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Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Trump accuses Democrats of 'open war on American democracy' in stinging impeachment letter – as it happened

Live political reporting continues on Wednesday’s blog:

Because of you, our journalism thrived in 2019 …

A message from the Guardian US editor-in-chief:

This year, readers across all 50 states supported our journalism, allowing us to thrive in a challenging climate for publishers. Thank you.

In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater.

As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift.

We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do.Make a contribution.

Summary

Here’s a recap of today:

  • Tomorrow, the full House of Representatives will vote on articles of impeachment against Trump: one for abuse of power, and one for obstruction of Congress.
  • The House Rules Committee is still working to set the rules for tomorrow’s debate.
  • Across the country, demonstrators are rallying for impeachment.
  • It appears Democrats have all the votes they need to impeach the president, amidst speculation over how Democrats from conservative districts will vote.

Catch up on impeachment news, and tune in tomorrow for more live coverage.

Bill Taylor, US diplomat and key impeachment witness, to leave office in January

Bill Taylor (left), joined by George Kent, testified before the House Intelligence Committee.
Bill Taylor (left), joined by George Kent, testified before the House Intelligence Committee. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Bill Taylor, who provided a firsthand account of US officials negotiating a quid pro quo, is expected to leave his post as acting ambassador to Ukraine in January, according to multiple reports.

Taylor’s appointment in Kiev expires in January, and he will not seek to extend his stay, sources have told NBC and CNN.

Protestors across the country are rallying for impeachment

More than 1,000 protestors gathered in New York’s Times Square to rally in support of impeachment.
More than 1,000 protestors gathered in New York’s Times Square to rally in support of impeachment. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of people across the country are expected to attend rallies in support of impeachment. Some of these protests are already underway in Washington, New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston and Cleaveland.

The demonstrations were organized by the advocacy group MoveOn.org, with the support of other progressive organizations.

On the night before the full Hosue of Representatives will consider articles, hundreds of profestors showed up at the steps of the US Capitol, urging members of Congress to vote for impeachment.

Elsewhere, bundled-up demonstrators marched through the streets. Here’s a scene from Milwaukee, Wisconsin:

Houston, Texas:

The mayor of Salem, Massachusetts has taken issue with Donald Trump and his supporters comparing the impeachment process with the witch trials.

“Oy vey,” she tweeted. “Learn some history.”

She recommended some books on the history of Massachusetts for the president.

Report: Tulsi Gabbard expected to introduce bill to censure Trump rather than impeach

Tulsi Gabbard at the November presidential primary debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
Tulsi Gabbard at the November presidential primary debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Photograph: Derek White/REX/Shutterstock

As the House prepares to vote on articles of impeachment against Trump tomorrow, Gabbard — who is publicly undecided on impeachment — is expected to introduce an alternative, according to ABC.

The 2020 presidential candidate and Hawaii representative plans to introduce a measure that will formally censure the president. Gabbard has criticized the impeachment inquiry as “partisan”.

Andrew Jackson is the only president that has been censured in this way.

AP vote count: Democrats have the support to impeach

Democrats have the votes to impeach Donald Trump, according to a tally by the Associated Press. Though there has been some speculation around how some centrist Democrats and those from Republican-leaning districts would vote, it appears that the Nancy Pelosi has enough votes to see the impeachment through.

From the AP:

One by one centrist Democrats, including many freshmen lawmakers who risk reelection in districts where the president is popular, announced this week that they would support the articles of impeachment. The first article on abuse of power now has a majority.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is all but certain to have the numbers as debate begins Wednesday on the two articles of impeachment that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Per most tallies, 218 members have indicated they’ll vote for at least one article of impeachment, 198 are likely to vote against, and 15 haven’t indicated how they’ll vote.

Updated

As speculation over exactly how the impeachment votes tomorrow will break down, one freshman Democrat from a Republican-leaning district has said he’ll split his vote — yes on the abuse of power but no on obstruction of Congress.

Representative Jared Golden of Maine is one of several Democratic members of Congress who narrowly defeated Republican challengers in districts that voted for Donald Trump in 2016.

