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Sam Levin in Los Angeles (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Trump impeachment: Schumer says Senate trial without witnesses would be 'cover-up' – as it happened

Live political reporting continues on Tuesday’s blog:

Summary

We’re ending our live coverage for the day – thanks for following along. We’ll be back tomorrow to cover the lead up to the final House vote to impeach Trump. For now, here are some key links and developments from today:

Next year America faces an epic choice ... and the results could define the country for a generation.

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

These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. This US administration is establishing new norms of behaviour. Anger and cruelty disfigure public discourse and lying is commonplace. Truth is being chased away.

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.

Senator Mitt Romney, another Republican who is facing close scrutiny for his impeachment stance, has dodged questions today about a Senate trial:

After Chuck Schumer said a Senate trial without witnesses would be tantamount to a “cover-up”, Romney declined to give his opinion, telling a CNN reporter: “It’s not that I don’t have any point of view, it’s just that I’m not willing to share that point of view till I’ve had the chance to talk to others and get their perspectives.”

Meanwhile, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters this evening that there was “no reason” for witnesses to testify at a Senate impeachment trial, adding, “We don’t do things just because Senator Schumer asks us to do them.”

A new report from the New York Times says children with the greatest economic needs are least likely to benefit from a critical tax credit.

From the Times:

The 2017 tax bill, President Trump’s main domestic achievement, doubled the maximum credit in the two-decade-old program and extended it to families earning as much as $400,000 a year (up from $110,000). The credit now costs the federal government $127 billion a year — far more than better-known programs like the earned-income tax credit ($65 billion) and food stamps ($60 billion).

But children with the greatest economic needs are least likely to benefit.

While Republicans say the increase shows concern for ordinary families, 35 percent of children fail to receive the full $2,000 because their parents earn too little, researchers at Columbia University found. A quarter get a partial sum and 10 percent get nothing. Among those excluded from the full credit are half of Latinos, 53 percent of blacks and 70 percent of children with single mothers.

Senator Susan Collins, a more moderate Republican whose vote will be closely watched in the impeachment trial, said she would take a different approach than Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

McConnell has faced intense scrutiny for saying his plan was to let the president’s legal team inform the Senate GOP’s positions on impeachment. The Senate majority leader has said he is explicitly coordinating with White House counsel.

Asked about it today, Collins said she was only consulting with Congressional research service, which provides policy and legal analysis:

The US has a plan to send asylum seekers to Honduras who are not from the country, according to documents obtained by the LA Times:

The move would in effect end their chances of seeking asylum in the US, the Times said, reporting on an agreement signed between the US secretary of homeland security and Honduras’ foreign minister in September. The agreement reportedly said adults and families seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border could be sent to Honduras without getting an opportunity to make an asylum case in the US.

The department of homeland security did not comment to the Times on its report.

The Trump administration has aggressively targeted asylum seekers and has already reached similar agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala. Advocates say the ongoing efforts to prevent migrants from seeking asylum in the US has had deadly consequences and will continue to create an escalating humanitarian crisis.

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.

Elizabeth Warren says Mike Bloomberg 'has to answer' for sexist comments

Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on new 2020 rival Mike Bloomberg to “answer” for his past sexist comments and has argued that Bloomberg’s company should release women from nondisclosure agreements so that they can speak freely about the work environment:

From Warren, who just spoke with reporters in Fort Madison, Iowa:

I think [nondisclosure agreements] are a way for people to hide bad things they’ve done. And I think that women should be able to speak. They need to be released from [nondisclosure agreements]...

When women raise concerns like this, we have to pay attention. We have to listen to them, and if Michael Bloomberg has made comments like this, then he has to answer for them.”

ABC News recently reported on multiple lawsuits in which women accused Bloomberg of making crude remarks in the 1990s and fostering an uncomfortable work environment for women. Bloomberg has denied those allegations.

Facing scrutiny last month for his previous comments about women, Bloomberg’s team said the former New York City mayor recognized that past remarks were “wrong”, but he didn’t directly apologize. A spokesperson told the New York Times:

Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong. He believes his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life.”

Bloomberg is also facing some fresh scrutiny today surrounding New York City’s surveillance of Muslims when he was mayor:

Congressman Andy Kim, another House Democrat targeted by Trump, has also confirmed that he will vote yes on impeachment:

The New Jersey representative is one of the 31 Democrats in swing districts that backed the president. Trump and his allies have been urging supporters to pressure the Democrats to vote against impeachment.

