Summary
That’s it for today, thanks for reading.
- Michael Flynn’s sentencing hearing ended in dramatic fashion, with Trump’s former national security advisor requesting a delay after being warned he could face a prison sentence. Judge Emmet Sullivan spent around 15 minutes lambasting Flynn in court, telling him that “arguably, you sold your country out” and expressing “disgust” and “disdain”, at Flynn’s offences.
- Sarah Sanders continued to claim the FBI had “ambushed” Michael Flynn – contrary to Flynn’s own statements. She said Flynn’s lying to the FBI had nothing to do with the president. Asked about Trump’s different approach to Flynn compared to his former aide Michael Cohen, who has also worked with the special counsel, and whom Trump has branded a “rat”, Sanders said rat “a pretty appropriate term”.
- Donald Trump agreed to shut down his charity, amid a lawsuit alleging “a shocking pattern of illegality” at the organization. New York attorney general Barbara Underwood alleges “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign”.
- The White House suggested Trump may back down on his commitment to shut the government down unless he gets $5bn to spend on a border wall. Trump had said he would be “proud” to orchestrate a shutdown unless Congress include the money in spending bills that must be passed by Friday night. Congress is unlikely to pass such bills, but Sarah Sanders said the government believed it could get the money from elsewhere.
We’ll be back tomorrow with the final US politics live blog of the year. And don’t forget, you can sign up to our new US morning briefing for a summary of the day’s top stories and must-reads every weekday.
Bernie Sanders has topped a poll of potential Democratic candidates for president. Sanders got a whopping 36% in the straw poll, which admittedly was conducted by a progressive organization – Democracy for America.
Joe Biden got 15% of the vote, while hot-ticket Beto O’Rourke took 12%. The DFA polled 94,000 of its members between November 29 and December 14. Elizabeth Warren won 8% of the vote – way down from her performance in the DFA’s poll ahead of the 2016 election, when 42% of members wanted her as their candidate.
Following the 2016 election, Sanders galvanized support by running “one heck of a fantastic presidential campaign,” said DFA’s current executive director, Charles Chamberlain, who will become chairman of the group in January. He said the straw poll exposes that Warren and Harris “have some work to do” to build support among progressives. But he said the poll at this early stage for DFA members is also a “cross between name recognition, people they’re excited about and people they actually think are running.”
The Trump administration has banned bump stocks – the devices that can be fitted to a semi-automatic weapon, like an AR15, to effectively turn it into a machine gun.
Bump stocks were used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people. Owners have 90 days to turn in or destroy the devices and blocking owners from being able to register them
The gun rights group Gun Owners of America said on Tuesday it will file a lawsuit against the government, seeking an injunction to overturn the new law.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez had the highest rate of small donor funding of any member of the House of Representatives in 2016, according to OpenSecrets.org.
OpenSecrets says 62% of Ocasio-Cortez’s fundraising total – she brought in $2m – came from donations of less than $200.
John Lewis, the Democrat from Georgia, was in second place, with 55% of his money coming from small donors. But small donor donations weren’t just limited to Democrats.
Devin Nunes, California Republican and #MAGA enthusiast, had the third highest percentage of small dollar donations: 49%.
A group of former Obama and Beto O’Rourke staffers have launched Draft Beto – an effort to convince the Texan to run for president.
The team want to raise $1m for O’Rourke’s potential campaign “to both convince him to run [I’m not sure he’ll take that much convincing] and give him a headstart in the primary”.
From the slightly hyperbolic press release:
“The comparisons to JFK and even Obama exist for a reason. Beto’s the real deal. His ability to inspire and connect with voters is unparalleled, even among such strong field of presidential contenders,” said Nate Lerner, Co-Founder of Draft Beto and head of its grassroots team. “The energy we’re seeing this early is absolutely unprecedented as well.”
That’s that then. Straight from the
tortoise’s
horse’s mouth.
.@Kasie: Are you convinced there won't be a government shutdown over Christmas?
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 18, 2018
Senate Majority Leader McConnell: "Yeah, I am." pic.twitter.com/2xSglRhYM3
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Summary - White House press briefing
And it’s over. The press briefing – the first in about three weeks – lasted about 15 minutes.
•The administration “wish[es] General Flynn well”, Sanders said, after Flynn was lambasted by a judge this afternoon and told he could face a prison sentence. Flynn’s sentencing hearing for lying to the FBI has been postponed.
•Trump has “asked every agency” to look for money to put towards his border wall, Sanders said. Trump has threatened a government shutdown unless Congress assigns $5bn to build the wall, but earlier Sanders had seemed to back away from that position.
