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

Trump asks supreme court to protect his tax returns from subpoenas – as it happened

supreme court
Trump has asked the supreme court to stop a Manhattan prosecutor’s investigation into his finances. Photograph: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Report: Rudy Giuliani is being investigated for possible campaign finance violations, failure to register as a foreign agent

An active investigation into Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, includes probes into possible campaign finance violations and a failure to register as a foreign agent, Bloomberg reports:

The probe of Giuliani, which one official said could also include possible charges on violating laws against bribing foreign officials or conspiracy, presents a serious threat to Trump’s presidency from a man that former national security adviser John Bolton has called a “hand grenade.”

A second official said Giuliani’s activities raise counterintelligence concerns as well, although there probably wouldn’t be a criminal charge related to that. The officials, who asked for anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, provided the first indication of the potential charges under investigation.

Giuliani is a central figure in the U.S. House impeachment inquiry, which focuses on an effort led by the former New York City mayor to pressure Ukraine’s government to investigate the president’s political rivals. If Giuliani is charged or indicted, he could expose Trump to a new level of legal and political jeopardy, especially if he’s accused of committing a crime on the president’s behalf.

Evening summary

  • Trump’s lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to protect the president’s tax returns from subpoenas.
  • A diplomat who reportedly overheard a key conversation between Trump and EU ambassador Gordon Sondland is set to testify in a closed-door deposition tomorrow.
  • Activists protested outside a black-tie event where Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh is making a rare public appearance after angrily denying allegations that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford.
  • At least two students were killed and three others injured after a 16-year-old suspect opened fire at a high school in Santa Clarita, California, prompting more calls for gun control.
  • Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are moving away from the language of “quid pro quo”. Instead, they’re using the world bribery to describe Trump’s alleged efforts to force Ukrainian investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

House Ethics Committee is investigating Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings over his longtime relationship with a member of his staff

The Ethics Committee said in a statement that it is “aware of public allegations” that the 14-term Democrat has a relationship with a member of his staff, violating a 2018 rule that prohibits sexual relationships between lawmakers and staff.

The staffer was not identified, but Hastings has previously admitted to having a relationship with his deputy district director Patricia Williams.

Democratic representative Katie Hill of California resigned last month after the committee began investigating whether she had an inappropriate relationship with an aide.

Diplomat who overheard a key conversation between Trump and Gordon Sondland is set to testify tomorrow

David Holmes, the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine who overheard a conversation between Trump and Gordon Sondland during which they reportedly discussed “investigations” , is set to testify at a closed-door deposition tomorrow.

Yesterday, acting Ukraine ambassador Bill Taylor said in the first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry that an aide was also told by Sondland that Trump cased more about an investigation into the Bidens than US-Ukraine policy.

Taylor did not name Holmes, multiple news organizations are reporting that Holmes is the aide Taylor was referencing.

Report: RNC to hold winter meetings at Trump's Florida resort next year

A multi-day Republican National Committee event will be held at the Trump National Doral in Florida, the Washington Post reports.

Last month, Trump briefly tried to hold next year’s Group of Seven summit at Doral, but canceled the plan after facing bipartisan criticism for essentially awarding himself a huge, lucrative contract.

From The Post :

The first GOP meeting at Doral was in spring 2018. That event produced about $630,000 in revenue for Trump’s company, from the GOP and individual attendees, according to a review of campaign-finance records.

At another GOP meeting, in winter 2018, the GOP held most of the event at another hotel — but it also included a dinner at Trump’s D.C. hotel, for which it paid Trump’s company $169,000.

Brett Kavanaugh makes a rare public appearance

Kavanaugh is addressing conservative judges at the Federalist Society, making a rare public appearance since he was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The Trump-appointed justice was narrowly confirmed in the Senate after angrily denying allegations that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford in 1982, when Kavanaugh was a high school student.

The audience at the Federalist Society gala today is a friendly one. One of the organization’s leaders Leonard Leo has served as an adviser to Trump on judicial nominations.