The Department of Justice is taking “extraordinary positions” to avoid disclosing grand-jury material that is needed for the House’s impeachment of Trump and Senate trial to remove him from office, according to a new House judiciary committee brief:

From the brief:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) takes extraordinary positions in this case. It does so to avoid disclosing grand-jury material needed for the House’s impeachment of President Trump and the Senate’s trial to remove him from office. This Court should reject DOJ’s efforts to insulate the President from Congress’s impeachment power and should promptly affirm Chief Judge Howell’s order providing for staged and limited disclosure of grand-jury materials to the House...

The need for the withheld material grows more urgent by the day.”

Boeing is temporarily halting production of its grounded 737 Max after the Federal Aviation Administration said last week it would not approve the plane’s return to service before 2020.

The decision, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came after the US planemaker’s board held a regular two-day meeting in Chicago over the weekend.

The Max, which was Boeing’s bestselling plane, has been involved in two fatal crashes that claimed 346 lives. More than 700 Max jets are now grounded worldwide. It is the first time in 20 years that Boeing has halted 737 production and the move could have significant repercussions for the US economy.

Full story from the Guardian’s Dominic Rushe here:

Another former Obama cabinet member has endorsed Joe Biden. Jack Lew, the former treasury secretary, is the fifth member of Obama’s cabinet to back the former vice president:

Lew also previously served as White House chief of staff. Watch Lew’s comments on Biden here:

The US and Mexico have resolved a labor rights dispute that threatened to derail plans for the House to approve a new North American trade deal this week, the Washington Post reports:

Jesus Seade, Mexico’s deputy foreign minister for North America, had in recent days been raising concerns about new labor attaches that he said could circumvent an agreement about American inspections of factories. But he said today he was “very satisfied” with Trump administration assurances about limits on the new labor attaches, according to the Post.

The president spent part of his afternoon lamenting the lack of fireworks at Mount Rushmore in recent years, according to reporters:

Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, thanked Trump for apparently helping ensure that Mount Rushmore could have fireworks next Fourth of July holiday after a decade without it due to forest fire risks:

The president has reportedly boasted in the past about wanting his face to be on Mount Rushmore, but that subject did not come up today.

Hi all - Sam Levin here in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.

Another House Democrat in a district won by Trump has officially announced support for impeachment – Congresswoman Elaine Luria of Virginia:

The president and his allies have been targeting 31 Democrats who represent swing districts with large populations of Trump supporters.

Evening summary

That’s it from me on the blog today. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take things over for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference on Capitol Hill, during which he reiterated his demand that White House officials -- including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton -- testify during the likely Senate trial. The New York Democrat argued holding a Senate trial without witnesses would be the equivalent of a “cover-up”.
  • More than a dozen House Democrats who represent districts that Trump carried in 2016 have said they would support impeachment, indicating the Democratic caucus will be largely unified when the vote takes place on Wednesday.
  • Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, said in a newly published New Yorker article that he wanted Maria Yovanvitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, “out of the way” as he pushed for investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election.
  • The sentencing for Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to investgiators about his interactions with Russia, has been set for Jan. 28.
  • Carly Fiorina, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, argued it was “vital” that Trump be impeached, but she would not say whether she would vote for the eventual Democratic nominee next year.

Sam will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, another freshman House Democrat who represents a district that Trump carried in 2016, announced she would also vote in favor of impeachment.

More than half of the Democrats representing Trump districts have now come out in favor of impeachment, indicating the House Democratic caucus will likely be largely unified when the vote takes place Wednesday.

The newly released Quinnipiac poll found Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over the rest of the Democratic presidential field, as Michael Bloomberg has crept into fifth place just weeks after launching his bid.

According to Quinnipiac, Biden has the support of 30% of Democrats. Elizabeth Warren is in second place, but she is 13 points behind Biden at 17%. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg round out the top four at 16% and 9%, respectively.

But Bloomberg and Buttigieg are effectively tied because the former New York mayor is only 2 points behind, well within the poll’s margin of error.

Although the qualification criteria for the January debate in Iowa have not yet been announced, Bloomberg could likely qualify for the event if he continues to poll at similar levels.

Speaking to reporters in the cabinet room at the White House, Trump said Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, had not shared “too much” with him after returning from Ukraine.

Trump’s comments come hours after the New Yorker published a story in which Giuliani said he wanted Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, “out of the way” to push for investigations of Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

“I believed that I needed Yovanovitch out of the way,” Giuliani said last month, according to the newly published article. “She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody.”

