Evening summary
- A Republican senator said he will vote to disapprove of Donald Trump’s national-emergency declaration, even though he supports the border wall.
- Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Trump’s comments show a “lack of understanding” of the Federal Reserve and that she doubts that he has a good grasp of economic policy.
- The Senate voted down a bill that would make it a felony for a doctor to harm or neglect a baby who survives an “attempted abortion”. Democrats pointed out that it was already a felony to harm or neglect an infant, and that the bill only sought to restrict doctors from making case-by-case decisions. “Democrats have swung so far to the left that they cannot even bring themselves to affirm that babies born alive should be protected,” South Dakota Senator John Thune said.
Updated
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, wrote an oped for the Washington Post in which he states that even though he supports President Trump’s stance on immigration and call for a border wall, he will vote to disapprove of the president’s national-emergency declaration.
Tillis’ main concern appeared to be that “when a Democrat once again controls the White House, cites the precedent set by Trump, and declares his or her own national emergency to advance a policy that couldn’t gain congressional approval.”
This isn’t just conjecture. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other prominent Democratic elected officials have already hinted that emergency declarations will be part of the playbook for the left, with Pelosi musing, “just think about what a president with different values can present to the American people.”
Conservatives should take these warnings seriously. They should be thinking about whether they would accept the prospect of a President Bernie Sanders declaring a national emergency to implement parts of the radical Green New Deal; a President Elizabeth Warren declaring a national emergency to shut down banks and take over the nation’s financial institutions; or a President Cory Booker declaring a national emergency to restrict Second Amendment rights.
Read the whole oped here.
The Senate voted down a bill that sought to make it a felony for a doctor to harm or neglect a baby who survives an “attempted abortion,” which Politico is reporting is “part of a Republican effort to squeeze Democrats ahead of the 2020 campaign.”
Ahead of the vote, the bill’s Republican sponsors and outside anti-abortion groups lobbying for its passage made it clear that the intent of Monday’s vote was to undermine the growing pool of Senate Democrats running for president.
In a speech just before the vote, bill author Sen. Ben Sasse quoted campaign stump speeches by Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders vowing to look out for society’s “voiceless and vulnerable” and accused them of hypocrisy for opposing his bill’s regulations for the care of newborns.
“Was that all just clap track for the campaign trail and for soundbites? Or do people mean the stuff that they say around here?” he said of his colleagues with White House aspirations.
Several Republican senators took to Twitter to express their disappointment over the vote.
Unbelievable. Senate Democrats just voted against providing medical care for babies who survived abortions. https://t.co/DrR5O5srcB
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) February 25, 2019
Sanders, Harris, Warren, Booker and Gillibrand all voted against the bill, according to Politico.
Democrats and reproductive rights advocates blasted the bill, saying it’s already a felony to harm or neglect an infant and that the “medically irresponsible” bill would restricts doctors from making case-by-case decisions about what is best for infants and mothers.
“This bill is not about protecting infants, as Republicans have claimed—because that is not up for debate and it is already the law,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “This bill is government interference in women’s health care, in families’ lives, and in medicine on steroids.”
The Florida Supreme Court granted Governor Ron DeSantis’ request for a statewide grand jury to investigate school safety laws enacted in the wake of the Parkland high school shooting that left 17 dead, the Associated Press is reporting.
The Supreme Court issued the order Tuesday, less than two weeks after DeSantis called for the grand jury. The 18-member panel will meet for a year.
The grand jury will have the power to call witnesses and return indictments. It will mark yet another probe launched in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The grand jury will investigate whether school officials have committed fraud by misusing money intended for school safety and whether they are failing to report criminal activity in schools to the Department of Education.
Hey all, Vivian Ho on the west coast, taking over for Tom McCarthy. Happy Monday. Let’s see what the rest of the day has in store.
Yellen doubts Trump's grasp of economic policy
Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says she doubts that President Donald Trump has a good grasp of economic policy or even knows the Federal Reserve’s mandates, the AP reports:
In an interview with radio program Marketplace, Yellen says, “I doubt that he would even be able to say that the Fed’s goals are maximum employment and price stability.”
More from AP:
She says Trump’s comments demonstrate a “lack of understanding” about the Fed.
In the interview released Monday Yellen made her most pointed comments about Trump since he decided not to nominate her for a second term as Fed leader. She left the Fed a year ago and was succeeded as chairman by Powell.
