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Sam Levin in San Francisco (now), Amanda Holpuch and Joanna Walters in New York (earlier)

Mnuchin refuses to release Trump tax returns to Congress – as it happened

The US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin.
The US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. Photograph: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Summary

That’s all for today, thanks for following along! Some links of key events to close out the evening:

A dispatch from the Rose Garden ...

Donald Trump and Tiger Woods wore matching dark blue suits, white shirts and red ties in the White House Rose Garden as Trump bestowed the presidential medal of freedom, America’s highest civilian honour, on his sometime business and golf partner.

The US president, an avid golfer himself, described Woods as “one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports” and a “a global symbol of American excellence, devotion, and drive” during a short ceremony.

With evident relish, Trump recounted Woods’ career and the injuries that almost derailed it before his astonishing comeback last month to win a fifth US Masters title.

“The ‘age of Tiger’ gave us moments that will live forever in sporting lore,” he said. “We can’t wait to see what’s next Tiger, it’s going to be good... because there are no winners like you.”

The president also praised Woods as a “devoted philanthropist”, adding: “That’s how I first met Tiger.” Questions have been raised over Monday’s award because of Trump’s long business relationship with Woods who, at 43, is by far the youngest living sportsperson to receive the medal of freedom. The pair also play golf together, most recently in February.

While some African American sports stars have shunned the Trump White House, Woods thanked the president and looked at ease. But he became emotional as he recalled his late father and told his mother, “I love you, mom,” his voice cracking. Thanking those who have supported him over the years, he added: “You’ve seen the good and bad, the highs and lows, and I would not be in this position without all of your help.”

Among guests in the rose garden sunshine were First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and several senators including Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney.

They were joined by Woods’ mother Kutilda, 75, daughter Sam Alexis, 11, son Charlie Axel, 10, and girlfriend Erica Herman, 43, as well as his longtime caddie, Joe LaCava. After the ceremony, Woods and his family followed Trump into the Oval Office.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to Melania Trump and leading contractor for the president’s inaugural committee, is speaking out about her controversial departure and criticizing the White House:

In a statement to the New York Times, Winston Wolkoff rejected reports that she was pushed out last year due to lavish spending on the inauguration:

Was I fired? No. ... Was I thrown under the bus? Yes.”

Lucy McBath, the congresswoman attacked today by the new president of the NRA, responded on Twitter:

If you want to understand the significance of more than 370 former federal prosecutors signing a letter saying Trump would be charged with obstruction if he wasn’t president, watch this clip from Neal Katyal, a supreme court attorney and former acting US solicitor general:

“It’s hugely significant, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he said, noting that the list included “really prominent Republicans”, all agreeing that “the Mueller report shows the president is a felon”.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has attacked sanctuary cities today with the announcement of a new program meant to allow local law enforcement to make federal arrests to support deportations:

Ice said its program would allow a local police officer to serve a warrant and execute an arrest on behalf of immigration authorities. It’s unclear how widely this program may be used and whether it would play a role in cities and states with official sanctuary policies. Sanctuary jurisdictions have fought to reduce this kind of collaboration and prevent local police from aiding Ice and sharing information with federal immigration authorities.

Here’s the reaction of Lorella Praeli, deputy political director at the American Civil Liberties Union:

This program is just the latest scheme by ICE to enlist local police in its abusive deportation agenda. The agency explicitly aims to subvert the will of local communities that have passed ordinances to prevent exactly this kind of cooperation between police and ICE...

ICE and the other agencies complicit in Trump’s deportation force may feel they are above the constitution — but neither they, nor local police, are exempt from search and seizure laws. With this program, ICE is asking local law enforcement to risk violating the Fourth Amendment. We urge local law enforcement to resist this dangerous proposal and stand by their commitment to the communities they serve.

My colleague David Smith is at the White House Rose Garden, where there is a presidential medal of freedom ceremony underway for Tiger Woods :

More reactions to the news that the treasury secretary is refusing to hand over Trump’s tax returns...

