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

Don McGahn: former White House counsel must testify, judge rules – as it happened

The former White House counsel Don McGahn.
The former White House counsel Don McGahn. Photograph: POOL New/Reuters

Coverage continues in Tuesday’s live blog

Updated evening summary

Some key late-breaking court rulings today, to wrap up another interesting day in American politics, where, as one federal judge wrote, “Presidents are not kings.”

  • A federal judge ruled that the former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before Congress, and called the Trump administration’s argument that senior White House aides had absolute immunity from testifying incompatible with America’s constitutional system. The decision has broader implications for other current and former White House officials, including the former national security adviser John Bolton, a key witness in the Ukraine scandal and impeachment inquiry. Trump’s justice department has pledged to appeal the ruling.
  • The supreme court is temporarily shielding Trump’s tax returns from House Democrats, in order to allow the justices to consider two separate cases about the release of Trump’s financial records at the same time.
  • Adam Schiff, the chair of the House intelligence committee, said his panel intended to transmit its report on the impeachment inquiry to the judiciary committee shortly after Thanksgiving. However, Schiff did not rule out the possibility of his committee seeking additional hearings or testimony.
  • Federal prosecutors have reportedly launched a broad investigation into the consulting business of Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. Possible charges being considered include obstruction of justice, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the US.
  • David Pecker, who runs the parent company of the National Enquirer, reportedly met with prosecutors to discuss the Trump Organization’s hush-money payments to women who alleged they had affairs with the president.
  • The defense secretary, Mark Esper, confirmed that Eddie Gallagher, the Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq, would retire with his Trident pin, the badge denoting his qualification for the elite force, after receiving a direct order from Trump.

Updated

Liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was back at work on Monday, a day after being released from a hospital following her admission on Friday with chills and a fever, a spokeswoman said, according to Reuters.

Ginsburg’s health is closely watched because another Supreme Court vacancy would give President Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint a third justice to the nine-member court and move it further to the right. The court’s 5-4 conservative majority includes two justices named by Trump.

Ginsburg, 86, is an icon for progressive Americas, and has been dubbed “The Notorious RBG.” She has had various health problems in recent months. On Nov 13, Ginsburg missed a court session after catching a stomach bug. In August, Ginsburg underwent radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer. She had two cancerous nodules in her left lung removed last December, and had previously been treated for pancreatic cancer in 2009 and colon cancer in 1999.

“Presidents are not kings.”

That’s how U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson dismantled the Trump administration’s argument that the president had the power to compel “ absolute immunity” to block former senior White House adies from having to testify before Congress.

The White House’s legal argument has “startling and untenable implications” and is incompatible with “our constitutional scheme,” Jackson wrote.

“Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings. This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Moreover, as citizens of the United States, current and former senior-level presidential aides have constitutional rights, including the right to free speech, and they retain these rights even after they have transitioned back into private life.”

Read the full ruling here.

A federal judge’s ruling today that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before Congress is likely to have much broader implications—including for former national security adviser John Bolton.

The ruling could lead to renewed efforts by House Democrats to compel testimony from other high-ranking officials, including former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, a key figure in the Ukraine scandal and impeachment inquiry

As expected, the Trump administration will appeal the federal judge’s ruling that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify to Congress, and seek to put the ruling on hold in the meantime, Justice Department spokesman Kerri Kupec said, according to the Associated Press.

William Burck, an attorney for McGahn, said the former White House counsel will comply with the subpoena, absent a court-imposed stay.

Supreme Court Shields Trump's Tax Returns from House Democrats—For Now

For now, the supreme court is shielding President Donald Trump’s tax records from House Democrats, the Associated Press reports.

The delay announced late Monday allows the supreme court justices to decide how to handle the House subpoena for Trump’s tax returns and a similar demand from the Manhattan district attorney at the same time.

The justices are giving Trump until Dec. 5 to file a full appeal of a lower court ruling calling for his accountants to turn over the records. The president’s lawyers are certain to comply, and the court’s decision about whether to take up the case is expected by mid-January.

The New York case centers on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s subpoena for Trump’s tax returns from the same accounting firm, Mazars USA.

The justices now should be able to say at the same time whether they will take up the cases and decide them by late June.