She is now a distinguished fellow in residence at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Summary
•A former staff member of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has filed a federal lawsuit against the president, claiming he kissed her without consent. Alva Johnson said Trump “grasped her hand and did not let go” and kissed her on the corner of her mouth as she turned slightly away. The White House denied the allegation.
•US Capitol Police arrested 42 of the hundreds of protesters with the environmental group Sunrise Movement, who protested outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Washington DC office. McConnell is planning a vote on the Green New Deal, a massive proposal to fight climate change, with the likely intention of torpedoing the plan.
•Donald Trump is en route to Vietnam for a summit with Kim Jong-Un. Trump, Kim and senior officials from both countries are scheduled to resume talks held in Singapore in June last year over North Korean nuclear disarmament. Trump has claimed North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat”. His intelligence agencies, and Secretary of State, disagree.
•58 former top national security officials condemned Trump’s declaration of an emergency on the southern border. There is no real emergency and the declaration harms American interests, said the letter, signatories of which included both Republicans and Democrats.
•Warren Buffett made the case for rich Americans to pay more taxes, in an interview with CNBC. Buffett said the rich will continue to get richer in the coming years, adding: “I think the income tax credit is the best way to address that.” Buffett said the proposal “probably means more taxes for guys like me, and I’m fine with it
58 former top officials rebuke Trump over 'emergency' declaration
Fifty-eight former top national security officials have signed their names to a public letter (full text here) condemning Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the southern US border.
The signatories include both Republicans and Democrats (with a heavy sprinkling of former Obama officials) and also include: two former secretaries of state, two former secretaries of defense, a former secretary of homeland security, a former CIA director, a former director of national intelligence, a former national security adviser, multiple former directors of the national counterterrorism center and many ambassadors.
The letter reads in part:
We have served in senior leadership roles in administrations of both major political parties, and collectively we have devoted a great many decades to protecting the security interests of the United States. [...]
We are aware of no emergency that remotely justifies such a step. The President’s actions are at odds with the overwhelming evidence in the public record, including the administration’s own data and estimates. We have lived and worked through national emergencies, and we support the President’s power to mobilize the Executive Branch to respond quickly in genuine national emergencies. But under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today that entitles the President to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at the southern border.
Key points the letter makes include:
- Illegal border crossings are near forty-year lows.
- There is no documented terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border.
- There is no emergency related to violent crime at the southern border.
- There is no human or drug trafficking emergency that can be addressed by a wall at the southern border.
- This proclamation will only exacerbate the humanitarian concerns that do exist at the southern border.
- Redirecting funds for the claimed “national emergency” will undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
- The situation at the border does not require the use of the armed forces, and a wall is unnecessary to support the use of the armed forces.
- There is no basis for circumventing the appropriations process with a declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.
The signatories are:
1. Madeleine K. Albright 2. Jeremy B. Bash 3. John B. Bellinger III 4. Daniel Benjamin 5. Antony Blinken 6. John O. Brennan 7. R. Nicholas Burns 8. William J. Burns 9. Johnnie Carson 10. James Clapper 11. David S. Cohen 12. Eliot A. Cohen 13. Ryan Crocker 14. Thomas Donilon 15. Jen Easterly 16. Nancy Ely-Raphel 17. Daniel P. Erikson 18. John D. Feeley 19. Daniel F. Feldman 20. Jonathan Finer 21. Jendayi Frazer 22. Suzy George 23. Phil Gordon 24. Chuck Hagel 25. Avril D. Haines 26. Luke Hartig 27. Heather A. Higginbottom 28. Roberta Jacobson 29. Gil Kerlikowske 30. John F. Kerry 31. Prem Kumar 32. John E. McLaughlin 33. Lisa O. Monaco 34. Janet Napolitano 35. James D. Nealon 36. James C. O’Brien 37. Matthew G. Olsen 38. Leon E. Panetta 39. Anne W. Patterson 40. Thomas R. Pickering 41. Amy Pope 42. Samantha J. Power 43. Jeffrey Prescott 44. Nicholas Rasmussen 45. Alan Charles Raul 46. Dan Restrepo 47. Susan E. Rice 48. Anne C. Richard 49. Eric P. Schwartz 50. Andrew J. Shapiro 51. Wendy R. Sherman 52. Vikram Singh 53. Dana Shell Smith 54. Jeffrey H. Smith 55. Jake Sullivan 56. Strobe Talbott 57. Linda Thomas-Greenfield 58. Arturo A. Valenzuela
Read brief bios of the signatories and the full letter here.