The Bangor Daily News reports:

The congressman has worked to draw a line between his October vote in support of the impeachment inquiry and his feelings on whether Trump should be impeached, but he has been hammered by Republicans running against him in the 2020 election. Since House Democrats have enough members to advance the articles to a Senate trial even with Republican opposition, the effect Golden’s vote will be largely on him.

Updated

Evening summary

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:

  • The House rules committee is still holding its hearing on setting debate parameters for tomorrow’s vote on the impeachment resolution, but the panel’s discussion has largely focused on relitigating the accusations against Trump.
  • The president sent a fiery letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi, condemning the impeachment inquiry and accusing Democrats of declaring “open war on American Democracy.”
  • Mitch McConnell said he would not be an “impartial juror” when the Senate holds its impeachment trial. “This is a political process,” the Senate majority leader told reporters. “I expect we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate. I’m not impartial about this at all.”
  • The House passed its massive $1.3 trillion funding deal, which would allow the government to avoid a shutdown at the end of the week, and Trump is expecetd to sign it.
  • Several more Democrats from Trump districts have said they will vote in favor of impeachment, quashing Republican hopes of attracting bipartisan opposition to the resolution.
  • Joe Biden released a letter from his doctor, saying he was a “healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male” who could perform all the duties of the presidency.

Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Because of you, our journalism thrived in 2019 …

A message from the Guardian US editor-in-chief:

This year, readers across all 50 states supported our journalism, allowing us to thrive in a challenging climate for publishers. Thank you.

In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater.

As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift.

We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do.Make a contribution.

The House rules committee is still holding its hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution, more than five hours after chairman Jim McGovern gaveled in the hearing.

Members of the rules committees are still largely relitigating the accusations against Trump contained in the impeachment resolution, while largely avoiding discussion of the parameters for tomorrow’s debate.

The full House is expected to take up the procedural rule tomorrow morning before debating the impeachment resolution itself.

Three more staffers working for congressman Jeff Van Drew, the House Democrat who has signaled he will switch parties over his opposition to impeachment, have reportedly resigned.

Van Drew has dodged reporters’ questions today about whether he will switch his party affiliation to Republican, but Trump praised the New Jersey lawmaker in a tweet late last night.

The timing of tomorrow’s impeachment debate is starting to become clearer, with the final House vote expected no earlier than 4:30 p.m. E.T., according to a Fox News reporter.

House members will meet at 9 a.m. E.T., but they will not be able to debate the impeachment resolution itself right away. First, members will have to vote on the rules establishing parameters for debate on the resolution, which the House rules committee is currently discussing.

Once the rule is passed, members will move on to debating the actual impeachment resolution, which could last several hours. It’s likely the bill will pass shortly before Trump takes the stage for his campaign rally in Michigan tomorrow night.

In case there wasn’t enough happening on Capitol Hill this week, the House is on track to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreeement by Thursday, likely making it the last piece of business before lawmakers leave for the holidays.

FISA courts rebukes FBI

The FISA court has issued a public rebuke of the FBI over its handling of warrant applications on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, ordering the bureau to tell the court how it intends to improve its practices.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court—which operates in near total secret—called a recent watchdog report ‘troubling’ and described the behavior of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as ‘antithetical to the heightened duty of candor’ owed to the court.

The court ordered the government to explain to the court by early next year what steps it was taking to prevent such lapses in the future. The court order comes after a critical watchdog report found serious lapses in the FBI’s handling of the warrant against Mr. Page.

Biden's doctor describes him as 'healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male'

Joe Biden has released a summary of his medical history, providing the most in-depth look at his health since the former vice president ran alongside Barack Obama in 2008.

“Vice President Biden is a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State, and Commander in Chief,” wrote Kevin C. O’Connor, the director of executive medicine at the GW Medical Faculty Associates who served as Biden’s physician when he was vice president.

O’Connor noted Biden was being treated for several conditions, including an irregular heartbeat and gastroesophageal reflux, but said those ailments should not prevent him from performing his duties as president.

“He does not use any tobacco products, does not drink alcohol at all, and he works out at least five days per week,” O’Connor wrote.

The three top-polling candidates in the Democratic presidential primary --Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- are all in their 70’s, raising concerns about the health of the eventual nominee.

