Donald Trump’s conduct in the Ukraine scandal has been called further into question as newly released, heavily redacted internal emails reveal the fears of defence officials and diplomats that his order to withhold military aid could breach spending laws.
Released under court order to the Centre for Public Integrity, the explosive correspondence also showed the White House asked the Pentagon to quietly suspend Congress-approved military aid to the country just 90 minutes after Mr Trump’s call with Volodymyr Zelensky.
As Democrats renewed calls for witnesses in the looming impeachment trial, the president revisited his aversion to wind turbines, claiming they create “bird graveyards” and criticising their production for “spewing” fumes and gases into the atmosphere.
Everyone appears to be feeling the holiday spirit:
Mr Trump has been mocked for starting a Space Force, but the Chinese don't think it is a joke:
China calls Trump's Space Force a 'direct threat to peace' and 'serious violation of international consensus'
Pentagon report raises concerns that China and Russia could launch space attacks in time of conflictHere's our latest on the Christianity Today saga:
Christianity Today sees jump in subscriptions amid Trump impeachment row
President labelled magazine as 'far left' after pro-impeachment articleTrump would be convicted 'in a heartbeat' and imprisoned in criminal trial, veteran prosecutor claims
Glenn Kirscher, a legal analyst for MSNBC who spent 30 years as a federal prosecutor, claims that in a criminal trial with 12 "fair and impartial citizens serving as jurors", the president would be sent to prison.
Pro-Trump news outlet used AI to create fake Facebook accounts pushing far-right stories, officials say
Facebook has removed hundreds of fake accounts created with artificial intelligence by a right-wing media company meant to promote its own content supportive of Donald Trump and critical of the Chinese government, the company said.
The campaign used artificially generated profile images and employed more than 600 Facebook accounts, 89 pages, 156 groups and 72 Instagram profiles, according to NBC News, all of which had been removed from the company’s social media platforms by Monday, Chris Riotta reports.
Researchers from New York-based Graphika and the Digital Forensics Research Lab, an arm of the Washington-based Atlantic Council, said it was the first time they had seen the large-scale use of computer-generated faces to spread disinformation on social media.
China brands new US Space Force 'direct threat to outer space peace and security'
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that China is "deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it."
"The relevant US actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the peaceful use of outer space, undermine global strategic balance and stability, and pose a direct threat to outer space peace and security," Mr Geng said.
China's space programme has advanced rapidly since its first crewed mission in 2003.
In a report last February, the Pentagon asserted that China and Russia have embarked on major efforts to develop technologies that could allow them to disrupt or destroy American and allied satellites in a crisis or conflict, according to the Associated Press.
Christianity Today 'sees surge in subscriptions' after calling for Trump's removal
The president's ongoing war of words with the magazine continues after the magazine came out in favour of his impeachment.
Editor Mark Galli on Sunday wrote an update on his recent editorial, reinforcing his message that evangelical Christianity in the US has been "made toxic" by its apparent marriage with Mr Trump.
"The alliance of American evangelicalism with this presidency has wrought enormous damage to Christian witness," the update said. "It has alienated many of our children and grandchildren. It has harmed African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American brothers and sisters."
Despite Mr Trump offering this swift rebuke after the editorial...
...Mr Galli told MSNBC that while they had lost subscribers, they have had three times as many start to subscribe", amid a wave of emotional responses thanking the magazine for what some allegedly described as "a watershed moment in the history of the American church".
Satellite images show North Korea expanding missile factory amid 'Christmas gift' warnings to US
A new structure is being built at a site near Pyongang used to make equipment to launch long-range missiles.
The release of several images from Planet Labs comes amid concern that North Korea could launch a rocket or missile as it seeks concessions in stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States.
North Korea has warned that what "Christmas gift" it gives the US depends on what action Washington takes.
It comes as CNN reports the dictatorship could be considering taking denuclearisation off the table, in part due to a perception of Donald Trump's current political vulnerability.
White House under fire over Hannukah social media post
The White House was mocked on Twitter after it used its "advent calendar" to post about Hannukah, with members of the public immediately accusing them of conflating Judaism and Christianity.
Accusing the White House of cultural insensitivity, others pointed out that, as the first night of Hannukah, only one of the candles should have been lit, rather than six.
Christmas choir sings story of Trump impeachment
The Washington International Chorus are giving the impeachment scandal a festive twist, performing a version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Lyrics by BBC news begin: "On the first day of Christmas, Congress gave to me / An impeachment and divided country."
Trump attacks Pelosi for 'most unfair trial in the history of the US Congress'
Nancy Pelosi wins the hotly contested prize of being the first target of the president's online wrath today.
"Pelosi gives us the most unfair trial in the history of the US Congress, and now she is crying for fairness in the Senate, and breaking all rules while doing so," Mr Trump said. She lost Congress once, she will do it again!"