But outside the event, it seems activists aren’t too happy.

Facebook has also faced criticism for funding the gala.

Updated

Bill Clinton’s advises Donald Trump on how to handle impeachment

Clinton told CNN’s Jake Tapper his advice for Trump is to do as he did during his impeachment. “Look, you got hired to do a job. … Every day’s an opportunity to make something good happen,” Clinton said. “And I would say, ‘I’ve got lawyers and staff people handling this impeachment inquiry and they should just have at it. Meanwhile, I’m going to work for the American people.’ That’s what I would do/”

As a reminder, Trump has fought hard to shield his tax returns, and at each step so far he’s been rebuffed.

Last week, a unanimous three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Manhattan rejected Trump’s argument that as president he was immune from criminal investigation, and allowed the Manhattan district attorney’s subpoena to move forward.

Yesterday, judges from the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia Circuit refused to rehear a ruling that Trump’s accounting firm must comply with the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena for his financial records.

Trump asks supreme court to protect his tax returns from subpoenas

The president’s lawyers have asked the supreme court to stop a Manhattan prosecutor’s investigation into his finances, setting up a landmark case over exactly how much authority the president has. The justices could weigh in on Trump’s broader claim that sitting presidents are exempt from investigation or prosecution due to executive privilege.

The filing today concerns Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr’s attempt to enforce a grand jury subpoena to obtain eight years of Trump’s tax returns from Trump’s longtime accounting firm. Vance is seeking these financial records as part of a broader investigation into payments made to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, two women who claim they had affairs with the president. Trump denies their claims.

A separate case could be headed to the court involving a subpoena by House investigators seeking Trump’s financial records from the same firm.

Updated

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

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Two teenagers were killed and another three injured after a shooter opened fire on his southern California high school. The tragedy prompted more demands for legislative action to curb gun violence.
  • Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of bribery in the Ukraine controversy as the House speaker and her caucus move away from the language of “quid pro quo” to describe alleged efforts to force Ukrainian investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election.
  • The White House is reportedly planning to release a transcript from Trump’s April call with the Ukrainian president. (The pair’s July call set off the impeachment inquiry.)
  • In an interview with the Guardian, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, joked he has “insurance” in case Trump abandons him.
  • A second staffer at the US embassy in Kyiv reportedly overheard Trump’s July phone call with Gordon Sondland, in which the president allegedly asked the US ambassador to the EU about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

Maanvi will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.

Running behind schedule for his campaign rally in Louisiana, Trump concluded his meeting with attorney general William Barr and others before departing for Marine One without taking questions from reporters.

Just before leaving for his Louisiana campaign rally, Trump was spotted in the Oval Office having what one White House reporter called an “animated conversation” with attorney general William Barr.

Trump is about to depart for Louisiana, where he is hosting a campaign rally tonight alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone.

Rispone will attempt to unseat Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards in a Saturday runoff, and Republican groups have devoted significant resources to try to regain the governor’s mansion in the deeply conservative state.

However, there are signs of GOP anxiety about the race. The Republican National Committee is pouring another $1 million into the state as some GOP strategists privately acknowledge Edwards is a slight favorite to win.

Earlier today, Trump showed the transcript from his first call with the Ukrainian president to Republican senators, one of whom said it was not a very interesting document.

White House reportedly plans release of transcript from first Ukraine call

The White House reportedly plans to soon release the transcript of Trump’s first call with the Ukrainian president, which took place in April.

Trump teased the release of the transcript in a Monday tweet, claiming it was the “most important” of the calls he has had with the Ukrainian president. (It was Trump’s July call with Volodymyr Zelenskiy that initiated the impeachment inquiry.)

“In order to continue being the most Transparent President in history, I will be releasing sometime this week the Transcript of the first, and therefore most important, phone call I had with the President of Ukraine,” Trump wrote in the tweet. “I am sure you will find it tantalizing!”