According to a newly released poll, Trump’s approval rating has edged up a bit and opposition to impeachment has slightly decreased since the start of the public impeachment hearings.

The Quinnipiac poll found 43 percent of registered voters approve of Trump’s job performance, compared to 38 percent in an Oct. 23 poll.

The survey also showed opposition to impeachment has increased from 46% in the October poll to 51% now.

Gil Cisneros of California, a freshman House Democrat from California, said he will vote in favor of impeachment, becoming the sixteenth Democratic congressman from a Trump district to announce his support.

“I hope all my colleagues will join in recognizing this grave threat and stand up to this Administration in defense of our Constitution,” Cisneros said in a statement announcing his decision.

Flynn's sentencing set for next month

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to investigators about his interactions with Russia, finally has a sentencing date: Jan. 28.

The Washington Post reports:

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Washington, D.C. dismissed Flynn’s motion to find prosecutors in contempt. In a 92-page decision, Sullivan ruled there was no basis for Flynn’s allegations that federal law enforcement officials entrapped the retired three-star Army general into accepting a plea deal and that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s prosecutors had not wrongfully held back 50 requests for evidence from Flynn’s attorneys.

Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his interactions with Russia’s ambassador after the 2016 U.S. election, had been set to be sentenced Dec. 18. Sullivan this month delayed the sentencing pending a report by a Justice Department inspector general on how the FBI handled the Russia investigation, which reviewed topics related to Flynn’s allegations.

The report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released last week found that the FBI was justified in opening its 2016 probe into possible coordination between Russia and four members of the Trump campaign, including Flynn.

Chuck Schumer says Senate trial without witnesses would be 'cover-up'

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticized the White House for its handling of the impeachment inquiry, arguing a Senate trial without witnesses would be the equivalent of a “cover-up”.

“Trials have witnesses. That’s what trials are all about,” Schumer told reporters at his press conference. “To engage a trial without the facts coming out is to engage in a cover-up.”

Updated

Echoing the letter he sent to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer said four White House officials -- includng acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton -- should testify in the likely impeachment trial.

The White House has repeatedly dodged impeachment investigators’ efforts to have administration officials testify, but Schumer expressed confidence that Democrats and Republicans would support his proposal.

Schumer also disputed any comparison between this case and Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, when Schumer voted against witness testiony.

Schumer calls for 'fair' trial during press conference

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is holding a press conference on Capitol Hill, demanding the likely impeachment trial be “fair” and uncover any relevant evidence.

“I haven’t seen a single good argument” as to why White House advisers shouldn’t testify or requested documents shouldn’t be turned over, Schumer said.

Another freshman Democrat in a Trump district, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, anounced he would also vote to impeach the president, calling his conduct “unacceptable.”

Cunningham becomes the 15th House Democrat from a Trump district to announce support for impeachment, signaling the Democratic caucus will likely be largely unified when the vote takes place on Wednesday.

Congressman Ben McAdams just became the fourteenth House Democrat from a district Trump carried in 2016 to announce his support for the impeachment inquiry, as the Democratic caucus appears largely unified ahead of Wednesday’s expected vote.

Two more freshman House Democrats -- Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and Ben McAdams of Utah -- have announced they will vote in favor of impeaching Trump.

The announcements will come as a relief to House Democratic leadership, particularly after congressman Jeff Van Drew signaled over the weekend he would switch his party affiliation due to his opposition to impeachment.

The string of announcements from lawmakers like Wexton, McAdams and Elissa Slotkin indicate the Democratic caucus will be almost entirely unified on impeachment. So far, the only House Democrat expected to oppose impeachment is Collin Peterson, although the Minnesota congressman has said he does not plan to leave the party over the issue.

Giuliani admits he wanted Yovanovitch 'out of the way'

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, said in a New Yorker interview that he wanted Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, “out of the way” as he pushed for investigations into Joe Biden.

“I believed that I needed Yovanovitch out of the way,” Giuliani told the magazine last month, according to a newly published article. “She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody.”

Democrats will likely point to Giuliani’s comments as evidence that Trump abused his power by recalling Yovanovitch, a widely praised career diplomat whose reputation was smeared by some of the president’s allies.

Yovanovitch told impeachment investigators that, when the deputy secretary of state informed her she was leaving Ukraine, he specifically said she had done nothing wrong but that the directive was coming from above him.

Pompeo criticized for photo of advisory board

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo is being criticized after sharing a photo of the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, an advisory group offering counsel to department leadership, that included no women and only one person of color.