If they opt to reject Trump’s appeals, the House and Vance would be able to enforce their subpoenas immediately. Mazars has said it would comply with any legal obligation.

The House’s quest for the records is not part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry, but the court’s action probably means Democrats will not have the records before an expected vote on impeachment by year’s end.

“Now that the court has ruled, I expect [McGahn] to follow his legal obligations and promptly appear before the Committee,” House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.

“McGahn is a central witness to allegations that President Trump obstructed Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, and the Administration’s claim that officials can claim ‘absolute immunity’ from Congressional subpoenas has no basis in law, as the court recognized today.”

As the New York Times’ Charlie Savage noted earlier, this ruling will almost certainly be appealed by the White House.

More from Reuters on today’s key ruling:

U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in Washington rejected the Trump administration’s legal claim that current and former senior White House officials cannot be compelled to testify before Congress.

Former White House counsel Don McGahn must comply with a congressional subpoena seeking his testimony about President Donald Trump’s efforts to impede the now-completed federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Jackson ruled on Monday.

Last May, McGahn defied a subpoena from the Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. The committee sued McGahn in August to try to enforce the subpoena.

Jackson’s ruling concerns only McGahn’s testimony. But by rejecting Trump’s key legal argument for defying congressional subpoenas it could give other former and current presidential advisers a legal basis for cooperating with the ongoing House impeachment inquiry, legal experts said.

The Trump administration has refused to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry as well as other Democratic-led investigations and has directed current and former officials to defy subpoenas for documents and testimony.

The legal battle over McGahn’s testimony was prompted by special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, and started months before the House opened an impeachment inquiry in September into the Republican president’s actions concerning Ukraine.

House Democratic leaders have focused their impeachment inquiry on Ukraine, but have discussed pursuing a broader count of obstruction of Congress among any articles of impeachment - formal charges - brought against Trump. McGahn’s testimony could bolster that part of their inquiry.

House passage of any articles of impeachment would lead to a trial in the Senate on whether to convict Trump and remove him from office. The Senate is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, who have shown little support for removing him.

Federal Judge Rules McGahn Must Testify

A federal judge has ruled that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before the House Judiciary Committee, a decision that could have major implications for the House’s impeachment probe.

The judge also made clear that this ruling applies to other Trump administration staffers who receive a Congressional subpoena.

As POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney put it: “Any ‘current or former’ senior White House aide subpoenaed by a House committee must at least appear for testimony -- even if they claim privilege while testifying.”

Does this mean McGahn is likely to testify soon? No, the New York Times’ Charlie Savage reports: “It is virtually certain that the Justice Department will file an appeal and seek a stay of the judge’s ruling.”

Updated

In the response to a freedom of information lawsuit by the Center for Public Integrity, an investigative journalism nonprofit, a federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of pages of communications between Defense Department officials and others over stalled American aid to Ukraine.

This is Lois Beckett, taking over our live politics coverage from our California office.

The senior Biden presidential campaign staffer in charge of outreach to Latino, African-American and women’s groups has quit, POLITICO reports. Two allies said she was frustrated over the former vice president’s immigration rhetoric.

On Thursday, an immigration activist told Biden at a town hall in South Carolina that he had campaigned for Obama but felt betrayed by the number of deportations carried out by the Obama administration.

“You should vote for Trump,” Biden responded.

“Biden just refuses to talk about the issue in a compassionate way,” a friend of the senior staffer who quit told POLITICO.

Evening summary

That’s it from me on the blog today. I’m handing things over to my west coast colleague, Lois Beckett, for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, said his panel intended to transmit its report on the impeachment inquiry to the judiciary committee shortly after Thanksgiving. However, Schiff did not rule out the possibility of his committee seeking additional hearings or testimony.
  • Federal prosecutors have reportedly launched a broad investigation into the consulting business of Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. Possible charges being considered include obstruction of justice, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the US.
  • David Pecker, who runs the parent company of the National Enquirer, reportedly met with prosecutors to discuss the Trump Organization’s hush-money payments to women who alleged they had affairs with the president.
  • Defense secretary Mark Esper confirmed that Eddie Gallagher, the Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq, would retire with his Trident pin, the badge denoting his qualification for the elite force, after receiving a direct order from Trump.
  • The president held a Rose Garden news conference with Conan, the military dog who played a key role in the al-Baghdadi raid. (And after much confusion on the subject, the White House confirmed Conan is male.)

