Summary
We’re ending our live coverage, thanks for following along on this busy day. Here are some highlights:
- Donald Trump declared a national emergency to fund his border wall.
- Special counsel Robert Mueller said Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, should be sentenced to up to 24 years in prison.
- Democrats said they would use “every remedy available” to block Trump’s emergency declaration, and the House judiciary committee said it would investigate and call a hearing.
- White House press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed that she had been interviewed by Mueller, saying she was “happy to voluntarily sit down” with the investigators.
- A judge issued a gag order for attorneys and witnesses in the case of Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend and adviser.
- Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, said he will run against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020.
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Some excerpts from Mueller’s sentencing recommendations against Paul Manafort:
In the end, Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars. The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct...
Considering only the crimes charged in this district, they make plain that Manafort chose to engage in a sophisticated scheme to hide millions of dollars from United States authorities. And when his foreign income stream dissipated in 2015, he chose to engage in a series of bank frauds in the United States to maintain his extravagant lifestyle, at the expense of various financial institutions. Manafort chose to do this for no other reason than greed, evidencing his belief that the law does not apply to him. Manafort solicited numerous professionals and others to reap his ill-gotten gains...
Paul Manafort should face 19 to 24 years in prison, Mueller says
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, should be sentenced to 19 to 24 years in prison, special counsel Robert Mueller said on Friday.
The sentence was recommended by Mueller for Manafort’s convictions in Virginia last year for financial crimes that the veteran political consultant began committing before he joined Trump’s campaign in 2016.
A jury found Manafort guilty in August on eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud and a foreign bank account. They could not reach a verdict on 10 other charges.
Manafort signed a plea deal to avoid a second trial on other charges in Washington DC, but the deal was scrapped by Mueller after Manafort continued to lie. Manafort faces sentencing for crimes he admitted in that case next month.
Mueller is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 US election, with intelligence agencies concluded was aimed at helping Trump. Prosecutors from Mueller’s team have said Manafort’s interactions in 2016 with Konstantin Kilimnik, an alleged Russian intelligence operative, are a central focus of their inquiries.
Manafort, 69, has been in jail since June last year, when he and Kilimnik were charged with witness tampering while Manafort awaited his trial in Virginia.
BREAKING: Federal prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller recommend an approximate jail sentence of 19-24 years in jail for Paul Manafort in the case being brought in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to court documents.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) February 16, 2019
Protesters are rallying in New York City in opposition to Trump’s emergency declaration. Some are shouting, “Trump is the emergency!”
NOW: Protesters block #CentralParkWest in front of @TrumpHotels NYC. #abc7ny #emergencydeclaration #trump pic.twitter.com/xmiGRuVZMT
— Josh Einiger (@JoshEiniger7) February 15, 2019
Protesters took over Central Park West and refused to go on the sidewalk during the protest outside of Trump Tower in NYC on Friday night pic.twitter.com/JH9mJdETHK
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) February 15, 2019
Demonstration has resulted in arrests. NYPD blocked sidewalks and did not permit citizens to pass. Some among us decided to risk arrest in protest in front of Trump International Hotel. pic.twitter.com/1Br2KDnr4j
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) February 15, 2019
Twitter has reportedly ruled that this tweet from Iran’s leader violated its terms of service:
A Twitter spokesperson just said this tweet from Iran's leader violated its terms of service and has been made unavailable.
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) February 15, 2019
"It's against our rules to make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people." pic.twitter.com/LvLmIHQDFd
The tweet had inspired intense backlash:
This needs to be a bigger deal. The Supreme Leader of Iran is using @Twitter to remind the world that there is a multi-million dollar bounty on @SalmanRushdie's head. Rushdie wrote a book Khomeini found to be offensive and now Khomeini's successor is reminding people of the $$$ https://t.co/D7AS6oINEA
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 15, 2019
Um @jack — are you not aware what this individual is calling for here? https://t.co/4KZYlYJWlg
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 15, 2019
Twitter apparently decided only to take enforcement action against the individual tweet, and not the account.
Some have long argued that Twitter should take action against Donald Trump’s account for violating policies on hateful content or violent threats. Twitter, however, has generally argued that it does not take down the president’s tweets or ban his account, because his statements are considered “newsworthy” or in the “public interest”.