Democratic congressman Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, chastized Pompeo and demanded the secretary of state do more to accurately represent America’s diversity among his advisers.

And a former state department official noted the all-male board goes against official guidance from the US government on including women in important policy discussions.

Afternoon summary

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The House judiciary committee released its impeachment report, accusing Trump of committing constitutional and criminal bribery ahead of Wednesday’s expected House-wide vote on impeachment.
  • The White House is reviewing Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer’s letter asking for an eventual impeachment trial to include testimony from White House officials, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.
  • Trump suggested he may not participate in the official presidential debates next year, confirming the New York Times’ reporting last week that he has complained about the commission in charge of organizing the debates.

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

Updated

Congressman Joe Cunningham, another freshman House Democrat representing a district Trump easily carried in 2016, said he would announce his decision on impeachment later today.

Asked what factors were affecting his decision, Cunningham said he was weighing “the allegations, which are very serious, and what kind of marker we want to set down for what’s acceptable later on and also what’s best for the country as a whole.”

Cunningham’s eventual vote could affect his reelection prospects, considering he won his race last year by only 1%, but the congressman previously voted to formalize the proceedings of the impeachment inquiry.

Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer delivered a speech in Iowa City today on his “vision for progressive economic change,” in which the billionaire activist criticzed the frontrunners in the primary.

“Look, I have a lot of respect for the four leading Democratic candidates in this race,” Steyer said. “But here’s the truth: none of them — not Vice President Biden, not Senator Warren, not Senator Sanders, not Mayor Pete — have built or run a successful, international business. None of them have a private sector track record of creating jobs — none of them have first-hand experience growing wealth and prosperity.”

Steyer told the audience that the eventual Democratic nominee would need to make an economic argument why Trump does not deserve a second term. “The Democratic Party — and America — needs a nominee who can go to Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and places all over this country — and credibly talk about growth and prosperity,” Steyer said.

But Steyer appears to be having a hard time convincing Democratic voters that he is best suited to defeat Trump. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed Steyer polling at less than 1%, although he is one of only seven candidates who have qualified for Thursday’s debate.

Trump has made more than 15,000 false or misleading claims since taking office, according to the Washington Post. The president has told more false claims in 2019 than the two previous years combined.

The Post reports:

In 2017, President Trump made nearly 1,999 false or misleading claims. In 2018, he added another 5,689, for a total of 7,688.

Now, with a few weeks still left in 2019, the president already has more than doubled the total number of false or misleading claims in just a single year.

As of Dec. 10, his 1,055th day in office, Trump had made 15,413 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement he has uttered. That’s an average of more than 32 claims a day since our last update 62 days ago.

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, the freshman Democrat who officially announced today she would vote in favor of impeaching the president, has kicked off a town hall in her Michigan district, which Trump carried in 2016.

The congresswoman was met with applause and boos from the audience, but one reporter said Slotkin’s supporters seemed to outnumber her detractors.

Slotkin said in a Detroit Free Press op-ed published this morning that she would support impeaching Trump, even though the vote could affect her reelection next year.

“Over the past few months, I’ve been told more times that I can count that the vote I’ll be casting this week will mark the end of my short political career. That may be,” Slotkin wrote.

“But in the national security world that I come from, we are trained to make hard calls on things, even if they are unpopular, if we believe the security of the country is at stake. There are some decisions in life that have to be made based on what you know in your bones is right. And this is one of those times.”

The Supreme Court decided this morning not to review a lower court’s ruling blocking an Idaho ordinance trying to keep homeless people from sleeping on the street.

The AP reports:

The justices on Monday did not comment as they left in place a ruling that struck down a Boise, Idaho, ordinance. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies across several Western states where cities are struggling with homelessness brought on by rising housing costs and income inequality. Many have similar restrictions that aim to keep homeless people from sleeping on their streets.

The appeals court held that Boise could not make it a crime for homeless people to sleep on the streets when no alternative shelter is available. The decision the justices refused to review found that the Boise ordinance violated the constitutional ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’

Cory Booker is encouraging his Twitter followers to support the eventual Democratic candidate who will run against Jeff Van Drew, the anti-impeachment congressman who reportedly intends to switch his party affiliation to Republican.

Van Drew, a fellow New Jersey lawmaker, has actually endorsed Booker’s White House bid, but it’s unclear whether he’ll stand by that endorsement after he changes parties.

Fiorina says it is 'vital' to impeach Trump

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, said in an interview that it was “vital” to impeach the president.