Lois will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader who would help oversee a trial if the House approved articles of impeachment against Trump, appeared to dodge a question about whether the president acted approppriately in his communications with Ukraine.

But the Kentucky Republican emphasized again that he thought it would be nearly impossible for two-thirds of the Senate to sign off on removing Trump from office.

Reporters continue to await a ruling in the case of Don McGahn, Trump’s former White House counsel, but the presiding judge emphasized her distate for time limits during oral arguments last month, so we could be here a bit longer.

A ruling will likely come in the next hour on whether Don McGahn, Trump’s former White House counsel, must comply with a congressional subpoena or the administration’s guidance not to cooperate with a House investigation.

The ruling in the case will almost certainly be appealed regardless, but it could give cover to former administration officials like John B0lton to testify in the impeachment inquiry if they are looking for an opening to do so.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon, Trump brushed aside a question about Rudy Giuliani’s repeated claim that he has “insurance” in case the president turns on him, as the president’s personal lawyer told the Guardian’s Stephanie Kirchgaessner earlier this month.

“Oh, I don’t know. Rudy’s a great guy,” Trump told reporters about Giulaini’s comments. “Rudy is the best mayor in the history of New York. In my opinion, the strongest mayor, the best mayor. Rudy is a great crime-fighter, corruption fighter.”

The Washington Post has more details on the investigation into Rudy Giuliani’s consulting business, reporting that federal prosecutors are also scrutinizing donations to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.

The Post reports:

As part of the probe, federal prosecutors are examining a raft of other potential crimes, including destruction or alteration of documents, aiding and abetting federal crimes, and foreign nationals contributing to U.S. candidates, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The list of possible crimes under investigation does not mean that those charges will be filed. They do, however, indicate prosecutors are casting a wide net for wrongdoing as they examine the business and legal dealings of the president’s personal lawyer, and two Soviet emigres businessmen who have been assisting Giuliani in the efforts to dig up damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on the president’s behalf. ...

A spokeswoman for American First Action said the group reached out last month to federal prosecutors in New York, offering to cooperate voluntarily. She said the group has received no subpoenas and follows the law, declining to comment further.

The blog has to correct an earlier correction. The White House pool report initially indicated that Conan, the military dog who participated in the al-Baghdadi raid, was male.

Then a White House official confirmed on background that the dog was actually female. However, it now appears the dog is, indeed, male.

The confusion around Conan’s sex prompted inevitable jokes about the effectiveness of the Trump White House’s messaging operation.

National Enquirer executive discussed hush-money payments with prosecutors

There have been a couple investigative developments beyond the impeachment inquiry this afternoon. CNN is now reporting that David Pecker, who runs the parent company of the National Enquirer, met with prosecutors to discuss the Trump Organization’s hush-money payments to women who alleged they had affairs with the president.

CNN reports:

The America Media Inc. chairman’s late October meeting with prosecutors from the major economic crimes bureau could provide key details on discussions that took place involving Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who allegedly had an affair with Trump, and agreements that were made with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, the sources said.

Cohen is cooperating with the investigation. Pecker is expected to continue talking with prosecutors, sources said.

The meeting between Pecker and the local prosecutors shows that investigators are still trying to connect the dots between Trump and the hush money payments. The meeting could result in Pecker being a potential critical witness down the road in any legal action against Trump or the Trump Organization.

Prosecutors are investigating whether any state laws were broken, such as whether the Trump Organization falsified any business records relating to the Daniels payment.

Federal subpoenas indicate investigators probing Giuliani's business

Federal subpoenas sent to individuals with ties to Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, indicate that prosecutors have launched a broad investigation into the former New York mayor’s consulting business.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

In recent weeks, prosecutors have sent subpoenas and other requests to potential witnesses seeking records and information related to Mr. Giuliani and two of his associates, according to the people. The investigation, led by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has already led to campaign-finance charges against the associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.

The subpoenas offer the clearest indication yet that federal prosecutors are examining Mr. Giuliani’s consulting work. Among the entities named in the subpoenas are Giuliani Partners, a security-consulting firm founded by Mr. Giuliani in 2002 that had multiple foreign clients, including a city in Ukraine. The subpoenas also sought information on a company co-founded by Mr. Parnas that paid Mr. Giuliani for business and legal advice.