Some have argued that the formal refusal by the treasury department provides further justification for an impeachment inquiry, which could put the Democrats in a better position to access the returns:

Others have noted that the stated purpose of the law in question is to allow the Ways and Means committee to have oversight of potential financial conflicts of public officials:

Some further background on the origins of the law:

Mnuchin, meanwhile, has said he is acting on legal advice from the justice department in reaching his decision. But neither the treasury department nor the justice department have released a formal opinion:

Richard Neal, chairman of the house and ways committee, which is seeking Trump’s tax returns, has released a statement on the treasury secretary’s refusal today to hand over the documents:

Today, Secretary Mnuchin notified me that the IRS will not provide the documents I requested under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.”

Others have suggested a legal battle is now inevitable:

Some backstory on the expected legal fight over Trump’s tax returns: Democrats have argued that a 1924 statute requires the treasury secretary to turn over tax returns to the chairs of the congressional tax committees who ask for them for investigative purposes.

Trump has also repeatedly claimed that he is under audit by the IRS, which is why he is not releasing his tax returns. The IRS, however, has made clear that audits do not preclude people from releasing their tax returns.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, has further raised questions about whether the president is even under audit. Cohen said during testimony at Capitol Hill that he believed the president was avoiding releasing his tax returns because Trump feared the public scrutiny could lead to tax penalties.

As my colleague Jon Swaine notes, the Trump administration has also argued that the Democrats’ premise of investigating the IRS handling of presidents’ tax affairs is false, since the committee is requesting returns for “just one” president. But past presidents have, of course, released their returns:

Steven Mnuchin says he won't release Trump's tax returns

Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has sent a letter saying he will not release Trump’s tax returns to Congress. The letter says:

In reliance on the advice of the Department of Justice, I have determined that the Committee’s request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose, and ... the Department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information.

Mnuchin’s refusal to release the returns sets the stage for a likely court battle.

HuffPost has published an in-depth look at what life is like for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the subject of constant attacks by Trump, Fox News and others:

The piece follows Omar in her fifth district of Minnesota, where supporters are worried about the steady stream of death threats she has faced.

She told HuffPost she was not surprised by Trump’s intense focus on her:

This is a president who has come to power because he was very much willing to vilify and demonize immigrants and refugees. He so proudly said we should halt Muslims from entering our country. He clearly has a disdain for black women who see themselves as equal to him. And so, for many people, it’s not a surprise that he finds his biggest nemesis in me. Clearly, I am a nightmare ― because he can’t stop really thinking about ways that he can continue to use my identity to marginalize our communities.

Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts and the sole Republican to announce a challenge to Trump in the 2020 race, has joined the list of hundreds of former federal prosecutors saying Mueller’s investigation would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges for if Trump weren’t the president. Weld said in a statement:

I know that if Donald Trump were sitting in a governor’s mansion or city hall instead of the White House, he would have been indicted for obstruction of justice. There’s not a prosecutor alive who wouldn’t bring charges against someone who tried to prevent witnesses from cooperating with a federal investigation.

His announcement comes amid reports that the Massachusetts Republican Party is aiming to protect Trump from primary challengers like Weld, by approving a new winner-takes-all delegate plan, Politico reported:

AP: Mueller remains DoJ employee

Sam Levin here, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day. The AP has a report out revealing that special counsel Robert Mueller remains a justice department employee — and the department won’t say why. Mueller was expected to step down after concluding his report in March, so it’s unclear why he remains on DOJ payroll.

This is noteworthy, because if Mueller is still technically a DOJ employee, then attorney general William Barr could have more sway over Mueller’s potentially testimony before Congress. From the AP:

Whatever role Mueller now has, keeping him on the justice department payroll offers one clear advantage to president Donald Trump’s administration: It makes it easier for attorney general William Barr to block Mueller from testifying before Congress.

Democrats, who control the House, have been eager to hear from Mueller. They hope he can shine more light on his investigation into interference in the 2016 presidential election, possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, and potential obstruction of justice.

Barr has said repeatedly he doesn’t object to Mueller testifying. But he may defer to the wishes of Trump, who tweeted last weekend: “Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!”

While he’s a DOJ employee, the department would generally handle requests for Mueller to appear before Congress, and the DOJ could delay or block Mueller from voluntarily appearing. Congress could issue a subpoena to compel him to appear before the committee.

Updated

Summary

This is Amanda Holpuch in New York, with a quick evening summary before handing over the blog to Sam Levin in Oakland.