Carly Fiorina stops to talk with the press in the lobby of Trump Tower in 2016.
Carly Fiorina stops to talk with the press in the lobby of Trump Tower in 2016. Photograph: Richard Drew/AP

“I think it is vital that he be impeached,” Fiorina told CNN. But she was skeptical of whether Trump should be removed from office “this close to an election.”

“Some of this conduct, like publicly berating a decorated war veteran who shows up in response to a lawfully issued subpoena of Congress, I think that conduct is not just unbecoming, I think it’s destructive to our republic,” Fiorina said in the interview.

Fiorina said she voted for Trump in 2016, despite her tension with the then-candidate when the two were seeking the Republican nomination. Trump was criticized for saying of Fiorina in 2015, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?”

Trump claimed the comment was not meant as a dig at Fiorina’s appearance, but the former HP CEO said at a debate shortly after the comment was published, “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”

But despite being “bitterly disappointed” by Trump’s job performance, Fiorina would not say whether she would vote against him next year. “It depends who the Democrats put up,” she said.

A newly released poll found Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic presidential primary days before the sixth debate takes place Thursday in Los Angeles.

According to the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Biden is attracting the support of 24% of Democrats compared to Sanders’ 22%. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg round out the top four at 17% and 13%, respectively.

But the poll also interestingly showed Cory Booker hitting 4%, a bump in support after the New Jersey senator failed to qualify for Thursday’s debate stage. Booker’s campaign has complained about the relative dearth of polling since last month’s debate, claiming new polls would show his support increasing.

If this poll is accurate, Booker’s team might have been right, which could help him qualify for the January debate. The Democratic National Committee has announced the presidential candidates will debate in Des Moines on January 14, less than three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, but they have not yet released the criteria to qualify.

White House reviewing Schumer's impeachment letter

The White House is reportedly reviewing the letter sent by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, which calls for a “fair and honest’’ trial followng the likely House vote to impeach Trump.

“This trial must be one that is fair, that considers all of the relevant facts, and that exercises the Senate’s ‘sole Power of Impeachment’ under the Constitution with integrity and dignity,” Schumer wrote to majority leader Mitch McConnell. “The trial must be one that not only hears all of the evidence and adjudicates the case fairly; it must also pass the fairness test with the American people.”

Schumer also called for the Senate to hear testiony from White House officials, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.

But considering Republicans control the Senate, Democrats will have little recourse if McConnell chooses to ignore all of Schumer’s requests. “Leader McConnell has made it clear he plans to meet with Leader Schumer to discuss the contours of a trial soon,” a McConnell spokesman said in response to Schumer’s letter. “That timeline has not changed.”

Cheri Bustos, the chairwoman of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said her organization would hire former staffers to congressman Jeff van Drew who resigned in protest over his decision to join the Republican Party.

Bustos followed that tweet with a fundraising pitch, asking supporters to help keep Van Drew’s district in Democratic hands by donating to the DCCC.

At least six staffers for congressman Jeff Van Drew have reportedly resigned following reports that the freshman Democrat, who has denounced the impeachment inquiry, would switch his party affiliation to Republican this week.

The staffers wrote in a letter that they were “deeply saddened and disappointed” by Van Drew’s decision, which they said “does not align with the values we brought to this job when we joined his office.”

Van Drew has criticized Democratic leadership for their handling of teh impeachment inquiry, arguing they have made it into a political exercise. “It was supposed to be bipartisan, it was supposed to be incontrovertible. It was supposed to be something that was always on the rarest of circumstances,” Van Drew said last week. “Well it’s not bipartisan.”

Van Drew’s reported decision to switch parties comes after a Friday meeting with Trump, as well as polling showing a majority of his constituents want to see a new Democratic candidate on the ballot next year.

Trump’s tweet about potentially skipping the official debates next year comes days after the New York Times reported the president was considering sitting out the events.

The Times reported last week:

Mr. Trump has told advisers that he does not trust the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit entity that sponsors the debates, the two people said.

Less of a concern for Mr. Trump than who will emerge as the Democratic nominee is which media personality will be chosen as the debate moderator, according to people in contact with him. ...

In the 2016 general election debates, Mr. Trump repeatedly complained about being at a disadvantage to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. And the post-debate polls showed Mr. Trump had good reason to be concerned: Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton were essentially tied in the polls going into the first debate, but she received a bump after each of the three face-to-face matchups. ...

