what you have started.”

Judge temporarily blocks Missouri abortion ban

A federal judge temporarily blocked Missouri’s abortion ban, which would have barred doctors from performing the procedure at or after eight weeks of pregnancy.

The law, which was approved by Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature back in May, was set to go into effect tomorrow. But U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs decided to block the ban as a legal challenge against it proceeds.

Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have argued in court that the law goes against the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade, and similar laws in North Dakota and Iowa have previously been struck down.

The Missouri law is part of a series of abortion bans passed across the US South and Midwest in recent months, which have sparked fierce backlash among reproductive rights supporters.

More than 130 artists have now partnered with Planned Parenthood’s “Bans Off My Body” campaign to protest the legislation.

Accusers call Jeffrey Epstein a coward

US financier Jeffrey Epstein was called a coward and a “depraved human being” in a New York courtroom on Tuesday by women who accused him of sexually abusing them as teens, Victoria Bekiempis writes for the Guardian.

They had been expecting their day in court to be as part of the criminal prosecution and trial of Epstein after his arrest in July. But while in life they allege he robbed them of their innocence, with his suicide in a New York jail earlier this month, he robbed them of their chance to confront him in court in person.

However, at a special hearing in Manhattan, alleged victims of the disgraced and now deceased financier, whose political and royal connections going back years have come under fresh scrutiny since his arrest in New York, were able to give voice to their anguish.

The full story will be live on the Guardian website shortly and we’ll link to it here.

Alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein arriving at court in New York today, including Annie Farmer, second right, and Virginia Giuffre, second left, with lawyer David Boies, center.
Alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein arriving at court in New York today, including Annie Farmer, second right, and Virginia Giuffre, second left, with lawyer David Boies, center. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has hit a record for the month of August, a trend that many in the country blame on the policies of President Jair Bolsonaro.

Our colleague Jonathan Watts reports:

The world’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink lost 1,114.8 sq km (430 sq miles) – equivalent to the area of Hong Kong – in the first 26 days of this month, according to preliminary data from the government’s satellite monitoring agency. The data does not include damage caused by fires currently sweeping parts of the Amazon.

After an even greater surge in July, the country has now experienced the two worst months recorded by the Deter-B satellite system, which was put in place in 2015 to provide short-term alerts to forest rangers.

Scientists warn this year’s clearcutting of forest is now likely to pass 10,000sq km for the first time in a decade, raising concerns that Brazil is slipping back towards the dark years of 1995-2004. ...

Since taking power at the start of the year, Bolsonaro has downgraded environment protection efforts and made clear that he supports miners, farmers and ranchers above indigenous communities and other forest dwellers.

Updated

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Trump is back on Twitter, praising Brazil’s controversial president and shouting down critics who mocked his Florida resort for a past bed bug incident.
  • Bernie Sanders released a plan to confront the “crisis” in journalism, which included a proposed crackdown on mergers of major media corporations. The announcement comes as Sanders has faced criticism about his comments toward the press.
  • Joe Biden released a new healthcare ad, part of a six-figure television and digital ad buy in Iowa.
  • House Democrats are asking a judge to expedite a ruling on forcing Don McGahn, Trump’s former White House counsel, to testify.

The blog is covering more from the campaign trail and the White House, so stay tuned.

Brazil's president thanks Trump for his support

Jair Bolsonaro, thanked Trump after the US leader expressed support for the Brazilian president, who is facing criticism over his handling of the Amazon wildfires.

Despite Bolsonaro’s claim that coverage of the wildfires is “fake news,” experts are warning that the damage done to the Amazon could cause irreversible harm to the world’s climate.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian president is refusing $20 million in international aid until the French president, Emmanuel Macron, apologizes for comments criticizing Bolsonaro’s leadership.

Bolsonaro also landed in hot water during the G7 summit for expressing approval of a Facebook post mocking the physical appearance of France’s first lady.

Amazon River Dolphin pair swimming in Brazil
Amazon River Dolphin pair swimming in Brazil
 Photograph: Kevin Schafer/Alamy Stock Photo

Updated

Iranian president refuses to meet Trump until sanctions are lifted

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said he would not meet with Trump until the US president lifted sanctions on his country.

Trump said yesterday during the closing news conference of the G7 summit that he would be open to meeting Rouhani under the right circumstances. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has encouraged the meeting in the hope of salvaging the Iranian nuclear deal.

But Rouhani said Trump would have to make some concessions before such a meeting could occur. “Without the U.S.’s withdrawal from sanctions, we will not witness any positive development,” Rouhani said in a televised speech today.

The comments marked a reversal for Rouhani, who previously said he would not miss any opportunity to improve Iran’s economic circumstances.

Ismail Ajjaw, an incoming Harvard freshman from Lebanon, was deported and had his student visa revoked after eight hours of questioning by immigration officials.