Trump claims a delay in tariffs on Chinese goods is related to a trade deal he is crafting which he says is “in advanced stages”:
China Trade Deal (and more) in advanced stages. Relationship between our two Countries is very strong. I have therefore agreed to delay U.S. tariff hikes. Let’s see what happens?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019
Could Green Book’s victory at the Oscars last night indicate unexpected traction for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign?
We’re kidding – of course it doesn’t mean that. But CNN’s Harry Enten pointed out last week that betting markets rated both outcomes at around 20% likelihood, the point here being that sometimes 20% happens. (We’re reserving judgment on the quality of the oddsmakers’ numbers. Maybe Green Book was in fact a better-than-one-in-five bet. Mahershala Ali was really good in it. Maybe Sanders has a less-than-20% shot. What do you give him?)
CNN's @ForecasterEnten says the chances of Bernie Sanders winning the Dem nomination are about the same as "Green Book" winning Best Picture at the Oscars.
— New Day (@NewDay) February 21, 2019
"If Green Book wins, it's a good indication that sometimes underdogs do come out on top" https://t.co/Sy75apDkBT pic.twitter.com/Vq0aBfnPFc
National security adviser John Bolton has echoed vice president Mike Pence’s tough talk on Venezuela, saying in a statement that “Maduro’s actions will not go unpunished”:
Maduro’s actions will not go unpunished. The United States today took action against Venezuelan border governors who contributed to blocking desperately needed international humanitarian assistance and have engaged in rampant corruption. https://t.co/F9bfp8gw5a
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 25, 2019
Earlier Pence called for Maduro to be deposed and said, “we hope for a peaceful transition to democracy, but as President Trump has made clear, all options are on the table.”
The former Daily Show host Jon Stewart is on the Hill today supporting legislation to extend the 9-11 victims’ fund:
Jon Stewart on Capitol Hill today but with no jokes... instead standing alongside @SenGillibrand @RepMaloney pushing bipartisan legislation to renew 9-11 First Responders and Victims Fund pic.twitter.com/545Tk3Xu31
— MaryAlice Parks (@maryaliceparks) February 25, 2019
Scene from a Trump meeting at the White House today with state governors following last night’s “Governor’s Ball”, via the Toronto Star correspondent Daniel Dale:
Trump told governors today that Xi Jinping's aides are "central casting - glasses, pad." This is what he did upon saying "glasses." pic.twitter.com/Mry8m7qomD
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 25, 2019
Here’s video of the event:
Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who has been overseeing much of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, delivered remarks in Washington on Monday about upholding the rule of law.
But in case you were expecting a speech chock full of subtle references to Donald Trump – a president who hasn’t shown much deference for rules and norms – guess again.
Rosenstein studiously avoided the investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, the conclusion of which is expected as early as this week. As Mueller prepares to deliver a report summarizing his team’s findings, Rosenstein emphasized caution with respect to allegations that remain unproven.
“My view is the Department of Justice is best served when people are confident that we’re going to operate — when we’re investigating American citizens in particular — we’re going to do it with appropriate sensitivity to the rights of uncharged people,” Rosenstein said, at discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“If we aren’t prepared to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt in court, then we have no business making allegations against American citizens … I know there’s a tension there.”
Rosenstein also expressed confidence in William Barr, the newly confirmed attorney general who will be tasked with deciding whether or not to make the Mueller report public.
“That’s going to be a decision the attorney general makes as to what to do with whatever information is provided to him,” Rosenstein said.
“I think Attorney General Barr is going to make the right decision. You can trust him to do this … I think we can count on him to do the right thing.”
Democrats have said they would be willing to subpoena the special counsel report and have Mueller testify on Capitol Hill if necessary, citing concerns that Barr may not sufficiently disclose its findings.
But even as he declined to specifically discuss the Mueller investigation, Rosenstein suggested there was good cause to not always be transparent about the government’s work.
“Just because the government collects information doesn’t mean that information is accurate, and it can be really misleading if you’re overly transparent about information that the government collects, so I think we do need to be really cautious about that,” he said.
So was Rosenstein tempering expectations or simply speaking generally about Justice Department guidelines? We will soon find out.