Warren released a letter from her longtime doctor earlier this month, which described the Massachusetts senator as “very healthy.” Sanders, who suffered a heart attack in October, has promised to release his medical records by the end of the year.

Because of you, our journalism thrived in 2019 …

A message from the Guardian US editor-in-chief:

This year, readers across all 50 states supported our journalism, allowing us to thrive in a challenging climate for publishers. Thank you.

In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater.

As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift.

We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do.Make a contribution.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew, the House Democrat who has signaled he intends to switch parties over his opposition to impeachment, has reportedly bashed Trump in the past.

The Daily Beast reports:

Behind closed doors, Van Drew has told colleagues that the president was stupid and mentally unstable—and that his opposition to impeachment stemmed from his belief that impeaching Trump would ensure his re-election, according to two Democrats present at closed-door discussions with the congressman.

A third verified Van Drew had disparaged the president in harsh terms, calling him ‘crazy.’

‘He was almost obsessively anti-Trump,’ said one of the Democrats. ‘His only justification, and this was adamant, was that he thinks that [impeachment] will help Trump win.’

Updated

Of the 31 House Democrats representing districts that Trump won in 2016, only two have not yet signaled how they will vote on the impeachment resolution.

The overwhelming majority of the Democratic lawmakers -- 27 of them -- have said they will vote to impeach the president, while two have indicated they will oppose the resolution.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew, who reportedly plans to switch his party affiliation to Republican over his opposition to impeachment, is now dodging reporters’ questions about whether he will make the change.

But several of Van Drew’s staffers have already quit in protest of his plans, and the president tweeted out praise for the New Jersey congressman late last night.

Two more House Democrats from Trump districts, Haley Stevens of Michigan and Lauren Underwood of Illinois, have confirmed they intend to vote in favor of impeaching the president.

The announcements from the two congresswomen leave very few House Democrats who have not yet declared their support, quashing Republican hopes of picking off lawmakers across the aisle in order to claim bipartisan opposition to impeachment.

Over on Capitol Hill, the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats, have just ejected congressman Jeff Van Drew as a member following reports the New Jersey lawmaker intended to switch parties over his opposition to impeachment.

“Per our by laws, which require all members to be a member of the Democratic Party, Congressman Van Drew is no longer a member of the Blue Dog Coalition,” chairwoman Stephanie Murray said.

However, when asked about the news by a reporter, Van Drew interestingly appeared to raise doubt about whether he would actually switch his party affiliation to Republican.

“They are doing that on the basis of the fact that it is a Demcoratic — and a good one — organization, and you could not be a member if you were to change. And they are assuming I’m going to change,” Van Drew said.

The president certainly seems to be under the impression that Van Drew is switching parties, tweeting out praise for the congressman late last night.

While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office moments ago, Trump slammed the impeachment inquiry as a “disgrace” and a “mark on our country.”

“Other presidents, in the future, unless they do something about this, other presidents are going to have to live with this,” Trump said, echoing an argument fro his Republican allies in Congress.

Trump: I take 'zero' responsibility for impeachment inquiry

Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office whether he assumed any responsibility for the trajectory of the impeachment inquiry, Trump replied that he did not.

“No, I don’t take any. Zero, to put it mildly,” Trump responded.

McConnell: 'I am not an impartial juror'

As Trump condemned the impeachment inquiry as an unconstitutional abuse of congressional power, Mitch McConnell was busy foreclosing any chance of an impartial Senate trial.

“I am not an impartial juror,” the Senate majority leader told reporters on Capitol Hill. “This is a political process. ... I expect we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate. I’m not impartial about this at all.”

As the White House released an angry letter from Trump condemning the impeachment inquiry, the president himself similarly criticized House Democrats while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.

“The whole impeachment thing is a hoax,” Trump told reporters as he welcomed the Guatemalan president to the White House. “We look forward to getting on to the Senate. ... We’re not entitled to anything in the House. It’s a total sham.”

Trump defended his July phone call with the Ukrainian president, which kicked off the impeachment inquiry, as “absolutely perfect” and insisted Republicans are united in supporting him.