After his performance in one of the debates was panned, Mr. Trump blamed a ‘defective mic’ and questioned whether it was done ‘on purpose’ to put him at a disadvantage. It turned out that a technical malfunction had indeed affected the volume of his voice during that debate, in September 2016.

Trump suggests he may not participate in official debates

Because this week didn’t already have enough going on, Trump has now suggested he may not participate in the official debates scheduled by the Commission on Presidential Debates, claiming the group is “stacked with Trump Haters & Never Trumpers.”

The president dubiously claimed the debates were “up to me” given his incumbency and suggested he would instead consider debating the eventual Democratic nominee “directly & avoiding the nasty politics of this very biased Commission.”

The commission announced in October it would hold three presidential debates next year on Sept. 29, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.

Fresham House Democrat in Trump district backs impeachment

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, one of several Democrats to flip a dsitrict in 2018 that Trump carried two years ealier, announced she would vote to impeach the president.

The Michigan Democrat previously wrote an op-ed supporting the impeachment inquiry, but this is the first time she has publicly confirmed how she would vote on Wednesday.

“Over the past few days, I have done what I was trained to do as a CIA officer who worked for both Republicans and Democrats: I took a step back, looked at the full body of available information, and tried to make an objective decision on my vote,” Slotkin wrote in the Detroit Free Press. “I will be voting yes on both [articles of impeachment].”

Slotkin acknowledged the vote could affect her reelection bid next year but argued impeachment was in the country’s best interest. “Over the past few months, I’ve been told more times that I can count that the vote I’ll be casting this week will mark the end of my short political career. That may be,” she wrote.

“But in the national security world that I come from, we are trained to make hard calls on things, even if they are unpopular, if we believe the security of the country is at stake.”

House judiciary committee releases impeachment report

Good morning, live blog readers!

This will likely be a historic week in Washington, as the House is expected to vote to impeach Donald Trump on Wednesday. Trump would become only the third president in US history to be impeached, along with Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. (Richard Nixon resigned before his pending impeachment.)

House leaders appear to be on schedule to hold their Wednesday vote, with the judiciary committee releasing its report this morning on the two articles of impeachment – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

In the 658-page report, Democrats on the judiciary committee accuse Trump of committing constitutional and criminal bribery by trying to press Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and the 2016 election as the country’s military aid was held up.

“Applying the constitutional definition of ‘bribery’ here, there can be little doubt that it is satisfied,” the report reads. “President Trump solicited President Zelensky for a ‘favor’ of great personal value to him; he did so corruptly; and he did so in a scheme to influence his own official actions respecting the release of military and security assistance and the offer of a White House meeting. Although President Trump’s actions need not rise to the level of a criminal violation to justify impeachment, his conduct here was criminal.”

Republicans on the judiciary committee wrote a dissent to the report, arguing their Democratic counterparts had committed a grave mistep that could jeopardize future presidencies. The starkly different perspectives on Trump’s actions toward Ukraine likely foreshadow the Wednesday impeachment vote, which is expected to fall almost entirely along party lines.

Actors hold up flowers as they perform during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium.
Actors hold up flowers as they perform during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium. Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP

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

  • Trump will have lunch with vice-president Mike Pence and participate in a roundtable discussion on the Governors’ Initiative on Regulatory Innovation. He and the first lady will later speak at two Christmas receptions.
  • Defense secretary Mark Esper is leading a US delegation to ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg and Belgium.
  • The frontrunners in the Democratic presidential primary are spread out across the country today – with Bernie Sanders campaigning in California, Elizabeth Warren in Iowa and Joe Biden in New York.

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

Correction: A previous version of this post said Trump would be the fourth president to be impeached. He would be the third, given that Nixon resigned prior to the House holding its impeachment vote.

Updated

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'Even Disney Sometimes Forgets': The Hannah Montana Special Came Together Thanks To A+ Dolly Parton Advice
How she got "The Best of Both Worlds."
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Kids Pointed Out A 'Plot Hole' In The Parent Trap, And Now The Internet Is Arguing About Car Safety
It's not a plot hole, but it is a good point.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Story Behind Celia Walden's Viral 2022 Photo Explained—and Why It Struck a Nerve on Piers Morgan's Show
Piers Morgan storms off Uncensored after HSTikkyTokky shows a 2022 Instagram of Celia Walden, reigniting scrutiny of the manosphere and Morgan's persona.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Obama’s portrait was replaced by Trump’s assassination painting, but its new location is what’s setting the internet on fire
The Grand Foyer now has a new centerpiece.
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