The Republican National Committee reportedly plans to hold its 2020 winter meeting at Trump National Doral, the same Florida resort where the Trump administration initially planned to hold the G-7 summit.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney announced during a press conference last month that the G-7 summit would be held at the Miami resort, but the administration quickly reversed that decision amid a flurry of backlash from Democrats and Republicans.

Sanders and AOC hold 'Green New Deal for Housing' presser

Senator Bernie Sanders and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are holding a press conference on Capitol Hill calling for a “Green New Deal for Housing.”

The public housing plan is the first major policy proposed under the broader “Green New Deal” that Ocasio-Cortez has championed.

Castro officially fails to qualify for next week's debate

Presidential candidate Julián Castro has officially failed to qualify for the November debate, according to an announcement from the Democratic National Committee listing the participants in next week’s event.

Castro was widely expected to miss the Nov. 20 debate, as he had seemingly failed to meet the polling qualification laid out by the DNC despite crossing the donor threshold.

Castro will be the only candidate from the October debate not participating -- with the exception of Beto O’Rourke, who suspended his campaign earlier this month.

The news comes days after reports emerged that Castro was laying off employees in New Hampshire and South Carolina while supporting staffers to look for other jobs.

BIll Clinton weighs in on California shooting and impeachment

Former president Bill Clinton called into CNN to offer his thoughts on the school shooting in California and the House impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Clinton, the last president to sign major gun-control legislation, accused Republicans of burying their hands in the sand on the issue. “But at some point, denial is no longer an option,” Clinton said. “The Congress is basically in denial of the consequences of doing nothing, or at least the people who are opposed to it.”

On the question of the inquiry, Clinton, who was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate, encouraged Trump to focus on governing. “You got hired to do a job,” Clinton said. “Every day’s an opportunity to make something good happen.”

Bevin concedes Kentucky gubernatorial race

Matt Bevin, the Republican governor of Kentucky who narrowly lost his reelection race last week, has finally conceded to Democrat Andy Beshear.

Final results showed that Bevin, the most unpopular governor in the country, lost to Beshear by just 5,000 votes or 0.4 percent. Bevin announced in a press conference today that he would not contest those results.

Trump campaigned for Bevin in Kentucky, a state the president won by 30 points in 2016, but the visit was not enough to help the unpopular governor win another term in the deeply conservative state.

Buttigieg launches first statewide radio ad in South Carolina

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has launched his first statewide radio ad in South Carolina, part of a $2 million media investment in the early voting state.

“This country cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump,” the Indiana mayor says in the ad. “We know that he is going to do everything he can to hold onto power. But if you nominate me, his playbook isn’t going to work this time around.”

Buttigieg has surged in the largely white states of Iowa and New Hampshire, but he has struggled to break through in South Carolina, which has a much larger African-American electorate.

A recent Monmouth University poll put Buttigieg’s support in South Carolina at just 3 percent, with only 1 percent of African-American voters saying they back his White House bid.

Mitt Romney was asked by a Capitol Hill reporter for his thoughts on Deval Patrick, another former Massachusetts governor, entering the Democratic presidential primary.

The Utah senator responded with a self-deprecating joke about his own failed presidential bid. “Delusion runs deep in the veins of Massachusetts politicians thinking of running for president,” Romney said.

Democratic presidential candidates offered their prayers and condolences to the families affected by the mass shooting in southern California, while also demanding legislative action to curb gun violence.

Kamala Harris, who serves as California’s junior senator, said the shooting was evidence of how communities are being “terrorized” by gun violence.

Other 2020 Democrats expressed dismay at children fearing their schools as gun-control legislation passed by the House languishes in the Senate.

During her weekly press conference, Nancy Pelosi accused the president of bribery and appeared to also insult his intelligence.

The House speaker was arguing Trump could defend himself in the impeachment inquiry by presenting evidence that contradicts the allegations Democrats have laid out.

“If the president has something that is exculpatory -- Mr. President, that means you have anything that shows your innocence -- then he should make that known,” Pelosi said, looking directly at the camera in the briefing room. “So far we haven’t see that.”