Mr. Giuliani said in an interview that he hadn’t been contacted by prosecutors and has denied wrongdoing.

Subpoenas described to The Wall Street Journal listed more than a half dozen potential charges under consideration: obstruction of justice, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, making false statements to the federal government, serving as an agent of a foreign government without registering with the Justice Department, donating funds from foreign nationals, making contributions in the name of another person or allowing someone else to use one’s name to make a contribution, along with mail fraud and wire fraud.

Adam Schiff’s “Dear Colleague” letter indicates that House Democrats are likely to impeach Trump before Christmas if current levels of support hold.

This could set the Senate up for a January trial, which would complicate the campaign schedules of the six Democratic senators running for president.

An impeacment trial would leave senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker and Michael Bennet stuck in the Washington in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

In his “Dear Colleague” letter, Adam Schiff warned that attempts to obstruct the inquiry could be incorporated into an article of impeachment against Trump.

“We will catalog the instances of non-compliance with lawful subpoenas as part of our report to the Judiciary Committee, which will allow that Committee to consider whether an article of impeachment based on obstruction of Congress is warranted along with an article or articles based on this underlying conduct or other presidential misconduct,” the House intelligence committee chairman wrote.

“Such obstruction was the basis of the third article of impeachment against President Richard Nixon,” Schiff warned in the letter.

However, Schiff emphasized that he would not allow legal battles connected to the impeachment inquiry to drag out the investigation for months on end.

Adam Schiff’s “Dear Colleague” letter indicated the House intelligence committee chairman is open to holding additional impeachment hearings, echoing comments he made in an interview on Friday.

“Even as we draft our report, we are open to the possibility that further evidence will come to light, whether in the form of witnesses who provide testimony or documents that become available,” Schiff wrote. “If other witnesses seek to show the same patriotism and courage of their colleagues and deputies and decide to obey their duty to the country over fealty to the President, we are prepared to hear from them.”

The California Democrat emphasized that he believed the inquiry had already turned up concrete evidence implicating Trump. “But the evidence of wrongdoing and misconduct by the President that we have gathered to date is clear and hardly in dispute,” Schiff wrote. “What is left to us now is to decide whether this behavior is compatible with the office of the Presidency, and whether the Constitutional process of impeachment is warranted.”

Schiff says impeachment report to be transmitted soon after Thanksgiving recess

Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, has just released a “Dear Colleague” letter saying his panel intends to transmit its report on the impeachment inquiry soon after the Thanksgiving congressional recess.

Schiff wrote, “As required under House Resolution 660, the Committees are now preparing a report summarizing the evidence we have found this far, which will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee soon after Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess.”

But the California Democrat noted the committee has not concluded collecting evidence in the inquiry. “The investigative work continues, and we are learning additional information almost every day,” Schiff wrote. “But while we will continue with our investigative work and do not foreclose the possibility of further depositions or hearings, we will not allow the President or others to drag this out for months on end in the courts.”

Updated

Bloomberg heads west

The newest Democratic 2020 election candidate, Michael Bloomberg, plans a campaign stop in Arizona tomorrow, as he kicks off his unconventional campaign for the presidency, Joanna Walters writes.

The New York billionaire officially confirmed his candidacy in an event yesterday, unveiling a minute-long campaign video that called him, one of the richest men in the world, a “middle-class kid who made good”.

While the Democratic front-runners are hopping all over the earliest voting states in the primary race - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - which go to the polls in February to pick the Dem nominee for the White House, Bloomberg is heading west to get on the ballot in Arizona.

Super Tuesday is March 3, the Arizona primary is March 17.

Bloomberg in Arkansas after adding his name to the primary ballot there earlier this month
Bloomberg in Arkansas after adding his name to the primary ballot there earlier this month Photograph: Christopher Aluka Berry/Reuters

Updated

Today’s White House pool reporter has just passed along a very important update: Conan, the dog who heroically assisted in the al-Baghdadi raid, is female, not male.

“A White House official confirmed to your pooler on background that Conan the dog is female,” wrote Yahoo News reporter Hunter Walker.