•Sanders said it was “appropriate” for Trump to refer to people using the term “rat”. She didn’t answer a question about the apparent double-standard between Trump’s treatment of Cohen versus Flynn.
•Flynn’s lying to federal investigators about his contact with foreign officials did not have anything to do with Trump, Sanders said. She doubled down on a claim she made earlier today that investigators had “ambushed” Flynn. Flynn has denied that this occurred.
With the deficit ballooning, why is the Trump administration asking taxpayers to pay for this wall?
Sanders says the wall would save money in the long run.
Sanders is asked about the news today that Trump’s charity is being dissolved – amid allegations that he used the charity for his personal benefit.
“That’s something that I would refer you to the Trump Organization.”
Is it a good idea for Trump to refer to people as “rats”?
“People who are dishonest and lying it seems like a pretty appropriate term.”
Updated
•Sanders is asked about her claim earlier today that the government could come up with $5bn for Trump’s border wall separately from the budget bill – potentially avoiding a government shutdown.
“The president has asked every agency to look and see if they have money they can use for that purpose.”
“We want to see what the senate can pass,” Sanders says. Once that is determined the administration will weigh its options.
•Is Trump concerned that Flynn lied to the FBI and was working as a foreign agent, particularly given Trump’s contempt for his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s mistruths.
“Not when it comes to anything that has to do with the president,”Sanders says.
•Border wall question again: is the White House willing to accept just $1.6bn from Congress for the wall?
Sanders says again that she wants to see what can pass.
Updated
Sarah Sanders is holding a press briefing at the White House. She’s asked for a reaction to the Flynn hearing earlier.
The delay is something “between General Flynn and the courts”, Sanders says.
“We wish General Flynn well and we’ll continue to focus on what we do here everyday.”
•Sanders is asked about Judge Sullivan’s musing that Flynn may have committed treason.
Sanders says she is “not aware” of anything that would indicate Flynn had committed treason.
•Sanders is asked if she would like to revisit her claims that the FBI “ambushed” Flynn.
The FBI did ambush Flynn, she says. The agency broke protocol in doing so, according to Sanders.
Summary – Flynn hearing
•Michael Flynn, former White House national security adviser, has requested a delay in his sentencing for the crime of lying to federal investigators, after a judge warned he could face time in prison.
•Judge Emmet Sullivan slammed Flynn as he weighed a sentence in a DC court. “Arguably, you sold your country out,” Sullivan said. “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense.”
•Sullivan suggested Flynn should ask to delay the sentencing hearing, pending Flynn’s potential further cooperation with the special counsel investigation. After a hastily convened recess, Flynn requested the delay.
•A status hearing is scheduled for 13 March, when Flynn could get a better idea of his fate. But Sullivan’s assessment of the severity of Flynn’s offences will likely be ringing in his ears.
Updated
Judge requests Flynn 'status hearing' in March
Judge Emmet Sullivan has asked for a status hearing in 90 days, after delaying Michael Flynn’s sentencing hearing.
In an extraordinary hearing at the US district court for the District of Columbia, Sullivan expressed “disgust” at Flynn’s behavior, and suggested he was considering sending Flynn to prison.
Sullivan suggested Flynn reconsider his request to be sentenced today and instead continue his cooperation with the special counsel – potentially earning a lesser punishment.
After taking a recess, Flynn’s lawyers asked for the sentencing to be postponed.
But Sullivan gave a warning to Flynn when he said he did not agree with the sentence given to General David Petraeus. Petraeus, a former head of the CIA, pleaded guilty to mishandling classified information in 2015. He was not sentenced to prison time.
Updated
Flynn asks for delay in sentencing
Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s former national security, has asked for a delay in sentencing.
Judge Emmet Sullivan earlier said Flynn had committed a “very serious offence” in lying to the FBI.
More to follow.
The court is back in session in Washington DC. Judge Emmet Sullivan has just clarified that he did not mean to suggest Flynn may be guilty of “treason”.
Sullivan has also clarified that Flynn was not acting as a foreign agent while serving in the government, as the judge had earlier alleged. Flynn was in contact with foreign officials before Trump became president. From CBS News Steven Portnoy:
"I felt terrible about that," Sullivan says, after the prosecutor notes Flynn's conduct as a foreign agent ended in mid-Nov 2016.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) December 18, 2018
"I'm not suggesting he committed treason," Sullivan adds, further apologizing for his remarks in the prior session.
Updated
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is holding a briefing at 1.30pm. Given the Flynn developments that could be... interesting.
It’s the first press briefing since late November.
Flynn requests recess after judge's extraordinary rebuke
The sentencing hearing of Michael Flynn has entered a dramatic recess, after Flynn was subjected to a scathing rebuke and warned that he could face a prison sentence.