Venezuela: Pence aims to step up pressure on Maduro
The US and other allies of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó are seeking ways to ramp up pressure on a country that is already heavily sanctioned and isolated, after a weekend bid to defy Caracas by bringing food and medical aid into the country ended in failure and violence, my colleagues Emma Graham-Harrison, Joe Parkin Daniels and Sam Jones report:
At an emergency summit of regional leaders in the Colombian capital Bogotá, the US vice-president repeated calls for increased international pressure on Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro.
Pence said: “Nicolás Maduro is a usurper with no legitimate claim to power, and Nicolás Maduro must go.”
He went on: “To leaders around the world: it’s time. There can be no bystanders in Venezuela’s struggle for freedom. As we continue to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on the Maduro regime, we hope for a peaceful transition to democracy, but as President Trump has made clear, all options are on the table.”
[...]
That apparent hint at the use of military force won an enthusiastic response from hawks like US senator Marco Rubio, but sparked alarm elsewhere, particularly as Trump has previously mooted ordering an invasion.
Read the piece in full here:
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she will eschew paid-for fundraising dinners and lengthy courting of donors during her presidential campaign.
In a Medium post Warren said her campaign “will be run on the principle of equal access for anybody who joins it”.
“That means no fancy receptions or big money fundraisers only with people who can write the big checks. And when I thank the people giving to my campaign, it will not be based on the size of their donation,” Warren wrote.
“It means that wealthy donors won’t be able to purchase better seats or one-on-one time with me at our events. And it means I won’t be doing ‘call time’, which is when candidates take hours to call wealthy donors to ask for their support.”
For every time you see a presidential candidate talking with voters at a town hall, rally, or local diner, those same candidates are spending three or four or five times as long with wealthy donors — on the phone, or in conference rooms at hedge fund offices, or at fancy receptions and intimate dinners — all behind closed doors.
Even when the candidate’s heart is in the right place and the donor is well-intentioned, that time creates a direct relationship between wealth and access to our political leaders. I believe that’s wrong: The amount of money you can give shouldn’t determine the amount of time you get to spend with a candidate.
It’s been estimated that up to 70% of a congressional candidate’s time is spent with potential wealthy donors. It’s safe to assume that goes for presidential campaigns too, and presidential donors are disproportionately white, male, and wealthy. We have to do things differently.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 25, 2019
On our campaign, there’ll be no event you’ll be excluded from because you can’t afford it, and no better seats or 1:1 time with me at events if you can. What you donate shouldn’t determine the amount of time you get to spend with a candidate. My plan: https://t.co/nVNiiGyOPd
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 25, 2019
House Democrats are preparing to investigate Donald Trump’s personal finances in the coming weeks, with particular scrutiny on his relationship with Deutsche Bank – the German bank which is under scrutiny for its role in Russian money laundering.
Politico reports that the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees “have been staffing up for their probes into the bank and Trump’s Russia ties”.
“There’s a heightened need to look into anything that could compromise the president or the country, particularly if it’s not being investigated elsewhere,” House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff told Politico.
“I don’t know that to be the case but I just haven’t seen any external signs that that’s happening.”
Democrats on the panels say that with Deutsche Bank they are willing to pursue a key area that [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller may have avoided — crossing what Trump sees as a “red line” into his personal finances.
The German bank, which has been under scrutiny for its role in Russian money laundering, lent Trump hundreds of millions of dollars over the years for his property development ventures. In his latest financial disclosure filing, Trump reported owing Deutsche Bank at least $130 million.
Arrests in McConnell climate change protest
The US Capitol Police arrested 42 of the hundreds of protesters with the youth-led Sunrise Movement who protested outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Washington DC office to urge him to act on climate change.
The protesters were led in groups with hands behind their backs to a bus outside the Senate office building. Supporters wearing shirts that said “12 years” and “We have a right to good jobs and a livable future,” continued to chant.
“Which side are you on now?” they sang as some of the protesters were processed for arrest with pat-downs.
McConnell has promised a vote on the Green New Deal, a massive proposal to fight climate change and guarantee jobs, health care and education to all Americans. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey recently introduced text laying out the broad strokes of the plan.
The Sunrise Movement in a press release called McConnell’s plans for a vote a “shameful ploy.” His move for a vote is likely meant to expose moderates who would find it difficult to vote for the plan’s expansive social goals, particularly without more specific provisions.
A staffer greeted the group and took down their information, but no one from McConnell’s office spoke with them. Protesters from Kentucky said they have repeatedly sought meetings with him.
