Evening summary
- A heartbreaking photo from the US-Mexico border of a drowned migrant father and his daughter has been circulating and drawing responses from those in Washington and on the campaign trail.
- The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Omarosa Manigault Newman, alleging that she failed to file a required financial disclosure report after she was fired in December 2017.
Senator Cory Booker weighs in on the image from the US-Mexico Border:
We should not look away. These are the consequences of Donald Trump’s inhumane and immoral immigration policy. This is being done in our name. https://t.co/mZQnREOjV0
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 25, 2019
Video of a Justice Department lawyer arguing in court that the federal government wasn’t always legally required to provide soap and toothbrushes to detained migrant children went viral. Now, the lawyer, Sarah Fabian, is defending herself to her friends privately on Facebook, according to a post obtained by NBC News.
In private note to friends, DOJ lawyer whose video went viral defends herselfhttps://t.co/UQPnlDsG4H pic.twitter.com/MB6roT3wHp
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 25, 2019
“I will say that I personally believe that we should do our very best to care for kids while they are in our custody, and I try to always represent that value in my work,” Fabian wrote. “A vast majority of the work that I do is not public, but I strive to help people by my participation in the process.”
Presidential candidate Julian Castro reacts to the image from the US-Mexico border:
Absolutely heartbreaking. Families are fleeing desperate conditions to find refuge, only for the doors to be shut in their face. We need a more sensible, compassionate immigration system that doesn’t criminalize desperation. https://t.co/AKM9Q5ppc5
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) June 25, 2019
Updated
A heartbreaking photo of a drowned migrant and his toddler daughter is making the rounds at the moment. Read more below about the image and what it tells us about the reality at the US-Mexico border:
DOJ accuses Omarosa of ethics violations
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman for allegedly failing to file a required financial disclosure report after she was fired, the Hill is reporting.
JUST IN: Justice Dept files lawsuit against Omarosa for allegedly violating ethics law https://t.co/oYP91GrqQZ pic.twitter.com/H1c1MbAJxN
— The Hill (@thehill) June 25, 2019
Manigault Newman faces fines of up to $50,000.
The former Apprentice reality show villain was fired from the Trump White House, where she held the position of director of communications for the office of public liaison, in December 2017.
She went on to write a searing tell-all memoir about her time in the White House.
Hey all, Vivian Ho taking over for Oliver Laughland. Happy Tuesday.
I’m handing over our live coverage of a relatively quiet day in Washington to my colleague Vivian Ho in San Francisco now.
Donald Trump has presented Staff Sgt. David Bellavia with the medal of honor, marking the first time a living veteran of the Iraq war has received the American military’s highest award for valour.
The award was given to Staff Sgt. Bellavia for actions taken during Operation Iraqi Freedom during combat in November 2004.
“David often tells young people, Americans don’t want to fight. But if someone picks a fight for us, we’ll win. We fight for love of our country,” the Trump told an audience at the White House.
Following the short ceremony the president did not take questions from reporters.
Some more comments from Trump’s appearance today have come through from the pool report. They relate in particular to Iran.
Q: “Do you have an exit strategy for Iran, if war does break out?”
Trump: “You’re not going to need an exit strategy. I don’t do exit strategies.”
And from earlier:
Q: “What message did you want to send to [Iran]?”
Trump: “There is no message. You know what, I’ll tell you what the message is: When they’re ready ... let isn’t know. When they’re ready, they’ll let us know.”
Q: “Ready to negotiate?”
Trump: “Ready to do whatever. Doesn’t make a difference. Whatever they want to do, I’m ready.”
President Trump has made his first public appearance of the day at an executive order signing at the White House. Trump was enacting an order related to affordable housing.
The pool report is not yielding a huge amount in the way of full quotes, but here’s what we have:
- The president said he is “very concerned” about conditions in detention centres near the border, but argued they were in better shape than under President Obama.
- He says that John Sanders, the CBP commissioner was not asked to resign.
- He again called on Democrats to back asylum law changes. “We need the votes of Democrats,” he said.
- He falsely told reporters that a wall on the southern border is “heavily under construction”.
- Trump said the US is ready for “whatever” Iran wants to do.
- The president commended Stephanie Grishman on her new job as press secretary.
Here’s some reaction to reports that acting CBP commissioner John Sanders is set to resign.
Amnesty International USA advocacy director Charanya Krishnaswami says:
Children should never be held in detention at all, let alone in the appalling conditions that were detailed in reports this weekend from a Texas border patrol station. Today’s announcement that the chief of Customs and Border Protection is resigning is an opportunity for steps to be taken, including Congressional hearings and investigations, to provide accountability for these shocking abuses, and compassionate care to children seeking safety in the United States. Any effort to normalize the warehousing of children is unacceptable.