“The president used male pronouns to identify the dog during the earlier event. Your pooler retracts the earlier comment that Conan was a very good boy. Conan is apparently a very good girl. Good girl Conan.”

Update at 3:58 p.m. ET: The White House pool reporter passed along another update to confirm that Conan is, indeed, male. “A White House official informed your pooler that Conan the dog is a male. Multiple officials had previously said Conan was female. Your pooler retracts prior statements calling Conan a ‘good boy’ and a ‘good girl.’ Conan is a good dog.”

Updated

As expected, New Hampshire’s secretary of state has set the date of the Granite State’s presidential primary as Feb. 11 of next year, eight days after the Iowa caucuses kick off voting in the Democratic race.

Eleven days after the New Hampshire primary, Nevada will hold its caucuses, followed by South Carolina -- wrapping up the four early voting states.

There are several animals who will be making an appearance at the White House in the next couple of days. Trump has just wrapped up his Rose Garden news conference with Conan, the military dog involved in the al-Baghdadi raid, and the president will be doing the official White House pardon of the Thanksgiving turkeys tomorrow.

The names of the turkeys have been announced -- Bread and Butter -- and Americans will now get the chance to vote on which bird should receive a presidential pardon. (However, both turkeys invetiably end up being spared from the dinner table to live out their lives at Virginia Tech’s Gobblers Rest.)

And a horse-drawn carriage delivered the White House Christmas tree to 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue this afternoon, where it was received by first lady Melania Trump.

Afternoon summary

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The defense secretary confirmed Eddie Gallagher, the Navy seal accused of committing war crimes in Iraq, would be allowed to retire with his Trident pin, the badge denoting his qualification for the elite force, because of a direct order from Trump.
  • Trump continues to lash out against the impeachment inquiry as the House intelligence committee works on preparing its report following the recent public hearings.
  • The president unexpectedly appeared before reporters in the Rose Garden with Conan, the dog involved in the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Syrian compound.

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

Trump says he has confidence in Mulvaney

As he was leaving the Rose Garden event with Conan the dog, Trump told reporters he still had confidence in his acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney.

Questions have swirled about Mulvaney’s future at the White House after a report emerged that emails show the acting chief of staff trying to create an after-the-fact justification for holding up military aid to Ukraine.

The Washington Post reported:

A confidential White House review of President Trump’s decision to place a hold on military aid to Ukraine has turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to generate an after-the-fact justification for the decision and a debate over whether the delay was legal, according to three people familiar with the records.

The research by the White House Counsel’s Office, which was triggered by a congressional impeachment inquiry announced in September, includes early August email exchanges between acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House budget officials seeking to provide an explanation for withholding the funds after the president had already ordered a hold in mid-July on the nearly $400 million in security assistance, according to the three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

One person briefed on the records examination said White House lawyers are expressing concern that the review has turned up some unflattering exchanges and facts that could at a minimum embarrass the president. It’s unclear whether the Mulvaney discussions or other records pose any legal problems for Trump in the impeachment inquiry, but some fear they could pose political problems if revealed publicly.

The vice president was also present for the Rose Garden news conference with Conan and said that Trump had just met with some of the other special forces officers involved in the al-Baghdadi raid.

Trump praised Conan as “so brilliant” and “so smart” and warned the reporters present that the dog was trained to attack people if they opened their mouths.

The president also predicted Conan would not retire from his duties yet, saying the dog was in his “prime time” to continue serving with the US military.

This post has been twice updated to reflect the fact that Conan is indeed male after being mistaken as female.

Updated

Trump appears alongside dog who participated in al-Baghdadi raid

Trump has just appeared in the Rose Garden alongside Conan, the dog who participated in the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Syrian compound that resulted in the death of the ISIS leader.

The president said he had presented Conan with a plaque for his heroic efforts.

This post has been twice updated to reflect the fact that Conan is indeed male after being mistaken as female.

Updated

According to the White House pool report, the rumor among reporters gathered in the Rose Garden is that Conan, the dog who assisted with the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Syrian compound, will be present for Trump’s unexpected event.

Updated

A White House spokesperson has advised the reporters gathered for Trump’s unpexected appearance in the Rose Garden to “remain as calm as possible” because “there is going to be an animal” present for the event.