Updated
Donald Trump has left for Vietnam, for his summit with Kim Jong-Un.
Trump, Kim and senior officials from both countries are scheduled to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday and Thursday, resuming talks held in Singapore in June last year – the first between the two countries’ heads of state.
Trump has previously overstated the concessions made by North Korea in its goal to develop a nuclear weapon, but yesterday he set a more realistic tone.
Trump said in a tweet he expected “a continuation of the progress” made at their first summit last year, adding simply: “Denuclearization?” He later said North Korea could become “one of the great economic powers” if it abandoned nuclear weapons.
Washington state is planning to sue the Trump administration over its new policy setting up further obstacles for women seeking abortions.
The government issued a rule on Friday that bars federally funded family planning programs from referring women for abortions. The move could strip millions of federal dollars from Planned Parenthood and divert it toward faith-based care providers.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has challenged other Trump policies, including the travel ban, announced the lawsuit on Monday.
The American Medical Association had warned that the policy could have an impact beyond abortion.
The association says the policy could affect access to health care services provided to low-income women by the clinics, including birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Buffett: wealthy 'definitely undertaxed'
Warren Buffett has made the case for rich Americans to pay more taxes, in an interview with CNBC.
“As we get more specialized, the rich will get richer. The question is: How do you take care of a guy who is a wonderful citizen whose father died in Normandy and just doesn’t have market skills? I think the income tax credit is the best way to address that,” Buffett told the news channel.
That probably means more taxes for guys like me, and I’m fine with it.
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, have both proposed measures which would tax the super rich.
Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal would apply a 70 percent marginal tax on incomes over $10 million. Warrnen has suggested an “ultra-millionaire” tax that would apply to people with more than $50 million in assets.
Updated
A number of the Green New Deal activists who are protesting outside Mitch McConnell’s office are now being led away by police, the Guardian’s Emily Holden is reporting:
These @sunrisemvmt protestors getting arrested, as they expected. pic.twitter.com/tunRiweSbA
— Emily Holden (@emilyhholden) February 25, 2019
A group of young Kentuckians are protesting outside Mitch McConnell’s DC office this morning, to demand the Republican Senate majority leader take action on climate change.
Emily Holden, the Guardian’s climate reporter, is with the 200 activists as they line the halls outside McConnell’s office.
Here on the hill as @sunrisemvmt heads toward @senatemajldr’s office to protest for #GreenNewDeal #climatechange pic.twitter.com/xeXen9Hapn
— Emily Holden (@emilyhholden) February 25, 2019
The protestors, have travelled to DC from McConnell’s home state of Kentucky with the aid of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental activist group.
Sunrise Movement is aiming to raise support for the Green New Deal, a 10-year plan to mobilize America toward 100% renewable energy. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Ed Markey introduced resolutions to bring the Deal to Congress this week.
Updated
Trump’s defenders in the Alva Johnson sexual misconduct allegations are likely to point to a recently sealed lawsuit involving the former campaign worker.
The Washington Post reported that in September 2018, three months after Johnson hired the Washington DC attorney Hassan Zavareei to handle the Trump case, Johnson “moved to seal a years-old court case in which two family members had briefly sought a temporary restraining order against her”.
The restraining order was brought against Johnson in 2006. According to the Post, Johnson’s half-sister alleged that Johnson had been calling another sister’s school and falsely claiming that the teenager was using drugs.
The family members withdrew the petition three weeks later.
“These false allegations came in the context of a family dispute that was resolved amicably years ago,” Zavareei said.
“Ms. Johnson’s family stands firmly behind her pursuit of justice against Donald Trump for the sexual assaults he has committed against Ms. Johnson and so many other women over the course of decades.”
White House responds to Trump sexual assault accusation
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has dismissed the accusation he kissed a woman without her consent as “absurd”.
The full statement from the White House:
This accusation is absurd on its face. This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts.
Of course, Trump himself was caught on an Access Hollywood tape specifically saying he kisses women without their consent.
The tape was released by NBC in 2016. From the transcript:
I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy. You can do anything
Updated
This is not the first time Donald Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct. More than a dozen women have made allegations against the president, ranging from sexual assault to sexual harrassment.
In November 2017 the Guardian reported on 20 women who had accused Trump of misconduct.
At the time Trump said each of the women were lying, and suggested some of the accusers were not attractive enough for him to want to sexually assault.
A list of the women, and their accusations, is here. Clearly, the number has continued to grow.