Summary
Here’s how things stand at lunch time today:
- Donald Trump has threatened Iran with “overwhelming force” and “obliteration” if the regime attacks “anything American” in a series of Tweets. The comments followed Iran’s admonishment of the president’s latest round of sanctions.
- Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s communications lead, has been named the new White House press secretary. Her new role is a sweeping one, she will continue in the East Wing and also become White House communications chief.
- The acting head of Customs and Border Protection, John Sanders, is set to resign amid ongoing outcry against the administration’s treatment of children in detention.
Multiple outlets are reporting that acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner John Sanders is set to resign amid ongoing outcry over the treatment in immigration detention.
Sanders has only been at CBP since July 2018 after joining the department from the private sector.
Outlets are reporting he will leave his job as the administration’s top immigration official on 5 July.
CNN is reporting that Grisham’s new role will be a vastly expanded job. She will continue as Melania Trump’s communication lead, take over Sanders’ job as White House press secretary and will also be the White House communications director, filling the job vacated by Bill Shine earlier in the year.
The news outlet reports that Grisham, who came through the Republican party communication ranks in Arizona, will accompany Donald Trump on his trip to the G20 summit in Japan this week.
Stephanie Grisham, currently the communications director for First Lady Melania Trump has been named as the White House press secretary, following the departure of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
It appears she will also continue on as the First Lady’s communications lead as well.
I am pleased to announce @StephGrisham45 will be the next @PressSec & Comms Director! She has been with us since 2015 - @potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country. Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse. #BeBest
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 25, 2019
Jared Kushner has been speaking in Manama, Bahrain, where his much-touted but much-doubted “peace to prosperity” plan for Israel and the Palestinian territories, which contains a $50bn development blueprint, is making its first steps in the world.
According to wire updates from Reuters transmitted in rather breathless capital letters, the president’s son-in-law and chief adviser said political issues would not be discussed at the two-day “economic workshop” in Bahrain, because a political solution to the decades-old conflict is not possible without economic progress for the Palestinians.
He also reportedly said the Trump administration “has not given up” on the Palestinians. This will be greeted with skepticism among Palestinians, given the relentlessly pro-Israel slant of US policy under Trump.
Before the Manama conference began, prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said: “We have realised that this economic workshop in Bahrain is going to be really nonsense. It is just simply a theoretical piece of work calling for $50bn.”
For further reading, here’s Julian Borger’s preview of the event, published this morning:
Updated
My colleague Emily Holden has been following a protest action at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington ahead of the primary debates tomorrow.
She sends this note:
The Sunrise Movement is calling on the party to allow a climate-focused debate.
DNC chair Tom Perez has warned that any candidate who participates in one will be banned from other party debates.
Destiney Lee, a 22-year-old from Dallas, Texas, and a fellow with the Sunrise Movement, said she is protesting for the party to consider climate change as more than a single issue, as Perez has referred to the crisis caused by rising temperatures.
“Which side are you on now, which side are you on?” the protestors sang from the steps of the headquarters.
They held signs with the words “Climate Debate,” “Green New Deal Now,” and “11 years.” Scientists have said the world has just over a decade to begin to rapidly shift away from burning fossil fuels and other activities that heat the planet.
Dozens of young climate crisis activists @sunrisemvmt are protesting at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, ahead of presidential debates in Miami this week. They want a climate-focused debate, which the DNC won’t hold. pic.twitter.com/BtyscmTWQ9
— Emily Holden (@emilyhholden) June 25, 2019
Updated
A pair of congressmen have unveiled a bipartisan measure to block President Trump taking military action against Iran without congressional approval.
An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act being proposed by proposed by Democrat Rohit Khanna and Republican Matt Gaetz, a Trump loyalist, would block funding for military action in Iran without congressional approval.
“Last week, we watched President Trump come within minutes of striking Iran and involving the United States in yet another trillion-dollar war in the Middle East,” said a statement from Khanna. “President Trump campaigned on ending costly wars overseas, but given the advisors he chose and his recent risky actions, he is not living up to that promise.”
“This amendment affirms what President Trump knows and believes: unfocused, unconstitutional, unending wars in the Middle East make America weaker, not stronger,” said Gaetz, as reported by The Hill. “Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon and threatening international peace, but Congress must resolve to ensure that any military action is carried out constitutionally.”
Trump has suggested earlier in the week he does not believe he needs congressional approval to launch military action.
Rouhani: sanctions on Iran 'outrageous and idiotic'
A bit more context on those incendiary tweets just sent by the president on Iran.