Trump’s letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi condemning the impeachment inquiry reads much like his Twitter feed, complete with exclamation points and accusations of Democrats “declaring open war on American Democracy.”

“You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!” Trump wrote in the letter.

The president goes on to claim he has done nothing wrong in regards to his actions toward Ukraine, predicting Democrats will suffer electoral losses next year because of the impeachment inquiry.

Trump condemns impeachment inquiry in fiery letter to Pelosi

Trump has sent a six-page letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi condemning the impeachment inquiry, calling it an “unprecedented and unconstiutional abuse of power.”

House passes massive funding deal

The House has passed its $1.3 trillion funding bill, likely avoiding a government shutdown at the end of the week -- assuming Trump follows through on signing it.

The first of the two bills -- which repealed three taxes in the Affordable Care Act and rasied the minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21, among other things -- passed 297-120.

The second -- which controversially included funding for Trump’s border wall -- passed with a vote of 280-138.

Kellyanne Conway, a senior White House adviser, said this morning the president was expected to sign the bills to avoid a government shutdown, even though Trump has previously complained about such massive spending bills.

Another House Democrat from a Trump district, Cindy Axne of Iowa, has announced she will support impeachment when the resolution is taken up for a chamber-wide vote tomorrow.

Trump carried Iowa’s 3rd congressional district by 3 points in 2016, but Axne won her race last year by 2 points.

The vice president, Mike Pence, said in an interview this week with a local Des Moines news outlet that Iowans should contact Axne to encourage her to vote “no” on impeachment.

Apparently, the congresswoman chose to ignore the vice president’s advice.

Afternoon summary

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The House rules committee is in the middle of holding its hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution, although the panel’s discussion so far has focused on relitigating the accusations against Trump.
  • Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell rejected Chuck Schumer’s suggestion of tying the resolution outlining impeachment trial procedures to Democratic requestsfor White House officials to testify.
  • More House Democrats from Trump districts, including Kendra Horn of Oklahoma and Abby Finkenauer of Iowa, have said they will vote in favor of impeachment -- stemming Republican hopes of crafting bipartisan opposition to the resolution.

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

House rules committee recesses impeachment hearing for floor votes

Jim McGovern, the Democratic chairman of the House rules committee, has recessed the panel’s hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution to allow for floor votes.

After more than two hours of questioning from McGovern and Tom Cole, the Republican ranking member, the committee has not yet turned to discussing debate procedures.

Intead, Democrat Jamie Raskin and Republican Doug Collins, two members of the House judiciary committee, have simply relitigated the accusations against Trump and whether they are legitimate.

Congressman Steny Hoyer, the Democratic House majority leader, has said he expects a “significant” number of “hours” for floor debate on the impeachment resolution, throwing the timing of the chamber-wide vote tomorrow into question.

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, another freshman House Democrat whose district voted for Trump in 2016, has said she will support impeaching the president.

Finkenauer’s Iowa district voted for Trump by 4 points in 2016, while the congresswoman won her seat by 5 points last year.

The House rules committee hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution has dissolved into a partisan debate over the intelligence committee’s handling of the inquiry.

Republicans Tom Cole, the ranking member of the rules committee, and Doug Collins, the ranking member of the judiciary committee, are arguing the intelligence committee oversaw an unfair process that reflected poorly upon the president, while Democrat Jamie Raskin has emphasized Trump chose not to send a representative to the judiciary committee hearings to defend himself.

The hearing has been underway for almost two hours at this point, and the conversation has not yet turned to specific debate procedures for tomorrow’s floor debate.

Manafort reportedly hospitalized for 'cardiac event'

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for tax fraud and conspiracy, has reportedly been hospitalized for a “cardiac event.”

ABC News reports:

Manafort has been serving out his sentence as of late in a federal correction institute in central Pennsylvania.

Manafort has been recovering since last Thursday at a local Pennsylvania hospital under the watch of correctional officers. Sources tell ABC News the 70 year old longtime Republican strategist is stable and could be released soon.

Manafort was scheduled for a court appearance on Wednesday but his attorney was informed that he would not be appearing. Todd Blanche, who has represented Manafort since his conviction, tells ABC News, that he has not communicated with Manafort since early last week.