Judge Emmet Sullivan, in charge of sentencing Flynn, spent around 15 minutes lambasting Trump’s former national security adviser, telling Flynn that “arguably, you sold your country out” and expressing “disgust” and “disdain”, at his offences.
“You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the National Security Adviser to the president of the United States,” Vox reporter Andrew Prokop quoted Sullivan as saying.
“Arguably this undermines everything this flag over here stands for.”
Sullivan urged Flynn to consider whether he wants to be sentenced in court today, or wait and cooperate further with Mueller’s investigation. Flynn has taken a recess, apparently to consider his next move. The court is due to return at 12.30pm.
If Flynn decided to be sentenced today, Sullivan said he could not rule out prison time.
“Arguably, you sold your country out,” Sullivan said, according to Tim Ryan, a reporter for Courthouse News who was in court.
“The court’s going to consider all that. I cannot assure you that if you proceed today you will not receive a sentence of incarceration.”
Updated
This is from Andrew Prokop, a reporter from Vox, who is tweeting from inside the courtroom.
Judge Sullivan now asking whether Flynn could have been charged with treason (!).
— Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) December 18, 2018
Van Grack doesn't want to answer.
Flynn is really being hauled over the coals by Judge Sullivan.
Sullivan told Flynn he had committed a very serious offence and said he was not ruling out a prison sentence. From Tim Ryan:
"Arguably, you sold your country out," Sullivan said. "The court's going to consider all that. I cannot assure you that if you proceed today you will not receive a sentence of incarceration."
— Tim Ryan (@tjryan93) December 18, 2018
He went on:
"I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offense."
Help us defend the truth in 2019. Make a year-end gift to the Guardian. A note from the Guardian’s US editor, John Mulholland:
In normal times we might not be making this appeal. But these are not normal times. Many of the values and beliefs we hold dear at The Guardian are under threat both here in the US and around the world. Facts, science, humanity, diversity and equality are being challenged daily. As is truth. Which is why we need your help.
Powerful public figures choose lies over truths, prefer supposition over science; and select hate over humanity. The US administration is foremost among them; whether in denying climate science or hating on immigrants; giving succor to racists or targeting journalists and the media. Many of these untruths and attacks find fertile ground on social media where tech platforms seem unable to cauterise lies. As a result, fake is in danger of overriding fact.
Almost 100 years ago, in 1921, the editor of The Guardian argued that the principal role of a newspaper was accurate reporting, insisting that “facts are sacred.” We still hold that to be true. The need for a robust, independent press has never been greater, but the challenge is more intense than ever as digital disruption threatens traditional media’s business model. We pride ourselves on not having a paywall because we believe truth should not come at a price for anyone. Our journalism remains open and accessible to everyone and with your help we can keep it that way.
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Courthouse news reporter Tim Ryan is tweeting live from the Michael Flynn hearing in Washington DC.
Flynn has just told the court “he does not wish to challenge the circumstances of his FBI interview”, according to Ryan.
Last week Flynn said in a submission to the court that he was mislead by FBI agents when he lied to them.
Special counsel Robert Mueller dismissed Flynn’s claims, telling Judge Emmet Sullivan, overseeing Flynn’s sentencing, to reject Flynn’s attempts to “minimize the seriousness” of his crimes.
Sullivan says those claims could "affect or call into question" Flynn's plea or at the least his acceptance of responsibility
— Tim Ryan (@tjryan93) December 18, 2018
Flynn is at the podium now, answering questions about the claims.
Flynn says he does not wish to challenge the circumstances of his FBI interview
Trump’s charity shutdown comes after months of concerted reporting by the Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold.
Fahrenthold uncovered a slew of alleged misdeeds by the Trump Foundation. Trump used charity money to “pay off legal settlements for his private business, to purchase art that decorated one of his clubs and to make a prohibited political donation”, Fahrenthold wrote today.
The largest donation in the foundation’s history — a $264,231 gift to the Central Park Conservancy in 1989 — appeared to benefit Trump’s business: it paid to restore a fountain outside Trump’s Plaza Hotel. The smallest, a $7 foundation gift to the Boy Scouts that same year, appeared to benefit Trump’s family. It matched the amount required to enroll a boy in the Scouts the year that his son Donald Trump Jr. was 11.
Trump to shut down charity after New York lawsuit
Donald Trump has agreed to shut down his charity, amid a lawsuit alleging “a shocking pattern of illegality” at the organization.
New York attorney general Barbara Underwood announced the shut down of the Trump Foundation on Tuesday. Underwood is bringing a lawsuit against the organization, seeking millions of dollars in repayments.