The Harvard Crimson reports:

U.S. officials deported Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian resident of Tyre, Lebanon, Friday night shortly after he arrived at Boston Logan International Airport. Before canceling Ajjawi’s visa, immigration officers subjected him to hours of questioning — at one point leaving to search his phone and computer — according to a written statement by Ajjawi.

University officials are currently working to resolve the matter before classes begin on Sept. 3, University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in an email. ...

Ajjawi wrote that he spent eight hours in Boston before he was required to leave. Upon arrival, Ajjawi faced questioning from immigration officials along with several other international students. While the other students were allowed to leave, Ajjawi alleges an immigration officer continued to question him about his religion and religious practices in Lebanon.

The same officer then asked him to unlock his phone and laptop, and left to search them for roughly five hours, Ajjawi alleges. After the search, the officer questioned him about his friends’ social media activity. ...

The officer then canceled Ajjawi’s visa, informed him he would be deported, and allowed him a phone call to his parents.

A third Democrat, Sarah Riggs Amico, has entered the race to challenge Republican senator David Perdue in Georgia.

Amico, who unsuccessfully ran for Georgia lieutenant governor last year, said in her campaign launch video that the state requires “new leadership” to fix the “rigged” system.

“I’m running to restore Georgians’ faith that they can have a champion in the US Senate who will fight for their families instead of wealthy special interests,” Amico says in the video. “If we make public policy grounded in our shared values, I believe we can build a government as good as the people of Georgia.”

Amico will face off against Clarkston mayor Ted Terry and former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson in the Democratic Senate primary. Former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who campaigned with Amico in 2018, passed on entering the race earlier this year.

In a statement about the the president’s performance at the G7 summit, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden warned of the potentially devastating effects another four years of Trump could unleash.

“Rather than looking to America for vision, agenda setting, and leadership by example, our closest democratic allies sought to manage and mitigate the damage Trump might do at this year’s G-7,” Biden said.

He specifically called out Trump for not participating in the summit’s climate session. “When it comes to meeting the existential crisis of our time, Trump has walked away from the table—literally,” Biden said. “If we give Trump four more years, the planet may never recover from his utter disregard for the climate crisis and scientific fact.”

Taylor Swift surprised some of her fans last night by striking a political tone while accepting the MTV Video Music Award for video of the year.

The pop star encouraged those listening to sign a petition in support of the Equality Act, which would bar discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill earlier this year, but it has not yet been taken up in the Senate.

“In this video several points were made, so you voting for this video means that you want a world, where we’re all treated equally under the law,” Swift said.

The singer has previously been criticized for not weighing in enough on politics, although she did endorse Democrat Phil Bredesen’s ultimately unsuccessful Senate bid in Tennessee last year.

Other celebrities have also been getting political this week. Artists like Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Lizzo have partnered with Planned Parenthood for the group’s #BansOffMyBody campaign, which protests abortion bans.

The third debate of the Democratic presidential primary may actually be a first for this election season: a one-night event.

Democratic presidential candidates have until the end of tomorrow to qualify for the September debate in Houston, and so far only 10 candidates have hit both the polling and donor thresholds. (Each candidate must register at 2 percent or more in four qualifying polls and receive donations from 130,000 donors to participate.)

If an 11th candidate qualifies, the Democratic National Committee will split the debate into two nights: Sept. 12 and Sept. 13. But if no one else qualifies, the debate will only take place on Sept. 12.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer only needs one more qualifying poll to participate, so he could still make the cut. Other candidates seem less likely to qualify. But even if they don’t make the stage this time around, candidates will have more time to qualify for the October debate. So there may be more participants in the fourth debate than the third.

Trump responds to critics who resurfaced Doral bed bug story

Trump is also hitting back against some of his critics, who have mocked his proposal to host the 2020 G7 summit at his Florida resort.

The president confirmed during his closing news conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, that Trump National Doral Miami was being considered as the site for next year’s gathering.

In response, the hashtag #TrumpBedBugs started trending on Twitter as some Trump critics resurfaced this 2017 story about the resort reaching a settlement with a guest who complained he was repeatedly bitten by bed bugs during his stay there.

Updated

Trump says Brazilian president has 'complete support of the USA'

Trump is still tweeting away, this time voicing support for Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro was sharply criticized this week for expressing approval of a Facebook post implying the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron, was not as attractive as Bolsonaro’s wife. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, condemned the comments as “extraordinarily rude.”

Bolsonaro is now refusing to accept $20 million in aid for the Amazon wildfires unless Macron apologizes for criticizing the Brazilian president’s leadership.

Trump weighs in on Italian political turmoil

Trump has offered praise to Italy’s embattled prime minister, Giuseppi Conte, who resigned last week but is now enjoying calls to be reinstated.

Our colleague Angela Giuffrida reported yesterday from Rome:

Talks between the leaders of Italy’s Democratic party (PD) and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) went on late into the night on Monday as they sought to thrash out an agreement on a potential alliance that could avert a snap election.

Giuseppe Conte, the outgoing prime minister, joined the meeting between the PD leader, Nicola Zingaretti, and his M5S counterpart, Luigi Di Maio, in a sign that Zingaretti has succumbed to M5S’s demands to reinstate Conte.