The news comes the same day that Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates, was sentenced to 45 days in jail stemming from his 2018 guilty plea for conspiracy and lying to the FBI.

Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House judiciary committee, is not present for today’s rules committee hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution -- which has somewhat hampered Republicans’ strategy today.

Nadler traveled back to New York for a family medical emergency but is expected to return to Washington for tomorrow’s floor debate on the impeachment resolution.

As the House rules committee holds it hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution, intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff has called on the vice president’s office to declassify a supplemental letter from aide Jennifer Williams, who testified during the public impeachment hearings.

Schiff argued the letter “raises profound questions” about what Mike Pence knew of Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine to open investigations and is “directly relevant to Congress’s consideration of articles of impeachment.”

“Furthermore, your unwillingness to declassify the Supplemental Submission raises the serious question of whether your continuing efforts to obstruct the House’s impeachment inquiry are intended not just to protect President Trump, but yourself as well,” Schiff wrote.

A Democratic senator praised the performance of congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House judiciary committee and a former constitutional law professor presenting the party’s position on the articles of impeachment.

Raskin’s experitse has proven helpful to House Democrats as they navigate the impeachment inquiry, and his name has been raised as a potential impeachment manager.

Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House judiciary committee and a former constitutional law professor, is explaining why impeachment is in the constitution and why abuse of power is an impeachable offense, demonstrating the expertise he has offered throughout the inquiry.

CNN has more details on the sentencing of Rick Gates, the former deputy to Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort who became a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation:

He agreed to plead guilty to related charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators in February 2018. He also signed up to cooperate, giving Mueller’s team key insights into Manafort and Trump’s actions in 2016 during the height of the Russia investigations.

‘I accept complete responsibility for my actions,’ Gates told Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday.

Gates will also pay a $20,000 fine and fulfill 300 hours of community service. He will be allowed to serve his jail sentence on weekends during his three years of probation.

Jackson made clear that the failure of Gates, and his former boss Manafort, to disclose they were lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian clients was a significant wrong.

‘When people don’t have the facts, democracy fails to work,’ Jackson said. The judge said she believed that Gates was motivated by greed, and rejected one letter of support that suggested politics was a factor.

Congressman Doug Collins, the Republican ranking member of the House judidicary committee, warned that Democrats’ handling of the impeachment inquiry would come back to haunt them.

“The clock and the calendar are terrible masters, and they leave to awful results,” Collins said while appearing before the rules committee. “And yes, there will be a day of reckoning.”

Gates sentenced to 45 days in jail

Rick Gates, the former Trump campaign official who was a close ally of Paul Manafort’s, has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years probation.

Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI last year.

Congressman Doug Collins, the Republican ranking member of the House judiciary committee, told the rules committee that it was a “sad day,” criticizing Democratic leaders’ handling of the impeachment inquiry.

The Georgia Republican said Democrats were making decisions on impeachment based on “the clock and the calendar,” rather than working in a bipartisan manner.

Raskin accuses Trump of 'systematic abuses of his powers'

Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House judiciary committee, outlined the accusations against Trump, accusing the president of “systematic abuses of his powers.”

Raskin argued Trump’s actions toward Ukraine represented the worst fears of America’s founders about presidential overreach, requiring Congress to act.

The Maryland Democrat also warned Trump’s actions marked a “constitutional crime in progress up to this very minute,” noting Rudy Giuliani’s recent comments that he wanted Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, “out of the way” to push for investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House judiciary committee and a former constitutional law professor, is now presenting his party’s argument about the two articles of impeachment.

Raskin is appearing in the place of judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler, who had to briefly leave Washinton for a family medical emergency. Raskin, as well as the chairman and ranking member of the House rules committee, offered warm wishes to Nadler and his family.

Congressman Tom Cole, the Republican ranking member of the House rules committee, used his opening statement to criticize Democratic leaders’ handling of the impeachment inquriy.

“Mr. Chairman, it didn’t have to be this way,” Cole said, noting polling has shown the American public is evenly split on whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office.

But Cole and chairman Jim McGovern both began their remarks by praising each other’s work on the committee.