Updated
Here’s more on the Harry Reid-Donald Trump row that erupted this morning, where the former Senate majority leader said Donald Trump is making George W. Bush look like Babe Ruth.
Reid’s slight came during an interview with CNN, as the the man who clashed constantly with Bush during his presidency said he now wishes for Bush back “every day.”
Erin Durkin reports:
“He and I had our differences, but no one ever questioned his patriotism. Our battles were strictly political battles,” Reid said. “There’s no question in my mind that George Bush would be Babe Ruth in this league that he’s in with Donald Trump in the league. Donald Trump wouldn’t make the team.”
The Nevada Democrat said he couldn’t think of a single good thing about Trump’s presidency. “I just have trouble accepting him as a person, so frankly I don’t see anything he’s doing right.”
Still, Reid dismissed calls for Trump’s impeachment as a “waste of time” since Senate Republicans will never go along. And he advised Democratic presidential candidates not to focus their message on the president. “The candidates running need not talk about how bad President Trump is, they just need to talk about what’s good for the country. Everyone knows, even those people supporting knows what problems he has,” he told CNN.
Reid, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was reported last month not to have long to live, said his cancer is now in remission, though chemotherapy treatment took a harsh toll on his health and left him unable to walk much without assistance.
His health troubles didn’t stop Trump from hitting back at him on Twitter. “Former Senator Harry Reid (he got thrown out) is working hard to put a good spin on his failed career. He led through lies and deception, only to be replaced by another beauty, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer,” the president said. “Some things just never change!”
Updated
Donald Trump has complained about a “racist hit” he said Spike Lee carried out on him at the Oscars.
The film-maker, 61, won his first competitive Academy Award, best adapted screenplay, for his film BlacKkKlansman, which was also nominated for best picture. Lee received an honorary Oscar in 2015.
Ata press conference after the awards ceremony, Lee was asked if his film had changed America. He responded by discussing the white nationalist rally and march in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old counter-protester, was killed by a car driven by an extremist.
Lee included footage of the attack in BlacKkKlansman. Trump infamously said there had been “very fine people, on both sides” of the protests.
“That car drove down that one street in Virginia,” Lee said, “and the president of the United States did not reject, refute [or] did not denounce the Klan, ‘alt-right’ and neo-Nazis. This film, whether we won best picture or not, this film will stand the test of time being on the right side of history.”
Around dawn on Monday, from the White House, Trump duly responded with a nasty personal jab.
He wrote: “Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes or better yet not have to use notes at all when doing his racist hit on your president.”
Updated
Trump kissed me without consent, says former campaign staffer
A former staff member of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has filed a federal lawsuit against the president, claiming he kissed her without consent.
Alva Johnson, who served as Trump’s campaign’s director of outreach and coalitions in Alabama in 2016, told the Washington Post that Trump “grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the lips”, as the then-candidate exited an RV at a rally in Tampa on August 24 2016.
According to the Post:
Johnson said she turned her head and the unwanted kiss landed on the side of her mouth, which she called “super-creepy and inappropriate.”
“I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,” she said. “I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed Johnson’s allegation as “absurd on its face” in a statement to the newspaper.
“This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts,” Sanders said.
Johnson filed the lawsuit in Florida on Monday. She is seeking damages for emotional pain and suffering. The Washington Post said the lawsuit “also alleges that the campaign discriminated against Johnson, who is black, by paying her less than her white male counterparts”. A spokesman for the campaign denied the claim.
Updated
Opening summary
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
•It’s set to be a big week in Washington DC. Particularly for Michael Cohen. Trump’s former fixer, who in December was sentenced to 36 months in prison for crimes including lying to Congress and facilitating illegal payments, is giving testimony before the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Wednesday and Thursday. We’ll watch out for developments before his appearances.
•Mike Pence is meeting with Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido in Colombia today. The vice-president will announce “concrete steps” and “clear actions” to address the Venezuela crisis, Reuters reported. The US has called for President Nicolas Maduro to step down.
•Former Senate majority leader Harry Reid has been weighing in on Donald Trump this morning, saying the president is so bad he makes George W Bush look like “Babe Ruth”. Trump has used his regular morning Twitter riff to claim Reid has a “failed career”.
•Trump has been busy on other topics too, warning Republican senators not to be “led down the path of weak and ineffective border security”. Trump reiterated that there is a “state of emergency” at the southern border.
Updated