It looks like Trump will soon speak to reporters in the Rose Garden, but it’s unclear what he intends to discuss. The White House did not originally include the event on the president’s public schedule.

Defense secretary Mark Esper said he was “flabbergasted” by Navy secretary Richard Spencer’s effort to go around Pentagon leadership and offer Trump a secret deal on Eddie Gallagher’s case.

Spencer reportedly told Trump he would allow Gallagher to keep his Trident pin if the White House did not interfere with proceedings against the Navy Seal, who was accused of war crimes in Iraq.

Esper told reporters that Spencer’s efforts undermined the chain of command and necessitated his firing. “This proposal was completely contrary to what we agreed to, and contrary to secretary Spencer’s public position. [The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff] and I were completely caught off-guard, and realized that it had undermined everything we had been discussing with the president,” Esper said.”

Graham defends seeking information on the Bidens

Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary commitee, has defended his recent decision to seek information on Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s work in Ukraine.

“I love Joe Biden as a person but we are not going to give a pass to what is obviously a conflict of interest,” Graham said in a tweet. The Republican senator also said earlier today in South Carolina, “My conscious is clear. I love Joe Biden as a person ... but I have a conscious very clear right now, and I have a duty.”

In a CNN interview on Friday, Biden criticized Graham and predicted his former Senate colleague would “go down in a way that I think he’s going to regret his whole life.”

“I say Lindsey, I just -- I’m just embarrassed by what you’re doing, for you. I mean, my Lord,” Biden added. “I am disappointed, and quite frankly I’m angered, by the fact -- he knows me; he knows my son; he knows there’s nothing to this.”

Trump had said yesterday in a tweet that Eddie Gallagher would be allowed to retire as a Navy Seal, despite his past demotion over allegations of committing war crimes in Iraq.

Defense secretary Mark Esper had similarly confirmed Gallagher would be allowed to retire with the honor, but today was the first time he acknowledged hacing received a direct order from Trump to allow the officer to retain the prestigious status.

Trump orders Navy Seal officer accused of war crimes be allowed to keep Trident pin

Secretary of defense Mark Esper has just confirmed that Trump ordered him to allow Eddie Gallagher, the Navy Seal officer accused of war crimes in Iraq, to keep his Trident pin, the badge denoting his qualification for the elite force.

The controversy over Gallagher led to yesterday’s firing of Navy secretary Richard Spencer, although there were varying accounts about the events leading up to Spencer’s departure.

Trump claimed in a tweet that he was disappointed by the Navy’s handling of Gallagher’s case as well as “large cost overruns,” citing those concerns as the reason why Esper fired him.

But reports also emerged that Esper lost confidence in Spencer after discovering the Navy secretary had tried to circumvent the Pentagon by privately telling Trump he would allow Gallagher to keep his Trident pin if the White House did not interfere with proceedings against the officer.

Then, in his resignation letter, Spencer took a moral stand and claimed he could not continue to serve knowing that he no longer shares “the same understanding with the commander-in- chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline.”

Nunes denies role in seeking dirt on Biden

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, is dismissing reports that he played a role in trying to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, as a lawyer for one of Rudy Giulaini’s associates has alleged.

CNN reported Friday:

The attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, represents Lev Parnas, the recently indicted Soviet-born American who worked with Giuliani to push claims of Democratic corruption in Ukraine. Bondy said that Parnas was told directly by the former Ukrainian official that he met last year in Vienna with Rep. Devin Nunes.

‘Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December,” said Bondy.

Shokin was ousted from his position in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including then-vice president Biden, over concerns that Shokin was not pursuing corruption cases. ...

Bondy told CNN that his client and Nunes began communicating around the time of the Vienna trip. Parnas says he worked to put Nunes in touch with Ukrainians who could help Nunes dig up dirt on Biden and Democrats in Ukraine, according to Bondy.

Appearing on Fox News yesterday, Nunes refused to directly say whether he met with Shokin but blamed the controversy on a “t0tally corrupt” media, echoing rhe president he has so ardently defended.

“Everybody’s going to know all the facts, but I think you can understand, I can’t compete by trying to debate this out with the public media when 90 percent of the media are totally corrupt,” Nunes said.