Police in Aurora, Illinois have confirmed that five died in the shooting this afternoon:
UPDATE Aurora police say FIVE people are dead in this afternoon’s shooting @ABC7Chicago
— liz nagy (@liznagy) February 15, 2019
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Gary Martin, is also dead:
.@adrianasdiaz: "CBS News has confirmed that the shooter is 45-year-old Gary Martin, from here in Aurora. We have learned that during the confrontation the SWAT team sent in a robot, that showed Martin dead at the scene. It's unclear if he killed himself or was shot by police." pic.twitter.com/nPViOccTtk
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 15, 2019
Trump has weighed in on the shooting in Illinois:
Great job by law enforcement in Aurora, Illinois. Heartfelt condolences to all of the victims and their families. America is with you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2019
More on the incident here:
Trump’s announcement of his emergency declaration earlier today was filled with misleading statements and falsehoods. Here’s a summary of a few key fact checks of Trump quotes, from the Associated Press:
I’ve built a lot of wall. I have a lot of money, and I’ve built a lot of wall.
The AP: “He’s built no new miles of wall, lacking the money. His new construction to date has replaced existing barriers.”
A big majority of the big drugs — the big drug loads — don’t go through ports of entry. They can’t go through ports of entry. You can’t take big loads because you have people — we have some very capable people; the Border Patrol, law enforcement — looking.
The AP: “His own administration says illicit drugs come mainly through ports of entry. He has persistently contradicted his officials on this point.”
Take a look at our federal prison population. See how many of them, percentage-wise, are illegal aliens. Just see. Go ahead and see.
AP: “About 40% of the people who entered federal prison in 2014 were foreigners, according to the most recent Bureau of Justice statistics. The vast majority of the foreigners (20,842 of 28,821) were being held for immigration violations, not violent or property crimes.”
There’s rarely been a problem [when presidents declare national emergencies]. They sign it; nobody cares. I guess they weren’t very exciting. But nobody cares ... And the people that say we create precedent — well, what do you have? Fifty-six? There are a lot of times — well, that’s creating precedent.
AP: “Those declarations were rarely as consequential, and that’s precisely why they were mostly uncontroversial. He’s roughly correct about the numbers. But past declarations did not involve the unilateral spending of substantial sums of money that Congress did not approve.”
In 2020 news, Kamala Harris has earned the endorsement of labor rights leader Dolores Huerta, who is joining the senator’s presidential campaign as a co-chair:
Scoop: Kamala Harris scores another big 2020 endorsement
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) February 15, 2019
Dolores Huerta, the iconic labor and civil rights leader who with Cesar Chavez cofounded the National Farmworkers Association, is backing Harris and joining her presidential campaign as a co-chairhttps://t.co/z0Fw5zOVWW
The news comes a day after a high-profile endorsement from Barbara Lee, former Congressional Black Caucus chair.
I am thrilled to endorse @kamalaharris for our next President of these United States. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of equality, fairness, and dignity for all. I know Kamala will be a president truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. pic.twitter.com/HSPjr5N0Yo
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) February 15, 2019
Special counsel Robert Mueller has said in a new court filing that investigators have executed search warrants on accounts used to “facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release”, including communications with Roger Stone, the president’s longtime friend and adviser:
Mueller's office says in a new court filing that investigators executed search warrants on accounts used to "facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release" and several included communications with Roger Stone. pic.twitter.com/4JFGlxJjR4
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) February 15, 2019
Mueller's office says the charges against Roger Stone "are part of the same alleged criminal event or transaction" as the ones it filed against Russian intelligence officers for hacking Democratic political organizations. pic.twitter.com/5MWsyH2rdn
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) February 15, 2019
Earlier today, a federal judge issued a gag order for attorneys and witnesses in the ongoing Stone case. The latest filing is here:
New filing from Mueller's office says, in the Russian hacker case, investigators executed search warrants on accounts used to "facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release" and found interactions with Roger Stone and Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks https://t.co/pVtNEgLYSo
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 15, 2019
Trump’s inaugural committee faces New Jersey subpoena
Trump’s inaugural committee has now received a civil subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general:
NEW: Trump inaugural committee receives civil subpoena from New Jersey attorney general as questions grow about its $107 million dollars raised. https://t.co/eGjjCuwpze
— ABC News (@ABC) February 15, 2019
The AP reports that the committee is in contact with New Jersey prosecutors:
The subpoena is the second such request the inaugural committee has received in as many weeks as scrutiny mounts over how it raised and spent $107 million on inaugural events.