A Donald Trump tweet from September 2013 is getting renewed attention amid news that the US is deploying resources to the Middle East in response to what it called “a credible threat” by Iranian regime forces.

The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, has more details on the deployment:

Rotations of US troops and military hardware around the world are routine and usually take place without fanfare. At present there is no aircraft carrier or bomber taskforce in US Central Command’s area of operations, the Middle East and Afghanistan. The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is in the Mediterranean and was on the way to the Middle East anyway, but defence officials said its trip would be accelerated. It was unclear on Monday what kind of bombers would be deployed to the region and where they would be based.

The announced deployment comes in the midst of a week of particular high tension. On 2 May, the US ended waivers that allowed China, India and Turkey to continue to buy Iranian oil without US sanctions. Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, and both Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani are expected to mark the day by raising the stakes.

Donald Trump’s tweet this morning that Puerto Rico “should be happy” with the amount of money its received for disaster funding, which is far short of the $91bn he claims it received, has been criticized today.

About 40 minutes after Trump’s complaint about Puerto Rico, 2020 Democratic hopeful, Elizabeth Warren, tweeted: “We won’t stop fighting until the people of Puerto Rico get the respect they deserve” and a link to legislation she re-introduced last week that would aid the debt-ridden island.

Arizona representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, was critical of the president’s statements about Puerto Rico disaster funding, tweeting: “you might as well say the brown people have misspent while the white people have not.”

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, another 2020 hopeful, said the US response to Puerto Rico was “unconscionable.”

“The people of Puerto Rico have been experiencing a humanitarian crisis for over a year and a half since Hurricane Maria,” Sanders said. “It is totally unconscionable that in the wealthiest nation in the world we have allowed our fellow citizens to suffer for so long.”

Guardian economic correspondent, Richard Partington, wrote a great Q&A about Trump’s unexpected threat this morning to raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

The announcement, which came after months of seemingly positive movement in trade negotiations between the US and China, sent global financial markets tumbling on Monday.

Is a peace deal still possible?

While Trump’s tweets could suggest trade talks have hit a brick wall, analysts said the threat likely represents a shift in negotiating strategy.

The president is well-known for ramping up the rhetoric in trade negotiations, and has previously said he can only secure new trade deals by threatening or imposing tariffs on trading partners. Analysts expect that the tensions could linger as the US gears up for elections next year.

The threat could extract additional concessions, although that is highly risky. Contrary to Trump’s claims that tariffs have boosted the US economy, analysts said they had hit growth over recent months and that an escalation could inflict greater damage.

Donald Trump’s bitter confrontation with his political opponents continued to intensify on Monday, after House Democrats set up a vote to hold his attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress, writes David Smith, the Guardian’s Washington Bureau Chief.

A contempt vote would carry symbolic force but it would not compel Barr to hand over the report. The full House would need to approve it, sending a criminal referral to the US attorney for the District of Columbia – a justice department official likely to defend the attorney general.

Democrats argue they need to see the full report, including underlying materials, in order to conduct a complete review of Mueller’s investigation. Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and “items such as contemporaneous notes” that are cited in the report. He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version.

As the conflict with Barr has worsened, Democrats have been in negotiations to hear from Mueller himself. Trump complicated those negotiations on Sunday when he tweeted that he would oppose Mueller’s testimony. Trump had previously said he would leave the question to Barr, who has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.

Nadler said last week the committee was “firming up the date” for Mueller’s testimony, hoping it would be 15 May.

Time for an update on 2020 campaign dog, Bailey.

Bailey the golden retriever lives with senator Elizabeth Warren, of Massachussets, and today he is celebrating spring:

Bailey is not just a trusted companion, but also, apparently, a beloved member of the Warren campaign.

He’s got his own selfie lines at organizing events and is popular on social media, according to Politico:

There’s a rich history surrounding those occupying or aspiring to the White House and their pets. Millie, George HW Bush’s English springer spaniel, authored her own book. After Bill Clinton got a Labrador retriever and named him Buddy, his pollster reported back to the poll-hungry president that a survey showed 57 percent of Americans approved of the name.

Donald Trump is the first president in more than a century not to have a pooch join his family at the White House. The topic came up at a rally last month in Texas. “I wouldn’t mind having one, honestly, but I don’t have any time,” Trump said. He said he’s been told it would be “good politically,” but it “feels a little phony, phony to me.”