Another vulnerable House Democrat says she will vote for impeachment

Kendra Horn, a freshman House Democrat whose congressional district voted for Trump by more than 13 points in 2016, has just announced she will support impeachment.

Given the relatively conservative make-up of her district, Horn had been watched closely for how she would vote on impeachment, but she has now confirmed she will join the overwhelming majority of the Democratic caucus to support the resolution.

Congressman Jim McGovern, the chairman of the House rules committee, called on his Republican colleagues to criticize Trump’s actions toward Ukraine.

“I get it – it’s hard to criticize a president of your own party,” McGovern said. “But that shouldn’t matter here.”

The Massachusetts Democrat went on to extol the virtues of American democracy, recalling how he handed out leaflets as a young man for former presidential candidate George McGovern. “No relation, by the way,” McGovern joked.

House rules committee's impeachment hearing begins

Congressman Jim McGovern, the chairman of the House rules committee, has gaveled in the panel’s hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution.

McGovern began the hearing by outlining the allegations against Trump, accusing the president of holding up military assistance to a key ally, Ukraine, to extract a political favor.

The House rules committee has gathered in its hearing room to start discussing debate procedures for the impeachment resolution, but senior Democratic aides say they have little sense of when the chamber-wide vote will take place.

Schumer predicts votes on allowing Mulvaney and Bolton to testify

Chuck Schumer suggested there would be Senate votes on whether White House officials, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton, would be called to testify during the likely impeachment trial.

“Senators who oppose this plan will have to explain why less evidence is better than more evidence,” Schumer said of the Democratic proposal to have the four White House officials testify.

In his Senate floor speech criticizing Mitch McConnell for rejecting his witness request, Chuck Schumer cited a new poll showing a significant majority of Americans believe Trump should allow his advisers to testify during a Senate impeachment trial.

According to the Washington Post/ABC News poll, seven in 10 Americans say Trump should allow his aides to testify, and six in 10 expect a fair Senate trial.

However, the American public remains sharply divided on the question of whether Trump should be removed from office. The poll found that 49% support removal, compared to 46% who oppose it.

The House rules committee hearing on debate procedures for the impeachment resolution, which was set to start a few minutes ago, appears to be delayed.

Schumer criticizes McConnell after he rejects witness request

Chuck Schumer went to the Senate floor to criticize Mitch McConnell after the majority leader rejected Democrats’ request to have four White House officials testify during the Senate impeachment trial.

Schumer called the request a “good-faith proposal to kickstart the discussions that Leader McConnell has so far delayed,” adding that he did not hear the Republican leader make a “single argument” as to why the requested witnesses should not testify.

Schumer has asked that four White House officials, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton, be called to testify. “Impeachment trials, like most trials, have witnesses,” Schumer said. “To have none would be an abberation.”

The New York Democrat called on McConnell to provide “specific reasons why the four witnesses we’ve asked for shouldn’t testify.” “What is Leader McConnell afriad of? What is President Trump afraid of? The truth?” Schumer said. “But the American people want the truth.”

Updated

McConnell rejects Schumer's effort to tie trial parameters to witness requests

In his fiery floor speech, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell rejected Chuk Schumer’s efforts to tie a resolution outlining impeachment trial procedures to a Democratic request for White House officials to testify.

Criticizing House Democrats’ handling of the impeachment inquiry, McConnell accused Schumer of trying to launch a “fishing expedition to see whether his own ideas can make Chairman Schiff’s sloppy work more persuasive than Chairman Schiff himself bothered to make it.”

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell argued Chuck Schumer’s request to have White House officials testify during the impeachment trial was an effort to make up for the House’s inability to compel the Trump advisers to appear before impeachment investigators.

“It is not the Senate’s job to leap into the breach and search desperately for ways to “get to ‘guilty,” McConnell said. “That would hardly be impartial justice.”

The Kentucky Republican suggested House Democrats should not vote to impeach if they are expecting the Senate to do additional fact-finding. “If House Democrats’ case is this deficient, this thin, the answer is not for the judge and jury to cure it here in the Senate,” McConnell said. “The answer is that the House should not impeach on this basis in the first place.”