But the chairman of the intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, indicated Nunes could be facing an ethics investigation if the accusations have merit. “If he was on a taxpayer-funded [congressional delegation] — and I say ‘if’ — seeking dirt on a potential Democratic candidate for president, Joe Biden, that will be an ethics matter,” Schiff said. “That is not before our committee.”

However, given the partisan breakdown of the House ethics committee, an investigation into the matter seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, the turkeys that will be pardoned by the president tomorrow for the annual Thanksgiving event at the White House have arrived in Washington.

The actual White House turkey pardon wll take place tomorrow, but the birds will participate in a news conference later today where their names are expected to be announced. Their predecessors from last year’s ceremony were named Peas and Carrots.

Ruling expected in case with impeachment implications

In impeachment-related news, judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to issue a ruling today on whether Trump’s former White House counsel, Don McGahn, must comply with a congressional subpoena.

Jackson’s ruling could have sweeping implications for the Trump administration officials who have refused to comply with congressional subpoenas in the impeachment inquiry, even though an appeal seems highly likely.

During a hearing on the case last month, Jackson appeared skeptical of the justice department’s argument that McGahn had immunity from testifying as a former White House official and expressed concern that such a position could upset the separation of powers outlined in the constiution.

Biden picks up first endorsement from early state member of Congress

Nevada representative Dina Titus has become the first sitting member of Congress from an early voting state to issue an endorsement in the Democratic presidential race, announcing her support of Joe Biden this morning.

“I’ve seen him up close. I’ve worked with him in Congress. I’ve known him for a long time,” Titus said while announcing her endorsement on CNN. “I think he’s the best qualified to be president of all the good Democratic candidates.”

Nevada votes third in the Democratic primary calendar, after Iowa and New Hampshire. In addition to being the first western state of the primary, Nevada is also the first state with a significant non-white population to vote in the Democratic race.

Speaking earlier this month during the state’s “First in the West” dinner, Titus reminded presidential candidates not to forget the “moderate Democrats in suburban districts” who helped flip the House. “We have just got to make sure that we appeal across the board,” Titus said. “We are a big-tent party.”

House intelligence committee reportedly has tapes from Guiliani associate

The House intelligence committee has reportedly come into possession of recordings from Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who reportedly helped the president’s personal lawyer pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

ABC News reports:

The material submitted to the committee includes audio, video and photos that include Giuliani and Trump. It was unclear what the content depicts and the committees only began accessing the material last week.

‘We have subpoenaed Mr. Parnas and Mr. [Igor] Fruman for their records. We would like them to fully comply with those subpoenas,’ House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN Sunday, with a committee spokesperson adding they would not elaborate beyond the chairman’s comments. ...

Sources tell ABC News the tapes were provided as part of that congressional subpoena issued to Parnas, and the former Giuliani ally also provided a number of documents both in English and Ukrainian to the committee in two separate productions, sources told ABC News.

However, some of the material sought by congressional investigators is already in possession of federal investigators within the Southern District of New York and thus held up from being turned over, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Trump misstates impeachment support as House committee prepares report

Good morning, live blog readers!

Even though it’s a holiday week with Thanksgiving on Thursday, the impeachment inquiry is still advancing and weighing heavily on the mind of Donald Trump, if his Twitter feed is any indication.

The House intelligence committee continues to prepare its report on the inquiry, but it’s still possible more public hearings will be held in the future. Chairman Adam Schiff would not rule out the possibility of additional hearings in an interview published Friday.

Meanwhile, the president is misstating Americans’ support for impeachment, claiming in a tweet that it is “dropping like a rock” and “down into the 20’s in some Polls.” In reality, support for impeaching Trump continues to hover just below 50%, but FiveThirtyEight’s polling average on the issue has dipped a few points in recent days.

That polling, combined with congressional Republicans’ continued opposition to the inquiry despite last week’s damning testimony, has dispelled any hope of a bipartisan consensus emerging as the House moves toward voting on articles of impeachment.

Elizabeth Warren speaks as Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden listen during last week’s Democratic debate.
Elizabeth Warren speaks as Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden listen during last week’s Democratic debate. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

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

  • Trump will have lunch with Mike Pence, meet with the Bulgarian prime minister and sign two bills.
  • Melania Trump will receive the White House Christmas Tree at 1 p.m. ET.
  • Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg are both campaigning in Iowa with a little over two months left until the state’s caucus.

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

Updated

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