Carolyn Meadows, the new president of the National Rifle Association, who’s from Cobb County, Georgia, has taken a potshot today at Lucy McBath, who won a congressional seat in Georgia in the 2018 midterm elections after running strongly on a platform of gun safety.

They can’t be expected to see eye-to-eye on firearms issues, but Meadows goes beyond (or below) all that. In an interview with the Marietta Daily Journal, Meadows said that the reason McBath won was because she is a “minority female”.

Carolyn Meadows at the NRA annual meeting in Indianapolis, 2019.
Carolyn Meadows at the NRA annual meeting in Indianapolis, 2019.
 Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP

Meadows, 80, succeeded Oliver North (of Iran-Contra infamy) after he was forced out of the position last month during a power struggle with NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre - amid troubles at the organization.

“I would not have taken this job if I didn’t feel like I could save this country. That’s obvious, I’m not young. … My husband said, ‘Your whole life has led you to this point.’ And he said, ‘If you don’t do it, you dishonor God,’” Meadows said, adding that she defines herself as “not a religious person — I’m a Christian.”

McBath unseated Republican incumbent Karen Handel and Handel has announced she will try for the seat again.

“We’ll get that seat back”, Meadows told the MDJ.

She then adds: “But it is wrong to say, like McBath said, that the reason she won was because of her anti-gun stance. That didn’t have anything to do with it — it had to do with being a minority female.”

She also blamed insufficient conservative turn-out.

Lucy McBath on the campaign trail in Georgia last fall.
Lucy McBath on the campaign trail in Georgia last fall. Photograph: Liz Hampton/Reuters

Democrats are calling on Trump’s nominee to be US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, to clarify that she will prioritize US interests over her own when it comes to climate change.

Craft has invested more than $60m in oil companies and other fossil fuel entities and is married to the CEO of one of the largest US coal producers, Alliance Resource Partners.

Senators Ed Markey, of Massachusetts; Jeff Merkley, of Oregon; and Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, asked her to demonstrate she will avoid any conflicts of interest.

This push was announced the same day the United Nations painted a terrifying portrait of the earth’s health:

From coral reefs flickering out beneath the oceans to rainforests desiccating into savannahs, nature is being destroyed at a rate tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10m years, according to the UN global assessment report.

The biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction – all largely as a result of human actions, said the study, compiled over three years by more than 450 scientists and diplomats.

Donald Trump hosted the football team from West Point military academy at the White House today for a trophy ceremony to celebrate their 11-2 winning season.

At the ceremony, Trump said he is considering offering a waiver that allows athletes at the country’s military academy’s to play professional supports after graduation, instead of fulfilling a two-year active duty military service requirement before going pro.

Instead, Trump said, athletes would “serve their time after they’re finished with professional sports.”

If you thought this was an unusually mundane comment by the president, you’d be wrong.

Such waivers existed in the past – until Trump’s Department of Defense rescinded them in 2017.

And the Pentagon told the AP on Monday that they did not know about any impending changes to that policy.

Donald Trump accepts a jersey from Army running back Darnell Woolfolke during the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the US Military Academy at West Point football team in the Rose Garden of the White House
Donald Trump accepts a jersey from Army running back Darnell Woolfolke during the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the US Military Academy at West Point football team in the Rose Garden of the White House Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

There’s a hefty report out today in the New York Times about what female Democrats are up against in the 2020 election, according to those female Democrats:

In an interview in Iowa, Ms Gillibrand specifically alluded to Mr Buttigieg and Mr O’Rourke, saying, “I don’t think either of them have won red and purple areas. I have.”

She also added a warning for the Democrats trying to occupy a more moderate lane, as Mr Biden has since entering the race.

“If your ideas aren’t progressive or bold enough, you will not win the respect of the grass-roots,” Ms Gillibrand said. “You will not win young people. You will not win black women — all the people who were responsible for electing a Democratic majority this last election cycle in the House of Representatives.”

The story also notes that 2020 hopefuls Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar have never lost an election in their political careers. The most prominent male candidates all have (Biden, Buttigieg, O’Rourke, Sanders and Booker).

The US has never had a female president.