The committee also received a sweeping request for documents issued by federal prosecutors in New York investigating whether foreign nationals illegally contributed to the inauguration.
The AP obtained a copy of the New Jersey subpoena. It also seeks documents related to any benefits donors received.
Trump left for Florida earlier without taking questions about a shooting in Aurora, Illinois:
President Trump is off to Florida. He did not stop to take Qs from reporters or make a statement on the shooting in Aurora IL pic.twitter.com/Zu4JiznGZ6
— Karen Travers (@karentravers) February 15, 2019
The White House said he had been briefed and was monitoring:
The White House says President Trump has been briefed on the Aurora, Illinois, shooting and is monitoring the situation https://t.co/q5wymqlP65 pic.twitter.com/R6gyk2rCy4
— CNN (@CNN) February 15, 2019
Details are still emerging about the shooting at a business in suburban Chicago, but the AP has reported that at least one person was killed and that four officers were wounded, but are in stable condition. Some Democrats have cited the shooting as a reminder that gun violence is a “real emergency” in America:
On average, 96 people are killed every day by gun violence in America. THIS is a real emergency. https://t.co/U1Rci35Ofa
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 15, 2019
House judiciary committee to investigate Trump declaration
Sam Levin here in our Oakland office, taking over our live coverage of the fallout since Trump declared a national emergency. The House judiciary committee has now said it is going to investigate Trump’s declaration:
New: The House Judiciary Committee will investigate Trump's emergency declaration decision.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 15, 2019
Chairman Nadler and Democrats want a hearing with DOJ officials and the White House counsel. https://t.co/sXAN8ZMvpf pic.twitter.com/7bXUazv1lk
The letter calls for a hearing with White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Department of Justice officials.
"We are particularly troubled in light of your statement today that ‘I didn’t need to do this, but I would rather do it much faster," the Democrats write, saying they are commencing an immediate investigation into this matter, which raises" constitutional issues
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 15, 2019
The Democrats have also said they were “particularly troubled” about Trump’s statement earlier today that he “didn’t need to do this”. The letter adds:
We believe your declaration of an emergency shows a reckless disregard for the separation of powers and your own responsibilities under our constitutional system.
Summary
•Donald Trump declared a national emergency to fund his border wall. Speaking in the Rose Garden, Trump said there was an emergency at the border which could only be fixed by building a wall. The president repeated a number of falsehoods to justify the need for the structure.
•Democrats said they will use ‘every remedy available’ to block Trump’s national emergency declaration. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said Trump’s decision to declare an emergency is unlawful, and would “shred the Constitution” by circumventing Congress’ power to control spending.
•White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she has been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. “The President urged me, like he has everyone in the administration, to fully cooperate with the special counsel. I was happy to voluntarily sit down with them,” Sanders told CNN.
•A gag order for attorneys and witnesses was issued in the Roger Stone trial. Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s order does not generally apply to Stone, a longtime friend and adviser to Trump. But the judge gave the veteran political operative a courtly warning to curb his excesses in the media.
•Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, announced he will run against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. “In every country there comes a time when patriotic men and women must stand up and speak out to protect our individual rights and the overall health of the nation. In our country, now is such a time,” Weld said.
Is Texas in play in the 2020 presidential election? Or the 2020 Senate election? According to this Public Policy Polling survey, yes it is. In both.
The poll has 46% of Texans voting for Joe Biden in a theoretical presidential race, compared to 49% for Donald Trump. In a theoretical Senate election between hot young thing Beto O’Rourke and incumbent John Cornyn, who is not that, O’Rourke is within the margin of error.