Giuliani jokes he has 'insurance' in case Trump abandons him

In an interview with the Guardian, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, said he thought Trump would remain loyal to him but joked he had “insurance” in case he didn’t.

The Guardian’s Stephanie Kirchgaessner reports:

In a telephone interview with the Guardian, in response to a question about whether he was nervous that Trump might ‘throw him under a bus’ in the impeachment crisis, Giuliani said with a slight laugh: ‘I’m not, but I do have very, very good insurance, so if he does, all my hospital bills will be paid.’

Giuliani’s lawyer, Mark Costello, who was also on the call then interjected: ‘He’s joking.’

Whether it was a joke, or a veiled threat, Giuliani has emerged as a key player in the impeachment proceedings, which center on the question of whether the president sought to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden.

Here’s where the day stands:

  • A shooter opened fire on a high school in southern California, reportedly killing at least one person. The tragedy comes as the White House has failed to put forth its promised proposals to curb gun violence.
  • Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of bribery in the wake of yesterday’s public impeachment hearing, saying the president dangled military assistance to Ukraine to pressure officials into investigating Joe Biden.
  • A second staffer at the US embassy in Kyiv reportedly overheard Trump asking Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

The blog will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.

Former Goldman Sachs CEO slams Warren over ad

Lloyd Blankfein, the senior chairman of Goldman Sachs who served as the investment bank’s CEO until last year, criticized Elizabeth Warren after the Democratic presidential candidate released an ad slamming billionaires.

The ad features four billionaires who have criticized Warren’s proposals, including her plan to impose a wealth tax. The video specifically mentions the money Blankfein made during the Great Recession.

“Vilification of people as a member of a group may be good for her campaign, not the country,” Blankfein said in response to the ad. “Maybe tribalism is just in her DNA,” he added, apparently referencing Warren’s past claims of Native American ancestry.

The campaign manager of Trump’s reelection bid said the president raised more than $3 million in the 24 hours after the start of the first public impeachment hearing.

Trupm’s reelection campaign sent out fundraising requests to supporters yesterday, seeking to capitalize on the widely publicized hearing.

The president’s campaign has previously bragged about raising money off the inquiry, but Democrats have also seen fundraising bumps from the investigation.

Second staffer reportedly overheard Trump asking about 'investigations' in Ukraine

A second staffer from the US embassy in Ukraine reportedly overheard Trump’s July phone call with Gordon Sondland, in which the president asked the US ambassador to the EU about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

The AP reports:

The July 26 call between Trump and Gordon Sondland was first described during testimony Wednesday by William B. Taylor Jr., the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Taylor said one of his staffers overhead the call while Sondland was in a restaurant the day after Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that triggered the House impeachment inquiry.

The second diplomatic staffer also at the table was Suriya Jayanti, a foreign service officer based in Kyiv. A person briefed on what Jayanti overheard spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter currently under investigation.

According to a number of reports, the first staffer Taylor identified as overhearing the call is David Holmes, who is scheduled to speak to impeachment investigators behind closed doors tomorrow.

Trump promised after the August mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that his administration would propose policies to curb gun violence.

However, the president has yet to release any gun-control proposals, and he has reportedly abandoned the plan in recent weeks.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month:

Trump has been counseled by political advisers, including campaign manager Brad Parscale and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, that gun legislation could splinter his political coalition, which he needs to stick together for his reelection bid, particularly amid an impeachment battle.

The president no longer asks about the issue, and aides from the Domestic Policy Council, once working on a plan with eight to 12 tenets, have moved on to other topics, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private deliberations.

A nearby hospital said it had received two patients in critical condition from the shooting at a high school near Los Angeles, with three more victims en route.

The White House said Trump is monitoring updates from the shooting. “The President is monitoring the ongoing reports of a school shooting in Santa Clarita, CA,” the White House said in a statement. “The White House encourages all those in the area to follow the advice of local law enforcement and first responders.”

The shooting took place in California’s 25th congressional district, which is currently lacking a House representative following the resignation of Katie Hill.