The prosecutors, who have worked for administrations hailing from both sides of the political aisle, contradicts the conclusion made by attorney general William Barr after Mueller did not come to a decision on whether the president should be indicted, that there was not a criminal case for obstruction.

Mueller had specifically said that Trump was not exonerated.

The prosecutors say in their statement:

“Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the former federal prosecutors wrote.

“We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” they added. “Of course, there are potential defenses or arguments that could be raised in response to an indictment of the nature we describe here . . . But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.”

Prosecutors sign statement saying Trump would have been charged with obstruction if he wasn't president

More than 370 former federal prosecutors have signed a statement saying they believe special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges for Donald Trump if he wasn’t the president of the United States.

The statement has been issued on publishing platform Medium this afternoon. More details in the coming moments.

Republican Rick Scott, Florida’s ex-governor and now US Senator, really doesn’t like 2020 Dem candidate Cory Booker’s progressive gun violence prevention plan, unveiled this morning.

Scott tweeted the, to him, outrageous notion that “if you want to buy a gun, @CoryBooker wants you to register with the federal government”, adding: “This would be scary if Booker had any chance of becoming president.”

He called it the latest terrible idea from Dems in the 2020 race.

He then went on, or possibly off the rails, in the second of a two-post tweet shower, thus: “What’s next? Will we have to register sharp knives? Maybe @AOC will make us register every time we buy meat as part of her #GreenNewDeal.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez promptly countered with her trademark blast of straight-talking fresh air.

The freshman Democratic representative from New York, aka @AOC, tweeted: “That a sitting US Senator can say something lacking so much critical thinking + honesty is embarrassing to the institution. If you were a female candidate, maybe you’d be called “unlikeable,” “crazy,” or “uninformed.” But since you’re not, this inadequacy is accepted as normal.”

Updated

Afternoon summary

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, has arrived at an upstate New York prison around 11:30 am on Monday.

Here’s what he can expect, writes the Guardian’s Tom McCarthy:

The prison, which houses about 800 inmates, has been rated among the country’s cushiest, thanks to its facilities for non-violent offenders which include bunkhouse-style sleeping and personal lockers.

It is also especially set up for Jewish inmates, such as Cohen will be, with availability of such specialty foods as matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish and rugelach pastries, as well as access to a full-time rabbi.

Prison consultants say Otisville has become a requested destination for Jewish inmates due to its proximity to New York City’s large Jewish population and upstate New York’s Orthodox Jewish enclaves.

But it’s still prison, former Otisville case manager Jack Donson said.

“Prison is disrespectful. It’s impersonal,” Donson said. “He’s never going to get any sleep because there’s always lights on, there’s always inmates snoring. There are officers walking around jingling keys. You shower out in the open. It’s very demeaning.”

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen leaves Manhattan apartment to serve three-year prison sentence
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen leaves Manhattan apartment to serve three-year prison sentence
Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A majority of Americans support getting rid of the Electoral College and having elections determined exclusively by the popular vote, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Of those polled, 53% said the presidential election should use a popular vote, while 43% should continue to use the electoral college.

The findings fall pretty closely in line with whether people backed Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes, while Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 electoral votes

Of the people surveyed who voted for Trump in 2016, 74% wanted to keep using the electoral college, while 78% of Clinton voters want to use the popular vote.

The Electoral College allocates electoral votes to each state based on how many representatives and senators it has. Because each state has two senators, electoral votes tilt toward giving smaller states more power in the election. For instance, California has one electoral vote per 712,000 people and Wyoming has one for 195,000 people, according to NBC News.

How does the US electoral college work?

The top Republican on the House Judiciary committee, representative Doug Collins, of Georgia, was critical of Wednesday’s planned vote on contempt for Attorney General William Barr.

“Democrats have launched a proxy war smearing the attorney general when their anger actually lies with the president and the special counsel, who found neither conspiracy nor obstruction,” Collins said.

Collins said the upcoming vote is “illogical and disingenuous” as negotiations are underway with the Justice Department for access, according to the AP.

Donald Trump is complaining about disaster funding to Puerto Rico, again.

On Twitter, Trump said Puerto Rico has already received more money from Congress than any state in the history of the US and complained Democrats won’t back a bill that gives disaster relief money to states including Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.