.@ppppolls survey commissioned by Dallas Democratic consultant Jeff Dalton:
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) February 15, 2019
- @JohnCornyn: 47%
- @BetoORourke: 45%
- Not sure: 8% #txsen pic.twitter.com/OlZHU150ED
Here’s Trump earlier, performing what is being referred to as both a “ditty” and a “sing-song”. The sound of the summer?
"We'll end up in the Supreme Court and hopefully get a fair shake and win in the Supreme Court just like the ban," said Trump, acknowledging his administration may get sued over the national emergency. https://t.co/rPePQTU8uT pic.twitter.com/QneaGmvvLv
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 15, 2019
Gag order issued in Roger Stone trial
A gag order for attorneys and witnesses has been issued in the case of Roger Stone by a federal judge in Washington DC.
Stone, a longtime friend and adviser to Donald Trump, was indicted last month on charges of lying to investigators, obstructing justice and witness tampering. He denies wrongdoing.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s order does not generally apply to Stone himself. But the judge gave the veteran political operative a courtly warning to curb his excesses in the media.
While it was not up to her “to advise the defendant as to whether a succession of public statements would be in his best interest,” Jackson wrote, he should not complain about the effects of pre-trial publicity if he courts the publicity himself.
The gag order also bars Stone and anyone else involved in the case from making comments to the public and media around the courthouse before or after hearings. Jackson said the order was needed to protect Stone’s right to a fair trial.
“The court has particular concerns about the potential impact of public statements made in the District of Columbia, directed at individuals who may be members of the venire from which the jury will be drawn,” Jackson wrote.
“And, in light of the size and vociferousness of the crowds that have already been attracted to these proceedings, and the risk that public pronouncements by the participants may inflame those gatherings, the court is persuaded that a narrowly tailored order governing the conduct of participants in the matter while they are at the courthouse is necessary to advance the court’s legitimate interest in maintaining the order and decorum that is essential to court proceedings and the fair administration of justice.”
Sarah Sanders interviewed by Special Counsel
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to CNN.
“The President urged me, like he has everyone in the administration, to fully cooperate with the special counsel. I was happy to voluntarily sit down with them,” Sanders told the network in an interview.
Mueller has also interviewed former chief of staff John Kelly, former White House communications director Hope Hicks and former press secretary Sean Spicer.
Sanders appears not to have expanded on the subject of the interview. CNN wrote that “one likely area of interest was how Sanders composed statements she made on the podium defending the President regarding the Russia investigation”.
Right-wing crank Ann Coulter has fired back at Trump after the president slighted her during his Rose Garden speech this morning.
“Forget the fact that he’s digging his own grave,” Coulter told LA-based radio station KABC. She was talking about Trump signing the congressional bill to end the government shutdown.
“The only national emergency is that our president is an idiot,” she continued.
Coulter was an early supporter of Trump, but turned on the president over his inaction on the much-touted border wall. Earlier on Friday Trump, 72, had criticized Coulter, describing her as “off the reservation”
“This is the worst open borders the country has ever had under the president who ran against open borders,” Coulter said.
Updated
Donald Trump has just posted this bizarre video marking his State of the Union speech. It features REM’s Everybody Hurts and has lines from Trump’s address interspersed with unimpressed looking Democrats.
It seems to have been originally created by Twitter person @CarpeDonktum, a co-founder of the right-wing website Culttture.
“I love politics and making people laugh with funny, clever, and high quality meme videos and images,” @CarpeDonktum says on his Patreon page.
“I have combined my love of politics and comedy and now create memes to support President Trump and MAGA.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2019
Updated
Supreme Court to weigh census citizenship question
The Supreme Court is set to decide whether the government can add a question about citizenship to the next national census.
The Trump administration wanted to add the question: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” to the 2020 census.
Opponents said the question would lead to inaccurate census results, as both legal and undocumented immigrants would refuse to fill out the census form.
The government’s Census Bureau estimated that adding the question could depress responses in households with at least one non-citizen by as much as 5.8%. That could be particularly damaging in states like New York or California, which have large immigrant populations.
In January a federal judge in New York ruled that Trump’s administration could not put a question about citizenship on the census. Now the Supreme Court, newly furnished with two conservative justices, will have the final say.
Updated
Rep Earl Blumenauer, of Oregon’s third district, has filed a resolution to declare a national emergency over the climate crisis.