Trump threatened “overwhelming force” and “obliteration” should Iran attack “anything American”.
The tweets are a response to Tehran’s overnight response to the administration’s new round of sanctions following the Iranian military downing an unmanned drone it claimed had entered Iranian airspace last week. The new sanctions directly target Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and were announced at public signing at the White House yesterday.
Overnight Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the new sanctions “outrageous and idiotic” and suggested the administration was “afflicted by mental retardation” for imposing them.
“You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks?” he said according to reports.
Updated
With the first round of Democratic presidential primary debates set to take place tomorrow, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, currently polling at between 0-1% has tried sharing some of his debate preparation with the public.
We’ll leave you to judge:
Lucky to have the talented, debater Dante de Blasio helping me get ready for Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/my51wahM6S
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 24, 2019
Trump threatens Iran with 'overwhelming force'
The president has sent another string of combative tweets aimed at the Iranian regime after signing another round of sanctions earlier in the week.
It’s more of the same when it comes to thinly veiled threats of military action and criticism of the previous administration’s efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear threat.
Iran leadership doesn’t understand the words “nice” or “compassion,” they never have. Sadly, the thing they do understand is Strength and Power, and the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world, with 1.5 Trillion Dollars invested over the last two years alone..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2019
....Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2019
Updated
Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary has acknowledged that farmers are bearing the brunt of the president’s ongoing trade war.
Sonny Perdue acknowledged in an interview with CNN that US farmers are “one of the casualties here with trade disruption”.
He added: “We knew going in that when you flew the penalty flag on China, the retaliation, if it came, would be against the farmer.”
Agricultural workers have been hurt by the administration’s ongoing trade war with China after Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs that have particularly effected soybean, corn and wheat growers in the US.
The Trump administration has pledged $28 billion in aid to those affected by the tariffs.
Here’s a bit of reaction to last night’s CNN interview and Trump’s comments earlier on Monday. As is expected these days, they mostly split along partisan lines.
From the president’s son Donald Trump Jr:
Enough is enough with this bullshit!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 25, 2019
We all get it Media... you hate @realDonaldTrump, but giving every Avenatti like wacko a platform because they will say anything for press kills what little is left of your credibility.
Let him do his job. The results speak for themselves! https://t.co/xcTG60EJ94
From former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld who is attempting to wrest the Republican presidential nomination from Trump:
Donald Trump responds to E. Jean Carroll's assault revelation with: She's "not my type". Outrageous, but sadly not surprising. 1/2
— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) June 25, 2019
And an observation from CNN’s media editor that the allegations have attracted little coverage from the Trump favouring Fox News network.
Fox's newscasts and talk shows have barely mentioned E. Jean Carroll's newly published allegation that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. https://t.co/B2r89uqbHa
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 25, 2019
E Jean Carroll: 'He denies, he threatens, he attacks'
Here’s some more of E Jean Carroll’s comments on CNN last night. The advice columnist was appearing on Anderson Cooper’s show after Trump doubled down on his denial of her allegations earlier in the day.
In an interview with The Hill, Trump said: “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?”
16 women have publicly accused the president of sexual misconduct and assault.
On Monday evening Carroll told CNN that Trump’s most recent denial followed a pattern.
“He denies, he turns it around, he threatens and he attacks,” she said.
She went on to describe the attack in the mid 1990s at a Manhattan department store. She said there were no attendants in the changing room area at the time of the alleged incident and she did not file a report to the police.
“I wanted to forget it,” she said. “I thought A, my fault. B, I was stupid. C, I didn’t think of it ... as rape. I thought of it as a violent incident. I thought of it as a fight,” she said.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of politics today in the US. Here’s what’s coming up.
- Last night the woman accusing Donald Trump of sexual assaulting her in the 1990s responded to Trump’s denial and suggestion she was “not my type”. Speaking on CNN the celebrated advice columnist E. Jean Carroll said: “I love that, I am so glad I am not his type. I’m so glad.”
- Trump is scheduled to host a conference call with 10,000 US veterans to update them on progress since his the Mission Act, legislation that increases private healthcare protection for veterans. The roll out of the legislation had been criticized by a number of veterans’ groups in recent weeks.
- A number of Democratic candidates for president are out on the road in Florida ahead of the first round of debates tomorrow. My colleague David Smith will be following Beto O’Rourke and Elizabeth Warren in Miami.
- The president’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner will lead the administration in a conference in Bahrian focused on peace in the Middle East. He will discuss the economic chapter of his controversial peace plan.
We’ll bring you live updates as they happen.
Updated