Senate majority leader says Republicans are not opposed to witnesses in senate trial
Mitch McConnell – who has admitted he would be coordinating with the White House over shaping the impeachment trial – has said Republicans are not opposed to having witnesses as part of the trial, despite previous opposition, Reuters reports.
"We haven't ruled out witnesses," he said in an interview with Fox & Friends. "We've said 'let's handle this case just like we did with President Clinton'. Fair is fair."
And here's the email.
While there are several incriminating documents among the sea of black ink released under court order, this is the correspondence that comes closest to delivering a coup de grace.
Senate minority leader responds to 'explosive' emails
Here's Chuck Schumer clutching a copy of a newly released email showing that Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffy ordered the Pentagon to quietly withhold military aid to Ukraine just 91 minutes after the president's call with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia vows to retaliate over US sanctions that suspended work on pipeline with Germany
Mr Trump signed legislation last week that provides for sanctions against individuals and companies involved with the vessels laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, work on which was suspended on Saturday.
The move prompted a Swiss company that operates ships laying sections of the pipeline to suspend the work.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow will take measures of "reciprocity" over the sanctions, which Russia considers unacceptable.
"How and when it will be done remains a question of Russia's national interests," Mr Peskov warned.
The Independent's Clark Mindock has more details of Donald Trump's meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Eddie Gallagher - the Navy Seal accused of war crimes.
The veteran met the president to thank him for personally intervening to stop military chiefs stripping him of his Trident pin.
He reportedly gave Mr Trump a gift from his time serving in the Battle of Mosul, when the serviceman allegedly repeatedly stabbed a prisoner of war with a hunting knife before posing for photos with his dead body.
Democrat requests advice on whether Trump broke spending laws in Ukraine scandal
Chris Van Hollen has written a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking for an opinion on whether Donald Trump broke the law in withholding military aid to Ukraine, the Hill reports.
It comes as newly released government emails reveal defence officials and diplomats feared the White House could be in breach of spending laws as it ordered officials to quietly suspend military aid to Ukraine shortly after Mr Trump's call with the Ukrainian president.
In his letter to the Government Accountability Office's Gene Dodaro, Mr Van Hollen said he also believed Mr Trump's decision was in violation of the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), which demands that if a president use funds in the manner voted for by Congress, which had approved aid to Ukraine.
"The administration has failed to even state a legal reason under the ICA for its withholding of security assistance for Ukraine, and the evidence refutes the administration’s stated reasons," Van Hollen wrote, warning the Trump administration must be held accountable or risk opening "the floodgates" for future presidents to "violate the ICA with impunity".
Mr Van Hollen has clearly been mulling the best way to proceed for several days, voicing strong condemnation of the president's actions in response to the new information.
Democrats renew demand for witnesses at trial in response to new emails
Top Democrats on Sunday renewed their demands for witnesses to testify at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, citing the newly released emails showing that the White House asked officials to keep quiet over the suspension of military aid to Ukraine just 90 minutes after Mr Trump leaned on that country’s president to investigate former vice president Joe Biden.
With the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders at odds over the looming impeachment trial’s format, Democrats seized on the emails in an effort to put pressure on senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the senate majority leader. Mr McConnell, who wants a bare-bones proceeding, has rejected a proposal by his Democratic counterpart, senator Chuck Schumer of New York, to have four top White House officials testify.
One of those officials is Michael Duffey, a senior budget official who told the Pentagon to keep quiet about the aid freeze because of the “sensitive nature of the request,” according to an email sent on 25 July.
Read more detail here:
Newly released emails reveal official fears of lawbreaking amid Ukraine scandal
Heavily redacted yet explosive correspondence released under court order to the Centre for Public Scrutiny shows the White House asked officials to quietly suspend military aid to the country just 90 minutes after Mr Trump's call with Volodymyr Zelensky.
They also revealed that defence officials and diplomats feared the White House's actions could breach a 45-year-old spending law - the Impoundment Control Act - which states the president must use funds as decided by Congress.
Lawmakers in the top chamber had already approved the funds to Ukraine, and had Mr Trump wished to use the funds in a different way than they had decided, the law states he needs to put the matter to another vote.
Last week, Mr Trump became the third president in history to be impeached, with the House voting in favour of two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Trump launches into latest bizarre rant against windmills: ‘I never understood wind’
Donald Trump renewed his long-running attack on wind power during a rambling speech to conservative students over the weekend, Conrad Duncan reports.
Mr Trump, who was speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Florida, told the cheering crowd he has “never understood wind” as part of a section of his speech mocking environmental policies supported by Democrats, such as the Green New Deal.
“I never understood wind. I know windmills very much, I have studied it better than anybody,” he said.