“What our country should be doing right now is focusing efforts on addressing a real national emergency and one of the most pressing issues of our time: the climate crisis,” Blumenauer said in a letter to Congress.
“If Donald Trump wants to start declaring national emergencies for fake crises, Congress should start to address the real ones, starting with climate change.”
The progressive organizations MoveOn and Indivisible have announced a series of nationwide protests against Trump’s national emergency.
“We are mobilizing nonviolent rapid-response events to stand up against Trump’s #FakeNationalEmergency to defend our democracy and immigrant, Muslim, black, and brown communities from Trump’s dangerous national emergency power grab,” MoveOn said.
Sign up at https://t.co/2JxT0nFQ2d - big coalition of civil rights & other civil society groups convening events at noon Monday. Expect 1000s of ppl. Local event details will be public later today on that same site, & via @moveon @IndivisibleTeam @UNITEDWEDREAM & others
— Anna Galland (@annagalland) February 15, 2019
Prosecutors to file Manafort sentencing recommendation
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team plan to file a sentencing recommendation this afternoon in the Paul Manafort case, according to CNN.
Yesterday a federal judge ruled that Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, intentionally lied to the special counsel after he had agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation.
Manafort will be sentenced on March 13.
Here’s some of that statement from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, on Trump’s national emergency declaration. They argue that Trump’s announcement is in violation of the constitution.
“If unchecked,” Trump’s declaration “would fundamentally alter the balance of powers, inconsistent with our founders’ vision”, Pelosi and Schumer say.
The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation. This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.
The President’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our founders enshrined in the constitution. The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the Courts, and in the public, using every remedy available.
This issue transcends partisan politics and goes to the core of the founders’ conception for America, which commands Congress to limit an overreaching executive. The president’s emergency declaration, if unchecked, would fundamentally alter the balance of powers, inconsistent with our founders’ vision.
[...]
The President is not above the law. The Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution.
Plenty of people, including Nancy Pelosi, are pointing out that Trump may have immediately complicated the legal case for his national emergency.
“I didn’t need to do this,” Trump said of the national emergency during the press conference. We can expect to see that admission pop-up in plenty of the legal challenges expected to be brought against the president’s declaration.
He admits it's a #FakeTrumpEmergency. Hear him say it: "I *didn’t need* to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster." pic.twitter.com/e92ArhFQB7
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) February 15, 2019
Trump, responding to my question, concedes there’s no national emergency to justify building his wall: “I didn’t need to do this... I just want to do it faster.”
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 15, 2019
That answer will complicate his legal case.
Phew! That was a lot. So what else is going on in politics today? Well, Bill Weld, the Republican former governor of Massachusetts (between 1991 and 1997) has announced he will run against Trump in 2020.
In a speech in New Hampshire, Weld said he has set up an exploratory committee to begin the process of challenging Trump. His announcement was deeply critical of the president.
“In every country there comes a time when patriotic men and women must stand up and speak out to protect our individual rights and the overall health of the nation. In our country, now is such a time,” he said, according to the local New Hampshire news station WMUR9.
Here's the money quote from Bill Weld's 2020 announcement pic.twitter.com/0FACtLca2I
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 15, 2019
Weld, 73, was the vice-presidential candidate for the Libertarian party in 2016, running alongside Gary Johnson. I met him at one of Johnson’s rallies during the campaign. He was very pleasant, and very tall.
That’s unlikely to help him beat Trump, however, as my colleague Ed Pilkington notes that Weld has a “Herculean task ahead of him”:
He is unlikely to be able to muster anything like as much money or media attention as the White House incumbent.
But by opening a crack of insurgency within the Republican party, he may embolden others to follow. He may also force Trump to expend some energy, however limited, on his right flank at a time when Democratic presidential candidates are amassing on his left.
Democrats will use use 'every remedy available' to block national emergency
House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said they’ll take action “in the Congress, in the Courts, and in the public”, to oppose Trump’s declaration of an emergency.
Pelosi and Schumer, the Democrats’ two most senior officials, said Trump’s decision to declare an emergency is unlawful, and would “shred the Constitution” by circumventing Congress’ power to control spending.