Underwood alleges Trump used his foundation for personal benefit, including aiding his presidential campaign.
“Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” Underwood said.
“Today’s stipulation accomplishes a key piece of the relief sought in our lawsuit earlier this year. Under the terms, the Trump Foundation can only dissolve under judicial supervision – and it can only distribute its remaining charitable assets to reputable organizations approved by my office.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone. We’ll continue to move our suit forward to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law.”
Trump appears to relent on government shutdown
Donald Trump appears to have backed down over the looming government shutdown, with the White House suggesting an upcoming budget deal does not have to include funding for a border wall.
In an interview with Fox News press secretary Sarah Sanders said the government has come up with “other ways” to find the $5bn Trump had been demanding.
The president had threatened to shut down the government – he said he would be “proud” to do so – if a budget bill due Friday did not include funding for his oft-promised wall.
But Sanders softened that stance on Tuesday.
“We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion,” she told Fox News.
“At the end of the day we don’t want to shut down the government, we want to shut down the border.”
Sanders said the Trump administration had identified other ways to come up with the money.
“There are certainly a number of different funding sources that we’ve identified that we can use, that we can couple with money that would be given through congressional appropriations that would help us get to that $5 billion that the president needs in order to protect our border,” she said.
Arizona’s governor has appointed Martha McSally to take John McCain’s seat in the US Senate, according to the Washington Post.
McSally, who lost in her run for Arizona’s other Senate seat in November’s mid-terms, will have to run in a special election in 2020 if she wants to keep her place in the US Senate.
The Republican seemed to have fallen out of the running after clashing with John McCain’s family – the deceased Senator’s son-in-law, Ben Domenech, was particularly critical.
McSally strikes me as an unwise choice for a number of reasons. She's like an NFL team that plays down to its opponents' level - and she'll be tasked with running for re-election immediately. https://t.co/C01s2sL28e
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) December 14, 2018
But Governor Doug Ducey announced her appointment in a release on Tuesday.
“With her experience and long record of service, Martha is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona’s interests in the U.S. Senate. I thank her for taking on this significant responsibility,” Ducey said in a statement.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo has been through the Senate reports on how Russia targeted the 2016 presidential election. His takeaway is that “the tactics that the Russians used were really, really similar to what we saw from team Trump”.
Cuomo cited an unnamed senior Trump campaign official who told Bloomberg the Trump campaign were targeting the same groups as the Russians went after: african-americans, young women and white liberals.
In the days ahead of the election the Russian effort focussed on spreading allegations of voter fraud and stolen elections, Cuomo says: “You were hearing the same exact thing from then-candidate Donald Trump.”
The Republican controlled Senate Intel Committee just put out some third party research that provides our best evidence to date of what Russia was doing on social media to muck up our election. The clear goal: help Trump. #LetsGetAfterIt #CuomoPrimeTime pic.twitter.com/kwqTdumoGc
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) December 18, 2018
Roger Stone, longtime political advisor to Donald Trump, has taken a lie detector test in an attempt to prove he did not conspire with Russia during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
WSVN reports that the polygraph test was paid for by Stone and conducted by John Palmatier, a former police officer with more than 35 years experience giving polygraph tests.
Stone essentially failed the test – the results were “inconclusive” – first time round. He passed a second test when stating he had never communicated with any Russian entity or Wikileaks about distributing stolen emails from the DNC.
Stone allegedly made contacts with the WikiLeaks organization through an intermediary in an effort to help the 2016 Trump campaign. Stone has denied all wrongdoing but has said he expects to be indicted.
The jury is very much out on the accuracy of polygraph tests, according to Psychology Today:
Doubts about polygraph tests grew in the scientific community until the National Research Council – an organization of scientists – conducted a systematic evaluation and concluded that the test is lacking in scientific validity (2).
In 1998, the U.S. Supreme court acted to restrict their use in legal proceedings. In particular, defense attorneys can no longer use evidence that their client passed a polygraph test as establishing innocence of a crime.
Updated
Trump's ex-adviser Michael Flynn to be sentenced
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the day’s political news.
Michael Flynn is will be sentenced at 11am ET for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia during the presidential transition. Donald Trump’s former national security adviser will discover his fate at US district court for the District of Columbia. Our reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner will be at court.
Donald Trump wished Flynn “good luck” this morning, in the midst of typically fevered barrage of tweets. Trump also referenced “the whole Russian witch hunt”, “illegal immigration”, and “Crooked Hillary”. Flynn has admitted guilt.
Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2018
On the president’s agenda today: he’s holding a roundtable discussion on a report by the Federal Commission on School Safety. The commission was set up in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting.
Updated