Updated

On the subject of Chuck Schumer’s letter calling on White House officials to testify during the likely impeachment trial, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell accused the minority leader of trying to “short circuit” efforts to reach an agreement on trial procedures.

McConnell said he would still meet with Schumer to discuss trial procedures, but he seemed very skeptical of allowing witnesses to testify. In his letter, Schumer specifically called on acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton to testify.

“The Democratic leader wants to write a completely new set of rules,” McConnell said.

McConnell calls impeachment inquiry 'most unfair' in recent history

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is speaking on the Senate floor about the impeachment inquiry, calling the investigation the “most rushed, least thorough and most unfair impeachment inquiry in recent history.”

The Kentucky Republican argued the result of the Democrats’ months-long investigation was a “slapdash work product.”

McConnell also offered a word of advice on the eve of the House’s expected vote on the impeachment resolution. “House Democrats still have an opportunity to do the right thing for the country,” the Senate leader said. “The House can turn back and not deploy this constitutional remedy of last resort.”

Updated

Giuliani details conversations with Trump about Yovanovitch

In an interview with the New York Times, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, detailed his conversations with Trump about Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine who was recalled earlier this year.

The Times reports:

[Giuliani] described how he passed along to Mr. Trump ‘a couple of times’ accounts about how [Yovanovitch] had frustrated efforts that could be politically helpful to Mr. Trump. They included investigations involving former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Ukrainians who disseminated documents that damaged Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The president in turn connected Mr. Giuliani with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who asked for more information, Mr. Giuliani said. Within weeks, Ms. Yovanovitch was recalled as ambassador at the end of April and was told that Mr. Trump had lost trust in her. ...

‘There’s a lot of reasons to move her,’ Mr. Giuliani said, asserting that his briefings of Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo most likely played a role in their decision to recall Ms. Yovanovitch.
‘I think my information did,’ he said. ‘I don’t know. You’d have to ask them. But they relied on it.’

The Times’ story came the same day that the New Yorker published an article in which Giuliani was quoted as saying he wanted Yovanovitch “out of the way” to push for investigations into Biden and the 2016 election.

Conway says Trump will sign spending deal

Kellyanne Conway, a senior White House adviser, said Trump would sign the massive government spending deal, which is expected to pass the House this afternoon, to avoid a shutdown.

But the $1.3 trillion spending bill has consequences far beyond keeping the government open. The Washington Post has more details:

A high-profile conflict over border wall spending — the issue that sparked a record 35-day partial government shutdown a year ago — was resolved with a retreat to the status quo: Funding remains unchanged from 2019 levels at $1.375 billion, short of the $8.6 billion President Trump requested from Congress. ...

The continuation of any border-wall funding is a blow to Democrats, who pushed to halt construction and block Trump from diverting funds appropriated for other projects. Trump repeatedly promised during the 2016 campaign that Mexico — not U.S. taxpayers — would pay for the wall.

But Democrats touted significant wins elsewhere in the bill — including $25 million in funding for federal gun violence research and $425 million in election security grants, as well as a $208 million boost in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Updated

Because of you, our journalism thrived in 2019 …

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The majority of House Democrats representing districts that Trump carried in 2016 have now signaled they intend to support the president’s impeachment, but several vulnerable Democratic lawmakers have not yet indicated how they will vote.

The positions of these lawmakers will likely become clearer by tomorrow, when the impeachment resolution reaches the House floor for debate.

The House is expected to vote this afternoon on its government spending deal, which would avoid a shutdown at the end of the week.

Trump has not yet sent a clear signal on whether he will support the deal, although an adviser to former Republican House speaker Paul Ryan noted lawmakers have used a technicality to try to secure the president’s signature.

Union agreement reached to clear the way for Democratic debate

It appears the food services company Sodexo has reached an agreement with its employees at Loyola Marymount University, the site of Thursday’s Democratic debate.

The presidential candidates who have qualified for the debate threatened to boycott the event if the union dispute was not resolved, but this announcement should clear the way for the debate to continue as scheduled.

Neil Gorsuch, the first of two US supreme court justices appointed by Trump, has appeared on Fox and Friends to tout his book “A Republic, If You Can Keep It.”