“Puerto Rico should be very happy and the Dems should stop blocking much needed Disaster Relief!” Trump tweeted.

The president is in a standoff with Democrats, who want a disaster aid funding bill to include money for Puerto Rico, as well as the others states.

In the tweets, Trump said Puerto Rico had received $91bn in disaster relief funding - which is not true. There has been $41bn in announced funding. The additional $50bn is money that one internal estimate said could need to be committed in the long-term.

This weekend, Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, said he wouldn’t visit the White House to celebrate the team’s 2018 World Series win because of the Trump administration’s response to the hurricane. Cora is Puerto Rican. Several other Red Sox players have also said they would be skipping the ceremony.

Since Hurricane Maria devastated the entire island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Trump has routinely minimized, dismissed or ignored the scale of destruction– including denying the official death toll.

The US House judiciary committee took its first step to hold the attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress this morning, after Barr failed to provide a copy of the unredacted Mueller report before the committee’s deadline.

On Wednesday, the committee will debate a resolution and a 27-page report on Barr being held in contempt, then hold a vote on the resolution. If the vote goes through, it will move to a full vote in the House to authorize legal proceedings.

House Judiciary committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, said in a statement:

Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel’s report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels. Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities.

Updated

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just navigated through a swarm of photographers and television cameras outside his apartment in New York City, before hopping into a black SUV to take him to prison, about 70 miles north of the city.

Cohen made a brief statement to reporters:

I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country. There still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day the day I can tell the truth.

Cohen was sentenced last December to three years in prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He is the third former Trump aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.

Updated

2020: Booker unveils gun violence prevention plan

2020 update: New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, this morning unveiled his plan to tackle gun violence – which in 2017 saw gun deaths in the US rise to its highest rate in more than 20 years.

Booker’s campaign outlined the ambitious plan on Medium. It included several measures which Booker said would be a focus on day one of his presidency:

Donald Trump shocked global financial markets this morning with an unexpected threat to further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods.

In September, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on $200bn in goods from China, including food, chemicals and electronics. On Twitter last night, Trump said he planned to hike that tariff to 25%. He also said another $325bn in goods would be subject to the 25% tariff.

This has upended global stock markets after months of seemingly positive negotiations between the US and China. Trump himself has declared that the discussions were moving in a positive direction, helping to boost global markets anticipating a positive outcome from the talks.

China’s market closed down 5.8% on Monday, its worst day since Feb 2016. Europe and US markets also fell, with oil prices – a benchmark for global trade – falling sharply.

Liu He, Beijing’s lead trade negotiator, was due in Washington this week for trade talks that experts predicted would be the last round of discussions before reaching a deal. China has not announced how Trump’s announcement will impact Liu’s travel plans.

And if you’re wondering, who pays for these tariffs? A long explanation is here. The quick version: Companies pay these tariffs when they import goods from China, despite Trump’s claims they are paid by China. US importers then decide to either pass the increased costs on to consumers by raising prices, absorb the cost and take a hit to their profits, try to negotiate costs down or find outside suppliers.

Nick Twidale, Sydney-based analyst at Rakuten Securities Australia, told the Guardian:

There is still a question of whether this is one of the famous Trump negotiation tactic, or are we really going to see some drastic increase in tariffs. If it’s the latter we’ll see massive downside pressure across all markets.

Trump reverses position on Mueller testimony

Happy Monday and welcome to today’s politics live blog. The Mueller report saga is far from over.

Donald Trump has reversed his earlier position on whether special counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to testify before a Congressional committee about his 448-page report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Last night, Trump tweeted “Bob Mueller should not testify,” backing away from an earlier claim that he would support William Barr’s decision on whether Mueller should testify. The attorney general has said it would be fine if he did.

Barr is also due to respond to Representative Jerry Nadler, the House judiciary committee chairman, who gave the attorney general a Monday deadline to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.

Trump has repeatedly mischaracterized the report’s findings. Mueller did not assess collusion because it is not a legal term and instead focused on potential criminal conspiracy between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. Mueller said there was not sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges for obstruction, but wrote the president couldn’t be exonerated from such allegations, either.

Elsewhere:

We’ll have more on all this throughout the morning, as well as rolling updates through the day.

Updated

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