White House officials say some of the money would come from military construction projects. Pelosi and Schumer say Trump would be using money needed “for the security of our military and our nation.”
Democrats can file lawsuits and force congressional votes to block Trump’s money transfers. Trump could veto the legislation should it pass.
Updated
Summary – Trump declares national emergency
•Donald Trump has declared a national emergency to fund his border wall. Speaking in the Rose Garden, Trump said there was an emergency at the border which could only be fixed by building a wall.
•The president repeated a number of falsehoods to justify the need for a wall. Trump said, wrongly, that drugs and human trafficking occurs at areas of the border with no wall. Most drugs and human trafficking actually happens at legal points of entry.
•Trump questioned his own government’s statistics on undocumented immigration. US Customs and Border Protection figures show that immigration is at its lowest level in a decade. Asked about the CBP numbers, Trump said: “You don’t really believe that stat do you?”
•The government expects to be sued over the national emergency declaration, Trump said. “And we will possibly get a bad ruling,” in the courts, he added. “And then we’ll end up in the Supreme Court.” Legal proceedings could hold up the declaration for months.
Jim Acosta, who the president doesn’t like, asks Trump why he is declaring a national emergency at a time when statistics show undocumented immigration has just dropped to its lowest level in a decade.
“You don’t really believe that stat do you?” Trump says. That stat comes from his own government.
Trump says he has seen statistics which contradict the numbers reported by the government’s Customs and Border Protection bureau.
The president is asked where he is getting those statistics from.
“I use many stats,” Trump says.
Trump can’t answer the question about how he is making stuff up about what’s happening at the border.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 15, 2019
Updated
A reporter asks Trump if he is changing on the job.
“Well I’m learning. I am learning,” he says.
Trump says he had never run for office before before 2016. This is untrue. He ran for president on the Reform Party ticket in 2000.
“I’ve won one out of one [election],” Trump says.
“I never did politics before.”
Trump is asked about concerns that this declaration could set a precedent for future presidents to announce national emergencies willy nilly.
“Not too many people have said that,” Trump says. (A lot of people, including Republicans, have definitely said that.)
He repeats his statement about expecting to be sued. It could mean that the government doesn’t get the money for a long time, Trump says.
Trump: 'We will then be sued' over national emergency
Trump says he will sign the final papers on the national emergency when he finishes this press conference. That could take a while because he’s currently in the middle of a riff about expected legal proceedings against his declaration.
“We will then be sued,” after signing the declaration, Trump says.
“And we will possibly get a bad ruling, he says: “And then we’ll end up in the Supreme Court.”
Trump says he hopes for a positive ruling from the Supreme Court. Essentially, it is likely this national emergency declaration will be tied up for months in the courts, and possibly ruled unconstitutional. But he’s doing it anyway.
Updated
Trump is expanding on his national emergency plans.
He said he was building the wall “not because it is a campaign promise, which it is”, but due to an influx of drugs coming across the border. (Again, the majority of drugs coming into the US come through legal points of entry, not in areas where there is no wall.)
“It’s a great thing to do because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of drugs invasion of people and its unacceptable,” Trump says of the wall.
National emergency declarations have been “signed many times by past presidents”, Trump says, which is true, but most onlookers believe such a declaration is not required in this case – and it is likely to be fought in Congress.
“It’s not like its complicated its very simple we want to stop drugs from coming into our country. We want to stop criminals and gangs from coming into our country,” Trump says.
Updated
Trump: 'I am going to declare a national emergency'
Donald Trump has declared a national emergency on the US-Mexican border in order to get money to build his promised border wall.
Trump made the announcement on Thursday morning in the Rose Garden at the White House.
“I am going to declare a national emergency,” Trump said.
Trump repeated a number of lies in justifying the need for the wall. The president said, wrongly, that drugs enter the US through areas where there is no border wall. Trump said most drugs do not go through legal points of entry.
“You can’t take human traffic, women and girls through legal points of entry,” Trump said.
“They [border agents] open the door, they look.”
Trump added – again, this is wrong – “They go through areas where they have no wall.”
He’ll use the declaration to spend taxpayer money on the wall without Congressional approval. He had demanded $5.7bn for the wall, which Congress refused to approve.