His live interview on Trump’s favorite morning TV show provoked expressions of disapproval on social media. Brian Stelter of CNN sniped: “How is it appropriate for a Supreme Court justice to try to goose sales of his three-month-old book by chatting on one of the most partisan shows on TV?”

In the end, the most outrageous thing about the Fox and Friends interview was that it failed to elicit a single interesting comment from the conservative justice. Plenty of folksy banter about Colorado fly-fishing, female in-laws and how the justices sing together at Christmas and on birthdays.

But no questions on impeachment, Trump, Roe v Wade or any of the other seismic conflicts battering the nation’s highest court. About the most grabby remark Gorsuch made was to lament that almost one in 10 American college graduates believe that Judith Sheindlin - better known as Judge Judy - sits on the US supreme court. The way this interview went, she might as well have been.

Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious set of reforms to fight global corruption, arguing that “financial transparency is a necessary component of any responsible domestic and international policy agenda.”

“Around the world -- in places including Chile, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran – protesters are rising up against corruption and economic inequality,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “The United States must stand with them. Financial transparency is a necessary component of any responsible domestic and international policy agenda, but international controls are only as strong as their weakest links. The United States has the means to compel change, and we must lead by example.”

Her plan would:

  • Require the disclosure of “ultimate beneficial owner of a company” – the real owners behind shell companies that allow individuals to mask their identities and the sources of their money
  • Gather better data on cross-border financial flows
  • Expand anti-bribery laws that penalize foreign officials who extort American companies
  • Impose new rules to clamp down on dark money with stiff penalties for violations
  • Deploy targeted sanctions to “investigate, name, and shame corrupt individuals and their criminal rings”

Warren’s proposal makes multiple references to the Panama Papers, an unprecedented leak of records from one of the world’s largest offshore law firms that exposed the many ways the wealthy and powerful exploit secretive offshore tax havens. The records were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, who worked with a network of media partners, including the Guardian.

“Laundered money represents 2 to 5 percent of global GDP, or as much as $2 trillionannually,” she writes. “And the flow of illicit money and lack of financial transparency are not just problems for developing countries or systems exploited by autocrats – they also affect the United States and its interests around the world.”

The plan also comes ahead of a House vote on impeachment that centers on the US’ anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. Multiple diplomats and administration testified during the impeachment investigation this year that those efforts were disrupted by a parallel pressure campaign by Trump’s allies to extract a political favor from the country’s newly elected president.

Another freshman House Democrat, Mikie Sherill of New Jersey, has announced she will vote to impeach Trump, who carried her congressional district by 1 point in 2016.

So far, the only House Democrats to signal they will oppose impeachment are Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew, who has indicated he will switch his party affiliation. Trump, who helped convince Van Drew to change sides, tweeted praise at the freshman congressman late last night.

Updated

House rules committee meeting this morning to take up impeachment

Good morning, live blog readers!

The House rules committee is set to meet at 11am ET to discuss the parameters for the impeachment debate, which will take place tomorrow on the House floor before a chamber-wide vote.

Although the rules committee meeting will likely not be as chaotic as tomorrow’s floor debate, viewers can expect some heated moments as two representatives from the judiciary committee – Democrat Jamie Raskin and Republican Doug Collins – take questions from members of the panel about the two articles of impeachment. (Judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler was originally scheduled to attend but will be unable to appear due to a family emergency.)

Democratic leadership also received some good news this morning; congressman Anthony Brindisi, a freshman House Democrat whose district voted for Donald Trump by 15 points in 2016, said he would support impeachment.

Brindisi is one of more than a dozen vulnerable House Democrats who have now signaled their support for impeaching Trump, indicating the Democratic caucus will likely be largely unified when the vote takes place. But once the House approves the articles of impeachment, which seems all but certain at this point, the debate will then move to the Republican-controlled Senate, where Trump has already been guaranteed a much more favorable audience.

The U.S. Capitol is seen before the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
The U.S. Capitol is seen before the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

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

  • Trump will welcome the Guatemalan president and first lady to the White House and later speak at a Christmas reception.
  • The House is expected to vote on government funding to avoid a shutdown.
  • Joe Biden is attending a fundraiser in his home state of Delaware.

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

Updated

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