Donald Trump has insisted that he is not taking talk of impeachment seriously as he once again claimed he had done nothing wrong in a phone call with the president of Ukraine.
Arriving at the United Nations in New York for a session on religious freedom, Mr Trump said the row over his “perfect” phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky was a “Democrat witch-hunt”, adding: “They failed with Russia, they failed with recession, they failed with everything, and now they’re bringing this up.” Meanwhile, his personal lawyer, the former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, told Fox Business he could not be “100 per cent sure” the president didn’t threaten to cut off aid to Ukraine unless the former Soviet country agreed to investigate Joe Biden’s son.
Mr Trump is participating in a series of meetings today with fellow world leaders, including the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - whom he once reportedly referred to as “my favorite dictator”, and what is described as a “pull aside” with New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern. Meanwhile, the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee will hold a session entitled “Presidential corruption: emoluments and profiting off the presidency”.
He is expected to speak before the general assembly on Tuesday, marking his third address to the international body.
Mr Trump's day in New York included a viral moment, in which 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg was spotted glaring at the president as he walked into the building.
Ms Thunberg had travelled to the US from her home country of Sweden, on a carbon emission free yacht instead of by plane in order to reduce her carbon footprint.
Congress under pressure to impeach Trump over 'grave new chapter of lawlessness'
Fresh row over attempts by White House to make Ukraine launch corruption inquiry into presidential rival Joe Biden
Trump admits he talked about Biden in call with Ukrainian president about corruption
Mr Biden says the president is using underhand tactics against him, because he fears he'll beat him in 2020Will the Ukraine call allegations make impeachment more likely?
The problem is that Democrats remain divided over the issue of removing the president.
Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives where the process of impeachment would begin, is worried that a failure to remove Mr Trump - with the Senate likely to block any such move - could mean moderate Democrats will suffer at the ballot box in 2020.
Meanwhile Jerry Nadler, the Democrat head of the House Judiciary Committee, has opened what he has called an impeachment investigation, with the first public hearing last week.
He believes the president’s “trashing all the norms which guarantee democratic government [and] aggrandising power to the presidency” means he should be removed.
Do the Ukraine call allegations make Trump’s impeachment more likely?
Reports that the US president asked Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden have angered Democrats, writes Chris StevensonTrump is set to give a speech to world leaders at the United Nations about why they should do more to protect people targetted because of their religious beliefs.
This is coming from a man who pushed through a so-called ‘Muslim ban’ to bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
He defended this controversial call to stop foreign Muslims entering the country, saying "tens of thousands of people" were entering with "cell phones with Isis flags on them...I don't think so."
Hate crimes against Muslims were also said to have spiked after he took office.
A report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US rose 91 per cent in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period the year before.
"The presidential election campaign and the Trump administration have tapped into a seam of bigotry and hate that has resulted in the targeting of American Muslims and other minority groups," CAIR’s Zainab Arain said.
Not one to shy away from controversy, Democrat congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has hit out at her own party for failing to take action on impeachment.
“The GOP’s silence & refusal to act shouldn’t be a surprise. Ours is.”
Former chief White House ethics lawyer 2005-07 Richard Painter has a theory about why House speaker Nancy Pelosi is being so hesitant when it comes to going after Trump.
Remember when Trump offered to mediate in the Kashmir crisis?
Funnily enough, the issue of Kashmir was not raised in his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Texas.
He did, however, gush over the Modi’s leadership, saying “the world is witnessing a strong, sovereign republic of India.”
“You [India] have never had a better friend as president as President Donald Trump.”
Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff has hinted he supports impeaching Trump if the Ukraine call allegations are true.
“If the president is essentially withholding military aid at the same time that he is trying to browbeat a foreign leader into doing something illicit that is providing dirt on his opponent... then that may be the only remedy."
Have a listen:
Former secretary of state John Kerry has reacted to the allegations, and he’s not holding back.
“A fundamental, profound of abuse of power, there’s no other way to put it.”
Trump is also coming under fire from some in the Republican party.
Senator Mitt Romney says that if the president did try and pressure Zelensky it “would be troubling in the extreme.”
He stopped short of calling for impeachment but said it was vital the facts came out.
A group of leading UN officials have taken a veiled swipe at Donald Trump and other populist leaders and called for an end to “dehumanising hate speech” against migrants and ethnic minorities.
The open letter signed by more than 20 UN human rights special rapporteurs warns “leaders, senior government officials, politicians and other prominent figures [are] spreading fear among the public against migrants or those seen as ‘the others’, for their own political gain”.
Although the group do not name any particular politicians, the communique is likely to be interpreted as criticism of the US president.
Trump infamously began his presidential campaign by pushing for a ban on Muslims entering the US and attacking Mexican immigrants as rapists, drug dealers and criminals.
Yet it is the Donald who is set to lead a UN event on why the international community should do more to protect people from religious discrimination….
Tim Wyatt has the latest.
UN takes aim at Trump and others over 'dehumanising' hate speech towards immigrants
Open letter from human rights investigators castigates leaders stoking ethnic hatred for political gainA poll is suggesting that 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is leading the way in the Iowa caucuses – a key swing state.
Here’s Democrat Bill Pascrell’s take on the scandal -
“US President tried to blackmail a foreign ally to meddle in a US election and smear an American political leader.
No both-sides garbage to mask Trump’s rancid corruption.”
What have the Ukrainians been saying about the scandal?
Well, leader Volodymyr Zelensky has defended his country’s relationship with the US and said he is “sure we will have a meeting in the White House” soon.
He is also particularly pleased with the millions of dollars the US is giving in them in military aid packages.
Our Defence and Diplomatic Editor Kim Sengupta has the story from Kiev.
Zelensky defends relationship with US after Trump accused of pushing Ukraine to meddle in 2020 election
Ukraine’s new president insists that relations are ‘very good’ with the US and that there will be a meeting ‘soon’There has also been a robbery at Trump Tower in New York.
Police are looking into the theft of $353,000 (£283,600) worth of jewellery from two apartments.
Here's our full story:
$353,000 of jewellery reported stolen from Trump Tower
One woman reported theft of five items totalling $236,000, including Harry Winston diamond bracelet
Backlash against Modi as Indian PM 'endorses Trump for 2020'
Speaking in Texas, Modi repeated to rapturous applause the borrowed Trump campaign slogan: 'Abki baar Trump sarkar (This time, [a] Trump government)'