School shooting reported in southern California

At least three victims have been reported from a shooting at a high school near Los Angeles, and the attacker has reportedly not yet been arrested.

NBC Los Angeles reports:

There are at least three victims in a shooting Thursday morning at a high school in Santa Clarita, where the search continues for the shooter.

Police and firefighters responded to Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Initial reports from the Los Angeles County Fire Department indicated there were seven victims. That figure was later revised to three victims.

Details about the victims’ conditions were not immediately available. Some of the victims are students.

‘We have multiple victims down,’ said Sgt. Bob Boese of the LA County Sheriff’s Department. ‘Our deputies are doing a systematic search of the campus, trying to locate the suspect.’

Pelosi: Trump's actions make Nixon's cover-up 'look almost small'

Nancy Pelosi said the alleged actions of Trump in the Ukraine controversy are more alarming than those of former president Richard Nixon, who resigned over the Watergate scandal.

“The cover-up makes what Nixon did look almost small,” the House speaker said of the president’s actions. “Almost small.”

Nixon attempted to cover up the fact that five men connected to his reelection campaign broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Democrats are accusing the Trump White House of trying to conceal the details of the president’s Ukraine call by unnecessarily placing it in a highly secure server.

Pelosi accuses Trump of bribery in Ukraine controversy

Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of attempting to bribe Ukraine to harm the electoral fortunes of one of his political rivals, Joe Biden.

In recent days, Democrats have moved away from the language of “quid pro quo” and toward the term “bribery” to describe the alleged efforts by the president’s team to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into Biden and the 2016 election.

“I am saying what the president has admitted to and said it’s perfect, I say it’s perfectly wrong,” Pelosi asserted. “It’s bribery.”

Asked to define the bribery in this instance, the House speaker said, “The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections. That’s bribery.”

Pelosi says first public impeachment hearing was 'very somber, prayerful day'

House speaker Nancy Pelosi is now addressing reporters at her weekly press conference and offering some thoughts on the first public hearing in the impeachment hearing.

The California Democrats said the hearing marked a “very somber, prayerful day.” “The devastating testimony corroborated evidence of bribery,” Pelosi said.

“We go forward sadly, prayerfully, with a heavy heart because it’s not what we came here to do,” Pelosi said. “But we must.”

Don McGahn, Trump’s former White House counsel who has refused to testify in congressional investigations, was spotted on Capitol Hill this morning.

The White House has argued McGahn and other former officials cannot be compelled to testify because of executive privilege, but a federal judge expressed skepticism of that argument late last month.

House Democrats call for Miller's resignation after Breitbart emails revealed

A number of senior House Democrats are calling for the resignation of Stephen Miller, a top adviser to Trump, after the uncovering of 2015 and 2016 emails in which Miller peddled material drawn from white nationalists to a writer at the far-right website Breitbart.

Stephen Miller steps off Air Force One.
Stephen Miller steps off Air Force One. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The leaders of the congressional progressive caucus, the congressional black caucus, the congressional Hispanic caucus and the congressional Asian Pacific American caucus issued a joint statement demanding that Miller resign.

“We feel like it is up to us to point out the obvious — someone who writes, talks, and governs like a white nationalist is in fact a white nationalist,” the statement says.

“Stephen Miller is a white nationalist and he has no business serving in the White House. ... As leaders in the Democratic Caucus, representing diverse constituencies who have been targeted by Stephen Miller’s hateful beliefs, we call for his resignation without delay.”

Louise Linton, who is married to treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, has just shared an Instagram post criticizing the Trump administration’s stance on big-game hunting.

Linton was reacting to the story of a lion trophy from Tanzania that was approved for import to the United States. “Americans should not be permitted to kill exotic animals for fun!!” Linton wrote in her Instagram caption.

She went on to encourage her followers to contact their members of Congress about the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies (CECIL) Act, which would ban such imports.

The Trump administration has previously said it would make decisions on big-game trophies on a “case-by-case” basis after the president split with his interior department on the issue.