The measure, which critics call unconstitutional, is expected to face legal challenges. Several Republicans have also called it a bad idea.
Updated
We’re still waiting for Trump to appear. In the meantime, a group of women, each carrying large signs, have just walked into the Rose Garden for the president’s announcement.
It looks like they could be “Angel moms” – the parents or relatives of people who killed by undocumented immigrants. Trump has repeatedly invited Angel moms to his political events.
This is Adam Gabbatt taking over from Erin, by the way.
Updated
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has returned to the Supreme Court for the first time this year, after undergoing surgery for cancer.
She’ll attend a closed door conference at the court today, according to CNN.
Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld has launched an exploratory committee to mount a primary challenge against Donald Trump in 2020, Politico reports.
Weld is a Republican who in 2016 ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket.
“Our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office in the land,” Weld said Friday in New Hampshire, according to Politico.
“I’m here because I think our country is in grave peril, and I cannot sit any longer quietly on the sidelines,” he said. “We have a president who openly praises and encourages despotic and authoritarian leaders abroad while going out of his way seemingly to insult and even humiliate our Democratic allies.”
Democrats are criticizing the use of military construction funds, one of the sources Donald Trump is expected to tap for border wall money.
As a member of the Armed Services Committee we authorize billions of dollars to improve our bases every year. That money is to build facilities to recruit, train and retain the worlds best military. A fake national emergency takes money from that mission.
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) February 15, 2019
After Donald Trump signs the declaration of national emergency today, he’s expected to head to his Mar a Lago club in Florida.
Here’s Trump’s public schedule for tomorrow. (Public schedules don’t include all of a president’s activities.) pic.twitter.com/9t4LY7XBrN
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 15, 2019
Donald Trump’s emergency declaration would hand him about $8 billion to build his wall on the US-Mexico border.
That’s $1.375 billion approved by Congress for fences along 55 miles of the Texas border, plus another $6.5 billion he intends to spend without Congressional approval, according to the Washington Post.
ABC News breaks it down further: $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department’s drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon’s drug interdiction program; and $3.5 billion from the Pentagon’s military construction budget. It’s the last item that requires the declaration of a national emergency.
Donald Trump is prepared to veto any legislation from Congress to block his emergency declaration.
On a call with supporters Friday morning, Russell Vought, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget said that Trump would “absolutely veto” a bill, the Washington Post reports.
He also said it will “shock” people how quickly the administration moves to contract and construct the wall.
Republicans are making much of Beto O’Rourke’s comments last night that he would tear down existing border walls.
Give Beto O’Rourke points for honesty: he admits that he wants to tear down existing border walls & have totally open borders. At least he’ll say what most Democrat politicians believe. https://t.co/h8Qojyp7gG
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 15, 2019
Correct me if I am wrong, but did Beto say he would tear down existing border fencing and walls?
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 15, 2019
So he wants to make illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling easier? https://t.co/jCgL4EO1Tf
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 15, 2019
The Guardian took a look at the numbers after Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar ignited a controversy with two tweets claiming pro-Israel lobby money influenced American political policy and discourse. The claim led to accusations of antisemitism.
The records show that pro-Israel lobbyists and donors spent more than $22m on lobbying and campaign contributions during the 2018 election cycle.
Omar incorrectly suggested Aipac makes campaign contributions to candidates. However, records show it did spend about $3.5m lobbying during the 2018 election cycle. In total, pro-Israel lobbying groups spent about $5min 2018, the highest tally since tracking began in 1998.
Pro-Israel groups and individuals also contributed just under $15m to USpoliticians’ campaigns during the 2018 cycle, the highest amount since the 1990 cycle. The J Street Pac, a progressive, pro-Israel lobby that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contributed the most at $4.03m.
Trump expected to declare national emergency
Good morning. Donald Trump is expected today to declare a national emergency, a move that would allow him to spend money on a border wall without Congressional approval.
He’s also expected to sign a government funding bill approved by Congress last night, preventing a government shutdown.
Democrats and some Republicans call the emergency declaration unconstitutional, and it’s expected to face immediate challenge.
Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks on the issue at 10am in the White House Rose Garden, according to Reuters. Stay tuned.
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