The nomination of Conte, who last week ended an ill-fated coalition government between M5S and the far-right League, has been the main obstacle in the talks.

‘It’s close, but not set in stone,’ a source close to the discussions said before the meeting. ‘If Conte is nominated prime minister, then it could be in exchange for M5S losing some ministries to the PD.’ Di Maio might also be forced to step down as deputy prime minister in exchange, the source added.

Updated

George Conway, who is married to senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, is once again tweeting his many criticisms of the president. But he has an interesting partner in his impeachment banter: Joe Walsh.

Walsh has launched a presidential primary challenge against Trump on the basis that he is “unfit” for office and “lies virtually every time he opens his mouth.” Those comments put the former Republican congressman in line with George Conway, who has implied that Trump has a personality disorder and has argued in favor of his impeachment.

But the Twitter banter is more noteworthy given that Walsh has reportedly reached out to Conway about taking on a senior role in his long-shot campaign. According to the New York Times, the pair had an “hours-long conversation” last week to discuss Walsh’s strategy, during which Conway said he would consider joining the campaign.

Biden out with new healthcare ad

Joe Biden has released a new ad about healthcare that focuses on the former vice president’s own tragic experiences with the medical system, from the deaths of his first wife and daughter to his son’s diagnosis with brain cancer.

Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and his daughter, Naomi, died in a 1972 car accident that also injured his two sons, Beau and Hunter. Decades later, Beau was diagnosed with a brain cancer that ultimately killed him.

“Health care is personal to me. Obamacare is personal to me,” Biden narrates in the ad.
“When I see the President try to tear it down and others propose to replace it and start over, that’s personal to me too.”

The video is part of a six-figure television and digital ad buy in Iowa, where Biden aired his first TV ad last week.

Sanders releases 'plan for journalism'

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders released a new proposal today that would reform journalism by cracking down on major media mergers and increasing funding for public media at the local level.

“Walter Cronkite once said that ‘journalism is what we need to make democracy work.’ He was absolutely right, which is why today’s assault on journalism by Wall Street, billionaire businessmen, Silicon Valley, and Donald Trump presents a crisis—and why we must take concrete action,” Sanders wrote in a Columbia Journalism Review article announcing the plan.

Among other things, Sanders’ proposal calls for stronger enforcement of antitrust laws against tech giants, who have eaten up a large share of digital advertising, and required disclosure of whether proposed media mergers would result in layoffs.

The announcement also comes as Sanders has faced criticism for his comments about the press. The Vermont senator suggested earlier this month that Washington Post journalists were covering his campaign in a negative light because the newspaper is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Sanders has previously criticized Amazon’s business practices.

Sanders later walked back the comments, clarifying that he does not think the press is “anti-Bernie,” but some of his senior advisers have continued to assert that their boss has been unfairly covered in the media.

Biden's brother promised political influence, court filing alleges

James Biden, the brother of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, promised his potential business partners they would have influence with the former vice president, according to a court filing in Tennessee.

As reported by Politico, executives from Azzam Medical Services and Diverse Medical Management say in sworn declarations that James Biden promised the firms that his brother would help them secure business and gain national attention.

“During my presentation regarding intensive outpatient treatment, James Biden interrupted me to say, ‘My brother needs to have you in every court system in America,’” the CEO of DMM said.

Another executive said James Biden promised “that the DMM psychiatric care model would be used by Joe Biden as part of his campaign.”

James and Biden’s son, Hunter, have previously been mired in allegations that they attempted to use their family’s political connections to advance their business interests.

House Democrats seeking to expedite McGahn ruling

Good morning, live blog readers!

House Democrats are ramping up their efforts to determine whether to impeach Donald Trump. The House judiciary committee has filed a motion to expedite a ruling on whether the president’s former counsel, Don McGahn, can be compelled to testify. The White House has largely blocked the testimony of former aides by claiming executive privilege.

News of the court motion came hours after reports emerged that the committee was subpoenaing Rob Porter, Trump’s former staff secretary who resigned last year amid allegations of domestic abuse. The White House is almost certain to block that testimony as well.

The panel seems to be accelerating their efforts to render a decision on impeachment as lawmakers prepare to return to Capitol Hill. According to Politico, 136 Democrats now support impeachment or an impeachment inquiry, representing a majority of the caucus.

But the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has resisted impeachment, and she is unlikely to do so without compelling testimony from Trump’s former aides. With the White House blocking that testimony, that could likely leave Democrats nowhere – unless a judge intervenes.

Representative Steve King.
Representative Steve King. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:

  • Trump will have lunch with the vice-president, Mike Pence. He has no other events on his public schedule.
  • Representative Steve King will hold a town hall in Iowa at 12pm ET, and the House Republican is likely to touch on his widely condemned abortion comments.
  • Representative Ilhan Omar will hold a community forum in Minnesota this evening.

That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated

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