One lingering question over Deval Patrick’s expected campaign announcement was how he would find experienced staffers to advise his White House bid, given that his opponents have already grabbed many of the most well-known names in Democratic politics.

Patrick has at least partially answered that question by employing the former traveling press secretary to Beto O’Rourke, who ended his bid earlier this month, as his campaign manager.

It’s become a popular take in Washington that “real” Americans do not care about the impeachment inquiry. However, front pages across the country today are carrying headlines about the inquiry’s first public hearing.

One of Deval Patrick’s fellow Massachusetts Democrats, Elizabeth Warren, said earlier this week that the former governor’s expected entry into the race would not complicate her own White House bid.

“I’m out there talking to people every single day about an America that works great for those at the top, but just isn’t working for most everybody else,” Warren told the NPR affiliate WBUR.

“And whenever I do that, there are lots of folks who start to nod. And it’s not just Democrats. It’s Democrats, independents and Republicans who get it.”

Patrick is hoping Democratic primary voters are dissatisfied with their options, but it’s possible that feeling may be exclusive to pundits and well-funded donors.

Patrick formally enters 2020 race

As expected, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick announced this morning that he would enter the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

In a video announcing his late entry, Patrick said, “I admire and respect the candidates in the Democratic field. ... But if the character of the candidates is an issue in every election, this time it’s about the character of the country.”

Patrick will face a number of hurdles in trying to seize the Democratic nomination. For one thing, his opponents have had months to build support that he will now have to try to chip away at. And he does not have the personal fortune of billionaire Michael Bloomberg, another late-entry candidate, to bankroll his campaign.

Patrick’s resume also has some spots that he will likely be pressed on. After leaving the governor’s mansion, he spent time working for Bain Capital, the private investment firm founded by former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

But perhaps the most baffling question about Patrick’s candidacy is one of strategy. Patrick, who served as the first black governor of Massachusetts, is expected to focus his efforts on the early voting state of South Carolina, which has a large African-American electorate. But that was almost the exact same strategy initially pursued by senator Kamala Harris, and her campaign is now closing offices amid declining polling and fundraising numbers.

Given Patrick’s lower name recognition now that he has been out of office for several years, the question becomes: why would he succeed where she failed?

Trump was weighing in on the first public impeachment hearing this morning, applauding one of his congressional allies for pressing Bill Taylor and George Kent on what the “impeachable” element was in the president’s communications with Ukraine.

However, Taylor and Kent repeatedly emphasized that they were not there to make a case for impeachment. They said they considered themselves “fact witnesses” and were there to testify to the events they saw, while the ultimate question of impeachment would be left up to lawmakers.

Despite that, Republicans on the House intelligence committee were eager to paint the two longtime public servants as Democratic pawns who were only there to unfairly smear the president.

Washington squabbles over impeachment as more hearings loom

Good morning, live blog readers!

We are right in between the first and second public hearings of the House impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, and Democrats and Republicans are already telling two very different stories about what happened yesterday.

To Democrats, the testimony of Bill Taylor and George Kent more directly tied the president to efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate one of his political rivals, Joe Biden.

To Republicans, the hearing was a waste of time and taxpayer dollars to hear from two diplomats who never spoke to Trump and did not hear his call with the Ukrainian president. One of Trump’s advisers, Kellyanne Conway, was making the rounds on television this morning to make the argument that Taylor and Kent were like “a bunch of gossip girls”.

Democrats and Republicans will likely dig their heels in more as additional hearings are held, but tomorrow’s testimony from former US ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovanovitch could help shape the opinion of the American public, which matters far more.

Roger Stone and his wife Nydia Stone return to the Prettyman Courthouse for his trial.
Roger Stone and his wife Nydia Stone return to the Prettyman Courthouse for his trial. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

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

  • Trump will meet with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at 2pm ET before traveling to Louisiana for a campaign rally.
  • Jury deliberations will begin in the trial of Roger Stone, a former Trump associate.
  • House speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a press conference at 10.45am ET.

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

Updated

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